we made it to the big trees and Pacific

Ben and I made our pilgrimage to the redwoods. Yup, my life is one step closer to being complete. We drove drove drove through southern Oregon and into California until the road suddenly dove into the redwoods, such a sudden boundary of forest types that it literally takes your breath away. This is the forest of fairytales and dreams: deep, dark, enormous, covered in ferns and shadowed by the enormous trees. My poor little camera couldn't really take the dim lighting until we made it through the woods and across the marshy grassland estuary to the shore, where we sat on driftwood, drank peppermint tea with mini Snickers and watched the waves roll in. What a day. We ended up hiking more than ten miles without seeing anyone really. I can't wait to go back with a better camera someday!

san francisco

Ben and I took a roadtrip down to San Francisco over Labor Day weekend (I know, I know, I am way behind in blogging, alas). This is one of the cities that I've always had on my mental list to visit, almost legendary in the way I pictured it, and so it was pretty surreal to just hop in my little car and drive there. 

Highlights included:

-delicious tacos in the Mission

- disturbingly dirt cheap Pashmina scarf shopping in Chinatown

-walking. so. much. walking. 12 miles one day...

-an epic pilgrimage to Mama's for brunch

-exploring Golden Gate Park

-eating ten pounds of noodles every night for dinner at hole in the wall Chinese restaurants

-hazy views of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge

-parking and transportation adventures galore

-crashing at 9 pm every night with wine and House Hunters (we can't hang like we used to)

Despite the beautiful blue skies featured in a few of the pictures (taken during the 2 hour period where it was sunny), the cool mistiness was a nice change of pace from the bone dry 95* it has been in southern Oregon for the past month. At least according to Ben, Mr. "It's so refreshing!" As for me, I could not acclimate to the weather, which was kind of hilarious, and my hair expanded three times its normal volume. Give me my sunshine back!!! The perpetual island of fog was freaky. I think this city might be the most geographically AND culturally unique of any I've been to so far. One of those places where you feel like you're in an alternate universe or different country, much like Texas (but totally different than Texas).

Many many thanks to our amazing friend Lauren for housing and touring us!

crater lake adventures

Little tent in the Big Woods

Old-growth Douglas fir

Chicken sausages, homemade pita bread, and grilled veggies with thyme. I am a camp food chef

Misty views off the Rim Road around Crater Lake

The lake: deepest in the US

Benanna

Endless forest

View from Mt. Scott

We climbed a mountain

Fire lookout. (Or watchtower of Rohan?)

Indian Paintbrush

Twisty whitebark pines

Dr. Seuss flowers

So happy

Our first official Oregon Adventure together was a raging and beautiful success. I am getting sad that fall weather is hinting more and more. Send me more endlessly sunny and warm days for camping!

This last week of August has been exciting in good and bad ways. The highlights include the death and resurrection of our fridge, and Ben snagging his first little Oregon job. An impressive feat considering the super crappy job market and economy here. Yay!

austin adventures

I absolutely love going to a place that lives up to every stereotype you had in mind, which is how I felt from the moment I saw longhorn cattle on the side of the highway driving into Austin. Texas really does feel like its own country, and everything there is somehow more epic than it is everywhere else. The heat, the giant Capital, the barbecue, the weddings, Whole Foods, the music scene, the enormous university, the state pride, etc etc etc. Also, the bus drivers are very friendly, and the last Harry Potter movie is my favorite of the rest. It was a fun weekend, but I am glad to be back where the air is dry and life is a little more serene and calm. 88 degree weather never felt more like springtime.