I have a few moments to waste before heading out to catch a bus, so I figured I'd post something.
My brother and sister-in-law (Drew and Vanessa) arrive in Seattle this morning. Unfortunately for me, I have to work all day. I'm really looking forward to eating dinner with them tonight. I especially can't wait for them to meet Adrian.
I'm feeling totally spoiled today. I got to Adrian's last night and the apartment is all dark. He had set up candles in the room and bought me flowers. Apparently, I made a really good face when I saw everything. He was hiding in the closet so he got to see my reaction without me knowing he was there. When he came out of the closet, (sorry, I had to say it) he gave me a calf massage (because I turned down the footrub). I'd mention how he made me breakfast in bed, but that would imply that I slept over... oops, too late. I guess now I can admit that he packed me a lunch too.
Ok, enough of that... I think lately me blog has just been how crazy I am about Adrian. I swear there is more going on in my life besides him (even if it isn't much).
I've been taking this class at my church that's intended for new members. My pastor, Jami taught it. I'm totally intrigued by Jami because he meets no stereotype of a pastor. I mean, seriously, the guy has a long ponytail and rides a motorcycle (once he even met me for coffee wearing leather pants). He's an amazingly deep thinker and I respect his perspective on God and faith. He's also the only pastor who ever made me look forward to a sermon.
Last night was our last class and he had some thoughts that totally blew my mind. We were talking about creation and Jami mentioned how there is a tendency to think of creation as this one time even long ago. He pointed out that a huge part of creation is actually sustaining the creation. In other words, if God created the world, he's also responsible for sustaining it, thus creation is not a one time event but a continual process. It makes me appreciate the earth and my life and every moment all that much more when I realize it could not exist without God creating it for me continually. It makes God seem a lot closer and more involved than the God I had previously imagined creating the world and just sitting back to watch it unfold.
So yeah, that has the potential to really change my perspective on life. Maybe not in a huge way, but I think it changes things some. Ok, time to catch me a bus. My 30 minutes are about up.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
What's in a name...
After hours of deliberation over naming their new Thai restaurant... they had had enough. Aw, "Phuket." That will just have to do.I seriously laughed out loud when I saw this sign. As if walking around photographing alleys, delivery trucks, and dumpsters didn't make me seem crazy enough. (My favorite thing I've gotten paid for so far this summer).
I wonder if the food is any good? Ah Seattle... You're really starting to grow on me.
Day Seven: The Last Mile is Always the Longest
If writing this blog weren't actually on my list of things to do I would feel guilty. Really the other stuff seems more important, but this seems more fun. Plus, do I seriously want to clean my room after being at the gym for 90 minutes?
Friday
Really there isn't much to say about Friday so hopefully this post can be short. We left Adrian's parents sort late-ish on Thursday night. After seeing about 15 deer and not hitting any, I finally fell asleep. Actually, I finally couldn't stay awake any more. Eventually I woke up and we were apparently in either Oregon or New Jersey, because there was a gas station attendant pumping our gas. He must have been pretty bored, because he not only washed our front windshield, but he got the side windows too. Impressive...
I actually drove a little bit so Adrian could sleep. How nice of me to pitch in like 2 hours out of 10 or more on that leg alone. Unfortunately for him, I'm not really good at staying between the lines, so me driving over rumble strips woke him up a few times. Oops. I'm pretty good about only crossing to the side of the road and not into other lanes, so that's a plus right?
We had plans to meet my former college roommate Sarah, who now lives in Portland for breakfast. Since we were ahead of schedule, we slept for like an hour and a half at a rest stop. Good stuff.
We got to Portland bright and early, only slightly ahead of schedule. Sarah, being Sarah, was not ready. She took us to this great little cafe for breakfast. I totally can't think of the name, but their food was really good. I had some more blueberry pancakes and hashbrowns. (Num num!) They also had really damn good cinnamon rolls. Our waitress was super nice and even got Adrian some chai tea, which isn't actually on the menu. The place had all kinds of interesting things on the wall. I really have to find a good breakfast place like that in Seattle. Breakfast is the best meal, I should make it for dinner more often.
It was great hanging out with Sarah again. It's so weird that we both ended up out in the Pacific Northwest. She seems to love it out here as much as I do. After our visit, she told me via email, "If I didn't know better, I'd have thought you two had been together for years. You seem to be able to enjoy each other's company--at least that's what I gathered in the short visit." It's always interesting to hear other's perspectives on that kind of thing. It can be hard to objectively view the relationship your in, so another perspective is usually helpful.
Beyond visiting Sarah, there was not much exciting about our trip. We finished off the Milano cookies with a big ol' quart of milk. (I have since realized the vast superiority of the Mint Milano, erg, Adrian's right again. I really think those things are laced with cocaine.) We made it into Seattle in time for me to change my clothes and catch a bus to my first day at work. Hold up, that's misleading. It wasn't a day at work. It was just a design review thing, starting at 4:30, complete with snacks and beverages. If my feet didn't keep cramping up and if I had slept more than an hour and a half straight the night before, it would have been pretty enjoyable.
So here ends my California trip with Adrian. We amazingly didn't fight once and I didn't even ever get that cranky. (Mostly because I made sure to have snacks... I get super cranky when I'm hungry.) Hopefully this trip is just the first of many adventures with Adrian.
Friday
Really there isn't much to say about Friday so hopefully this post can be short. We left Adrian's parents sort late-ish on Thursday night. After seeing about 15 deer and not hitting any, I finally fell asleep. Actually, I finally couldn't stay awake any more. Eventually I woke up and we were apparently in either Oregon or New Jersey, because there was a gas station attendant pumping our gas. He must have been pretty bored, because he not only washed our front windshield, but he got the side windows too. Impressive...
I actually drove a little bit so Adrian could sleep. How nice of me to pitch in like 2 hours out of 10 or more on that leg alone. Unfortunately for him, I'm not really good at staying between the lines, so me driving over rumble strips woke him up a few times. Oops. I'm pretty good about only crossing to the side of the road and not into other lanes, so that's a plus right?
We had plans to meet my former college roommate Sarah, who now lives in Portland for breakfast. Since we were ahead of schedule, we slept for like an hour and a half at a rest stop. Good stuff.
We got to Portland bright and early, only slightly ahead of schedule. Sarah, being Sarah, was not ready. She took us to this great little cafe for breakfast. I totally can't think of the name, but their food was really good. I had some more blueberry pancakes and hashbrowns. (Num num!) They also had really damn good cinnamon rolls. Our waitress was super nice and even got Adrian some chai tea, which isn't actually on the menu. The place had all kinds of interesting things on the wall. I really have to find a good breakfast place like that in Seattle. Breakfast is the best meal, I should make it for dinner more often.
It was great hanging out with Sarah again. It's so weird that we both ended up out in the Pacific Northwest. She seems to love it out here as much as I do. After our visit, she told me via email, "If I didn't know better, I'd have thought you two had been together for years. You seem to be able to enjoy each other's company--at least that's what I gathered in the short visit." It's always interesting to hear other's perspectives on that kind of thing. It can be hard to objectively view the relationship your in, so another perspective is usually helpful.
Beyond visiting Sarah, there was not much exciting about our trip. We finished off the Milano cookies with a big ol' quart of milk. (I have since realized the vast superiority of the Mint Milano, erg, Adrian's right again. I really think those things are laced with cocaine.) We made it into Seattle in time for me to change my clothes and catch a bus to my first day at work. Hold up, that's misleading. It wasn't a day at work. It was just a design review thing, starting at 4:30, complete with snacks and beverages. If my feet didn't keep cramping up and if I had slept more than an hour and a half straight the night before, it would have been pretty enjoyable.
So here ends my California trip with Adrian. We amazingly didn't fight once and I didn't even ever get that cranky. (Mostly because I made sure to have snacks... I get super cranky when I'm hungry.) Hopefully this trip is just the first of many adventures with Adrian.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Days Five and Six: Meeting the Parents
Wednesday
It was extremely satisfying to sleep in after the day in Yosemite. So nice... Adrian got up earlier than me to help his dad with something in the yard. I don't know what, the shed or something? Like I said, I was asleep. When I finally rolled out of bed, Adrian made me breakfast. Now before you get all impressed, it was just oatmeal. He totally would have made me eggs and toast (his traditional breakfast) but I don't eat eggs. I keep thinking that one of these days I'll try an omelet with lots of cheese again, like my mom used to make me eat. Sometimes I feel like I could like it. Other times, when I accidentally try something that's more eggy than I expect, I realize I still don't like eggs. I do eat a lot of things that I didn't when I was little (onions and green peppers for example), but eggs and mushrooms (ick, fungus) are still intolerable.
Ok, back to my narrative. Who am I kidding, there really isn't much to say about Wednesday. Adrian and I were total bums. I met Adrian's parents, Steve and Kathy (short for Kathleen). Normally I'm horrible at names, but seriously, my parents are Steve and Kathie (short for Kathleen) so I didn't have too much trouble. Given, the two names are fairly common, but I find it to be an intriguing coincidence. My sister-in-law's (or is that sister's-in-law?) father is also named Steve. I thought that alone was weird.
Kathy gave me the official tour of all the landscaping they've done since they moved into the house. It seems like a lot of work to me to keep plants alive in the desert (especially since I can't keep them alive in pots). What they've done is pretty cool, my parents of course would like it. (It seems that by the next time I visit home there will be no grass left). I also got the tour of the house.
We didn't do much the rest of the day. We watched some "Planet Earth" on DVD. What could be better than watching animals eat each other from the comfort of a couch? What a crazy wonderful culture we have.
Adrian and I went outside and tossed the football around some. I was really excited about having a lawn so I could actually run for it. We had been occasionally playing throughout the quarter on site after studio, but there really was no room to run. In total Ana style, on my first run for it I catch it, then on runs oh like 2-7 I totally miss, and then I catch it once more so we can stop. It was totally entertaining for me, because I like to run... I really should work on that catching thing though, it would make it even more fun. I can catch and I can run, but doing both is sort of beyond my capabilities. Adrian seemed to think it was pretty fabulous to find a girl to play catch with (especially one that would run for him).
I also totally got stomped at horseshoes. It was just plain ugly and Adrian isn't even any good.
I got to meet even more of Adrian's family that night when Adrian's cousin, Donald, came up from Reno for dinner. We had salmon and it was really really good (and remember I don't really eat much fish). We had some good wine and then it was time for relaxing in the hot tub. Wonderful.
End Day Five.
Thursday
We got up slightly earlier on Thursday and went to play tennis with Adrian's mom. Kathy and I against Adrian. I think the most entertaining part was when Adrian took off his shirt and his mom says to me, "that's not distracting to me, I hope it isn't for you." It totally was. I considered returning the favor, and I really should have, because he totally beat us. Adrian and I both got a little sunburned (finally, color on my legs!).
After some really good lunch (chicken salad sandwiches) Adrian and I took his dad's Durango up into the mountains to explore some more. He had some USGS maps with all the topography and mountain roads marked. Me being an excellent navigator, eventually got us to our destination... the peak Adrian aptly calls "the nipple." The roads there were really fun and bumpy. It was pretty sweet to see the weird meadows that are up in the desert mountains. Totally different than any land I've ever seen. Actually, that goes for most of what I see out west.
The best part about going up there was that we got to play in snow. In June. How awesome is that? We had a little snowball fight, where I missed a lot. I wished I had a garbage bag, because garbage bags make the BEST sleds (especially the kind you "borrow" from the shelves at Sullivan's). Since we had none, we had to sled without. Is it still sledding if you have no sled? Adrian tried it first and got himself full of mud at the bottom. I planned better and managed to stay pretty clean. Sooo fun!
We took a nap when we got back (to try to gear up for our long drive home). When we got up for dinner, the all time best James Bond movie was on ("View to a Kill"). That movie is so amazing I could devote a whole post to what I like about it. We only watched a little, because pretty soon Steve brought in the steaks from the grill and we had a delicious meal once again. (I love being around people who can cook. I wish Drew and Vanessa would move out here so I could bum meals off them again).
The rest of the night was spent sorting through digital pictures to burn to a CD and packing. Anything after that I'm going to go ahead and consider to be day seven.
Ok, that was entertaining. Time to go actually hang out with Adrian instead of just writing about hanging out with him. Sweet...
It was extremely satisfying to sleep in after the day in Yosemite. So nice... Adrian got up earlier than me to help his dad with something in the yard. I don't know what, the shed or something? Like I said, I was asleep. When I finally rolled out of bed, Adrian made me breakfast. Now before you get all impressed, it was just oatmeal. He totally would have made me eggs and toast (his traditional breakfast) but I don't eat eggs. I keep thinking that one of these days I'll try an omelet with lots of cheese again, like my mom used to make me eat. Sometimes I feel like I could like it. Other times, when I accidentally try something that's more eggy than I expect, I realize I still don't like eggs. I do eat a lot of things that I didn't when I was little (onions and green peppers for example), but eggs and mushrooms (ick, fungus) are still intolerable.
Ok, back to my narrative. Who am I kidding, there really isn't much to say about Wednesday. Adrian and I were total bums. I met Adrian's parents, Steve and Kathy (short for Kathleen). Normally I'm horrible at names, but seriously, my parents are Steve and Kathie (short for Kathleen) so I didn't have too much trouble. Given, the two names are fairly common, but I find it to be an intriguing coincidence. My sister-in-law's (or is that sister's-in-law?) father is also named Steve. I thought that alone was weird.
Kathy gave me the official tour of all the landscaping they've done since they moved into the house. It seems like a lot of work to me to keep plants alive in the desert (especially since I can't keep them alive in pots). What they've done is pretty cool, my parents of course would like it. (It seems that by the next time I visit home there will be no grass left). I also got the tour of the house.We didn't do much the rest of the day. We watched some "Planet Earth" on DVD. What could be better than watching animals eat each other from the comfort of a couch? What a crazy wonderful culture we have.
Adrian and I went outside and tossed the football around some. I was really excited about having a lawn so I could actually run for it. We had been occasionally playing throughout the quarter on site after studio, but there really was no room to run. In total Ana style, on my first run for it I catch it, then on runs oh like 2-7 I totally miss, and then I catch it once more so we can stop. It was totally entertaining for me, because I like to run... I really should work on that catching thing though, it would make it even more fun. I can catch and I can run, but doing both is sort of beyond my capabilities. Adrian seemed to think it was pretty fabulous to find a girl to play catch with (especially one that would run for him).
I also totally got stomped at horseshoes. It was just plain ugly and Adrian isn't even any good.
I got to meet even more of Adrian's family that night when Adrian's cousin, Donald, came up from Reno for dinner. We had salmon and it was really really good (and remember I don't really eat much fish). We had some good wine and then it was time for relaxing in the hot tub. Wonderful.
End Day Five.
Thursday
We got up slightly earlier on Thursday and went to play tennis with Adrian's mom. Kathy and I against Adrian. I think the most entertaining part was when Adrian took off his shirt and his mom says to me, "that's not distracting to me, I hope it isn't for you." It totally was. I considered returning the favor, and I really should have, because he totally beat us. Adrian and I both got a little sunburned (finally, color on my legs!).
After some really good lunch (chicken salad sandwiches) Adrian and I took his dad's Durango up into the mountains to explore some more. He had some USGS maps with all the topography and mountain roads marked. Me being an excellent navigator, eventually got us to our destination... the peak Adrian aptly calls "the nipple." The roads there were really fun and bumpy. It was pretty sweet to see the weird meadows that are up in the desert mountains. Totally different than any land I've ever seen. Actually, that goes for most of what I see out west.
The best part about going up there was that we got to play in snow. In June. How awesome is that? We had a little snowball fight, where I missed a lot. I wished I had a garbage bag, because garbage bags make the BEST sleds (especially the kind you "borrow" from the shelves at Sullivan's). Since we had none, we had to sled without. Is it still sledding if you have no sled? Adrian tried it first and got himself full of mud at the bottom. I planned better and managed to stay pretty clean. Sooo fun!We took a nap when we got back (to try to gear up for our long drive home). When we got up for dinner, the all time best James Bond movie was on ("View to a Kill"). That movie is so amazing I could devote a whole post to what I like about it. We only watched a little, because pretty soon Steve brought in the steaks from the grill and we had a delicious meal once again. (I love being around people who can cook. I wish Drew and Vanessa would move out here so I could bum meals off them again).
The rest of the night was spent sorting through digital pictures to burn to a CD and packing. Anything after that I'm going to go ahead and consider to be day seven.
Ok, that was entertaining. Time to go actually hang out with Adrian instead of just writing about hanging out with him. Sweet...
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
California Trip Day Five: What Eyes Were Made For
I shouldn't even be sitting down to write this post. I started work on Monday and am feeling totally overwhelmed with the lack of time and sleep I have. I was hoping to be in bed by 10 tonight, but here I am. I think I'll sleep in a little to make up for it. I need to stop writing about it and start writing about Tuesday.
Tuesday
Yosemite National Park is the kind of place that makes you see God more clearly. You occasionally have to just stop in complete awe at the amazing beauty that is surrounding you so powerfully. I just finished taking a "architecture in the landscape" class, where we discussed how humans have an inherent need to be connected to nature, a concept they call "biophelia." At Yosemite, I felt in awe of the landscape, and in awe of the fact that humans are predisposed to appreciate it. If that isn't evidence of a creator who cares deeply about us, I don't know what is.
We had a big decision to make about Yosemite. We could either do Half Dome: 17 miles; 10 to 12 hours; 4,800 feet elevation gain or Upper Yosemite Falls: 7 miles; 5 to 6 hours; 2,000 feet elevation gain. Supposedly, since I slept in late we couldn't do Half Dome. I'm sure Half Dome is amazing (Adrian seems to think it is), but honestly I can't imagine having a better day than I did. Because of this, I'm willing to take the blame for sleeping in (even if I wasn't the only one).
Because we didn't do Half Dome, we got to see a lot more of the park. We still didn't even begin to see everything there is to see, but we did see some amazing stuff and get some amazing pictures. After scoping out the valley floor, we drove to go see more big trees. We went to check out a grove of sequoia trees. I'm really terrible at biology, but I gather the sequoias and the redwoods are related. The redwoods are less thick around than sequoias, but they are taller. The sequoia's were still pretty ridiculously tall and they had some amazingly large pinecones.
After the big beautiful trees, we drove to Glacier Point, which has some amazing views of the rest of the park, including Half Dome and a bunch of waterfalls. The sky was amazingly blue that day and there were some really great clouds. Ok, to be honest, I didn't notice the clouds until I looked at our pictures.
At 4:15 we decide it was time to do our big hike of the day, from the valley floor to the top of Yosemite Falls, 3.4 miles and 2000 ft up. Honestly, I secretly was freaked out that a) I wouldn't make it to the top or b) it would get dark and we'd never make it down. I don't like looking weak, and I'm too stubborn to fess up to such doubts, so we got started without a word from me about my doubts. This was the most wicked hard hike I've ever been on. Adrian and I decided we'd push it hard to get to the top quickly (again, me being stupid and not wanting to look weak). At 4:30 I looked at my watch and wanted to turn around and go back to the car. I thought I was going to pass out and my legs hurt like crazy. The entire trail is switchbacks over and over and over again. The way I mentally made myself keep going was by counting the switchbacks down from 20 and trying to only take breaks when I got to 0. I don't think I ever got to 0. It was pretty much pure torture.
On our way up we passed some people on the way down who were in desperate need of water. They had done the hike without any and the woman had started throwing up from dehydration. So not smart. Adrian, like the noble guy he is, gave up his Gatorade for them. Even more impressive because my drink was the white "arctic shatter" powerade which he doesn't like. I was feeling damn near ready to quit when I caught a glimpse of the waterfall. The top didn't seem so high and far away. I was totally wrong.
Eventually we passed some guys who told us we were only 10 minutes away. I almost stopped and hugged the dude. We made it to the top in 2 hours. I don't know which was more satisfying, the view or just the fact that we made it to the top (in 2 hours no less). The view was pretty great, but getting there was better. Tortuous, but better. We snacked on some granola, finished the powerade, enjoyed the view and headed back down. We did the hike in 4 hours. (Way better than the estimated 6 to 8).
With the hike done, it was time for us to drive to Susanville to stay with Adrian's parents. The sky as we drove west out of the park was probably the most amazing I've ever seen it look. The sunset was this really deep dark pink and the sky turned this perfect shade of blue. Add to that a clear view of the moon and whatever that planet is that's hanging out with the moon this summer.... wow, totally amazing. If I could see that color and hear the sound of the ocean on the rocks in Crescent City at the same time, I think I would actually implode with the insane amount of pleasure.
Adrian really enjoyed the drive down out of the mountains. He especially enjoyed trying to keep up with the white Infiniti which was enjoying the curves as much as him. My mom would have pushed her foot through the floorboards trying to use her imaginary break, but I found it pretty entertaining. Mostly I loved the shear look of joy on Adrian's face. That boy certainly takes pleasure in living life. He was really impressed I didn't make him slow down, I think he even later said that I was worth keeping around because I let him drive like that.
The drive was totally exhausting, but at least at this point we had started listening to a better book. I think. Can't really remember. The first book was really really bad. Anyway, the drive to Susanville pretty uneventful, besides the fact that we drove through Reno. You know what that means right? Only 11 more states!
We arrived safe and sound, though dirty and exhausted in Susanville. Took a shower and then prepared myself for some major sleeping in.
Here ends day five.
Tuesday
Yosemite National Park is the kind of place that makes you see God more clearly. You occasionally have to just stop in complete awe at the amazing beauty that is surrounding you so powerfully. I just finished taking a "architecture in the landscape" class, where we discussed how humans have an inherent need to be connected to nature, a concept they call "biophelia." At Yosemite, I felt in awe of the landscape, and in awe of the fact that humans are predisposed to appreciate it. If that isn't evidence of a creator who cares deeply about us, I don't know what is.We had a big decision to make about Yosemite. We could either do Half Dome: 17 miles; 10 to 12 hours; 4,800 feet elevation gain or Upper Yosemite Falls: 7 miles; 5 to 6 hours; 2,000 feet elevation gain. Supposedly, since I slept in late we couldn't do Half Dome. I'm sure Half Dome is amazing (Adrian seems to think it is), but honestly I can't imagine having a better day than I did. Because of this, I'm willing to take the blame for sleeping in (even if I wasn't the only one).
Because we didn't do Half Dome, we got to see a lot more of the park. We still didn't even begin to see everything there is to see, but we did see some amazing stuff and get some amazing pictures. After scoping out the valley floor, we drove to go see more big trees. We went to check out a grove of sequoia trees. I'm really terrible at biology, but I gather the sequoias and the redwoods are related. The redwoods are less thick around than sequoias, but they are taller. The sequoia's were still pretty ridiculously tall and they had some amazingly large pinecones.After the big beautiful trees, we drove to Glacier Point, which has some amazing views of the rest of the park, including Half Dome and a bunch of waterfalls. The sky was amazingly blue that day and there were some really great clouds. Ok, to be honest, I didn't notice the clouds until I looked at our pictures.
At 4:15 we decide it was time to do our big hike of the day, from the valley floor to the top of Yosemite Falls, 3.4 miles and 2000 ft up. Honestly, I secretly was freaked out that a) I wouldn't make it to the top or b) it would get dark and we'd never make it down. I don't like looking weak, and I'm too stubborn to fess up to such doubts, so we got started without a word from me about my doubts. This was the most wicked hard hike I've ever been on. Adrian and I decided we'd push it hard to get to the top quickly (again, me being stupid and not wanting to look weak). At 4:30 I looked at my watch and wanted to turn around and go back to the car. I thought I was going to pass out and my legs hurt like crazy. The entire trail is switchbacks over and over and over again. The way I mentally made myself keep going was by counting the switchbacks down from 20 and trying to only take breaks when I got to 0. I don't think I ever got to 0. It was pretty much pure torture.
On our way up we passed some people on the way down who were in desperate need of water. They had done the hike without any and the woman had started throwing up from dehydration. So not smart. Adrian, like the noble guy he is, gave up his Gatorade for them. Even more impressive because my drink was the white "arctic shatter" powerade which he doesn't like. I was feeling damn near ready to quit when I caught a glimpse of the waterfall. The top didn't seem so high and far away. I was totally wrong.
Eventually we passed some guys who told us we were only 10 minutes away. I almost stopped and hugged the dude. We made it to the top in 2 hours. I don't know which was more satisfying, the view or just the fact that we made it to the top (in 2 hours no less). The view was pretty great, but getting there was better. Tortuous, but better. We snacked on some granola, finished the powerade, enjoyed the view and headed back down. We did the hike in 4 hours. (Way better than the estimated 6 to 8).With the hike done, it was time for us to drive to Susanville to stay with Adrian's parents. The sky as we drove west out of the park was probably the most amazing I've ever seen it look. The sunset was this really deep dark pink and the sky turned this perfect shade of blue. Add to that a clear view of the moon and whatever that planet is that's hanging out with the moon this summer.... wow, totally amazing. If I could see that color and hear the sound of the ocean on the rocks in Crescent City at the same time, I think I would actually implode with the insane amount of pleasure.
Adrian really enjoyed the drive down out of the mountains. He especially enjoyed trying to keep up with the white Infiniti which was enjoying the curves as much as him. My mom would have pushed her foot through the floorboards trying to use her imaginary break, but I found it pretty entertaining. Mostly I loved the shear look of joy on Adrian's face. That boy certainly takes pleasure in living life. He was really impressed I didn't make him slow down, I think he even later said that I was worth keeping around because I let him drive like that.
The drive was totally exhausting, but at least at this point we had started listening to a better book. I think. Can't really remember. The first book was really really bad. Anyway, the drive to Susanville pretty uneventful, besides the fact that we drove through Reno. You know what that means right? Only 11 more states!
We arrived safe and sound, though dirty and exhausted in Susanville. Took a shower and then prepared myself for some major sleeping in.
Here ends day five.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
California Trip Days Three and Four: Wine and Food
My goal for the night it to finish writing about at least three more days. We'll see how well that goes.
Sunday
Sunday was way better for Adrian and I than it was for our hosts. Rob got food poisoning at the wedding they attended, and let me tell you, it didn't sound pretty!
I don't have pictures really from Sunday, so it's going to be harder to remember the day. We spent the day in Napa Valley. We started by touring Sterling Vineyards. Adrian and I met his sister (Shannon), her boyfriend (Luke), his uncle (Bruce), and his aunt (Betty) there. I have to admit I was totally intimidated to meet that much family after only dating the boy for two weeks. Adrian didn't believe me when I told him I'd be shy when I met his family, but I totally proved myself right. (Unfortunately for me I think that's only like the second time I've been right about anything when we disagree... Urg, I hate being wrong.) Besides the wine, the coolest thing about the vineyard was that there is a tram that takes you up the side of the mountain. That was fun. The wine really good. I'm not good at describing what I like about different wines. Most of the time I just laugh when people get talking describing it, because it reminds me of my parents comparing sweet corn. Sweet corn all tastes the same!
After Sterling we went to a winery in a castle, Castello de Amorosa. While having a little lunch out in the parking lot (salami, cheese, and crackers, yum), Adrian's uncle decided he didn't need to hold back his comments around me any more. Basically, he asked me if was true that I left a perfectly good relationship to be with his nephew. What was I supposed to say to that?!? Adrian just cracked up and ran away, so I got to take the heat all by myself. I was pretty embarrassed, but it was actually pretty funny. The castle was entertaining enough, despite the bad tourguide we had (apparently the VP should NOT give tours).
We went to one more winery to have champagne, then we left Bruce and Betty and the four of us went to the Culinary Institute of America for dinner. The food wasn't as amazing as we hoped, but the duck I ordered was really good. Most entirely disappointing was the chocolate soufflé we had for dessert. Seriously, how can you make a bad dessert? out of chocolate no less...
That's really about all I remember from the day. I enjoyed meeting Adrian's family. Family always seems to explain a lot about who a person is.
Monday
Monday morning was pretty relaxed for me. Adrian went to Opus One, another winery, to pick up a case of wine for his parents. I didn't go, but he got some pretty great pictures of the place. I spent the morning planning a trip to San Francisco. I really didn't have a clue what should be seen beyond the Golden Gate Bridge. When Adrian got back with the wine, we spent a little more time at Rob and Nicole's so he could hold his god-daughter Sydney. Nicole told me how impressed she was that Adrian isn't scared of babies like most boys. He was pretty cute with that beautiful little girl.
It wasn't a very long drive down to San Francisco, so we got there early afternoon. We stopped right before the Golden Gate Bridge to get some amazing pictures with the city in the background. I was intrigued by how red the bridge looked. It didn't look very "international orange" to me. For some reason in goes back to looking orange in the pictures we took. Color is an interesting phenomenon.When we got into the city, we went and checked out Lombard Street (a crazy steep switch backed road right in the middle of the city). Then, we walked down to Fisherman's Wharf, and found a place for Adrian to get clam-chowder in a sourdough breadbowl. Apparently wasn't as good as in Crescent City. I still don't really do seafood (the Midwesterner in me), but I tried it and didn't feel the urge to be sick, so it was at least edible.
Next, we checked out Pier 39 where these crazy sealions have taken over some of the docks. They were really noisy and they fought a lot with each other. It was thoroughly entertaining. Adrian and I almost stopped for a rematch of air hockey. He clearly was too scared that I would win again though, so we didn't. (I'm really good at air hockey, apparently especially so when slightly intoxicated). The last part of walking along the Pier was mostly just the two of us trying to resist stopping to get some sort of dessert. It was pretty difficult, especially after the Ghirardelli Chocolate store.
After that we just sort of walked around down by the waterfront. Some crazy dude on the sidewalk disguised as a bush scared me half to death when he started shaking it right when I walked by. Totally didn't see him. Adrian found it really damn funny. I did not. I don't like being scared, makes me feel weak. I prefer the illusion of feeling invincible.
We made it about 6 blocks or something after the pier and then we walked up to a Cold Stone. Adrian totally caved and we got ice cream. (I was really hoping he'd give in.) If I had a Cold Stone within walking distance, I might actually finally weigh more than I did in 6th grade.
We had a little more time to blow in the city before we headed to Bruce and Betty's for dinner, so we drove around some. We ended up finding this little tower, called Coit Tower and paying $4 to take the elevator to the top. It had decent views and the day was clear. You could see the fog just starting to roll in over the Golden Gate Bridge.
Dinner with Bruce and Betty was really good. Bruce made some amazingly tasty burgers that just about made your heart stop. We opened up one of the bottles of wine from Sterling, the Three Palms Merlot. It was insanely good, but unfortunately we still had to drive to Yosemite that night so consumption was limited. I met Adrian's cousin, I think his name was Dan. Bruce was fairly well behaved, except for the point when he started talking about me to Adrian's dad over speakerphone. Awkward.
Adrian drove us to our hotel just outside Yosemite. We had some serious issues finding the hotel. It was in this tiny little town, you wouldn't think it'd be so hard. It was late and everything was closed so it was hard to find people to ask. After at least 30 minutes of driving around aimlessly, we finally found out it was right behind the building where we stopped for directions the first time. Even if the guy was new to town like he said, he should have known it was right behind him. Arg. Most impressively, neither Adrian or I got cranky with the other during the whole ordeal. Very nice.
Ok, that's the end of days three and four and my laptop is about to die, so day five will have to wait.
Monday, June 18, 2007
California Trip Day Two: Trees!
I need to get cranking out these posts so I don't start forgetting what all I did. Truly I have a terrible memory. I could watch a movie three times and still not remember who was in it and how it ended. Makes it more interesting that way.
Here we go...
Saturday
When we finally rolled out of bed on Saturday (ok, I don't really remember if it was late or not...) we decided to go out for breakfast. We went to this little local cafe that was chalk full of character and characters. It was full of all kinds of interesting locals, the kind you only find in really small towns. I found it really entertaining. It was the kind of place I would totally avoid if it were in Stockton, because surely I'd see someone I didn't want to see. I had the "weenie" size blueberry pancake, and it was really good. I really don't know what Adrian ate. Something egglike, so it wasn't very interesting to me.
After breakfast we packed up and headed out to explore the rest of Crescent City. I don't know much about the town, and it seems there isn't much to know, but its surroundings are fabulous. (Adrian thinks it's really strange that I use the word fabulous. I can't remember where I picked it up, but I use it a lot). The place he grew up it was absolutely amazing. I'm very jealous of all the nature that he was surrounded with. I really like where I grew up, but seriously, redwoods, the river, AND the ocean? That's just plain greedy.
We started by exploring the redwoods. You know, those really really big trees? When I was in 3rd grade I wrote a paper about the redwoods. Before Adrian invited me to California, there was nothing I really wanted to see in California but the redwoods. (I had no idea what else I was missing). We stopped and hiked this little trail through the big trees. I seriously need to expand my vocabulary beyond "big." It was a good time and I did a bit of tree hugging, though I must admit, the architect in me did have passing thoughts of what huge things I could build out of those trees.
After the redwoods, we went up and saw the house Adrian grew up in. We couldn't get close, because the new owners have gated the driveway. He had a pretty sweet treehouse/fort thing. We went into the woods behind his house where there are more big trees. We went to see "the church tree" which has a hollow that is almost bigger than my bedroom. Definitely bigger than my bathroom.
Next, we went and walked along the ocean and checked out some tidal pools. I saw all kinds of creatures I've never seen outside of an aquarium. Before heading to another spot along the ocean, we stopped to try to get Adrian clam chowder in breadbowl at this bakery that is always closed when he comes through town. Just his luck, the entire staff was on vacation. Go figure.
We found some food at Safeway and then went off exploring again. It started raining some, but it was that perfect amount of rain where you never actually get your clothes wet. It added to the experience. We walked down to the beach where Adrian wanted to dam up this stream. It was probably one of the most entertaining things I've seen him do. He found a big log and totally stopped the water from flowing. Adrian gave me lots of shit for not helping him, but the pictures were coming out way too good to put the camera down. It was cute... I mean, um, ruggedly manly.
The best part of the whole day was listening to the ocean. Normally, I'm not really an auditory person. I'd much rather lose my hearing than my sight. The sound the waves make as they roll up the shore is just amazing. Actually, the most amazing part is when the waves recede back into the water and you can here the water gushing out of the rocks. The noise is completely different depending on the size of rocks. The sound weirdly reminded me of eating pop rocks. The noise of the water sounds a little like that. It's such a great sound that I just wanted to turn off all my other senses and sit and enjoy it.
After the ocean, it was time to leave for Santa Rosa. Lucky me, I got to drive! Adrian has a little black Subaru WRX and the best part is that it has a manual transmission. He's only the 2nd boy I've dated that can drive a stick (the first one is now a professional dancer). The car is pretty fun to drive, though he has way more fun with it than I do. I had some issues figuring out exactly the spot on the clutch where I needed to hit the gas, but I never killed the thing. We drove down Highway 101 which follows the coast. It's a really beautiful road. No, strike that. The road is just a road, you know all black and striped, but the scenery is beautiful.
We arrived in Santa Rosa fairly late. We were greeted by one really funny looking bulldog, Bogey. I'm pretty sure the dog was scared of us. Rob (one of Adrian's good friends), his wife Nicole, and their baby Sydney showed up just after us. They were exhausted from spending the day at a wedding. We were exhausted from exploring and driving. So, thus, here ends day two.
Here we go...
Saturday
When we finally rolled out of bed on Saturday (ok, I don't really remember if it was late or not...) we decided to go out for breakfast. We went to this little local cafe that was chalk full of character and characters. It was full of all kinds of interesting locals, the kind you only find in really small towns. I found it really entertaining. It was the kind of place I would totally avoid if it were in Stockton, because surely I'd see someone I didn't want to see. I had the "weenie" size blueberry pancake, and it was really good. I really don't know what Adrian ate. Something egglike, so it wasn't very interesting to me.
After breakfast we packed up and headed out to explore the rest of Crescent City. I don't know much about the town, and it seems there isn't much to know, but its surroundings are fabulous. (Adrian thinks it's really strange that I use the word fabulous. I can't remember where I picked it up, but I use it a lot). The place he grew up it was absolutely amazing. I'm very jealous of all the nature that he was surrounded with. I really like where I grew up, but seriously, redwoods, the river, AND the ocean? That's just plain greedy.
We started by exploring the redwoods. You know, those really really big trees? When I was in 3rd grade I wrote a paper about the redwoods. Before Adrian invited me to California, there was nothing I really wanted to see in California but the redwoods. (I had no idea what else I was missing). We stopped and hiked this little trail through the big trees. I seriously need to expand my vocabulary beyond "big." It was a good time and I did a bit of tree hugging, though I must admit, the architect in me did have passing thoughts of what huge things I could build out of those trees.After the redwoods, we went up and saw the house Adrian grew up in. We couldn't get close, because the new owners have gated the driveway. He had a pretty sweet treehouse/fort thing. We went into the woods behind his house where there are more big trees. We went to see "the church tree" which has a hollow that is almost bigger than my bedroom. Definitely bigger than my bathroom.
Next, we went and walked along the ocean and checked out some tidal pools. I saw all kinds of creatures I've never seen outside of an aquarium. Before heading to another spot along the ocean, we stopped to try to get Adrian clam chowder in breadbowl at this bakery that is always closed when he comes through town. Just his luck, the entire staff was on vacation. Go figure.
We found some food at Safeway and then went off exploring again. It started raining some, but it was that perfect amount of rain where you never actually get your clothes wet. It added to the experience. We walked down to the beach where Adrian wanted to dam up this stream. It was probably one of the most entertaining things I've seen him do. He found a big log and totally stopped the water from flowing. Adrian gave me lots of shit for not helping him, but the pictures were coming out way too good to put the camera down. It was cute... I mean, um, ruggedly manly.
The best part of the whole day was listening to the ocean. Normally, I'm not really an auditory person. I'd much rather lose my hearing than my sight. The sound the waves make as they roll up the shore is just amazing. Actually, the most amazing part is when the waves recede back into the water and you can here the water gushing out of the rocks. The noise is completely different depending on the size of rocks. The sound weirdly reminded me of eating pop rocks. The noise of the water sounds a little like that. It's such a great sound that I just wanted to turn off all my other senses and sit and enjoy it.
After the ocean, it was time to leave for Santa Rosa. Lucky me, I got to drive! Adrian has a little black Subaru WRX and the best part is that it has a manual transmission. He's only the 2nd boy I've dated that can drive a stick (the first one is now a professional dancer). The car is pretty fun to drive, though he has way more fun with it than I do. I had some issues figuring out exactly the spot on the clutch where I needed to hit the gas, but I never killed the thing. We drove down Highway 101 which follows the coast. It's a really beautiful road. No, strike that. The road is just a road, you know all black and striped, but the scenery is beautiful.
We arrived in Santa Rosa fairly late. We were greeted by one really funny looking bulldog, Bogey. I'm pretty sure the dog was scared of us. Rob (one of Adrian's good friends), his wife Nicole, and their baby Sydney showed up just after us. They were exhausted from spending the day at a wedding. We were exhausted from exploring and driving. So, thus, here ends day two.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
California Trip Day One: River Pirates
Sometimes life comes at you fast. A month ago I would have never guessed I'd spend my week between school and starting work taking a road trip to California. I never would have guessed I'd be spending the week with Adrian either. Regardless, here I am trying to write about what an amazing time I had, knowing that no words will do it justice.
Adrian grew up in Crescent City, California and he has lots of friends and relatives scattered throughout northern California. Basically he planned the entire trip and found us a place to crash every night. He was a great tour guide and drove all but like 3 or 4 hours of the whole trip, so really I have no complaints.
I'm going to post a day at a time and probably write more than anyone really should bother to read. Really, I'm writing it for me and letting other people read it. If you find it entertaining, enjoy. If not, please be gentle when you make fun of me to your acquaintances. If you want to see the whole week in pictures, I have a web album on Picasa (yeah, google has grabbed a hold of even more of my life). Check it out: http://picasaweb.google.com/analevan
Friday
We started our 2100 mile road trip early on Friday morning. The back of Adrian's car was completely full of clothes, blankets, music, books on CD, and food. Snacks are very important because I get cranky when I'm hungry and I figured I'd save that side of me for later in the relationship. The first major event of the trip was crossing the river to enter Portland and more importantly, the state of Oregon. I have a life goal of visiting all 50 states. Oregon brought me down from 14 states left to 13 states. Interstate 5 through Oregon was pretty uneventful. Some would say it was a boring drive, but some people have never driven Interstate 39 between Rockford, Illinois and Bloomington, Illinois. You see, Oregon has this little thing we like to call "topography," while Illinois has mostly corn and a whole lot of flat.
We got off the interstate in Grant's Pass, Oregon. We stopped at the Dollar Tree to buy a birthday present for our host, Gary. You can find the most wonderful gifts at the Dollar Tree. We also bought Tootsie Pops, which were a great add to my snack supplies. We continued our drive and eventually crossed the border into California (12 left!). Right before our destination, we stopped at the most beautiful river I've ever seen. Really clear water and really nice rocks. Get ready for a pattern of my words failing me. You'll have to rely on my pictures, though here I fail again, because we took no pictures of the Smith River.
Dinner that evening was at the Nautical. It's like Adrian's favorite restaurant, mostly because it overlooks the Pacific Ocean. You can spend the entire meal just completely mesmerized by the waves crashing into the shore. I had never seen the Pacific Ocean, but it completely mesmerized me. The food, the wine, and especially the dessert (chocolate volcano cake, yum) were wonderful. Really though, the best part was being able to stare back and forth between the ocean and Adrian. He's taken to claiming that at the end of the meal I broke a wine glass, but he's totally the clumsy one, not me... so we all know what really happened. After dinner, I piled on some layers over my little red dress so we could walk down to the beach. The layers didn't really help, mostly because my legs were still entirely exposed. Touching the ocean for the first time was worth it though.
After dinner, we went back to Gary and Becky's house (where we were lucky enough to get to crash for the night). Gary opened his Dollar Tree gift. Particularly entertaining were the Nerf blow darts. After a few more drinks, they decided it was necessary to dress Adrian and I up like pirates, and for some reason we offered zero resistance. The fake teeth that were included in Gary's present added quite nicely to the costumes. After a few more glasses of wine and some entertaining conversation, day one drew to a close.
Adrian grew up in Crescent City, California and he has lots of friends and relatives scattered throughout northern California. Basically he planned the entire trip and found us a place to crash every night. He was a great tour guide and drove all but like 3 or 4 hours of the whole trip, so really I have no complaints.
I'm going to post a day at a time and probably write more than anyone really should bother to read. Really, I'm writing it for me and letting other people read it. If you find it entertaining, enjoy. If not, please be gentle when you make fun of me to your acquaintances. If you want to see the whole week in pictures, I have a web album on Picasa (yeah, google has grabbed a hold of even more of my life). Check it out: http://picasaweb.google.com/analevan
Friday
We started our 2100 mile road trip early on Friday morning. The back of Adrian's car was completely full of clothes, blankets, music, books on CD, and food. Snacks are very important because I get cranky when I'm hungry and I figured I'd save that side of me for later in the relationship. The first major event of the trip was crossing the river to enter Portland and more importantly, the state of Oregon. I have a life goal of visiting all 50 states. Oregon brought me down from 14 states left to 13 states. Interstate 5 through Oregon was pretty uneventful. Some would say it was a boring drive, but some people have never driven Interstate 39 between Rockford, Illinois and Bloomington, Illinois. You see, Oregon has this little thing we like to call "topography," while Illinois has mostly corn and a whole lot of flat.
We got off the interstate in Grant's Pass, Oregon. We stopped at the Dollar Tree to buy a birthday present for our host, Gary. You can find the most wonderful gifts at the Dollar Tree. We also bought Tootsie Pops, which were a great add to my snack supplies. We continued our drive and eventually crossed the border into California (12 left!). Right before our destination, we stopped at the most beautiful river I've ever seen. Really clear water and really nice rocks. Get ready for a pattern of my words failing me. You'll have to rely on my pictures, though here I fail again, because we took no pictures of the Smith River.
Dinner that evening was at the Nautical. It's like Adrian's favorite restaurant, mostly because it overlooks the Pacific Ocean. You can spend the entire meal just completely mesmerized by the waves crashing into the shore. I had never seen the Pacific Ocean, but it completely mesmerized me. The food, the wine, and especially the dessert (chocolate volcano cake, yum) were wonderful. Really though, the best part was being able to stare back and forth between the ocean and Adrian. He's taken to claiming that at the end of the meal I broke a wine glass, but he's totally the clumsy one, not me... so we all know what really happened. After dinner, I piled on some layers over my little red dress so we could walk down to the beach. The layers didn't really help, mostly because my legs were still entirely exposed. Touching the ocean for the first time was worth it though.
After dinner, we went back to Gary and Becky's house (where we were lucky enough to get to crash for the night). Gary opened his Dollar Tree gift. Particularly entertaining were the Nerf blow darts. After a few more drinks, they decided it was necessary to dress Adrian and I up like pirates, and for some reason we offered zero resistance. The fake teeth that were included in Gary's present added quite nicely to the costumes. After a few more glasses of wine and some entertaining conversation, day one drew to a close.
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