Itchy Feet p.2

Posted on | October 3, 2009 | 8 Comments

I haven’t met too many people in real life that I’ve corresponded with online. I’m shy by nature and have to work hard to get myself out of my shell. I love people and need human interaction, but you also scare me sometimes, particularly in numbers. I am not so good with crowds or social events, which is why I always seem to go to fiber festivals or such events with big ambitions, but tend to get nervous and retreat when it gets down to it. In spite of this, those online acquaintances I have met have been wonderful experiences – every one. And somehow it still surprises me HOW awesome it can be. You know, I’m actually about ready to drop the “online” descriptor when it comes to acquaintances and friends. It seems to discount the value of these relationships somehow. Good people are good people wherever/however you find them, and friends are friends, yes?

So, yes, finally meeting Rachel in person was pretty awesome. Our work lives and environment are about as different as can be, and it’s probably fair to say that without our blogs there is little chance I would ever have been fortunate enough to meet her. But there it is, another interwebs win. How cool to feel such a connection with someone of a wholly different history, life experience, and geography, and then to be able to translate that into real life after corresponding only in writing. If you don’t follow her you should, and if you do I’m sure you feel like me, pretty happy to know her. She is kind, empathetic, funny, and all-around so comfortable to be with – in addition to being a thoughtful writer, talented multi-crafter/artist and photographer. Oh yes, and a wildlife biologist. Did I mention that? Her stories and photos of the elk always leave me a little awestruck.

Rachel met up with us in Southern Oregon and from there, we left Marshall and Julie and headed on to Crater Lake. For which I really don’t have appropriate words. Except that while I had to alter most of the Lost Coast photos to get the lighting/colors right, these are SOOC. Not kidding. It was breathtaking, no exaggeration.

What an incredibly beautiful day, and such great company. The next day, we stopped by a yarn store in Eugene (SO much fun to talk yarn and knitting with a fellow knitter), and then made our way on up to Portland, where Rachel dropped us at the Hawthorne Hostel (super cool place to stay). And I promptly commenced freaking out after a week in the woods with a bare minimum of people. Portland didn’t feel near as intimidating as San Francisco, but it was still overwhelming at first glance. I seriously considered shuttering myself in my bunk until our flight out the next afternoon. But reason prevailed and Tad reigned in his nerves too – and within a couple hours we’d figured out the transit system, even making our way around despite being stuck up outside the Arboretum due to a rail line outage (I know for you city folk and travelers, this kind of thing is no big deal, but it was a big deal for us. We were quite proud of ourselves!) The next morning we discovered that much of the city is very walkable as well – Our friend Erin wrote us an email tour of some of her favorite places from her time living in Portland, and we visited quite a few in our brief time there. Very interesting place. I don’t think I could live IN the city. But I could live outside a city like that – with all the incredible scenery, hiking, etc, and be quite happy. Not that we’re thinking of moving or anything. More on future plans soon – I promised to share more about that, and I am working on it (again with the things that are important to me being more difficult to write/share).

I’ve still left some pretty big gaps here, not elaborating much on the drive through Northern California, the Redwoods, or Portland – We crammed an awful lot into a very short amount of time, and saw just enough of some things to know that we need to go back at some point. You can see more pictures here at our Flickr set if you are so inclined. And now we are thinking about… Where to next? We’re planning to leave the country for the next big trip and we’re limited by where we can go on USAirways and partners (hoping to travel on miles, we never would have been able to make this trip otherwise!), and are leaning toward Scandinavia or South America – once we make a decision regarding continents we’ll start the impossible task of narrowing it down further! Suggestions welcome!

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Now playing: Rosi Golan – I Don’t Wanna Wait

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