In the mist, among giants

[Three days behind again... Darn it!!]

We packed up the tent for the last time this morning, leaving the camping behind to finally ease ourselves back into civilization. We left the California Redwoods yesterday after stretching our three-day trip into a fourth and headed north along the Oregon coastline, arriving at Sunset Bay State Park for a one night stopover, before continuing up to Astoria today. What a week!

The final push west...

[We're getting better! Only two days behind now!]

In the past week, we’ve gone from one set of craters to another, from one state to the next. We’re leaving Oregon today after having visited Craters of the Moon and Boise in Idaho, and stopping briefly in Bend, OR before spending the last couple of days at Crater Lake National Park. This morning, we’ll leave for our last “scenic” stop of the trip – a few days in Redwoods National Park in Northern California. Before that though, here’s the recap.

The futility of speech

[The last of the time-delayed posts (we hope). But the pictures weren't all on the PC so look for an update with the rest later!]

The noted philosopher Thomas Roman said it best: “It doesn’t get any better than this.”

Color me disappointed

[Contiuing our "time-delayed" posts!]

Yellowstone was founded in 1872 as the world’s first national park. Not the first in the U.S. mind you – the first on this planet. And while our forefathers were prescient in their foresight to protect such important landscapes and their inhabitants, a lot has changed in 138 years, and Yellowstone is not at all what I anticipated.

Lies that Steven Spielberg taught me

[Due to limited wireless access availability in the state of Wyoming, we're a bit behind in our postings, but hope to catch you up in the next couple of days! Also, check out the updated itinerary!]

When I was younger, I was mesmerized by science fiction movies. Okay, so I still am. Often these movies could transport you to another place altogether, while still using places on this planet as their scenery. The most impressive example in my mind was Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and its use of Devil's Tower in Wyoming as the backdrop for its climactic scenes. There was something so amazing about this chunk of rock that just thrust itself from the ground with nothing else in sight around it that for years I told myself "I have to go there".

Manifest destiny

So we've been in South Dakota for a week now,and it has become woefully obvious just how much our trip pales in comparison to what those who preceded us have endured. We're talking about the explorers, settlers and Native Americans who broke the ground between the Appalachian Mountains and the Pacific Ocean, those who suffered through harsh winters and crossed mountain ranges on horseback and with wagons to arrive at places we now reach in a fraction of the time. It has been an education and a vacation at the same time, and we still have a lot to learn.

Has it been a week?

It feels like it has been a month or more since I last sat down to type this out. We've hit five states in that time - granted some longer than others - and had even more great experiences. The weather has played with us, buffeting us with torrential downpours as it did here in South Dakota last night, or broiling us under 100 degree heat, as it did our last days in Kentucky. Our last nights there were no better as our tent took on the function of a sweat lodge even into the wee hours of the morning. None of this has lessened our enthusiasm.

Almost heaven...

John Denver was absolutely right. We didn't get to spend too much time there, but West Virgina was amazing. As John sang those opening lines of Country Roads, we were passing through the soaring mountains and roaring rivers at high speed on our way to one of this trip's best days so far. But wait -  I'm getting ahead of myself... Last you knew, we were still in Virginia fending off bears and snakes and noisy campsite neighbors. So first some words about our final day in Virginia.

Seven bears, one copperhead, infinite deer...

...but zero cell phone service.

We've been in Shenandoah now for three days and it has been wonderful. But we've had issues keeping in touch with family (who for some reason think we're dead if they don't talk to us for one day) and friends (who were expecting us today, but logistics prevented it). So first off, our apologies to all for that. We were lucky enough to get a wireless signal at a lodge in Shenandoah National Park, and are reporting from there as we gaze out over a panoramic view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. I can't even fathom going back to work at this point!

The 413

Wednesday night, we had our first campsite meal. Finally, after five days on the road, back and forth to and from Boston, we were able to settle down with a drink and a plate of bacon and asparagus pasta without a worry or care about furntiure, vans, movers, or anything of the like. Of course, cooking them over a hot stove in 95 degree weather was less than appealing, but I digress.

Independence Days

So we are officially on the road. Kind of... Sadly, all did not go as planned with our move, and due to a bit too much bluster on my part, and Alyssa's too genial nature, a couple of pieces of oversize furniture remained at 10 Landers Street after the movers departed on Friday afternoon. The moral of the story is a rather simple one: if it takes a crane to get it in, it'll take a crane to get it out. But with a quick 30-minute conference, and some good luck, our weekend wasn't completely dashed. We made arrangements with both Gentle Giant and U-haul that would force a change to our agenda, but all was not lost! We wrapped up moving day with dinner at Highland Kitchen, and let me tell you that eating Spicy Caribbean Goat Stew on an empty stomach after a stressful day is not a great idea. We spent a peaceful night in our sleeping bags, but the stress kept us from sleeping soundly, yet again.

Chaos?

This has been our life for the past month:

We have spent most of the last few weeks filling box after box with stuff. Stuff we won't see for three months. It will be packed away in storage where we can't touch it, and that's a rather sobering thought. Joining two households forces you to make choices - what to keep, whose pictures get hung, which toaster is better (I don't kid myself - Hello Kitty is likely going to win that battle). These are all choices that we have decided to postpone until we unload all of this stuff. That is going to be one heck of a moving sale... You may want to fly to Seattle just for that!!

We should have done this months ago!!

...the blog, that is. :)

Our story begins two and a half years ago when Alyssa and I both left jobs at the same company for what we thought was the job we wanted. Each of us took HR Business Partner roles in the biotechnology field after having stepped away from that industry for roles in high tech. But as Andrew Carnegie once said, success is getting what you want, happiness is wanting what you get.