There's No Crying in Roadtrips!

Friday Morning, Denver

I didn't understand why at first, but as we were loading up the car for the last time, I felt a lump in my throat. What the hell is wrong with me?! Jo and I really couldn't even look at each other..."There's no crying in roadtrips!" we kept saying out loud.

As we drove to the airport, we played a few tunes that got us through the trip and kept our moods up: "Right Round" by Flo-Rid-A and "Hey Soul Sista" by Train. Ironically, as we pulled into the airport, my IPOD shuffled to Motley Crue's "Home Sweet Home". Seriously. (And yes, I have it on my ipod...don't hold it against me.)

*Click My Heels Three Times*

Friday Night, Boston
I'm now home in Boston, doing some laundry, feeling a bit surreal. I'm kind of sad, but also happy to get re-settled and enjoy the rest of my summer here. This roadtrip was so intense. It was go, go, go, pack, unpack, pack, unpack, drive, drive, drive...but we saw so many amazing places and interesting people. It was a lot of fun. Jo and I learned a lot about ourselves and each other, and the rush of emotions at the end sort of caught us both by surprise, I guess.

The best part...Jo and I would absolutely do it again. And I'm pretty sure Mojo and Suneow would too (as long as we stayed out of Vancouver). Now, if I could only figure out how to bring my cat...

Tara and Joanna's Best and Worst of...

We're having a working breakfast. Very important stuff to relay before this trip inevitablely ends...

Best Sights
Redwoods
Trinidad Beach
Owl sighting in the woods of Trinidad Beach
Dan - kayak guide
Orcas off Lime Kiln Point
Bald Eagle sighting during kayak tour
Double rainbow at Mono Lake
Morning Manager at Panzano's

Best Hotels
Hotel Monaco - Denver
Honorable Mention: Argyle House Inn - San Juan Islands

Worst Hotels
Ramada - Laramie, Wyoming
Honorable Mention: Super 8 - Las Vegas, Nevada

Best Breakfast
Besaw - Portland, Oregon
Honorable Mention: Brio - Arcata, CA

Best Lunch
Panzano - Denver, Colorado
Honorable Mention: Bolovo - Sonoma County, CA

Best Dinner (It's a TIE!)
Veritable Quandry (VQ) - Portland, OR
Panzano's - Denver, CO

Best Coffee
Brio - Arcata, CA

Worst Coffee
Any place in Canada

Best Beer
Any brewery in Oregon, with a special nod to Deschutes' Black Butte Porter

Best Camping
Bend, Oregon

Worst Camping
Clam Beach - Arcata, CA

Biggest Rip-off (Congrats, Canada!)
Capilano Bridge ($30pp to cross)
Fairmont Nachos ($21)

Biggest Surprises
Dan and Evan showing up at Herb's
Tara likes camping
Florence Park Motel
Paul's wedding ring (Don't worry, we called him out...but got a free dinner anyway.)

Biggest Disappointments
No Orcas during the kayak tour
Clam Beach camping
Arcata, CA
"Italian Dinner" at Mazzotti's - Arcata, CA
Vancouver (Whatever)


Best Travel Companions
Mojo and Suneow
Honorable Mention: Tara and Joanna

Places We'd Like to Spend More Time In
Portland, OR
Bend, OR
San Juan Islands, WA
Denver, CO
Sonoma/Napa County, CA

Most Interesting and Memorable People
Dan and Evan

Lady with cat on a leash...cat was very healthy, but was eating grass like it was nobody's business. (Tara gave the lady $5 and made her promise she'd buy the cat proper food.)

Dennis, Richard, and Bryce at Herb's

Trucker Hat Guy at June Lake Cafe

Paul at Brewfest in Portland

The Shah Family (From the car accident we witnessed at Columbia River Gorge. All ok!)

Transient Girl with kitten on her backpack (Tara and Jo both gave her money...for the kitty.)

Red Sox fan in Ft. Collins, CO

Phillip, Tom, Jack, Aliana, and Ellen (from The Pillars of the Earth...we listened to all 10 hours of the novel on tape.)

Dr.'s Meds That Came In Very Handy for Tara
Benedryl - puffy eyes in June Lake

Zpack - persistent cough for 2 weeks (turns out, it was Tara's allergic reaction to down in the hotel pillows)

Ranitidine - heartburn

Steroid Cream - private issue (What's needed after sitting in a car 5-12 hours almost everyday for 2 weeks)

Memorable Quotes
"Tobbbbeeeeeey!" - Clam Beach Idiot

"Seriously?! SERIOUSLY?!?!" (Repeat that 5x's) - Girl on cellphone in Vancouver

"Seriously guys, WHAT HAPPENED?! Was it THAT bad?" - Tara's take on what she wants to say to the transients in Arcata

"Do you guys just look at people coming off the ferry and think, 'These people need their own plane!" - Joanna to the married couple at the Argyle Inn. (They flew on their private plane to the island.)

"Dude, why didn't you tell me there was kelp on my dorsal fin?!" - Evan's take on what the killer whales say to each other after getting kelp stuck in their fins

"I like Suds...it has an awning." - Girl at gas station in Evanston, WY giving us advice on restaurants in the area.(It was actually pretty good.)

"Did you NOT read the manual? You have to paddle!" - Tara's outward thought on the lame kayak couple in their group

"Tara, I hate to tell you what's under the chair." - Joanna in the Ramada

"You look like Lois Lane!" - Streetguy to Joanna in Denver

Lessons learned
Joanna drives better in the country, Tara drives better in the city
Tara learned how to use cruise control
Joanna can handle the ER, but not city traffic
The dogs are awesome travel companions and great alarm clocks
Our friendship can withstand distance, time, and 3 weeks living out of a suitcase

***Would we ever do this again, and with each other?***
ABSOLUTELY!

Last full day=Spa day!

Aaaah, Colorado!

Jo and I are on our final 2 days of this trek. On our way to Denver, we stopped at several places, including Estes Park. This is what we both needed to clean-off our Laramie experience. In addition, our hotel (Hotel Monaco) is already living up to it's 4-star reputation. Even Mojo and Suneow are happier!

Pics from today.

The Ramada and Laramie Can Go Suck It

Here's a recap of last night:
11:45 - check-in to room 133.
12:05 - check-out of room 133 and into room 221.

During that 20 minutes this is what occurred:
1. The door to our room wouldn't open unless you threw your shoulder into it.
2. The room smelled of cheap strawberry perfume.
3. Stains on the rug.
4. 5 mosquitos located on walls.
5. Mojo puked up his dinner. (Do you blame him?)

And then, Joanna discovered #6.
"Tara, do you see that under the chair?"

My heart went through my chest. What was it? A bug? A mouse? Any guesses?

It was a turd. A left-over turd from someone's pet.

There's not much to say after that, except that Jo and I slept with a night light on and were packed up and on the road out of Laramie at 7:30am. We didn't stop for coffee until we got to Ft. Collins, Co.

Out of Wyoming and into Colorado. Yay!

12:05am. Changed hotel rooms. Strawberry scent just the beginning.

Of all places....Just shoot me.

Jo and I just spent 12 hours in the car. Our original goal was to do Boise to southwestern Wyoming. But that soon changed to a "big push" for Cheyenne. We never made it, and it really didn't matter if we did because every place we called along the way was booked. And, our only options of setting up camp were behind gas tanks at "RV World".
So, Jo and I finally found a place in lovely Laramie, WY. Really. 12 hours, and this is where we land. The only thing I know about this place is what happened to that poor Matthew Shepard kid years ago. And now, Jo and I show up near midnite with 2 dogs.
We're at the Ramada. Our room smells like strawberries. I completely imagine that some stripper just used our room and sprayed her perfume before she left. We also got "2 for 1 drink coupons" to use at the bar. It's still open.
On the plus side, Jo and I will be heading into Colorado and landing in Denver tomorrow - and it'll only take us a few hours. As a reward, we've planned spa treatments for ourselves at the hotel.
Night...from LARAMIE!

Long-ass drive thru Wyoming. Trying to get to Cheyenne.

Out of Oregon (Sad Face)

Jo and I have landed in Boise, ID. Not much else to say there, so I'll recap the last few days.

On Friday, we re-routed our trip back towards our favorite place, Portland. We saw a whole other part of the city, including a Saturday Market which consists of great food, music, and local artists. There was so much to see, and I especially liked the glasswork and jewelry stands. I did some serious damage there. Even my cat got something.

On Sunday, we drove 3 1/2 hours east, to Tumalo Campgrounds. This site was about 5 minutes outside of Bend. It was our first camping since the Clam Beach/Tobeeeeeeeyyy Fiasco. What a difference at state and a place make! The weather was warm and dry. The grounds were clean. And the people around us were normal...like us. I had one of my best night's sleeping on this trip here.

Bend, in itself, is a cute town. It has one main street and 5 cross streets. It's got some serious money too. Jo and I walked the dogs around the town's park and then went to Deschutes Brew Pub for dinner. My favorite beer of all-time (that I discovered on this trip through Oregon), "Deschutes Black Butte", was being served..and I bought a 6-pack to go.*

*By the way, I realize I'm writing a lot about drinking. To be fair, I don't do this often, but I do appreciate good wine and good beer. Oregon's nickname is "Beervana", so it seems fitting I bring home the right souvenir for myself.

Jo and I both loved Oregon. In retrospect, I would've blown Vancouver off the map(if you work for National Security, I mean that figuratively) and spent more time exploring Oregon. It has so much to offer: coastline, metropolitan areas, wine country, high-desert...

I hope to return to Oregon someday soon.

In the meantime, Jo and I have just landed in Boise. I think it'll be a "night in" for us....we have beer in the fridge. (See * above.) Tomorrow, Jo and I hope to make good time and land in southwest Wyoming (for our last tent-night), near the Colorado border.

Joanna dropping cash like it's nobody's business, in Portland.


Heading towards Bend, we passed miles upon miles of burnt forest. The fire was in 2003 and burned 90,000 acres of the Deschutes National Forest.


Camping near Bend, OR.


This is what happens when you park your car under a tree overnight in OR.


Eastern Oregon

Boise, ID. Springhill Suites.

Setting up camp near Bend, OR. Gorgeous place!