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Nov 26

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Creature Comforts

When I lived in Seattle I once heard a funny anecdote:  San Francisco is the mistress, Seattle is the wife.

While I do not speak for all, it seems that many Seattle residents maintain a fair bit of romantic fantasy for San Francisco, but quickly revert back to the pragmatic realities of Seattle.  And so it is, many Seattleites escape to San Francisco, only to return the Emerald City of theirs which does not judge, instead knowing and loving them for who they are.

For better or for worse as the agreement goes …

As a big fan of Seattle myself, I never fully appreciated such perspective until I moved to the Bay Area.  And while I am no huge fan of this “city by the bay”, I hold no reservation admitting my fondness of the weather here in Nor Cal.

Sure, there is some fog to tolerate at times … even occasions here-and-there wherein I must don a stocking cap.  However, having spent the past ten days dodging abnormally large sized and incessant droplets of rain in 40 degree temperatures, Kelly and I were quite pleased with the weather which greeted us upon our arrival to sunny Nor Cal.

Blues skies and 60 degrees.

I don’t even own an umbrella anymore.

Bay Bridge – approaching San Francisco

 And so it is, we’ve completed another trip today, 2100 miles later, glad to be home.  Summary details can be viewed below.

As much as we love the travels, sometimes it’s nice to be back.  There can be comfort in a routine, that which is familiar … so long as we continue to shake things up frequently enough such that routine do not become an inescapable rut.

Nov 25

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From Cabela’s to Walmart

Having awoken in a big box store parking lot this morning, we traveled 571 miles today only to find ourselves back in another big box store parking lot – our host this evening being Walmart in Red Bluff, CA.  It appears that we’ve come full-circle within some bizarre retail dry-camping merry-go-round.

Tomorrow’s itinerary calls for a route just over 200 miles; we are both so ready to be done with all this driving.

I’ve heard that many who travel full-time frequently limit their travel days to 100 miles and I’m beginning to really appreciate the wisdom of such an approach.  Sadly, Kelly and I do not have that luxury in our schedule.  All things being equal, today’s drive was pretty uneventful.  It could have been worse, so I will stop complaining.

Crossing the border into Oregon, Kelly decided to snap a few pictures of downtown Portland, one of our favorite cities.

Approaching the Oregon border

Always very happy to enter Oregon

Hmm, what is Kelly capturing here?

Fremont BridgePortland Convention Center spires

About two hours south of Portland, we stopped in Eugene for a simple lunch and a visit to the local dog park.  Lilly is a big fan of  the park as she is able to hunt gophers and chase her tennis ball.  Selfishly, Kelly and I like these dog park respites as doing so provides Lilly the opportunity to run like crazy and burn off some pent-up energy.

More fetch please

Lilly’s preferred post dog park recovery activity

I did all the driving today and find myself feeling much like Lilly in the picture above – tired and ready for some sleep.

Nov 24

Bittersweet Ending

Mabel basking in the morning sun

Under partly-sunny and beautiful skies, Kelly and I concluded our return to Bainbridge Island today, our first visit since moving away just over a year ago.  It’s been a good week for sure, but the days have passed too quickly and I wish we could stay longer.  It is hard to say goodbye to this place we love.

I must say, our visit has been a real treat for us.  We’ve had many wonderful reunions with friends (and restaurants) across the area.  Being the dork I am, I even delayed some needed purchases until arriving so that I could give the business to my friends over at Wildernest and Poulsbo Running.

I’m definitely glad that we decided to make the trip – all 900 miles one way.  The drive is long, but well worth it in my mind.

One highlight of the trip a was a planned meet-up today with Deke and Tiffani of Weaselmouth fame.  These legendary Airstreamers live in the area and ventured over to Bainbridge for the afternoon.  Both have been super helpful to Kelly and me, patiently tolerating our many emails and phone calls as we navigated our Airstream purchase and it was so cool to finally meet them today.

Of course they are rockstar awesome and Kelly and I absolutely enjoyed their company.

Like us, Deke and Tiffani live full-time in their Airstream but maintain a “home base” location when not traveling.  I’m mentioned before that Airstream ownership brings with it, a strong sense of community and Kelly and I have been welcomed into that extended family.  However, Deke and Tiffani are the first couple we’ve met who live so similarly to us.  That is to say, they do not travel full-time, yet they are choosing to eschew a traditional home for the cozy confines of the Airstream.

Suffice it to say, Kelly and I were so excited to be meeting them and enjoyed sharing stories and exchanging ideas.

Soon enough they had to get going, leaving Kelly and me to begin planning our drive back to Half Moon Bay.  Kelly suggested we pack-up and get a head-start on the drive, which is exactly what we did.  As I type, we are dry camping at the Cabela’s parking lot in Lacy, WA … located about 70 miles south of Bainbridge Island.

Quietly resting at the otherwise giant Cabela’s store

We’re planning an early start tomorrow and will be covering a lot of miles.  I’m hoping to convince Kelly to share the drive duties with me.

Hey, there is a first time for everything.

Nov 22

Thankful the Rain Has Stopped

The rain continues here in the Seattle area.  While the pitter-patter rhythm is soothing atop the metal Airstream roof, I’d prefer the rains to cease.

I am a guest to the area after all; is a desire for pleasant weather during my stay unreasonable?  Less the mild temperatures, Mother Nature has not been the most welcoming host thus far into our trip.  So rude.

Today, however, has been different.  Probably sensing my frustrations, Mother Nature seems to be frowning less this morning.  The sun is not yet shining, so I doubt she’s smiling, but at least the rain has stopped.  I wonder will she at least grin today?  A break in the clouds would be so nice.

Perhaps feeling a bit guilty for her previous lack of hospitality, a truce may be in the making – enough so that I (and the beachfront homes neighboring the campground) are able to catch of glimpse of my old friend Mt. Rainier.

While I’d prefer some sunshine, I am thankful for this rain-free bliss here in the PNW.

Mount Rainier

Waterfront homes adjacent to the campground

Enjoying a sun-break

 

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