Stump Town

Record highs, temperature-wise here. We have been in Portland for a few days now and got here just in time for a heat wave. Today until Wednesday we should reach 101 degrees! Who knew the northwest would get that hot! Katie and Dan: since we arrived indulged ourselves in the wonderful food and beer culture. The 2nd night we attended the grand opening of The Woods including a folksy, indy portland band and yes, more brews. Afterwards, we checked out the food carts on 12th and Hawthorne for some delicious Poutine (google it). We also went to the Saturday farmers' market and had one of the best tamales ever from one of the carts.

To much surprise, we found out that an old friend from SCAD Lacoste, Joe, resides in Portland! He was a year above us. We all met up for a great bowl of pho and some brews at the Brass Horse Pub. Well thats it for now...tune it next time for something crazy...like clamming!

Upward

When we last left off we headed out of San Francisco and up to Portland, Oregon! We had a two day side trip to return to Audrey and Luke's where we were met with great hospitality. Then we headed north towards Portland. A few hours up Interstate 5 took us past tons of agriculture including olive trees and a road side stand with yummy peaches. Then it was back to the Pacific Coast Highway. We passed through Redwood National Park in the evening, the massive trees being shot through with soft light and fog was truly a magical experience. That night we camped just outside of the park in the town of Crescent City.

The next morning we hit the road again and were soon in Oregon. As the fog burned off the ocean went from steel to soft blue. We passed through many small coastal towns and enjoyed eat your heart out views the whole way. We arrived in Portland last night to Anna's cozy apartment and a delicious beer at the Concordia Ale House. Plans for Portland include the rose gardens, excellent beer and food, time with Anna, and whatever comes our way.

Some Extra Pictures!!

California Coast: Part 3 It's a Wedding!

We arrived Friday morning in San Francisco at Vu's place (Dan's cousin) and pretty soon after met up with Dan's family. In typical wedding fashion everything we rushed to get ready and then head over to Berkley for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Who's getting married?>>Dan's cousin, Khanh and his fiance, Leslie...beautiful couple. The whole Mai clan (plus me) did a little exploring in Berkley once we arrived, as we had over anticipated the traffic and were about an hour early. After a pick me up coffee and a stroll we returned to the church for the rehearsal, which was on campus. The after rehearsal dinner was held on the church grounds and they server delicious pizza. Because this is California of course it was not your average pizza. It was probably one of the tastiest pizzas I ever had. I can't remember the name of the pizzeria, but it is a co-op, vegetarian and locally supported restaurant...there is only one type of pizza made each day, oh, and they make their own cheese...CHEESE! We had a cilantro-lime white pizza and it was soo good. Saturday was the wedding which was a simply beautiful ceremony followed by a great little reception in Berkeley.

Before the wedding, on Saturday morning, we went for a walk with Isla at Fort Funston beach off of Skyline Drive. The the San Fran fog was rolling over the beach and the fisherman were out in force pulling in massive sea bass right from the surf. The weather was a bit chilly and the water was freezing, so the men braving the waves were in full waders trying to stay warm enough to pull in there awesome catch. Afterwards we met up with the Mai's at their Condo over by the Cliff House, which is where we enjoyed a delicious brunch while looking out to the mighty Pacific. The Cliff House has a super cool history and I highly recommend checking out their website. Our food was pretty good at the restaurant but the view to the ocean was the most special part, watching the surfers, fisherman, seals and birds.

Sunday the Mai family, Vu, and Katie went to Mass at Vu's church where a samoan choir was leading the singing that day. A fun and different experience. Mass was followed by brunch at Aperto, a little corner cafe in the same neighborhood as Vu's apartment. We then proceeded to Golden Gate Bridge and Twin Peaks that afternoon for tons of pictures. That evening after plenty of convincing, we all went to a Thai Restaurant in Potrero Hill, LingBa, for a huge dinner Monday, was a day of wine tasting in Sonoma and a tasty Peruvian dinner at Fresca, for the last night before Dan's family headed back east.

After Dan's family left, Dan and I buckled down to start some serious job hunting. Hopes were high but after looking at the dismal job listings we were not sure if there would be anything for us here. We had the pleasure of meeting up with our friend, Audrey, Wednesday night for a night on the town. The four of us headed for some much needed pho and afterwards drinks at the Casanova. Friday with renewed hope after finding a few new job openings we spent the day preparing packages to send to potential employers. That evening Vu treated us to sushi and ice cream at a local San Fran ice cream parlor, Mitchell's. The line was out the door for ice cream despite the chilly evening air. But with flavors like Kahlua Mocha Cream, White Pistachio, and Claire's Pie (chocolate ice cream with almonds, fudge, and graham crackers) it was worth the wait, and no surprise to see a police officer in line while his car was parked in the street blocking two cars in with his yield lights on...

Vu finished up the evening with a tour of the city, going to Crissy fields, driving down Lombard Street, and through several of the neighborhoods. It was a great way to see the city, no traffic, all the buildings lit up and people on the streets for some Friday night fun. Saturday, Dan and I spent the night at Luke and Audrey's in order to have a little more time with them. Audrey and Luke first took us on a a drive to nearby Santa Cruz. We enjoyed some excellent conversation, good beach time, and yummy coffee at LuLu Carpenter's. The rest of the evening was to say the least besides a blur of Wii bowling, Bob Marley, and New Belgium Biere...it was a good night. Sunday at an all too early hour we headed back the city to get in some real tourist action. We decided to check out the Fisherman's Wharf, Pier 39, and of course get some yummy clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. That afternoon was spent with a serious nap (needed due to the night before) followed by some deep conversations with Vu, and a real homemade dinner!

So with a hard realization that our time in San Fran was coming to an end, we started prepping for our next journey. We are ready and able...to infinity and beyond!

Special Note for all you coffee lovers out there: Blue Bottle Coffee, could be among the best coffee: taste-wise and philosophy-wise.

California Coast: Part 2

Saying goodbye to warm San Diego, we continued up Pacific Coast Highway 1. We started in the late morning to bypass the excruciating traffic of L.A. (inevitably we got stuck anyway). After two hours of LA traffic, Katie and I decided that this was not the place for us especially considering the added bonus of a nice layer of smog over the city. At this point, we had been on the road for 4-5 hours and we had a couple of priorities: (1) bathroom break (2) lunch at In and Out Burger. Without much stopping after that we headed for San Luis Obispo where cousins Carolyn and Rich reside. Our hosts welcomed us with open arms and introduced us to their cats trouble maker Scooter, chill Oreo, and the elusive Snuffy as well as their dog Sephora. That night, Carolyn made us a delightful to all senses seafood dish consisting of orzo pasta, spring greens, grilled squash, eggplant, shrimp, and scallops. Unfortunately, we only got to stay one night here and had to move on the next day. Before we left, we attended the soft grand opening at a local chocolate shop and grabbed some tapas for lunch at an amazing restaurant, NOVO. The Korean Short Ribs and Indian Samosas were favorites.

Back to Route 1. Epic views, curvy roads, and lush landscapes await us. I drove first so that Katie got to appreciate the view being this was were her first experience. This would easily be one of our top picks for road trips that one must take at least once in their lives. We stopped whenever something caught our eye: kite surfers do their thing, a secluded beach to dip our toes in the cold Pacific, and of course, snap some shots for the blog. Other stops included Cambria and Carmel River Beach which was listed in Sunset Magazine as one of the top beaches of the summer. After 6 hours of driving we are about an hour outside of San Francisco at our good friends from school, Luke and Audrey's mountain house. They live just southwest of San Jose. Insanely windy roads that barely fit one car but allowed traffic in both directions led us back to their cabin! Unfortunately, Audrey was out of town but Luke was there to greet us and feed us corn beard! After a relaxed dinner, we all watched the fog roll through the mountains and caught up on some missed time. Morning was a perfect time for me to take some photos and for Katie to paint. Then back to the road and on to San Francisco!

California Coast: Part 1

The first night, after a quick orange blossom hefeweizen homebrew and dropping off our bags, we headed to North Park to a local beer bar. You can't beat $3 delicious beer. A couple brews later, we headed over to the Linkery, where we ate some tasty appetizers before heading back to Michael's and turning in for the night.

Tuesday morning...since Katie had never been to San Diego, the 3 of us decided to do the tourist tour of La Jolla Village area and view Seal Rock which is a 'must-see' for anyone visiting. Afterwards we checked out an exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art featuring local San Diego Architects which was a nice refresh of creativity and innovative design. At this point, lunch was calling our names so Michael whipped up some tasty carnitas with refreshing gin and tonics to wash it all down.

After spending some time 'being responsible' job hunting and the like we went for a quick walk with Isla to enjoy the always perfect weather. My cousin Long and friend, Jules, came over that evening for steamed lemon butter and rosemary artichokes, and pan-seared cashew encrusted ahi accompanied with fried rice and a fresh salad. The beer of the night was some good ole New Belgium Fat Tire. It was a great way to end the first part of our Californian odyssey.

Mexican Holiday

We traveled to Mexico over the weekend with Bill and Alba. Friday afternoon we crossed the border (Dan's First time). Alba Rushed passed a blur of political ads in Nogales as we winded our way out of the city and into the Sonoran desert. Shrines and road side stands dotted the landscape. At one stand Bill insisted on buying the local cheese famous to the town. A man handed us the fresh made cheese and tortillas for a few pesos. The cold cheese was the consistency of mozzarella and you could taste the grass the cow had fed on. Singing The Killer's songs at the top of our longs we entered Alba's hometown, Hermosillo. Alba's ever

gracious family welcomed us with open arms and made quesadillas with the fresh cheese and tortillas from the road. After a chat we went to the Zenil's favorite

neighborhood burrito stand. Featured in the photos above the Zenil brothers (minus Santiago) from left to right: Juan Carlos, Miguel, and Benito. Dan is shown with his arm sized burrito filled with delicious meat (yes he ate the whole thing).

Saturday morning we woke up and drove to San Carlos. One of Bill's friends was getting married and Dan and I were about to crash our first wedding. Before arriving at the hotel room we stopped off at a cliff view and got a few snap shots of the Gulf of California.

We then hurried to the hotel and then to the beach in order to get out of the heat and into the

beautiful water. The water was perfect, clear, warm, and clean. The air temp however was quickly climbing and any more than few minutes

outside of the water was enough to send you straight back in. After basking in the water for a few hours we went to a Mariscos restaurant for lunch and gorged ourselves on delicious seafood. With some serious food coma, we then got ready for the wedding. In typical beach wedding fashion, the overall mood was casual. The wedding consisted of several rows of chairs, an altar, and a sunset in the background. It also included a few thousand mosquitos... The couple was very happy and all the friends and family were ready to celebrate. Exhausted Dan and I tucked in early and got some rest for the next day.

On Sunday we all woke up early and headed back to Hermosillo. Sunday was election day in

Mexico and everyone was excited to vote. Alba was voting at her old kindergarten one block from her parents' house. Bill, Dan and I decided to wait across the street and watch the process while Alba waited in the line that wrapped around the block. Everyone in the community was out to cast their vote and it was interesting to see the neighbors interact during the voting process. 2 hours later in 100 degree heat the interest wore thin. Vote accomplished our last stop in Mexico was to Taco Fish. Which had absolutely delicious fish tacos in an out door stall environment. It definitely left a wonderful flavor in our mouths as we made the journey back to

Arizona.

Monday morning we left Rio Rico and headed for San Diego, driving through the Arizona and California deserts before finally arriving in San Diego County. The heat sizzled up to 115 degrees. At one point there were warning signs to turn off your AC to prevent your car from over heating. Talk about a nerve racking 10 mile stretch. When we let Isla out to "make a pit stop" in Yuma the ground was scorching her paws and she jumped promptly back into the car.

We are now staying with Michael (Dan's friend from grade school) in the pleasantly mild suburb of La Jolla. We are looking forward to a few good meals, beers, and conversations before we hit the road again up the coast of California. A big thanks to Bill and Alba for a great

week north and south of the border.

Dinner: Sunset Included

Day 3: Not much to update but I just wanted to share a few photos from the past couple days of life in Arizona. In a time span of 20 minutes the sunsets have changed with exceptional brilliance. We enjoyed this series of colors right before we sat down for dinner that consisted of: Roasted Red Bell Pepper stuffed with white rice, chicken, mushroom, and cheese, and accompanied by Cerveza del Sol (lime optional). Yummy!

Start of an Adventure

Days 1 & 2:

Katie and I have left Beautiful Colorado. The story behind this decision is not so extraordinary and rather a sad story directly correlating with the economy. Yes, I had been let go from my job and with a "less than practical" solution to the problem we have decided to embark on a much needed road trip. Katie has resigned her two jobs and now we begin the search for "what's next?" Everything seemed like it was moving at the speed of light for the last month and now that we started, the full realization of the situation has set in... we are jobless and homeless.

Oh well, C'est la vie. It sounds whole lot worse than it feels right now.

We left Vail Monday morning, drove through Utah (Moab and Monument Valley) and into Arizona. Our first night was spent camping at Navajo National Monument. If you are in the area we highly recommend this campground. It was one of the few national parks/monuments that are still free. Free entry and camping! The campsites are nice and they have water and restrooms. If you can spend more time there, the park features cliff dwellings, canyon hikes, and cultural info at the visitor's center. There were also a lot of pesky flies this time and no bug spray so do come prepared for that. The definite highlight of the first day was the sunset at the campground.

Tuesday morning we left the campground and started heading south towards Rio Rico, Arizona. After hearing wonderful things about Sedona, we planned a detour, expecting to find a quaint artist town. Breathtaking views abounded, but what seemed like the Gatlinburg of Arizona was not what we were looking for. The natural beauty was totally worth the detour, and staying in one of the retreats in the park would be an excellent vacation. Passing through Phoenix, the thermostat on the car read 107, which was a little too hot for comfort. Further south the rainstorms of monsoon season rolled in and the temp dropped as we arrived at Bill's Casa late that afternoon. He and the delightful Alba prepared a feast of: grilled peppers stuffed with cheese and wrapped with bacon, still warm tortillas fresh from Mexico with queso fresca, and carne asada tacos. Delicious!