Welcome Home!

My mom and I were greeted at the airport by my brother, Kendra and baby walk! They even made me a sign while they waited at Starbucks! so great! It's like no time has passed and I'm so excited to spend more time with family and friends over the holidays!

Las Vegas

So the journey is over...big blue made it to LV and I was reunited with my parents! Really surreal. It's good to see family and rest, but weird ending the adventure. Brian and big blue went on without me to LA and San Francisco where he would meet with people interested in ILB and some friends to make the drive back to Seattle. I'm so thankful to have had the opportunity to travel across the country the past few months...meeting so many fun people, going on little adventures, spending time in the DR, and just having time to think and evaluate about what's next. As for now, I'm excited to get home, back to Seattle, to spend time with family and friends for the holiday season and hopefully find work pretty quickly to pay the bills :)

Here are a few pics from our time in LV...

The venetian

Peter Lik's gallery...check out his photography online

More Venetian

Ice sculptures in the new City Center

City Center

Santa and reindeer at the Bellagio

Dad excited about tapas at Firefly

Brian and I stayed with his friend Ivan

Climbing at Red Rock

Road Trip Home Part 1

Road trip home

Wednesday – arrive in Miami, find big blue waiting for us intact, eat yummy Cuban sandwiches and monster milkshakes across the street from the Crowne Plaza Hotel, drive to the Everglades, wash my hair at an outdoor faucet in a local park, sleep next to two truckers at a gas station, get eaten alive by mosquitoes in the night.

Thursday – wake up early, get eaten by more mosquitoes, I may accidently have put deet in my eye when putting on my contacts, clean up our bikes and ride 15 miles to and from Chokoloskee island, the hairs on our arms turn white from condensation and I am speckled with bugs, didn’t see any alligators, buy chocolate milk and eat leftover Cuban sandwiches for breakfast, drive to Clearwater, itch bug bites, avoid hwy 19 next time, walk along the beach, pick up shells to keep on the dash of the van only if we both agree on them, take showers after not swimming in the beach , put on cozy sweats and drive to the panhandle where we sleep next to a golf course a lot like Packwoods…continue to itch from the bug bites.

Friday – wake up and start driving along the coast, explored Windmark beach…which will someday be private, stopped at another beach off of hwy 30, admired the green water and white sandy beaches, ate more cereal/pbj/banana/apple, drove to Biloxi and saw a lighthouse in the middle of a 4 lane highway, got kicked off a private swing by a security guard, sang with divas, lost $20 at blackjack, drove onto New Orleans, saw the London levee that broke during Katrina, took pictures of tattered houses, had our own hurricane Katrina in big blue…lost a lot of shells off the dash, drove to the French quarter, ate French beignets at Café du Monde, walked along Bourbon street, read about the history of New Orleans from Brian’s phone, bought some mardi gras beads, ate a lot of fried/greasy crawfish that wasn’t very good, decided to detox the next day, walked out in the rain past strip clubs down St. Ann street, drove through the night into TEXAS!! sang Amy Grant Christmas music, were nailed with Texas sized rain drops, finally pulled over at a truck stop 20 miles outside of Houston for the night.

Saturday – Brian woke up with bug bites, so did Bekah, drove into Houston, Bekah scrambled to find something cool to do in Houston, drove by Minute Maid park where the baseballs were bigger (because we are in Texas), Bekah was ripped off by Kraftsmen Bakery with a ridiculous $5 small latte with amaretto (for free) but the building was legit – it had a brick face covered in Ivy and arched entrances with charming light posts and Christmas decorations…Brian took a picture, went to CVS to look for a Christmas outfit for big blue…didn’t think we found the best so drove 15 minutes out of our way to Home Depot past another hardware store, couldn’t get into the parking lot, finally got in, CVS selection was better, so drove back to CVS and bought what Brian originally picked out…a wreath and bow for the front, lights for the dash and a stocking for the antennae, the Rothko chapel opened and so we spent some time admiring the peaceful setting of the eight sided building which houses 14 of Rothko’s paintings which were a deep velvety, rich color that absorbed the energy creating a quiet, calm and meditative setting, onto San Antonio, parked by an indoor market filled with imported Mexican gifts, ran along the riverwalk, drove by the Alamo, handpicked the perfect dinner at Central Market…I had pork and sweet potatoes and spinach and Brian had cheese, bread and avocado…finished it off with dark chocolate and peppermint licorice tea, concluded that the bugs causing my continual insane itching were bed bugs, van is infested and psychologically I am damaged, slept at Days Inn about 400 miles from our next destination, El Paso, took warm showers, slept in clean beds, bonus…I got to watch a bit of a crocodile dissection (mostly looking at the stomach contents) on the National Geographic Channel.

adventure

We've been in the Dominican Republic now for almost 10 days. Tomorrow we leave to return to Miami, pick up Big Blue and race home (with some sightseeing along the way) to make it back for Christmas. It's starting to sink in that the adventure is almost over. Soon I will be back to life in Seattle...not always on the move, unsure who I will meet that day, where I will go, what I will do. Slowly, I'm getting myself ready for the transition back to reality.

A couple days ago Brian and I took a couple of our team members to the capital, Santo Domingo, to catch a flight back to Seattle. We drove in the night before, ate dinner at a cafeteria style restaurant, then I enjoyed some pistachio and coffee helado (ice cream). The next day we dropped them off at the airport around 7am and then decided instead of driving 3 1/2 hours back to Barahona right away we would go to the beach. So we traded in our Fiat for a Kia Picanto and went to Boca Chica, about 15 minutes East of Santo Domingo. We were the first tourists to the beach and were directed into a parking spot and then ushered over to buy a couple of chairs, offered drinks (at 8am??? no thanks) and then sat and looked out at the beautiful ocean view. We read about the history of the DR and swam, finding manta rays, sea cucumbers, fish and anenomes along the ocean floor. It was so peaceful and relaxing. $5 later, we ordered a virgin pina colada...by far the best I've ever had and then decided we should head back to Barahona. We loaded up the car, finagled our way out of paying too much for the morning, grabbed a couple pieces of bread and spent the next few hours in the car navigating through the crazy, lack of traffic law roads of the DR. A friend had mailed us a copy of Donald Miller's new book, a book about story, and so having already finished reading the book, I read to Brian as he safely delivered us home. We were reading about a man in the book, Bob Goff, who is an inspiration by the way he lives his life, taking risks, being hospitable, basically living a great story with his family. So as we were approaching Barahona Brian noticed another white guy walking down the side of the road. I hadn't seen him, but Brian was like, "Hey, another white guy, should we stop?" and I was like, "sure! why not?" So we turned around and pulled up in front of the guy who was walking on the side of the road with two other girls. He was about our age and was walking with a Dominican and Englishman. I think they were a bit weirded out at first that we had stopped, but after the introductions followed an invitation to go swimming down at a local river. Brian looked at me and I gave him the sounds good look and we all piled into the car. We drove to the closest village, parked the car and started walking toward the river. We also met up with a few other Dominicans on the way and a ton of mosquitoes...and mosquitoes really like me...so soon I was slapping at my arms and legs left and right trying to ward them off...my only hope was to get into the water as fast as possible. So we slid in down the muddy slopes and laid out in the knee-waist deep water flowing by us. It wasn't clear...and some slippery feeling things definitely brushed against me, but it was cool, refreshing, and fun to hang out with our new friends. A little bit later we walked through a plantain field and then to a sugar cane field where one of the Dominicans chopped down a bunch of cane for us to all enjoy. We brought them back to the river and he then cut up the cane so we could suck and gnaw on the declicious sugar. Soon after, we climbed back up the bank to head back to the car. I definitely went the wrong way and in my distress to avoid the mosquitoes found myself stepping in poop...human poop for that matter, ick. That really got me going and soon I was running ahead of the group trying to out manuever the mosquitoes and find water to wash my foot off with...what a day. We get back to the car, find it won't start, because the lights were left on and I was thinking...great we are never going to get it going again...we are in the DR! It is going to be so hard to find someone, a. with a car, b. with jumper cables, and c. that will be around to help. To my surprise we were back on the road within 10 minutes! crazy! we dropped our peace corp friend, Jonathan back off at his place after munching on some yummy coconut dessert and candy and then we took the girls back to their homes in a nearby village.

It was fun to see surrounding Barahona through the eyes of other travelers. To share in their experiences and hear about the work they are doing. Because we were with Dominicans and at their swimming spot I felt more like a local rather than a tourist. I felt like I was doing what young dominicans would do on a hot afternoon. The last two times I've been in the Dominican, I haven't had the same flexibility and freedom to explore, but have been protected within the confines of the organization and their workings.

All in all, it has been a great trip. We fly out tomorrow. I am excited to be home again, although I will miss the people here and the sun!

Southern Hospitality

Last night, we drove into Athens, GA from Nashville, TN for some amazing chocolate chili (all their own garden ingredients...except the chocolate...and meat), fun times with kids, great bluegrass music around a bonfire, and encouragement from friends. We stayed with George and Elisha and their two children Amelia (3) and George Wilder (1). George taught at my high school during my senior year and later on bought the twinkie (my first car...a white vw vanagon) which he drove all the way to Georgia! I didn't know it had that...or all the years to follow left in it! pretty incredible!

George and Elisha generously hosted a potluck dinner and invited friends to hear about our trip and hang out together around good food and music. It was such a great time of community and encouragement. Personally, I enjoyed Elisha's homemade cookies...a secret recipe...and listening to George and his friends play the guitar/banjo/mandolin around the fire. It was so relaxing and truly we were treated like royalty! Thank you so much for everything!

This morning we woke up to rain and it hasn't stopped yet...thanks to hurricane Ida. Rumor has it that the rain should slow down by midday tomorrow. Luckily, we are staying with a friend of Philip's in Augusta tonight so the boys should have a chance to dry out!

Tennessee!

Lucky me I met up with Chris and Jennie Damman here in Tennessee for a quick break from the hope tour. It's been nice to be with family and enjoy a break from the day-to-day routine. We are staying with Jennie's cousin Amy and her family here in Franklin. Yesterday, we woke up with waffles and a trip to Starbucks...the red cups are back! and then went and toured the Carnton House which was used as a hospital during the battle of Franklin in the Civil War. The history was interesting and the house fascinating! I really enjoyed the tour and think it would be so fun to do a more expansive tour through the Civil War memorials/battlefields/houses/etc. It is so much more fun learning the history while seeing the sights. Last night after a run through town we went with Dan, Amy and Braxton to Sweet CeCe's a new frozen yogurt place in town. It was delicious...I went for the hershey kiss fudge and cookies and cream with strawberries, blueberries and brownie toppings! yum yum! (I'm scheming of opening my own in Greenlake when I get back! :) )

Today we plan on going into downtown Nashville and checking out some of the sights. I'm still waiting for my first Country singer celebrity sighting...preferably Keith Urban, Faith or Tim...we did see some pretty sweet mansions though belonging to one of the Rascal Flatts singers and Toby Mac (that's right...DC Talk).

Happy Halloween!

The front entrance to the house

Chris and Jennie

Pretty lighting

Love this...first purchase when I get home...a rocking chair

Maddox's paw (Dan and Amy's great dane)

Cruisin' with Ol' Beau on the Tennessee

Chicago

I haven't sat down to write since Denver...the last major city we've traveled through and I have to start by saying, "and I thought Denver was cool...that was before Chicago!" I had an amazing few days enjoying the city - the sights, the lake, the people, the rest - it was just what I needed to beat the homesick loneliness.

There's just something comforting about being in the city. The sounds, people, sights, pollution, busyness, energy and excitement...it is invigorating and slowly recharged the life that had been drained during the long days on the road. We arrived on a Friday night and met up with Philip's cousin and went out for some deep dish pizza and then to Guthrie's, a bar where people go to hang out and play board games. We played blockus (one of Phil's favorites) and a trivia game...know it or blow it (I think). Usually, I don't enjoy trivia games as most of mine is in the science realm and most trivia games focus on pop culture....and then I was paired up with Brian and I know he isn't super pop culture savvy so I was a bit worried. To my surprise it was a pretty fun game and Brian found another couple willing to play with us halfway in (he really is one of the friendliest people) which made it all that more exciting! It was a late night.

Saturday morning I woke up and went for a run along the lake. They have a trail that runs along the water and all of its sandy...yes, beautiful sandy beaches! I soaked in the sun and the views. I was also fortunate enough to get in touch with a friend, Michelle, who I used to work with in Seattle and have her cut my hair at the salon she is working at in downtown Chicago...it had been a few months and she put the life back into my hair! She invited us to a fashion show that the salon was helping with that evening...exciting city night life!

Of course, being in the city means a trip to Nordstrom. I had a gift card and so I went and found a pair of purpley shoes with a cute chunky heel to wear now that it is a bit cooler out. Now if only I had an occasion on the trip to wear heels....

Brian and I met up with someone intersted in the trip and had dinner with their friends at a new Mexican restaurant...I had my halibut fix and he had the carne asada...both so good! Another thing I missed...good Mexican food! The people we spent the evening with were absolutely hilarious! We spent some time at one of the couples houses before going to dinner and we played a little parlour game aka the nose game. They staple gunned a sheet up and cut a hole out of the middle. We were split into two teams and had to stick our nose in the hole and then the other team had to guess whose nose it was....so great! It would be a good game at a family outing/reunion because everyone's noses would look the same!

The rest of the weekend consisted of touring downtown, navy pier, millenium park, seeing "Where the Wild Things Are" (not recommended), riding the ferris wheel, getting Brian a new bike, running, swimming, reading, eating out (a lot more than usual), buying a plane ticket to the Dominican and getting caught up on blogging! Really, it was more than I could have asked for...I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Denver

Cool architecture in downtown Denver

The gang at Red Rocks

The past week has been so different from the rest of the trip. I've felt so separated from the whole thing while I've been in Denver. Brian had to fly home for a wedding on Thursday and Phil had some work to do on getting a new bike and getting his old shipped off to Cannondale. Luckily, I was able to use a car of a friend...not just any car but a sporty red mini cooper (you know I love to drive small, fun cars)! The friend, Sarah, is one of our family physician's daughters who we grew up with as neighbors! Lizzy, another of his daughters, also lives in Denver and so it was fun to spend some time with both of them. Sarah and her family headed to Chicago on Thursday afternoon, so she so generously offered up her house for me to stay in...what a treat. I was so blessed with a comfortable house, beautiful garden and much needed solitude. I had time to read a few books, one being "Till We Have Faces" by C.S. Lewis, granted I only finished the first half, and I had read the first half once before...I'm not sure if I ever finished it so I'm planning on picking up a copy as soon as I get a chance (the one I was reading was from Sarah's bookshelf). On Friday, I treated myself to a much needed pedicure after weeks of flip flops and dry weather and then went shopping at a fancy shopping center in Denver...it wasn't the same without Jennie or Kendra with me though. It seems like one of them is always my partner in crime :)

We are back on the road again...heading to Nebraska. It's been a rough day as I am recovering from the flu and the guys are biking in some not so nice conditions. I stopped at the dollar store and picked them up a couple of gold medals...which I'm planning on honoring them with when they make it to the Sterling rest stop! They are out there on their bikes day in and day out, rain or shine, and they always (well usually always) have the best attitudes and biggest smiles on their faces! What an inspiration they are!

Week 5 Pictures!

Week 4 Pics from DHTour

Bike Fall...

So, I kinda took a spill on my bike in Yellowstone...and I know some of you are dying to see the pics. How ironic that the boys bike over 1000 miles with no falls and then I take my bike out in Yellowstone and fall on the first day??? No worries, I'm healing quickly and got out on my back last night again...no fear, right?

All I remember is looking forward, seeing two cars turn a corner coming towards me in the opposite lane and then all of a sudden falling. I put my hands out in front of me to catch myself and unfortunately, wasn't able to keep my face off the ground and kissed the pavement...resulting in a fat lip and beat up chin for a few days!

I was by myself when it happened, which made it a bit scary and about 3 miles from the car. So, I quickly jumped up and of course tried to look like I was just fine...no big deal. Me trying to be as strong and inconspicuous as possible meant that no cars stopped to help me along the road even though blood was oozing down my leg and face...ick! I was able to hop back on the bike and ride back to the van, clean up a bit and then drive back to where Brian was running. I was so tough until I drove around a corner and saw Brian...then the tears started coming! I pulled over and started walking towards him trying to get out, "I fell off my bike..." but I don't think anything I said was recognizable at that time! :) Brian was so sympathetic and made sure I was fine before he took off again to finish out 4 more miles of the 20 for the day. I drove on ahead and pulled over onto the turnout at the 20-mile mark. There happened to be a bison on the opposite side of the road that was taking a little nap...I thought that looks too good to pass up. So, I layed out my pink blanket on the gravel, took out my pillow and stretched out on the side of the road (big blue was protecting me from the cars...and the bison). I also took out a bag of ice and held it to my face to try to reduce the swelling of my already HUGE lip! Soon enough, Brian comes running up, completely exhausted and lays down next to me...what a site we were. People were stopping left and right...not to see if we were okay, but to take a picture of the bison napping. Animals are so overrated in Yellostone! :)

Yellowstone and Teton

Serenity

I woke up this morning in the cutest rustic cabin near Teton village in Jackson, WY. My internal alarm clock went off at 7:15am and I thought…I have to get up and enjoy the quiet morning. Jed, our host, is up early to go fishing and comes back in the house to tell me there are two moose in the yard! What! So cool! They are so awkward looking with knobby knees and wobbly legs frolicking (I can say that, because they really were) around the yard eating and playing…so not graceful due to their sheer size and awkward proportions.


So, I decided to sit on the deck wrapped up in my pink blanket to watch the sun slowly rise as it shines through the aspen trees and listen to the creek as it gaggles over the rocks. The sky is a clear pale blue with a few clouds lingering over the hills and the leaves on the trees are starting to turn color…fall is here. I suppose I could just take a picture, but I’ve taken so many of those as we’ve toured through Yellowstone and Teton and the picture never quite does the view justice.


I feel as though I am in Packwood (our summer place near Mt. Rainier). It is the best feeling of peace, rest and rejuvenation. The last three weeks have been fast-paced and nonstop. I feel so blessed to have such a peaceful and quiet morning to just sit, think and be.

I love you friends and family and miss you terribly!

friends forever

Jen and Family!

I love making Isa smile!

Brian and I went for a run in the morning

I gave Annalyn a headlamp so she could find all the nooks and crannies in "big blue" it was the best fort ever...I had to coax her out of it to get ready for bed!

I know it's a cheesy title, but I couldn't think of any other way to describe my friendship with Jen. I was so excited the triathlon tour was headed to Montana, that I immediately looked up the location for the YWAM base in MT, knowing that Jen and her husband of almost 6 years, Johan are currently working there. I can't even tell you how excited I was when I found out that the guys wanted to swim across Flathead Lake...and that the YWAM base was in Lakeside, right along the lake! YEAH! I get to see my absolute best friend from high school, her husband and two adorable girls! And...bonus...we stayed two nights. I couldn't have been happier!

Our time with the Besters was perfect, just what I imagined it would be. It was like no time had passed yet, there was so much of life to catch up on. It wasn't overwhelming or overbearing, but just so natural and easy to be in good conversation about life with the girls, life in montana, life as a wife, life away from family and our life experiences. It amazes me how similar we are, yet different. We went down two completely different roads after high school and yet talking to her I feel as though she can relate to and identify with so many of my experiences, thoughts, and emotions. I was so encouraged by our time spent just hanging out like friends who see each other every week and the thoughtful conversations that went a little deeper into the struggles, challenges and dreams that have made us who we are. I know that our friendship is one that stands the test of time and space. I am so thankful for the chance to have shared two days with her. I don't think she knows how much it meant to me...thanks Jen! and Johan makes a killer white chocolate mocha...my kind of guy!

delivering hope tour

Check us out...delivering hope tour

encouragement

John 14:27

"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."

Matthew 11:28-29

"Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls."

home away from home

I just wanted to introduce you to my home away from home for the next few months...