Voodoo Donuts, StumpTown Coffee and Powell's Bookstore

Day Nine (the conclusion): So after leave Multnomah Falls we met Seth and Alleena at Voodoo Donuts… this place was the most unique donut place I have ever been in my life! Every kind of donut you could imagine (and some you probably never would think of J). There where donuts with cereal, bacon, candy, chocolate, caramel, frosting, and sprinkles… there were GIANT donuts and tiny donuts… they had EVERYTHING!!! It was crazy! There was a line in the rain to get these donuts! Fun experience. After that we went to StumpTown Coffee… another fun and unique place. We had a hilarious conversation there about squirrel-goats and bears and all kinds of stuff and then had a good laugh when Sarah sat on the huge glazed donut the three of us girls had bought! It was still good though J! Then just as we were leave a bunch of cops came in and started talking to a man who had come in with a young kid. It turned out that the man had found the kid wondering around and had called the police to let them know he had found a child who was lost. As we pulled out of our parking space we saw a police officer walking in with a women who looked like she was worried to death, we could only assume that this was the mother of the child. When she got to the door, and looked inside she collapsed in doorway and the police officer was trying to help her calm down so that she could go inside. I hope those were the emotions of a mother who had just found a child she had lost not the emotions of a mother who just realized that that was not her child. I can’t even imagine what she must have been going through either way! But the story of the day takes a much lighter tone as we moved to your next destination, Powell’s Bookstore! I wasn’t too excited about it originally but after I got there I didn’t want to leave. This bookstore is three or four floors and each room on the floor has a theme… I found a entire half of a floor devoted to languages and the other half was devoted to Christianity… it was AWESOME! I found a $55 dictionary that I wanted SOOOOO bad… actually I wanted three (one in Arabic, one in Spanish and one in Italian!) $170+ was WAY more then I was able to spend so I settled for an Arabic New Testament, a seven language dictionary and an Italian verb book that translates over 501 verbs in every tense and mood! OMG it is AWESOME!!!!!!!! Sadly we had to leave after only an hour (our parking permit ran out and we needed to get to Oregon). So we said good-bye to Seth and Alleena and headed to Sarah’s aunt and uncle’s house for the night. This time we made much better time then the first time… unfortunately we got stuck in some MAJOR rain but thanks to Bekah amazing driving skills and a little prayer we made it to Oregon safely! Once there we ate a little dinner and headed to bed… well at least Bekah and I did… Sarah stayed up a little while longer and talked to her family! So that is where the night ended. The next day we were in for another LONG drive through California! More to come J

~Heather~

A misplaced post that I found on my iphone

Day Nine (1:38 A.M.): *A note: the following post was originally written on my phone (my phone was less disruptive to everyone’s sleep then typing on my computer J) and was later transferred and edited here. This post belong chronologically between my post about day eight and the morning of day nine. So here it is:

It is now 1:38 A.M. Thursday morning and I am lying in bed in Vancouver, Washington after just updating the blog! The girls and everyone else in the house are asleep and I lay here just listening to the rain and looking out the window. Canada and most of Washington are behind us, as we have begin our descent back to Socal and normal life… I don’t think I’m ready for really life to begin again… What a road I have before me, as do we all. But right now I choose not to think about it… All I want to do is listen to the rain.

~Heather~

Multnomah Fall!

Day Nine (2:38 P.M.): Well we just left Multnomah Falls in Oregon and it was just as awesome as we had hopes and more! We ran up to the bridge to take a look and get some pictures! It was beautiful! Then we had to run back to the car with the cameras under our jackets so that we could protect them from the rain!!!! Now we are headed to Portland to met Seth and Alleena at Powells and eat Voodoo Donuts! I hear they are AMAZING! Anyways by the time you get this we will probably be past that point but that’s ok J OH! And I forgot to tell you that that Tuesday on the way to Whistler I figured out how to make the Chewbacca/Yeti sound! A secret goal of mine for a while… yeah I know I’m weird, right? But still I think that is something to be proud of!!!!!!!! Anyways gotta go!

~Heather~

Morning day nine!

Day Nine: This morning we got up just in time to say good-bye to Wendy before she headed out to work! Then it was time for the yummy breakfast she had made! BLUEBARRY COFFEE CAKE!!!!! Good stuff! We spent some time blogging and talking to Bryan and then Bryan and Evan left for Portland. I have LOVED spending a little time with them! Kinda wish they didn't live so far away... Wish I could of spent more time, hopefully I will be able to come up some time with my mom on one of her weekend adventures! Todays plan… MULTNOMAH FALLS!!!!!, Powells bookstore in Portland and then to South Beach Oregon to spend the night at Sarah’s aunt and Uncles house again! Fun filled and packed day! Gotta go, see ya in Oregon! More of my pictures to follow hopefully tonight!

~Heather~

From Vancouver to Vancouver!

Day Eight: Well today was our last morning in Vancouver L We still had yet to see a Mountie or a moose and found out that we could see a Mountie in Victoria and apparently it is a very pretty place so we headed over to Horseshoe bay but it was REALLY expensive and with the time on the fairies it would’ve taken us WAY to long so we decided to spend sometime at the bay and then head out… so unfortunately no moose or Mounties L But it’s ok we had a lot of fun otherwise! While I am sad that we didn’t have more time in Vancouver I am ready to go be home and not traveling! I am not a travel person I am a destination person so trips like when I went to Italy fit my style a little better, but I have loved actually spending a Spring Break doing something kinda crazy!!! Anyways, after crossing the border a few hours ago we are now driving down to Vancouver Washington to spend the night at the Abelings home for the night! Can’t wait to eat and go to sleep!!!!! Not to long ago we drive through Toledo Washington and I suggested that we say “HOLY TOLEDO BATMAN!!!!!” as we drive through and so we did! Good times, good times! (I stop writing this in the car and am now writing it at Thursday morning) So we got to the Abeling house around 9:30 P.M. last night and were great by hugs and welcomes at the door! Wendy told us that the guys where out getting the pizza and would be back soon! So we talked, played with their cute doggie and got settled in. The guys got here and we talked some more while the pizza was baking! Then we talked while eating the YUMMY pizza! It was great! After that it was off to bed for the night!

~Heather~

The Olympic day!

Day Seven: Well today was an interesting day… last night we planned on getting up and leaving early so that we could spend most of the day in Whistler. Unfortunately none of our alarms went off and the sun was hidden by the clouds so I didn’t wake up until around 9:30 A.M…. not exactly late but later then we had planned… after I took a shower, Bekah and I tried to wake Sarah and found that she was sick… dang… after figuring out what the symptoms were and figuring out how she felt we started talking about the plan and she decided that she wanted to go to Whistler and she would sleep in the car on the way up. So instead of leaving at 8 or 9 as planned we left at 11ish and headed up to Whistler! It’s crazy how quickly the scenery can change in B.C.! Within 20 min we had driven through the city, through a mini forest, along the coast, and started heading up the mountains! Along the way Sarah slept and Bekah and I talked! Good conversation!!! Once up the mountain we went to the Olympic park and were told that we couldn’t enter due to the fact that the Paralympics had just ended yesterday. So the nice guard man gave us directions to the place where the Bobsledding track was along with some SWEET window stickers! We then followed the signs to the sliding center and ended up in a construction site thingy… asked someone again and then headed up the correct direction! But I think I saw the side of the track through the trees after talking to that lady. We then got to the gate in front of the street that lead to the sliding and the lady said it was closed until Summer… NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! L Sad day! But she did tell me that I could take a gondola ride and see… so we investigated that and found that it was almost $50 per person… yeah um no… so I was satisfied to have seen the side of it! After that we headed down the mountain and tried to find the Totem poles I had heard about… we got lost… twice at least… and then FINALLY found that they were in Stanley Park and then it took us sometime to figure out how to get in there… it was really confusing… Once in we found the Totem poles and wandered around for a bit in the park. Then surprise of all surprises we saw the OLYMPIC RINGS on top of a barge in the middle of the harbor!!!!!!!!! Needless to say we took a bunch of pictures and then headed out! We then drive through the city and took some pictures again… lots of photo ops today! Now, after working on the plan for tomorrow we are going to bed! Tomorrow it’s off to Victoria hopefully and then down to see Wendy and Bryan and the family in Vancouver Washington!!!!!

~Heather~

Day 4---Starbucks at Pike Place!!!!!

These are the pictures from the very first Starbucks at Pike Place Market in Seattle Washington! I couldn't believe I was finally there. I walked in and was so overwhelmed by the people and look and the smells. It was amazing! My girls were so great and let me wander all around and soak it all in. The whole place smelled of coffee and espresso. There people wall to wall at times and you could barely walk through. The partners there were so friendly and seemed to be having so much fun. When they got a drink order they would stack the cups inside each other and toss them over the Bar to the Barista and call out "2!" or "3!", however many drinks they were tossing. Also, whenever the Baristas cleared the bar and were ahead of the partners on register they would yell "Yahtzee!!!" and start cleaning up to get ready for the next rush. It was pretty fun to watch. So take a look at the things that I saw while I was there. If you're a coffee drinker you should definitely try and make it up to Pike Place someday. Its a fun experience!

I got to mark out my pound of coffee this week from Pike Place,
and of course I got Pike Place Roast!

This is one of the mugs that I got!

This is Karen Goertzen! Our Seattle tour guide and host
for the weekend! It was so much fun to tour the city with her all day!

They pull espresso shots the old school way!

This was my drink of choice at Pike Place. Sorry Cameron, I didn't
get a Pike Place at Pike Place. I wanted to watch them make my drink
at the bar and see them pull the espresso shots! I'm such a coffee nerd!

This was the very first coffee that I tasted as a Starbucks Partner.
For my first Coffee tasting I had Arabian Mocha Sanani with the chocolate chip
indulgent cookie! It was amazing! This coffee is seasonal and is really expensive.
So it is a treat to have it whenever it comes out.

This was another mug that I got while I was there!

I'm so excited!

I had soooooo much fun there! The whole store is just classic. I hope I get to go back again some day. I got way to many mugs, but that just means you can all come over and I can share my coffee and mugs with you!

~Sarah~