Portland

Before I forget all about it:

Our hosts: the wonderful Brett and Kaisa, who we met on couchsurfing. They live with several roommates in a great house in the Mississippi neighborhood of Portland. The first thing we noticed were the plethora of musical instruments throughout the house - guitars, violins, banjos, piano, even an old-fashioned squeeze-box. The next thing of note - two gloriously sweet dogs. Finally, the house was chock-full of bikes and bike parts - they have a makeshift bike workshop and lots of knowledge to share, which particularly excited Ethan. This all in addition to their being fun and interesting themselves.

So we hung out there longer than planned, staying with B&K for 3 nights. We toured around the city, went to the incredible Powell's books (and splurged), ate Voodoo doughnuts... Went to bars, had jam sessions, rode the public transport without paying, ate mexican food... etc, etc.

On our second day we decided to drive out to the coast, which takes a little over an hour. Brett and Kaisa knew some incredible spots, and we camped out most of the day at Hug Point, which in addition to a beautiful beach, had cliffs and caves and tidepools and a small waterfall and other such fun things to explore. On the way home we stopped at the Tillamook cheese co. and got some free samples and a milkshake.... That night we had an epic Jam session with no less than two accordions, a saw, drums, and guitar.

Then we left Portland and drove down the magic Oregon coast... which is magical. And then camped and drove down the magic California coast (on the 1), which is also magical. And then we hiked through the redwoods, which are magical also. But i think thats probably the subject of a subsequent post.

Here's some pictures.

Seattle

We're catching up here. This was last week:

Seattle-

After an uneventful border crossing, a tank of gas and some drive-thru espresso, Jesse and I found ourselves in the city of Seattle. We headed straight into the downtown to Jon and Jess’s apartment. It’s a really nice place with a picturesque view of the space needle and downtown. Upon arriving, we soon departed for an afternoon trip to Pikes market, where we ate Gyros for lunch and the most delicious peaches I have ever tasted. There was an employee handing out samples of the fruit. As Jesse popped a slice into his mouth, he exclaimed “Oh my god!” We looked at the bin of peaches, and to our amazement, read that they were actually called Oh My God Peaches.

Faces and hands sticky from peach nectar, we met Jess back at the pad, and walked down to the waterfront park where we sat on the grass and played music.

The next day we headed out of the city for a slice of suburbia. Our arrival at Matt and Christine’s caused a torrent of yipping. Matt answered the door with one dog in his arms and two at his feet. Bubba the Shitsu, we were quick to learn, is frightened of feet. That means that when you walk around the house, the dog follows your legs and barks at them. The solution is a collar that automatically senses when Bubba barks and sprays citronella into his face. While wearing it, Bubba makes a low gurgling noise reminiscent of a constipated infant.

While in Snoqualmie, we took a great hike with Matt and saw some cool rock climbing spots. After the hike, we became particularly inspired to eat some good food. Matt took us to Sushiman, his favorite local sushi joint. It was the best Sushi we’ve ever tasted. (Thanks Matt)

The next day, we took a drive up to Mount Rainier, which was, in a word, huge. For our last night in the city, we all went back to Jon’s neighborhood and ate dinner at a local pub.

Wamu = Obnoxious

Listless readers-- we were distressed this morning at 4am by a text message from our father that said:

"Your blog now sucks. I'm deleting it from my favorites if it doesn't change in the next 12 hours"

Well, now its changed. We will be posting soon for real. Don't you worry.

A Carnivore's Tutorial, or, Exploding Cornucopias of Warm Scallop Joy, or, Holy Shit, Jesse is posting on the blog!

Yes, it is true. All of your longing speculation can finally cease, the question you have been asking yourself day in and day out: "Where's Lesseps?" Yes, you have asked yourself without fail each day, while each of your nights you have spent, in bed wistfully dreaming, yearning until the early morning hours for his words, his input, his insight. Time and again, you have visited this website, and, disappointed by the lack of Lesseps, have clicked "refresh" over and over again, hoping that his name will appear. But, yes, what you have been hoping for has finally occurred. Yes, it is true, the wait is over. I am posting on the blog.

And with reason. You see, family, friends, countrymen, patriots... we, ethan and jesse, strangers no more in the fair city Vancouver, have been wined and dined. Beyond all reason. Beyond western civilization's conception of truth, space and time. We, as one might say in the present day vernacular, just got hooked up. Big time.

But let me take a step back here and explain. As most of you probably know, my best friend Kyle lives in San Diego. What you probably didn't know is that his family is from Vancouver. And what I'm nearly positive that you didn't know is that his father is a part owner of an upscale Japanese steakhouse (who would have thought) here in the city. And what you certainly didn't know is that Kyle and his father arranged for me and ethan to be "taken care of" at the said restaurant this evening of June the 17th, 2007.

Moving forward, we arrive at Kobe Japanese Steakhouse in downtown Vancouver and take a seat in the bar/lounge where the host brings us drinks - bombay sapphire for ethan and grey goose for me (Wamu, you taught us well). Next, we go upstairs to the restaurant. It is a hibachi style place where the chefs cook in front of you at your table. We notice that everyone except for us has menus. The host reappears and assures us that he is taking care of everything. Yes, even our order. The meal starts with soup and rice. Then, the chef comes and begins to cook. First, he whips up some veggies - onions, zucchini, mushrooms. Next, shrimp - succulent and bursting with droplets of salty joy. After the shrimp, comes some scallops - suddenly, i find a rainbow of flavor blazing across the great plains of my pallet, depositing its pot of gold in my stomach, soft, juicy, golden brown crispy on the outside delicious love. What better to follow than some steak? Suddenly, the multitude of cows we have seen grazing on roadsides throughout our journey flood my mind. Only now they are filleted, sliced, diced, and served up medium rare in tender chunks of kobe delight. And for dessert, how about some teriyaki chicken. Oh wait, i forgot. After those scallops i mentioned earlier, we got a lobster tail. Yeah. And did I say that the chicken was dessert? I lied - it was green tea ice cream and "mudpie" cake.

That said, several drinks later (gratis) it was time to leave. And a glorious meal it was.

So concludes my first post on the blog. I hope you have enjoyed it, and that it whetted your pallet. After subsisting almost exclusively on pasta, beans and rice since departing, I must say i feel nourished to the point of gluttony.

Glory.

Glacier to Vancouver

Jesse and I have found ourselves hanging out in Vancouver, B.C. We are staying with Lisa, a friend of Rachel's who we met at the wedding. She lives in a beautiful apartment in an up-and-coming neighborhood (think Williamsburg). We walked around a little bit downtown today and are attending a big street festival tomorrow.

Before arriving in Vancouver, Jesse and I spent two nights camping in Glacier National Park, which was epic and beautiful. On day one we arrived in the mid-afternoon and relaxed at our campsite. On day two in Glacier, we took a long hike (12 mi. round trip) into the park's interior. The views were amazing, and we were constantly frightened by large animal footprints in the snow. We did not run into any bears, moose or the like, nor did we smell them (Paula). And I wore my rain pants, not my moose pelt (Dan).

The next morning we woke up early and got on the road to Vancouver. We've been pretty good at checking our routes before leaving, but for some reason we thought Vancouver was closer. However, it ended up being a 700 mile drive that took about 14 hours. We drove on Rt. 3 from through B.C. all the way, which was one of the most scenic drives I've ever taken.

We're enjoying the comments, so keep them coming.

And by popular demand, some pictures from Glacier.

Glacier Campsite

Big Hike

Lunch Break

Glacier Lilies (I couldn't get this to rotate..damn you Blogger)

Cobalt Lake (the fruit of our 12 mile hike)

Jackson Action

Since I've last posted, Jesse and I have traveled out of (boring/flat) South Dakota and across the beautiful state of Wyoming. After badlands, we camped in the Bighorn national forest, located in the north-eastern part of the state. We didn't spend much time there, because we woke up early the next morning to drive to Jackson, which is all the way on the west side of the state. The drive was hands-down the most beautiful we had encountered- curvy canyon roads and epic mountain passes seemed to come one after another.

We arrived in Jackson in the late afternoon when we met Sharon at her condo. We didnt stay their long as we embarked on a 5-mile hike around some lakes in Grand Teton National Park. We saw a moose on this hike, very close to the trail.




The next day, we embarked on a lenghty and strenuous hike to lake surprise. It was about 5 miles each way, climbing 4000 feet. Sharon is the fastest hiker we've ever seen.. One stop for water and she was gone..far ahead. The lake was gorgeous and still partially frozen.


We had to hike through a hefty amount of snow to get there. On the way down the mountain, we were hit by a 10-minute rain and hail storm which looked really cool from up high and graced us with a rainbow.

From Jackson, we took the day to drive through yellowstone, which was full of Bison and Elk. Then on to Bozeman, MT where we couchsurfed last night. Today, we are heading up to Glacier National park, where we will camp for two nights and do a few hikes that we scoped out on their website.

-Ethan

Selected photos from Badlands NP

Pictured Pictures

Greetings from Rapid City, SD. Today we ventured up highway 16 to view the famed Mount Rushmore. Deciding that it wasn't worth the $8 to park, we saw it from the car...which was quite enough. The surrounding areas are full of tourist traps and stupid souvenir shoppes. We have fallen for them..twice. But never again.

Leanne has just split off our trip- she is taking a bus from Rapid City to Denver to visit some family members before returning home to NJ for an internship. It was fun to have her along.

This morning, we did a 7-mile hike through Badlands National Park, which was almost like a world all its own. We have some great pictures but have not had the opportunity to transfer them to the computer quite yet. After crossing most of Minnesota and South Dakota in one drive (600 miles), it was refreshing to see land that wasn't flat and covered with grass.

And finally, as promised- pictures from pictured rocks. I do love the alliteration UT.

s
This is Chapel Rock

This is the beach below where we camped

And the sunset over the water

Pictured Rocks

Greetings from Minneapolis. I'm doing this post in reverse order...you'll understand as I go. I had some pictures picked out for this post but the connection here is weak and I wont be able to upload them.

Today: We are driving all the way to Badlands National Park in South Dakota. Just under 600 miles from here.

Yesterday (when I wrote this): I am currently parked on a very comfortable futon in the apartment of Adam and Robin, our couchsurfing hosts last night. They live in the college-town area of the U of M in a really nice old house. We went out around the city with their friend who we met last night, and they showed us the sights, including some nice parks, museams, sculpture gardens, etc. We treated everyone to home-made shrimp tacos and guacamole.

The Day Before Yesterday: We spent many many hours driving from Michigan to Minnesota... got to our host's house, and went out for a drink and saw some music.

The day before that: We went backpacking in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, which was beautiful. We hit the trail a little late (around 5pm), and hiked 3 miles with our gear and food. We set up camp at Chapel Beach, which featured a beautiful rock pillar in the water that had eroded away from the rest of the cliff. The beach below our campsite was clean and empty. It almost felt like we were in the Bahamas. We hiked back out the following morning and hit the road for Minneapolis.

Sault Ste. Marie

Greetings from Sault Ste. Marie. We spent an extremely wet and rainy night camping in Algonquin Provincial park, and last night we stayed with our first couchsurf host. All went well...we were not murdered in our sleep- just treated to strawberry pancakes. Tonight we will camp in or near Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, Michigan. Then we'll head out to Minneapolis. More to come, with pictures next time... I promise.

Evil Waterbottles

Well, I thought that all the money that could have possibly spent on gear has been spent. However, over the last few days Ellen has been indoctrinating us with information about plastic. In short, some types of plastics leach into your food and beverage, and have been proven to cause birth defects, low sperm count, cancer, etc.

So it turns out that our trusted and loved Nalgene bottles are made from polycarbonate plastic that leaches Bisphenol.

"BPA is found in polycarbonate plastic food containers often marked on the bottom with the recycling label #7. Not all #7 labeled products are polycarbonate but this is a reasonable guideline for a category of plastics to avoid. Rigid and transparent plastic containers for food and drink, such as widely used clear or colored drink bottles and toddler sip cups contain BPA."

More on BPA via. EWG

So in short, we are going to invest in stainless steel water bottles.

And while I'm on this rant- Ithaca college offers health insurance for its alumni...just not in the state of NY, NJ, or VT. Puzzling, right?

~E T H A N~