Good Friends, Good Times (West Coast Style)

I’ll start by saying happy Thanksgiving to you all!  Each year it becomes clearer how much there is to be thankful for and how much we take for granted.  It was definitely hard being away from our families, unable to celebrate the “normal” Thanksgiving traditions; however, technology saved the day and we were able to spend some time with everyone via Skype. 

Not a bad turkey dinner for our party of two!
Thank you Crock Pot!

Despite our distance from home we were able to connect with great friends on the west coast that we rarely get to see.  So as Charlie indicated in the closing paragraph of his last blog, our trip south along the west coast had the purpose of landing us in San Francisco to spend the weekend with Michelle Davidson, our colleague, buddy, and one of Charlie’s roommates from PT school. 

It was a refreshing weekend spent catching up and getting a glimpse of Michelle’s world as she opens a new outpatient PT office that she is managing.  Our exploration of the city included a ride over the Golden Gate Bridge, excellent dining, drinks with a view from Top of the Mark, a Trolley ride, a walk through Golden Gate Park to see the bison (yes, bison in San Francisco = bizarre!), a chance to visit with Jamie (Michelle’s hilarious younger sister), a ferry ride to the historical and intriguing Alcatraz, and we cannot forget the time we spent avoiding panhandlers (always awkward!). A bonus at the end of the weekend was the appearance of Michelle’s boyfriend, Chris who’d been gallivanting around Malaysia for work. 

Anyone would be this happy after a Burmese eating experience!
Jamie, Michelle, the O'Malleys

 

Robert Luke, former inmate of Alcatrez who was
present to give a talk and open to answer questions.
This was truly a once in a lifetime experience.

 

The time came to move on, but luckily we had another friend to visit in Sacramento…the one and only Sarah Barnes!  Sarah and I met on our annual family vacations to Vermont (Quimby Country) and have been friends and pen pals since we were 7 or 8 years old.  Charlie hadn’t met Sarah, and I hadn’t met Sarah’s fiancé Eric, so it was an overdue visit!  Sarah and Eric met as apprentices for Soil Born Farms and spent the last year co-managing a small farm in Sacramento.  We stayed with them for two nights at the Farm on Hurley Way. We were all feeling an itch for some outdoor adventure…this landed us in Lake Tahoe for a beautiful afternoon spent hiking through Emerald Bay State Park in South Lake Tahoe.

In addition to the fresh air we spent our time on the Farm drinking a ton of delicious tea, eating fresh greens grown in their garden, sausage that was the product of their recent pig roast, and freshly caught salmon (thanks to Eric’s mountain-man-like skills); additionally we learned about the trials and tribulations of farming.

Lake Tahoe, Eric, Sarah

 

Dinner is served!

 

This short but sweet visit was a perfect transition to our next stop...Yosemite National Park (NP #9 for the O’Malleys)!  We weren’t exactly sure how much of the park would be accessible because November often means snow and road closures in the Sierra Nevada Mountain range, but we lucked out with more great weather and had access to all park roads.  I’ll let Charlie expand on Yosemite and get us current.  Until then…THANK YOU to our wonderful hosts, Michelle, Sarah, and Eric!

Following the Pacific

It has been a very busy few weeks for us. Since leaving the Tri-Cities we have found a new place to live, ventured all the way to California and back, checked two more National Parks off of our list, and started our new jobs. Not bad, huh? So let's get up to speed with everything that's been going on.

We arrived in Aberdeen, WA on a gray, dreary, and rainy Sunday afternoon. We would soon come to learn that just about every day here is gray, dreary, and rainy this time of year. We immediately started looking for a place to live and after viewing numerous rentals that have a better chance of being condemned than being occupied, we found a diamond in the rough. It's a tiny two bedroom house that was recently renovated. More importantly, the landlord was anxious to have tenants, so we were able to move in on Monday. Just like that, our housing hunt was over. It was certainly a much smoother process than in the Tri-Cities.

Amanda calls it a shed, I prefer cottage

Since we are getting so good at this moving business, we were able to quickly unpack, get set up, and relax in our new home. We even splurged and bought a $20 coffee table from Walmart!

The disc chairs made the trip too,
riding on the bike rack!

Aberdeen and it's neighbor Hoquiam (where our job is located) are old logging communities. They are located at the tip of Grays Harbor, an inlet from the Pacific Ocean. This is great because we are only about 30 minutes from Washington beaches and in a prime area for whale watching. The downside is that we are now in a tsunami hazard zone. Fantastic. First we had to worry about tornadoes in Illinois, then volcanoes when we got to Washington, now we have to watch out for tsunamis. Luckily, there hasn't been a tsunami warning here in quite some time, and hopefully that trend continues.

RUN FOR THE HILLS!!!

Further exploration of the area has yielded some really neat shops, good restaurants, and an excellent farmers market. We need more time though to truly figure out all the ins and outs of Aberdeen and Hoquiam. Overall though, it seems like an area with a lot of character despite it's gloomy first impression.

However, just as soon as we got settled in, it was time to leave again. With two weeks off between the end of our last job and the start of this one, we decided to take a road trip to California to see the sights and visit some friends.

We hit the road (again) following the coastal highway through Washington and into Oregon. Since we first arrived in Washington, people have been raving about the Oregon coast. Well I can definitively say that it did not disappoint. It is so different from the Atlantic Coast because of the stunning rock formations, jagged cliffs, and rugged surf. We made far too many stops to mention here, but a few of the highlights were:

• Ecola State Park/Cannon Beach: The wind was so strong that we couldn't even walk along the scenic path for fear of being blown off the cliff. Seeing Haystack Rock made the soggy trip worth it though.

My poncho got torn apart by the winds

You don't see that at the Jersey shore

• Tillamook Jerky Outlet: Two feet of beef jerky for $1, nothing wrong with that.

Amanda was a fan

•  The Devil's Churn: A deep chasm surrounded by rocky shoreline that must be carefully navigated as waves crash all around you.

Nonstop churning

 

Don't turn your back or a sneaker wave will get you

•  Devil's Punch Bowl: This circular opening in the rocks formed when two separate caves collapsed in on one another

I don't know why everything is named after the Devil

•  Oregon Dunes: Apparently they are amazing, but we didn't see them. Maybe next time.

We saw so much along the Oregon Coast. Despite a constant downpour of rain, each stop was more beautiful than the next. We can't even imagine what it looks like when the weather cooperates. That might completely blow my mind.

Upon completion of the Oregon Coast, we entered into California where our first order of business was learning about the Redwoods in Crescent City, CA. A very helpful National Park Ranger told us what we should take time to see and where we should camp. We followed his advice and spent some time on the California beaches before heading inland and through the Redwood forest.

The Redwoods are the tallest living organism on Earth, and can live for over 2,000 years. When you visit the Redwoods, you almost expect to see dinosaurs walking around. It is impossible to describe the scale of these massive trees, hopefully this picture can help:

No, it doesn't help. Trust me,
they are really big trees

Spending time camping among these giant trees was a great way to cap off our time traveling along the Pacific Coast. It is a trip that makes you appreciate how different our country is from one coast to the other.

Our next stops were San Francisco and Sacramento. I can't have all the fun, though. I'm going to let Amanda fill you in on that leg of the journey. Check back soon!