Another Great Adventure: October 2016

Sunday, October 30, 2016

I Move Forward, and a little bit South...

Satisfied pensive reflection...

I like this picture of me. It is not my usual smiley selfie. This was taken on the top of Neahkanie Mtn. earlier this week and I was feeling pretty proud of myself for the accomplishments of this summer.

Stay tuned for adventures from painting the living and dining room for the daughter of a friend, then camping and hiking in Death Valley and Zion National Park for our birthday trip. We have a reservation in Vegas for one night but I imagine we will be too exhausted to cause much trouble before we head home to get CJ back to work.

Life is good and I feel blessed to be able to live mine in this way.

:)

.

Saturday, October 22, 2016

I Am Alive... TO BE WRITTEN SOON

Thursday, October 20, 2016

How I Spent My Summer Vacation...

Last year when I left Cannon Beach, I felt like there was so much I hadn't seen and done during my 5 months here on the coast. I came back knowing that finding housing would be almost impossible, but I had a full time job. I did not feel that checking into my previous roommate situation would be the best idea although I know the room is available. Just too toxic a deal there.

If I had had a place, I would have used my days off to clean and sleep. And cook... I would have enjoyed the cooking part. Doing the vandwelling thing allowed me to be on the move, and my thought was, "If I can sleep here, I can sleep there" and would often drive a distance after work to explore.

I mostly want to thank my friend here, E., who went with me on hikes in the beginning until our schedules didn't coincide... but the experiences made me less afraid of going hiking on my own.

The following is not in chronological order, as I can't remember offhand but I sure had fun! :)

Events or Places I went to:

Swedish Summerfest in Astoria
Columbia Maritime Museum in Astoria
Astoria Column - walked to top and flew a balsa wood airplane
World Kite Museum in Long Beach, WA
Tillamook Cheese Factory in Tillamook
Sailed on a Tall Ship from Ilwaco, WA
Viewed the Wreck of the Peter Iredale
Fall Kite Festival in Lincoln City

Hikes accomplished, not in the order of when they were done:

Tillamook Head from Seaside
Columby Lake with E.
Fort to Sea Trail with E.
Cape Falcon
Bloom Lake Trail
Munsen Falls Trail south of Tillamook
Century Tree Trail out of Astoria
Ecola Beach to Indian Beach north of Cannon Beach
Short Sand Trail with E.
Saddleback to Humbug Point with E.
Kilchis Nature Trail near Tillamook
Wahkeena Falls, Columbia River
Triple Falls, Columbia River
Saddleback Mtn. to the summit
Young's River Falls south of Astoria
Smith Rock State Park, Summit Loop Trail
Neahkanie Mtn., South Trail
Multnomah Falls, top of falls, Columbia River

Things I learned:

How to fly a 2 handled delta stunt kite
That I enjoy being able to come and go as I like both in regards to relationships and housing

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Plans...

The weather on the coast has definitely changed to the colder and damp. Not good for vandwelling. Things come in wet, like jackets and my bag, and it never really dries out. With the temp changes, the cats and I create condensation inside the windows, and then the van is never warm enough to really get rid of all of that either. So, it's time. It's time to solidify those plans to go south.

I did receive The Proverbial. Last night it was waiting for me after work...

Yes, it's time to "leaf."

So I will have my last day at work in just over 2 weeks, attending a friend's play with another friend, then taking off to spend my birthday with my son and his sweetie. The next day, I travel into Portland to have my van serviced, and then to Klamath Falls for a painting job and visiting. After that I head down to connect with my Bestie, CJ, and we are headed to Death Valley and Zion for a birthday camping trip.

After that, I currently have no clue. I could go back to Havasu, but the pay was not so good, and finding a place to live on my wage was difficult. I am thinking of checking Laughlin/Bullhead, or even Vegas.... lots to do there! Vegas Bucket List... ride all 4 roller coasters and the big ferris wheel!

I will be praying, and we will see what transpires as I do research.

* * *

Meanwhile, I had bagels on the brain this morning. Went to get gas in Seaside and stopped at Bagels by the Sea for a Caprice Lox Onion bagel and some good coffee! Both way yum! First time I have ever been there.

Then I went to The Cove off of U Avenue to watch the surfers and the waves for a while. Might be my last real chance for a while...

After that, the grocery store and work.

Hope you are having a great day also :)

Multnomah Falls....

So last week, I was able to take my son's sweetie. who is from Sweden, on a hike to the top of Multnomah Falls. We actually spent the whole day together and had a great time.

We stopped to see all the waters along the way, and took lots of pics! 4 waterfalls, 2 geocaches, and one engagement ring.... but no one is supposed to know that yet!

I had looked there, but she found our first geocache!