Purple Passion

This is my new sleeping bag. I ditched the angry orange one. (Thanks Christine!)

One Month From Now...

I'm going to be kayaking with killer whales! July 27th, San Juan Islands, 10:30-5:30. I'm excited, nervous, and a little freaked out.
In other news, I'm getting a little overwhelmed, mainly because I have so much to do between now and July 15th. Starting tomorrow, I'm working at summer school until noon each day, including an overnight professional development workshop in NH on Tuesday and Wednesday. I've got some shopping and shipping to do, in addition to a doctor's appointment, hair appointment, wax appointment (3 weeks in the wilderness...you betcha!), car appointment, and even a vet appointment for Forbes. It'll all get done and will hopefully make the next few weeks go by fast, but it makes me worry that I'll forget something. (I know...tough life I'm living. HA!)

My Arch Nemesis

Every superhero has an arch nemesis. Batman has the Joker, Superman has Lex Luther, Spiderman has the Green Goblin, and Tom has Jerry.

I (yes, I'm comparing myself to a superhero) have a sleeping bag. An orange one that will do everything it can to break me down.

After washing and fluffing my borrowed sleeping bag (it was a pretty scent of lavender and basil), I attempted to roll it up and place it back into it's original travelbag. Roll, unroll, roll, unroll, roll, unroll, roll, unroll. *&!^#&!! I got so desperate, I even googled "how to put a sleeping bag back into its bag". 20 minutes later, I got it strapped down in a fashionable belt and semi-shoved back into the bag.

Happy Camping!

We Need Burt Reynolds

A few days ago, Jo and I reviewed our initial itinerary.

Route, Driving Miles, Approximate Night Stay At Destination

Boston-Las Vegas, (plane) 1 night
Las Vegas-Sierra Mountains, 480 miles 1 night
Sierra Mountains-Napa, 272 miles 2 nights
Napa-Redwood Forest, 613 miles 2 nights
Redwood Forest-Portland, OR, 330 miles 2 nights
Portland, OR-San Juan Islands, WA, 275 miles 1 night
San Juan Islands-Vancouver, BC, 115 miles 2 nights
Vancouver, BC-Denver, 1500 miles 3-4 days travelling (stops, TBD)

And there you have it. Cannonball Run, 2010.

My "perseverate" button turned on, and after numerous emails and a phone call to Joanna, we both agreed a little more breathing room wouldn't hurt. I actually tried to talk myself out of it, that it would all work out...maybe we'd skip a few places, maybe we'd get burnt out, maybe I'd miss my cat.

I re-booked my return flight (an extra $130) for Friday, August 6th. It's only 2 days, but everyday counts, even for Burt.

The Totos

Mojo and Seunau are currently pre-trippin' with Joanna in Colorado.

And Your Little Dogs Too

First off, we have jobs. Real ones. I'm a teacher. I work with the little ones. I'm up at 6:30, home by 5, bed by 9. While that might seem like a "dream job" to a lot of people, until you sign-up to spend a day in the life of a teacher, you don't really get it. Regardless, I signed up for it and I love it. And, for the first time ever, I'm going to take advantage of my "summer off". My bff, Joanna, is a doctor. Thank God (I'll explain later). She works her butt off, has long hours, and makes her own schedule. She loves her job too. We became friends during our freshman year at Syracuse University. And through various jobs, personal dramas, broken hearts, graduate school, medical school, and living thousands of miles apart, we're still friends.

We are going on a 3 week trip into the Pacific Northwest - lot of water, lots of green. I've always been drawn to that part of the country. Clean and beautiful with ocean, mountains, and forests. Don't get me wrong, I love Boston, but I've been craving change for a long time. I'm wondering if this trip will open my eyes to a new place or teach me something new.

One more thing. I am a lover of the outdoors and adventure. But, being a city girl from Boston, I don't necessarily go out of my way locally to do outdoorsy things. I prefer a good food, good drinks, and lots of people to watch. Joanna lives in SW Colorado with a town population of 10 (or something like that). She's the "expert" for this trip. I've never really slept in a tent. Well, once. It rained and it sucked. But, with 3 weeks on the road, we'll be tenting-it, hotelling-it, and bed and breakfasting-it.

And, did I mention we're bringing Joanna's 2 dogs? Mojo and Seunau (Sue-Now). Seunau is 1/2 wolf and Mojo has "got the mojo", so we should be good.