On the second day of my trip I slept a little longer than planned, but I really needed the rest. I checked out of the hotel between 6:30 and 7:00 and drove part way around Coeur d'Alene Lake. It is beautiful! I then headed toward Portland. I didn't make many stops between Coeur d'Alene and Portland, as there really wasn't much to see. I was actually very surprised at how barren the East side of Washington is. I did stop at a country market to buy some fresh cherries though. I saw a sign along the highway and I just had to stop. I love cherries! :)
Most of the rest of the drive to Portland was along the Oregon/Washington border, which is the Columbia River. The river is huge and the gorge is WINDY! I stopped at a gorgeous rest area between The Dalles and Hood River. Yeah, I put the words gorgeous and rest area in the same sentence. :) It was probably the nicest rest area I've ever seen. Hood River is where the scenery started to become breath taking! The mountains are amazing and everything was so green! BEAUTIFUL!
I arrived in Portland about 2:00 p.m. (Portland time) and found Northwest Portland International Hostel, which is where I stayed. It was the first time I ever stayed in a hostel and I liked everything about it, except for the fact that you have to try to be super quiet cause your roommates are sleeping. When you're trying to be super quiet the sound of a zipper zipping seems as loud as a foghorn!
After I checked into the hostel I headed to run some errands (buy shoes for the wedding and a wedding gift). That is when the 2nd "incident" of the trip happened. I locked the keys in my car. Ugh. Luckily the DSW Shoe Warehouse ladies helped me out and found a number for me to call. About 45 minutes later I was back on my merry little way. I headed to the International Rose Test Garden and the Portland Japanese Garden. Both were very beautiful and the smell of the Rose Garden was absolutely wonderful! It rained the whole time I was touring, but I had an umbrella so it was just fine. I also checked out Pittock Mansion. The parking lot was empty (except for one car) so I took a picture of the mansion and left. It was somewhat eerie.
By the time I got back to the hostel it was about time for the "meet and greet" party for the wedding. I got ready and drove to the bar where the party was. I got there at the perfect time...my dad's cousin, Mike (groom's father), and his wife had just pulled up. I met a lot of people and had a good time. I ended up staying later than I had planned, talking and playing shuffle board with my cousins and some of their friends, but it was great! By the time I got back to the hostel everyone in my room was asleep.
"The world is a book, and those who do not travel, read only a page." ~ Saint Augustine
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Self-Discovery Trip: Day 1
I left Lusk at 5:00 this morning on what I'm calling a "self-discovery trip". My cousin, Kirby, is getting married on Saturday in Portland, Oregon. I decided I wanted attend the wedding, but I didn't want to fly, so I planned a big road trip! I'm not going to tell you all about the road trip just yet...I want to do it on a day-to-day basis (if I have time), so here is day 1:
Like I mentioned above, I left at 5:00 a.m. For those of you that know me, that is extremely early for me. I am not a morning person...at all. I did really well until about two hours into the trip when I was between Casper and Buffalo (very boring stretch of highway) and then I started getting very drowsy. When I got to Buffalo I stopped to grab a coffee and after that I was fine.
Last night my dad told me not to treat this trip like a "mission". He told me to take time to stop and see the sights and enjoy the scenery. My parents took across country bike trip before I was born. They were gone for two months and only took two rolls of pictures! They even rode right by the Grand Ol' Opry and didn't stop! So, I took my dad's advice and I stopped at the Little Bighorn Battlefield...and I took lots of pictures. :)
After that stop I didn't really see anything of interest except the Louis and Clark Caverns. That sounded neat, but it was a ways off the Interstate so I didn't check it out (I still had four hours to drive and it was 3:00). I did stop and take some pictures of the mountains though. Montana has so many gorgeous mountain ranges.
My goal for today was to make it to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. I had just passed St. Regis, Montana (about 80 miles from Coeur d'Alene) when I blew a tire. Seriously, the whole middle section of tire came off and flew across the Interstate. I did what any independent semi-young woman would do in such a situation...I pulled to the side of the road and changed my tire. While changing my tire dangerously close to the lanes of traffic I discovered something. 98% of people driving through Montana don't care that a semi-young woman is trying to change a tire...they stay in the right lane instead of moving to the left lane. Even semi's stayed in the right lane, which was very scary. So after 10 minutes or so my "doughnut" was successfully put on the car and I'm thinking I'm ready to roll to the next exit to get help, but fate had other plans for me. While I was changing my tire the battery died. Seriously! Well crap, a dead battery is definitely something I can't fix on my own with just one vehicle, so I called 911. The lady who answered (after 6 rings or so) informed me that I was in such-and-such county and she was dispatch for a different county. She told me she'd have the correct county call me. After waiting 15 minutes and not hearing a word from dispatch I decided to take care of business myself. I popped the hood, got my jumper cables, put a "helpless puppy look" on my face, and stood in front of my car. It worked! A very nice man pulled over and jumped my car. He even offered to let me stay at his house (he made sure to inform me that he is married and has a child so he was harmless). About that time a cop finally shows up. Wow! What if this had been a huge emergency?! Anyway, the cop was zero help so I drove away with my "doughnut" to the next exit with a business (10-12 miles away, over a mountain pass). I stopped at a cute bar/restaurant called "The Oasis" and the very nice bartender called the "local" mechanic who happened to have a tired that would work. Yay!!!! Well, I was excited until I saw the shop. I actually had to follow one of the mechanics to the shop because it was a couple miles back in the mountains. When I pulled off the main "street" and onto the dirt road leading to the shop, "dueling banjos" started playing in my head. This place looked like it came straight out of a hillbilly horror movie! There were even Rottweilers running around. To top it off, when I pulled my car into the shop one of the mechanics was sitting in a chair fixing his fake leg! The third mechanic was very old, and I didn't look too close, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was missing most of his teeth. When it came time to pay I asked Mr. Fake Leg if they would accept a credit card. He hem hawed around and finally said they could and then he asked me if I had any cash. I told him I did so he said he'd charge me $60, which was supposedly half-price. I gave him $80 and then I got out of there. They were nice people, but it felt weird there.
My original plan was to camp at Coeur d'Alene at a very nice campground, but when I got here it was raining and I decided I'd had enough excitement for one day...I didn't want to mess with a wet tent, so I found a hotel. Whew! Now I'm going to take a nice hot shower and hit the hay.
I have many pictures, but I will have to post them later...I'm exhausted! G'night!
"People often say that this or that person has not yet found himself. But the self is not something one finds, it is something one creates." ~ Thomas Szasz
Like I mentioned above, I left at 5:00 a.m. For those of you that know me, that is extremely early for me. I am not a morning person...at all. I did really well until about two hours into the trip when I was between Casper and Buffalo (very boring stretch of highway) and then I started getting very drowsy. When I got to Buffalo I stopped to grab a coffee and after that I was fine.
Last night my dad told me not to treat this trip like a "mission". He told me to take time to stop and see the sights and enjoy the scenery. My parents took across country bike trip before I was born. They were gone for two months and only took two rolls of pictures! They even rode right by the Grand Ol' Opry and didn't stop! So, I took my dad's advice and I stopped at the Little Bighorn Battlefield...and I took lots of pictures. :)
After that stop I didn't really see anything of interest except the Louis and Clark Caverns. That sounded neat, but it was a ways off the Interstate so I didn't check it out (I still had four hours to drive and it was 3:00). I did stop and take some pictures of the mountains though. Montana has so many gorgeous mountain ranges.
My goal for today was to make it to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. I had just passed St. Regis, Montana (about 80 miles from Coeur d'Alene) when I blew a tire. Seriously, the whole middle section of tire came off and flew across the Interstate. I did what any independent semi-young woman would do in such a situation...I pulled to the side of the road and changed my tire. While changing my tire dangerously close to the lanes of traffic I discovered something. 98% of people driving through Montana don't care that a semi-young woman is trying to change a tire...they stay in the right lane instead of moving to the left lane. Even semi's stayed in the right lane, which was very scary. So after 10 minutes or so my "doughnut" was successfully put on the car and I'm thinking I'm ready to roll to the next exit to get help, but fate had other plans for me. While I was changing my tire the battery died. Seriously! Well crap, a dead battery is definitely something I can't fix on my own with just one vehicle, so I called 911. The lady who answered (after 6 rings or so) informed me that I was in such-and-such county and she was dispatch for a different county. She told me she'd have the correct county call me. After waiting 15 minutes and not hearing a word from dispatch I decided to take care of business myself. I popped the hood, got my jumper cables, put a "helpless puppy look" on my face, and stood in front of my car. It worked! A very nice man pulled over and jumped my car. He even offered to let me stay at his house (he made sure to inform me that he is married and has a child so he was harmless). About that time a cop finally shows up. Wow! What if this had been a huge emergency?! Anyway, the cop was zero help so I drove away with my "doughnut" to the next exit with a business (10-12 miles away, over a mountain pass). I stopped at a cute bar/restaurant called "The Oasis" and the very nice bartender called the "local" mechanic who happened to have a tired that would work. Yay!!!! Well, I was excited until I saw the shop. I actually had to follow one of the mechanics to the shop because it was a couple miles back in the mountains. When I pulled off the main "street" and onto the dirt road leading to the shop, "dueling banjos" started playing in my head. This place looked like it came straight out of a hillbilly horror movie! There were even Rottweilers running around. To top it off, when I pulled my car into the shop one of the mechanics was sitting in a chair fixing his fake leg! The third mechanic was very old, and I didn't look too close, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was missing most of his teeth. When it came time to pay I asked Mr. Fake Leg if they would accept a credit card. He hem hawed around and finally said they could and then he asked me if I had any cash. I told him I did so he said he'd charge me $60, which was supposedly half-price. I gave him $80 and then I got out of there. They were nice people, but it felt weird there.
My original plan was to camp at Coeur d'Alene at a very nice campground, but when I got here it was raining and I decided I'd had enough excitement for one day...I didn't want to mess with a wet tent, so I found a hotel. Whew! Now I'm going to take a nice hot shower and hit the hay.
I have many pictures, but I will have to post them later...I'm exhausted! G'night!
"People often say that this or that person has not yet found himself. But the self is not something one finds, it is something one creates." ~ Thomas Szasz
Monday, May 17, 2010
It's Okay To Be 'You-nique"
It's been a year since I was thrown into a downward spiral of confusion, sadness, anger, abandonment, and loneliness. I think it's pretty pathetic that I know the exact date...but what can I say? I'm pathetic. My friends and family have helped me a lot this past year...they've provided shoulders to cry on, good advice, and they listened to me as I went into long tirades. I have had so many questions, most unanswerable, but my friends and family have done their best to try to answer those questions and give me a sense of peace.
Through all of this my self-esteem has suffered. I haven't ever had the greatest self-esteem...some people think I do, but I really don't. I look in the mirror and immediately see every flaw I have. I find flaws about everything in my life. My friends and family claim that I'm delusional and they claim that they don't see the flaws I see. I think they're just being nice. I have an extremely hard time believing people when they compliment me. I usually just say, "Thank you", while on the inside I'm thinking, "You're just trying to be nice".
A friend of mine recently gave me a list of all the things "the world loves about me". It made me laugh and cry. It made me realize that I am special and that there is definitely nobody else out there like me. I'm unique (I like to think of it as you-nique). I may be flawed but I'm me...and that's all I can be. Here is what he wrote:
"A human being is a single being. Unique and unrepeatable." ~ Eileen Caddy
Through all of this my self-esteem has suffered. I haven't ever had the greatest self-esteem...some people think I do, but I really don't. I look in the mirror and immediately see every flaw I have. I find flaws about everything in my life. My friends and family claim that I'm delusional and they claim that they don't see the flaws I see. I think they're just being nice. I have an extremely hard time believing people when they compliment me. I usually just say, "Thank you", while on the inside I'm thinking, "You're just trying to be nice".
A friend of mine recently gave me a list of all the things "the world loves about me". It made me laugh and cry. It made me realize that I am special and that there is definitely nobody else out there like me. I'm unique (I like to think of it as you-nique). I may be flawed but I'm me...and that's all I can be. Here is what he wrote:
Reasons the World Loves Brooke
She is intelligent. She is funny. She snorts when she laughs. She has raised a great son named Pacen. She always tries to be a friend. She is a good friend. She has a good work ethic. She honors her father, her mother, and her grandparents. She will never turn a person down no matter what the request. She is a great softball player. Despite what life has thrown at her, she has created a beautiful environment around her. She has dorky friends that she adores. She loves her sisters (almost always). She digs adventure. She helps people when they ask. She is classy. She is incredibly kind. She has a crazy bird named after a pirate. She works hard to maintain her health. She encourages those around her. She dreams big dreams. She is determined. She sets and achieves goals. She believes in a life beyond what is given to her. She is even kind to snakes. She has a nice home that she is making nicer. She is very wise. She is a classy dresser. She has great business sense. She is a free spirit. She listens to funky music. She has a huge college degree. She drinks wine. She laughs and laughs. She knows how to hammer a nail and saw a board. She helps her dad plant trees. She insists that country music sucks, despite the fact that 99% of those around her feel differently. She stand on her granddad's homemade scaffold to help him paint when he needs it. She takes care of her finances. She is careful not to judge (except for country music). She drinks margaritas. She scuba dives. She thinks life is better because of sailboats and lighthouses. she has been a lighthouse for many, looking over their personal safety and well being when they would not. She has ink. She is special (but not special ed). She has a huge heart.
She is intelligent. She is funny. She snorts when she laughs. She has raised a great son named Pacen. She always tries to be a friend. She is a good friend. She has a good work ethic. She honors her father, her mother, and her grandparents. She will never turn a person down no matter what the request. She is a great softball player. Despite what life has thrown at her, she has created a beautiful environment around her. She has dorky friends that she adores. She loves her sisters (almost always). She digs adventure. She helps people when they ask. She is classy. She is incredibly kind. She has a crazy bird named after a pirate. She works hard to maintain her health. She encourages those around her. She dreams big dreams. She is determined. She sets and achieves goals. She believes in a life beyond what is given to her. She is even kind to snakes. She has a nice home that she is making nicer. She is very wise. She is a classy dresser. She has great business sense. She is a free spirit. She listens to funky music. She has a huge college degree. She drinks wine. She laughs and laughs. She knows how to hammer a nail and saw a board. She helps her dad plant trees. She insists that country music sucks, despite the fact that 99% of those around her feel differently. She stand on her granddad's homemade scaffold to help him paint when he needs it. She takes care of her finances. She is careful not to judge (except for country music). She drinks margaritas. She scuba dives. She thinks life is better because of sailboats and lighthouses. she has been a lighthouse for many, looking over their personal safety and well being when they would not. She has ink. She is special (but not special ed). She has a huge heart.
"A human being is a single being. Unique and unrepeatable." ~ Eileen Caddy
Saturday, May 15, 2010
My Little Artist (ar-teest)
A while back Pacen told me he wants to start painting. It took me by surprise. My son is very outdoorsy...a rough, wild, dirty little boy who normally can't sit still for more than half a second. You don't believe me? Try sitting on the couch with him to watch a movie, or taking a road trip with him, or sleeping in the same bed as him (it is dangerous and harmful and I end up covered in bruises)! He seriously cannot sit still at all! It's just the way he is, and there is nothing I can do about it...well, maybe there is but it's not good practice to duct tape your children to a chair. :)
So, due to the fact that Pacen is so squirmy, I've never thought of him as being the kind to sit down and paint a picture. He likes to draw, but he does that at school, when he has to try and sit still. When he's home it's play time...not sit still time. Anyway, decided I would let him give painting a shot. Why not? It's good to feed the creativity of children. To help them use their imaginations and do something constructive with what is running around in their little heads. So, I bought Pacen an easel, some canvas, paints, brushes, and pretty much everything a little boy would need in order to paint a masterpiece.
All the supplies sat around for a bit due to the fact that Pacen and I have crazy schedules this time of year, but the time finally arrived...it was a beautiful evening and we didn't have anything going on, so I set everything up on the front porch and my little artist (I think I'll pronounce it ar-teest) painted his first masterpiece. He painted a picture of a motocross rider going up a hill. It turned out pretty good!
"The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself." ~ Alan Alda
So, due to the fact that Pacen is so squirmy, I've never thought of him as being the kind to sit down and paint a picture. He likes to draw, but he does that at school, when he has to try and sit still. When he's home it's play time...not sit still time. Anyway, decided I would let him give painting a shot. Why not? It's good to feed the creativity of children. To help them use their imaginations and do something constructive with what is running around in their little heads. So, I bought Pacen an easel, some canvas, paints, brushes, and pretty much everything a little boy would need in order to paint a masterpiece.
All the supplies sat around for a bit due to the fact that Pacen and I have crazy schedules this time of year, but the time finally arrived...it was a beautiful evening and we didn't have anything going on, so I set everything up on the front porch and my little artist (I think I'll pronounce it ar-teest) painted his first masterpiece. He painted a picture of a motocross rider going up a hill. It turned out pretty good!
Such a serious little painter. (Ignore the x-mas lights...I took them down later that day.)
Wow! Such concentration! :) He's probably thinking, "Mom! Knock it off!"
The final product!
"The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover is yourself." ~ Alan Alda
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