Spokane!

Not only will I, my car, and my cats embark on an epic journey, but so will my coffee cup. Thanks to Linda Swift, Dan's absolutely wonderful mother, I have been reunited with my mug, an item which brings me much happiness, and selflessly transports my drug of choice.

I left my mug in Chicago while visiting on Dan's spring break. After remembering and telling Dan how unfortunate it was that my travel mug would be absent on this, my big road adventure, a box arrived at my dad's house with it and homemade tasty treats inside. Thanks Linda!



Besides coffee, the other love my father gave me was a love of Samoa Girl Scout cookies. My dad doesn't mess around when cookie time comes. He doesn't buy them by the box. He buys them by the case!

This is my dad, Glen, looking at my maps of British Colombia, making sure all of the sage advice he gave me was indeed what he should have said. Dad has traveled to Alaska and back three times, and flown another handful. He is excited that I'll be sharing that with him, even if he doesn't get to come along.

Kodak and Baxter have made themselves at home at dad's. Dad and I spent the day together, going through some shops, and trying to track down the last needs before I leave on Saturday. We visited a great antique shop in Downtown Spokane called Finders Keepers. I had never been in the basement, as I am usually overwhelmed by the jewelry and clothing upstairs, but I was happy to finally find it today. There was great stuff!

Wednesday was the first day of Passover, and it so happens that mom took the day off work to prepare for it. She, my step dad Martin, and I went to breakfast, got the needed groceries, then came back to the house. Below is me with my mom, Renee.

Mom and Martin!

Mom and Martin, happy (yet exhausted) to have the preparations done.

My mom used to make pottery. The candle stick holder in the front, shaped like a pomegranate, was one of her creations. Beside it is the cup they used for Elijah.

Mom and I made an army's worth of haroset, an apple and nut dish that represents mortar. It is very simple, but tasty. Apples, walnuts, cinnamon, lemon juice, all spice, and wine.

Like I said, we made a lot of it!

My mom likes cats too. Her glasses case is presented here as evidence.

And this is Delilah. My sister, Ciara, gave her to me on December 18th, 1998 after my childhood cat, Licorice (better known as Pudder) was never to return to the farm. I went to college and kept moving about, and it was better for her to stay with mom, and mom to stay with her. They are a good fit for each other.

Frank's Diner is iconic in Spokane. Its being a train car automatically gives it flare, but it doesn't disappoint once you get inside. It has quirky wait staff, fast grill cooks, and soul food. Their coffee isn't half bad either. Still diner coffee, but good diner coffee.

I've also seen the Dormaiers and my friend Rena, but when ever I get around them, we talk and talk and talk, and I never seem to remember to take out my camera. I don't see them very often (I think we decided it had been 4 years for the Dormaiers!) so there was even more to share.

One more day in town! I have a drug test tomorrow, which should expedite the process once I get to Juneau, and another thing or two to track down.

Pictures as promised

These are all out of order, but it's better than nothing.

This is the back side of the hill that I grew up on. It is always nice to see it. I don't have any pictures of my house. Maybe I'll drive out there and remedy that.


This is Central Washington. When the wheat is growing, it is relaxing and peaceful. Right now it is a bit depressing, but really, that is just the potential waking up.

I went and ate lunch with Sandy in Othello. After getting done, I had to stop for this. Eventually six police cars showed up and arrested five adults that came out of that blazer. There were also two young children laying in the back. I have no idea what was going on.

Lunch! Othello may only have a few more than 7,000 people, but they have great Mexican food.

This is Sandy! We went to college together, at WWU, and became friends through Rupke. Sandy, Sarah, and I are planning a trip to Italy for next year, which we've been talking about since I left Bellingham in 2005. We said 2010, and 2010 it will be.

This is what was the typical scene whenever I stopped to get gas or stretch my legs. I met lots of people who thought traveling with cats was the _________(craziest, funnest, most horrible, wonderful) thing they've heard of. Lots of cooing at Kodak and Baxter. Lots of petting through the crack. They only got out twice in the 3,700 miles I've come so far! Not bad!

Portland!

I'm always curious about coffee shops, logs, stories, and business ideas for coffee shops, so when I spotted Ciara drinking her morning coffee out of this mug I had to capture it.

This is the middle of the city. We are driving from downtown back to my sister's, close to Beaverton, and we go over a few hills, around some curves, though a forest, and we're there. It's great!

Ciara and I did a bit of walking about the downtown area on Saturday, and in the middle of a lawn next to the old Church of Elvis (yes, that's not a typo) there is this pretty elephant.

Ciara! My sister after the market with her pasta, pesto, and pussy willows.

This is one of the bakery booths at the market. They had these wonderful Plexiglas pieces hanging in front of their baked goods that kept the grubby mitts off of the tasty morsels, but made it completely appetizing by keeping the merchandise visible. Makes me want to go back and relive the farmer's markets in BloNo when we were selling bread at Medici. Our tables always looked so bear and pathetic. People in Portland know how to set up a farmers market table!

The pesto dude. He was great.

The Pesto dude's sign. He had interesting things like Thai pesto, along with more traditional flavors.

Homemade pasta! Boil for 2 minutes and done. We had her fetichini for dinner with the pesto and some cherry tomatoes. Simple, quick, fresh, and local.

I showed up to town on Wednesday night. Ciara took Thursday off, but Friday she had to return to teach. I stayed home and made this:

The picture is sideways, but you get the idea. It's a new bag for myself that hold the essentials: phone, camera, wallet, and book. Just the right size. The inside has this super fun orange flower pattern. I especially like the yellow button to secure the over flap. I am very proud of myself. There were significant improvements made from my last bag model, the most important being that all of the edges are finished with very little possibility for fraying.

Here is a cute Baxter shot. He's is smelling the flowers that were a prize for a game at a baby shower my sister was throwing for a co-worker on Friday.

Before the shower there were lots of projects to complete. Ciara showed me her embossing chops on those white bags below. There were also cookies to be made, frosted, and bagged, presents to wrap, and onesies to dye purple.

One of the places I wanted to visit was Albino Press coffee. Northwest Barista Champion, Billy Wilson, is part owner of this shop, along with his second, and I couldn't pass up getting a cappuccino. I chatted with the baristas while my drink and Ciara's were being made, and one of the girls was a judge at this last year's Great Lakes Regional Competition. I got to share my two years of competing, and we were happy to find that we knew some of the same people. Coffee culture is so welcoming. It got me all revved for my shop - when ever that day will come when I have my own coffee shop.

If you are in Portland, I hope you go check them out. Their new shop is located at 5012 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Go! Drink good coffee!

In the middle of all that, I got my hair cut super short, and got some rest. The puncture wounds behind my kneew are almost healed, however, Baxter's toe nail is still a mess. I was supposed to take him to the vet today to get it checked out, but the Vet needed to go to the hospital with a burst appendix. So, that will be tomorrow, again.

Last day in Portland and on to Spokane

My time in Portland with Ciara and Adam was so fun! It was the perfect combination of getting out and seeing the town, and getting to relax from all the driving.

If you have never met my sister, I should tell you a few things about her. If she were a super hero, she would be the Super Entertainer, with handy super powers like preparing the perfect meal/cocktail/appetizer/baby shower/gift/baked good/(fill in the blank) that one would need or want when throwing a party, or expecting a guest. Staying with her is like staying at a hotel - super comfy bed and sheets, super fluffy towels, a selection of shampoos and other various girlie things, and the little extras that make a guest feel special. My sister is wonderful, and that's just the entertainment parts! The sister parts are great too!

I'll get my photos posted from Portland tomorrow, after I get my road grime off and sort through my bags. I'm in Spokane now, staying with my Dad, and we are making The List of Things to Accomplish before I head out again.

The drive from Portland to Spokane was quick, and I got a pleasant distraction just after half way through, as I stopped in Othello to visit the fabulous Sandy. We had a great lunch and catch-up, and got each other jazzed for our trip to Italy next year. It was a short visit, but seeing an old friend, even when short, is always good.

So, pictures tomorrow, and more details about Portland.

Arizona to Oregon. Sarah to Ciara

Arizona to Portland: Miles - a lot.
Over Night Stops: Castaic Lake, Just north of Santa Clarita, CA & Oak Bottom, West on 299, just outside of Redding, CA


I thought I've seen windmills before. Going through the desert, near the Palm Springs area, made me realize we in Illinois are in the minor leagues when it comes to wind power. There were miles and miles, and hundreds of windmills catching the drafts coming off the mountains. It was a little creepy, to be honest. Maybe I've been watching too much BSG, but I imagined all those windmills pulling themselves out of the ground and taking over the world!

I'm glad we're on the same team still.

And then the first night of camping with cats. It was interesting.
Mike and Meryl were generous to let me borrow their tent, and I was happy to finally use it. Above was the scene when I first got everything set up, with kitties settled. Everything was starting fine. New smells. New sights. Lots to keep Kodak and Baxter occupied.

Baxter got it in his head to explore and tooled about the site. Yes, that is a harness you see on that cat. Yes, I have him tied to a tree. Yes, I know I'm crazy. There are few options for cats outside of a little box to keep them penned up in. I chose to let them explore.
Then, Baxter got wound around a tree, freaked out, and most likely hurt himself in the process. I tried to pin him down to take the harness off, but that ended in him attaching himself to my flesh, then pulling back and wiggling out of his harness. Baxter free from the tangle. Good. Baxter then was loose for 15 minutes.

There was not an epic chase across the campground. Don't worry. I just kept an eye on him as he paced around the car with a puffed tail. He sulked underneath eventually, then I snatched him up and put him in the tent. He didn't leave this position all night.

This is were I was. After I got past the gouges taken out of my leg and settled the cats, I took a walk and was happy to find all sorts of pretty things.


Then I drove up to Redding, took a left, and went camping near Shasta in a little area called Whiskey Town. No Fairbanks, it did not live up to it's name.
The area was beautiful, however.


The rest of the night was much like the last, with the exception of the traumatic episode with Baxter. I foraged for campfire stuffs and felt good about being able to make fire. There was a near tragedy when I realized I had my bottle of Arrogant Bastard and no bottle opener, but after rearranging half the car, I found my Leatherman, and the world was righted. I think it actually tasted better after the struggle.
Then the next morning I was planning on continuing on 299 West to meet up with Hwy 101. I love 101. It is a wonderful way to see Oregon.



After getting gas at an adorable town called Weaverville, I went through more of the mountain pass and was greeted by a "Check Engine!!!" light. (Violet doesn't really have exclamaiton marks on her dash signals. She was paniced though. I could tell.) I pulled into a valley, checked all of the checkable entrance points into my engine (oil, coolant, transmission, hoses, plugs, belts, etc.) then called Dad. Dad's are great aren't they? A nice police officer pulled over and we drove back to Weaverville, and the car shop, and found out that after getting gas, I didn't screw my gas cap on tight enough and the engine thought there was a vapor leak. I felt silly, but relieved.


So, instead of going back to 101, I went up I-5 to get to my sister's in a reasonable time. The drive was awesome. Mt. Shasta was a sight to see for sure.

I'm in Portland until Sunday morning! Yay!