fog

It has been cloudy, and rainy, and foggy for the last couple weeks. It's that kind of long spell of typical-winter-darkness here, in Western Washington, that prompts the weather folks to predict a sun spotting "tomorrow" for ten days in a row.

I can probably estimate the amount of bright stuff in the sky to be in the vicinity of under 4 hours since I returned from my road trip. Not that I mind. The clouds are sort of comforting in a strange sort of familiar way; after all, this locale is the closest thing I have to "home."

I took some pictures of the fog this morning on the water. Before I ducked into the coffee shop, for a morning on the internet with my double almond latte, and while I briefly walked through the chilling clouds around me, I drew an immediate parallel to the low-visibility in my own life. I felt as if I was peering out into the white fuzz of my limited right-now-knowledge; understanding that the sun, and the clarity it brings, are just a few feet above or beyond me.

This afternoon was the first time the haze blew off for the entire afternoon. Something of an "Ahhhh" moment happened; you know, like in the movie Finding Nemo when the Sydney Opera House comes into view and, every time through the course of the film, an operatic chord is played (by the way, that's really the sort of feeling it gives you to see that architectural wonder). That is sort of how it felt today to put on my sunglasses. I knew there was a reason I had been carrying those around for a couple weeks! I cannot wait to have that moment again when I find a job!

friends and waterfalls

On my last day in Oregon, we decided to trek out to Multnomah Falls. The weather turned quite rainy, but it's a waterfall; so you're bound to get wet anyway, right? Due to the heavy amounts of melting snow and rain, plenty of waterfalls were cascading down rock faces on their way to the Columbia River. I am continually impressed at how much water escapes from the hills; it seems like it should run out.

I hadn't visited this falls for quite awhile and while it looks pretty much the same as I remember it, I really like rediscovering things with an adult mind. As a kid, I seemed to miss the significance of places I visited or things I saw. Now is a better time to remember and recreate thoughts about places.

In the evening, I was able to get together with a friend, Laura, who I went to kindergarten with. She has a family with three boys and lives in Beaverton. Our time spent together was filled with warm conversation and stories about the unusual paths that God has lead us on and how he has developed our lives to be where they are right now.

The next morning, I packed up and was on the road again.

heading in a northernish direction

Entirely unmotivated to drive for seven to eight hours, I finally got in the car and headed in the direction of Portland. I took awhile to get going since I had to get gas. I accidentally found the Sundial Bridge in Redding, so I figured I should get out and snap a photo of that. The park was quite lovely and the weather was absolutely stunning! I was very reluctant to leave that California sunshine behind!

One of the highlights of the northerly drive was the view of Mount Shasta. For a few hours, I had this volcano in my sights and caught a couple photos of it on my way. I wished I would have taken a photo of Castle Crags as the sun was glowing and casting shadows on the rock face; simply gorgeous!

another stop

I arranged to meet my friends, Storey and Austin, again, in Chico on the way back north. I had a fantastic time catching up with them both. I made my lime hamburgers for them over football and conversations about Antarctica.

Storey took me on a tour of the town. We walked around the park (I loved how still the water was in this retention pool), ran some errands, and had tacos with his amazing salsa for dinner. It wasn't quite like Australia, where we last toured around together, but still fun to get out and do something for an afternoon with a friend! I am glad I stopped through on my way back.

mostly sunny san francisco

After a gorgeous morning of driving right on the coast, I spent the next hour traveling through Monterrey and up toward San Francisco. I had never been there before, and had originally intended to camp a couple extra nights up the coast, but after the freeze, decided to hurry my trip along so I would not have to be cold for another December night.

I also figured that San Francisco is probably a city best seen with the company of other people, so determined to only stop at the Golden Gate Bridge. The structure is a very pretty sight to behold. I encountered it on a partially sunny day, found a parking spot with time still left on the meter, whipped through their gift shop for a couple postcards, took a short walk to have some foreign tourists take my snapshot on a couple of occasions, called my sister to say hello from The Bridge, and hopped back in my car to be on my merry way.

So, I got my view of the Golden Gate, and my free northbound trip across this bridge. I took in Alcatraz in the hazy distance; leaving it, a trolley car ride, and a visit to Ghirardelli Chocolate on the Wharf as places of exploration for a subsequent journey through the city (perhaps between the warmer camping months of April through October).

pacific highway sort of sunday

Sunday morning I woke up frozen and early to explore the Pacific Coastline in Highway 1 between San Simeon and San Francisco. I made plans to be back in Chico, California in time for supper, so I had a lose time frame to work with.

By 7:30am, I was packed up and on the road. My main objective of the morning was to find elephant seals. It is early to spot them, but I had heard a few tourist talking about them. I stopped at one particular view point along the road and was certainly not disappointed. As soon as I got out of the car, I could hear their guttural sounds from above the beach. Immediately, I saw two playing or fighting in the water and then walked a long a boardwalk where the the beach was busy with the loafing large seals and some regular seals, too.

Most of my drive I took in the scenery from the car. Highway 1 is full of twists and turns that rarely allow anyone to drive the posted 55mph. Despite the slow going toward San Francisco, I was simply delighted to take in the ocean scenes! It was a great Sunday morning for worshiping God on a sunny ocean coast road!

cold coastline

After a quick stop to see Dan and Karen, I spent a couple extra hours driving toward the Pacific Ocean. The sun was out and the weather was predicted to stay moderately warm; considering it is December. So, I quickly found the San Simeon State campground I intended to stay at north of Cambria, pitched my tent and went off to enjoy the last few hours of daylight.

Cambria is near the famous Hearst Castle. I have seen television documentaries on this mansion, and my mom had talked about it once or twice when I was younger, so I drove up to the visitor's center and nosed around a bit. The tours were booked up for the evening, so I did not get to visit the actual castle, or see the zebras still roaming the grounds, but I did enjoy the view.

I drove from there to numerous view points on the beaches; watching the sun fall into the Pacific Ocean and talking with a few folks on the way about what they had done on their travels. At one point, I got pulled over by a policeman for going 73 in a 55mph zone. I told him I was watching the sunset and not paying attention to my speed, so after he did a background check and made me promise not to drive so fast and use their pullouts to look at the sunset, he let me off. I drove slowly after that!

In Cambria, I found a grocery store and picked up a couple items to cook for supper. Upon returning to the campground, I couldn't start my stove. I had a fuel leak. I learned out to disassemble my MSR Whisperlite in Antarctica though as part of our Happy Camper, or Snow School course. So, I took the entire works apart, didn't find anything wrong with it, and put it all back together again. It worked then.

I was awfully cold when I crawled into my sleeping bag, but the weather forecast predicted low, 40F degree temperatures. When I woke up the next morning, though, I new why my toes were numb. I had a solid layer of frost on the outside of my tent and frozen condensation on the inside. This wasn't nearly as cold as Laura's overnight at the South Pole, but certainly a bit chilly for someone who was not expecting to freeze!

fun friends

Shortly after Christmas, I realized I had a friend from Antarctica within a half hour drive. It turned out that his place was right on the way to the California Coast. So, on my way out of Visalia, I drove through Lemoore, California and stopped in to see Dan and his girlfriend, Karen.

I know Dan from Antarctica and he was a better friend with my sister. It was fun to catch up with him for the better part of an hour and talk about where we've been and where we hope to go. Dan is currently on his parent's farm until he can figure out the next best adventure job to head off for. I left him with a few of the oranges from my 22 pound box, too.

awfully orangey

After Christmas, Mark took myself, his brother-in-law, and two of the boys out to his orange orchard. My Uncle Jim has fruit orchards in Washington that yield apples, pears, peaches, cherries, and such, but I had never actually seen groves of oranges (just a tree, or two when I was in Cameroon). I was mostly surprised by how bushy the trees can grow.

Mark explained some of the differences between the variety of oranges and we tasted a couple off the tree. The little Satsuma Mandarins were pretty ripe and we picked up a few boxes of them on the way back to the house, directly from the packer. I also learned while I was in California about another Dutch tradition of giving oranges for Christmas. This trend started in the Netherlands as a way to prevent scurvy; a small gift of health at Christmas time in the form of vitamin C.

Growing nearby were some rows of persimmons. I had never tried this fruit before. I had seen them once or twice and figured they were a bit like a tomato, but after testing one out, I thought they were a lot like papaya. In any case, this one tree was left with fruit. The fruit is the last thing to fall off the tree. Persimmons must be easy to pick since they are easy to spot among the leafless branches!

The other exciting thing we did among the trees was test the wind machine. The boys seemed to think it was a little too loud, but those machines can certainly stir up the air and keep the fruit from freezing!

snow-magedon

I had the unique experience of driving down Interstate 5 during what was being defined as the worst snowstorm since 1990. One radio show host called it "Snowmagedon." I thought through this statement and realized that I had lived that snowstorm in 6th grade. This was the day that about 10 of us from school were stuck at the mall because there was too much snow in too short a time and the roads were completely clogged; until 9pm. The vendors in the mall gave us free food: We received tacos from Taco Tinas and Cinnabons, too!

In any case, I forgot how gorgeous so much fresh snow can look over evergreen trees (my photo on the fly does not do it justice). For those of you familiar with northwest Washington, when I drove through the hills by Sammish Lake and Alger, I wanted to stop and snap a bunch of pictures, but these ended up being snapshots in my memory.

Only one stretch of road yielded complete snow and ice and that was early on in my journey by the Stillaguamish River. The rest of the way I had at least tracks of black pavement to follow.

South of Olympia, I-5 was actually closed for a few hours due to a six semi, 23 car pileup. I sat at a standstill for just over an hour before the road reopened. Up near the crash site, people had actually built snowmen on the side of the road, and one was actually sculptured to be a dog, or a bear.

Typically a 4.5 hour trip, I arrived in 7.5 with only one stop on the way for coffee, some snacks, and a tank of gas.

During my one trip, I got out my super-duper midwestern snow brush and ice scraper combo. I actually heard someone say, "That's cool! Look what she is doing!" I had to laugh. They must sell snow brushes in Washington!

s- no -w plans

In the last two days I have been busy making plans for a road trip to visit my cousins for Christmas. I have lined up a few friends to see on the way and diligently scheduled and made sure each date and time fit on my structured trip agenda.

Today, my plans were put off. We got snow. More snow on already slick roads. In Western Washington this is a difficult situation because the region is not equipped to deal with the one or two snow storms that come a year, and there are many more hills to consider when getting around (Check out this news article for the details). And, my front wheel drive Honda cannot compensate for the weather as well as our four wheel drive retrofitted vans in Antarctica!

In any case, my trip is delayed for at least a day; although, we are supposed to be prepared for the flakes to keep falling through tomorrow afternoon.

So much for plans.

just snow

For someone who was hoping for milder temperatures this December after the last two in Antarctica, I am certainly not the one you should come to if you're excited about the snow.

I came back from a wonderful weekend away at my friends, Maria and Colin's home in Abbotsford, British Columbia to find a nice coating all over everything. It meant the road was slippery enough that I didn't want to risk the last 1/8 mile uphill with my car (I already need to replace the windshield now that I developed a large crack rather randomly last Friday). So, I parked at the bottom and dragged all my belongings from the weekend up the slippery slope.

The white is pretty in a cold sort of way. I won't be disappointed if it melts soon; although our forecast is for much more cold this week.

Now that the snow level has dropped, the mountains look absolutely glorious. This photo is taken from Bellingham, looking into Canada. Yesterday Maria and I took a drive up to the top of a hill in Abbotsford and looked out over the mountains with their new snow on a clear day. In the midst of my life's frustrations God is so good!

staying with sara

I stopped off in Seattle to spend a couple days with Sara again. I have been doing quite a bit of walking around the city and today was no exceptions. We intended to only visit R.E.I. so she could get a water bottle, but then we ended up getting coffee, walking toward the waterfront, and Pike Place Market, and Ivars for clam chowder.

Since we were down there and we saw the ferries floating in and out of the pier, we figured we could walk on a ferry, so we had one of the most fascinating rides I have ever had into the fog on the ferry. The sun was also disappearing, so we felt quite strange traveling through the thick fog on the water as the evening turned a faded blue to black.

We caught the Seattle to Bainbridge Island Ferry. On the other end we had to get off and walk back on for the forty minute ride back. Even at night, the city lights did not beat the fog that was looming over the tall buildings.

The whole city is still engulfed in clouds, but not rain.

no words, friday alaska ferry docking

fall from autumn

I decided to use the term "autumn" to describe this season we are experiencing in the northern hemisphere right now. But on the first day of November, God must have commanded, "Leaves, Fall!" So, I deem this the "fall" part of autumn.

Instead of seeing so many colors up in the branches, there was a colorful carpet of burnt orange, regular orange, bright yellow, maroon, and red under each tree. I went for a run through the park and at times the trail was so covered with colors that I couldn't see the path!

The best part of my time outside was walking by a tall maple tree when a gust of wind blew through. I think half of the leaves blew off the tree with that little breeze and I had to dodge them as they fell all over the road and sidewalk! The raining colors made me grin from ear to ear!

first autumn in three years

It occurred to me this week that I have not experience the season of autumn for three years. No wonder leaf collecting is such a novelty!

This morning, the relatives took a trip to the McPhail Farm in Lynden for a hayride to the pumpkin patch. The weather was cool (rather autumnal) and started out a bit cloudy, however, this neck of the woods is due for some lovely sunny skies in the weekend, and we saw some sun rays split the clouds before we left.

Our trip involved a short hayride to the pumpkin patch where we wandered about; searching for the perfect orange vegetable. I took some pumpkin pictures, watched the three boys trip, skip, and fall through the muddy vines and weeds, while honing in on the bigger and better looking orange pumpkins. Heading back to the farm buildings, we fed some animals, had some fantastic apple cider, and eventually got chased off the property by some late-season bees.

After lunch and some pumpkin carving (of course), I was able to meet up with Angie, Jessica, and Lucy at the Re-Store. There are plenty of interesting and unique, sometimes old pieces of home improvement projects there. I definitely saw some creative potential with some door handles and a couple of cupboard doors.

The four of us also indulged in a bit of coffee at Espresso Avellinos which is a lovely, quaint spot downtown Bellingham with a quite tasty amaretto latte!

What a great crisp autumn Saturday to spend with family and friends!

not where they are supposed to be

One of the ideas my new book gave me was to find things that are out of place in their surroundings. I have taken a few notes for a few days and here are some things that I came up with.

I found this maple leaf floating in the ocean. Streams and rivers team with autumn leaves, but I never pictured a deciduous leaf changing color in salt water!

...or how about a Rock festival in Antarctica. This article made the news in a popular magazine, Blender. It's pretty cool when I know all of the bands and all of the folks quoted here! But who would think there could be such a celebration outside on the earth's harshest continent?

...or, how about sitting in a coffee shop, trying to catch up on e-mails only to hear toddlers screaming, five kids running around between tables and chairs, and babies crying. I certainly don't mean to deter parents from stopping in for a coffee with their kids in tow, but I thought my cozy little coffee haven had turned into a nursery!

...or check out this telephone pole; completely overgrown in trees and bushes. The communication here is by tweet or chirp (and I'm not referring to nextel).

...or seeing litter in bushes and grass, wrapped around vines and floating down a river.

...or this crab, who may be in the right environment, but at some point, was in the wrong place at the wrong time; no life here.

This sort of reflects my life right now. I feel misplaced, unglued, and a misfit in my environment. But, there's a reason and purpose behind this time. The only thing I can do is pick my head up, put the past seven months behind me, and continue to walk forward.

southwesty

Today I flipped to the other side of the border and began feeling a little southwesty (in terms of British Columbia that is). I spent most of my day in Abbotsford (Canada) today with my friend, Maria, and her lovely family of in-laws.

I joined she and her husband for church where the message began with a quote from Thomas Merton: "To hope is to risk frustration. Therefore, make up your mind to risk frustration." Frustration and hope; two concepts that I am most familiar with! That sort of clobbered me over the head as some heavy food for thought; although, I do not have to think long to know I have been so frustrated that I'm afraid to hope.

After the service, we had a mouthwatering breakfast of raspberry pancakes before heading off with her to Harrison; home of the hot springs.

The last time I had been up this direction was for our high school choir tour. I have pictures of us wandering around the lake between the mountains. The hot springs in the area have been funneled into a pool and are the very springs that one of my siblings decided to poop in at age one, or two. The entire pool was evacuated for cleaning. I remember I was learning to dog paddle that day with my friend, Nick, and brother, Matt.

Maria and I did not visit the pool today, though. Instead we looked in on the sand castle contest that was still standing on the shores of the lake and took a brisk walk in some slightly rainy weather. The area is still gorgeous; even under a cloud cover and it was great to spend time with a friend again.

We arrived back in Abbotsford to a wonderful lunch of barbecued chicken and some fantastic bread with good family conversation all around me. I sure beat spending the afternoon cooking for myself again; although, I have eaten quite healthy this week. It's always nice to have company.

I am becoming rather attached to the idea of working north of the border. British Columbia has some amazing and spectacular scenery. Maria and I found this out when we failed to read the appropriate signs to put us back on the most direct road home. We certainly were not disappointed with our drive in the hills and along the Fraser River. The yellow trees, green grass and blues of the hills were quite vibrant when the sun peaked through the mostly-cloudy skies. The afternoon away made for a simply wonderful Sunday!

o regresso

My return to the United States was mostly uneventful. My flights were alright. I probably slept more on my Sao Paulo to Dallas trip than I ever have before. Customs and immigration went smoother than silk. I had a short amount of time for a layover, but I picked up a bite to eat and some coffee.

I noted I was back in The States by the crabby unhelpful Americans. I find it quite sad, but smile to hope their day might improve by it.

On my flight from Dallas to Seattle, I joined a number of US Armed Forces flying home from Afghanistan and Iraq. That was a prideful American moment when, at the end of the flight, they were recognized and allowed to disembark the aircraft first to cheers from everyone else. There are certainly a number of stories I heard from these men as they looked forward to spending time with their families and friends!

I was also on the right side of the plane to have a spectacular view of Mount Rainier flying into Washington. We flew to the East and North of the mountain on a stunning day in the Pacific Northwest.

Sara picked me up from the airport and we had a nice soup lunch together before she went to work. Then I stopped in Seattle to see Matt for coffee since he was in town to finish his fish research from the summer and a high school reunion. Finally, I stopped to see Dave and Chelsea in the same neighborhood before driving north back to Bellingham. For a trip up I-5, I couldn't ask for a nicer, more beautiful evening.

I am glad to be back in a land where I can understand people and they understand me, but really sad to leave the adventure, the rest, and the trip behind! I had a fantastic time exploring, learning, seeing, and participating in life in Brazil; likely one of the best vacations ever.

I've returned.

the last day

Friday rolled around and I packed up my bags one last time. My flight was at 11:50pm, so I had a day to spend in the city yet.

I called Shaun and met up with him late in the morning and we made plans to visit the Centro area of the city. This is where much of the original architecture remains and also holds the financial district of the city.

We took the Metra to Se. When we walked out of the station we found ourselves right smack in the middle of things. Looking up was the towers of Catedral da Se. This 1920's church was constructed in place of one standing from the 1800's. I think it would have been more fascinating to see the original, but, this building is quite impressive all the same.

Shaun and I walked through quietly and observed the greatness of the building; noting how disappointing it is that the awe-inspiring feelings we had often become common place within these bricks when you visit them daily, or weekly. The focus is then less on looking up towards God, but more on one's self, the function or routine of going to church, and the small busy things that life distracts us with.

Shaun also noted some colors on the pillars inside the cathedral. I snapped a few photos of these stained glass reflections. There is something very unique and wonderful about being in such a well-structured, deliberately-constructed place. I'm sorry that our culture has lost this sort of fantastic architecture for buildings that can be slapped together in a shorter amount of time.

We also toured through Sao Paulo's "wall street." This area only has pedestrian streets throughout. We also visited a lovely art museum and tried to interpret what we saw. Eventually we found ourselves back at the Metra and back on Paulista for a good-bye.

On my way back to the hotel, I snapped a photo of the colorful tiles that I walked by all week. These colors represented what I thought of Brazil. Very vibrant and colorful!

My trip to the airport was also a bit of an adventure. I started out with early intentions, and am quite glad that I did. First I had to withdraw a little extra money to purchase a bus ticket. Since my bank had been bought out on Friday morning, none of the international banks wanted to take my card. I even went in to speak with someone and could not get cash out of my debit account. Finally, after a last ditch effort to walk up the street to the only American bank I had seen, I forked out a $5 ATM charge and was able to get a little cash.

At the hotel, the airport shuttle was to drive right past and pick me up on its' loop around the city. However, due to traffic, the bus avoided Augusta altogether and left me hanging. The gentlemen at the hotel were kind to speak with. They gave me a coffee and kept me well-entertained while I sat there for the two hours. Only one man spoke English and told me that everyone at the hotel like my smile.

At the end of this time, all four men who had been keeping an eye out for the bus came out to get me in a taxi. I was to go to the bus station at Repulica and catch the bus there. When I arrived, Djerson, the receptionist had called the station to make sure I arrived alright. That was certainly nice!

I ended up catching another taxi with two other folks on the way to the airport as the bus was running late due to Friday traffic and the price was nearly the same if we split the taxi. It was a relief to be at the airport and have some time to collect my thoughts before flying north again!