San Francisco

Woke up early (still haven’t adjusted to the time change) and checked out of the hostel. Our car was untouched and safe in the parking garage where we left it—best $15 we ever spent, I think. It was a gorgeous morning in SF, and we headed to Fisherman’s Wharf to see the sea lions. We got down there around 8am, so none of the vendors were open and the tourist quotient was at a minimum. Got our cappuccinos at Starbucks (you can’t swing a dead cat in SF without hitting a Starbucks) and walked towards the fish smell. Immediately, I wished it was afternoon and that I could buy my weight in fish tacos and crabs. Holy fresh fish! Anyway, we took a leisurely walk down the Pier and checked out the sea lions. It was like a hundred Olivers (the Bassett hound) lounging on floating platforms, barking and scratching their jowls. We took tons of pictures there. I called my sister Kirsten so she could hear them barking.

Can I just say that this map program is awesome? It’s got a GPS hookup, and gives you step-by-step directions to where you need to go. I don’t think we would’ve enjoyed SF as much as we did without it. Driving in SF is a harrowing experience. The streetcars literally push you out of the way and snake in and out of traffic. I know they look all sweet and cute in the rice-a-roni commercials, but they’re just bullies. Every other street is one-way, and you need to go two blocks out of your way just to get to the street you need. There’s streets that are over 45-degree-angles, too. But the overall vibe of San Francisco makes up for the crazy driving conditions. People are friendly there. It’s more laid back that many large cities I’ve been to. People seem to genuinely enjoy living there, and don’t seem too put out by the ridiculous tourists who constantly get in their way. I could’ve spent a week there and not eaten at every Thai restaurant on the one block our hostel was on.

Anyway, we’re off to Ashland, Oregon. Right now, I’m typing this en route to Oregon. I’m really excited to see our new home state. My friend Lish is taking us to some awesome sushi place in Medford, and then we’re driving back to Ashland to have drinks. Tomorrow morning, we drive the 5-6 hours up to Portland, and move into our new apartment. Mike and I decided that task #1 after moving out crap into the apartment, is to go buy a new bed. This week of sleeping in strange beds has made us long for a bed of our own. Something familiar. To me, home is where my bed is.

I want to keep updating this blog even after we’ve gotten to Portland. We want to keep our families updated on our progress, and to post pictures of our new home. On Monday, our friends Chris and Heather are flying to Portland to hang out with us for a week. We’re driving (yippee) up to Seattle for two days to hang out and hit the Ikea there. Mike and Chris are going to a Mariners game (they’re playing the Angels, Mike’s team). Anyway, my body is adjusting to this traveler’s life. I am having a blast on this trip. I hope you all make trips like this in your life.

4 hours later….

Well, we drove through our second snowstorm of the trip in Mount Shasta. I’m sure it’s gorgeous, but I couldn’t see much besides snow and a few trees. Who’d of thunk it? It was very pretty, but I hate driving/riding in that stuff—especially through the mountains.

Oregon’s only about 30 miles away! Woohoo!
--anne and mike

gratuitous shots of our faces. we are narcissists, apparently.

indian food and ice cream

tonight we walked around the downtown area. the girl who works the front desk at the hostel suggested an indian restaraunt around the corner, so instead of gorging myself on seafood like i'd wanted, i settles for shrimp masala. mike got the chicken vindaloo. that and rice and naan bread (free chutney bar, too!) came to $20. hello, spicy!

so we walked around to digest the awesome food. we were sort of looking for something sweet and not finding anything non-fancy-schmancy. i did, however, find LUSH, sarah skean. i bought two bath bombs and a bar of the coal face soap. i wanted to buy everything in that store, dude.

anyway, we headed back towards the hostel and lo and behold! a 50s style diner two doors up from the hostel. i had a caramel ice cream sundae and mike got the banana split. YUM!

we just finished uploading all our pics from today. they're all of either the coast, me, or both of out faces close-up. i will spare you all the teduim that is our photo collection now. i will post the highlights, though.

night night! anne

Wish you were here....

Could be your frontyard.

Could be your backyard.


Pops, I was thinking of you and Mom when driving through here. So we stopped to get a rock and some driftwood from the beach, that we will be sending you. Maybe someday this could be home. Viva the West Coast

Love Mike

pictures

anne just north of obispo
thomas, what is this thing?
ocean just north of obispo

our first ocean picture....MANY will follow

Today, Mike and I spent a nice morning in the Barnes & Noble in Obispo. We updated the blog and planned our day. We’ve got time constraints (rooms booked in the next stop) and we’re so totally wiped out from driving that once we get to our destination, we eat dinner, have a glass of wine, and crash for the night. But today we had a little more time. Actually, as I type this, we’re driving into San Francisco. Holy traffic jams, batman! Anyhoo, let me tell you about today. We left Obispo and got on HWY 1, or to all you hep cats, Pacific Coast Highway. Wow. We stopped a lot and got out to enjoy the views. Mom, you and Paul need to take this highway—you’ll freak! So we got out to dip our feet in the ocean and snap several pictures. I bought a gorgeous ring in Big Sur. The whole way to Big Sur, I gave Mike a short synopsis of the novel Big Sur by Jack Kerouac (one of my very favorite writers). It was an awful synopsis, as I haven’t read it in about 10 years. So yeah. The views are incredible. The PCH is etched into the Santa Lucia mountains, and is forever being eroded away into the ocean. It looks like the winter rains did a number on the roads there and it was slow-going in several spots. But it was so worth it. Man, so beautiful. We took lots of pictures for you guys. I am definitely going back.

I know I completely glazed over Flagstaff on the blog. I am going to recap our time there tomorrow morning. Flag is awesome, for one thing (although I liked Santa Fe a little better), and it’s definitely a must see for anyone taking a trip to the Grand Canyon this summer—cough cough MOM and PAUL. We did drive down to Sedona, or as I termed it “Sedona-wanna-buy-some-new-agey-crap?” It was raining in Sedona, and not as spectacular as I’d heard it was, but the trip there made it all worth it. Oak Creek Canyon is a must-see. Anyway, I digress…I’ll update more on that tomorrow. I have to navigate Mike into San Fran at rush hour. Wish us luck!

--Anne

EDIT: we made into SF. holy crap, why did no one warn us of the 45-degree angled streets!? it seems nice so far. it smells a little and there's LOTS of homeless people. i also thought NYC smelled rank, so it must be a sign of a great city! there's a couple theater's across the street with lines of people waiting to get in. since i have absolutely no idea about showbiz stuff, i have no clue what it is. i did see martin short's name on one of the marquee's. i think it may be a one-man show type thing. right now, we're gonna venture out from the hostel (which is in dwntn SF on mason st.) our car is in a parking garage ($15/night better make sure all our crap's still in it in the morning). i need seafood. we're pretty wiped out, so tomorrow's drive up to ashland should be awesome (i.e. it's short in comparison to the one we did yesterday). redwood forests, here we come!

More pics...

"My beard, you like?", says Mike.
Awww. Rainbow in AZ.
Mojave cactus.
Yucca brevafolia
Weird hostel dog.
Anne in Obispo.
Calla lily outside the hostel that Mike is obsessed with.

California is ginormous.

It took us the better part of Wednesday to drive across California. Just across. So we thought we were smart devils and decided to take Route 58 from Bakersfield into San Luis Obispo. We thought "ooh, we're gonna outsmart both Rand McNally and our Microsoft mapping GPS program". I think the dictionary definition of that is "foolhardy", or perhaps "idiotic". Let me just say that the last 75 miles between Bakersfield and Obispo took about 2 hours. I think we took a wrong turn somewhere and ended up in Middle Earth. If you look at any of Tolkien's drawings of what Middle Earth looks like, complete with faeries and the like, you've seen the San Padre mountain range. We crept around these rolling green mountains at a pace of about 15 mph, due to the complete absence of guardrails or bravery. It was idyllic, yet horrifying. Herds of happy California cows (they better make some damned good cheese) and sheep grazed lazily as we made sharp hairpin turns. I snapped a couple of pictures, but as I was too terrified to take my eyes off the road, I sort of lost any desire to look down and snap a pic.

So we're sitting here in San Luis Obispo after a good night's sleep (the hostel here is awesome). We're planning on a leisurely day of more hairpin turns as we crawl up the coast towards San Francisco. This time the bottom will be the Pacific Ocean (which I have yet to see on this trip), instead of a grassy meadow.

A note: I highly recommend the San luis Obispo Hostel. For a private room (shared bathroom) we paid $45. It's a very comfortable room that reminds me of my grandma's house. Very cozy. There's a house dog here that doens't do anything but roll a ball to you and stare up at you until you kick it back.

Obispo smells like jasmine. It's heavenly.

okay sorry it's been so long

we've driven over 1000 miles in the last 2 days. we had no internet access yesterday in flagstaff, but we got some very cool pictures. we're finally chilling in san luis obispo, california. we made it to the coast! here's a few pics from flagstaff (and oak creek canyon). we'll update tomorrow morning, as we'll have a ton of free time AND wifi access tomorrow.

also, feel free to call us anytime. we're still considered 402 area code, and long distance doesn't really apply. love you all!

Some random photos from the last couple days:

New Mexico and more big rocks!
New Mexico dudes (that's where the rock is!)
Anne with the rock behind her.
Mike walking towards the rock to look at it.
We stopped to look at this rock. We don't have rocks like this in Nebraska.
Oklahoma, dudes.

This is the wind turbine field in southwestern Kansas. It's HUGE. It was also very windy, and it almost gave the impression that all these propellers were CAUSING the wind. Ah, Kansas.

Still in Santa Fe

Just woke up fully rested and not so sick. Let me just say that the little I've seen of Santa Fe I really love. It's laid back, friendly, and so clean. We went to a little thai restaraunt last night for dinner. I had this spicy chicken soup that had coconut milk, lemongrass, ginger, kafir lime leaves, and chilies. It cleared my sinuses right up. I put the leftovers in my thermos and I'm gonna drink it for lunch. Anyway, I recommend this place to anyone rolling through Santa Fe. We were asking our waiter about a place where we can buy a nice baguette and a good espresso, and a customer sitting a couple tables away from us recommended a place up the road called the Sage Bakery. So we're going to check that out this morning before we head to Sedona and Flagstaff.
I spoke to Matt in Flagstaff, who we're staying with, and he seems really cool (thanks christianna!). I'm looking forward to seeing more of this gorgeous landscape. After Flagstaff, we have a LONG drive to the coast. We have a reservation in a hostel in San Luis Obispo. I'm really thinking that it's gonna be more than an 8 hour drive, but who knows. Today will be more relaxing since our drive today is only 5.5 hours. Okay, we're off to repack the car and see Santa Fe for a bit.

Thanks for all your comments! It's really awesome knowing that we have so many people rooting for us. All our love, Anne and Mike

Santa Fe. Ah, Santa Fe. So far, the trip here has been gorgeous, yet windy. These mountains are so pretty. Anyway, I'm really battling this cold, which is definitely putting a damper on both my mood and my attitude. I took several pictures today. The first ones are from Kansas. I am hoping that Nebraska catches on to this trend of harnassing wind power. It makes so much freaking sense. I mean, as long as the wind's there...
Welp, for my sinus infection, I need some Thai food, so we're going up the road. The blogger thingy seems a little wacky right now, so it won't upload pictures. I'll update later on tonight.

---Anne

welcome to Dodge City...i guess so...

just like heaven

Kansas!

Ah, the windiest state on EARTH.

Day 1

Well, after a rather slow start, we finally made it past Lincoln. The bike rack was flimsy, and Mike had no faith in it making it the entire trip. We dropped it (and the bikes) off at Sarah Skean’s house (thanks a BILLION, Sarah) and the rest of the trip was fairly uneventful. So, I’m sitting here in the EconoLodge in Dodge City, KS. Apparently, Wyatt Earp is still the sheriff here and the internet hasn’t been invented yet. So, I’m typing this all in Word and I’m gonna copy it to the blog as soon as we find a Starbucks.

As most of you know, Nebraska is probably the most boring state to drive through. Well, I think Kansas has it beat. At least Nebraska has that stupid monstrosity of an arch by Kearney (see pics). Another interesting thing we saw were the bazillion Sandhill cranes everywhere. Every puddle of water and empty field was full of cranes, who all looked a little surprised that their club-med-that-is-Nebraska was still covered in snow.

The moment we crossed over the border to Kansas, the wind picked up. Yes, all you Wizard of Oz fans, I know what you’re thinking and I thought the same thing! Well, it whipped the Subaru around the road for the next 4 hours, or so. Wind-blown and tired (I am battling a nasty spring cold, too), we settled in to the “gorgeous”, “luxurious” EconoLodge on Wyatt Earp Blvd (its right next to a Dairy Queen!) Unless you’ve done it, you can’t imagine how nerve-racking it is to have all your possessions in a car, and to leave it unattended for the night. “Well, doesn’t EconoLodge have a secure parking lot?” you ask. I would love to impart the story that the desk clerk told me when I posed the very question to him. It was basically an admission that it is not secure at all, and in fact, they’re too cheap to hire a security guard like the Holiday Inn down the road. We took a leap of faith and every hour or so, peeked down to make sure no one was messing with our stuff. So this is day three of Anne getting very little sleep. I hope Mike doesn’t want me to drive, because I’m on a combination of Sudafed and Advil, and it’s making me a little bit loopy.

Once Mike gets ready, we’re going to see if there are any salvageable photo-ops in this dump of a city. I’ll tell you: it’s pretty cute that half their streets are named after either cowboys or Indians. I also say a “Mulberry St.” and said “Shouldn’t that really be called Huckleberry street?” Oh Dodge City, you are the little retarded brother of Tombstone. You try to create a kitschy atmosphere with your boot shops and EconoLodges but you’ve failed miserably. For shame, Dodge City. For shame.

We’re gonna hit Santa Fe today, where there will hopefully be both wifi and Sprint service. We love you all!

--Anne

EDIT: thank GOD for libraries.

Point A

I guess in order for everyone to understand where we are going, it would help to know where we are coming from. While Mike has lived in various places in his life, both in the US and Italy; I am moving away from Nebraska for the first time in my 29 years. For me, this is both a scary and exhlilrating notion. I am leaving the comfort and orientation that Omaha has provided me. Along with comfort comes a sense of stagnation, though, and I have long wanted to venture out of my comfort zone to find new experiences. Nebraska is a wonderful place, full of beauty both in it's placid, yet suprising landscape, and in it's awe-inspiring weather. In visiting places like New York City, I get a sense of space and vastness by what is filling it. In Nebraska, I have the same sense of vast space by what is not there. It is huge and empty, and yet, it is so enormous a presence that one cannot help but sense God.
But it is time to leave. On Sunday, we will pack up the Subaru and head southwest towards the first point on our journey: Dodge City, Kansas. From there, we travel to Santa Fe, Flagstaff, San Luis Obispo, San Francisco, Ashland, and Portland. We'll be sharing our experiences here, along with photos of things we find interesting.
--Anne