see.roadtrip.day.4

9.03: day 4
I promise I will finish blogging about our trip very soon! It gets better I promise. Then, on to bigger news... more on that after a few more posts.
Ahem... Day 4
We woke up early in our tent. During the night, Mike and I both heard some really crazy noises. Perhaps it was elk chit-chatting in the forest... whatever, when a mere thin layer of tent material separates you from true wildlife (as they specialize in Yellowstone) otherwise cute Elk noises in the middle of the night become "mike... do you think that is big foot?" Yea, we were lucky we had a guard dog... or at least something tasty to use as a bribe for a quick get-a-way. Just kidding Miles... moving on.

Our itinerary for the day was to get to Rapid City at a reasonable hour... this was an approximate 8 hour drive then you add in additional trailer time = 10 hours.

Our hotel for the previous night.

Mother and baby elk on the side of the road. Since we were in our car I wasn't able to get a great shot of the baby nursing. It is not difficult to spot wildlife here... just look for the multiple cars stopping and people walking around with cameras... as they were in this case.

Baby Elk.

We packed up as early as possible to make it over to see 'Old Faithful'. Michael was starving and really wanted to go eat. I, however, had this feeling that the geyser was about to go so we waited... about 5 minutes. And then-

The geyser only goes off about once every 45 minutes - to - an hour and 30 minutes. Apparently, it is difficult to calculate the exact time. We got lucky and only waited 5 minutes. Awesome.

Higher!

HIGHER!

See we were here!

As we were leaving 'Old Faithful' and walking to eat breakfast, we heard this ranger say "hey look Castle Rock is going off! That geyser only blows about once every 30 hours!" Yep, we ran over to 'Castle Rock' which happened to be on our way to breakfast and took some pictures. This geyser was much better then 'Old Faithful' and lasted much longer. After hanging out for a while we went to eat breakfast... now that is what you call speed sight-seeing!

On the trip out of the park (this took about 2 hours) we stopped to take a break with some buffalo. We were so impressed with the size and sounds of these animals. This group was just crossing the road right in front of us.

Life in the fast lane...

see.roadtrip.day.3

9.02: day 3

We woke up feeling very rested on this day. Our hotel room in Boise was very nice and we felt less pressure to hurry because our drive was shorter than the previous days. Also, on this day we knew what was coming... Yellowstone National Park! I had planned our entire trip on visiting this special place. We were to arrive in Yellowstone by around 6pm and set up camp.
Yep, we camped!

Map of day 3. Our hotel to the West Entrance of Yellowstone National Park.

Each day, Mike and I would share lunch duty. We had a full cooler and dry box where we kept a weeks worth of lunch supplies. This kept food costs down as most of our hotels provided breakfast. That only left us to purchase dinner on the road.
Lunch for day 3- Smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels, potato salad and a nectarine. Yum!

A picture our our lunch spot for the day and old 'Velveeta' (my car) pulling the trailer. She was quite the champ.

I was unaware that about 1/4 of our entire road trip would move right along the Oregon Trail. Apparently I am not the only one who was eager to get to California when I had the chance... now I am on my way to Chicago.

The drive into Yellowstone National Park and out of the Park are really beautiful. Remember the movie 'A river runs through it'... yep it was filmed just outside of Yellowstone. You can visit the house where the movie was based- very exciting.
Once we arrived at the park it was about 7 pm. We figured we had plenty of time to get to our campsite set up. When we pulled up to the West Entrance the Ranger told us where to go: he said our camp was about 1.5 HOURS into the park!!! Yea we had no idea the park was that big and by this time it started to get really dark.

We made it to the campsite in about 2 hours because we kept stopping for this... just off the side of the road- steam coming up from the liquid hot magma below! These spots were everywhere! Amazing!!

see.roadtrip.day.2

9.01: day 2

We woke up in Coos Bay, OR. Our plan was to drive all the way through Oregon and end up in Boise City, Idaho. Approx. 11 hours. As you can see on the map- Oregon is green and lush for a while and then gets dry and the trees just stop. We had a great time driving through. First things first, Coffee. Mike was so impressed with all the drive-thru coffee shops. So we stopped at this one because I liked the name: The Human Bean.

The Boardwalk in Coos Bay-

Checking out the boats

Checking out the sailors

On our way we kept noticing signs for smoked salmon. We had to stop for a snack. 1/4 lb. was just enough- so we loaded up at the Krab Kettle. YUM! Even Miles got a taste.

Oregon is full of road work. It seemed like every few miles there were areas we had to stop while they let traffic through. At this stop, Mike looked over and said 'Mel there are blackberries growing on the side of the road!' I gave him a bag and he took to picking! The sweetest blackberries ever!

Roadside break. We found this little river to just stop and relax for a minute.

As we said farewell to Day 2 we made one last stop- just on the side of the road. Good-night!

see.roadtrip.day.1

8.30: Move out day.

Last day in San Francisco. We left San Francisco to stay with Mike's sister one last time in Fairfield, California. Needless to say we were loaded down. The car was full, the 4 x 8 uhaul trailer was packed to the brim, and I was fully moved out from my sweet little apartment on 39th ave. It was a sad trip to Amanda's house... many tears. The next day we officially started our road trip.
8.31: day 1 486 Miles- San Francisco, CA to Coos Bay, OR
Driving the 101 up the California and Oregon Coast was one of the many highlights of our trip. It is beautiful and really doesn't stop being beautiful the entire drive. Something about the cold ocean air and the lush green trees... sigh. That can make anyone feel better.

We will miss you...

We got a late start. So our plan to wander up the coast line and enjoy all the beautiful scenery was interrupted by darkness. We did make it to Humboldt County in the last remaining rays of sunlight to see the huge redwood trees!

Avenue of the Giants

Up!

The boys.

Taking measurements... just so we can tell people how big these things are!

We felt pretty good! But remember this was only hour 6 of day 1! haa haa

Story time: We were admittedly pretty bummed when we realized we weren't going to see any of the coast but we were making decent time other than that. The GPS said we would make it to our hotel in Coos Bay around 12:00 midnight. That was correct, until around 10:40pm...
Mike looks down and realizes we are getting low on fuel. So we start looking for places to stop. This is the 101... the towns are tiny and the hills are steep. The fuel light pops so I find a few gas stations via GPS that says only 7 miles. We both sigh and are confident we can make that. As we approach our destination... we find the darkest, sleepy little town. It was now 11pm and everyone had gone home... nothing was open. Nervously we look for the next gas station... 20 miles North. To make a long stressful 20 mile drive (story) short we finally putter into our destination or 'gas station' as noted on GPS... It is a circle K with no gas pumps! Just a store. At this point the gas needle is bending over the last ticker and we are puttering on fumes. The store, however, is at least open! Mike looks at me and says 'I have to go talk to these people... if I don't try, then we are sleeping on the road tonight'. Mike explains our situation and the guy looks at us and says 'you may be in luck tonight.. you two have cash?'
'yes'
The guy at the counter happens to have a friend visiting him at the store. He makes a few phone calls, talks to her for a minute, and she motions for us to follow her. We only follow her in the car for 1/4 mile to this boat dock. The ONLY reason there was someone at the boat dock was because this was the first year they opened Coho Salmon fishing since 1986! And they needed someone at the docks to gas up the boats, load and unload the boats etc. So this guy at the docks takes a look at us and explains how lucky we really are and then loads our hungry gas tank full of delicious boat gasoline! A full tank and a very nice tip later we are back on the road. Completely wired and counting every last lucky star we eventually complete the night by getting to the hotel and sighing a HUGE sigh of relief!
End Day 1

see.san francisco

For our last night in San Francisco, my pal 'uncle' Richard took us out for dinner and a show. We ate dinner at a small place called Bar Jules. It is located in Hayes Valley in the city. Quickly becoming one of San Francisco's best restaurants, Bar Jules only opened about 3 years ago and it is very very good food. Michael (who is typically known for eating his food as if someone were going to steal it from him) took one bite of the main course and stopped, put his fork down, looked at us, and said "I think I am going to have to take my time with this one" the feeling was mutual around the table.

German Bubbly-

Uncle Richard

Local fare

Chocolate lovliness

After dinner we cleaned our palettes with some beer and a show! Just a block down the street is 'Marlena's Bar' well known for their lovely singing and dancing um... 'ladies'

The boys... I mean the boys and well... lets just say that isn't Mikes hand on Richard's shoulder.

We had a great time, Thank you Uncle Richard for a very fun filled memorable night in my dear sweet San Francisco.

see.goodbye

Last Sunday my very sweet friend Melanie hosted a 'going away party' for Mike and I in her beautiful Oakland backyard. Melanie and I are co-workers. We have the same name, sit by each other, our last names both start with the letter "B", and we work on some of the same type of stuff. But most importantly we have grown to be really great pals. She is great. Back to the Party: On the menu was grilled fish, shrimp, chicken, and plenty of fresh veggies. Mike and I squeezed about 30 limes to make fresh margaritas. A good amount of people came by and we all just enjoyed life.

These beets are from Melanie's garden. She topped them with fresh onion, mint, and feta cheese. So yummy!

My friend Kristin from Florida! She now lives in Oakland.

Melanie on her way to grill up the food.
This is Connie. She brought fresh oysters to put on the grill and she spent half the party opening them up for us. So sweet! Oh and the oysters were so good!

This is Mile's best friend in San Francisco, Richard. I also call him my San Francisco Uncle. And sitting beside him- Joy aka 'lunch buddy'.

Melanie and Kris' baby- Olive.

A great big thank you to everyone who came! We had such a great time! I wish I took more pictures but I was busy eating and chatting and enjoying the warm weather and beautiful backyard. A special thanks to Melanie. I will miss you my friend!! See you soon at the farm!

see.art

Introducing.Art.Glut

One of my very good friends in San Francisco, is an artist in training. She not only has amazing talent but she also works very hard to improve her talent in Art School. Her name (you will want to remember it because she is on her way to becoming very famous) is: Michelle. During one of our many 'Good-byes' in the city, the girls and I decided to meet for beer and pizza. When I got to the bar I noticed this painting sitting next to Michelle... she painted a portrait of me. Her paintings in person are stunning, and for her to use my picture as her subject was really moving. Needless to say, I cried... in a bar. True love.Please take some time to look at her work and check back often!

http://michellesteen.blogspot.com/