This afternoon we headed down to Celebrate Erie….and got the bang for our buck! Cheesy Fries in a bucket. As you can see, Matt was having a good time with those 
fries! After the fries we resorted to Beer! Matt and I had the Railbender which has a higher alochol content….I had to have Matt help me finish my beer. It was now photo op time! We could hear the Ice Cream man trucking down the street…I just couldn’t resist. As we headed back to the car we ran into some Erie Motorcycle Cops….and once again I had to have my picture taken. Matt and I are ready to head out…..so til next time.
Celebrate Erie August 17, 2008
Erie, PA August 16, 2008
So blogging daily is a little harder than I thought….especially when there is no wifi around. After running around all day and taking hundreds of pictures daily all I can think about is hitting the pillow. Matt and I are at the end of our vacation. We’re in Erie, PA staying with my Aunt. We’re leaving tonight around mid-night to make our trek back across the U.S…..with some stops in Sedona, AZ & the Grand Canyon.
We’ve had a great time here in Erie. I always enjoy visiting with my Aunt Rey. She has a ton of priceless family stories and some great artsy ideas. Tuesday night we went out to a friends cottage on the lake. Matt and I had met them at the B&B we stayed at in San Francisco. After some conversation we found out that they know my aunt…along with my grandma,from back in the day at the Erie Yacht Club. We headed back to the cottage on Friday and roamed the beach in search for unique objects, beach glass and funky rocks. Wednesday Rey and her boyfriend Rik took us to Niagara Falls. We visited both the American and Canadian sides. Took some great shots and got a little “misty”.
We’re about to head to Celebrate Erie where Rik’s band is playing. From there Matt and I will take a little cat nap and then head on out. Not sure when I’ll update this, as I’m not very persistant. But, I will do some back tracking and post some of the adventures that we had on our road trip.
Feel X July 25, 2008
Felix ~ This is a special post just for YOU! I know you were feeling left out and all….so, while you were on the phone with Matthew I took a picture. Now you’re posted on my blog and can get famous.
I hope all is going well Buzz, we miss you guys.
…for more on Felix, please visit trippr.us
A-town July 23, 2008
I’m back in Anacortes and its currently 60 degrees with a high of 64…and I’m loving it! Surprisingly I’m not all bundled up. I actually felt under dressed as I went for a walk around “the loop” this morning. 
I was geared up with my tennies, capris, tank & open neck long-sleve tee, while everyone else I walked by was suited up in their running pants and jackets zipped up to their necks….I guess for me, its good to feel cold. My goal is to walk the loop everyday that I’m in Anacortes. From where I’m staying its just a walk around the block and a short trail thru the woods.
Yesterday Matt and I took the State Ferry from Anacortes to Friday Harbor. I can’t remember the last time I had done that. It was a little overcast in the morning, but cleared up to be a beautiful day. We hiked all over town, went into some funky shops and of course took a ton of pictures. As soon as I sort through my pics Matt will upload them to the gallery on our trippr.us blog.
For lunch we ate at the Rocky Bay Cafe…2 thumbs up! I had their black bean veggie burger & Matt had a veggie omelet. The food was awesome and the staff was a lot of fun. Just a few steps up the street Matt and I ran into an enormous Daisy patch….and were in Daisy heaven. Oh, did I mention that it smelled like dog poop. I could not figure out where it was coming from. I kept checking my shoes, looking at the ground where I was walking, but no dice. THANKS SHANNON for clarifying that it was the lovely odor the large daisies put off.
Matt and I catched an earlier ferry back to Anacortes. We were pooped from walking and shooting. 
We got back early enough to drive into town and go up to the lookout at Cap Sante for the Sunset. The views from Cap Sante are amazing. You can see the entire town to the West and the Cascade Mountains to the East.
Farewell Bend July 14, 2008
Matthew and I are enjoying our last day here in Bend, hanging out at Bellatazza Coffee Shop. Outside Summer Fest is going on….vendors, music, food.. We had planned a trip to the town of Sisters today, but decided against it since we’d been on mini road trips for the past 2 days and will be heading up to Walla Walla, WA in the morning.I’ve enjoyed the past week here in Bend. There is so much to experience, I don’t know if one could do it all in their lifetime.
Friday morning Matt and I headed to Mount Bachelor, just a 25 minute drive from Bend. We took the ski lift up 1400 feet to the Pine Marten Lodge, which is open July to Sept. Once on top the mountain the views of the 3 Sisters & Broken Top Mountain were incredible. There was still quit a bit of snow.
…in large patches. In one area the snow was plowed upto 12 feet high, and since everyone else had writting something in the snow Matt decided to add our road trip blog website to the mix. The weather was grea
t. I started off with 2 tanks, a long-sleve t-shirt & my jacket. By the time we finished hiking around I was down to the 2 tanks. After hiking around and taking pics we headed back to the lodge for lunch. The only place open was Scapolos…italian for Bachelor. The food was good. Matt and a vegetarian pizza…the best he’s ever had…and I had a garden burger.
Day 10…Hanging in Bend July 9, 2008
I’ve gotten a little behind on keeping up with what we’ve been doing these past few days. During our hike on Saturday we saw a bunch of people floating down the river in inner tubes, blowup rafts/beds and enormous rafts, larger than my Kia, that can hold an entire family of 6 or more. So, Sunday afternoon we headed down to the Deschutes River with 2 kayaks and a blowup 4-man boat. Once on the river Matt and Christie took the kayaks while I rowed the boat with Doug and Julie and headed up river so we’d have a longer “float time” down the river. After the float, we headed home for a quick change of clothing….especially since Christie kinda tipped over her kayak….and h
eaded to our new favorite, Bend Brewery. This time I tried the Vegie Burger…YUMMM. From there we took a little scenic drive and headed to Anthony’s Restaurant for some scrumptious dessert.
Monday morning we got up early and took Christie to the Redmond Airport, as she had to head back to San Francisco. Once back at the home front we washed up the Kia and plastered the car with nylon stickers promoting our travel business Makalika Travel & Leisure. Late afternoon we headed to the Bend Post Office to ship a few ebay sales….and to my surprise I saw a familiar face….Kathleen. I walked up to her, put my hand on her back and asked if she’d worked at the White Sheet in Palm Desert. She slowly turned around and was shocked to see me. We’d worked together until she moved up to Seattle 3-4 yrs ago. Kathleen couldn’t take the rain and sunless days in Seattle and headed to Bend a few years ago. I don’t blame her! Kathleen and her partner are working on a documentary about the first Rodeo Cowgirls.
Back to the present…Matt and I are sitting outside one of his father’s favorite coffee shops…Bellatazza. Great coffee, great food. I’m enjoying the dry desert-like weather. Its currently 86 and the sky is so blue and clear, you can see for miles. After a beautiful walk around the neighborhood this morning, Matt and I headed down to the senior center where his dad was playing in a 7-piece band. I had a good time watching the seniors dance to the music, while Matt took some photos & videos. I’m sure he’ll blog about it and post them on our trippr.us site. From the senior center we headed to Pilot Butte where the 360 view is spectacular. You’re able to see Mt. Bachelor all the way to Mt. Hood…off in the distance. In the photo to the right you can see Mt. Bachelor, Broken Top & the Three Sisters. I’m sure we’ll be exploring those areas later on this week and will have lots of photos.
A “Bend” in the Road… July 7, 2008
On the 4th of July we drove from San Francisco to Bend, OR. Matt’s sister Christie road along with us to surprise their dad. I spent most of the 9 hour ride in the backseat reading “The Cho
ice” by Nicholas Sparks in its entirety. He is one of my favorite authors.
We arrived in Bend just in time for the fireworks. A beautiful show that was shot off the top of Pilot Butte viewpoint…which happen to catch on fire during the show…but they kept on going.
Saturday morning we woke up to crisp, fresh air. Something we currently do not have in the desert. I’ve been told its 115 with humidity back 
home. Not fun…and not missing it! I was shocked that the clouds disappeared so quickly and just in time for our afternoon hike along the Deschutes River. What could have been a quick hike along the 3 mile trail, turned into a afternoon photo shoot. With dueling cameras, Matt, his sister, dad and myself all had our digitals with us and ready to go. I think I topped everyone taking over 225 photos on our hike. Matt came trailing in second place with just under 200. What can I say…I’m a bit of a camera slut. During the hike Matt and I f
ell in love with Bend. You’re surrounded by beautiful nature and so many outdoor activities. For me, summertime is about being outside, hiking, playing in the water, BBQs….not keeping cool in the A/C.
After the hike we headed downtown…less than a mile…and made our way to the Bend Brewing Company, where Tonya, the head brew master, really knows her stuff and has awards to prove it. My personal favorite was the Outback, a similar taste to my favorite…Fat Tire.
Saturday night we took a little trip to Best Buy…home of wireless routers. Being in Bend for over a week, Matt and I knew we could not go that long with out internet on our laptops….we just wouldn’t know what to do. Now the Ward residence in Bend is wifi and ready for connection….
Santa Cruz pt. 2 July 1, 2008
After my laptop battery gave out, Matt and I decided that it was time to head up the coast to H
alf Moon Bay….one of my favorite stops. But to our surprise, there was a present on the car…a nice pink envelope containing a parking ticket. Before leaving for our road trip I made sure we had enough change for parking, knowing that San Fran is full of meters. I guess we were excited to finally get our morning coffee that I just did NOT see the meter.
Then came along Matt’s new best friend. He was very nice, gave us his mini life story, asked for some changed but settled for a photo shoot. Then asked if we would send him a copy of the picture. Rattled off his father’s last name, along wi
th the city & street name.
We finally got onto Hwy 1 and headed north. One of my favorite sights along the way is the Pigeon Point Lighthouse. I had a feeling that it was also a hostel, but we’d never been down to the lighthouse….we’d always taken pictures from the road. I was very excited to see that there was indeed a hostel on the lighthouse grounds, but they didn’t have a vacancy for us. They recommended the Point Montara Lighthouse Hostel that was a little further north. I decided to give them a call and was excited to hear that they had a cancellation for Monday night….and grabbed it.
We did our usual stop in Half Moon Bay and walked the main drag with its many cute shops. M
y favorite place to visit is “Half to Have it”. Its an antique store and more. I normally purchase their beach glass for artistic projects, but decided that we didn’t need any more extra items in the car…maybe another time.
…So as I sit here writing this, Matt and I are enjoying the hostel facilities at the Point Montara Lighthouse. This is the first time I’ve ever stayed in a hostel….and probably not the last. I’d recommend it to anyone young and old. The views are amazing from all directions. We’re staying in a private room with bunk
beds and share a bathroom and shower with another room. Next to the lighthouse is a trail down to the beach where Matt and I each took 50-100 pictures. I was hoping to take pictures of a beautiful sunset, but being 20 miles south of San Francisco, the clouds and fog rolled in….you couldn’t see the sun if you tried.
If you’re out and about on the Cali coast between San Francisco and Santa Cruz and need a place to crash, check out: Point Montara Lighthouse Hostel or Pigeon Point Lighthouse Hostel
Santa Cruz June 29, 2008
As Matt and I sit here at Pergolesi Caffe In Santa Cruz, I’m noticing little white specs of ash falling onto my laptop. Its actually sunny out and I don’t see any clouds. I’m a little cold…its 54 degrees and I keep moving my chair to stay in the sun. I think the current temp back home is 111….according to my weather widget. I had to use the restroom and Matt told me it was scary, but didn’t tell me to take my camera with me….He’s currently in there taking some pics.
We made it to Santa Cruz safe and sound. We ended up taking the 101 instead of Hwy 1. Probably a good thing since there are fires all over N. Calif including Big Sur and the Santa Cruz Mtns. We checked in to our favorite Super 8 Motel, just a block or 2 from the boardwalk. We were lucky to get the last room….and a huge discount. The place had also be renovated since we’d last been.
Once settled in we changed from Tanks & Shorts into Pants & Long-sleve shirts and headed to the Boardwalk. We had two goals in mind. Roller Coasters & Garlic Fries! We also found a stand with Fried Artichokes…they were to die for.
Well, my laptop is running out of juice and I’m not plugged in, so that’s all for now…t.b.c.
Goodbye desert…..Hello coast…. June 28, 2008
Matt and I are sitting at our favorite “Buzz Coffee” shop getting our fill of caffeine before we hit the road. The car is completely pack….we even had to reconsider a few items. The Kia just isn’t as big as we thought. We’ll be heading up the 101 and probably spending our first night in Santa Cruz…where there is currently a big fire, but I’m thinking we’ll be fine on the coast with the nice coastal breeze.
We’ll be keeping everyone up to date on our blog trippr.us
and for those you who are artys fartsy visit Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head on their adventures around the US.
