Seattle, WA to San Diego, CA

The point of this blog is to keep our friends and loved ones in touch and informed about the adventures during our travels this fall and winter. Our journey began this September when Crystal flew from Los Angeles to Seattle to meet me after a grueling summer of being apart. Our time in Seattle included an incredible concert by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, one our favorite bands and some time spent with friends from Outward Bound. Great big thanks to the Julie/Joel residence for all of your hospitality!

After  summer spent in the mountains I was itching for the coast so we quickly jumped in trusty Floyd, the 23 year old Ford Ranger and caught a ferry for the Olympic Peninsula to visit Genny and Ned at their house out on Crescent Lake. The stay would not be complete without plenty of wine, kite flying and a day of watching salmon spawn in the recently freed, Elwa River. Watching the huge fish, visibly decaying while still alive, thrash up the river to build redds and lay eggs was certainly a highlight for all of us.

Next we embarked for Forks, WA and the Quileute reservation. Some of you may may be familiar with this area due to its propensity to attract vampire-crazed teenage girls, all searching for locals with sparkly skin or Native Americans with an unusual amount of body hair. Despite the obvious pandering to this crowd by local stores, the area is truly beautiful and made for a perfect place to spend a night camping on the beach and drinking wine. For the next week, we spent our time driving along the coast, camping on the beach, and gorging ourselves with smoked salmon and cheese from the Tillamook cheese factory. Along the way, we managed to drive the entire west coast, see friends along the way and spend time with family as we prepared for the main portion of our adventure together in South America.