Jordan and I have been so blessed in our lives. There's a lot to be said for the amazing geography of the United States. Each country has its unique landforms, people, and cultures, and the USA is no different. The difference between most countries and the U.S. is the size. Being the 3rd largest country (or 4th if you count Antarctica) in the entire world, you can find a vast plot of land with scenery that constantly changes...unless you're driving through Kansas, and then it seems like the flat will never end...but I digress. The point is, you can see some amazing things just watching out the windows while you drive across any state or even the entire country.
When we flew back into the U.S. from Asia, we did just that. We drove from Portland, Oregon down through the state and into California, then across Nevada and into Utah. We made stops to camp in Crater Lake and just outside the Redwoods, then stayed with Jordan's great aunt Helen in Chualar. From there we stopped in Reno to see where Jordan lived for a year and even made a stop at the elementary school he attended and had a chat with his 2nd grade teacher for a while. Our summer vacation before embarking on a real, "grown up" life ended with Jordan's mom's place in Utah where we were staying until our move to Washington. Early in October we packed up and headed back to the Pacific Northwest for the next adventure. So here are pictures from the trip (and maybe a little commentary):
Canned soup...one of our many camping meals. Since I grew up camping and Jordan's dang good with a fire, we ate really, really well on the camping portion of our trip. A billion thanks to my parents and the Cline family (my family's resident camping buddies) for teaching me how to enjoy camping and how to do it well.
The Redwoods really are amazingly tall. Jordan looks so tiny next to this one and it's not even a mammoth-sized one even if I couldn't fit the whole tree into the picture from this far away.
The water was cold but well worth the effort for Jordan to make a couple passes down a short expanse of the river. His pale, skinny body was shivering when he got out, but it's a good thing the sun was still out for our short walk back to the camp site.
Who wouldn't risk flesh and limb for sun-warmed, well-ripened, free-growing blackberries?! I do, every time, and will continue to do so for the rest of my life. I know I've done well when I've gotten nearly every ripe piece of fruit, I have scratches across my arms and feet (or whatever part of my skin was showing while I was reaching), and my fingertips are stained with berry juice.
Driving south to Chualar we stopped for pictures and animals. These elk were part of a herd that lives near the beach and we happened to catch them having a snack not far from the shore.
The sea lions at Santa Cruz were piled on top of one another and not really noisy. When my family would go to the Oregon coast back when I was in the single digits and just barely in the double digits, the sea lions were always so noisy, so I was surprised that these ones actually wanted to nap.
Of course we stopped in Berkeley.
Really beautiful spot near Carmel.
And almost the best part of the California leg in our trip: Aunt Helen. She is one of the sweetest people on the face of the planet. She cooked us amazing food and I loved to eat it. You might notice the milk on the table. We bought her a gallon to replace the one I nearly drank all by myself. Being in Asia I guess I had become cow milk deprived. I've never really been a big milk drinker, especially after I became lactose-intolerant a few years ago. Well, Asia has forever changed my milk consumption...second only to pregnancy. My first day back, no, during the course of our first meal here at Aunt Helen's, I had 4 large glasses including the large portion of food she made. I might gain a bunch of weight in Taiwan, but Chualar, California beats it. She has the biggest heart and I always leave feeling like I need to be a better person.
Our drive through California and Nevada was made into a great drive because of the scenery. Lake Tahoe was beautiful! My pictures definitely don't do the place justice. We'll visit again someday, I'm sure of it. Reno was a short and convenient stop and made memorable by the visit to Jordan's elementary school. His second grade teacher happened to be in the office at the time of our visit, so she and Jordan talked about all the fun stuff he could remember about that year, especially when she taught them math using stocks.
There is no real conclusion to this blog post, mostly because I feel like I could never express my gratitude for how my life has turned out and the awe I feel at all the things I have been blessed to see and experience. So see the pictures, if we're friends on Facebook you can see more there, and while you look at them (and aren't judging their photography) think about the things you want to do, see, or experience, and make a plan. Then, the hard part, do it.
