Explore. Dream. Discover.: A Coastal Voyage!

It has been nearly two years since I've made my move to the Pacific Northwest. TWO years?! Already!? I feel like I just got here yesterday. There can't possibly have been two years that have lapsed that quickly! But yet its the truth. As evidenced by my nearly 2 year old nephew Alexander who was born just one month after I moved up here.

To say that the last two years have been a rollercoaster would be an understatement, but I feel like I've gotten my footing and am thoroughly enjoying this life I've created for myself. Now to say whether or not my life will stay put in Seattle is hard to say. I've definitely still got the itch to experience life in more cities (New York, Chicago, London, etc.) I could absolutely see myself continuing to skip around states for awhile. There's so much to see and live and experience I almost can't stand it! But all that will come soon enough!

I do know that for at least the next couple of years I will be staying put in Seattle, and that is largely due to the fact that the majority of my immediate family is here. My sister, brother-in-law, nephew.....AND now offiically my MOM! :-)

That is right folks. After this past weekend my mother is now officially moved to Seattle, and needless to say Amanda and I are thrilled to have her here with us. This has been a long time coming (at least 2 years worth of discussion - since I made the move up here). With both daughters and her grandson up here, the logical choice for her was to move close to us. So thats exactly what she did!

I met mom down in San Diego on Thursday, and starting Friday morning we headed off in her little Hyundai and made the coastal voyage up to Seattle. It took 2 1/2 days of driving, lots of quality time, bathroom breaks, hilarious picture taking opportunities, some not so funny traffic jams, but we made it! With all of our hair in place, limbs firmly attached to our bodies, no scrapes or scratches, and the car in one piece! All in all a successful trip!

And now, mom is settling in with me at my Green Lake townhome. Given that my roommate moved to Minneapolis and I was in need of someone to fill the second room until my friend Jillian could move in at the end of her lease, it just happened to work out perfectly that mom was moving up at the time she did. I'm so excited to have her close by and be able to have her around full time! Its amazing how the powers that be can line everything up in a way you don't quite understand at first, but that once you pay attention unfold into the most intertwined series of events!

SO! Now to recap the beautiful journey we took of the coast!!

Day 1 - Coastal California!

Mom and I were on the road by 5am from San Diego! Yes 5am...and for those who know me I am NOT a morning person...AT ALL! But with coffee in hand we headed off on a drive up the California coast. First destination was Concord, CA (About an hour south of Sacramento). It was an estimated 10 1/2 hour drive for the first day!

I took the drivers seat for the first day and we drove up the 1 for majority of the day. Taking our time and enjoying all of the coast. Stopping for breakfast in Pismo Beach, and along the way for little stops and pictures. Mom was in charge of the camera.....needless to say the first days pics were of the inside of the car, her knee, a missed sign :)

I have to give her major crap for it too because its what I do best! I believe the first line in a daughter's job description is to torture her parents mercilessly...and I take my job VERY seriously!

Don't worry though! I've discarded those photos and left those that were discernable here in the blog :)

All in all the day was absolutely amazing. Beautiful scenery, great conversation, limited traffic.....that is until 5pm when we hit the Oakland area....UGH! Let me tell you it took us an hour and a half to go 40 miles...Northern California I HATE YOU!.....California reminded me in just ONE day about how I LOVE it and HATE IT! But we survived....barely. With our stops in Pismo Beach, other spots, and the traffic, we didn't arrive until about 7pm that evening. 14 hours later we enjoyed a beer at dinner and hit the hay early!

Day TWO! Oregon Bound!

We started day two off much happier than we ended day one (Stupid effing traffic!!!). Especially with coffee in hand! Day two was split drivingwise between my mom and I. She started the day finishing up the rest of California, and I took over once we hit Oregon.

I have to say that day two proved to be not as breathtaking on the scenery scale, but no traffic was a HUGE blessing. AND mom and I put our foot down and shaved off a total HOUR or more off the estimated drive time. We left at 8:30am and arrived in Portland by 6:30pm, and this included an hour rest stop for lunch and gasing up (FYI - Oregon is a state in which you CANNOT pump your own gas....remind me NEVER to move there because OH MY WORD...20 minutes to get gas...REALLY PEOPLE?!

Anyway - Concord to Medford took about 5 hours, and then I took the wheel and made it from Medford to Portland in 4 hours. Crazy how the California coast took us approximately 16 hours to drive....Oregon - a mere 4 1/2. WHOA

The mountains along the way though were some of the most gorgeous I've seen, and mom thoroughly enjoyed the downward slopes throughout the drive. Again - at the end of our drive we stopped in Portland for a nice dinner and a beer of course.

ALL the crap in the car! AHHH!!!!

Can you tell that I was in charge of the camera at this point?! :)

SUNFLOWER FIELDS!

starting to get goofy.....

wait....Phoenix?! I thought we were in OREGON!?

FINALLY IN PORTLAND!

Day 3! The final HOURS!

Heading out on our final day, mom took the wheel! Mostly because I wanted to make sure I got good photos of the last pieces of our trip.....sorry mom but its the truth :)

The trip from Portland to Seattle is a very short sweet trip. 3 hours in total (we made in just under 3....speed demons that we are!) And along the way I actually found a LARGE stretch of freeway thats 70 mph! HOLY CRAP?! that happens in WASHINGTON?! the SLOWEST state EVER?! I got pictures to evidence it don't you worry!

Anywho - we made the trip in and immediately found ourselves breakfast at the nearby bar and grill...along with Mimosas to celebrate!

It was a huge accomplishment! Not only to get mom up to Seattle...but I realized during the trip that I have now driven the entire west coast...from the Mexico border to the Canadian Border! Pretty awesome if you ask me! But cheers to new adventures to come! So glad to have you with us mom! I love you and am so glad we made the trip together!