Couch surfing

This past weekend I hosted two couch surfers from Prague, Czech Republic. It was a great experience. It was actually my first experience hosting couch surfers and it couldn't have gone any better. I have a feeling that many of you are wondering what couch surfing is. Well, go to this site and it will explain everything. I think it is an absolutely wonderful program. I love how it gives people an opportunity to not only help others, but to also allow some culture into their lives and homes.

The night I hosted Petr and Vaclav (I had a hard time pronouncing it...Vatzlaf is what it sounds like), I was also hosting a birthday party for my "baby" sister's 25th birthday. There were many people at my house and they were very accepting of my couch surfers. Everyone had questions and Petr and Vaclav were very open and had no problem answering questions and carrying on conversations with everyone.

The last couple weeks, some of my friends showed concern about the fact that I was going to allow two complete strangers to stay at my house. One friend even suggested I borrow a gun to put under my bed! Haha! I honestly had zero weird feelings about allowing these two strangers into my home. I told everyone I would be fine and everything would work out. I was right! :)

If any of you are interested in the couch surfing program then I suggest you sign up. It is a great opportunity.

"The only way to have a friend is to be one." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit." ~ Jawaharlal Nehru

Self-Discovery Trip: Day 8

I left Boise pretty early in the morning on the eighth and final day of my adventure. I drove on the Interstate to Idaho Falls, which is clear across the state from Boise, and then cut across the mountains to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I've been to Jackson once before, but I was very young so I stopped to take picture of the famous antler arches. There were already a lot of tourists in town so I didn't stick around very long. I headed North out of Jackson to and drove through the Teton National Forest to Dubois. It is a very pretty drive and the mountains are breath-taking! There were many signs warning drivers of Elk, Moose, and Buffalo on the road. I was very excited cause I've never seen a Moose in the wild before. Well, as my luck would have it, I didn't see any wildlife until I was almost to Dubois. I got to see an Elk. Woo dipity do. I've seen numerous Elk in my time so that wasn't anything too special to me. I did stop to take a picture. Of course. :)

From Dubois I drove to Riverton and then over to Casper. Another very boring stretch of highway. It was my first time through Riverton though and I must say I was actually impressed. Riverton is much bigger than I'd always imagined it to be and much cleaner.

I made it to Casper, which is only 1 1/2 hours from home. Whew!!! I filled up with gas and started on the last leg of my journey. When I was about 20 minutes from home I spotted a Deer with her baby. I love Fawns and their cute little spots! Of course I pulled over and took pictures. :)

I got home around 7:45, unpacked, took a shower, talked to a friend of mine, and then "hit the hay". I was exhausted and pretty happy to be home. I looked at the GPS system and it said I had driven about 3,500 miles on my adventure! WOW! That is a lot of driving!

"Once you have traveled, the voyage never ends, but is played out over and over again in the quiestest chambers. The mind can never break off from the journey." ~ Pat Conroy

"No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow." ~ Lin Yutang

Self-Discovery Trip: Day 7

I woke up on day seven to more rain. Imagine that. (Sense the sarcasm?) To accompany the rain on this day, though, were gale force winds. If I hadn't known any better I would've thought a hurricane was blowing into the West Coast. There was no way I was going to miss seeing my favorite lighthouse though, so I drove back out to Heceta Head. Like I mentioned before, the hike to the lighthouse was a 1/2 mile, which doesn't sound bad at all until you factor in the sideways rain and gale force winds! As I stepped onto the cliff that is home to Heceta Head Lighthouse my beloved umbrella blew inside out and the wind tried to rip it out of my hands. I closed it before it could be lost to the sea and went on about my mission to photograph my favorite lighthouse, which is really hard to do when it's almost impossible to keep the lens clear of water. On a normal sunny day I would've spent quite a bit of time taking pictures of Heceta Head, but I think I ended up only staying 10 minutes. It was too miserable up there and by the time I got back to my car my coat and pants were completely soaked.

I decided to stop at the Sea Lion Caves about a mile South of Heceta Head. It is the largest sea cave in North America and is home to many sea lions. They are very entertaining creatures even though they pretty much just lay there. Every so often one will swim in and try numerous times to jump onto a rock so he/she can be lazy.

After leaving the caves I drove back to Florence and then headed East towards Eugene. Eugene is home to the University of Oregon. One of my dad's heroes is a track legend at UO and is the reason Eugene is called "Track Town USA". Steve Prefontaine. Before I left on my trip my parents and I were talking about Oregon and dad mentioned that before his time is up he would love to run on the same track that Steve ran on. Well, due to that remark I made it a point to stop at OU. I got directions to Hayward Field and took pictures of the track. It is a very nice setup and the OU campus is gorgeous! It created feelings in me that I really didn't think I'd ever feel. All of a sudden I was wishing I had been able to attend a real University (not the online version I attended). Yes, I attended Chadron State College for a couple semesters, but I didn't like it at all. Universities are much bigger and seem to put out a different vibe than small colleges. I guess I should be thankful that I was able to earn my degree at all.

After leaving Eugene I headed toward Bend. The "little bitch" on the dash ended up leading me astray somewhere between Eugene and Bend. She took me up a scenic byway that happened to be closed about ten miles up the road due to snow on the mountain. I was a little irritated that I lost 20-30 minutes of my travel time, but I saw some very pretty scenery so it worked out. I was anxious to see Bend...my sister "lived" there quite a few years back and my family drove out to see her and when they returned they kept telling me how it is the perfect place for me. Well, after I finally made it over the mountain and into Bend I was slightly disappointed. It wasn't quite what I pictured, but I also didn't get to see much cause I didn't stop anywhere or go off the trail I was on. I have looked at Bend's website since I've been home and it is actually quite a pretty town. If I'm ever there again I'll take the time to check things out.

From Bend I took Highway 20 to Burns. That has got to be the most boring road ever! There isn't anything to look at and it seems to go on forever! I finally made it to Burns and took Highway 26 up to Canyon City. It was just about as bad as Highway 20. From Canyon City I drove to Vale and on over to Ontario. The drive from Canyon City to Vale was a little better...there was a nice canyon to drive through, but then it got rather boring again. I'm very disappointed in the Eastern side of Oregon. I got on the Interstate at Ontario and drove to Boise, Idaho, where I stayed in the nicest Motel 6 I've ever seen! By the time I got to Boise it was dark and time for bed. I wanted a cheap place to stay and I saw the Motel 6 so I took a chance (I've never been too impressed with the Motel 6 chain). I was pleasantly surprised when I got to my room. The room and bathroom both had laminate wood flooring and the bathroom was very spacious. If you ever go through Boise and you have to stay the night I definitely recommend the Motel 6 along the Interstate. :)

"To awaken alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world." ~ Freya Stark

"A traveler without observation is a bird without wings." ~ Moslih Eddin Saadi

Self-Discovery Trip: Day 6

On day six I drove down I-5 and then cut across to Astoria, OR to start my journey down Highway 101 along the coast. I was expecting to see signs in Astoria stating, "The Goonies filmed in this area" or signs pointing the way to some of the locations where The Goonies was filmed. I didn't see anything that pertained to The Goonies! What a disappointment! What an outrage! The Goonies is one of the best movies ever made! It's a classic! When I was young I dreamed of following in the footsteps of "the Goonies" and finding a long lost treasure! Astoria should be proud to have been the location for such a great movie!

Sorry to vent...moving on now. I stopped to take some pictures of fishing boats in Astoria Port and when I got out of the car I heard a "barking" sound. I immediately knew what it was coming from so I followed the sound and discovered many Sea Lions. They were laying all over the docks being super noisy! I watched them for a while and they made me laugh a lot. They were so cute! After I ventured on I stopped at the Columbia River Maritime Museum. It was very neat. It turns out that the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean right at Astoria. This location is called the Columbia River Bar and is one of the most dangerous bars to cross. Many ships have gone down in this area and it known as "The Graveyard of the Pacific". The museum displays artifacts from many of the wrecks and people are even allowed to tour a floating lighthouse, which is a ship once owned by the Coastguard.

After leaving Astoria, I started my drive down the 101. I stopped at numerous pullouts to take pictures of what I could see of the coastal scenery (it was very cloudy and rainy). I even stopped at a beach (pretty sure it was near Cannon Beach) and wandered about ankle deep into the Pacific Ocean. It was my first time seeing or touching the Pacific. The wind was blowing pretty hard and it was raining like crazy so I didn't get to hang out for very long.

I continued driving and when I made it to Tillamook I discovered they have a cheese factory. I thought I better stop. I got to see the slicing and packaging process...it's pretty cool to see all the machines and people working. A trip to a cheese factory wouldn't be complete without purchasing some fresh cheese slices and cheese curds, so that's just what I did. :) I also stopped at a small French place, Blue Heron French Cheese and Winery. I purchased some Blue Heron wine (made in Tillamook) and can't wait to try it. As I was driving out of Tillamook I saw a sign pointing the way to the Cape Meares Lighthouse. Of course I had to take the detour to see it. It was quite the detour. Very much out of the way and at times kind of spooky as it seemed I was the only one on this road. I kept wondering what I would do if I broke down or blew another tire. Well I made it to the lighthouse and there were a bunch of tourists there. I got some pictures and went on my way. It took a bit to get back to the 101, but I made it!

Later I saw a sign for the Devil's Punchbowl. I had seen pictures of the punchbowl so I had to stop. It is located at Otter Rock, South of Depoe Bay. It is really neat. At first I thought I was in the wrong place cause I couldn't see the punchbowl. You can't really see it until you walk to the fence along the cliff and look down. WOW! It is really cool! It is a hollow rock formation with a hole in the wall near the bottom. The ocean slams through that hole into the formation and swirls and foams.

Near Yachats I stopped to see the Devil's Churn. Hmmmm, have you ever noticed how a lot of locations have "Devil" in their name? There is a Devil's Den near my dad's cabin North of Harrison. There is a Devil's Swimming Pool on the top of Victoria Falls that I want to visit someday. It's just weird how many locations have the "Devil" in their name. Okay, now moving on. :) Even though it was still raining very steadily I decided to walk down the trail to get a close up view of Devil's Churn. Keep in mind that I was the only person around. I got to the bottom of the trail and started carefully walking across a bunch of slippery rocks to the edge of the churn so I could get pictures. Also keep in mind I had on flip-flops. So I got pretty close to the edge and...and...I slipped! I almost fell in! If I had fallen in I would've been a goner! Devil's Churn is a large, long, crack in the rocks. The water slams into the crack and boils all the way to the end. It is very loud...it was especially loud when I was there cause the Ocean was very rough due to the weather. I got some pictures and then wandered over the hill, where it was much safer. On the other side of the hill from the churn there are a lot of tidal pools. Unfortunately I didn't see any sea creatures in the pools. The waves were crashing very beautifully on the rocks though so I got closer to get a cool picture. As I was taking a picture of a wave crashing another wave crashed on me! Good thing I was already soaked! :)

It was starting to get dark so I decided I better get to Florence. I still wanted to see my favorite lighthouse, Heceta Head, which is 11 miles North of Florence. I drove to Heceta Head Lighthouse and discovered it is a 1/2 mile walk from the parking lot to the lighthouse. Like I mentioned before, it was getting dark, plus it was still raining like crazy. I decided to go on into Florence and find a cheap hotel room (as camping was once again out of the question even though there were many campgrounds nearby). I found a decent place, hauled my saggy self into the room, dried off, got warm, watched "The Top 20 Unsolved Murders" (made me glad I didn't camp), and then "hit the hay".

"I love traveling. I love just going about on my own, feeling I have no roots." ~ Tom Jenkinson

"But more wonderful than the lore of old men and the lore of books is the secret lore of ocean." ~ H. P. Lovecraft

Self-Discovery Trip: Day 5

Day five consisted of A LOT of walking! Half of it in the rain. I started out by wandering around the Pike Place Market. If you ever go to Seattle I strongly urge you to check out the market! It is awesome! The first shop I saw was Pike Place Fish, home of the "low flying fish". It was so cool! If somebody ordered fish a guy in front would grab the fish, yell something at the guy in the back, and then throw the fish. I could've stood there all day and watched, but I had other things to do.

I wandered further into the market and saw many awesome things! I was surprised at how many flower stands there were...all run by Asians (if I remember correctly). There were all different kinds of flowers and they were so pretty! One of the first things I noticed when I arrived in Seattle was the number of people walking around downtown carrying a bouquet of flowers. I'm assuming they purchased the flowers at the market. While in the market I stumbled upon a pasta stand. It turns out the man running it is from Laramie, WY. How crazy is that? Small world. :)

After leaving the market I walked 12 blocks down 1st Ave. and a few blocks up Jackson Street to the International District. My main reason for wanting to go to the International District was so I could eat some authentic Asian food...particularly Dim Sum. I wandered around for a bit and then decided it was time to eat. The only problem...there were tons of restaurants to choose from. I saw a small restaurant with pictures of their Dim Sum options in the window so I checked it out and decided it was too busy. I really didn't want to wander into a really busy Asian Restaurant by myself. I could just imagine the looks I'd get. I started walking back down the street and an Asian man stopped me and asked me if I was looking for a place to eat. I told him I was and said he was too, but he didn't want to eat alone. He asked me to join him so I agreed. We walked a few blocks to a large, very busy restaurant. After waiting for 20-30 minutes we were seated. I'm so glad I ran into Tim cause I couldn't understand a single thing the waitress was saying! We ordered a few dishes of Dim Sum. I have no idea what they were called but they were all very delicious! We also enjoyed some Oolong tea. After lunch Tim wandered with me around the district. He took me to a grocery store so I could see all the different items. There were so many strange things, but it was really neat. Tim even bought me a rice cake filled with red beans so I could sample Asian dessert. It was good, but not something I'd eat all the time. I was getting a little nervous cause he kept talking about how he's still single and he kept mentioning that he makes great money so finally I ditched him as politely as I could. I told him I had to get back to my Hostel to do some things, thanked him for everything, and then I hurried on my way.

I walked quite a ways down Jackson Street and when I determined that Tim wasn't following me I walked down Occidental Ave. so I could check out Qwest Field, home of the Seahawks and Sounders, and Safeco Field, home of the Mariners. I then walked all the way back up into the Pioneer District. I was pretty tired and my feet and lower part of my jeans were soaked so I sat down on a park bench to rest. Shortly after, a big black man sat down next to me...and lit up a joint! Haha! He was talking away and half the time I couldn't understand him cause he was talking so fast, but he was very nice so I sat and listened. We talked about all kinds of stuff and I found out that he grew up in Kansas City, MO and that his name is James. He asked me to take his picture, so I did. He then asked me to send it to him when I got home, which I will do. :) After talking to James for about a half hour or so I told him I had better be on my way as I still had lots to see. He thanked me for making his day brighter and for being a beautiful ray of sunshine and then he gave me a big bear hug and a kiss on the cheek. I thanked him for making my day better too and I went on my way.

I walked a couple blocks and happened to be walking past Diva Dollz (the vintage inspired clothing store I fell in love with the night before) and noticed they were open! Uh oh! :) I wandered inside and fell deeper in love! It was a very quaint shop full of the most amazing clothes, shoes, and jewelry! I tried on a few things and ended up buying an outfit, which I paid an ungodly amount of money for. I don't even want to talk about it. I decided vintage inspired clothing is a huge weakness of mine and I better try my hardest to never go in that shop or another vintage inspired clothing store ever again...unless I become extremely rich. :)

I decided I needed to change my shoes cause they were soaked so I stopped at my car, which was parked near the Hostel and I made the big mistake of putting on my old worn out "chucks" instead of my nice running shoes. I then walked 16 blocks to the Space Needle. The view from the top was amazing!! Luckily the sun had come out so you could see quite a ways. I stayed in the needle for a while and then walked down to the Waterfront. I started walking up the Waterfront towards Pike Place Market, which was another 16 or so blocks away. By this time I realized that it was a huge mistake for me to have opted for my "chucks" instead of my running shoes. My feet were hurting and I could tell the bottom of my pinkie toes were blistered. It was quite an uncomfortable walk back to the Pike Place Market area. I stopped in a few shops along the Waterfront, ate at Ivar's Fish Bar, which I thought was pretty much like a Long John Silver's.

After eating I made my way back to the Hostel, showered, and got ready for bed. All that walking wore me out! I'd like to know how many miles I walked. By my calculations I walked well over 100 blocks on day five! Probably between 120 and 130 blocks. Holy cow...no wonder my feet were hurting!! Next time I walk that far I will be sure to wear my running shoes.

"The longest journey begins with a single step." ~ Lao Tsu

"Good things happen when you meet strangers." ~ Yo-Yo Ma

(I still haven't gotten my pictures downloaded so bear with me. They will be posted as soon as I have time.)

Self-Discovery Trip: Day 4

I'm home now, but I need to play catch up with my trip. :) I'm not gonna lie...on day four I slept in. I needed the rest! After I finally got ready and hauled all my crap back out to the car I headed to Seattle. I stopped at Mount St. Helens on the way, but I couldn't see it! :( They said it had been days since they've seen the famous volcano, due to the cloudy weather. Bummer. So what I did instead was drive to the nearest gas station, bought the biggest taco salad (for only $3.99) ever, and headed back to the St. Helens visitor center to picnic. It was slightly drizzly, but they had a couple picnic tables under some trees. It was a nice picnic and the taco salad was great!

After my picnic I headed on my merry little way towards Seattle. Once again, though, I veered off course. I was driving through Olympia and saw a sign mentioning the Capitol Building. I thought, "Why not? It will be good to see the Capitol Building of another state." So, I drove to the site of the Capitol and luckily it wasn't too far off the Interstate. I walked around the grounds and took pictures of some amazing war memorials. I then got to go inside the legislative building. It was awesome!

After I was done at the Capitol I was back on my merry way. I made it to Seattle and followed the GPS directions to where the Hostel I wanted to stay in was suppose to be. Unfortunately the Hostel was under construction. Fortunately the GPS system I borrowed will tell you where the nearest lodging sites are. Low and behold, there was another Hostel in the same area...actually a much better area than the first one was in! It was directly across the street from the Pike Place Market and between the Space Needle and the International District! Everything I planned to do and see was within walking distance of The Green Tortoise Hostel!!! How lucky can I get?! So I checked into the Hostel and headed to my room. I liked this one much more than the Hostel in Portland. Don't get me wrong. The Northwest Portland International Hostel was very nice, but The Green Tortoise had curtains on the bunks so you could have a tiny bit of privacy and each bunk had its own light and fan! Plus there were more bathrooms so you weren't nervous to take a shower longer than 5 minutes.

Once I got settled in I headed out into the city. I wandered the Pike Place Market but it was already closed for the day so I found my way to the Waterfront. Seattle sits right on the Puget Sound so there were many freight ships and sail boats to see. I wandered the Waterfront for a bit and then decided to eat at a seafood restaurant right on the pier. I had fried oysters! Mmmm. :) After eating I wandered a little further down the pier and then crossed back over into the hustle and bustle of the city. I ended up right in the middle of the Pioneer District, which is one of the places I wanted to see. It's an old part of town and has some awesome character about it. While in the Pioneer District I stumbled upon a store that made my jaw hit the ground. It was a vintage inspired clothing store! I LOVE vintage inspired clothing! Unfortunately they were closed, so I had to be happy with just admiring the vintage clad mannequins in the windows.

After some admiring and drooling (haha) I finally made my way back up to the Green Tortoise to get some sleep.

"The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see." ~ Gilbert K. Chesterton

Self-Discovery Trip: Day 3

I spent the morning of day three walking around the Pearl District and the Saturday Market in Portland. The first place I went to was Powell's City of Books. It is an amazing book store! It is huge! There are numerous rooms...named after a color. For example, the orange room contained books about crafting and cooking. The rose room contained books for children and books on how to teach children. I purchased a book about cake decorating and a book I loved when I was a child. Animalia. I thought Pacen might like it. I really didn't go into any other stores in the Pearl District but I did wander around and down to China Town. I was not impressed with China Town. It was dirty and rather scary.

My next stop was at the Portland Saturday Market. I loved it! If I lived in Portland I would probably spend many weekends at the market. It is right next to the river. There is live music and numerous booths containing arts and crafts, food, jewelry, etc. I stumbled upon a booth with the most amazing art pieces. I fell in love with many of the pieces and ended up buying two. The artist is Sienna Morris. She draws her pieces using the numbers of the clock: one through twelve...to "signify time in a fleeting moment". I suggest you check out her work...it is amazing!

I then checked into the Doubletree Hotel and got ready for my cousin's (Kirby) wedding (there was even a swag bag for the wedding, containing a 40 of PBR, peanuts, chex mix, PSU pins, etc.). The wedding was on the roof top of the Urban Center at Portland State University. I ended up riding the MAX to the Urban Center with the bride (Bronwen), her family, the bridesmaids, and my family. The ceremony was very nice and very short. The best kind. :) After the ceremony everyone hung out on the roof sipping champagne. The reception was held at the hotel and it was absolutely amazing! Everything was gorgeous and the band was absolutely fantastic! (If you ever get a chance to hear "The New Groove" band I suggest you take the opportunity!)

The wedding had a rather unique "theme". Mustaches. Each table at the reception had a picture of a famous mustached man. To figure out what table you were seated at you had to find your name on a chocolate mustache on a stick. I was seated at the "Hulk Hogan table". I think my table was probably the most fun! We had so much fun with the mustache's, some fake tattoos that were put on each table (with stickers that said "Keep Portland Weird"), and we laughed a lot. I ate some amazing food, danced my butt off, and hung out with my cousins. It was a great night.

"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person." ~ Mignon McLaughlin

(I will post pictures after I return home.)