Annual Adventure Recap

Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver

Lake Louise (in Canada)

Ah. [insert sigh of contentment] Matt and I had a fantastic two-week road trip from California to Canada.

First, we flew to L.A. and stayed with our beloved friend Rachel in an awesome house converted into apartments in none other than Beverly Hills. After two delicious meals, lots of good conversation, and a run through the mountains, Matt and I continued on our trip by driving through Big Sur. We stopped frequently to take in the breath-taking vistas. When we finally reached our campsite at the very top of Big Sur, the ranger regretfully informed us that it was full (which we should have anticipated, since it was the Fourth of July).

Instead, we celebrated our holiday with a Subway picnic on our bed at the Comfort Inn. We could see fireworks through our hotel window (and Matt convinced the staff to bake fresh cookies for us!).

The next day, we drove to San Francisco and hiked through the uncrowded part of Muir Woods. We met up with some friends and family for delicious Indian food. The next day, we continued north and camped where the redwoods meet the coast. We had mediocre fettuccine alfredo while sitting in the most beautiful restaurant booth of our lives, overlooking the coast.

The next day, we hit the Oregon coast and stayed at the Sylvia Beach Hotel. We opted for the communal dinner, which was full of good food and good company. Then we climbed to the third floor (overlooking the ocean) and played a game of Scrabble with one of our newly-made friends, late into the night.

The next day we had a $40 lunch from an Indian truck in Portland. ($6 for the meal, $34 for the parking ticket). We continued to Leavenworth to visit with friends. What a quaint town!

The next day, we scared ourselves at the Canadian border but made it to Field, British Columbia. We had fun canoeing and hiking and cooking ravioli and playing Scrabble and reading. After a couple days there, we continued to Vancouver. We ordered pizza and went swimming at another Comfort Inn. Then we had an amazing day of bike riding around the park, walking to the little ferry and getting lunch at the public market. On the way back to our hotel, we walked across a death-defying suspension bridge and hiked down to the base of some waterfalls. Matt had the courage to strip down to his underwear and get in. That night, we went to the movies to see Toy Story 3.

The next day, we hiked before taking off for Seattle. We hotwired a hotel and stayed in a posh hotel downtown. We walked a ways to meet new friends for vegetarian food. The next day, we stopped by Pike’s Fish Market, met an old friend and her new baby for breakfast, and then trekked to Eugene to meet up with more good friends. We pulled potatoes from the ground, chopped things, made dinner, picked raspberries from a community garden and then ate them with ice-cream. Then we high-tailed it to Oakland to cook S’mores with more old friends. The next day, we drove to L.A., swam in our friend’s pool, ate Thai take-out, went to the most amazing self-serve yogurt place EVER, and watched Crazy Heart.

It was a crazy-packed itinerary with lots of driving (more than 4,000 miles in two weeks!). At some points, we were regretting our decision to cover so much ground in so little time, but we still very much enjoyed our time together. It’s such beautiful territory!