Day 32: Vermont by way of Niagara Falls

Current Location: Bennington, VT

Today started off with a trip to the Apple Store, haha not just any Apple store that you can go to anywhere, but the Buffalo, NY mall Apple Store. No there is nothing important about this store other than I needed to take in my iPod to get it fixed and since it was raining I figured there was no harm in taking a little time to swing by the Apple Store and Banana Republic (yes, I bought a shirt haha). Anyway after that I went to NIAGARA FALLS! It was raining a bit when I was there but I still had a great view of the falls and everything was gorgeous. I had a great time and then headed out toward the east coast. I drove across the state of New York. I drove across the whole state in the same amount of time it would take to drive from Sacramento to my college in San Luis Obispo, haha says sometime about California's size. Anyway around eight I wanted to find a hotel so Bennington, VT it was and now I am chillin in a little place waiting for Friday when I get to meet my cousin and her roommate in Boston! I cannot wait.

Peace.

Day 31: Dayton, OH to Buffalo, NY

Current Location: Buffalo, NY

Today was another driving day. I woke up in Dayton, OH at my Grandmother's house, finished making my project for her and then packed up The Shadow and split. I drove THE SPEED LIMIT almost the whole way. I went east on 70 toward Columbus then up toward Pittsburg. North from there and then east again all the way until Buffalo. Why Buffalo you ask. Well because tomorrow I am going to visit Niagara Falls! I am very excited because it is supposed to be an amazing sight.

I went through four states today; Ohio, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York! That is really about it. I mean I am in a hotel for tonight. Which is strange because this is only the 3rd hotel I have been in since my Dad left and it is the first hotel I have stayed in alone (not ever because I stay in hotels for work alone all the time), I was referring to the trip. In general thought I am pretty happy I have not had to stay in many hotels because gosh they are expensive! lol

Aiight peace. I am enjoying cable and internet again.

Day 30: Vandalia, Dayton, Fairfield, Englewood, Vandalia Dayton, Richmond

Current Location: Grandma’s House, OH

Today was a busy day and officially the last full day at Grandma’s house. We got up and I took Grandma to her eye appointment and then chilled at a nearby Starbucks!!!!!! It was amazing like coming up for air from a long die. Hahaha okay that may have been over dramatic. Anyway being at a coffee shop was a long needed commodity. After the appointment Grandma and I headed over to Fairfield Commons and went to spend her gift card at JCPennys. She got some new digs and is looking sharp for fall. Afterward we headed out for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, a place where overindulgence is as common as obese Americans. Anyway it was of course delicious and we decided to run a couple more errands and then head home.

Around three we got a call from my cousin to invite us over for dinner. Sounded good to us so we went home relaxed for like thirty seconds and then headed over to Richmond, IN where we hung out and at hamburgers with the family while checking out some old photos. We did not get home until pretty late so Grandma went to bed and I am just chilling watching TV. I still don’t like this whole time change thing. I think West Coast time is the place to be, personally.

Anyway tomorrow I am headed off to Buffalo New York in order to see the great Niagara Falls. I am pretty excited but even more excited to meet my cousin in Boston on Friday from there things just get busier and that is fine with me. This past week has been pretty lazy and laid back, plus Grandma think I look thin (I think every Grandmother says that) and decided to fatten me up. Well she accomplished her mission and therefore I need to get out of here before I get diabetes or something from all her baking. Well that is about it for now. I am really excited for the next half of my trip, tomorrow officially marks the ½ way point in my Epic Road Trip.

Peace

Day 29: Chilin… in Ohio

Current Location: Vandalia, OH

Today I woke up at 11:30am! Yes, I know early! Well in any case it was still a good night sleep haha and I enjoyed it! Especially because I have taken on the role of getting up at east coast time and going to bed at west coast time. After getting up and went to trusty PANERA and used the internet for a while and then went over to the Vandalia Sports Complex again and used the gym.

That was really all the excitement for the day. Grandma made steaks and veggies for dinner. She is fattening me up, it is crazy. She is making brownies, cookies, and everything else she can think of it. Well it is delicious either way.

Peace.

Day 28: Church, Brunch & Football

Current Location: Vandalia/Dayton, OH

Today I again was up bright and early ready to leave for church at 9:00am. Church starts at 9:30am and is five minutes away, you do that math. Church was cool everyone loves Grandma (of course) and I shook hands with so many of her friends I think I have new calluses haha. After church we came home for a minute to get a jacket and then left at 11:20am to meet our family for brunch at 12:00pm, the place is 15min away, again you do the math. In essence what I am saying is that Grandma likes to be places about 20 to 30 minutes before necessary haha.

Anyway for brunch after church we went to the Barnsider in Dayton a place that serves up a brunch buffet with all the stuff. It was very delicious I have to say! After brunch it was football time so we went back to my uncles house to watch the Panthers play the Bengals. That was really it. Now Grandma and I are watching “The Bone Collector”, which I have to say I did not like very much.

Anyway now once again I am mooching internet from Drury Hotels (I figured I should give them some free advertising for providing me internet this week). But yeah I need to return this movie and reconnect with the world.

Peace

Day 27: The Tipp City Mum Festival

Current Location: On a Bed in a Room of a House in, Vandalia, OH, USA

Today I awoke at the early hour of 8:30am (yes I know you are all very impressed). I woke up so early because I was told that my aunt and uncle were picking me and Grandma up for the Tipp City Mum Festival. What I did not know what that my uncle had called earlier and told us he was going to come at ten. So yes I could have slept in until 9:30am. Needless to say I was somewhat disappointed. Anyway, we finally were on our way by 10:00am and off to find a parking spot for the festival, not an easy task. After learning what a Mum was the four of us walked around endless stands of crafts and fried food stands that smelled like any state fair. Tim and I played the role of the bag-holders, place markers, stuff watchers, and general people in the way, while Diana and Grandma visited every single stand whether they were selling painted rocks or antique glass plates, they wanted them all. Actually the sight was pretty amusing and at the end of the day they really did not buy that much. All in all the time at the festival was pretty entertaining with some definite champion people watching for Tim and I.

After the festival we decided to hit up T.G.I. Fridays and get lunch. Grabbed some food and hit Hobby Lobby to pick up a couple things then it was off to the house. Tim and Diana went home to watch football, which sadly is not available at the house with no TV, aka here. So I decided to indulge another electronic craving and bring my laptop over to the nearest large hotel and steal their Wi-Fi connection for a couple hours while sitting in The White Shadow. Yes, I realize that sounds desperate. Whatever. I also ran a couple errands, rented a movie (that neither of us liked), and then decided to go on a run and eat dinner. The rest of the night was pretty uneventful rather that showering and looking through old photo albums.

So that is really about it. Church in the morning. Holla Holla.

Peace

Day 26: Vandalia, Texas Roadhouse & Starbucks

Current Location: G-ma’s house, Ohio

Today I successfully accomplished my plan of getting up at 9:30! Haha I got up and headed off to Starbucks that was ten miles away, yes I am that dedicated. Really though I needed to use the internet and I needed my Venti Pike’s blend with room for soymilk. So I spent about two hours there until I realized how desperately I needed a work out clothing facelift. So in an effort to rectify this situation I got up and headed over to Dick’s Sporting goods. I found too much of what I needed. I got some new Nike shorts, spandis, t-shirts and sports outerwear! Haha now I won’t look homeless while working out. Anyway then I went back and had a hot dog with Grams. After that I decided I should try out my new garb at the gym, so I went over to the Vandalia community recreation center and spent the $7 to get to use the gym for the day. Then I came back and got ready for dinner

Tonight we met my cousin and his parents for dinner at Texas Roadhouse. I had been told by my family in Iowa that the cinnamon butter at the Roadhouse was pretty amazing and I have to say I agree. I also tried their fried pickle chips which were great. Anyway that was the extent of the evenings culinary endeavor. The family came over after dinner so I could share some pictures from my journey. Visted, talked, hung out. That was about it.

Ps. Feel sorry for me, I have no internet or cable. Ahaha

Peace

Day 25: Day in Dayton/Vandalia

Current Location: Vandalia, OH

Today I got up early at 10:00am. This may not seem early to most people but since I have been on vacation I have been sleeping in until around 11:00am and since I lost and hour yesterday I really got up around 9:00am today. So I am slowly going to push my clock back haha so that I can get back into the swing of normal life. Anyway tomorrow I am going to try and get up earlier aka 9:30am and so on and so forth until I can get up at 8am haha or 7:30am. I mean I am not trying to be lazy or anything.

Besides getting up “early” the day consisted of a couple things. A quick trip to Panera bread in order to use the internet and download some stuff and upload some stuff. Then the mall in order to return something for the G-ma, and finally a trip to the grocery store. Got some good food for the week which will save me lots of dinero from eating out so much like I have been. O and I also went on a run, which reminded me of how extremely out of shape I am haha. Anyway we just watched a movie and pretty soon will be hitting the sheets.

As most of you may know, Ohio is not the capital of activity. However, that is okay because the family is here and this is going to be a relaxing time to hang out with them. I mean I never get to see them since they do leave 2000 miles away from California.

Anyway peace out!

Day 24: Chicago to Ohio

Current Location: Dayton(Vandalia), OH

Today was both uneventful and eventful. I got up late showered and left my favorite condo in Chicago to drive southeast toward Ohio. First however I decided I would take the scenic route and head east through Indiana and Michigan then turned south from there and made my way to Dayton. As far as northern Indiana goes, I think it is pretty gross (sorry anyone from northern Indiana). Basically the weather was crappy, the air looked like L.A.’s and there were ugly buildings everywhere. However, that all changed when you enter Michigan. It was beautiful, I now understand why people have summer homes there. The leaves were changing colors, there were open fields of soybeans and other things amidst huge groves of trees. In short, it was very nice. As I turned south Ohio’s countryside was really beautiful as well. I spaced out part of the journey and missed probably a lot of the same things I had seen but I am sure it was pretty.

Anyway the trip was pretty routine except for one troubling engine light indicator. This however went away after a quick stop and I will hopefully figure out if there really is a problem (God I hope not!!) sometime this week when I take it to the dealer. Most likely the White Shadow is fine, I mean he is a champ and has never failed me before.

Other than that I arrived in Dayton safely and landed in Ohio’s humidity woo hoo, not. But Grandma had an amazing home cooked meal ready and waiting for me when I arrived and then we enjoyed some Law & Order episodes. Solid night if I do say so myself. Anyway ill post this whenever I get an internet connection, aka when I visit Starbucks or Panera, needless to say Grandma is a little behind on the times haha J

Peace

Day 23: Chicago and SF Giants Victory

Current Location: Chicago Wrigley Field

Today was another great and last day in the city of Chicago. I got up, navigated the streets until I reached Starbucks, then again to Sports Authority, and some Team Apparel store. However, in all my searches I was successful in only the stop at Starbucks (I mean when am I ever unsuccessful here). Either way I was trying to find some type of SF Giants apparel for the baseball game today, I found only a youth $70 jersey and I was not about to spend $70 on a jersey so I passed. Instead as you can see in the pictures I showed my support by wearing the team colors and cheering super obnoxiously haha.

Other than that Steph and I went to an amazing dinner/lunch or appetizers at a place on Clark called Havana. We had chimichanga and calimari appetizers and chips and salsa. WOW it was amazing. I highly recommend a stop there if you are trying to get some good food. After that it was a hop on the "L" until we got to Wrigley Field and got our tickets at Will Call for the game. Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperating and the game got delayed a good hour and fifteen minutes, a time in which Steph and I entertained ourselves by making videos (check out Facebook for a couple). The game started and was pretty quick but good, I was loud and annoying to Cubs Fans and basically because of me (and Buster Posey's home run) the Giants won the game. Everything was peachy. Cabbed it home and now going to bed. Going to Ohio in the morning.

Peace.

Day 22: Back in DT Chicago

Current Location: LaSalle @ Kinzie, Chicago IL

Yesterday was another transitional day. I moved back from the west loop at my cousin's apt to my friend Steph's condo that I was at last week. I basically did only a couple things because I was tired from the weekend and got up late.

Once I made the move back to Steph's my computer and I posted up at Starbucks for a good three hours, surfing the web, downloading stuff, wasting time, planning Winter quarter classes, stuff like that. Then later Steph and I met up for some dinner at good ole Portillos of Chicago, which I have been informed is famous. I had an Italian sausage, mhmmmm. Later that night Steph and I watched Monday Night Football!! However I am pretty upset that Drew got down the field so that the Saints could score the field goal in the last seconds of the game, pretty heartbreaking. I really thought the game was exciting though but come on 49ers this cannot happen again, they put in too much work and it was too close to be a loss on their record. Ah well though, they will hopefully step their game up And to be honest I am a Chargers fan. haha. Anyway today/tonight we are out at Wrigley watching the SF Giants play the Cubs!

Peace.

Day 21: Sunday in the Suburbs, Chicago IL

Today after the long day of Day20 we awoke bright and early to get up and head out to Willow Creek Church. For those of you that don't know, Willow Creek Community Church is one of the largest and most influential non-denominational evangelical churches in America. The church has three weekend services averaging nearly 23K attendees and was founded back in 1975. Go here to learn more or here to the church's site. :)

Anyway after service the family and I (included Ron, Leslie, Brad, Emily, Lucas, Agatha, and Sydney) all went out to eat some after church lunch! After consuming too much food and too much Tanch (Tapatio and Ranch) we headed to Brad's house for some Bears Vs. Cowboys football! The game was great and the Bears won! Holla Holla because I don't like the Cowboys. NOTE: If you do like the Cowboys sorry, keep reading my blog anyway. After that we commuted back to the city with of course a quick trip to Dick's sporting goods and Starbucks. The reason for the stop at Dick's is because I desperately need something SF Giants baseball that I can wear to the Cub's vs. Giants baseball game I am going to on Tuesday night. Can you believe that they don't sell SF Giants stuff in this city hahahaha ;) ...

Anyway the rest of the night was spent relaxing in front of the TV and hanging out with the fam bam. I love it. Anyway tomorrow I am back at Steph's and then off to the game and then off to Ohio the next day. Love ya all.

Peace

PS SORRY THERE ARE NO PICTURES TODAY I LEFT MY PHONE AND CAMERA AT HOME ALL DAY :( MY BAD

Day 20: Navy Pier/ChiTown/Wrigley/Dave Matthews Band

Current Location: Meat Packing District Chicago

So yesterday, day 20, was spent in a variety of ways. Firstly a little history, I am staying at a place in the meat packing district of Chicago aka where the events of the book "The Jungle" took place. Anyway the area around here was pretty busy with the meatpacking industry and the area was home to a lot of Ukrainian immigrants like those represented in "The Jungle". If you have not read the book I recommend it and if you wanna read something about the Union Stock Yards, check this out. So that is really all on the subject there lol.

Basically yesterday consisted of getting up around 10am hanging around and watching the Illinois football game and then heading out to Navy Pier. At Navy Pier we walked around and did the touristy thing that so many people enjoy. There is a lot of interesting stuff there, shops, tours, art displays, museum type stuff. After lunch at Harry Carry's we spent some time walking and then eventually headed back to a small house party in Wrigleyville. To our great surprise a friend of friend had some tickets to the Dave Matthews Band concert that was happening at Wrigley that night and we picked them up and spent the rest of the night in a Suite at Wrigley field enjoying the show! I met a lot of new people and the suite was fully stocked with drinks and had a great view of the concert. Jason Mraz opened, which I thought was awesome, and then Dave played. I am not really a Dave Matthews enthusiast however the show was good and it was even better to just sit and relax in an amazing environment. Things worked out pretty well and after the concert we headed to a bar called McDunnas to meet some more people. We got in pretty late, but the night was a complete success:)

Peace

Day 19: Chicago with the Johnsons

Current Location: ChiTown

Today after awaking and getting breakfast which actually was lunch at Champps restaurant in Old Orchard Mall outside of Evanston, Steph and I relaxed again at the condo. Then around six I headed over to the families house and star the weekend off right with a tour of the Willis aka Sears Tower. The tower was amazing and according to the decorative walls that boast a display of Sears Tower facts including that the tower contains more than two million pounds of concrete and 16000 feet of plumbing. The tower was great and the views amazing. I would have uploaded pictures tonight but I left the connection cord in the car and my laziness is preventing me from retrieving it. On another note the night was finished off with nachos, beer, and chatting about anything under the sun at a place called Rock Bottom in downtown Chicago (I also recommend the mini chocolate cake for dessert!). Anyway I am headed to bed early because of the fact that I was up until 4 am last night. That is all, lots of fun for tomorrow. Goodnight and Peace.

Day 18: ChiTown!!!

Current Location: Chicago, IL

So Day 18 which was yesterday was pretty great. I am becoming an expert in relaxation techniques. After the night of dancing and going to bed very late, Steph had to get up for class at 830 and I of course had to get up at no particular time at all, haha. I got up at around 11am and then watched Sportscenter of course, then caught up on Grey's Anatomy online, and then some ANTM. I went on a nice walk around the River Walk of Chicago and got myself some Starbucks, meandered Chi and then went home to re-assume my position on the couch haha. Steph and I finally got our butts off the couch around 5pm and got ready for dinner at Dave's Italian Rest. in Evanston and then went over to Loyala Shore Campus apartments so that we could get ready to go out downtown. The night went on from there with cute pictures and fun night. :)

Day 17: ChiTown

Current Location: Chicago, IL

So today was an awesome day in Chicago Illinois. Got up at the early hour of 11am went to trusty ole Starbucks, venti Pikes with soymilk! Then Steph was off to class and I had run of the condo. I checked some Facebook, went to the gym, showered and then picked Steph and LA up for an early dinner. We went to Flat Iron in Evanston, very similar to Mongolian BBQ style. The food was really good and spicy!!! Steph and I, after a long and strenuous day, needed to relax so we headed back to the condo and then headed out for some drink and dessert in downtown. After a rich and moist chocolate cake, a couple mojitos and a long island it was time to head home. BUT not before stopping for a quick dance and another drink with some South African business men in Chicago for a convention. After escaping the clutches a a mid life crisis we headed back to the apt. All in a good days work. Goodnight to all. Peace.

Day 16: Marshalltown, IA to Chicago, IL

Current Location: Chicago, IL

So today was a fabulous day of driving. I got up and had a final farewell breakfast at Cecil's! (Ps. the French Toast is BOMB!). Then i got in The Shadow and drove from Iowa through Wisconsin and down to Illinois (yes I know that is not a direct route, but I am an auto tourist, I go where I please). I past through two of the cutest and actually really beautiful towns, Green Hazel, WI and Galena, IL. They were awesome and very gorgeous, if you are considering moving to a place with mostly corn, I would suggest here. There are a couple pictures in todays album, but seriously they were really nice, super small, but nice. Other then that I really just drove all day. I got into the Chicago area about 5 and ended up at the condo at 630, yes traffic was the culprit, but I saw a lot of Chicago suburbs by taking the backroads to get downtown. Once at the condo I parked the shadow and headed off to see Ms. Bacher, we had a great dinner at CPK then relaxed the rest of the night. Starbucks in the morning!!!!
PEACE!!!

ps. Starbucks in or around Marshalltown = clutch

Day 14/15: Marshalltown, IA

Current Location: Marshalltown, IA

So this is going to be a blog for both the 14^th and 15^th days of my journey due to some internet connectivity issues I have been suffering, lol, yes suffering. Yesterday was spent doing some good old fashioned relaxing in the middle of Iowa. Slept and then got up and had breakfast at CECIL’s CAFÉ, super delicious. Then just sort of hung around with the extended family and then went out to Legend’s restaurant where there are about 15 big screen TVs on the walls, one smaller LCD for each of the booths, and then big screens in the bathrooms, so that you cannot miss one instant of football (or whatever sports) action, pretty sweet! Everyone went to bed pretty early so I just hung around and read until I fell asleep too.

This morning I got up and went over to Cecil’s again for some French toast, again delicious! Then took my car to the Goodyear center to get my brakes fixed (yeah sorta important). Got a tour of old Marshalltown and saw where my grandparents grew up and met .>

Peace

Day 13: Rapid City, SD to Marshalltown, IA

Current Location: Marshalltown, IA

Today Emily and I went to our last Starbucks run in South Dakota before I drove her to the HUGE (actually super small) Rapid City Regional Airport. After leaving her I drove across the country to Marshalltown IA the place of my ancestors. I drove across South Dakota and then into Nebraska and then into Iowa. Really pretty scenery across the states but really corn fields were about it. Haha. Anyway that was really it and I did not get internet last night so yeah... anyway hanging out in Marshalltown today.

Peace

Day 12: Rapid City, SD

Last night was something else. There were so many things that happened that were insane. From my last post at the Starbucks in Great Falls, Emily and I drove the entire night down to Billings, MT and then across to Marmarth, ND where there is a giant T-rex metal statue that we saw online and then made it happen and saw in person! Then we drove the rest of the morning in order to get to Belle Louche and went breakfast at a small cafe called Bob's Cafe. The cafe was great and the whole place which is 60 years old looks like something straight out of a 1950's film. We got a huge breakfast for $5.50 and then we talked to the waitress Diana and Charlotte the 85 year old chef. Everything was great and we were on our way to the Mount of Rushmore haha. Emily and I were extremely tired from the night of driving before and we decided to stop at a rest stop in the Black Hills Forest for a nap for a couple hours before driving down to Mount Rushmore. The place was really cool and so many people were there looking at the four heads. We then checked into a really classy Motel6 haha and got some dinner. Basically this entire day was a laugh-fest of ridiculous deliriousness. It was crazy. I really had a great time and tomorrow I am gonna be really sad because Emily is going to going back to California tomorrow.

Day 11: Kalispell/Glacier/Great Falls etc.... MT

Current Locaiton: Starbucks in Great Falls, MT

Today was great, slept in a little bit and then got up and going into Glacier National Park (Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park) haha yes that is the PC name. Anyway the park is super crazy amazing beautiful and any other adjective that describes how awesome something looks. It splits the continental divide and is amazingly scenic (check the blog day 11 video or Facebook for photos). Then Emily and I drove through a couple small towns and booked it over to Great Falls for an awesome dinner and we are now at Starbucks. To be honest it looks as though we are too cheap to pay for a hotel and a long night of driving to Rapid City lies ahead haha we are THAT anxious to see the giant heads of Mt. Rushmore lol. But have no fear we are always super safe.

That is it. O I had a Buffalo burger for dinner YUM!

Peace

Day 10: Seattle, WA to Kalispell, MT

Current Location: Kalispell, MT

Today I officially broke two records. #1 we hit 2000 miles for a trip and #2 I drove for more than 12 straight hours in the car. This morning after getting up and leaving our incredibly hospitable host in Snohomash, WA we took Hayley to the airport, which took two hours. Seattle if you are listening your freeways are poorly designed, your roads need to be widened, your drivers training tests need to be harder, and your weather nicer :). lol But after successfully delivering Hay to the iron bird Emily and I desperately needed Starbucks to begin our journey westward.

After some time and some flat and interesting scenery we stopped in George, WA, yes George Washington. Continued on the stopped again in Spokane where we drove around the city, looked at Gonzaga, got gas, and ate at an ole 50's style diner with great hamburgers and shakes. Off again we drove crossing into Idaho and then quickly into Montana. Three states in one day. We eventually made it to a cheap hotel in Kalispell at around 9pm lol. Really good day, lots of fun which just happens around Emily and I and we are ready to tour beautiful Glacier National Park tomorrow.

Peace

Day 9: Seattle, SeaTac, Snohomash, WA

Current Location: Snohomash, WA

Note: I wrote this last night but could not post it until today, sorry!

So today was pretty darn good. I slept in and had a cook to order omelet at the hotel, then watched YouTube videos with Hayley all morning laughing at people. Then, we took my Dad to the airport and picked up EMILY!!!! After getting Emily we went to Pike’s market and met up with Leanne and all four of us got to hang out in downtown Seattle. I still cannot believe how college friends now living in Seattle, SLO, Philly and Sacramento all spontaneously got to meet up in Seattle. That is amazing and it was so fun! After that Emily, Hayley and I went to my mother’s college roommate’s house outside of Seattle. We had an amazing home cooked meal and visited, it was awesome. Today was really not much in the way of pictures or sightseeing more of a pick up drop off session! Anyway on the road to glacier tomorrow and Emily is with me to Saturday, this is gonna get crazy.

Peace

Day 8: Bumbershoot Music Festival, Seattle WA

Current Location: Seattle, WA

Today I got up at the early hours of 10 am, showered and then this afternoon went to pick Hayley up from Leanne's house to go to Bumbershoot Music Festival in Seattle Center. The place was pretty cool we saw Greg Laswell (who sings the song "And Then You"), saw a couple of comedians (one that utterly sucked and two that were really funny), and DRAKE!!!! Everything was pretty cool weather wise except that it did rain a couple times during the concerts. Luckily for Hayley and I that we are so adapt to so many types of weather (haha) that it did not phase us, well sorta ;)

Anyway tomorrow we are picking up Emily and dropping off my father. So that is that. Good day with Hayley!!!

Peace

Day 7: Seattle, WA

Current Location: Hotel Sierra Redmond, WA haha outside Seattle

Today has been a semi(seemingly long) day. I awoke, dressed, blah blah etc. Then Pops and I headed out to Pike's Place market in downtown Seattle. Walked around and who did we happen to stumble upon but two friends haha (actually we had already planned it) but Leanne and Hayley!!! We had lunch together and walked around, Leanne gave us a great tour and everything was gorgeous. This is one of the nicest days Seattle gets, because apparently it is usually raining, which is why the suicide rate is so high and why UDub requires people students in the dorms to sign release forms saying that if they jump and try and commit suicide from a dorm building it is not the schools fault. Pretty messed up eh? (notice the eh i picked up while in victoria hahaah).

Anyway Dad and I did a little sightseeing and exploring of our own and then tomorrow the plan for Hayley and I is to go to Bumbershoot and see some famous people sing haha aka DRAKE!!! Super stoked. I am very excited for this reunited-in-Seattle date for Hay and I, also I have been hearing great things about Bumbershoot for quite some time. The weather was so awesome today that I hope it stays the same tomorrow and we do not need a bumbershoot at Bumbershoot (a bumbershoot is an umbrella for those who are not aware). Anyway that is the plan!

Peace

Day 6: Port Townsend to Seattle(Redmond)

Current Location: Seattle (Redmond, WA)

Today I awoke bright and early (10am) and we went to downtown Port Townsend to walk around and get some delicious breakfast. After we were done there we started are drive down to Tacoma and then back up toward Seattle to a little suburb outside Seattle called Redmond, WA. This place is very nice I quite like it haha. Anyway our hotel is very nice, obviously because I picked this one out instead of Pops lol, and we basically relaxed, enjoyed a happy hour, and watched a movie. Tomorrow is a big day for some Seattle tourism, also my lover and friend Hayley haha is flying into Seattle tonight and we are going to Bumbershoot on Monday!!! Holla Holla can't wait. I am pretty stoked to see Seattle I have never been here.

This trip is getting more and more exciting by the minute, agenda is as follows.

Sunday- sightseeing with Pops in Seattle

Monday- Bumbershoot music festival with Leanne and Hayley!

Tuesday- Dad leaves, EMILY ARRIVES!!

Wednesday- Hayley to airport and Emily and me are on the road!

Things are looking up and this whole trip has been on the up and up for since day 1.

Love you all

Peace

Day 5: Victoria, BC

Day 5

Current Location: Port Townsend, WA (Day’s Location: Victoria, BC, Canada

So yesterday I did not have a chance to write because of two reasons first I almost go hypothermia coming back on the ferry from Victoria so late and was extremely tired upon arriving at the hotel. Second, because I was enraptured by a John Wayne movie last night and lost all track of time while watching before going to bed, so basically, I forgot. Now however I am typing this from the passenger seat of The Shadow driving from Port Townsend, WA to Seattle Area (Redmond, WA).

Yesterday morning I got up early and had to be at the ferry by 745. Bought my ticket, grabbed my passport, and then hoped on the surprisingly smooth 55min ferry ride from Port Angeles to Victoria, BC. It was a great day out really nice weather and I felt like we were crossing a lake rather than an ocean. While on the ferry I met some very nice people that gave me tips about places around Victoria as well as recommended things to see etc. Once in Victoria I grabbed breakfast with a new friend and then headed to the bus tours where you can buy passes for this bus line called the “Gray Line” which is a hop on and off bus for the city. I did the 1.5 hour tour and Victoria is very very very pretty. The place is 33% retirees and there are unreal amounts of money clustered in this town, crappy homes away from the water are going for 550,000$! Crazy. Needless to say that I will not be moving to Victoria anytime soon. Anyway the city is really pretty and I walked around for quite a while drinking coffee and tea, eating gelato, and hopping on and off the bus. There are also many vendors there selling some really great stuff. Made some friends that were working for Unicef and then took the ferry back at 545 in the evening. It was a long day. As for the hypothermia story, the ferry back was in all ways the complete and utter opposite of the ride there. The sky was cloudy and the waves were coming at us from the sides, rocking the little ferry so much people were falling over one another. The spray from the front of the boat crashing over the waves was going over the height of the 40 foot boat and everyone, including myself, that was standing on the top deck were soaked from head to toe. There was a small handful of people that did not immediately run to escape the waves and only about ten of us stayed uptown the entire time because there was a small part of the top deck that was covered for the captain and crew. I stood statuesque for the rest of the trip my one side being overheated by the engine exhaust and the other becoming hypothermic from the spray of the ocean and the wind. I also stood in four to five inches of seawater for about and hour. Needless to say that the trip was definitely not a boat ride I would want to take again, and good thing my Father did not come or he would most likely be comatose today.

Other than that the day was good and I’ll put up another blog tonight about today’s activities.

Peace.

Day 4: Olympic National Park, Washington

Today was a day of scenic places. Basically I slept in, lazily got up, dressed and then Pops and I got ready to go see some amazing scenery at Olympic National Park. If you have not heard or Olympic NP you need to educate yourself HERE. The place is really amazing and there are about 5 or 6 different ways to enter the park. We entered going down from north to south out of Port Angeles and I must tell you that The White Shadow had to work its fine butt hard to get up to the peak (not that the Shadow can't handle that kind of thing, haha he shows no weakness, but I'm just saying). You have to check out the pictures that are on Facebook, they are gorgeous.

For anyone that does not have Facebook I have been making slideshows each day of the pictures I do put on Facebook along with a little tunage so you can relax while viewing them hahaha. Those can be found on my YouTube channel HERE or by looking on the YouTube link on my blog page on the right hand side, you will see the video bar.

Okay well that is really all we did today, enjoy nature and that kinda stuff. Tomorrow I am off to another country, literally I am going to Canada haha on a ferry, sweetness!

Goodnight and Peace.

Day 3: Astoria OR to Port Angeles WA

Current Location: Port Angeles, WA

Hookay sooo..... today I was woken by my father using my computer to listen to youtube videos at 73o in the morning, all I have for that is why? lol I got to sleep in for a little bit before I slowly woke up and got ready haha I sorta like how I can take as long as I want to do something because I have no strict schedule! Speaking of schedules Pops and I are actually ahead of schedule (yes ahead of the schedule I don't have) for some reason, probably because of our extreme awesomeness, lol jk.

This morning we woke up and walked around downtown Astoria looking for some coffee, which was not hard to find, the Rusty Cup was our final choice and I got an always delicious Mexican Mocha, super good. We then drove across the bridge to WA (Aunt Betsy, you would have not made it over this bridge). Drove all along the Washington coast and Pops talked on him HAM radio, always exciting, hahah sorta. Then we arrived at the start of Olympic National Forest (and Park)! Our first stop, OF COURSE, was the world's largest spruce tree, which obviously we had to pull over and see. The only other people that apparently wanted to see the spruce were a group of asian tourists (who want to see everything in america) and a woman who wore no shoes, most likely because she wanted more contact with the earth, but it could be anything. After the epic tree we headed to Forks, WA, yes the place of Twilight haha. Pops and I bought some lotto tickets so we could win it big and even inside the grocery store was an entire separate area for Twilight paraphernalia hahahaha... O gosh. The Forks downtown also has like eight different stores selling the stuff, all like the exact same stuff, but whatever. Anyway we drove out to La Push beach which is where "Jacob" is from hahaha and checked out the gorgeous coastline. After that we moseyed our way up to Port Angeles, checked into our hotel and went to this Bar to get some more bar food, strangely the same type of meal as last night, FISH & CHIPS and a BURGER!!! both were really good. I am all about this coastal fish and chips. However if I stay here eating fish and chips for too long I may need the fisherman to carry me away using their whale carriers.

Aiight well goodnight. Tomorrow is Olympic NP.

Peace