Tuesday June 21st (Day 19) – Our very own Oregon Trail

Neither of us wanted to get out of bed. But we did. And took quick showers and got back in the car and headed to Kevin’s Coffee Shop. We enjoyed our hot chocolate/mochas and pastries, thanks Kevin, and headed back on the highway. After a brief scare due to a missing ipod, we located it, and played “On the Road Again”. Starting our day with anything else would’ve just been bad juju. Portland is a neat city… and I really like the Pacific Northwest. The cities look very nice and the surrounding scenery is gorgeous. We headed south for Crater Lake…the deepest lake in America. The road was windy, and we passed several big blue lakes, very tall trees, and stopped at Salt Creek Waterfall. Simply gorgeous.

It was about a 4 hour drive to Crater Lake… and a little bit out of the way, but we figured we had to do one thing in Oregon, and we decided this lake would be it. After driving 4 hours to get there, we arrived at the gates of Crater Lake National Park. Closed. Reason: The road was COV ERED IN SNOW. The thermostat in Lindsay’s car read 80 degrees. Snow closures. How absolutely ridiculous. While we were both a little annoyed that we had driven all that way and that it was closed, I think we both found it a little humorous.

On the road again. We headed west, on our way to pick up the 101 and then the 1 to head south to San Fran. Once again, a very scenic tour. We were enjoying the fine summer day and abundant sunshine. We rolled the windows down…. Turned up our music and ventured through the very very tall Oregon Trees. I can’t imagine doing this by wagon… no wonder they lost an oxen or a wagon wheel so frequently. Seriously one of my favorite computer games of all time. We ate pizza on the road… getting crumbs everywhere. Messy folks we are. Every once in a while, we came across a flagger and had to stop and be led through the construction by a pilot vehicle. I guess Obama’s really putting people to work this summer… instead of the land with streets paved with golden, America should be called the land of streets being paved…

We have ambitions to make it to San Fran tonight to see Matthew, Lindsay’s other cousin. But we are going to see how far we get.

And just got good news on the road…the results of one of my CPA exams…. a passing score. 1 of 4 completed. Should get the other score sometime this week. Hopefully that’s also a pass.

Tuesday June 21st (Day 19) – Coffee with Kevin - Lindsay

B and I slept in a bit till about 8:15 and were left all alone in the house. We took showers and got packed up. While I was in the bathroom Leroy pushed open the door and greeted me meowing. How familiar I can never go to the bathroom in piece with my cats, and Ben always is talking to me. Suddenly I missed my cats. He even scratched at the door when B was in there it was funny.

So after finally meeting his cat Leroy, cute, we were on our way (If you are ever in Portland go to Red E Café they make some damn good mocha’s and Kevin makes pretty things in the foam! And the zucchini muffin is to die for). On the way I got a call from my other cousin matthew the next stop on our list and as soon as he asked “Did you leave Portland yet?” and “can you do me a favor?” I knew what was coming and quickly said “Get you some coffee?” he responded with a chuckle and “How’d you know”. So we got warm beverages pastries coffee for matthew got to wash the steam pot behind the counter said bye to Kevin with a hug and now we are on our way to Crater lake. Oregon is pretty much just ass fantastic as Washington and Portland is this cool mix of artsy people. So we like Oregon so far.

We just stopped at Salt Creek falls 286 feet of waterfall. Awesome. Got some pics saw the rainbow it threw off, took a potty break and off again. Speed tourism.

Sunday June 19th (Part 2) and Monday June 20th – Straight Up Vagabonds

Everyone has their place in life. For Lindsay, it just happens to be on the San Juan Islands. While selfishly, Seattle seems too far from me, after a day there, or even minutes I understood. The ocean, the trees, the whales, the playful deer…all things that Lindsay loves. We found a campground on the west side of the island, set up shop, made a quick dinner (I actually made dinner…hello, look at me), and got dressed for our kayaking adventure. I was still very tired, but Lindsay wanted to go so bad, and since I had vetoed the kayak bringing on the trip, I felt bad saying no. So we layered up, and met our guide Dana. Dana was from Billings, and spends her summers in San Juan and winters working at the ski hill in Jackson Hole. All of these seasonal workers have such cool lives… a change halfway through the year. We got bundled in our rain gear and splash guards and life jackets and I swear we looked like the Gordon Fishermen… sweet outfit #2 of the trip. After a little demonstration, we got in the water. We kayaked out of the bay, and my arms were already burning. Note to self, go to the gym. The clouds kind of squashed our “sunset dreams” and Dana told us that night time was not the best time to see whales. Disappointing. I wanted to see Willy. It was still cool and I can now cross off “Sea Kayaking” on my list of life adventures.

I was plain old tuckered when I got back to camp. I fell asleep quickly to the sounds of our neighbors (who were quite friendly) analyze life. I swear it’s the outdoors. Fresh air goes straight to the brain. All the pollution must cloud your brain.

I woke up to the noises of Lindsay packing. I knew she had gotten up at the crack of dawn, and I was okay with the fact that she was waking me up. I didn’t want to have to limit her time on the island…but the west coast was calling and the ferry schedule wasn’t ideal. I woke up in a daze and a little bit of a sore throat, luckily Linds had made me some hot chocolate. I changed, brushed my teeth, and we headed for the lighthouse. I spent most of the morning, sitting on the rocks while Lindsay explored. At around 7 we met the park ranger and after she told us that Professor Otis wouldn’t be in until 8, I reconsidered the schedule and figured that we could afford for Lindsay to spend a few more hours on the island. I knew she was more than appreciative and everyone has the one place they love and this was her place. I knew she was excited for me to be there with her, and to get my approval…its apart of that whole sister thing. She went to explore and the sun came over the trees onto this picnic table. Still tired, I laid ontop the picnic table, like a seal in the sun, and fell asleep with my hood up. I took probably a 15 minute nap when I heard stranger voices. A couple was coming down the path. They must have seen me, laying ontop of the picnic table and thought I was some sort of park homeless person. I went to find Lindsay and we searched the Intepretative Center and the Lighthouse for Professor Otis. We sat on the rocks unti I saw him appear. A friendly old man, opened up the lighthouse for us and we got acquainted. While Prof. Otis ran to his car, we signed the guestbook. There was a place for your name, hometown, and a comment. Most people wrote how beautiful it was, or how they wanted to see an orca breach before they died… my entry read…”Brittany Metz…Chicago, IL…Free Willy”. Come on now, that’s funny. I hoped it would give future visitors a laugh.

Lindsay spotted the whales in the distance and so we went outside and sat on the rocks with the binoclaurs, camera, and Prof Otis brought out a radio so we could listen to them. They didn’t come to close to shore, but I did see two of them breach and got pictures of them. Hello National Geographic, I told you. We sat on the rocks and enjoyed our time with Prof. Otis and Lisa, his intern. It wasn’t quite the Free Willy experience… I didn’t get to stand on the rocks and sing Will You Be There by Michael Jackson, but it was still really cool.

Said our goodbyes and headed for the ferry. San Juan Island is just a cute little island, beachy on the exterior, country on the inside. We got on the ferry and I sat outside for a bit, then fell asleep on the benches. Next stop, Seattle bound. While we drove, I dealt with my hair that was beginning to look like a nest. Using the AC adaptor, I plugged in my straightener and tamed the beast while Lindsay drove. Yep, living in our car. Doing my hair using the cigarette outlet… we are really the gypsies travelling down the highway like Willie says in our road trip anthem “On the Road Again”.

Lindsay made her stop at the Seattle Zoo and then we headed for the Space Needle. You can’t go to Seattle and not see the Space Needle. We found some street parking (after we saw the place with DUCK TOURS, one of my favorites), and headed for the Needle. Lindsay is afraid of heights but she agreed to go. I was just hoping this wasn’t like the Eiffel Tower, in which I had a mild panic attack in, even though I’m not afraid of heights or enclosed spaces. We got our tickets, and got in line behind 2 women and a man who were busy checking their email. Now I know I’m a phone fanatic but these people didn’t seem the slightest bit interested in going in the Space Needle….it was like they were on tourist auto pilot. We waited in line for a little bit, took our free photo, and headed to the elevator. The ride up only takes like 90 seconds… so there was almost no time to have a panic attack. We got to the top and took a walk around the 360 view of Seattle. A beautiful city and we had the most beautiful sunny weather. For the first time in like 2 weeks, I was warm. We took in the sights, and then headed back to the ground.

On to Pike’s Place Market. In our brief tour of Seattle, I really liked it. It was clean and nice and had a sort of bohemian feel to it while still being a bustling city. Pike’s Place Market was a unique expreince and reminded me of the markets we had been to in Europe. We saw the guys tossing fish back and forth and street performers playing the bass and sax. There were fresh flowers everywhere…..brought back good memories of Grafton Street in Dublin. We walked around, tasted the fruit from the vendors and wandered through the vegetables and fruit and flowers and fish and nuts and souveniors. We saw the gum wall…. An alley lined with people’s gum. It smelled fruity and although it might be slightly unsanitary, it was oddly beautiful. Strangely its these types of places where people choose to leave messages of hope and faith and love. People had made hearts out of their gum. Or used their gum to tack up messages like “Everything Will Be Okay” or “God doesn’t close doors without opening a window”. Sometimes those messages are the best ones…. A simple reminder of the beauty of life in the sticky walls of a Seattle alley. Our parking expired soon so we made our way back to car, up a big hill. Seattle was more hilly than I expected, and I saw less Starbucks than I thought. I gave Lindsay my permission to move here, I definitely wouldn’t mind visiting and it seemed like Seattle had the perfect mixture of art and commerce, nature and city, and sea and mountains.

Next stop, Portland. We made our way south. We made plans to meet up with Kevin, Lindsay’s other cousin, so we made our way down after a brief stop to get more ice at Safeway. We found Kevin’s house, and picked him up to head out for pizza. I had seen a sign for pizza somewhere on the highway and it sounded SO good to me. We went to a little restaurant close to Kevin’s house called Mississippi Pizza… a very artsy pizza place with a live music lounge attached. We ate our pizza in a booth after I polished off a rather large side Caesar salad. I hadn’t really eaten much that day, unless you count my apple that Lindsay bought at Pike’s Place… seriously good. I do love fresh produce. We sat in the booth for a while, catching up with Kevin and telling him of our adventures. I’ve been to my share of Bucholz functions so I was able to keep up with the talk of family. After a while, we headed back to Kevin’s. But first, a stop at this tire swing across the street. Spontaneous desire to swing. So we did. It was a little high so after Kevin jumped up and had a little hard time, I decided to stick my body though it. At first the ladies got stuck, which wasn’t comfortable, and I wiggled up a little more, but then the pressure was on my very full stomach..so that wasn’t good either. But still fun… Lindsay went next. Three big kids.

Kevin had extended us an invite to camp out at his house. Neither of us were in the mood to drive any further and staying with family and friends always is fun so we set up the air mattress in the living room. Seriously, we are vagabonds. Moving from place to place. Taking a roof and a shower wherever we can. Getting ready in our car. I was exhausted so I fell asleep pretty soon after I laid down while Lindsay chatted with Kevin and his friends/rooomates.

Monday June 20th (Day 18) “Free Willy Brittany”

Hola people Lindsay here. B made an accurate depiction of me yesterday as soon as we entered Washington. I was like a sea lion clapping my flippers together with the biggest smile on my face. I was jittery I was so excited. In fact I love the rocky beaches and rocks of the pacific northwest so much that I didn’t at all care that we had to wait for the ferry. I got out to walk and explore that beach right away. I know it sounds weird but Washington really has the prettiest pebble beaches. I found some great green granite and amber colored quartz, I may have to get a rock polisher LOL. I’m such a dork but it’s ok. I found plenty of sea glass as well so it was a successful walk on the beach.

We did the sunset kayak trip and our guide Dana had just us. Intimate. Unfortunately it was pretty cloudy and windy and the tide was confused. I have kayaked each time I’ve gone out there and it has always been good to me, but this trip was a little bit of a let down. We saw one harbor seal head and some birds, oh and some crazy deer doing laps around a patch of trees. HILARIOUS! Seriously it was doing laps then it would stop and stare at us and then start running again. Did you know deer squat to pee? Me either learn something new everyday. Pooped and sweaty we both went to bed. I did after I cleaned the car a bit and took care of the cord mess (1 of my biggest pet peeves). Tomalina’s cord is now electrical taped to the car so it can’t be tangled with anything else. You see Brittany has this uncanny ability to manage to tangle even the smallest cords. She told me it was her “calling card” like the “wet bandits” from Home Alone. She’s a silly sally.

Anyway in my excitement I got up at 5:15 got as much packed up as possible while B slept a little longer. I also made myself some oatmeal and us some hot chocolate. Then I burnt my tongue really bad, jolted my hand away from my mouth and spilled the hotness on my fingers and then knocked brittany’s cup over and spilled it all over the map. AWESOME way to go grace. Made B another cup woke her up and may have lied about the time because I really wanted to get to the lighthouse. Lime kiln state park lighthouse San Juan island WA, it world renown for seeing orcas in the wild. Besides the Haro Straight is a designated federal wildlife area for the whales. Back to the point. I got her up and going so early because we had planned on taking the 8am ferry which didn’t leave much time. In 2005 I had two of the best weeks of my life on this Island during a course offered through my college. Maymester classes. This class was a big factor in which college I chose. I saw this class and it clinched it for me, Ripon let’s go. The class is actually taught by a psychology professor and oddly enough is a psychology class because it has to do with animal behavior. Professor Bob Otis is the one who teaches it and he stays out there every summer has a class for 2 weeks every summer and is the sweestest man ever. He is a great man. So, needless to say I had to say hi! We got to the park at 6:15 and it didn’t technically open until 8 but again I broke the rules. The park ranger that was walking through didn’t seem to mind and when she walked through the second time I asked her when Professor O usually gets here, she said 8. Brittany didn’t have the heart to pull me away from my place. After she’s seen me so low and broken I think she could just see the joy in my face and body. I greatly appreciated it more than she will ever know because when I go there it’s really hard for me to leave. So I explored tide pools, they had anemones in them! I really just like them because they are like their own little all inclusive environment. There is actually so much life in those small pools. B told me, “ This takes time out of your bird viewing since we are staying longer. I think that a fare compromise.” I agreed. She also said “if we stay and we don’t see any whales I’m gonna be pissed!”. So I was praying for them wishing for them to come.

After some tidepool exploring and rock climbing and hoping Floyd the harbor seal would come in closer, while B took a nap in the sun of the beautiful day it was turning out to be. Everyone says seattle/washington is so rainy, but this was the first warm day we were turning out to have after a lot of dampness throughout this trip. Washington was working it’s magic. I climbed these beautiful trees they have out there ( I forget what they are called but they get really big and really red bark). Well actually I got almost up and B had to push my but and she told me to climb it. I was hesitant since I have already fallen off a tree on this trip. I have the bruises and scabs to prove it. I got down gracefully this time and we sat on the rocks in the sun Waiting for Profesor O, while I internally called the whales because I wanted B to see them and I didn’t want her to say we can stay longer and then they not come. I wasn’t long that after we sat down B said “he’s here”. I got up turned around and he saw me and was just shocked and gave me a big hug. It was as if no time had passed at all, like I was still in that class. I was in May 2005 and it was comforting. I was like b said about Jenni, it just didn’t feel like that much time had passed. I introduced Brittany to him and he said come on in the light house. He asked if we had seen the whales and we said “no”. I said “we were hoping you could tell us where they were”. So he checked his email and said they were spotted south heading north towards us at 8 they could be here at about 9. We caught up a bit and he agreed that it had not been 6 years since we saw each other and that neither of us had gotten any older. He left us in the lighthouse to go get something. While he did I was starring south out the window saying “they are gonna come”. Minutes later I saw something. I found a pair of binoculars took a peak and YIPEEE blowhole spouts they were charging our way! We ran outside stood on the rocks with the binoculars and cameras ready. Professor O came back and asked if we saw them? I proclaimed “yes they are coming”. We sat watching them from about a mile out slowly get closer. 9am right on time. There was a youngster doing tail slaps and one who kept breaching (B caught it on camera! That’s my girl!). They passed by pretty close but not close enough that B could recreate Free Willy the way she wanted. They passed and we watched them fade farther in the distance and my heart sunk a little, it wasn’t enough time I thought. Not that I wasn’t grateful and excited that we actually got to see them because not everyone does when they go out there, but I feel like they are family in a way or like children or pets with free reign. You feel connected to them. Maybe that’s why I tattooed a Salish orca on my leg, no? I don’t know if they sensed it but as I watched them through my camera lens fading away, all of a sudden I said “I think they are turning back around”. I saw the white under side of their head, they turned around and came back! It was neat because Professor O was documenting for the studies he does with his intern and they were trying to identify which whales they were (they have 3 resident pods out there J, K, and L). Brittany was getting so into to it trying to help and bringing up her pictures to try to match up the “finger print” white mark they have behind their dorsal fin. I felt like she was finally seeing the wildlife the way I did. I felt her grow a little closer to me at that point, and it was good.

It was almost 10 when they started to fade in the distance to the south. Being greedy I was hoping they would turn around one last time but they kept on. We were lucky they came at all in the short time we were there so I was ecstatic. I announced that unfortunately we had to leave and we said our good byes and I got another big hug from one of my favorites and Britanny even got one too. She got their email to send them the pictures we got and we were off. Oh and I forgot to mention, one night when we were packing the tent up there was a big black slug that B found on the tarp, maybe and inch and a half. When I saw that I suddenly remembered San Juan Island had the biggest slugs I’d ever seen in my life. Banana Slugs, and I told Brittany about them. We saw one 6 inches and inch thick of slimey yellow banana slug. I of course picked it up and put it on my hand. I still had slime on my hand by the time we got to Seattle. To the ferry dock we raced (we have now been on quite a few ferry excursions together, oh Ireland). The guy monitoring the lines told us “no worries you’re ok you can stop stressing, I saw it in your face”. We laughed and said thanks. We had enough time to hop out and run a little errand, san Juan Cellars Reisling…I needed some. Got some of my favorite wine from my favorite place and rewarded myself with 2 scoops of icecream in a waffle cone for brunch. Ferry ahoy and away we went and hour on the ferry and off we go to “on the road again” and Seattle here we come.

We enjoyed the lush green drive and yellow, there were there shrubs just covered in yellow flowers and they were everywhere. I sea of gold at times. Woodland Park Zoo was the first stop in hopes of meeting an Alpha Chi Omega alumni that works there. I was being gung-ho and proactive just trying on a whim. NOT THERE. I had her phone number from headquarters and got a hold of her at home. She was very nice and cordial which I was glad because I thought I was bombarding her but she didn’t seem to mind. She gave me some advice and her email. Next space needle. Yup sacred of heights and up the space needle I go. Great view. Got our pic taken and got a free digital sent to our email. Back to the car and Pike’s Place Market, this whirlwind of life and chatter and fruit samples and food and trinkets and booths and music and the smell of fresh seafood and of course fish throwing. We spent an hour there, found the gum wall which smelt like bubble yum bubble gum, bought some more pink lady apples since ours got confiscated. Bitches. Blessing in disguise because these wicked good pink lady apples way surpassed the walmart produce. Sorry walmart you dropped the ball. Also got some fresh pasta, and B got her Washington shot glass. Then off again and on our way to Portland. Speed tourism we call it. A mere 3 hour drive a vwalla Portland. I had gotten in contact with my cousin Kevin who lives there earlier in the day to see if he wanted to meet up. We ended up seeing house and having some great pizza and beer, talked and had a great time. I haven’t seen Kevin in forever so it was great to catch up. The older I get the more I appreciate all my boy cousins. When I was younger I have to say being the only girl on that side I felt a little out of place. I mean I know I was a tomboy but still. After eating we got in the car drove to the other side of the street and parked the car. LOL. Kevin said there was a great tire swing in this tree. So we revisited childhood and decided we’d hit it up. So funny I pushed Kevin and he pushed me we were bonding J and with the other side of the family too. I think B is part Bucholz now. We crashed at kevins met his room mates and one of his friends and chatted more. B and I passed out. Kevin had to work early and told us we should stop by breakfast and coffee would be on him.

It was a really great day! It was gorgeous outside and the pacific northwest treated us well.

A few pictures from Alaska

Conquering Alaska....

Just a piece of the Mendenhall Glacier...

Whalewatching... a humpback whale fin...

We all made it.. Me, Lindsay, and the Vue...

Our spirit bear on the side of the road

Sunday June 19th (Day 17) – The comforts of old friends and old places

We woke up well rested in a very comfortable bed. I decided I wouldn’t pass up an opportunity to shower which neither Lindsay nor Jen were surprised about. A lover of showers, I guess that’s apparent. I do admit I have always prioritized them, even while exploring Europe. Worse flaws to have I’m sure. Jen and I ran to the store to get some eggs, and then she prepare us a breakfast feast of poached eggs, toast, and fruit. So good to us. She even washed our dishes that we had brought in… reminisces of our pasta dinner in Alaska that we didn’t have time to wash. The smell of pesto in the car was not welcome. Jen and I continued our catch up time and Lindsay joined us for breakfast. Jen’s friend Rosie also came out to have breakfast, dressed in tiny Matchett’s clothing. It was a great breakfast, and nice to just sit and relax and catch up and make new friends. And Jen can make quite the meal. If we had stayed for lunch, I would’ve had her make her mom’s Caesar salad or perhaps or ham fettucini she had made last Easter in Dublin. Jen told me about her ambitions to save the world, and I have no doubt she’s going to succeed. And that if she ever needs a good accountant, she knows where to find one. Poor Jen was probably exhausted from her constant full speed ahead attitude but she was quite the host. I’m sure Lindsay and I would’ve been happy to linger, and to frolick around Van with Jenni, but we had Seattle on the list today, and that destination had lit a fire in Lindsay. We laughed about my all business attitude, which Jen was familiar with, as she accredited to our conquering Europe partly due to my scheduling and organizing. Finally someone who appreciates it.

A little before noon, me and Lindsay say goodbye to sweet Jenni. We had come and gone like a whirlwind, but knowing Jen, she appreciated it. I loved our time with her, she’s got that sort of magnetic energy. We had tried to tempt her to explore Seattle with us but she had some yoga and studying to do. Always hustling. Seeing miss Jen had made the morning already a success, and set the day for greatness.

We set en route for Anacortes, the seaside town where the San Juan Island Ferry picks up. We stopped to get our Vancouver souveniors, and got in line to cross the border. The usual interrogation… you are from where? And you went to Alaska? You drove? Why Alaska? Any guns? Any narcotics? Yes, from Chicago, yes we drove, to see Alaska, no guns, no narcotics. We handed over our passports and yet again, you drove from Wisconsin? Yep. Alright, have fun, you can go. I guess when you are American citizens, there’s little they can do to stop you.

As soon as we crossed the border, it was like it had become Christmas Eve for Lindsay. She was sitting in the passengers seat, straight up giddy. I knew the reason for her excitement, it was like she was coming home, to the place she loved. The San Juan Islands and Seattle were Lindsay’s version of Disneyland, especially if you were a Disney fanatic. I knew she was not only excited to see them, but also to show them to me, like a kid who has his most prized possession that day for show and tell. We passed through all the Evergreens of Washington, the Evergreen State after all, and headed for Anacortes. We got to the ferry port around 2:40, and the ferry didn’t leave until 4:45, so we had time to relax, use the bathroom, and reconnect with the outside world after a stint of Canadian/Alaskan seclusion.

We are currently onboard the ferry, en route to Friday Harbor. Even though its Sunday. Ha, cheap joke. Lindsay just scheduled us on a sunset sea kayaking tour. Today is Lindsay’s day. Tomorrow, I regain control of my schedule. Although, let’s be honest, she’s gotten to choose most of the time. I already got my morning joy, time with an old friend, and ofcourse a hot shower.

Saturday June 18th (Day 16 – Part 2) – Everyday is a Winding Road

Lindsay and I had switched driving somewhere along the way. I find driving therapeutic so I didn’t mind the switch. We were bound for Vancouver, both ready to get as close to America as possible before the day was done and I was hoping for a rendezvous with miss Yukon, Jennifer Matchett. We got to a crossroads somewhere south of Prince George, stay on 97 south and then cut over on Hwy 1 as Tom suggested or take the more direct Hwy 99. I always adhered to the old geometric principle of the “closest distance between two points is a straight line”, although I’ll be honest, I learned that from a Deana Carter song, not math class. We opted for the more direct route, HWY 99. Probably a bad decision. The road was beyond winding and the sun was setting, putting us in the middle of the mountains, in the dark, on the most winding road in Canada. Literally 90 degree turn after 90 degree turn. Through in a few one lane wooden bridges and lack of guard rails, and poor reflective surfaces of these fine Canadian roads, and it was 200 miles of pain. We were driving through canyons with only the company of railroad cars. We stopped to get gas and even the gas station attendant commented as to the desolation of the highway this evening. She remarked it was awfully quiet on the road tonight and I laughed and said I felt like we were the only ones out there. Although, it wasn’t that I really wanted to deal with oncoming traffic because I found it safest to drive down the center of the road. Although Canadians believe in rumble strips in the median, so everytime I crossed it, it gave us a good shake. British Columbia also has a lot of full service gas stations, meaning people pump your gas for you. I was super confused and didn’t understand the necessity for this, and felt like we should’ve probably given the pump guy a tip, but I lacked loonies. Anyway, back to the highway of doom.

While we pretend to be fearless, we have little girl insecurities. Like driving in the middle of nowhere, in the mountains, at night. Luckily we had a full tank of gas, and every type of gear that you could imagine. And we really don’t want to make our parents worry. So we are really okay, just didn’t want to be in the middle of nowhere, and needed to get to Vancouver as soon as possible. So yea, to ease the darkness, I sang. My own words. I may or may not have changed “I don’t want you back” to “We can’t go back”, singing of our desire to get to Vancouver and off this winding road. Lindsay made us sandwiches, much needed. Of the PB & J variety, although I opted for my peanut butter and chocolate bar sandwich creation from the other day. Lindsay spilled the jelly all over the dashboard and exclaimed, “I have grape jelly on my dashboard”. I’m fairly certain that’s not a common phrase or problem for that matter. I felt better after some sammies, and finally the road seemed to straighten out. After some legit hairpin turns.

We made it to Whistler, a big ski capital and I found Jenni’s phone number. A quick text to her that read “Matchett darling. Metz. In Whistler. En route to Van”. I quickly got a response. “Holy shit, ready for you, with open arms”. While I drove, Lindsay communicated with Jen, quickly resolving that she would take in two vagabonds on short notice and arranged for us to meet her at her house in Vancouver. Suddenly, I was very excited about Vancouver. It had been more than a year since Jenni and I had frolicked around Dublin, and I missed her and her vibrance severely. We found ourselves in a big city for the first time in two weeks, unless you count going around Calgary. We went across the Lion’s Gate bridge, and Tom led us to Miss Matchett. She was returning from a friends birthday celebration, so we got to her street a few minutes before her, enough time to organize the car temporarily and find our stuff. When her cab pulled up, we ran to each other and embraced. So Hollywood. We made introductions and headed into her basement apartment in this charming Vancouver neighborhood neared UBC. She quickly got us set up in her roommates room (thanks Rye for allowing us to take up your space). Ah a real bed. It had been a while. Although it was 1:30 am, we sat up for a while catching up. She was thrilled to hear about all of our adventures in her homeland of Yukon and we caught up on the last year of our lives. The best kind of friends, when you haven’t seen each other or really kept that much in touch in a whole year, but you can reunite without missing a beat. She was still in shell shock that I was standing in her living room. Although we had discussed me someday coming to see her, and visiting the Yukon, I think neither of us thought it’d really happen so soon. It was infinitely good to see her and we chatted about our Dublin times, how they seemed like yesterday but yet a world away. Around 2:15 we decided we were all exhausted, so we went to bed. The comforts of a real home, you begin to appreciate when you’ve been on the road and sleeping outside for 2 weeks.

Saturday June 18th (Day 16) - Lindsay's Reflections

*Brittany always writes so well and puts everything together in a beautiful way. And she is correct you do have a lot of time to think even when not wanted while sitting in a car and music can’t always keep your mind off things, and often times it reminds you of things that only cause you pain. We’ve had that kind of day. Brittany didn’t say why she had the blues and I suppose that’s her business to say. But I can say I knew how she was feeling we already went through similar blues with our Papa. And this cosmic twin like thing we have is totally legit. She was down and it only lead to me thinking about the things that are only causing me a lot of pain but can’t seem to let go of and make me cry every time. Hoping that garth brooks was right when he sang “some of god’s greatest gifts are unanswered prayers” because sometimes I really feel like he has disowned me. But I keep hoping everyone is right that everything does happen for a reason and time heals all wounds, but the increasing amount of time it is taking this wound to heal is getting ridiculous. Perhaps though that is not his fault but mine.

I have been reading a lot of self help books. Yeah self help books Sound corny and “shut the front door” right, I’m reading and enjoying it. It’s bibliotherapy. It’s a real practice look it up.And with what I’ve read so far and experienced so far on this trip lead me to a lot of that thinking B was talking about earlier.

I have learned a few things, first that Brittany likes to make her own lyrics up to songs sometimes and it’s a treat. I learned that her and I are a lot more alike than we think in a lot of ways but yet so different but that’s what makes our relationship so special. I learned more accurately that our thought processes are frequently the same and thought in tandum. This in turn has lead to me realizing that if I posses any of B’s qualities especially her intelligence I’m smarter and more capable than I thought. That’s really soothing and esteem boosting for me. Even though she is younger I admire her and look up to her and I rely on her, but believe me if you take care of me I take care of you and our support of each other is equal. (at least I hope so I don’t want to let her down). I have realized that people suffer in different ways in life some have externally awful circumstances and turmoil while others struggle desperately on the inside. Neither is more or less important, more or less debilitating, and no harder or easier than the other. Both take strength to over come and happen in there own time or it may be a lifelong battle. I assure I want to live this life I have been given. I think it sad and a shame if these 27 years was my life. I haven’t found my place in this world yet. I haven’t explored all there is to explore. I haven’t found a love that has loved me back. I haven’t created any type of legacy or accomplished anything of significance in my eyes. I haven’t made my mark. I want to make one! I thought I had lost myself but when I look at the last 2 weeks and the adventures we’ve had and the moments where I let go of those things that have been killing me inside, I realized I’ve always know who I am I just haven’t challenged myself. Ive sat idley by hoping a magic answer will pop out of my computer or that it will just happen. I do have to work for what I want and not take no for an answer, and participate in my life. I never lost the person I am. The girl who forgets all her troubles when she sees an animal on the side or the road or in pursuit of a picture of one. That forgets her troubles in climbing a mountain and trying to figure out how to give someone something they want. I’m thill the girl who can get lost in art and wants to learn how to do all the mediums of art. Who sees something and says I can do that. The one who hates to be alone and loves the comfortable silence you can have with a person that’s when we connect the most. It says a lot to be comfortable in silence! I still want my farm and love to fish and won’t shoot an animal but I will eat it. Love all the dorkiest things in nature possibly and am happiest when in the company of animals. I could sit for hours waiting to spot a snow leopard on a mountain to get a great picture and just observe. I’d be scared shittless but I’m the girl who would take a bullet for someone she loves, who sees the good in everyone even if they don’t desrve it, who loves unconditionally and will love you forever even if we grow apart. I am that beautiful contradiction in everyway. ‘m complex and deep but simple and transparent at the same time. I am sensitive and empathetic and compassionate and say I don’t like old people because I don’t to get to know them and then they die and leave me, it’s not because I’m heartless it’s because my heart is so big it feels the slightest scratch. I act tough to try and protect myself because it doesn’t take much to wound me. I know exactly who I am and always have I just need to figure out what I want how to get it and belive in myself, challenge myself, and as Jennifer Nettles sings “sometimes you gotta loose till you win” I have to keep getting up like I always do but then I need to push back! And with Brittany singing another Sugarland favorite “I will shine the light” along with all the other people who love me, my family imparticular…I will get there. I have to but one day at a time.

Some less serious things I have learned are as follows. Don’t lie to Canadian border control. Make sure the parks officers aren’t around when you stick yourself out a sunroof. The tom tom is usually correct as we are experiencing at the moment on narrow winding roads through the BC cascade mountains, you are right tomalina we should have taken hwy 1 instead of 99 (this is reminding me of a brilliant idea to take this short cut with my grams in new mexico on the way to Arizona…not really faster or shorter). Brittany likes to call things that are set in stone what they are called different things. Like the shrubs that look like broccoli, a humback whale looks like a cucumber (she is making up her own lyrics to backstreet boys “I want you back” as we speak J) there was another one I can’t think of at the moment. Brittany likes to tell me what cloud shadows on the mountain look like. For instance so far weve had a cowboy head with a hat, a bird, and best of all a bat signal! When you live in the middle of nowhere you pass the time by using road signs as targets. There are a lot of ancient gas pumps in Canada. Also the Canadians really believe in the prepay. It is difficult making sandwiches in the car when B is driving. I need to go back to Alaska for at least 3 weeks to see all it has to offer, hi polar bears can’t check that one off my list yet. The animals signs are hilarious! After 1km you wont have to worry about deer . did you know that? There is no chance of deer after the allotted distance. That goes for moose, bison, caribou, elk also. And as I already told you the shape of the same animal changes each time, oh and apparently there is a particular places where badgers cross the road. Who knew? I know there is more that I forgot, big surprise, but I’m sure you’ll hear it later.

Well I should go because im getting car sick on this winding road in the death raod we are on at the moment. Don’t worry we’ll be just find just another fork in the road of this tremendous journey. We will safely land in Vancouver this evening I promise.

Saturday June 18th (Day 16) – Home is Where the Heart Is

We got up at 5:30, when we heard the announcement that our ferry was pulling ashore. We got ourselves together and ventured down to the car deck when they said it was open. Pulled the car out of the ferry, off the M/V Matanuska and towards the border patrol. Entering Canada, again. Luckily for us, we were one of the first people off the ferry so we didn’t have to wait in line to go through customs. Unluckily for us, we had a powertripping woman who unfortunately spotted an apple in our console, apparently contraband, and made us pull over so our car could be searched and each of us questioned individually. * I knew we were going to have trouble with this chick as soom as I saw her. Yeah all because of an apple. I wanted to ask if I could back up and eat it before I crossed the border but I reason to suspect she may have gotten a stick lodged in her gluteous maximus. Thelma and Louise strike again. Once my border officer questioned me, I went and sat inside, still cold and tired, while the officers dealt with Lindsay. I emerged from the office when it appeared they were through questioning her, saw that they had located our secret stash of mace, and heard the officier interrogate Lindsay as to whether she had any naroctoics in her possession.*These two male officers ganged up on me and the one said “your looking at a thousand dollars right here, did you know we could seize your car?” Of course not cranky pants if I knew that I woulda ditched the pepper spray. Then he asked me what would I do if I had 2 kilos of cocaine hidden in my car. He also asked me if I was smoking pot. Do I look like a pot head man? I just got off a 26 hour ferry ride of which two nights were spent sleeping on the floor I don’t need your bullshit this morning. Then they both asked me if there was anything else in the vehicle that might look bad, I paused to think and they jumped on me “if there is just tell us now”. I told them I had a razor knife(no problem there apparently that’s not dangerous in anyway…common sense people anything could be dangerous in the wrong persons hands do I really look like a person who has ill will or a violent bone in my body, but I held my tongue on that thought. I also said I have prescription drugs, and when he asked if I had any narcotics I really wanted to say “no but I have anti-psychotics, but again held my tongue. They took me inside and let me off with a warning..THANK GOD. All starting with an apple from wal-mart that probably came off the same truck their pink lady apples came off of. Authority makes me nervous and I get stupid and they think I’m a deviant. No I just a big baby and your scaring me but not enough that my sarcasm and smart ass nature doesn’t chime in inside my head too bad calm in interrogation doesn’t take over. I much preferred the sammies border patrol man!* Then they both asked us if we had any handguns. I looked at him with a look of, like I would know how to operate a flipping handgun. I’m from Illinois, I’m going to be an accountant, until about a week and a half ago, I have no tarnishments on my records, now I have a federal violation for allowing my passenger to hang out the sunroof window. Apparently the officer also asked Lindsay if she was high or had kilos of cocaine in the car. No officer, the bloodshot eyes would indicative of the fact that we slept on the floor of a ferry and it was currently 6:30 in the morning and you are questioning us because you found an apple. Lindsay and one of the officers went into the office while the other asked me about the mace and how I didn’t know about it. My response…there’s a lot of stuff in the car. I added that we were just passing through and meant no harm. Okay, call me Thelma. Lying to a border patrol officer. So I knew about the mace, but I wasn’t about to get another ticket from the Canadians. * I lied too but one of the can was expired in like 2000 and I never even touched the other one. I think I just took it out of the packaging about 4 months ago and mom gave it to me 2 years ago. We would have been better off ditching the mace and bear spray and registering the shotgun for protection geeze. We are two girls going across country from Wisconsin land of cheese we aren’t trafficking humans, we aren’t on the lamb, we didn’t, rob a bank, we didn’t kill anyone. I just wanted a delicious apple for breakfast. I’m getting Brittany in all kinds of trouble and I’m not even a trouble maker, but I guess I’m just following suit of the bucholz clan. Trouble makers.*Part of me thinks the whole country is just bitter after the Canucks defeat last week. Americans are superior, even in the Canadians pride and joy: hockey. Lindsay emerged with a slap on the wrist, supposedly they were giving us a big break, and that they could have impounded her vehicle. Yeah, stranded in Prince Rupert, British Columbia…that would have been the perfect halfway point for our adventure.

Lindsay drove on, while I tried to sleep. We wanted to be well rested, since we had ambitious to get to Vancouver this evening and as close to America as possible. The scenery was beautiful…they weren’t being pompous when their license plates declared it “Beautiful British Columbia”. The sun was shining, and the clouds were hanging low against the mountains, rivers, waterfalls, and lakes. *It was only beautiful for a limited amount of time, I’ve had enough of BC. That however could be because aunt bunny was right I look like trouble I guess or a “gang member” in her words wearing my pink pinewood farms t-shirt. I thought I was sweet and innocent looking, perfect angel, but apparently not. But on the up side I saw a coyote and some cool birds of prey and peed in a patch of rose bushes…not awesome but I really had to go!*

Days like this where all we do is drive, give us both lots of time to think, wanted or not. We’ve pretty much run out of topics to discuss with one another. That’s what happens when you know someone so well, the ability to discuss new things decreases as the ability to sit in silence and be perfectly content increases. Today’s highlights were the world’s largest fly fishing pole and a stop at 7-11 to get some chocolate to ease the blues.The uploading of pictures yesterday had reminded me of everything we’ve seen and done…its been an amazing two weeks of adventure. And I am very excited for our second half…the west coast and some visits with our cousins that span the coast. But I was beginning to miss home. They say home is where the heart is. Today was a reminder of that. I was reminded of the movie/book “Into the Wild”, which was a biography of a man who had gone into the wild (pretty indicative of the title) near Mt. McKinley in Alaska. He had sought the refuge of the wild, away from society and all of its problems. In the end, he realized that whatever happiness he found away from society didn’t matter with a lasting epiphany “Happiness only real when shared”. I had read the book in high school… but I had watched the movie when I was in Ireland last spring. Ironically, a few days earlier we had been in Florence, Italy exploring and we had found the same sentiment written on a wall of a gazebo ontop of this hill that overlooked Florence. The man in the book, a true story, ended up dying from eating poisonous berries shortly after his epiphany. One can’t say if he would’ve left the wilderness soon after, to rejoin society, and share his life with others. The worst kind of irony that we’ll never know… the kind of ironic that Alanis Morrissette sings about…like a thousands spoons when all you need is a knife.

I didn’t need to venture into the wilderness to learn that life is about the people you surround yourself with. Knew that. One of the things I’ve based my life upon is the people I surround myself. A friend once told me that the key to a good life is surrounding yourself with good people. And to that, I have a surplus of. Blessed in many regards. A solid support system, some of whom who read this blog, interested in some of the crazy adventures that Lindsay and I get ourselves into. Loved enough to listen to our sometimes ramblings.

Today marks the birthday of one of those amazing people I was blessed with. A dear aunt. I have about the best aunts in the world. My godmother, who’s given me the best sister and accomplice. My angel aunt, who gave me a basis of unconditional love and gave me another brother and now roommate who keeps me sane by fixing my car and dealing with things I hate doing, like getting my oil changed. And my mom’s aunt, my dear Auntie Jane, who celebrates her birthday today surrounded by people who love her and those who love her and can’t surround her, like me, exploring the unknown. I am reminded of her today, as it is her birthday, and in 22 years, she’s never forgotten my birthday. I consider her more of a grandma than a great aunt, although great she is. And she is one of the people who has inspired me in my life… to do the things that I do, to work hard, to explore the unknown, and most of all, to be considerate, to be loving, to be there for your family, and to be strong.

The road gives you a lot of time to think. A lot of timing to analyze. To consider what matters and what doesn’t. That’s part of the reason we went on this road trip. To get a little lost and maybe find a little direction. The All American Road Trip. That’s what people do. Jack Kerouac did it. Britney Spears did it. Explorers did it, along time ago, on the Oregon Trail and like Lewis and Clark. I’m sure they didn’t deal with power tripping park rangers or worry about when their next shower would come. But they did explore the wide open, the road and the radio, look to the stars, stand next to the mountains, and feel small and insignificant in this vast world. And maybe they found their answers, but I’m guessing that they didn’t. Like us, they learned there are no answers. That your quality of life is determined by the way you choose to live it and nothing else. It is derived from the person you inspired to be and from what sources you derive that inspiration. For me, it is from the people I surround myself with, it is the beauty and grace and compassion that I learned from my aunts, the strength I found from my mom and my dear Aunt Jane, the ability to talk to strangers like my chatty aunty Kathy, and a knowledge of the importance of kindness that I’ve learned from all those who’ve I been blessed to encounter. There are no great answers, just the foundations of love, and hope, and kindness. Those are the strong foundations to climb on, like the deep rooted trees that kept me from falling off the mountain while hiking around Mendenhall Glaicer.

Would I trade my month adventure for a month sitting at home and staring at the people I love, probably not. Glaciers and mountains and bears and the ocean are still pretty cool. But their majesty fades while the love remains, like the midnight sun in the Alaskan skies.

A little more deep and philosophical than you probably imagined, when I began bitching about the border patrol. Maybe Garth Brooks said it best, when he sang This is old highway is getting longer, seems like there’s no end in sight….I’m much too young to feel this damn old. The soul of an 80 year old veteran, telling you not to blink, that lives moves to fast, and that there are things that matter and things that don’t. Then again, maybe I just sound like a country song.

Sending all my love to those at home, and a very happy birthday to the best great aunt in the world. And after all my travels, I can say that with certainty.

Friday June 17th (Day 15) – The Poorman’s Cruise Ship

Once again, Lindsay's additions are in

We woke up around 9, probably the latest we’ve slept in a while. Lindsay tried to sleep longer but the rowdy softball team who had woken us up in the middle of the night was not any more considerate in the morning.

*nor where they all that decent if you could of seen this one girl sleeping (not that I’m perfect or look great when sleeping either but) she slept in the recliner face smooshed on the side of the chair so you could she he face between the seats and she had it so smooshed and gravity set in and it pulled he top lip up as her bottom one hung down with her braces all exposed while snoring. Cute for sure.*

For most of the day, we lounged around in the recliner lounge were we had slept.

*I went out to explore and see the couple of groups of humpbacks whales out in the distance and a pod of orcas (I saw one porpoise) out in front but way too far away even with my zoom lens. In Petersburg there must have been 25 bald eagles perched in trees and flying around in a ¼ mile of space. I see eagles up north but god bless America that was a lot of eagles and AWESOME! I also explored the ship for a while before returning to the comfort of my sleeping bag.*Our ferry made a few stops, in Petersburg, Wragell, and Ketchikan, but all of the stops were short, only 30 minutes, so we didn’t have time to get out and venture. And the weather was overcast and rainy, not ideal exploring weather. *There is something very entrancing about the rain though. I didn’t mind it. It left the coastline in a sense of mystery with the clouds haning so low and the fine mist, it seemed as if you were peering through frosted glass. At the same time it reminds of fly in fishing trip in Ontario with my dad fishing in the rain, because it’s the best time to go sit at the bottom of a creek flowing in the lake and snag the walleyes feeding on whats getting washed down. Some of my favorite times. I sat there staring at the railing outside the lounge collecting the mist and creating drops of water underneath, and as the boat swayed they’d gather together and drop. Such simplicity but such beauty in a mere drop of rain.*

They played a few movies… Lost in Austen, a spin on Jane Austen novel’s *That one of the creepy crew members came to make loud comments on all the characters to this older couple sitting next to us, like he was funny. NOT so FUNNY especially since he shut my blind I was enjoying the view out of and politely gave me a long wiff of his glorious BO, ugh vomit*, some movie about a lion that of course Lindsay enjoyed *It was a white lion COOL*, the Italian Job, and Mars Needs Moms. We spent most of the day watching movies, and uploading the THOUSANDS of pictures that had been taken onto my computer. Seriously thousands. *Bets can now be placed on the final amount of pictures taken. Keep in mind that 7 days in Ireland with my camera and B and I resulted in 1,700 pictures. Now we not only have my big camera we have brittany’s battle scarred trooper of a camera and her new impulse purchase toy and my crappy back up camera.I say we end up with as many pictures as miles traveled and that doesn’t include the deleted ones!*

Sometime in the afternoon, we ventured down to the cafeteria. Pretty nice set up. I had a cheeseburger and fries and Lindsay had some sort of sandwich. We joked with the cashier about my distain for loonies, the Canadian money that had been my roadblock to showering in Alberta when we saw a sign that said “NO LOONIES”. He teased me when I went to pay for my cheeseburger that they only accepted loonies. Lindsay had retreated back to the recliner lounge, but I had a real plate so I sat in the cafeteria and had my cheeseburger and fries while learning about the Alaskan wildlife from the table art. I got up to put my plate and some other passenger told me to just leave it on the table and someone would pick it up… I replied that my mom had raised me better than that, and the couple laughed and appreciated my sentiment. I took a quick tour of our ship… something like a poorman’s cruiseship with a bar, a viewing lounge, the cafeteria, a gift shop, and a solarium where some people were sitting on the lawn chairs in their sleeping bags. It had been raining all day, misting on and off, not ideal deck weather, so I returned into the recliner lounge to read and catch whatever movie was playing. I read for a while, until around 8:30, when I ventured downstairs to get some carrot cake I had my eye on. Lindsay joined me for a more substantial meal.

Then we returned to our lounge area, Lindsay took a shower, and then I did. Showering in public bathrooms on a ferry in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. * Sounds weird and maybe its just me it’s a little creepy showering in a stainless steel shower. I reminds me of the autopsy table in NCIS if Ducky showed up I would have died. Also after not washing your hair for a couple of days it feels so good and healthy maybe I shouldn’t wash it everyday, I’m gonna try that.* Metal showers in fact. Always something new. I chuckled to myself, but hey anything for a good shower. And the water was just how I like it, nice and steamy. Good work, Alaska Marine Highway. After my shower, I got ready for bed, and fell asleep about 11 pm reading my book in my sleeping bag on the floor of the Matanuska’s Recliner Lounge. *I was doing the same but only read like 4 pages while B’s over there racing through the pages like nothing. ADD and Dyslexia don’t lend to swift reading people.* We picked up some new passengers in Ketchikan and of course with nearly no one in the recliner lounge some man has to sleep in the row right next to me and groan and grunt until he got comfortable, really? Right next to me? Was that necessary? I THINK NOT! And to add to the annoyance some kid wouldn’t shut up and kept jabbering to his dad and not in a whisper. DUDE it’s 11pm the kids like 9 it’s past his bedtime tell him to shut up and go to sleep, honestly. The people of the ferry have turned out to be more to talk about than the people of the campsites since we really haven’t interacted with any except Pearl and some other young girl at some point on this trip. Dude I forget where I put the keys when I clip them to my belt loop and I have not a clue of the date or day of the week it is. That’s why I need B! She’s kind of like an idiot savant, I’m the idiot whe has to keep track of and she’s the savant. I don’t know what a savant is but I know its better than an idiot LOL. I suppose I could google it but that would require actual civilization and that has been few and far between so I guess I’ll just have to wait. PS that ferry horn made me nearly crap my pants every time not cool. *

Thursday June 16th (Day 14) – Trail Blazing… From Glaciers, to Rainforest, to the Beach

Lindsay has added her thoughts....they are in italics.

I woke up to my phone ringing in my pocket. Missed called from Brent. 6 am. Obviously doesn’t know the time zone differences. I called him back and chatted with him for a bit while laying in my sleeping bag. I fell back asleep until like 8 than decided to go take a shower while Lindsay slept a bit longer. Not only was our host Corrina friendly, she also kept impressive facilities. IE very clean “homey” showers and bathrooms. Best shower I’ve had in 2 weeks. I got dressed and headed out into the sunny day. Beautiful weather. Lindsay got up and showered. I got some of our stuff ready and then decided to dry my hair. Too lazy to walk back to the office and bathrooms, I plugged my hair dryer into our campsite electricity post. Standing in the forest, blow drying my hair with Allie’s little hot pink hair dryer, must have been a sight. Lindsay returned, and we packed up everything. A little after 10 am, we headed for the Mendenhall Glacier, not too far from the campsite.

*I full heartedly agree if you are ever in Juneau Alaska and are camping I highly recommend Spruce Meadows RV. She was the hostest with the moistest. She told me about all the good trails, tours, and sights, and what things were rip offs. Showed me everything on the map and even called our ferry to see if it was delayed and recommended dinning options and Tracy’s King Crab Shack was on the top of her list which we had already read was great.

Lindsay made some phone calls. Mostly to the Central Violations Bureau, in attempts to contest our tickets from South Dakota via the phone. Not that I’m one to argue with authority, but come on, $150 for a harmless crime, *crime?I say fun and living life* and then you take 45 minutes to write us tickets and you can’t even get the car’s color right, the state in which the car is registered in right, or even write down my entire license number. Obviously incompetent. And not friendly either. She got the run around and left a message. We will see.

We got some snacks packed and our water bottles filled and headed towards the glacier. There is something fascinating about glaciers, even though in actuality, it’s just a big piece of ice. Granted that big piece of ice formed millions or thousands of years ago, and places a central role in the tides, due to the increasing meltage of glaciers in recent years. Still, regardless of the science, its quite the sight. The ice turns this blue color… an aqua blue. And then there’s parts of it that are a darker blue. When it crumbles, it doesn’t look like ice at all, but snow cubes instead. We hiked towards it, trying to get the best glimpse of it as possible. I wanted nothing more than to put my foot on the glacier, but there was no glacier access. Most glaciers are only accessible by helicopter. Not in the budget. Instead, we found a piece of glacier that had broken off, and floated towards the shore, used a stick, and picked it up. Later we found one I could stand on. Check it off the list…standing on a glacier. Or former piece of a glacier. Once a glacier, always a glacier, I always say. There was all these icebergs floating in the water and they too were an aqua blue color. Next to the glacier was Nugget Falls, but there was absolutely nothing “nugget” about this waterfall. It was enormous, starting near the very top of the mountain and very wide. Standing next to it, I felt miniature, and also damp, since it was misting and spraying.

We enjoyed the view for a bit, but decided we wanted a better look. * I really wanted to get B to that glacier that’s been pretty much on the top of her list and she’s been going along with all my disires so I really wanted to get her there* The other trail was closed, due to trail maintenance. Seriously the only common thread in EVERY PLACE we’ve been to,*I am almost certain there isn’t a road that hasn’t had construction on it and if I never see a flagger again it will be to soon SERIOUSLY, but even with that we are hardcore travelers I think actually “we rock” you all know it* is road construction. Everywhere. Some of it we get escorted through by a “pilot vehicle”, some goes on for miles and is pothole city, a lot of it in the Yukon employs women, it closed our route in Montana, gave us dirt roads in Alaska, but everywhere, construction. Even at the national park and state park. So Lindsay decided we were going to blaze our own trail. We wanted to get to the top of the mountain, where the waterfall is fed from, and perhaps even towards the glacier. We found some rocks on the side of the mountain that seemed to create a rugged path to the top. Wrong. We climbed these dry rocks until they overlapped with the rainforest type shrubbery. We found ourselves on slippery muddy rocks, hanging onto trees and limbs to prevent ourselves from falling. Lindsay did her standard protector role and held my hand when there was no place to grab onto, to make sure I was safely attached to the land. * I’m pretty sure she knows it but I can’t live without her so I will always do my best to keep her safe and I admit I regretted trying to go up when we started going down because I didn’t want anything to happen to her* We climbed for about 12 minutes before we got to a dead end. I suggested we abort, not much of a quitter, but there seemed to be no path and I didn’t want to get into a dangerous situation. Lindsay explored a little further, and agreed. Kind of a disappointment, since now we were dirty, tired, and had gotten nowhere. The mountain air made me think deeply, and I considered how much of life was like this trail. The view from the ground may have been as beautiful as it gets…waterfalls, glaciers..but we still weren’t satisfied. So we chose the path less traveled and tried to find something better. The path was a dead end… got us nowhere, except tired, frustrated, and dirty. * I enjoyed the challenge and forged farther than B and I was so close but it felt good to be out there or up there challenging myself and pushing myself. I haven’t been doing that much lately and for a long time and you know me nature is key and what better to challenge me. She won that round mother nature but she gave me a good run* At times I wondered why we had decided to leave the perfectly good trail. And sometimes, it was scary when there wasn’t a firm foundation. While some trees looked like they would support you, they were in fact rotten. But luckily enough, I had a true friend to hold my hand and make sure I got through. Isn’t that what life is? Full of shaky foundations, rough paths, getting tired, getting frustrated, all in the search of something more. I don’t know, maybe that’s an overly ambitious analogy…but my friends will tell you I’m famous for my analogies. Anyway, we reached the bottom safely and headed back to the trailhead. After a little more exploring and Lindsay adventuring on another path * yet again deciding to take the path less traveled and got myself a little stuck in some thick brush and a little lost but I FOUND MY WAY BACK!* while I loaded up on fruit snacks in the car, we were off. Our ferry was supposed to depart at 7:30 pm so we had to be there at 5:30 to check in…. so we decided to head out towards Eagle beach to see the ocean. We found a picnic area so we ventured around, in the wildflowers * I could of layed in that field of purple lupines forever starring at the sky watching eagles listening to the ocean and knowing I was in the shadow of mountains, pretty spectacular* and on this big tree that had been uprooted and has since become sort of driftwood. We lounged around for a bit, enjoying the mountains and the oceanview. We continued on to find a more rocky beach… and Lindsay went to explore while I called the ferry. Corrina, our campground host, had mentioned thinking there was some kind of delay on the ferry so I wanted to make sure. Turns out there had been a power outage in BC and therefore our ferry had been pushed back…our 7:30 pm departure had been moved back until 3:15 am. Typical. * I told B from the start a plan is great but things happen and we may just have to go with the flow, but in that aspect we are very different in those respects shes structured and scheduled I’m following wildlife around, collecting rocks and flowers and thinking wow this moss is cool! So go figure. But all I’ve heard for the last couple of months (which btw you aren’t suppose to say to a person suffering from depression :P) is everything happens for a reason and I want this to be what it’s suppose to be and enjoy the ride*More time in Alaska I suppose. I told Lindsay, and we both decided to just lounge at the beach for a while since we had acquired more time. I found a big rock that looked like it was made of lava and perched myself on it while Lindsay went in search of an elusive sea otter that had been taunting her.* for the record it was a sea lion and he really was taunting me playing a game with me, a form of tag if you will, and at one point he even popped his head out of the water and I swear he was laughing at me. I followed him back and forth on this rock beach hoping I could get a good picture but he had me looking like a fool and I think he enjoyed it*. I fell asleep for a few minutes under the warm sun on the rock until the horseflies wouldn’t leave me alone. They were of the biting variety and beyond pesky. We just hung out for a while, enjoying the beach, each on our own rock, until the flies got to be too annoying.

We had decided to venture into town for a bit. We got some gelato, sat on the coffee house couch, and then decided to venture on to the otherside of downtown. We drove until the road literally ended, and got out to explore the beach. The tide had gone down significantly so we just walked around the land that used to be underwater. *June happens to be the month that there is the largest tidal exchanges in the tune of almost 21ft of difference*Kelp was everywhere, and Lindsay told me if you stepped on it, it sounded like bubble wrap. That was enough to have me hopping around the beach, smashing the kelp like popping bubble wrap. Yep, I’m 22. Spending too much time with Lindsay. *yeah I probably shouldn’t have let her in on the little kelp secret* She was a trooper though and carried me on her back so I wouldn’t have to get my feet wet when crossing the tide pools. *Anything for the little sister I always wanted, she was a trooper too agreeing to explore it with me because she knows how I love tidepools (don’t act surprised) and I wanted to find sea glass some of the only good things about littering*

We decide to head back to the beach we had been at before. It was more scenic in my opinion. We headed back down this windy two lane road, where Lindsay got blantly flicked off by some Subaru *you have to say it with emphasis…SUBARUUUU as my second mon does that’s you Tammie!* for apparently following too closely. Which she wasn’t doing. And then minutes later, he zoomed around the car in front of him, in a no passing zone. A little bi-polar don’t you think? We continued towards the beach, but of course, a Wal-mart stop on the way. I needed a new straightener since mine had decided not to work and I refuse to have poofy hair for the next 3 weeks…even if we were camping.*I swear sometimes I wonder how we get along…jk. Besides her hair hasn’t been poofy she’s gorgeous all the time* We also needed some fruit and some pasta sauce. We had decided to make tortellini on the campfire at the picnic area we had been at previously. We wandered around Wal-Mart for a bit, got more ice and a few groceries and headed back to the beach.*She forgot to mention more souvenirs and non essential things but it is what it is, turns out Juneau wal-mart has a large souvenir section at great value prices HAHAHA* After acquiring our new groceries, we decided the car was in major need of reorganization. We decided to downsize the cooler to the smaller one we had, since the big cooler dominated the entire backseat. After removing everything in the car, and repacking, we finally felt organized. * NO MORE CLIMBING ON TOP OF MY CAR. I packed too much stuff that we haven’t even used but how was I suppose to know I’ve never been camping and we were gonna be in like every climate and terrain possible I just wanted to be prepared. Turns out you can be too prepared although the trip isn’t over yet so maybe I shouldn’t make assumptions so early. But on the up side we have made progress on the snacks!*

I started dinner while Linds finished packing up the car. Then I ventured out to the ocean to take pictures of our first Alaskan sunset. The sun goes down for like 2 hours. The tide had gone down significantly… I was able to walk at least ¼ of a mile out passed where the tide had been this afternoon. The tree we had sat on was now surrounded by some sort of sea grass. I kept walking and walking until I found water. The sunset was majestic… the sun lit up all the snow capped mountains. I even saw an eagle perched on a log in the water…don’t worry, I got a picture for Lindsay. *See we know each other, that’s my girl ;)*After a while, I heard Lindsay screaming my name. I guess I had vanished from her line of sight and she began to worry. *I was screaming forever and I couldn’t see her and I got TERRIFIED (I get it now moms). I had gotten this gourmet meal ready on a little propane stove and left over hot coals from some previous picnickers and didn’t want a bear to come because of the smell and didn’t want it to be cold and I couldn’t see her and she never answered back. I really thought SHIT something happened to Brittany our parents are gonna kill me for not keeping her safe, my heart was pounding and I started running out there and didn’t see her, didn’t see her for what felt like forever and then she finally appeared and I hunched over and took a sigh of relief. I wanted to kick her ass she scared me!* So I ran back. Tables were turned, she’s worried, and I’m off taking pictures of birds. I got back to the picnic table and devoured our most fancy campfire meal…tortellini, corn, and potatoes. What a meal. We had to vacate the picnic area by 11 pm, since that’s when the park closed and we didn’t want any further trouble with park police. We dropped off our garbage in the cans, went to the bathroom in portapotties with no lights, and headed towards the harbor.

We didn’t have to check in until 1:15, but we got there at 11:15 and lounged in the car. At around 12:15 I went in to check in, got our place in line, and we moved the car. We both napped for a while before the ferry people woke us up, and we got on the boat. First to board this time. We found the recliner lounge, which was less cosy then our previous boat (this boat must be older), and laid out our sleeping bags with the rest of the people already sleeping. We both got comfortable (it’s amazing how we can sleep anywhere now) and probably would’ve fallen asleep easily if it wasn’t for a troop of softball girls who came in loudy and didn’t notice all the people sleeping or trying to. I fell asleep eventually and slept pretty well considered it was like sleeping at the airport. *They kept kicking my feet and didn’t even have the common courtesy to whisper, come on parents teach your kids some manors. And mom just because I belch and toot in the comfort of family and friends doesn’t mean I don’t have manors. I just means I like to act like a child and think it’s funny. Like the “Come and go” gas stations we’ve passed and I can’t help but to think how domb are you to name something that? People always have their mind in the gutter and my maturity shows through when I say I can’t handle even saying the name of that gas station. I’m 27 I can joke about that stuff too if I have to listen to my parents purposely try and gross me out and get increasingly more immature and inappropriate in their “old age”. Also my baby girl was gonna get a good little rest parked safely in front where she should be because she’s awesome..yes I’m talking about my car. She’s kicking ass and tacking names let me tell ya, shoot she was on top of the world got to ride over a river and go on a cruise on the big sea.*

Wednesday June 15th (Day 13) – All Aboard the Alaskan Marine Highway, To Juneau We Go!

There was only one reason we found ourselves in Haines, it was a major port for the Alaskan Marine Highway. The Alaska Marine Highway is a series of ferries that connect several cities in Alaska and major ports in British Columbia. We had both decided that stopping in Juneau, Alaska’s capital city, was a necessary landmark on the trip. And there are only two ways to get to Juneau, plane and boat. No roads connect Juneau to the rest of Alaska. Given we were all about forward motion, we decided on the ferry, so we could bring our car with us and continue on. So we booked ourselves on the ferry that takes us from Haines to Juneau and then from Juneau to Prince Rupert, British Columbia, with a 30 hour layover in Juneau to explore. Other than gas, this is our other major expense. But labeled one of the few America’s Scenic Byways and regarded very highly from previous passengers, we decided it was worth the splurge.

Our ferry to Juneau departed at 9 am, but the office suggested arrival at the harbor between 2-3 hours before departure to check in and line up. So we got up, put everything back in the car, and headed to the marina. I caught up on the past few days of blogging while Lindsay slept. Then I dealt with a typical travel dilemma, conditioner spilling everywhere in my cosmetic bag. What’s a vacation if you don’t have a shampoo/conditioner mishap? So I unpacked the whole bag in the middle of the harbor parking lot. Classy. We were the last to board…and after we got the car in place in the lower level of the boat…and the spare gas can stored in the “paint room” we headed upstairs. Lindsay forgot her camera so ofcourse she sent me down to get it. A nice coast guard man held the elevator for me. We found the “Recliner Lounge”… and found some seats. Very comfortable. The boat also has a cafeteria, a movie theater, and a gift shop although we didn’t really explore. They offered a movie and some educational programming. The bathrooms have showers too. WOO. We could’ve gotten a cabin, but those are extra, and we are trying to be budget conscious. Although this leg of the trip was only 4 ½ hours. Lindsay slept some more and I kept reading my book. I brought along 5 books, and haven’t touched them except for the last 2 days when I’ve powered through 2. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to read for fun. Although my Financial Regulation Book is staring me in the face…a not so gentle reminder that I need to start studying for my 3^rd CPA exam which I take in about 5 weeks.

I rather enjoyed our cruise…and felt really safe. Mostly because we were surrounded by at least 15 to 20 US Coast Guard men who were using the ferry to get to Juneau for I’m guessing their next assignment. They all lounged around us… so if anything would’ve happened to the boat, we would’ve been covered. We were, after all, entering ice berg country. Going down like the Titanic may have been noble in 1914, but in 2011, if we would’ve sank due to an ice berg… it would’ve just been embarrassing. Titanic was the biggest hit of the 90s, so we couldn’t have claimed ignorance. Anyway, we were just fine. No icebergs. Just snow capped mountains.

We arrived in Juneau, got back in the car, and drove off our ferry and headed for downtown Juneau. We had decided to find a campground ASAP (it was only like 2pm), and set up shop before we went exploring so we wouldn’t have to do it later. We found our way to Spruce Meadow RV park. Lindsay went in to check in, but I sat in the car…almost at the end of my book… and you can’t stop when you’re right in the middle of it. Lindsay was gone for a while, but I was pretty in my book so I didn’t mind. She came back and told me about Corrina, the host of the campground who had been more than helpful. We set up our camp…well Lindsay did, while I made sandwiches and finished my book. PB & J this time. Well PB for me… actually PB and Hershey’s Bars…. I do not like jelly…and plain PB is just boring… I’m living on sandwiches, what can I say?

We both had one request in Juneau…mine was to touch a glacier, Lindsay’s was to get some fresh crab. She had read about some “all you can eat” place in one of our 10384 brochures but couldn’t remember what town it was in or what it was called. Altogether helpful. So I googled crab in Juneau and found a place called Tracy’s King Crab Shack..which had a lot of really good reviews. Corrina had only confirmed what we had heard. We decided that we’d explore downtown and go to Tracy’s tonight and then get up and hike Mendenhall Glacier in the morning. So after the tent was up and the sandwiches consumed, we headed for downtown Juneau.

Juneau is a major cruise ship port and it pretty much has that feel. You know, lots of t-shirt and souvenirs shops and plenty of jewelry stores for all the lovebirds on their love boat. We, on the other hand were travelling by the poor man’s cruise ship, a ferry, so we couldn’t afford the jewelry stores. We wandered for a bit, getting a few knick knacks to remember our epic adventure and some sweatpants because we’d been wearing the same ones to bed for 14 days. Well I have. Lindsay packed at least double what I did. It figures. We found Tracy’s Shack… literally a shack. I was still full from my sandwich and not although a huge seafood fan, I ordered the crab bisque which had really high reviews. Lindsay got some crab cakes and snow crab legs and even an Alaskan Amber Beer..splurging. We made friendly conversation with the workers, who were rather intrigued by our adventure. We sat down in the tent…literally a tent, and had our dinner. We explored a little longer…but all the cruise ship passengers had returned back for their all you can eat buffets and fancy dinners, and all that was left were the locals, including the patrons of Juneau’s soup kitchen, which happened to be on the main road. Call it selfish or close minded, or all together spoiled, but I just didn’t understand why they would put the soup kitchen next to all the tourist things. Nothing says Welcome to Juneau like seeing all of the homeless people. But maybe it helps raise awareness…I just have a feeling that’s the last thing people want to be aware of when they are on vacation.

It was still really light out and sort of early, since Tracy’s closes at 7 pm, so we decided to go up to Gold Creek to see these waterfalls that Corinna had suggested. We found a hiking trail at the top of the road…the city of Juneau is very much like San Francisco… very steep hills and close together houses. We walked along the waterfall and explored for a while in the temperate rainforest. We were sort of out by ourselves, and we were a little afraid we might come across a bear or something so we decided we needed to make ourselves known. Most of the guidebooks suggest bells or singing. We didn’t have any bells, so we did our best to sing. Well, it’s hard to come up with a tune to sing on the spot so we ended up reverting to old classics like 100 beer bottles on the wall…or our personal favorite “John Jacob Jinglerhimer Schmidt…” So we sang as loud as we could.. screaming almost… and dancing around on this old train track that went through the forest. We scared away any bears that may have been around…and any people who were out for a hike. Two crazies on the loose. Escaped from some mental institution in Wisconsin. John Jacob got old after a while…so I decided to rap a little “Baby Got Back”. Also ridiculous. We got to the end of the road and decided to head back down…kind of weaving from the forest, to the neighborhoods, down some random stairs, and finding ourselves back at the parking lot.

* funny she makes a reference to the looney bin!!!LOL gotta laugh about it can’t do anything else and we were singing for safety to keep you moms less worried. Plus remember animals and I have an understanding…I love them they don’t eat me, after all we did see a spirit bear! Good sign. - Lindsay

Back in the car and back to the campground. Lindsay had thrown in some laundry so she switched that while I uploaded the old blog entries. After a bit, Lindsay went to bed, I got the laundry and went to bed myself.

Tuesday June 13th (Day 12) - Sing, Like No One Can Hear You

Yes, I don’t think people want to hear about the bathroom talk. As Deano always told us in Turkey, “I’ll skip the potty talk”. Lindsay has the tendency to share things that people don’t want to hear.

Yes, we have been in synch in many ways. We don’t need to talk to communicate and were sort of becoming each other. That means I’ve developed Lindsay’s ability to spot wildlife on the road (a moose and two bear) and she has become me … a spaz singalong queen. Lucky her. When she started screaming the lyrics to Redneck Yacht Club I was literally crying. She even did some of my signature hand gestures and general off-key singing. Yep, definitely transforming into me. I put on the singalong songs of all singalong songs… CELINE. We were driving through the Wilderness screaming the lyrics to “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” at the top of our lungs. Hilarious. Sometimes you just gotta let it out.

I kept driving along the most bumpy road anywhere. We might have gotten air a few times. Lindsay claims I’m speedy Gonzalez…. I tell her someone’s got to make up the time for all the time she wants to stop and take pictures of birds. Plus she drives like a Grandma, not her usual style, but she’s too busy looking for wildlife. So at least I have both eyes on the road. We finally switched drivers, since I’d been driving for almost 9 hours, my butt hurt (had to put my pillow under it), and I was sick of the Yukon roads. Lindsay took over and it smoothed out, typical. I saw a bear’s butt, but Lindsay refused to believe me. Then we saw a “spirit bear”. An almost white bear, just hanging out in a grassy patch on the side of the road eating flowers. We got out with some of the other roadside audience and watched this bear. He looked at us but looked content eating his pretty flowers so we were able to get some great photos. I even got one of him with his hand on his face, almost like he was shy. Between that and the whale jumping picture, we should start working for National Geographic.

We passed Lake Kathleen and got out to take a picture for our favorite Kathleen.We headed further south, into more snowy mountains. Lindsay got out to play in the snow and make snow angels. We passed back through Alaska, where the border guy asked us if what kind of trouble we were going to get into? Turns out he’s from Joliet. Small world.

Arrival in Haines. We found the ferry terminal than in search of a place to sleep. We found an RV park and asked if we could camp here, and she said no, but suggested some camp grounds for us. I told her I needed a shower so she pointed us in the direction of the Fort Seward/Chilkoot RV park which had facilities. We found the hotel were we had to check in…rang the bell, and a nice man came and helped us. He gave us the parking pass we needed and some quarters for our showers and was impressed to hear about our adventure. We thanked him and went to find a place to camp.

We found the campground and a spot near the bathroom. Location, location, location. I dropped Lindsay off with the tent and she sent me in search of firewood. I headed a few miles down the road, where we had seen a beach, to collect some driftwood. I felt so authentic..on the beach (first of all, I love the beach), picking up driftwood so we could make a fire. The mountains with a little big of fog around them. Beautiful. Sort of like the Alaska you see in “The Prosopal”. Where is Ryan Reynolds when you need him? Lindsay and I would’ve totally down the “from the window to the wall” dance around the campfire if we had been alone but we had some close neighbors…and we had already made enough people think we were crazy today. I returned back to camp where Lindsay had the tent set up. I finished getting the air mattress and sleeping bags ready while Lindsay got the fire started. No one else had fires, so we’re not sure if they were banned or what but we practiced good fire safety… so don’t worry Smokey, we’re on our way to preventing forest fires. We had hot dogs on somewhat stale buns for dinner, in a legit fire. As we were getting ready to make smores, a little girl named Pearl came wandering to our campsite. She sat and talked with us, and when she began eying our smore fixings, Lindsay told her she could ask her parents and have one if they said yes. At first she said no, that she didn’t want to ask her parents, but when she saw the chocolate and marshmallow she ran down to ask. I’m pretty sure her parents probably thought that we were some child abudctors or something, cause we only saw them pick her up and take her home, as she cried the whole way. Woops, wasn’t trying to make trouble.

We cleaned up and then took showers. Ah best part of the day. I dried my hair. But tragedy has struck and my hair straightener doesn’t appear to be working. This could be problematic. Then off to bed. Lindsay put another tarp over the tent so its more wind proof and darker. Good work Linds.

- B