The Rose City

I'm going to briefly write about visiting Portland, OR.  I'll post later about Washington and L.A.  My Portland trip started with a twelve hour drive from Salt Lake City.  It was a long day driving through the rain in Utah, Idaho and Oregon.  The good news is that I can check two more states off that I'd previously never visited. 

When I got to Portland, I met up with Erika and grabbed a beer at a local bar.  Erika had to work Friday morning so we called it a night pretty early.  The next day, after Erika left for work, I decided to walk around the city.  Erika had informed me that Portland was small enough that I could easily walk across the entire city.  I didn't attempt that.  Instead I went to buy new shoes which were desperately needed.

Erika got done work early so we went to a nice neighborhood to walk around and get some food.  We rode a couple different forms of public transportation.  Seeing 'Portlandia,' the enormous statue downtown was really unique.  After a fun afternoon, we regrouped, had dinner and made plans to go out.  We went to a couple different bars, both with their own flare.  All of Erika's friends were so kind and very friendly to me.

The next day was a walk through Forest Park, a visit to the Rose Gardens and a handful of other 'must see' sites.  That evening, Erika and I took time to visit some of the excellent pub/breweries that Portland has to offer.  We had a blast ordering flights of beers and eating good food.  After a brief respite, we gathered with the roommates again and went to a nice bar and got late night food at 'The Grilled Cheese Grill.'

I was supposed to leave on Sunday, but decided to be lazy and stay another day.  We went grocery shopping, read books, took naps and cooked supper.  What a great day.  That night we watched a movie and went to bed early.  Monday morning, I drove Erika to work and took off for Washington to visit Jamie, Eric and the kids.  Will post later...

Stay Tuned

Sorry for the brief absence.  I haven't had very much Internet access in the past week.  I'm going to try and post later tonight re: Portland, OR and Lacey, WA...

The Top of the Earth

Hello everyone!  Greetings from Salt Lake City, UT.  I'm staying here with my friend Cari and her boyfriend Ryan.  My last days in Fort Collins were a blast.  Having stayed in Colorado for as long as I did, I was able to meet a lot of people and see a lot of great things.  But every good stop leads to another.  And this is no different.

I drove through Wyoming most of the morning and afternoon to get here.  There's not much to see off of I-80 (except a few oil refineries).  But as you get closer to Salt Lake City, the mountains appear and the view becomes absolutely breathtaking.  Without a doubt, one of the most naturally beautiful cities I've ever visited.  The warm, grassy city in the valley is completely surrounded by ginormous snow-capped mountains.  Where Cari lives, you have a great view of Salt Lake City and she's only a short drive from all the ski resorts.

After stuffing our faces at the Cheesecake Factory, Cari and I decided to take it easy, watch a movie and go to bed relatively early.  That put us in great moods to go skiing at Snowbird today.  Snowbird is a huge resort only fifteen minutes away.  We went in the afternoon to save a few dollars and get an afternoon pass.  Without going into extreme detail of the riding I'll say that although the conditions were not 'perfect' I couldn't ask for anything better on my first ski trip out west.  The views were spectacular, the slopes were excellent (snow conditions could have been better) and the lodge/spa afterward was a delightful treat.

We just made it back to the house and deciding what we want to do tonight.  Perhaps the movies.  We'll see I suppose.  Give me a little time and I'll upload some photos I took earlier and post them for you to see.  I hope you are well wherever you are reading this.  Best.

The End of the Earth

Holy cow.  It's been forever since I posted.  My sincerest apologies for that.  I wish I had a good excuse, but it's mostly due to laziness.  I have been busy though, so I'll try to keep this post as 'to the point' as possible.

The last time I wrote was just before I left for Big Bend National Park.  After leaving San Antonio, I made a last minute decision to visit Pat Butterfield in Killeen, TX.  I made the short drive north and spent with night with the family; Pat, Erica and Schuyler.  After a delicious steak dinner, Pat drove me around Fort Hood Army Base where he works.  It was great to spend that time together.  I found out Erica is pregnant and that they're planning a move to Vermont (hopefully this fall). 

The next morning I woke up early and made the long journey to Terlingua, TX, which I now fondly refer to as 'The End of the Earth.'  When I got off I-10 and drove south, I rarely saw other cars and towns were virtually nonexistent.  Terlingua itself, is a very small town located on the Mexican border in the Chihuahuan desert.  It's very difficult to describe this town.

Maria Jenness did a great job at showing me around.  We spent time hiking and walking around the national park.  Interesting fact: Big Bend National Park is the least visited national park.  The hiking was great and the views were absolutely gorgeous.  I have photos, but they're not on my computer.  (Check facebook later).

The people were amazing and one of a kind.  I had the feeling that people moved to Terlingua to escape something, whether it be a person, finances, the government, etc.  You would never pass through this town because it's not on the way to some other place, so the only people there are one's who decide to visit or make it their home. 

After a few days, I hopped in the car and headed north again to New Mexico.  This was the first time I stayed in a hotel.  I stopped for an overnight in Santa Fe.  If I'm being completely honest, I didn't care for Santa Fe very much.  Granted, I was only there overnight, but it still didn't impress me a whole lot.  I didn't find the people to be very friendly and the city itself was pretty boring.  The best part was getting an oil change the next morning where the mechanic gave me a free bottle of water.

Since Thursday of last week, I've been in Fort Collins, CO.  My buddies Sam, Brian and Dexter all live together.  I'm staying with them.  Driving through Colorado Springs was interesting because my father lived there for four years when he was a young adult.  I've been to Denver twice since I've been here.  But I've mostly been hanging out in Fort Collins.  We've had fun going out at night and site seeing during the day.  All the boys work, so I make most of my days.  I've gone all around town, visited some tourist attractions and today I'm going hiking.

I'm not sure when my departure will be from here, but I've made some plans for the middle to end of April with various friends and family.  That gives me about two weeks to explore.  If you have any suggestions, please comment and let me know. 

Sorry again, for taking so long.  I'll be better from now on.  I promise.  I look forward to hearing from you all.  Best.

Brief Update

Hey everybody!  Thanks for following my posts.  And thanks for the messages from everyone (Jamie, Maria, Brandi, etc.)  I know it's been a long time since I posted in San Antonio.  I'm going to wait until tomorrow to make a full post.  In the meantime, know that I'm alive and doing well in Fort Collins, CO.  I have a lot of great stories since my last post.  Check in again soon. 

I-35

So much has happened since my last post.  This has been my first period of time at the computer to post though.  My apologies.  I'll attempt to keep this as 'to the point' as possible.

Wednesday was spent exploring Dallas.  I went out on my own to explore.  As I'm sure most you know, Dallas is where President Kennedy was assassinated in 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald (supposedly).  I spent most of the day at the Sixth Floor Museum where Oswald shot Kennedy.  The museum was informative and a bit unsettling.  I learned a lot, though, about the history and legacy of JFK.  The rest of the day, I ventured in and out of a variety of free art museums, strolled through the parks and took a trolley ride around town. 

That night, Alyssa, Colin and I went for Tex-Mex where I ordered Enchiladas en Mole.  Excellent.  Afterward, we listened to live music at The Grange and tried some fun drinks at The Black Swan. 

The next day was hellish.  I had intentions on leaving for San Antonio but accidently left my keys in Colin's car from the previous night.  That meant that I spent the entire afternoon taking Dallas/Fort Worth public transportation to Colin's work and back.  I made it San Antonio four hours later than I wanted.

Since I've been in San Antonio, the Castle family has shown a tremendous amount of hospitality.  Caitlin took me around San Antonio on Friday.  We visited The Alamo, took a boat tour on the San Antonio river, had guacamole and prickly pear margaritas on the river walk, visited some nice gardens and had a Mexican Coke.  We did all of Caitlin's favorite things!  Friday evening, we saw an amazaing flemenco music/dance performance at a small restaurant.  I'd never seen flemenco before.  The dancers were great and the music was incredible. 

On Saturday, we drove to Austin to visit, Ashley (mentioned in my NYC post).  She happened to be in Texas as well, so we made a point to catch up.  The day was spend strolling through Austin's shops and food joints.  Specialties include a cole slaw with fried shrimp filled tortilla and a massive donut topped with brownies, hot fudge and ice cream.

The Barton Springs are a natural spring in Austin where people go to cool off and swim.  Because Caitlin and I didn't have our bathing suits, we dipped our feet in.  Ashley and Dan were able to enjoy the full pleasures of the cool water.  Austin is a unique city in that it has a different atmosphere and feel to it.  There is a large hipster community that was very present at the springs.

Last night, we grabbed barbecue with friends of Caitlin and had a few drinks before coming back to San Antonio.  I did get to see the capital building before leaving, though.  An enormous and beautiful structure.

Today, I'm on my way to Killeen to visit Pat.  Tomorrow I journey deep in to Big Bend National Park with Maria.  I'll fill you in soon on those adventures.

The Lone Star State

Hey y'all!  I made it to Texas earlier today and am very excited about it.  But let me fill you in on yesterday's fun adventures first.

Rather than waking up early to go kayaking, Uncle Ivan decided to let us all sleep in.  We had pancakes and eggs for breakfast, packed up the kayaks and headed for the beach.  That afternoon was amazing.  Uncle Ivan, Nikki, Regan (so for spelling 'Reagan' in earlier posts), Lianna and I had such a good time.  Kayaking around the sound was fun and challenging.  Especially going around the second time with Nikki.  But we made it through alive to tell the story. 

Yesterday evening we dined at the Ruby Tuesday where Desirae works and had an excellent meal.  After a quick stop at Baskin Robbins, we made our way back, got settled in and called it a night.

This morning I slept in later than I wanted to, but still took time for pancakes with the family.  I packed up my stuff and left Florida at 11am.  I already miss the gang.  But I passed through Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana before I finally made it to Texas.  Texas is the first state I've visited thus far that I've never been to before.  I'm excited to spend the next week for so visiting the sites.  I'm in Dallas Alyssa and Colin, two friend from IC.  I got in around 9pm so we went out for a bite to eat and a few drinks so far.  They were kind enough to make me a list of possible activities for tomorrow while they're at work.  Afterward, I think we might catch a few local folk/country bands.  We'll see though.

I have this dream of visiting a real old fashioned, western honky-tonk.  The kind where people say 'You ain't from 'round these parts, are ya?'  Perhaps my dreams will come true this next week.  We shall see.  Stay tuned.