trippy trip part 2

the saga continues...

after the fabulous weekend wedding on bainbridge island, alex and i jumped in the car to start our journey down the west coast, from top to bottom. the drive from the island to portland was the first leg and probably the most beautiful drive. the islands and the trees and the views of the giant snow-capped mountains on either side of us were all just breathtaking.

we made it to portland before it got dark and checked into our motel. it was nice to have a bed after a couple days of sleeping on the ground. that night we just drove around the city. i tried to find this cool looking brewery i saw the first time coming through town and i actually found it again, in the pearl district, but it was closed. guess portland shuts down pretty early. then i remembered this other cute little pub that i saw the first time in town and actually found that one too. something that amazed me on this trip was my amazing sense of direction (not to brag or anything!). i mean i always knew i had that knack to be able to find a place i've been to once, but that's usually in a town that i know. i was able to do this in a completely new city. not bad (i really should go on the amazing race! HA!). anyway, we sat down to beers and burgers, which was perfect. cute boys in that town too (not that i was looking. ok, yeah, i was).

the next day was more driving around the hills and showing alex how cute portland was. he was into it for sure. next was washington park. i wanted to ride the cute little train through the woods so we went up to get tickets. $12 seemed a little steep, but that was also the entrance fee for the zoo. so we took the little train and walked around the zoo for a bit too. it was hot that day! in the 100s, but sunny and clear and there were beautiful views of mt. hood. we didn't have much time in portland because we had to be in southern oregon before dark (a 5 hour drive).

that drive down the 5 was equally as beautiful, driving along some winding mountain roads down into the medford/ashland area. we were fortunate enough to stay at my family friend's cabin on the rogue river, on the way up to crater lake. we got there just in time for dinner, which sam and lynn had prepared. i was feeling a little nervous about bringing alex around, since sam and lynn are like my second parents, and he gets a little shy around new people. but everything was just fine. they were friendly and made him feel comfortable and the conversation flowed, so no problems. the food was great and the accomadations ever better. we got our whole own apartment overlooking the river! so nice!!!

woke up the next morning to fresh baked blackberry muffins made by lynn. yum! alex and i packed up the car to drive up to crater lake that day. OH, that drive!!! huge pines lined the narrow roads all the way up. it was a perfect hot clear day and when we got to the lake, it was absolutely bright blue and shimmering. we were both in awe of the natural wonder. pretty cool. we took a little smoke break (thanks ariel!) off the trail and came back to watch the chimpunks and took about a million photos of them. silly, but fun. after a while we made our way back down the mountain and ate at the cutest country cafe and ate very berry pie. mmmmm...

then it was off to check outthe natural bridge. that photo does not do it justice. it was amazingly cool (i'll put up my photos later). we got back down to the cabin by 4 and took a swim in the river which was fantastic. sam shared a smoke with us and alex and i just chilled in the hammock next to the river for the next few hours while sam and lynn got the gourmet dinner ready. we were living like kings. steaks and salads and wine. all so good!

next day we had our longest drive yet. had to get to the bay area by 6:00 for dinner reservations alex had made at chez panisse. that was going to be his highlight of the trip... a famous restaurant he was dying to try and would set us back a couple hundred bucks.

part three to be continued...