Hello again from Scott and Susan. During this past month we have had some awesome experiences. We left off last month leaving Napa/Sonoma heading up the west coast.
Fortuna, CA – We could not believe our eyes when we drove along the Avenue of the Giants, a scenic route in northern California. Redwoods up to 300 feet tall and 2000 years old were everywhere. Some of the trees were growing right up against the road and had a 30 foot circumference. Hiking amongst them with our faces looking up towards the top, we felt both insignificant and wonder. Walking along the length of a fallen giant was awe-inspiring and melancholy at the same time. We visited the second tallest known Redwood (363 feet tall, 53 foot circumference) which is what you see us standing next to in this picture.
We also drove along the Lost Coast, a portion of the coast in which Highway 1 merges with Highway 101 due to the mountains that butt right up against the ocean. That is where Scott took the picture of the ocean you see below. The road was spectacular with green pastures on one side, and ocean waves crashing over huge boulders on the other. Car commercials are sometimes filmed here. It was just amazing.
Portland –We came here to visit Scott’s Aunt Maril, Uncle Burt, and cousin Elana. Portland was another feast for the senses. The Marrakesh Moroccan restaurant was a trip. Most of the meal is eaten with your hands and the food was scrumptious. Scott’s friends, Bobbi and Tom took us to the McMenamins, an old inner city school that was refurbished into a hotel and restaurant, along with a cigar bar in the detention hall and a ballroom for parties in the old gym. After dinner, we went Contra dancing, which was a hoot, as well as great exercise. While in the area, we visited the Gorge which includes the second highest year-round waterfall in the U.S.
Bellingham – Here we visited Wes, a friend of ours who is a Nonviolent Communication trainer. We enjoyed a peak into child-rearing when we hung out with his kids while he was leading a training.
Vancouver, BC – Well, last November we crossed over into Canada on the east coast into Quebec, and now we’re doing the same on the west coast. We came to Vancouver to participate in a training on coaching couples or partners (more on that below). We also stopped by to visit Jacquie, a colleague of ours and her beautiful boy, Wyatt. It’s great to see people in person that we have only known over the phone as was the case with Jacquie. What a spectacular city, which we didn’t get enough time to explore. We’ll have to come back again. After Vancouver, we started to head east towards Minnesota.
Touchet, WA – Touchet is in southeast Washington State. The locals pronounce it “Tushy”. For those of you not familiar with Yiddish, that pronunciation refers to the bottom side of the anatomy. However, Touchet was beautiful and looked nothing like someone’s back-side.
Here, we visited Susan’s long-time friend, Stacy and her husband, Dave. Their house is out in the middle of nowhere, mainly because their land includes an airstrip & hanger. Dave is a pilot and he owns 3 planes. Right out of the movie, Pretty Woman, they whisked us away in one of Dave’s 4-seaters to La Grande, OR, a 30-minute plan ride. We ate at a one of their favorite Mexican restaurants and then made the return flight back home. Cool, huh!? The flight was smoother than most rides in larger planes. The next day we spent the afternoon enjoying some of the area wineries, but for that we had to drive in Dave’s car. Susan very much enjoyed the cats there – Snagglepuss, Blackcat, & Mike. And, on top of that, while there we found out that Susan and Stacy’s friend, Angi, had a baby. Congrats to Tony and Angi! Even though we were not able to welcome Isabella in person, we were able to get regular updates online through Tony’s website. Isn’t technology great!
Butte, MT – Yes, we traveled from Touchet (Tushy) to Butte (Butt). There wasn’t much here other than a stop on the way back to MN and a chance to get snowed on (about 3 inches) more than we have the entire year we’ve been on the road. It’s April! Who turned off the heat? We did visit some hot springs, which was a splendid experience. There were 9 pools with temperatures ranging from 59° to 104°. The best part was taking a dip in their 100° outdoor pool, while it was snowing on us. The pool itself was quite comfortable, but can you imagine the walk from the building to the pool?
Whew! There is lots more we could have said including having an encounter with an owl named Stinky and hanging out in the hollow of a tree jamming with some sweaty musicians. So, if you would like to know more details, feel free to give us a call (hint, hint).
See Scott and Susan in person:
In the next month we will be visiting Mount Rushmore and other attractions in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Then, we’ll be in Minnesota for much of the summer. If you’re around them parts, give us a call and stop in.
