A Week of Faith, Fun, and Friendships

Wow, it has been far too long since we have been able to really sit down and try to update these things. But it has been an amazing week!

So following my last post, we had finally arrived, slept in, packed up and left form our campsite. We then spent the majority of the following say driving in and out of the Redwood Forest. The trees were beyond huge and as many pictures as you see or as much as you can hear about them nothing really does them justice until you go stand next to some of them. We were able to see some elk and other fun things along the way before we stopped and drove literally through a redwood. We eventually got to our campsite for the night which was in part of the forest so that was cool aside from the still pouring rain outside.

The next morning we got up and packed up our still soaked and muddy tent and I managed to get bit by what we're assuming was a spider because after the itching calmed down in turned some really fun colors for a few days before going away. We headed out into Napa county to Chateau Montelena for a wine tasting. It was cheaper if we just shared one portion and since Kayla isn't a huge wine fan she took one sip of each and passed them back off to me. Considering this was 9am and we hadn't eaten yet and I barely drink...not the best of combinations, so Kayla drove for a bit to be on the safe side. The wines were ok, but I tend to like to sweeter ones so besides the Riesling, I wasn't a huge fan of any of them. But the experience was fun and exploring the estate was cool too. We then drove to Yosemite National Park. The sun had finally come out by now and the park was absolutely beautiful. We saw so much in a short time and after running out of memory space on cameras and all else it was a wonderfully scenic drive back out of the valley. We then got to our campsite at Half Moon Bay and our site was amazing. We set up our tent about 50 feet from the shore. Our tent finally had the chance to dry out and we fell asleep and woke up to the sound of the waves crashing along the surf.

We got up the following morning and ran around on the beach for a few minutes since we were there. I finally got to change the oil in the truck since it wasn't pouring out and then we packed up and were off again. We drove to San Jose to the Winchester Mystery House. Basically, the wife of the son of the man who invented the Winchester Rifle lived there and was told to build a house and never complete the construction on it because it would displease the spirits of the people who had been killed by Winchester Rifles. So this house has stairwells to the ceiling, doors to nowhere, cabinets that are an inch deep, six kitchens, and so many more things there is no way I could tell them all here. It was really cool and we were able to tour the inside of the house as well as the estate and lots of other areas on the property. After that, we drove to San Francisco and took a ferry to Alcatraz. It was really cool and surreal being in the same place, in the same cells, as some of the notoriously famous people. The audio tour we were given was really informative and showed us all of the awesome things like where the escape attempts and riots happened. After the tour we headed back into the city. We did some souvenir shopping and then hiked up Hyde Street, down Lombard Street, pit-stopped at Aladdin Street, and a few other places before heading back to the car. The city was actually a lot cheaper than we expected which is always a pleasant surprise. We drove over the Golden Gate bridge and then headed out of the area. We got to our next campsite and passed out from sheer exhaustion.

We spent most of the next day driving south and around 4pm we finally made it to Santa Monica and met up with the Clarity folk! Six months ago, a bunch of our friends from church moved out here to plant a church called Clarity, so when we got here we had the ability to crash with the seven people living in their apartment at the moment. Nathan, Jessie, Josh, Allison, Ryan, Katrina, Dan, and baby Novi have all been very generous and we have loved every moment of our time here. We got here on Sunday just in time to help set up and experience a dinner and time of worship. The food was amazing and even though the group was small it was a really awesome time. Nathan and Jessie led worship and then Nathan taught about the ability for one person to make such a big difference. He explained that Stephen, the first Christian martyr (Acts 6/7) was supposed to die as a warning (at least that's what the authorities wanted) but really he became an inspiration and without his death the Christians of that time wouldn't have fled and helped spread their faith all over the world. If Stephen hadn't died, there would be Christians in one small area of the world and no where else. Crazy! So Nathan continued to show us how one person has the potential to truly influence the world. After that we cleaned everything up and headed back to their apartment where everyone hung out and made jokes and did stuff like "shaky face." It was just a really fun time with friends.

We woke up the next morning and Josh and I talked a little about the bible which was enlightening since he grew up in the church and was able to explain a few things to me that I woudn't have ever know unless I had gone to a Christian school. After that we decided to polish off what was left of this amazing chocolate cake for breakfast with Kayla. We just sat around for a few hours talking and hanging out with everyone as they came and went through the place. Then we took off and walked 3rd Street Promenade. We had a good time checking out a few stores and watching a few street performers before finally making our way to the ocean and making the plunge because who knows if we'll get a chance to come back and do it again. The water was not nearly as cold as I expected but for anyone who gets to watch our video, you'll see that it took me forever to actually get out far enough to dunk because the waves are a lot bigger here and they are very intimidating. They kept crashing way before they got to me but seeing them in the distance was enough to send me running to wait for a calmer moment. So like I said, anyone who has to watch me run in and out of the ocean ten times or so on our video, my condolences on it taking forever. After that we slowly made our way back before going to dinner at In N Out with Nathan, Jessie, Josh, Allison, and Novi. Apparently it's a Christian fast food place because they have scriptures printed on the wrappers and things and I thought that was pretty cool. We came back to the apartment for a Mario Kart tournament before we took a girl trip to PinkBerrry. I had never heard of it but it's a really cool frozen yogurt place where you can put a crazy variety of toppings on it; it was fabulous. Then we all hung around in Josh and Allison's room watching funny youtube videos before Nathan and Jess went to bed. Josh, Allison, Dan, Kayla, and I then watched G.I. Jane. I hadn't seen it before and thought it was really good. After saying goodnight to everyone Kayla and I sat down and worked out our schedule for the next few days before finally crashing way too late.

Now the day is only beginning and I've packed and am ready to head out to LA. I"m going to miss it a lot here, the vibe in this place is just so off the charts incredible. But it was an amazing visit and if I have the chance to come back I definitely will. But for now, we're off on the road again! Hopefully we'll be able to post and update everyone a lot sooner than this entry has taken. Talk to you again soon!

Finally Made it to the Pacific!

So we got back to our campsite last night where it had been pouring for hours. We finally got all settled and as dry as we could to sleep and passed out. We woke up really early with the intention of going on a 12 mile hike only to find that it was still pouring out, meaning the hike we were planning on doing was too dangerous for us to chance doing. We weren't thrilled but better safe than sorry, especially this far from home. So we slept in a little and finally decided to pack up camp. In doing so we discover that a huge puddle had accumulated under Kayla's half of the tent and she had basically been floating on it all night. We finally got it all packed up and when we finally got back into the truck we were muddy and soaked and none too thrilled about the state of our stuff. This is all part of the journey though. We keep hearing about all the gorgeous weather everyone back home is enjoying so my comment to ease the frustration was that we could enjoy beautiful weather at home anytime, but how often will we have the chance to experience any weather-good or bad-out here? We're safe, healthy, and having a great trip, so personally, I can deal with a little crappy weather all other things aside.

We decided to drive down the Columbia River Scenic Highway to see a few waterfalls and such since we missed seeing them on the hike we couldn't do. We got a phone call saying that the jet boat rides we were supposed to be doing tomorrow were unfortunately cancelled because of all the rain making the terrain dangerous for the boats. We're bummed about it but again, we'll live. We decided we should find a Starbucks so we could sit down and revamp our plans for the next few days since things were getting pretty drastically changed on us. In a moment of getting lost off an exit, we came across a Christian outlet store. This is typically bad news for Kayla and I because we're known for blowing all of our money in these kinds of stores. But we decided with the money we wouldv'e used for the jet boats we could use here, and spent a little time in the shop. We didn't spend nearly as much as we normally do but we both came out in higher spirits. It's almost impossible not too, being around other Christians who are just so open and friendly makes your troubles significantly more trivial and unimportant.

Then we drove out to the Pacific Coast Highway. When we finally got there we were so excited to see the Pacific Ocean. We stopped at a few places to take pictures and then finally found a Starbucks (we hadn't actually found one in the previous attempt). Now we're sitting here figuring out our next few days before checking into our campsite for the night. Fortunately, as we've been sitting here, the sun has finally come back out! So it looks like we might actually be able to get the tent dried out tonight after all. Here's hoping! More updates soon!

So Many Updates and Tons of History

So it's obviously been a bit since I've been able to sit down and update this so be prepared for a longer entry--if I wasn't already wordy enough, I know.

We got up from our hotel in Montana and made waffles at the complimentary breakfast (of course, being me I was more than amused to be making the waffles). We headed up to Glacier National Park to drive down the "Going to the Sun" road. Only 14 miles of it was open because of how early in the season it is but we drove all the way down and back. We stopped to take photos besides McDonald Lake (and yes, for any of my classmates who may be reading this, I am a nerd and did think of Professor McDonald in the process...Binghamton has taken over my brain and I don't know how I feel about that, haha). A man pulled over and told us he just saw a bear so we looked to our right and maybe 50 yards from us was a young bear. It stopped long enough for us to take a picture before crossing the road and disappearing into the woods. After having several camera malfunctions on my part, we were able to head back out of the park towards Washington (and yes, I did finally get my camera fixed so I could continue to take photos). When we finally got close enough to a campsite in Washington the rain was pretty intense so we ended up finding another cheap motel to stay at. It wasn't anything compared to the one from the night before, but it was dry, had beds, and a shower so we'll take it.

We got up the next morning and headed for Tacoma, which is 15-20 miles outside of Seattle. Steve (again for any classmates who may be reading this, I'm not talking about Steve Chapman) suggested we visit there since he was able to spend some time there while he was in Washington with the Army. So we went to see the Glass Museum which was closed when we got there but there was a bridge nearby that had a lot of pieces on exhibit anyway so we were able to check out a lot of beautiful works. It was also cool that Steve and I were able to get to some of the same places even if we were a few years off. We then drove up to Seattle and found the original Starbucks. I was excited and of course got some photos and souvenirs. We then crossed the street to the famous Pike Place Fish Market where they toss fish around to each other before giving them to the waiting customers. Naturally, that was just fun to watch as they chanted and tossed fish as well as souvenir hoodies and t-shirts around. We then made our way to the Space Needle. Went up into the observation deck and got a great view of the city. Spent some more time walking around until we headed out. We found a Starbucks outside of the actual city so we could park without paying and used the internet to confirm a bunch of reservations for campsites and activities we will be doing soon.

As Kayla did all of the grunt work (she's the planner in all this and I feel bad but she's too far in for me to be much of a help unfortunately) I finished reading a book I had started just before we disembarked on our trip. The book is called "The Unlikely Disciple" by Kevin Roose. I picked it up a few weeks ago out of curiosity--basically, Kevin goes to Brown but transfers to Liberty (a super-conservative, Christian university) for a semester to see what the Christian atmosphere is like there and attempt to bridge the divide between the secular world and the Christian world. I give him a lot of credit because while most people wouldn't even be willing to do what he did, he was very open-minded and gave a fair account of everything that transpired. It's great because he's just very real and is able to portray both sides of the spectrum very fairly considering his jump from one extreme to the other. I would highly recommend this book to anyone--Christian or not, because it gives a very good explanation of what goes on in a person's head when the Christian and secular worlds collide.

After finishing the book and having our reservations confirmed we headed north to Camano Island to meet up with Kayla's grandmother. It was an anxious trip because they haven't seen each other in 12 years. Things weren't perfect (when are they ever?) but they did go much better than expected. We talked for a while about Kayla's grandmother's childhood and things before having dinner and dessert. She complimented us on being strong independent women who are following our dreams and getting our educations and all of that which was nice. Then we looked through countless photos of Kayla's family from back in the day (obviously you can see a few of them here--sorry Muth family, but I had to do it! You're all just too cute!). I know there is a huge knot that finally is gone from Kayla's stomach so that's always good. We were finally able to crash a few hours later.

This morning we got up and packed all of the food and stuff that her grandmother had prepared for us and headed south. We passed into Oregon and checked into our campsite which is right next to a 12 mile hike we'll be doing in the morning. We then drove back up to Portland to tour the Underground Tunnels (aka the Shanghai Tunnels). Basically, the term "Shanghaied" came from Portland. As people would get drunk or high in bars/opium clubs the slavers would drop them through trap doors in the floor and hold them in cells until ships came to take them as workers/sailors headed for Shanghai; therefore: Shanghaied. So we met outside of Hobo's Restaurant and after some back story, we descended into the black caverns. We we shown holding cells for men as well as women (who were taken and sold into prostitution), some of the trap doors, opium cellars, and many other things. We learned a lot and heard plenty of ghost lore. It was a really interesting experience. After we ascended, we headed out in search of another Starbucks for internet so we could finally update our blogs. This is round two of mine, because after I had typed this whole thing out the website crashed on me--allowing for both the posting and pre-post saving of everything I typed not to happen. Probably one of the most annoying things ever--for anyone who knows this feeling you know how frustrating it is because you've already used up all of your good words and explanations and it's impossible to try to recreate that. Anyway, so that's all for now, we'll be heading back to our campsite and then off for hiking and more adventures tomorrow. More updates to follow as soon as we can!