We’re back on the west coast, and even though I have lived most of my life in New England and the Midwest, I could feel the tension drop away from my shoulders as we drove away from the San Fransisco airport and started getting out into the countryside of California. (BTW: I’m not including my year abroad in Ireland, 4 months traveling Europe, and completely ignoring my 2.5 years in Dallas, TX as a kid *ugh*. Not my thing.)
It was rather a surprise to notice that change. Maybe it was just finishing the cross-country flight, but honestly I don’t think so. It just felt like my stress was fading away as I looked at the beautiful oleanders flowering along the highway. (Yes, I had to google what kind of bushes they were, all vibrant pink, white, and red- Go Google foo!)
The miles of red, pink, and white flowers… the warm (but not sticky, humid, hot) weather… the beautiful, rolling, California hills outside San Fran all came together to be a wonderful balm for my soul.
Davis, CA
It felt like that sense of being “on the right track.” At the time we were driving from SFO to our friends’ home in Davis, CA. They had generously been holding onto our car for the previous three weeks while we were on the east coast. We arrived in the late afternoon, and Lisa & Sean greeted us with homemade pizzas and wine. Pumpkin’s excited response was “Doggie! Lisa’s house! Lisa’s house!” She was particularly delighted to crawl into Jerry’s dog bed again and play. (She kind of makes a habit of crawling into the dog bed or cage at every friend’s home we visit. So funny!)
On this visit we stayed for an extra day and were honored to be some of the first people to see Lisa & Sean’s new house. They just closed the day before we arrived and planned to move in early August, after getting the house painted and carpet replaced. So, on Sunday we returned the rental car that got usfrom the airport to them (yep, still MUCH less expensive than getting a car service from SFO to Davis.)
Then, we met them over at their new home for the full tour and a tasty picnic brunch outside in their new back garden. It’s more garden than yard, but as we explored we discovered many of my favorite plants and herbs. Seriously, that might be my favorite garden ever! (Yes, it needed a bit of TLC due to the summer heat and ownership transition, but still…) There were citrus trees (lime, lemon, and orange), an olive tree, roses, jasmine, a couple beautiful shade trees over the patio, and a whole raised-bed of herbs (sage, lavender, mint, oregano, and more!) What’s not to love?!
We got Pumpkin back to their rental home and down for a nap, then Lisa and I got some catch up time for us old friends exploring her new town of Woodland, CA together and eating gelato before meeting back up with everyone else and having dinner in Davis at Burgers and Brew.
Eureka, CA
The next morning it took us a while to get everything packed and reorganized in our car for the road trip up the coast, but finally we set off by around 11 AM. Our goal was Eureka, CA, and our Airbnb hosts there were very generous with their recommendations of places to stop and eat on the road north. My attention was particularly caught by their description of the Benbow Inn, which they mentioned had “afternoon tea” at 3:00pm each afternoon. Apparently this historic hotel was a Hollywood hotspot for people like Clark Gable, Spencer Tracy, Alan Ladd, and Joan Fontaine as well as hosting dignitaries like Eleanor Roosevelt.
Afternoon tea & Historic hotel?! Count me in ;). So even though it was about 2:30pm when we got to the area we decided to stop. Unfortunately, that was a bit too late for their lunch and too early for tea, but the bartender offered to put together a cheese plate for us, and that bought us enough time to stay for scones and tea.
While I think we all were hoping for a bit more lunch, it was still a fun visit nosing around the lobby, restaurant, and picturesque patio. I enjoyed watching Pumpkin explore the outdoor patio garden to her little heart’s content.
We arrived in Eureka where we planned to stay for two nights and got settled in. We were within walking distance of downtown (something we love), so we wandered into town to Lost Coast Brewery for dinner, then back to the Airbnb for baby bedtime.
The next day we headed out to Redwood National Forest and found our way to Lady Bird Johnson Grove. Big Trees! Glory, I love BIG Trees! These didn’t disappoint. We enjoyed our brief 1.5 mile hike, then headed back to Eureka for lunch.
I enjoyed the sushi restaurant we found that was right on the water in town, and afterwards we walked around town for another hour or more. Honestly, I got the sense that Eureka could be a great little town, but they are dealing with fairly serious issues around homelessness, poverty, and drugs. So, while there were beautiful victorian era buildings almost everywhere… there were also people sleeping on street benches, curled up in corners, or stumbling down most streets. Somewhat heart-breaking, and while we didn’t feel “unsafe,” it was certainly a bit uncomfortable and sad to see the struggle.
Oregon Coast & Portland
We left Eureka the next day, and started our two-day drive up the Northern Cal/ Oregon coast. I had high expectations for this drive, and they were mostly met.
We stayed along Rt. 101 straight up the coast and rather like further south in California we were greeted by beautiful views with mountains on our right and ocean stretching out to our left as we headed north. I don’t think it was quite as dramatic or extensive as along the Big Sur coastline, but it was still majestic. I particularly enjoyed the section from Florence to Newport, OR which we almost skipped in order to get to Portland a bit earlier… really glad we took the coastal route.
In Portland, I was delighted to again be spending time with a friend. Camille and I met at an event almost 7 years ago, and have primarily stayed in touch with each other’s lives via Facebook. In those seven years we both got married, had kids, moved several times, and now our paths crossed again.
It was truly a delight to spend two nights with her and her family in Portland. She has a preschooler and toddler as well, so our Pumpkin really loved getting to hangout and enjoy them (and their toys) for a couple days.
They spent a good section of last year doing an RV full-time traveling adventure as well, so we enjoyed sharing stories. What we’ve loved about traveling, and what’s been hard. Their experience in an RV was very different from ours traveling by car with longer stays in different places, and it highlighted all the different ways to craft a location-independent lifestyle.
On our full-day in Portland, we took a walking tour of downtown that showed us around the area by Pioneer Square and walked us all the way down to the river. The tour was a bit too long, and a little slow with longer stops in each place than our Pumpkin was happy about. So, she was a little antsy on my back, then tired and bored. By the end she fell asleep on my back (very uncommon for her).
So, we decided to hop on the light-rail and trolley to go across the river to Cascade Brewing Barrel House, which is one of our favorite breweries. Truly, we were both so excited to get to taste all their different beers because they specialize in sours which are our first choice always!
Just after we put in our order, we got the news that my very dear, beloved friend Susan Curwitz Arthen had passed. In late June, I had known that she was in the hospital, and we made a point of driving out to Northampton to see her when we were east in July. I had a sense as I left her hospital room that day that I had just said my last goodbye to her. A week later we found out that the surgery they thought might be able to help was no longer on the table, and she was being moved into hospice.
Oh, the tears… they come so easily.
Sue (or Sueeeeee as I always called her) was a second mother for me, and while she had two children of her own who were just a little older than me, I was honored to be “one of her kids.” We first met in 1999 at the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Cape Town, South Africa. Then, we became close during the five weeks that I interned with the EarthSpirit Community, of which she was a valued leader and elder.
She became a mentor, friend, and cherished sounding board as I grew my first business, Living Peace Professional Organizing. She was always up for a long, late-night chat at the Sugarhouse (her home), and I made a habit of driving out to Western Mass at least 2x year just to have those amazing heart-to-hearts with her. She officiated my wedding to Brian, and made the trip to visit us in Marblehead, MA to meet our Pumpkin when she was only a couple months old.
Sue’s home was the first place we stopped after our official digital nomad launch last October, and I certainly didn’t imagine that it would be our last Sugarhouse chat. We enjoyed watching Pumpkin toddle around the house gnawing on her first whole apple.
When I saw her in the hospital in July her last words to me were “Go smell the ocean for me.” I have, I am, and I will always think of you at the ocean and with every sunflower, my Sueeee.
Such love.
Arriving in Tacoma, WA
The next day we drove north from Portland (promising ourselves that we’ll come back again for a longer stay next time,) and headed to our new home in Tacoma, WA.
I knew when I saw the photos and videos of this place last fall that it would be special, but… wow. We have truly been blessed with our home for this stay. We have a full 180 deg view from our front windows of the Puget Sound.
Our host Nancy has been amazingly sweet and welcoming, and we couldn’t feel better cared for. She even showed up at our door a few days after we arrived with a huge tupperware of fresh-picked wild blackberries. (I would have paid $30+ for that many blackberries in a store.) She told me that they grow along the roads and paths all over here, and they are delicious! Sweet, tart, fresh.
We get to spend the next 4 months enjoying this beauty, and the weather for the first couple weeks has been perfect 70s/80s. We’re drinking it in and looking forward to exploring more of what Tacoma, Seattle, and the Pacific Northwest have to offer.
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