On the road

I got a good night's sleep so I was ready to go. Wouldn't you know it...it was drizzling as I started to drive away, actually it had been raining on and off the previous day as I was packing up my car. I guess WA was sad that I was leaving! Me, too. This assignment has probably been one of the best I've ever had with the friends nearby, the things to do (and so many more to do!) and the clinic that I worked at. Hawaii was great as far as the people that I met and have stayed in touch with but as far as what I like to do, WA was more for me.

As I passed over the mountains to the other side, I looked in my rear view mirror and could see the cloud hanging over Seattle-Tacoma. It was sunny and warm on the eastern side of the mountains. I had a long drive ahead of me, filled with excitement and anticipation but some sadness over what I was leaving behind. It was amazing how the scenery changed as I drove through WA, OR, ID and into UT (if you don't know what those states are...look it up!) where I spent the night. The west side of the mountains were wet, lush and green, the eastern side brown/yellow, flatter and deserty. As I headed southwest, more mountains popped up but they were not as high, had little vegetation and were a brownish/reddish color. I slept well in one of my timeshare resorts in UT, was able to eat a good meal and then left Monday morning for the Denver area.

I have a friend who moved to CO about 4 years ago with her husband and 2 kids. I got there around 7ish, having just missed the rush hour traffic. Although, she says the traffic's not bad, unlike L.A. Her kids have grown up! Wow, how time flies! They have this beautiful house with a huge backyard, something none of us could afford in CA. Of course, the MNF game was on. She and her husband are still playing in sports leagues, of which I'm a little envious. I do miss catching that long pass down the field when no one expects me to. I left them with some Canadian chocolate to which she is one of the few that can appreciate the difference.

I made it through the flat plains of Kansas into MO. As I was driving, I talked to another traveller that I met in HI who was driving from FL to CA and had stopped in TX. We were like 2 ships that pass in the night, each going coast-to-coast. I used to live in Columbia, MO for almost 4 years about 11 years ago. My friend still lives there with her 2 kids, both of which have grown up as well! What in the world is going on! She took me for a drive through town today...my, how's it's changed and grown. There are new stores, many of them chains like Applebee's, IHOP, Macy's Old Navy, which weren't there when I lived here. I get to relax a bit here before I head to my cousin's in Champaign, IL tomorrow and then Raleigh the next night to arrive in Jacksonville, NC Saturday morning.

Last stand in WA

So I go to Vancouver, BC, Canada one last time to visit relatives and a friend. My friend and I had decided to climb the Grouse Grind, a straight-up trail to the top of Grouse Mountain. Rather than take the lame tram to the top, we decided to walk it. I figured I had done a lot of walking in WA where there's a lot of hills but that was a molehill compared to the Grind. I don't know the distance up the side of the mountain but it seemed to have go on forever. We did it in a little over an hour. What was disheartening was that you can see on a screen inside the chalet what times people have completed it. There were senior citizens who climbed it faster than we did! I partially attributed it to having an upset stomach and lightheadedness part way up. Lame, I know, but hey, gotta have some excuse.! Next time we'll kick its butt instead of the other way around. Anyways, after that we were tired to go out dancing as we had initially planned but rather just had dinner and relaxed at her house.

The following night, my cousin, her boyfriend and mother went to this open market where there plenty of booths selling cheap knock-offs and food stalls. Reminscent of markets in Asia. It was great to see them all, especially since I won't see them again for awhile.

My last week of work...well, it involved trying to orient and mentor the new therapist as much as possible, trying to cook up all the frozen food (to which the staff at the clinic benefited) and visiting with my friends before I head out of town. I met with an ex-CA roommate who is from and now lives again in Seattle, a friend who moved to Portland with her husband and child and was visiting family in Olympia about 45 minutes south of Tacoma and had dinner with one of the therapists at work. It seemed like every night there was something planned, not that I minded, but I still had packing to do! It's a good thing I had started with my clothes the previous week but there's always trying to fit it all into my vehicle. I did have the Friday night off and all day Saturday, wheww, which allowed me to pack up a lot of stuff. But I also had last minute errands...there never seemed to be enough time in the day. Saturday night, a friend and I went to this dueling piano bar/comedy club which was fun. The comedy was funny at all but the piano playing was great.

The next day I hit the road.

windy Oregon

Labour Day weekend was definitely not laborious. It was fun, whirlwind and definitely windy. I went to visit friends that I knew from CA, actually, I worked with her and met her husband before they left to live in OR. Since that move, they've had 2 beautiful boys. They live in the Columbia Gorge area, where windsurfers and kiteboarders are aplenty due to the high winds that go through that area. Where they live is also the beginning of the high desert, so the landscape becomes more barren and brown. From their house, you can see the tip of Mt. Adams in WA and just up the street atop a hill, Mt. Hood can be seen. The sky is bluer and clearer than further west. It's definitely not a thriving metropolis but you can certainly buy a huge house for a decent price.

On my way there, I took the scenic Columbia River byway and stopped at a few vista points to get a better view of the area. We saw the international gravity sport association (IGSA) championships which were basically grown men and women longobarding (like a luge) or skateboarding down this hill that's curvy and somewhat steep. Talk about the need for speed! The day I left to return to WA, we drove to this lodge that is up high on the mountain where the air was cold, the cloud cover hid the summit and there was snow on the ground. It was pretty cool to see people skiing in Sept.

This was my only trip to OR. I had originally planned to see the area around Bend, OR and coastal OR but I think after all the travelling I've done, I need to stay at home to get a few things done and relax a bit. I started packing up and organizing things to get ready for my next move. I'm trying to get in touch with people along the way out to NC. You know, places to go, people to see and all that jazz!