Day 2 - Idaho/Montana/Wyoming

So much driving. I have a new respect for people who drive for a living (like Alex's dad). 

We left Oregon mid-morning and drove through Idaho. 

Other than the Snake River, there's not a whole lot to see in Idaho. 

Just a bunch of potatoes and NOTHING!

We had planned to make a stop at Craters of the Moon National Monument but there was too much smoke from a major wildfire in that direction. We decided to skirt around to avoid the yucky air. Doing so made our drive longer but it was worth it to stay in fresh air! 

We drove all day through Idaho and finally crossed the border into Montana. We only spent a few miles there because you have to cross it to get into Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. 

I made Alex get out of the car so it would count as a State we went through. 

We made it to our campsite in the Grant Village of Yellowstone pretty late. We hit the hay and slept for 11 hours! I'm glad we got to catch up on some of our missed rest. 

Today we are going to enjoy the Park! I'll post about our camping fun for Day 3 - keep your eyes peeled! 

Day 1 - Oregon

Sleepy sleepy Zoe and Alex arrived back in Portland at 4:45am...so much for getting our beauty rest! By the time we rode the train from the airport back into downtown where my parents were staying it was after 6. We napped for a couple of hours, said goodbye to my folks, and headed out to load up the uHaul. 

We got all loaded up - taking a few things for friends who are moving with us - and hit the road! 

We decided that our car should be named Franco. We hadn't named him yet and since he's so bad-A looking all packed up like this, we wanted a name that fit with: "good job ___, way to be awesome." 

Day 1 starts our journey through Oregon. Our destination is far away from here. Even though it's bittersweet, we know The Lord goes with us. Our lives are completely His to use. 

Driving through Oregon on the I84 East is absolutely gorgeous! Yes, pun intended. driving through the Columbia River Gorge. *sigh* I can't believe we are leaving this Eden right now. 

We got a late start on our trip, so making it to Farewell Bend State Park outside of Huntington, OR was a struggle. Alex and I had to trade off every hour or so to nap (well when you're running on 3 hours of sleep that's to be expected). Finally, around 11pm we pulled into our first campsite of the journey. It was too dark to set up the tent so just cleared out the back of Franco and slept in there. It wasn't too bad at all! This thing has about 6 feet of room when the seats are laying flat. 

We woke up to a magnificent view: 

The Snake River at Farewell Bend State Park in Oregon. 

The location was the most appropriate place to spend our last night in Oregon - get it? Cause it's called Farewell Bend? Yeah, anyways... 

So a farewell it is and now we head out across Idaho and into Wyoming! Stay tuned for Day 2! 

San Diego Fail!

Our adventures would include a 4-hour delay at the San Diego airport the night before we start our long driving tour! I guess the plane is coming from Chicago and ran into some difficulties making it to us here. It took everything in me to not snap at the lady checking us in. Of course I know it's not her fault. There's just some innate thing in humans that tells us to blame the lady at the front desk for everything going wrong, right? I know how that goes, I used to work at a bank. 

So instead of giving in to my boiling emotions, I decided to joke around with her. She ended up giving us a couple of meal vouchers...so that was cool. Now Alex and I are sitting here enjoying our free coffee and bagels. 

What's an adventure without a little...adventure? I've learned in all my years of traveling that nothing goes according to our plans. But, if we let God have our lives...we have peace that He will work it all out for good. Not for easy. For good. It's not easy thinking about getting only 3-4 hours of sleep before driving a trailer across Oregon to a campsite where we'll have to pitch a tent and cook our dinner...I would much rather get a good night's rest before all that! 

Instead, I'll just have to be content taking airport pix with my husband! 

Fun in the sun!

We've been spending our last day in Cali running errands and making sure everything is in order for our big trip starting tomorrow. Luckily we got to have some fun yesterday. 

Alex and I love exploring new places and finding the best local coffee (that's why Portland was such a dream land to us). We had been out in Pasadena at Intelligentsia Coffee and mentioned to the barista that we were staying with our folks out near Murrieta. He said he only knew of good coffee in Redlands. So yesterday we decided to check it out.

Augie's is located on 5th street in downtown Redlands, CA and it is delicious! I had an americano using a single origin roast from Ethiopia. It was 12 ounces of double shot perfection. Good find, baby! 

So tonight we fly back to Portland and pick up the uHaul trailer in the morning. Everything is in place...everything but an apartment. Unfortunately, we have a tight budget and little-to-no credit history. You'd think that was a good thing but in America, people want to know you can get yourself into debt - and then get yourself back out. Super crazy. Super backwards from what we feel the Bible has convicted us to do. We don't like the idea of being in debt and so have been really careful not to be. But in the U.S. that means they can't trust us to pay regularly. Which is odd when you look at our references...but whatever...got to comply to live I suppose. 

Because of our situation, we've been stalking Craigslist like mad people! Finally I found something promising the other day. A private renter who is willing to work with our credit situation. Things look like their working out and just in time too! I really was getting frustrated to be honest. I was frustrated that we were answering God's calling to move across the country and He wasn't giving us a place to live! I know I know...sounds like a spoiled little girl who's used to getting her way, right? Exactly! I didn't even have to stretch my faith or test it, or whatever the saying is. I just wanted everything to work out smoothly. That's not trust. That's not faith...that's just...too easy. Our faith is being practiced. We are heading out with or without everything being completely covered. 

Now that's what I call an adventure! 22 hour countdown starts now! 

The first leg - California

Well it's official! I've been to my first professional sporting event. The first evening Alex and I arrived in So Cal  we got to go see the Angel's play at the Angel's Stadium in Anaheim. I, of course, had hardly any idea what was going on - but it was thrilling nonetheless. Our seats were in a perfect spot for a view of the field and I could look out at the city lights. It was beautiful. I watched families cheer for their team, men dance like fools and couples enjoying date night at the ball park. We drank overpriced beer. We ate peanuts. We sang all the traditional songs..."buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks...I don't care if I ever get back"...The whole evening was so american, so very american, and I mean that in the best way. The only bummer of the evening: they lost. Wah wah wah...se la vie. I'd still buy an Angel's T-shirt. I didn't. But I would have if we weren't on such a tight moving budget.

We've been in California, not only to say goodbye before the move to Raleigh, but also for Alex's sister Natalie's wedding. The big surprise at the wedding was that only a handful of people knew that Alex was officiating it! So when we arrived at the cruise boat in San Diego everyone was asking me where Alex was (he was in the office on the boat prepping for the ceremony). Unfortunately, I'm a TERRIBLE liar. Auntie Gloria asked me outright if Alex was doing the ceremony and I was like "uh...ummm...I don't know?" As I walked away I was thinking to myself, I don't know?? Shouldn't I know if my own husband is performing our sister's wedding?! Geez Zoe. Smooth.

The wedding was gorgeous! I've never been to a wedding in a harbor before. The only concern I had was the whole "what if the boat sinks" factor, or the kids falling overboard, or big waves swelling up, or... Anyways, aside from my paranoia, the whole evening was delightful. Alex did a great job being the minister. He dealt with the speakers glitching and our nephew walking up to him asking if he could play with the microphone. And all his unmarried family members want him to marry them now.

The best part of the evening was that I got to meet cousin Amber. She is married to Alex's cousin Tonio. She's another ginger. So I don't stick out so much in the family crowd now! Tonio said that when he first saw me on the boat, he thought I was some white girl who got on the wrong boat (if you didn't know this, Alex's whole family is Hispanic). Once he met me and realized I am Alex's wife he said "oh good, now you and Amber can hang out. You gingers have to stick together, you're a dying breed you know." Ha! Seriously though, you should see it...I really stand out. Really. I'm 5'10'', red hair, freckles, scrawny...yeah...you can spot me instantly. Every time we take family photos I want to sing "one of these things is not like the others..."

It's been really great having time with Alex's family before we go. Neither of us have been working this week either so we've had time to line up all our campsites for the 10-day journey across the U.S. starting the 14th. All the planning is soon going to pay off. I'm so excited to actually start heading across to meet up with our other team members for the church plant. Our first service is just weeks away! Oh here's a link for Emmaus - A Jesus Church for you to check out and pass on to any friends you might have out in the Raleigh area.

Tonight we are just hanging out at Alex's parent's house. We have our nephew, Noah, staying here as well while his parents are on their honeymoon (Natalie and Hiram who just got married). This little tyke is quite the handful! He has more energy than...well...I don't know what! He's 4-years-old and never stops moving! My favorite thing about being around him though, is how much he looks identical to Alex at that age. It's uncanny. People think Noah is Alex's son because he looks so much like him. Cute, cute kid.

Phew! I'm all tuckered out from swimming with Noah and playing with transformers. I think it's time for me to finish my cookie dough ice cream and watch James Bond with my hubby :)

Our last few days...

It is all finally starting to feel real. The fact that we are moving across the country in a few weeks is starting to set in. I got butterflies in my stomach thinking about it as we were moving out of our little apartment yesterday. Oh that little apartment. So little. So very very little.
For the past 9 months we have been renting what was built to be a "maid's quarters" in the basement of a garage. It is 250 square feet of efficient tinyness. The family we were renting from have been the most wonderful landlords and it truly was a great experience being there. During my last school term, though, there were a couple of times that I would just stand in the middle of the room (at the foot of the bed where it abuts the "kitchen") and go "I'm going crazy in this cave!" On the days when it was raining too hard and Alex had the car at work, I would be trapped there doing homework...no Internet access...no cable...torture.
So the other day, as we made trips up the driveway and loaded their garage with our boxes of stuff, both Alex and I stopped to watch the sunset for a moment.  We stood silently, thankful for our little cave. The apartment overlooks Lake Oswego and for being such a small place, it is gorgeous. We were so blessed to have the time we did there.
Alex and I are all moved out now. Our stuff is safely stored in our landlord's garage until the 14th. Now we are spending our last few days in Oregon with my parents and with our friends (the ones with the dog that got skunked). We made sure to stop by our favorite places one last time in Lake Oswego. We had a little coffee date in the patisserie that we visited the first time we came to this town.
During our date, Alex asked me what I would miss the most about the community we're leaving. I had to think about it moment. The a a lot of things I love about Portland and Lake Oswego. In Lake Oswego in particular, I decided what I will miss the most is seeing everyone walking around with dogs. Everyone loves to stop and talk about their dog with you here - it's a very easy way to meet people around town.
It is going to be so strange having to start all over. Learning the good places to eat, learning the way people in Cary and Raleigh interact around town, learning the best way around traffic... We're going to miss Portland. I think the food is the part we will miss the most. Man, the food here is good!
Last night we went out to Pizza Italia with my folks. My dad is doing some business up here so we get to spend a little more time with them before my mom has to say goodbye (you know, with lots of tears and everything that makes goodbyes hard). My dad's old business partner has a loft in the Pearl District with an extra room that we stayed in. The view is killer.
Just a few days left to soak up this city. It definitely teaches you not to take a place for granted. I imagine what it would feel like if we hadn't explored as much as we did. Leaving would be so much less significant. I'm glad that it is significant. It means we were here...really here.

Safe and Sound in Portland

Oh life is so adventure filled sometimes! While I was down in Medford for a few days, my husband was house-sitting/dog-watching for our friends, the Guidry's. On the first night, around 11:30pm, Alex let the dog out before bed - like a responsible sitter. The dog starts barking down by the fence. Alex calls to him but the dog does not return. After a minute or two, the dog obeys and comes inside. Alex takes him over to his bed and goes outside to make sure everything is alright. That's when he smelled it. That invasive, burned-rubber, evil, death smell of skunk. Immediately Alex takes the dog into the garage. It's too late, the small is already all over the dog's bed and wafting through the rest of the house. The quick thinker that he is, Alex looks up a recipe for eliminating skunk smell (directions here) and scrubs the dog for an hour. Finally the odor begins to fade and Alex takes out the dog bed to the garage and leaves the windows open all night so the cross-breeze can air out the house.
So my husband had an awesome night without his wife. Oh, and then the dog woke up at 2am and decided to barf on the carpet - lovely. Poor guy.
We've wanted a dog for a long time. Somehow this experience hasn't deterred my husband's love of canine companions. Big softy.
On the other end of the A to Z duo (me) different sorts of adventures were ensuing. The reason I was back in Medford was to return my dad's truck, say some more farewells, and pick up the few stragglers I had left behind of our possessions. I needed a ride back to Portland. Conveniently, my friend Mary was making a day trip up for some appointments and to visit with us on Saturday. I couldn't have planned it better.
Now, Mary is a special person in our lives. It was at her birthday party in July of 2 years ago that Alex and I met for the first time. We always tell her that it's all her fault we're together. Mary is also special in the sense that...well...frankly, she has bad luck. I don't know if that's a real thing but if anybody has it, Mary does.
Saturday morning rolls around and Mary picks me up in her silver VW Bug. We stop for coffee and head onto the freeway to make the 4 1/2 hour drive. We're chatting away, catching up and whatnot. Mary is coming up on a truck in the right lane and starts to merge into the left lane to go around. Well about halfway into her merge, Mary realizes there's a Mazda in the left lane that she's going to hit! She corrects and moves back into the right lane but unfortunately it gives the Mazda enough of a scare to swerve off the freeway to the left and then over-correct back onto the road. That's when she slammed into us. BOOM. The Mazda hits the back right side of Mary's car and bounces off - the Mazda then spins out of control in a full 360º circle and comes to rest on the side of the freeway. Mary pulls off to the right and we take a moment to breath and calm down. The Mazda was able to drive to our side of the freeway and we checked to make sure both cars could drive and that everyone was ok. The driver's exchanged info and after about 25 minutes everyone went on their way.
To reward ourselves for surviving, we stopped at Taco Bell. Don't judge. It was delicious.
So, eventually, we made it Portland safe and sound.
Life is surprising. I hope I remember to take the bumps as something to laugh about. Otherwise, I'll end up having a much more miserable time getting from point A to point Z!