Otis and I returned from our week-long vacation in the Pacific Northwest/Canada late Wednesday night. The trip was amazing, and you can see some of the pictures we took here. Unfortunately we don't have a digital SLR and were bound to the limits of our 3 megapixel Canon Elf, which means that the pictures hardly capture the true beauty of everything we saw. Sigh.

The trip was a much needed break from life, although I had a much harder time unplugging than I expected. It's a good thing we were out of cell phone and internet range for 90% of the trip. I also expected to be more mentally refreshed and positive about coming back to work, but that didn't quite happen. I'm feeling a post on forced optimism coming up, inspired by Mrs. Juicebox.

As for the details of what we did on our trip, the first 2 nights we camped in the North Cascades. Our first full day in the mountains we hiked up to Boston Glacier, or at least as far as the yet unmelted the snow cap would let us. It ended up being somewhere between a 9-10 mile hike, with a rise in elevation of about 4000-5000 feet. We felt that climb for the next 4 days. Here's a picture from the high point of our climb.

After the Cascades we proceeded north to Vancouver, BC, Canada. This city is like a mini scale of NYC, and is a blast. The best thing we did while there was kayaking on the Indian Arm fjord, where we came so close to a Harbor Seal that we could have reached out and touched it. Unfortunately we don't have any pictures of this experience as we didn't take the camera with us for fear of dropping it in the fjord. However, you will be happy to know the following about Vancouver:

"Welcome to Vancouver. A nuclear weapons free zone."

After 2 days in Vancouver we ferried over to Victoria (ferries in Canada are $$$, by the way). The ferry trip was beautiful, and the ferry itself was unbelievable. This thing was like a cruise ship, with restaurants, sun decks, etc. We were lucky enough to spend Canada Day in Victoria, which was fun and crazy. Those Canadians really like Canada Day, eh. They also know how to put on quite a fireworks show, which we got to watch over the Inner Harbor in Victoria.

One night in Victoria was about all we needed, so we headed out to the Olympic Peninsula the next day. We spent some time walking along the beach, where we saw 2 American Bald Eagles, real live starfish, and sea anemones. We also visited the Hoh Rainforest and hiked to the top of Hurricane Ridge, by far our most rewarding hike per effort exerted. Here's a tiny view from the top of Hurricane Ridge. Visit our Picasa site to see more pics.

I love how the mountains just end, and then nothing but ocean. You can't really see it in this picture, but it was so clear we could see all the way across the bay to Victoria, BC, Canada.

Our last night we spent in Seattle before we had to catch our flight back to Austin. We walked through Pike Place Market, a must for anyone visiting to Seattle. I so wish we had something like this here in Austin.

It was hard to leave the beauty behind, but also very good to come home. There's nothing like sleeping in your own bed and knowing where to get the food you like. We're still not sure if Austin will be home for forever, but it's home now and we're glad to be back.

I wish that I could tell everyone how awesome our house looks. Oh, wait. Hey everyone, our house looks AWESOME!

I would take pictures and show you, but I'm pretty sure the awesomeness lies in the eye of the beholder, and in this case the eyes of this beholder are definitely a bit biased. Yesterday Otis and I got an astonishing amount of unpacking and organizing done (surprisingly, it goes much faster with two people), and our place looks phenomenal. We are finally able to see all that space we saw that made us want to buy the place.

Last week I discovered that all of our closets already had elfa shelving systems installed in them, which was completely astonishing considering that every other thing the previous owners did to this house was the cheapest, crappiest thing they could have done. Granted, they did a horrible job of functionally using the elfa system, but it was there nonetheless. I purchased a few items from The Container Store to make the systems functionally efficient, and I have to say that I am amazed at how much stuff we managed to fit in our tiny little closets. elfa is magical.

We're looking forward to getting back to working on the house, like making the outside of the house look as great as the inside is starting to look. All in good time. Starting Wednesday I'll be lounging on the beaches of Northern California and hiking through Redwood forests. I'll worry about life when I get back to it.

There is now a Maudie’s in the Austin airport. I got dinner there while I waited for my flight – 1 crispy chicken taco and a side of rice and beans. It cost me $3.62. I was so shocked by how cheap it was I asked the girl at the register if she got my whole order on the ticket. She said “yeah” and read my order back to me. Three dollars. And sixty-two cents. This is why I love Maudie’s.

Trying to find a seat in the dining area of the Austin airport makes me feel like I’m in junior high all over again. Many of the airports I’ve been to have 1-2 tables huddled together to create more private seating areas for individuals and small groups. At ABIA they have long rows of square metal tables lining restaurant row. After picking up my cheap (and delicious) meal, I turned around to look for a spot and my stomach dropped a few inches. There were no completely empty tables, which meant I was going to have to ask someone if I could sit next to them. And suddenly, there I am, 12 years old but looking 9, with a horrible perm and dorky round glasses, wondering where I can sit and not be completely rejected. I’m jolted back into my present adulthood by a rather large man who bumps my backpack, and I settle on an older woman sitting by herself eating a slice of pizza. I figure a sweet old lady won’t reject me. Until I sit down and her husband walks up and takes the chair right next to me. Great. Now I’m the awkward 3rd wheel invading their private little meal. Oh well. I’m already sitting, so I scarf down my meal and decide to head over to the Earl Campbell Sports Bar (yes, horribly kitchy) for a vacation inaugurating drink. I order a gin and tonic with a splash of grenadine, and settle in to enjoy a few minutes by myself.

Vacation has officially started.

Last week I headed out to Northern California to meet up with Otis on his work trip. I spent Wednesday and Thursday on my own while he worked, and then we had all day Friday and Saturday to explore the northern California coastline together. That area of the country is some of the most beautiful I've ever seen. The wildfire smoke wasn't too bad, and Saturday ended up being a perfectly clear day.

On Wednesday I went for a run in the Rancho San Antonio Open Area. It was beautiful and peaceful. I decided to lug the big camera along, making the run a bit awkward. It was totally worth it. I got some great shots...this one is my favorite:

On Thursday I hopped the CalTrain to San Francisco and spent the day walking around, shopping, and enjoying the city. I got a few pics while there, but those are on the point-and-shoot. Still need to get those on the computer. I can't decide how I feel about San Fran. This is my second time there this year. Both times I only had about a day, but it seemed to be plenty. It's an expensive city. And dirty. And crowded. But it's also amazingly unique and has a cool vibe, which I love. I think I would enjoy San Fran more with a group of girlfriends, preferably one who lives there and knows lots of cool local things to do.

On Friday Otis and I headed down to Monterey and Santa Cruz, where we hit up the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The jellyfish exhibit was my favorite.

Otis took this awesome photo:

And lastly, on Saturday we drove to Big Basin National Forest and hiked through some redwood forests. The size of the trees are amazing.

On top of all of this, we had plenty of time to relax and hang out together, and we got to stay at a super posh hotel in Palo Alto Friday and Saturday night (thanks sis!). But the best part, as it always is after vacation, was coming home. We're both glad to be back, and be here for a while.