Woodside: Shutting It Down

We had a great dinner when Rhonda cooked up her special sauce with pasta. But the "shut it down" refers to what happened before...

We were all messing around at the pool, practicing flips (well just Orion and I) when I decided to do a front flip. Turns out my left arm was not tucked and I ended up dislocating that sucker for the 8th time. You can book me for surgery when I get home... in the meantime, I'll be shutting it down for golf. Too bad, yesterday I was on pace for a 40 on the front nine! Editor's Note: we only played 7 holes because we were holding up the pace so badly. We skipped holes 6 and 7. Through 7 holes I was +3 but we skipped a par 3...

After dinner we headed out to Jeremy's friend's house and we had a lot of fun hanging out and watching movies.

Living it up,

Rafael

Santa Cruz: bike riding adventure

Today I headed to Santa Cruz for some bike riding and to check out the town.  When I arrived I rented a bike and headed out on a 2 hour ride along the cliffs/ocean and then down to the boardwalk with all the amusement rides.  I saw tons of pelicans as well as other boards and watched the surfers.  It was gorgeous and perfect weather, 70 and sunny.  After my ride I walked around the town a bit and grabbed lunch.  The town had many cute coffee shops and lots of local stores.  All and all a fun day! -Elizabeth

How To Road Trip Successfully (Installment 2)

Our first post in this series appears to have been well-received, so we're continuing with our "behind-the-scenes, back-stage-pass, top-secret, blah blah blah" view into our road trip.

Today's topic: independence. Shah-zam! Now you might say, "ok guy, you don't need to play this whole independence angle just because Independence Day is coming up this weekend" or you might not even be saying that at all, but it really is a key to a successful road trip. Por que? Because otherwise you'll drive yourself crazy being with the same people for 2 months straight... and sometimes you just need a break or simply what people call "alone time".

Since day 1 we'd been aware of the need and importance of alone time, but it wasn't until our journey into Canada that our first "break" from each other came to fruition. That took place (loyal readers: sorry for mentioning this again, but this is just for the uninformed not-so-loyal friends of ours!) when Orion wanted to go to Victoria and Elizabeth and I preferred going down the Washington coast.

The second "break" took place this past Sunday when Elizabeth and Orion went into San Francisco while I played golf at Menlo with some buddies.

And, now that we're all caught up, the third "break" took place today when Elizabeth went to Santa Cruz to kayak and/or bike around whilst Orion and I watched the ground-breaking (literally) movie called Wall-E.

So, readers, when you're on any sort of extended trip: make sure you leave space for alone time, otherwise, no matter how much you love your fellow travelers, those little quirks everyone has will begin to drive you nuts. Plus, at least in our case, you just need to recharge on your own.

Join us next week when we talk about something else that may or may not apply to you...

Rafael

Redwood City: Movies and More

Today Raf and I went to go see Wall-E in Redwood City and the movie was quite good. It has turned into a nice day to walk around. After some lunch we went by a See's Candy before finding a coffee shop with some free wifi. Now you have this coffee shop and Raf to thank for the updated legible formatting. Until next time,

Orion

Woodside: Wall-E

The plan for today was to surf but when we woke up the temperature was in the 60's (vs. tomorrow's forecast of 70's) so we decided to postpone surfing by 1 day.

Instead, I chose to go see Wall-E and Orion came to see it as well. Elizabeth didn't want to see it, so she took the van to Santa Cruz (for the unaware, that's about an hour away from Woodside) to either kayak or bike ride.

My take on Wall-E? Really good. I'm glad I saw it today and I'm more amazed at Pixar's chutzpah in making this type of movie (go see it, you'll see what I'm talking about). Now it's off to a late lunch at Chipotle. Yum!

Rafael

Woodside: The BBQ

After playing golf with Jeremy and my new pals David and Pat, we made it home to the Gessow's for a BBQ. Jody and Rhonda were kind enough to prepare a great dinner of burgers, steak, etc (don't worry parents, we helped out!) Their friend Chip Adams came over as well and the whole
dinner was a lot of fun with some great conversations. We're definitely relaxing and having fun here in Woodside!

Rafael

San Francisco: Lunch in Mission Hill

We met up with Marylyn, a friend from Atlanta, for lunch on Mission Hill. We ate at a great brunch spot called Andalu. It was a lot fun to see a different area of San Fransisco and to catch up with Marylyn. -Elizabeth

San Francisco: Presidio

We headed into San Fransisco for the day with Orion's friend Ben, while Raf hung out in Woodside for some running and golf. Our first stop was the Presidio which followed along the water and had great views of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz.
-Elizabeth

Woodside: Culture of Fitness

Last night was a stay-in and relax night, which is always good, and it led to a good amount of sleeping today. I was actually woken up with the great news that my cousin Pablo just won golf's French Open (makes waking up much better).

Soon after waking up Orion and Elizabeth were picked up by Ben, a friend of Orion's from Stanford, and they headed into the city. As for me, I took Rhonda's advice and ran "the loop": 4.2 miles around Woodside. It was a great workout with a sweet kick over the last .5 miles.

One thing I noticed on my run is that there were probably 50 bikers and 10 runners/walkers out and about. If today is the norm then I'm very impressed by Woodside's culture of fitness!

For me today's plan is to do a bit of reading and then watching the Euro 2008 finals (go Spain!) followed by golf with my two new pals Jeremy and David. Today has the makings of another great day!

Rafael

Napa Valley: Two Thumbs Up

What an experience! After pit-stopping in Berkeley and grabbing some local grub, we kept heading towards Napa. A bit later we arrived at our highly recommended first destination: Rutherford Hills Winery. By highly recommended I mean my dad told me to go there. Cool!

Anyways, it was a great wine-tasting experience. 5 different wines (of your choice) and a port to finish it off. Orion's favorite was the '03 Merlot Reserve, while Elizabeth and I enjoyed the Devil's Peak blend (a blend of four different grapes). I can't forget to mention that our server was incredibly friendly, though I did manage to irk her.

The story behind that is we were finishing up with our ports when I tossed the rest of my glass. Of course, I didn't know she was going to offer a taste "test" with their chocolate blueberries, and she was kind enough to fill me up with more port. It was great to see how those chocolate covered blueberries actually masked the sweet port.

Then it was off to Robert Siskey Winery. Orion did not partake in our second tasting, which was unfortunate, because the four wines were paired with delicious appetizers. Elizabeth and I also agreed that the best wine was the newly released Pinot Noir Four Wines. More interestingly, we made another new friend who happened to know a different pal of ours from Galloway. Small world!

Finally, we ventured over to venerable Pine Ridge Winery. I was the last man standing, so I tasted wines on my own. I decided to focus on the Cabernet Sauvignon menu, since Napa is pretty much known for their cabs. It turned out to be a good choice as all four were delicious. My favorite (and personal new recommendation to our sophisticated readers) is Pine Ridge's Stags Leap District. Warning: it is a full-bodied wines.

Overall the experience was fantastic. For the uninitiated, a wine-tasting experience is what you make of it. If you talk with your server, they'll have great stories to tell. If you interact with
other enthusiasts, they'll share their stories too. I'm glad we came out here and opened up to everyone we encountered. We even met some people from Atlanta!

Now it's back to Jody's for some quick R&R and then dinner.

Cheers!

Rafael

California: Off to Napa

After making it to the Gessow's, we hung out a bit and then headed out to sushi and sake with Jeremy and his friends. The place was packed and it seems like everyone had a really good time.

From there we met up with more of his friends and headed out on the town. Palo Alto was surprisingly "pretty happening" and the mix of students, yuppies, and others created an interesting social environment.

The night was great and after a little bit of sleep we have started heading towards Napa for wine-tasting and touring.

We'll post from there,

Rafael

Stanford: The Tour

The three of us snuck into a prospective students tour that was passing by at 9:30am. We kept quiet until she asked for some help naming a few authors... at which point Elizabeth and I each answered, prompting our guide to exclaim, "oh my I have a smart group today!"

It's actually been informative and fun... though I may be biased since our guide is from Atlanta!

Representing Atlanta,

Rafael

Palo Alto: University Ave.

The town's main drag looked pretty and had some nice shops. Elizabeth and I wanted a quick breakfast so we stopped in at University Cafe, a decent place for food. The neat part was something I noticed: 3 VC/Angel related discussions taking place. That really hit home how unique of an entrepreneurial ecosystem they have here.

Now we're off to tour Stanford,

Rafael

Half Moon Bay: State Beach

Sorry we didn't get a picture of our campground! It was right on the Pacific and when we arrived several suffers were taking runs on the big waves.

After setting up, Orion and I tossed the football while Elizabeth read. A little guitar playing later, we closed up shop and headed to bed.

Today we're off to tour Stanford/Palo Alto and the surrounding area then it'll be time to meet up with Jody!

Rafael

California: In-N-Out

We finally made it to our first In-N-Out! Simply put: it's delicious and affordable. Everything is made fresh (i.e. they slice the potatoes in store, etc) and it's fairly quick service.

Is it as good as people play it up to be? Probably not. But will we go back? Definitely.

We just drove through San Fran (the Golden Gate Bridge came up out of nowhere!) and it's amazing how smoke from the nearby fires has draped the city. Off to find a campground!

Rafael

How to Road Trip Successfully (Installment 1)

One important key to a successful road trip is comfort, even if it comes as part of a daring idea that wasn't so well received by a certain parent prior to beginning the road trip. I'll keep your name quiet... for now ;). Anyways, allow me to explain:

Prior to the trip's start, Orion and I rigorously debated the merits of each possible seat arrangement in the van. For the unaware, the van we are driving has multiple seat configuration possibilities. As you can imagine, our ideas were endless and we debated the pros and cons of bringing just 1 seat vs. some seats vs. all 4 seats.

We settled on bringing 1 seat, since we'd only need an extra seat in the back for the third person, and so we moved on to debating the merits of where that seat should be placed. So far bringing one seat has been a good decision as we haven't needed to drive an extra person around.

Orion and I settled on the location of rear passenger side. Why? With that seat in the far back, it offers more privacy for the person there. One thing we've done is turn the music all to the front so that it's completely quiet in the back, which makes for great napping. Other reasons included more foot space compared to a traditional seating arrangement (boy Orion looks comfortable in that picture). And putting the seat on the passenger side, rather than the driver side, meant that viewing out of the back is not impaired. Note: this advantages list was twice as long but I had to edit it down for the sake of brevity.

We'll post other tips (idiosyncrasies?) so that you, our loyal readers, can get more "behind the scenes" glimpses into our trip and perhaps use a tip or two from us...

Rafael

Mendocino: The Headlands

We drove through the rest of Avenue of the Giants this morning then continued down the coast to Mendocino, a sleepy town with nice homes and huge cliffs. It seems pretty nice although not quite beach weather since right now it's in the upper fifties. -Elizabeth

California: Down 101 and US 1

Camping among the Redwoods was great last night (flat ground, nice weather, and no bugs). We woke up at 7am and started driving down the coast soon thereafter.

The picture you see is the first view of the Pacific from US 1. The drive has been beautiful but also very curvy. We'll be stopping in Mendocino and then continue working our way down to San Fran, with obligatory stops at any beaches that catch our fancy.

Rafael

California: Northern Coast

Our first glimpse of the Pacific along highway 101 in California. This is a candid shot after Orion failed to finish a half gallon of ice cream. Can't wait for more of the coast!
-Elizabeth

California: Redwoods NF

We made it to sunny California! First stop? Redwoods National Forest. We'll be here for the afternoon and then camp on the beach somewhere south of here.

For Redwoods, we'll have another post up soon. Excellent!

Rafael

P.S. Great goofy shot of Orion in the background.

Crater Lake: "Sledding"

The picture didn't turn out very well, but it shows the smaller slope that we sledded down on our sleeping pads. The larger one was about 80ft of drop, and about 150ft of sledding overlooking Crater Lake. It was so fast that Raf lost his hat half way down, and it was such a pain to get up that it wasn't worth going back to get. It was out of control, literally.

Orion

Oregon: Crater Lake

Wow. Crater Lake is breathtaking. It is known as the deepest lake in the US and the second deepest in the world. Formed by a colapsed volcano, there and no rivers in or out. I still can't believe it.

Orion

Oregon: Smith Rock (Climbing)

See the steep faces on the right of the picture? We climbed that just now. The route was called 5 gallon jug and was roughly a 5.8. The thing was about 70 feet or so.

Orion led it off with some sweet lead climbing and I followed by getting up 50 feet of it.

Elizabeth, meanwhile, hiked up the monkey face trail. She apparently got some pretty good pics, and so did we, so we'll look for a way to get some up for our loyal readers.

The plan now? Head towards Crater Lake, scope things out, find a campground, and decide what we'll do around Crater Lake tomorrow.

Rafael

Oregon: Smith Rock

Well we made it to the park. Orion and I are off to climb; Elizabeth is off doing a hike. We'll put a climbing photo up when we get to the rock face.

Rafael

Eugene: Good Times

We had a blast last night hanging at Tommy's and then going into "downtown". It was great to have couches to sleep on (mine was huge and amazing) and we'd like to thank Tommy again for hosting us. It was great to see him and catch up after so many years!

Now we're at REI trying to get maps of Smith Rock and then it's off to go climbing and hiking there!

Rafael

Eugene: Pizza Research Institute

We met up with Tommy and went to go get some za. Actually, I also hate when people use "za." It had granny smith apples, gouda cheese, and walnuts: strangely delicious.

Tonight it's a guy named Geoff's 21st birthday, so we will see what kind of craziness goes on in Eugene for such occasions. Until next time,

Orion

Oregon: Oh Eugene Here We Come

We finished sandboarding at 4pm (we found some gnarly 80+ foot dunes that Orion and I took straight down!) and there were no injuries. It was a blast and we all recommend the experience.

We grabbed a very late lunch at Subway ($5 footlongs) and now we're driving to Eugene to check out the town and hang out with Tommy.

Tired but stoked,

Rafael

Florence: Sandboarding the dunes

Right now we are in Florence, OR sandboarding in the dunes. We got two boards to share and have been having a blast riding and running up the massive piles of sand, even with a few good wipeouts. More to come, 

Elizabeth

Oregon: Countryside Boredom

Just letting all those regular readers know that we're still here... though there's nothing exciting to report yet. Unless you count getting "southern style" chicken biscuits at McDonald's. (By the way, those things are no good. Chick-Fil-A still wins on quality.)

We'll be on the coast within an hour. More to report from there.

Rafael

Portland: Thanks!

We had a great time in Portland and we wanted to thank the Ingber family again for putting us up for the weekend (and for taking us out to dinner twice!) The whole weekend was awesome thanks to them and it was wonderful to have a nice place to sleep and hang out. Like everyone else we've stayed with previously, our hosts in Portland were amazing.

Tomorrow morning we're going to continue driving down the coast, make it over to the Dunes (where we plan on sand boarding), and then staying at my friend Tommy's in Eugene. The adventures continue!

Rafael

Portland: VooDoo Doughnuts

Piercings, tattoos, funky doos, and doughnuts. VooDoo has as much personality as it does variety. Check out some of their wares above.

Orion

Portland: Deschutes Brewery

After walking around downtown Portland for a bit we stopped for lunch at Deschutes Brewery for food and a sampler tray of their beers. Raf and I both liked the Hopness Monster IPA the best and Orion enjoyed the Obsidian Stout. More exploring to ensue later on.
-Elizabeth

Portland: International Rose Test Garden

We are in Washington Park right now, and the pic is from the rose garden. I am stifiling a set of "rose" puns right now, as "Rose" is Elizabeth's last name (for those who don't know).

Orion

Portland: Risk!

Josh plays Risk!, which means he's real cool in our book, and it also means we spent Saturday night playing the game of global domination. Nerds? No way. Just secure in our coolness.

As for tomorrow, plans include exploring Portland and visiting a micro-brewery or three.

Rafael

Addendum: I wiped out Orion, got his cards, and started my attack on Josh. Before he began his massive counter-attack, we settled with a truce. That's probably for the best, given that the way everything was split it up would likely have led to another hour of back and forth. If you're still reading this far about a board game result, I applaud your efforts as a loyal reader.

Hood River: Full Sail Brew Co.

We made it out to Hood River, OR and stopped by the windsurfing and kiteboarding schools. Turns out that conditions were not exactly ideal, so we did what any other responsible person would do: we headed to the local brewery.

The local brewery happens to be Full Sail Brew Co. which is actually an award winning brewery. Each of us ordered the beer sampler and we spent some time debating our favorites. Elizabeth liked the Prodigal Son IPA, I enjoyed the award-winning Amber, and Orion liked the Amber as
well.

Not sure what adventure awaits us next...

Rafael

Oregon: Wahkeena Falls

This is what you get when you ask them to do a serious pose. On to other falls.

Rafael

Portland: 6k already

Whoa, we've already put 6,000 miles on the van. Thankfully Orion decided to get up early and take care of the oil change, so props to him for being a machine. He also got the "free car wash included" deal, so the van is cleaner than ever.

We're off to the Columbia River Gorge to check out the world's best windboarding and then do some hikes around the falls. Full day!

Rafael

Halfway Done (Perspective on the Trip)

The epic road trip is half over. 26 of 52 days have flown by!

I can't neatly recap a trip like this one, so instead I'll try to put the trip in perspective:

Most of our readers have very good lives (i.e. you're in good health, you're educated enough to read these words, etc). Given that, most have probably not had the opportunity to take a trip like ours. This is a testament to how lucky we are to:

a) have the time to do this trip

b) have the money to do this trip

c) have the parents who raised us, which led us to all work hard most of our lives to get into grad school, which in turn led us to points a, b, and other things we're thankful for...

It's great to step back and think about how much luck and hard work it took just for this trip to come together, let alone for it to have gone so well.

Rafael

Portland: Ingber's and Pizza

We made it safely to the Ingber's and then headed out for pizza. A lovely dinner later we walked across the street to get gelato. That was delicious and of course we're very thankful to the Ingber family for treating us to both. Good food and great company. This promises to be an excellent weekend in Portland!

Rafael

Portland: Powell's (Of Course)

Where does a book lover like me go first? The biggest bookstore in the U.S., a place called Powell's. It's so big that they named all the rooms in here after different colors to help people find their way.

By the way, driving in led us past lots of overpasses and roads with roses. I see how the city earned its moniker.

Off to explore more of Portland before heading over to Chuck's.

Rafael

Wilsonville: Dave and Ben!

We went out to a delicious lunch at Wanker's with Ben and Dave. Definitely a good choice for food and of course it was good to see the two of them again. And it doesnt hurt that it's 75 degrees and sunny... or that we were treated to lunch!

Thanks again Ben and Dave! Sorry that the picture turned out with a glow effect...

Rafael

Wilsonville: Solid Ink

Dave's a great guy. I sent him an email a few days ago asking if he could set something up around Solid Ink, and he came through in the clutch. He set us up with a presentation and tour with a fellow named Glen, Xerox's resident Solid Ink expert, and we spent part of the morning
learning about the technology. It was great to see Xerox's technology up close and of course see Dave and Ben again. Well it's off to lunch with Dave and Ben!

Rafael

Oregon: Champoeg

Last night we arrived at the Champoeg Campground well after dark. We ended up taking the long way back inland (30 miles of windy, dense forrest road including a section of gravel) and showed up too late to get a camping spot. Or so we thought. Every spot was either full or reserved, sending us into a lengthy discussion about what to do until we realized that some were just reserved for other nights. Free showers and nice weather overnight have left us ready for a good day today.

In a few minutes we are going to take a tour of the Xerox Solid Ink facility in Wilsonville, and we are looking forward to lunch with Dave and Ben and meeting Chuck.

Orion

Oregon: Shorty's Beach

Oswald West State Park holds Short Sands Beach, a great beach even if you don't surf. Apparently, it is well known to surfers as "shorty's." Walls line this somewhat secluded, large beach, making it deceptively cozy. After a bit of deliberation we arrived at a rating of 8.

Orion

ORE Beach Rating: 8

Cannon Beach, Oregon

We just stopped at Cannon Beach for some catch and reading. We lucked out with a sunny day! On the ORE Beach Rating Scale we give this one an 8 for its combo of rock protrusions and soft sand. Off to a cafe then maybe a hike. -Elizabeth

Seaside: Life changing discovery

After lunch we stopped in a supermarket and stocked up on supplies. My choice? Teddy graham
trail mix, a new delicious concoction from Nabisco. Life changing? Essentially. Worth a blog post? Absolutely.

My spririts are high with this new discovery and our (so far) great touring of the NW Oregon coast.

On to cannon beach!

Rafael

Seaside: The Stand

The roadtrip on a budget book that the good folks at Xerox gave me has done it again: a quality, local, and cheap lunch destination! This time it's burritos at The Stand in the coastal Oregon town of Seaside. After lunch we'll probably hang around a bit longer before continuing down the coast.

Rafael

Washington: Cape Disappointment

That's the actual name of the cape and lighthouse we stopped at just now. Turns out the lighthouse is the oldest on the west coast. I didn't include a picture of the lighthouse because it's quite ugly. But the views on both side are wonderful, particularly where the Columbia meets the Pacific.

We're off to lunch and then further exploring the coast (we'll be in Oregon very soon).

Rafael

Washington: Ruby Beach

This beach was gorgeous. Spires of stone, soft sands and stones, impresive driftwood, and a great view. This beach only gets an 8/10 because we want to leave room to go up if we can. Wow.

Orion

ORE Beach Rating: 8

Washington: Rialto Beach

Our first beach on the pacific coast - Rialto. It was pretty nice and a bit out of the way, but we got to take in a bit of culture and a great view for our drive.

We have decided to follow up each beach blog post with a quick ORE Beach Rating out of 10.

Some more beaches to come,
Orion

Beach Score: 6

Olympic NP: Quick update

After meeting up with Orion and Elizabeth at the cafe, we went over to Subway for $5 footlongs before venturing out to the coast. We're on our way to the west coast of Olympic NP. We'll be camping on the beach tonight - hopefully it'll get warmer, currently it's 55 degrees in the middle
of June. Crazy!

Rafael

Port Angeles: Itty Bitty Buzz

That's the view at Itty Bitty Buzz Cafe here in Port Angeles, Washington. Why am I here? Well, I have some lingering right knee pain so I decided to shut it down for a day or two and avoid hiking/walking as much as possible. If it gets better in the next day or two then no worries. If it gets worse, I'll probably stop in somewhere in Portland, OR (we arrive this upcoming Friday).

And I just got off the phone with Orion while typing this post... turns out that most of Olympic National Park is better seen in a drive at this time of year, so I could have seen what they're about to see. Oops! 

However, since I am enjoying myself in the cafe, they're going to do a relatively short drive to and from the area around Hurricane Ridge Visitors Center while I'll spend a few hours here catching up on news, business, investing, reading, etc. Then they'll come back for me, we'll make our way over to 9 0'clock or so on Olympic National Park (imagine it as a clock), and then we'll find a place to camp out on one of the Washington coast beaches.

Rafael

Seattle: EMP recap

The museum was definitely worth the non-student $15 I was charged (I don't have a current student ID yet). Highlights include: interactive exhibits, plenty of short films, the guitar room detailing the history of the instrument, the Jimi Hendrix room, and the wide assortment of instruments available for jamming.

In short, if you're in Seattle you should stop by the EMP. You can tell they put a lot of money and effort into the project.

After three hours in the museum, we're now walking over to Pike's Place Market. It's a bit of a hike but also a good way to see the city. It helps that it's clear and sunny too.

Off exploring Seattle,

Rafael

Seattle: EMP (700 instruments)

So far the Experience Music Project is amazing. Here's a neat structure made of 700 instruments. I'll recap after I've seen it all but so far so good.

Rafael

Seattle: Experience Music Project and Space Needle

We're about to enter the EMP and I'll have my thoughts up shortly. We're not going up the Space Needle but I thought I'd also include it in the picture.

Rafael

Seattle: Thanks Jess!

Our buddy Jess (who we met through Kathryn over in Bozeman earlier) was super nice to let us crash at her place tonight. Just giving her a public shout-out on the blog. Thanks Jess!

Rafael

Anacortes: Joyous Reunion!

We had a joyous reunion just now while picking up Orion from the Anacortes Ferry. The intrepid adventurers are reunited and well. It's off to Seattle!

Rafael

Anacortes: Happy Donuts (or not)

Since I've got a slight limp now (my knee has been sore the past day or two) we decided to cancel a short hike and spend the day hanging about Anacortes. We went to two or three cafes searching for wireless but it seems that the internet revolution has passed Anacortes by... oh well, no need to fear, thanks to Happy Donuts.

Happy Donuts is a pink cafe/restaurant here in Anacortes that has FREE WIFI! (it's written like that on their sign outside) so we decided to make a pit stop here for an hour or two before lunch. That's great news because we can both catch up on everything and I can watch the US Open streaming on my computer. Funny exchange that took place when I was placing my order:

Me: (after noticing no donuts displayed) So where are your donuts?

Cashier: We don't have any right now.

Me: Oh. OK... Um, are you getting them later this morning?

Cashier: We should have some in a few weeks.

In a few weeks??? That one took me by surprise and I couldn't help but chuckle. Oh well, in the spirit of making the most of things, I settled for an ice cream cone at 10 in the morning.

We'll have something up after lunch,

Rafael

Deception Pass State Park: West Beach

After finding a suitable site at the Cranberry Lake campground, we took a journey over to West Beach. The plan for this lovely Sunday? Some reading and people watching while enjoying another beautiful sunset, this time on our crazy creek chairs.

I still can't believe the amazingness of seakayaking. I'll definitely be looking to repeat the experience further down the west coast.

Until tomorrow,

Rafael

Deception Pass State Park: The Views Rule

That's one of many views at Deception Pass. Elizabeth and I are camping here tonight and then picking up Orion tomorrow afternoon.

Rafael

Anacortes: Seakayaking Adventures

That's me with our guide who was pretty awesome. On the 3 hr adventure we saw a seal, some bald eagles, a peregrine falcon, and other amazing wildlife! We both had a blast, the weather was perfect, and we got some good happy hour recommendations!

Ok, off to a late lunch and some relaxing while watching the US Open.

Rafael

Anacortes: Ready to kayak

We're at the dropoff point and ready to go! I won't be bringing my phone (no need to risk getting it soaked) but we'll blog the experience when we get back around 1:30 PST.

Gone kayaking,

Rafael

Bayview Start Park: The View

Here's the view from the park we're staying at tonight. Another hidden gem in the U.S., this one discovered by pure luck.

Rafael

Bayview State Park: The Campground

After a great dinner at Boundary Bay Brewery in beautiful Bellingham, we made a short drive to Larrabee State Park. We found out the sites were all taken, so we started calling sites in the area. Fortunately Bayview state park had 1 site left... but it was 40 minutes south, near Anacortes.

After securing a promise from the lady on the phone to hold the last site, we made our way down the beautiful coast. We're at the campground with a crummy tarp staked over to protect us from any Washington rain.

Well, it's off to explore the beach and views!

Rafael

Bellingham: Going Seakayaking Tomorrow in Anacortes

Pure excitement! Elizabeth and I just confirmed our seakayaking trip tomorrow through the San Juan Islands. You can check out what we're doing by clicking here. If you don't plan on clicking through, some of the animals we might see include seals, porpoises, peregrine falcons, and orca whales! Given the forecasted sunny weather, no matter what I'll be happy.

Back to today: we've been catching up on everything we missed while away from the US. We'll probably relax the afternoon away in this pretty town and then grab dinner in downtown. In our quest to find a parking spot, I noticed some unique restaurants that look promising. 

For going out at night activities I'm not sure what's to do around here, but given the spirit of adventure and fun that has surrounded this trip I'm sure we'll find something great.

Hopefully we'll have posts with pictures of our activities,

Rafael

Bellingham: "Splitsville" (and we're back!)

It's official - the bash brothers have been separated. Orion decided to continue on to Victoria (granted, that was the original plan) while Elizabeth and I decided to drive down the Washington coast. We're going to meet back up on Monday afternoon when we pick up Orion from the port at Anacortes. In the meantime, now that we're back in the good ol' US of A, we'll be back to our regular posting.

Everything is going well back in the motherland. We waited an hour and a half at the border and we actually were interrogated more than any other car we saw. Apparently traveling in a van with boxes of goods (our food supplies) and a Georgia license plate is something of a curiosity in these parts. Oh well.

We then made it to pretty Bellingham, Washington. It's nice here and the waterfront affords a pretty view. For now, we're relaxing in a homey coffee shop called Espresso Avellino. I had a delicious "Apple Pull-Apart" which is a crazy apple/cinnamon roll type concoction that they make here. It literally tastes good to be back in the states...

Now that we're back to normal posting look for more to come,

Rafael

Vancouver: Gas Town, Beach, and Karina's

We checked out a new, hip place in Vancouver called "Gas town". It's apparently a cool place to live and you could tell by the nice shops and fancy restaurants. We continued walking into the downtown area and over to the convention center, which you see in the picture. This city is beautiful!

We drove over to Kitslano beach and on the way passed a few blocks crammed with homeless people. It was an odd and sad sight to see since we witnessed a drug deal go down and one person smoking crack. Yikes!

Over at the beach, the view was amazing and we played catch for a long time. It was also a great place to people-watch and unwind. The view there was of North Vancouver.

Then we made it out to Karina's house, who we're staying with in Vancouver. We spent the evening working out the next few days (which you can read about in a following post) and then chatting with Karina, her boyfriend, and her uncle. It was a great time and we'd like to thank Karina once again for kindly letting us stay at her place!

Vancouver: Chinatown

After hanging out at Agro cafe in Granville Island, we made it out to Vancouver's Chinatown for lunch. I forget the name of the place we ate but it was very authentic (spicy and barely anyone spoke English) and it was great. Vancouver's Chinatown is fairly large with a variety of shops.

Rafael

Vancouver: Granville Island

We're in Vancouver and getting some coffee shop wifi. Sorry the posts have been spotty, but our access to internet has been equally so. This picture is of some floating houses in Sea Village on Granville Island. The island has a delicious market, cool architecture, and best of all, free parking. Looks like we might be able to back log the Canada section of the trip in Victoria when we get there.

~Orion

Vancouver: Stanley Park Totem Poles

We slept in at our base-of-Lions-Gate-Bridge campground until 7:30am and then we were on our way into Vancouver. First stop: Stanley Park. Here's a bit of what we saw in the incredible park with views of downtown Vancouver.

British Columbia: Kamloops, Wilderness, and Whistler

Today we took our time getting ready before beginning the drive to Whistler. It was about 7 hour long and took us over highway 97 and 99. We drove over several mountain passes making for a pretty but really challenging drive (bad luck for Elizabeth since it was her turn to drive). 

We pit stopped for lunch in Kamloops where Orion and I had McDonald's (once again because everything else in Canada is so expensive) and Elizabeth grabbed something at the grocery store.

We arrived in Whistler at around 4:30pm and we stopped at the information center to confirm our ski plans. Well, it turns out only the glacier is open for skiing, which is not too surprising, but what was surprising is that the glacier only has one run and two T-bars. For the uninitiated, that's not great, and it's definitely not worth the ~$50 ski lifts plus ski rentals. So ski quickly became a no-go decision for Elizabeth and I.

We then walked around Whistler exploring and trying to decide on a place to eat. We settled on a restaurant called Mongolie Grill where you choose what you want in your stir-fry and then the chef cooks it for you. It was definitely worth it since with the purchase of a drink the meal was 50% off!

After dinner we decided it made sense to continue driving to Vancouver, since it's only about an hour and a half away. We arrived with only 20 miles of gas left (oops) and then we found a campsite at the base of Lion's Gate Bridge. Though it was a bit expensive for a campground ($33 canadian) we did get a AAA discount.

Upon setting up the tent we made our way to the campground's jacuzzi and relaxed with a family from Nova Scotia. It's always fun interacting with other people and it definitely was funny listening to a couple candid kids give their opinions on everything from basketball to barf. No joke.

Rafael

Revelstoke, BC: Free Internet

Well, we found free internet again, this time in Revelstoke, BC. We'll have full posts up later, after we get consistent internet either in Vancouver or Victoria.

As a recap, though, today we had a busy day - we woke up around 6am, did Johnston Canyon's Upper and Lower Falls hike, and then drove up to Lake Louise. By the way, Lake Louise is amazing. It looks like Switzerland, with "chateau" and all. 

At Lake Louise, we did the Lake Agnes hike: roughly 1,000 ft. elevation gain over a few miles that culminates in majestic waterfalls, a beautiful frozen lake, and a tea house. It was amazing! I did the hike at speed-walking pace, which was a fun way to test my limits.

We had to get tea up at the tea house and I'm glad we did. We tried the "tea of the week", which was Maple, and it was absolutely delicious. After relaxing a bit in the tea house, Elizabeth and I made our way down while Orion went over to the "bee hive" (a rock formation) and then sprinted down as quickly as possible. He made it down the mountain in 17 minutes!

After the hike, we drove through Yoho National Park, Glacier National Park (in Canada), and Mt. Revelstoke. That reminds me, I'd like to thank my aunt and uncle for letting us use their Canadian national parks pass. It has saved us so much money! Thanks!

So now we're in the library, as I mentioned earlier, though we have a 1 hour time limit on internet. So our posting still won't be regular until we get to the United States. At that point we'll be able to resume our regular multiple posts per day. But we'll try to check in as much as possible, thanks for reading!

Rafael

Lake Louise: Teahouse at Lake Agnes

After some sight seeing at Lake Louise, our epic trip found us making the hike up the Lake Agnes Teahouse. The hike was over 3km one way and had an elevation change of about 350 meters. I started off at a quick pace and before I knew it I was well ahead of Elizabeth and Orion, so I just decided to keep the pace and challenge myself. 

Before I knew it, I had encountered a series of waterfalls and the beautiful teahouse at the frozen lake in the mountains. Orion and Elizabeth made it up soon thereafter and we enjoyed one of the coolest moments of our trip: delicious Maple tea in the teahouse on frozen Lake Agnes. The picture you see is of Lake Agnes and the teahouse is just off to the right.

Fun fact: the employees in the teahouse actually live there the entire summer and have to backpack the supplies and food up while taking the trash down. No wonder the tea was $12 canadian for 6 cups. But it was definitely worth it and we left our server a nice tip!

Rafael