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!