Category Archives: Travel

Jun 30 2012
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Life, Travel

Four Teachers in a Prius

We’re barely 24 hours in and we’re already having quite the adventure.

Last night we rolled into Eugene around 11PM to discover that we were not the only people looking for a place to sleep.  Turns out the Olympic Trials are underway and there was not a room to be had– not even at the Motel 6!  Okay, little bit of an exaggeration, there were rooms for $230+ at the Holiday Inn, (and they would not budge on the price, even with my plea for the special “four teachers in a Prius” discount).  I got some good laughs, at least.  One strike against spontaneity, I suppose, although we had a good time with it.

Now, we’re here in Olympia, WA and ready for tonight’s roller derby bout.  I have to say, my first impression of Olympia is pretty awesome– I dig the vibe of all of the hipster-y restaurants and stores.  We even contemplated buying unicorn masks to wear to the bout and our lunch waitress was so awesome that she gave gave us free chocolate chip cookies for eating all our food.  We’re actually noticing that people outside of California are much, much friendlier.  Go figure.  Time to watch some girls get aggressive on skates and attend my first roller derby after party, which is conveniently located next door to a tattoo parlor.  Should be a wild night for Grandma, (my would-be derby name if I weren’t such a grandma about the whole idea).

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Jun 29 2012
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Health, Travel

My Little Secrets to Travel Health

Gearing up for the second leg of my four weeks of summer travel, I find it necessary to remind myself of the secrets to staying healthy and energized on the road.  These little gems may seem obvious to most travelers, but for me they were slowly won, lesson by lesson, during my three separate treks across Europe, countless American road trips, and a couple of visits to Canada and Mexico for good measure.  Yes, I realize I still have a lot of the globe to see, but I’ll get there with a little luck (and money) on my side.  For now, I’m determined to remember these tips to keep myself healthy for the road already traveled:

Sleep:  For me, sleeping in new places can be very challenging, particularly in noisy cities, or even boisterous small towns like Riomaggiore in the Cinque Terre, where the townspeople shout back and forth from their apartments well into the night and again early in the morning.  It was not until my second trip to Europe that I discovered the power of wax earplugs, the kind swimmers use.  While they will not eliminate noise completely, they help you earn a little extra sleep by muffling the commotion, even if what is bothering you is just the stupid in-room refrigerator, (which I have also been known to unplug from time to time).

Now, the second piece of advice on sleep, is if you wake up early, don’t just lie there and wait for your travel companions to awaken– get up!  Get outside!  Some of my favorite travel memories come from early morning walks or runs when a place is just coming to life.  Imagine Rome, just as the shop keepers are opening up their stores for the day, fresh-baked everything wafting through the air, now which is better, lying in bed or getting out and seeing this?

Exercise:  Early morning or not, I force myself to exercise daily.  There is nothing worse than getting home from vacation and realizing that you have a lot of work to do to get back into your regular exercise routine.  I find that even a quick 15 minute run and 10 minutes of yoga, (a few sun salutations, some balance postures, and stretching), go a long way in keeping you energized both during your trip and when you get home.  Likewise, even if you are on an active vacation, this short routine gives you reflective time to yourself and gets your blood pumping for the day.  Best of all, if you push yourself to climb out of bed early enough, you can catch some really amazing sights on your run.  My favorites have always been in Hawaii, where the time change gives you an unfair advantage in getting out of bed early to catch the sunrise while running on the beach.  Life does not get much better than that.

My Montrails are a must pack– officially my favorite running shoes of all time and double as great hiking shoes.

Eat:  Combined with exercise and sleep, eating well on your trip will keep you feeling great both during your travels and when you get home.  There is nothing worse than the cumulative food hangover of consistent eating out.  My remedy for this is pretty easy– work in food from the supermarket during your trip then go sit in the local park or on a bench in town to eat and enjoy the scenery.

We picked up this meal for two for only $11 from the Mt. Shasta Super Market, which carries a wide range of grass-fed, humanely-raised meats. Way better than a fast food meal.

For quick lunches and anytime you’re tempted to eat fast food, these local groceries stores will do the trick.  You’ll save money from a sit-down restaurant, end up feeling a lot healthier, and get to explore local markets in the process.  Whether I’m in Salzburg or Mt. Shasta, I find wandering around a new grocery store to be an interesting cultural experience, and it is fun to buy foods you normally do not keep stocked at home, like dill havarti or German potato salad, perhaps.  Yogurt and fruit also make a nice change of pace from all the other crap you’re likely to be tempted to eat while away from home, which brings me to my other food tip.

Often I find myself ordering whatever sounds the most delicious on a menu, without any regard for health because it’s a special occasion to eat out.  However, a few cheeseburgers deep, my stomach usually starts to hate me, so I have to remind myself to balance in whatever sounds healthiest on the menu as well.  The upside is that usually I am surprised by how the healthiest choice ends up being equally delicious, prompting me to continue ordering this way throughout the trip, and feeling better as a result.

And, last but not least, I carry around a little pharmacy of natural (and not) remedies to cope with those moments you do not feel so stellar while traveling.  Nux Vomica is an excellent homeopathic for car or plane sickness, Emergen-C will fight off that pesky sore throat, enzymes take away some of the guilt for less-than-healthy food choices, and ibuprofen is pretty self-explanatory.  For long air trips, I also carry Dramamine to deal with motion sickness, which has the added benefit of knocking me out.  I may be the daughter of a hippie and into natural remedies myself, but I also recognize that travel time is valuable, so I will do whatever it takes to quickly fix the problem.

Staples in my Traveling Pharmacy

Fun:  So, there you have it.  I love to travel as much as the next gal, but I am careful to keep myself healthy and energized along the way, even if it means carving a little time out for myself to exercise or forcing myself to watch what I eat.  Now, wish me luck as I embark this afternoon on my girls’ road trip to Olympia, Portland, and the Oregon Coast.  Should be a raucous blast!

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Jun 27 2012
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Travel, Writing

Eavesdropping on Young Vagabonds

In order to post my blog, I have to go to a coffee shop in Mt. Shasta.  Dial-up won’t even load the WordPress homepage.  This may seem like a pretty ordinary act to access the internet from a coffee shop, but in Mt. Shasta it is anything but ordinary.  Like so many places heading into the Pacific Northwest, Mt. Shasta is a pitstop for young vagabonds and its coffee shops are their headquarters.

Someday I hope to really write about them, to ask them questions and listen.  Until then, I’m just enjoying eavesdropping at the coffee shops here in town.  I’m learning where the best exits to hitch a ride are, watching as they hit on each other, uncertain if they’ll ever meet again, hopeful maybe to join forces and face the big bad world together.  Many of them seem lonely.  I watched one young backpack-clad man walk up and down the main stretch three or four times, his eyes and quick smile filled with eagerness to talk to someone, anyone.

I will always remember a different kid with eyes like my brother’s, sitting on the street corner in Portland with a sign asking for money.  It was hard to look at him, so young, and not wonder what brought him to that corner.  I do not think he would have wanted me to feel sorry for him, I think instead he would have wanted me to understand his story.  In the words of someone on the fringes of this life, “For some, it would really be death to their souls to go back to wherever they came from, for others it is just a way to travel.”

Either way, I want to learn their stories.

***

Today’s Mount Shasta moments:

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Jun 26 2012
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Family, Life, Travel

Welcome to Mt. Shasta

This week I am visiting my mom in Mt. Shasta, which means, among other things, limited access to internet because her house in the woods is wired only through dial-up, and I am not patient enough for that kind of thing.  Now, when I say Mt. Shasta, I mean the little town at the base of the mountain, not the big party lake an hour away with house boats and drunk spring-breakers.

It is easy to drive through Mt. Shasta on I-5 heading to or from Oregon and not even notice it.  From the freeway, you can’t really tell there is a cute little town filled with shops and restaurants.  But, that’s not really what you come to Mt. Shasta for anyway.  The first time we visited Mt. Shasta, back when my mom still lived in Sacramento, we came to camp.  That’s really what you visit Mt. Shasta for, the outdoors.

My mom lives five minutes from a beautiful little lake, Lake Siskiyou, and twenty minutes from an even better lake, Castle Lake, which is crystal clear and glass-like.  Not to mention all the waterfalls and mountain vistas.  Now all of this is good and well, but Mt. Shasta is also weird, which makes it more interesting.  Good weird of course.  It’s a mixture of red necks and hippies, which always makes for some good fun.  If you did not already guess, my mom lands on the hippie side.  In fact, one of my most memorable Mt. Shasta memories was when my mom hired a local Shaman to bless my marriage with a meditative ceremony.

My weirdest Mt. Shasta moment, however, was the night my brother challenged Mt. Shasta to scare him.  It is helpful background knowledge to know that my brother is the graduate of a pretty cool sustainable agriculture program in Bolinas and sleeps outside most nights by choice, so he’s a wilderness all-star.  I, on the other hand, get spooked when we sit out under the stars, which is what started this whole challenge in the first place.  My brother wanted to show me there is nothing to be afraid of out there, yelling his challenge into the darkness.

That night, when we were all asleep in bed, we awakened to the sound of something pounding on the roof.  And, when I say pounding, I mean our room was shaking, like something was jumping up and down over our bed repeatedly.  My first thought, close the huge open window behind my head.  As I slowly moved it shut, I feared I would attract attention.  I did not want the thing on the roof to hear the window shut.  I did not want it to get me.  In the middle of the night, all of those campfire stories of aliens, big foot, and mountain lions really come alive.

Granted we never figured out what the thing on the roof was, but my brother slept through it, undisturbed, just as he boasted.  I, on the hand, was left equally afraid of the wilderness at night, if not more so.  Mysterious scary beasts aside, Mt. Shasta is an unusual place worth stopping if you’re ever driving the long haul on I-5.  More pictures and stories to follow, I’m sure.

My fearless brother headed up to my mom’s with me.

Glorious Mt. Shasta

Downtown Mt. Shasta getting prepared for the big fourth of July race.

My mom’s front yard at dusk yesterday.

Entrance to my mom and stepdad’s beautiful garden.

Garden welcome sign pays homage to my beloved childhood pets.

My mom always has beautiful flowers from their property waiting for me on my childhood dresser, I love how she arranged the wildflowers at different heights.

Sunset welcome to Mt. Shasta at the edge of their property.

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Jun 22 2012
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Dogs, Health, Life, Travel

My Alter Ego is Named Grandma

One of my goals for this summer is to be more spontaneous, to go with the flow, to allow new experiences to wash over me, instead of avoiding them.  Sometimes I joke that my alter ego is named Grandma.  She enjoys curling up on the sofa with her dog, reading good books, and going to bed around 11PM.  She has even been known to fall asleep in her chair with company over, and she often avoids unscheduled activities.

Don’t worry.  I do not have multiple personalities.  I just have a part of myself that is very set in routines, plans, managing expectations.  I’m alright with this because I think it is important to know what you like and to not always do things just because you do not want to disappoint others.  However, I also do not want to miss out on exciting parts of life just because I did not plan for them.

So, yesterday, on a whim, I climbed into my car with my husband and my dog and drove to Berkeley for lunch to celebrate the birthday of one of my nearest and dearest friends, Liz.  We picked up fried chicken sammies from Bakesale Betty’s in Oakland, (which is absolutely amazing and a must-eat if you’re in the area).  Then, with the help of another one of my nearest and dearest, Jen, we surprised Liz on the Berkeley campus with a picnic near her office.

Mind you, this may not seem over-the-top crazy, but it was spontaneous and required some effort to get down there, two things that Grandma doesn’t like.  So, I’m happy to report that I successfully overcame my alter ego and had a lot of fun in the process.  Our picnic was delicious and it was awesome to hang out with friends in the town we used to call home, (and miss dearly!).

Now, for the next adventure Grandma is dreading, a five-day road trip to Olympia, WA and back, for roller derby, dirty Portland bars, and that magnificent Oregon coast…

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Jun 14 2012
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Life, Travel, Writing

Going Back to Spain

I’m finally back into a groove with my writing.  I know where I want to add scenes, I’m living in my story.  I see everything so differently than when I began.  If I could start over, my writing would be better.  I’m not patient enough to start over, so hopefully this will be good enough.

This afternoon I’m expanding a scene in Barcelona.  It’s evening, my female protagonist is exploring the city with a new friend.  In order to write, I first needed to crawl back into my own memories of Spain.  Part of the reason that I chose to send my characters on journeys was so that I could have their adventures with them.  I want this to feel authentic, so I need to remember.

To help me go back, I pulled out my old photo album from my summer spent studying abroad in Spain seven years ago.  A lot has changed since then.  My boyfriend is now my husband.  We both look older.  The photographs were taken with film, the color and clarity is disappointing, (especially after scanning).  Instead of blogging, I wrote my family weekly emails, which are stapled together in the back of my album:

“Alex and I have reached our last stop together and it is going to be very hard to say goodbye… Paris was beautiful and the people were much friendlier than we expected… Madrid really comes alive at night and Alex and I enjoyed a three hour goodbye dinner in La Plaza Mayor.”

“I made it safely to Burgos and have a nice little room with a bathroom all to myself… It is strange being entirely alone in a foreign country.”

“At home when I go out with friends we leave around 9:30, here things do not get going until 2:00 in the morning and people stay out until it is light out… Spaniards actually do dance moves as opposed to standing around kind of moving, and everyone sings along to songs in the bars.  ‘La Camisa Negra’ is still stuck in my head…  The city is so alive at night and all kinds of people are out, young and old.”

“I thought it was funny today when we were walking and I found a flyer for where to buy pimps and hoes garb, a theme that sadly the clubs must have decided sells well to American college students.”

“Last night we took an evening bus back to Burgos from Barcelona.  The Northern Spanish countryside at dusk was incredible.  As it got dark we even saw lightning storms.”

That summer changed my life.  Rome, Venice, Cinque Terre, Paris, Madrid, Burgos, Barcelona, Bilbao, Salamanca.  I learned to travel alone.  I made new friends and confirmed my love for travel, (until that point it was all in my head).  I have been back to Europe twice since then, but nothing will ever compare to that first long adventure.  Fortunately, I can always go back with words, pictures, and “La Camisa Negra.”

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Jun 03 2012
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Dogs, Family, Home, Life, Teaching, Travel, Writing

Anticipation Junkie

Four more days of school, then seven weeks of glorious summer.

If I haven’t made myself annoyingly clear, I’m an anticipation junkie.  Half the thrill for me is envisioning the future.  Life moves so quickly.  The real thing is over before you know it, but if you look forward to it first, it lasts longer.

At least, that’s what I tell myself.

So, in an effort to stretch out my summer before it even starts, here is what I’m looking forward to most:

1. Road trip to Olympia with my teacher lady friends! (Hello Portland, dirty bars, roller derby, beautiful coastline, our special version of Flat Stanley, and a raucous good time… Sometimes I wonder if people really know what elementary school teachers are like in their off hours… I didn’t!)

The fourth/fifth grade team dressed up like Viola Swamp to scare the children, told you we’re fun 😉

2.  Kauai.  Think the complete opposite of above road trip.  Peace, quiet, sunshine, beach.

See, I already have the crucial supplies ready!

3.  Mt. Shasta, CA.  Time with my mom, sitting under the pines, swimming in the lake, snacks at the Goat Tavern, hot springs soaking in Ashland, OR.

See Mom, I am excited to come visit you!

4.  WRITING.  As much as I’m excited for all of the trips above, I might be even more excited for the time to write.  I’m ready to do my final polishing of my book (AGAIN) and submit to 31 agents in 31 days in July.  WOOT.

Only a little more work left before I can submit! No thanks to Simon…

5.  General summerness.  Time with my dog, husband, family, friends.  Impromptu road trips to Napa for yummy Ad Hoc lunch, San Francisco Giants games, the Pelican Inn and Muir Beach.  Days spent floating in my dad’s pool, lazing about at teacher pool parties, thrifting, reading and sleeping.

More time with these guys!

Okay, just one more, because he’s so stinkin’ cute.  Clearly, I’m obsessed.  Watch out when I have kids…

See, now I’m excited, and summer hasn’t even officially started.  Thank you anticipation, I don’t care what people say about the present, you’re pretty cool too.

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May 18 2012
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Life, Travel

Portland: Mecca of the Hybrid Hipster

Last night Alex declared to me that he is a hipster.  He is out of the proverbial closet.  Pipe smoking, road-bike riding, hipster.  Apparently, this video confirmed it for him, even though I was pretty sure that his love for Portland, Berkeley, and messenger bags gave him away years ago.

Actually, we’re a new breed of hipsters.  True hipsters might call us posers, but I think we’re just a hybrid of the hipster and the yuppie.  I’m not ashamed.  I like organic food, shit yogis say, and, of course, Portland, (as well as yuppie things like homeownership and a regular paycheck!).

So, when a coworker/friend asked me if I wanted to spend 26 hours stuffed in a Prius on a road trip to Olympia for her roller derby bout that would include a night in our beloved Portland, how could I say no?  (And, seriously, how could this scenario get anymore hipster?)

Yes, I know, true hipsters do not admit their hipster identity under any circumstance.  That’s why I’m the hybrid version.

Here’s my top 10 hybrid hipster reasons that I love Portland:

1.  Dirty bars, (even if I want to exit the dirty bars at midnight 😉
2.  Revamped industrial districts
3.  Foodie food
4.  Voodoo donuts, (standing in line for anything makes it that much cooler, okay, not really, but I still like weird donuts!)
5.  Microbreweries galore
6.  Green everything, (trees, hillsides, environmental consciousness, bicycles…)
7.  Proximity to the Oregon coast, Columbia Gorge
8.  Dogs welcome EVERYWHERE
9.  Alabama Street & NW 23rd, (two neighborhoods that make me miss Berkeley… hello gourmet food trucks with picnic seating areas!)
10.  Isn’t Portland where young people go to retire?

Voodoo Donuts in the middle of the night here I come!
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May 12 2012
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Life, Travel

Travel Bug.

Growing up, I was obsessed with travel.  Scrapbooks full of travel magazine cutouts.  Subscriptions to Conde Nast and Budget Traveler.  A constant barrage of pleas to my parents to take me somewhere, anywhere, everywhere.

In college, I got close to living my dream.  I submitted a dorky audition video to a Travel Channel show.  To my amazement, I was invited to audition in LA.  I didn’t get picked.  Instead, I was interrogated by a panel of producers about my boyfriend situation.  Apparently having one wasn’t very desirable for “reality television.”  Oh well.  I would not have traded my boyfriend for the gig.  He’s now my husband.

Today, I am still obsessed with travel, but in a more subdued way.  The characters in my book travel for me.  Of course, I’d love to take their places, but my priorities have shifted.  Gone are the days when I would spend every last dollar in my savings account to run off on some adventure, or at least gone for now.

Instead, one trip at a time, as I work my way through an always changing list.  This YouTube video reminded me of how I once purchased $5k in film equipment in hopes of becoming a travel filmmaker.  I admire these guys for actually making it work.  It’s important not to let dreams die.

Here’s my top 10 dream travel list:

1.  Missoula, MT (Home to my aunt/uncle, scary grizzly bears, yummy beer, and beautiful wilderness)
2.  Gothenburg, Sweden (Home to my lovely cousin, her family, and midsummer)
3.  New York, NY (Still never been, want to see my cousin dance for the New York City Ballet, and live out Anthony Bourdain’s Layover food itinerary)
4.  Barcelona, Spain (My favorite city in Europe, Alex hasn’t been, I want to relive its Gothic streets, Mediterranean beaches, and vibrant markets)
5.  Tokyo, Japan (I still have a Lost in Translation fantasy of this city, I want to wander from Karaoke bar to Karaoke bar in the middle of the night)
6.  Buenos Aires, Argentina (From Evita to Las Madres de La Plaza de Mayo, Buenos Aires is darkly mysterious and reputed to be the Paris of Latin America)
7.  Paris, France (Yes, I’ve been, but a good deal of my book occurs here and I’ve been following the blog of a young family that moved to Paris, which is exactly the sort of thing that deeply inspires me)
8.  Maui, (Okay, I know I’m going to Kauai this summer and have been to Maui before, but I really want to take Alex on the road to Hana and to Mama’s Fish House)
9.  Dalmatian Coast, Croatia, (Google image it for instant explanation)
10.  Prague, Czech Republic (Unbearable Lightness of Being is one of my all-time favorite books, takes place in Prague, MUST GO.)

What’s your list?

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May 06 2012
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Life, Travel

Retail Therapy: Anticipation Purchases

I fancy myself minimally materialistic.  I won’t lie and say that I don’t like new things– I do, but generally I avoid situations that make me want to purchase items that I don’t need.  In other words, I consciously avoid shopping.

However, today I gave in.  Alex and I went to find new jeans for him and came home with goodies for me.  New running shoes, check.  Need those to run on the beach.  A hat to block the Hawaiian sun from my face, essential.  Flip flops to replace the ones rotting from yard work, yep.  1950’s inspired D&G sunglasses to look cute, okay, I didn’t need those, I just wanted them, badly.

Thanks to Nordstrom Rack I managed to purchase all of these items for around $160.  Not bad when you consider that the D&G glasses retailed for $155 alone.  In fact, it’s a rare dose of retail therapy that so far brings zero remorse.  Usually, I have a hard time buying anything for myself, anything, and often I end up taking everything back.

I don’t feel guilty this time is because I justified everything as “necessary” vacation purchases for our summer trip.  A stretch, perhaps, but I have always derived extra morsels of anticipation from buying little things to use on vacation.  Somehow, these purchases prolong the happiness derived from travel as their imagined use enhances the entire experience.

Maybe retail therapy is not the secret to lasting happiness, but sometimes, it really doesn’t hurt.

My collected treasures…
Now I’m officially beach ready!
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Apr 23 2012
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Family, Life, Travel

The Next Twenty Years

I celebrated my grandmother’s 80th birthday in Bodega Bay with my family this weekend.  It was a surprise party, much like the party that we threw for her twenty years earlier, for her 60th birthday.  My family, and my mom in particular, gets a big kick out of surprising my grandma.

As we ended last night watching family videos of a beach house that we rented two decades ago, I reflected on life, time, and family.  We all know that time goes by too quickly, but gathered in a house perched over the ocean, there was a comforting sense of repetition, that we can still have the past in the present, if we remember to try.

I look forward to many more new memories with my family smushed together in beach houses, and, if fortune is on our side, another “surprise” party for my grandmother’s 100th birthday twenty years from now!

There is something magical about Polaroids, like they instantaneously validate the present as classic memories.  Thanks Nick for taking these, (and letting me steal them while you napped!).

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Apr 03 2012
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Travel

Anticipation…

Anticipation is a funny piece of happiness.
Lately, when I am feeling the most stressed in my classroom, I’ve just closed my eyes and reminded myself that summer is just two months away.  For the briefest second, I allow my thoughts to slip off to everything that summer holds.  Pool parties, warm evenings, time to write.  I remind myself that I get to go to Kauai, too.  Then I smile, and I’m fine again.
Anticipation is pretty wonderful.
I remember being a kid and marking my happiness by what I had to look forward to.  It was always a letdown when my short-windowed calendar ran out of good stuff in the foreseeable future.  Thankfully, that’s the coolest part of being an adult– I can always find something to add to my calendar, even if it’s just making time to go out with friends or planning a weekend escape.
We’re pushed to believe that anticipation is not as valuable as being present in the moment, but if it makes us happy, what difference does it make?  Can’t we find happiness in the moment by thinking about the future?  Our large frontal lobes exist for a reason.  We’re planners by nature.  According to one study, we actually derive great happiness from planning a trip, (eight weeks worth!).

As such, I think it is okay to revel in the excitement of what is to come.  Why not take pleasure in this simple act?


Tonight, I’m letting myself savor the thought of a warm Hawaiian beach, a cold Piña Colada, and the soft sand between my toes.

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