California and Oregon Cruising

krista drives us out of San Francisco!

Chris resets our odometor to zero!

Emily shows us where we are in the world

me posing in front of a building on haight st.

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hi-lights from this section of the trip:

BIG SUR - hot springs of esalen; an experience that can only be described as surreally beautiful. from 1am to 3 am Esalen opens its hot springs for reservations for 20 lucky people. clothing optional. 2 friends and I drove out there (our first foray into driving stick on the West Coast), stripped down, and meditated in the moonlight to the background music of the waves hitting the coast.

REDWOOD NATIONAL PARK - I think I had my most spiritual moment amongst those trees; we camped there for the night and then went on a hike the next morning, offering gratitude and energy to the majestic beauty around us

OREGON COAST - the coast changes distinctly as you drive north. there are huge red rocks and boulders that look like they were thrown by huge monsters millions of years ago off the coast and have since been smoothed out with salt water. we found caves, kelp forests, and a trail that took us out to the edge and made me feel pretty dizzy.

we also stopped at a farmer's market to buy flowers for our host in oregon (a bouquet of artichokes, dill, garlic, and lavender), and at a beach to dip our feet in the Pacific before we leave the coast.

PORTLAND, OR - we pulled into this beautiful city around 6:30 and went straight up another mountain to a mansion that has the best view of the city landscape and took photos with our host! then we went to Deschutes Brewery with some friends and had possibly the best beer (I recommend the Wowzenbock!) and burger ever. but that could have been influenced by the fact that it was 1) all organic, 2) in such good company or 3) 9:30 and we hadn't really eaten since morning. After a trip up to Elizabeth, our lovely host's roof deck to check out the fire pits (yes, fire pits), living roof, and another spectacular view of the city, we curled into bed feeling exhausted and grateful.

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"remember what bilbo used to say: it's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. you step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to"
-Gandalf (from the lord of the rings, jrr tolkein)