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~

First Walk Around Vancouver

Just a short video in on our first night in the city!

Cheese Curds!

This is the first time any of us has EVER had cheese churds... yum! :)

Guy Playing Drums on Buckets (Seattle)

I LOVE STREET PERFORMERS!!!! This guy used nothing but recycled buckets and bottles! Amazing what you can do with trash! You know how the saying guys... "one mans trash is another mans livelihood"... or something like that :)

Squirrel Butter (outside Starbucks)

While Sarah was in Starbucks, Bekah was listening to some fun performers who were entertaining the crowds on the street... Here is her favorite group! The duets name was Squirrel Butter :)

Pikes Place Starbucks

I think Sarah has died and gone to Starbucks heaven! Pikes place is like the Meca of the Starbucks religion!

First day in Vancouver (continued)

Day Six (7:30 P.M.-11:30): So earlier today we went to Granville island and toured around there!!! Totally AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!! Then we went to Queen Elizabeth Park, the highest point in Vancouver!!!!! IT HAD SPECTACULAR VIEWS!!!!! Sarah and I ran around taking picture after picture while Bekah sat in the car since she was tired and wanted to protect the car from tickets (we were only going to be there a few minutes and didn’t wanna pay for parking!). Anyways, it was a lovely park! Then we came back here and waited for the parentals to call us on Skype… but it took FOREVER cause the hostel has internet DRAMA!!!! No telling what the internet is gonna do ‘round here L After talking to Sarah and my families we went to this SWEET restaurant/ pub thingy in Gastown to celebrate Sarah’s birthday! It was in a really great location so I got some great pictures! This place was highlighted on a special I saw during the Olympics about the best places in Vancouver! It was supposed to have some world famous Mac & Cheese so I decided I had to try it out! I tried it and indeed it was some pretty delicious Mac & Cheese YUM YUM!!!!! So I shared it with the girls so they could experience the yummyness! Then I drive for the first time in a foreign country on the way back after we were done… it wasn’t bad but I had to make a u-turn and I am not used to Sarah’s car so my u-turn was a little messed up… oh well… After that we went and played cards at the pub place that had country music and pool tables across the street at the sister hostel to our hostel… yeah I totally lost at the card game… me: 39 pts, Sarah: 25 pts, Bekah: 1 pt… yeah um it wasn’t my night… now it is off to bed! Hopefully tomorrow will be an early morning since we are going up to Whistler!!!! OLYMPIC BOBSLED HERE I COME!!!!! Night night!

~Heather~

First morning in Vancouver

Day Six (1 P.M.): Well the day is only half over and already we have seen some pretty amazing stuff. We walked around all more morning and it was a lot of fun! But now we are back at the hostel eating lunch and checking out maps! We ran into a nice German man at who is also staying at the hostel and shared info, he gave us insider information on Vancouver and the surrounding areas and we told him all the must sees for Seattle since he is going there from today until friday! It was nice because he has been all the places we want to go! Right now we are getting ready to go to the Granville public market!!!!! One of the places that I HAD TO SEE!!!!!! I’m SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOT WOOT!!!! Gotta go!!!

~Heather~

day 4, 5 and 6

ok, so...
My counterparts are much better at making posts then me!~ oh well. Getting through washington and staying with the goertzen's was great! I got to talk to people who have a goat dairy in the state and produce with only 100 head!!! they must be very active marketers and really seel alot of novelty stuff. I was a wonderful day and hanging out with my brother and sister in seattle was a hoot!~ I loved spending time with them! The next day (day 5) was mostly driving and getting settled in. Our hostel is great and everyone here is really nice! Driving, though, is HORRIBLE here. In the space of 3 minutes, I saw 4 birds flying my way just because I chose to go the speed limit! People swirve all over the place and honk like they want the whole world to look at them... sigh. I miss California driving. The people here at the C&N Backpackers hostel has been awesome!!! We got to talk to most of the people on our floor and even got some travleing advice from a guy with a cool accent on what we should see in whistler! The Canadian money is a little confusing, but we are getting a hang of it.

I have loved this trip. I am starting to feel well traveled! hahahah. I know I have a far way to go, but I suddenly realized that I can do it!!! Just stay calm, keep your money and passport as close to you as possible and ask questions! You can go anywhere!

well, that's my sign out for now. I'll try to be better about posting.
I love you all
day 6 and I want my dog here even more!

First look at VANCOUVER!!!!!!!

Hey all, WE MADE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here are just the first shots I took on Matt's camera... we didn't bring the fancy cameras when we went exploring... just wanted to look around :)

~Heather~

Day 4---Pike Place Market

Welcome to the Pike Place Public Market! We had so much fun there, these pictures only give a taste of what we experienced. I found a new place in the world that I love to be! In fact, all of Seattle I found is another home to me, that I will gladly come back to any chance I get. I loved that atmosphere, the people, the ocean, the city, the trees and of course the coffee. I loved every minute I was there. There is so much to explore and look at...and take pictures of. Seattle is definitely one of my favorite places in the world to be!
So here is just a glimpse of what we experienced in Seattle and the Pike Pace Market!

This is a panoramic of the market. I'm standing right next
to the sign you see in the picture above.

This is the "Fruit Man" that was listed in our quotes section.
Even though he still didn't give us his name he let us take a
picture with him!

The "Fruit Man" also sold Bekah a Lemon Plum. Neither of us
had had one before so it was intriguing.
It definitely was sweet and tart!

This is the famous Fish Market where they throw fish! Seriously, its great!
Whenever someone buys a fish they toss it back and forth to each other
and call out to each other in "Sailor Talk" (I only say that cause I didn't actually
understand what it was that they were saying!) Anyway! This tossing of the fish became
a famous ritual that crowds gather around to see. nobody bought a fish while we were there,
but they did toss the fish for us and do their "Sailor Talk" for everyone that was around!
It was pretty awesome!

This is Bekah talking to the "Goat Cheese Man". (I know I'm giving all
of these guys weird names, but this is really how we refer to them!) Bekah found out that
there was going to be a stand at the Market with goat cheese, so she made it her mission
to talk to the "Goat Cheese Man"! So of course she did! She got to ask him all sorts of
questions about things that we all knew nothing about. She had a lot of fun and bought
a package of goat cheese to go! If Bekah hasn't told you already, I'm sure she'll tell you soon about all of her cheese adventures!

We also went to the Beecher's Cheese store and Factory where Bekah
bought some cheese curds that were made fresh that day! If you want to see
if we all liked the cheese curds or not, take a look at Heather's video!

And of course, being a photographer, I had to capture my own version of the famous coffee cup and Public Market sign. I got a couple different angles and these are the two that I like the best. I enjoyed the Market so much! I would love to go back some day and go exploring some more!

~Sarah~

The Path to the Beach (part one)

Ok so in order to post this I had to chop it in two! So you have to watch this one and then part two! Enjoy!

The Path to the Beach (part two)

From Washington to Canada!

Day Five: And so it begins! We are in the car listening to Ayiesha Woods J Good stuff! Bekah just asked me “hey, you wanna go to Canada today?” my response… “Well, since we are in the neighborhood… why not!” Then I asked Sarah the same question, her response… just a wide-eyed nod with a huge smile! I think we are headed for Canada then! It’s hard to believe that only four days ago I at this time I was turning in two papers and now I am 3 hours from Canada! It’s crazy what you can do in less then a week! You can drive over 1,305 miles, through almost the entire western coast of the USA and into Canada! You can stay in three different friends and families beautiful homes and in a hostel in a foreign country. You can drive past wildflowers and through the redwoods, over rolling hills or over mountains, along the coast or through the desert! What a contrasting landscape of God’s beautiful creation we have seen J Now as we are driving past Sarah is taking pictures out the window of the Seattle skyline! We are going to have SO many pictures of this trip to share with everyone when we get back!!! We I’m tired of typing so for now good-bye… oh one more thing HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD! I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!

~Heather~

Seattle

Day Four: Well today turned out to be pretty awesome! It was our first day of absolutely no traveling (well except to go see Seattle) and just taking in some of the sites of Washington. Seattle turned out to be a big hit for all of us… Bekah got to talk to some local dairy goat farmers and buy some cheese from them, Sarah got to go to Pikes Place Starbucks (the first Starbucks EVER) and I... well… I got to see a three story Old Navy… but I think one of the highlights for me was just walking around a city that reminded me so much of Rome, Italy! Obviously it is not the same but Seattle had the same feel and same atmosphere that Rome has. Since I have been missing Rome lately it was a nice reminder of how Rome made me feel when I lived there. The Public market was awesome and the fresh flower smelled just like Campo dei fiori in Rome!!!! One of my favorite smells ever! So it was a good day, topped off by the Space Needle, a tour of the Northwestern Baptist Seminary, McDonalds Ice cream cones and a dip in the hot tub! What a day! But I can’t wait to get to CANADA!!!!!!!! Tomorrow we embark on the last northern leg of this trip! Soon I will have been to every country in North America… that’s really cool to say! Even though it’s only three countries that is still something to be proud of J The only sad part of the day was not seeing my friend Jeremiah from Old Navy. He is from Seattle and is visiting family but it never worked out to see him. I think it would’ve been funny to see a co-worker SO far away from work! But other then that, all in all I think today was a winner. Staying with the Goertzen’s has been a blast and it is kind of bitter sweet to leave them, but I am glad for the time that we have had here. And am SUPER excited for the next portion of the road trip!!!! See you in CANADA!

~Heather~

Day 3---Oregon Coast

Welcome to the Oregon Coast! We had a blast staying at my Uncle Mac and Aunt Gloria's house. They live right on the coast just below Newport. They have a beautiful house that overlooks the ocean, so we decided to go play!!!

We found this great little mushroom shaped log that you could sit right in. So we all took turns sitting in it and posing for the camera. (it's actually a lot more comfortable than it looks)

Bekah, as you can see was really excited!

We decided to go all Charlie's Angels on the Beach!

These next pictures are where I get all artsy. I enjoy looking at the world in different ways. I'm always looking at the world through a lens and adjusting for exposure and depth of field. So these were images that I captured because I found them interesting. Hopefully you will too!

This is Frank. Bekah saved him from drowning in the ocean

And here's the gang. Me, Heather, Bekah, Aunt Gloria and Uncle Mac

Thank you Uncle Mac and Aunt Gloria for letting us stay with you! We have fallen in love with you guys, your lovely house and the beautiful coast of Oregon! We will see you on our way back! Love you! Thank you!

~Sarah~