Davis, CA & Thanksgiving

Hello from Davis, California everyone! I realize I have already been here for over a month and not updated anyone about it, so my apologies for that! Honestly it’s been a bit chaotic around here trying to get settled and find a job! Both are a work in progress as neither of those points are to my expectation, but hey, life is a process right!? Well, anywhere where to begin… after our arrival to our lovely one bedroom apartment by the university we unloaded all Patrick’s stuff out of his storage unit so he could finally unpack  In between all that we oriented ourselves in our new town and I started taking some free language classes at a local organization, which I enjoy very much.

We only had about 4 weeks in Davis before we headed to San Francisco for Thanksgiving at my Uncles house. There turned out to be around 16 of us for dinner, including some distant relations I had never met, which was really fun! Also included in the group was this guy! Maybe you recognize him from an earlier blog, but this is my dear friend Matthew from Australia. He had planned a trip to the States awhile back, which conveniently coincided with Thanksgiving. I picked him up the Thursday morning and he joined us for turkey and pumpkin pie.

Matthew and I spent the next few days visiting San Francisco, where we  biked on the Golden Gate Bridge and had dim sum in China Town. After that we drove down CA-1 camping at Monterey and Morro Bay along the way and just checking out the lovely scenery after which we spent a day in LA before he returned back to Sydney and back to work. It was so awesome to have you here for a visit and I can’t wait until next time!!! Good luck!!

I realize this blog is much too short to cover so much time, but surprisingly I don’t have much more of interest to say about Davis. The weather is usually nice and I enjoy the diversity. I should have more photos..... but these will have to do for now! Anyway hugs to everyone and I hope that you are getting excited for the holiday season! Warm wishes!! xoxo

From Maine to Cali

So the big day came and went. Congratulations Hailey & Will Davis on getting hitched and being awesome! The festivities started in Kennebunk, Maine at my Aunt’s adorable new house (SO COOL!) with a big MacNichol/Orser family lunch and get together, after which we all carpooled into Portland to check into our hotel to do some more visiting. The following evening the wedding was lovely even though it rained constantly! We ate wonderful food (prepared by the grooms family) and chatted with far away cousins and danced to keep warm. Toasts were made and thank you’s said before we polished off the night with some of the best home made pie I’ve ever had in my life! You go guys! Thanks for inviting us to share your special day! Good luck for the coming lifetime and we hope to see you all again very soon!

After the family festivities were over, Patrick and I rented a car and drove north to Bangor, Maine where we met up with his friend Frank who lives there. We stayed one night there and then all continued up to Acadia National Park to get some out outdoor adventures in. We stayed at a hotel just outside the park and did a few short hikes in the area, including the famous Precipice Trail. The hike is only 1.3 miles round trip but requires rock scaling and ladder climbing almost every step of the way. It was a fabulous hike ending in a stellar view. Our timing proved excellent as the sun hid away behind some clouds soon after we reached the top!  The rest of the day was dreary and cold so we walked around adorable downtown Bar Harbor and ended the day with hot soup and a movie. What a life! Thanks Frank for showing us around and taking some time off to meet up! It was great! :D

Shockingly enough that was the end of our adventure here on the East Coast! After Acadia, we said goodbye to this side of the country, returned our rental car and hopped a plane to Davis, California where Patrick, Charlie and I will be spending the next chunk of our lives! We don’t have everything figured out yet but are excited to unpack and get started on everything! So stay tuned for how that all goes…

Also, as you all know, elections are coming up soon and I want to abuse my power as a blog writer and encourage you all to get out a vote on November 8th! So pray, cross your fingers, hope, wish, shout, cry or whatever makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside, but cast those ballots! This should prove to be an interesting ride…

That’s all for now! Sending more love and hugs as always! And in case anyone was wondering how Charlie Pants is doing, this about sums it up:

xoxoxo

East Coast Adventures

It has only been two weeks since I left McCall (which in itself seems crazy!) and I cannot believe all the traveling that has been packed into that short amount of time! I must say, although I dearly love to be on the road, typically I prefer to stay in each place for a longer period of time, but hey, lovely people and opportunities are just not to be passed up!

After a little Mother/Daughter time in Boise, Mom dropped me off at the airport where Charlie and I caught a plane to Roanoke, Virginia to visit my dear friend Jessica for a few days. Jess lives with her boyfriend in a charming southern style house close to the center of Roanoke, and although she was busy working a lot we managed squeeze in a few hikes, a sushi dinner date and a pumpkin carving session! Her boyfriend even made us his special pancakes for breakfast one morning, which were AMAZING! Turns our the secret ingreients are cocnut oil and cinnamon…shhhhhh! ;) Thanks Jason & Jess! It was awesome to see you again and I hope to do it again soon!

 

Ok now, here is where it gets a bit chaotic… In order to avoid making you read page after page of incoherent rambling about busses and trains and planes (oh my!), I will employ the master of organization: the bullet point, and do my best to be concise. SO here we go:

• After catching up with Jess, we (we=Charlie & I) took a train to Washington DC, where I met up with this guy again!  Patrick’s Mom and older sister live in DC and we exchanged our room and board with Partick’s Mom for painting her living room. We aren’t pro’s, but it turned out "not horrible". We also did a bit of rainy tourism, met up with my friends from the Netherlands for dinner (So awesome to see you guys again!!! Good luck in DC over the next year!) , and had a get together with Patrick’s sister Stephanie and her girlfriend Kim.

 

•  A short three days later we (this time we= Patrick, Charlie & I!) were off to Philadelphia! Patrick’s good friend and his wife live just outside Phili with their three kids and we stayed with them for two nights. It was a short but relaxing visit, which included a trip to the botanical gardens and watching the second presidential debate (mostly slack-jawed in amazement at the whole show). They are a super cool family and I was so happy to meet them. (Thanks Alex and Nichole! I hope to see you again soon!) ...And YES! We are having a coloring party in the photo below! Such fun! :D

• Post-Phili the three of us caught a bus to New York City where we stayed with my Aunt Sally for a few days while we basked in the spotlight of the city, went to the Museum of Natural History, Time Square, Central Park, The Statue of Liberty AND Ellis Island. In addition I was able to have a short visit with my dear friend Franzi, who just started her PhD at NYU. (I am so proud of you girl!! Keep up the good work! :D ) In between, we managed to chat with my aunt quite a bit about politics, religion and all those fun taboo topics which was super interesting and engaging. I felt a huge amount of appreciation to be related so such an excellent human! (Lots of love Sally! See you soon!)

  

 

•  Did I mention we were only in NYC for two days?! Well after that whirlwind, we arrived in Essex, Connecticut at my Grandparents house totally exhausted. Luckily grandparents houses are always the perfect places to relax. We had a bit a of down time, napped, washed clothes, took a hot tub and just recovered from the chaos that is New York City. Grammy and I got to catch up on everything and really chat which doesn’t happen often enough these days it seems. It was really great and I was so pleased to spend some extra time with them.

• The next morning, Patrick’s friend Carlos picked us up and drove us to his house in Providence, Rhode Island. We stopped at the National Submarine museum along the way where we go to walk around inside one and soak up an absolutely gorgeous day! After a much needed good nights sleep, we all took a day trip to Newport and hit up a seafood festival. Although it was quite windy, it was really lovely and there was live music and lots of shops to poke around in.  We appropriately, polished off our day with Chinese food and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. (Thank you Carlos for letting us invade your home for a week! It is MUCH appreciated!)

  

Whew! Still with me?! Ok so, here were are still in Providence for a few days and our next stop is Portland, Maine for the big wedding! The excitement is growing…I cannot wait to see all of you I haven’t already seen yet! Travel safe, take care & lots of love to everone! xoxox

P.S. A big shout out to this little guy (maybe I should say bark out?!) who makes me so proud! He is really the best and most patient traveling companion there ever was. He is always happy and ready to adventure with his mama. You make my day with your awesomeness Mr. Charlie Pants! 

The End of Summer and the Beginning of Something New

I just have to say, it has been quite some time since I was in McCall for Fall (like 5 years!) and had forgotten how amazing it is! SUPER AMAZING! The crisp sunny mornings, the changing aspens, the quietness of town, the fluffy sweaters and all the incredible squash in the markets make me happy to just exist in such a place! Fall for me, like many, is my favorite season. Everything about it makes me feel fresh, new, vibrant and most of all restless! It makes we want to hit the road to anywhere and see new things and meet new people and make new memories. Oh my gosh, I sound so CORNY!!!! I know, I know. Forgive me, it’s just too true to contain! Well anyway, lucky for me, I get to scratch my traveling itch, as I will be moving out of McCall in a week! That’s right folks, I finally made a “plan” for my life…or the near future at least…

 

Next Thursday I will be flying out of Boise, headed back East to spend three weeks visiting friends and family and attending my cousins wedding. YEY!! After that I will be moving to Davis, California to ride out the winter! Why Davis? Well, the weather is agreeable, I can ride my bike, I can find work and this guy will be there! A few weeks ago, Patrick came through McCall on his way from Glacier to Seattle for a quick visit and we hatched a plan to head to California and enjoy the colder part of the year in a not so cold place, so more to come on that later!

So for the last few weeks here in McCall, Mom and I have been doing all kinds of fun things to wrap up the current season, including a camping trip in Neil’s old trailer. This was quite an ordeal because Mom and I pulled it out, fixed it up and then had a dance party inside. Perfection. Everything about that trailer reminds me of Spud and it was really lovely to spend a night in it. 

Mom and I also took a trip into the backcountry to John’s ranch 

 

and another to Sedona, Arizona! 

 

AND on top of all that, we canned pickles and did this fab puzzle…because puzzles are was cooler than I remember! 

 

All in all, it’s been quite a busy but satisfying Autumn. I feel great about spending some time here at home before starting my next adventure and I cannot wait to see how it goes! I have high expectations as always :) I will be seeing many of you very soon at the wedding and I HOPE to see the rest of you soon as well! Love and miss you all, and remember it’s Fall, so give lots of extra hugs and snuggles to all the people you love…and maybe even those you don’t! Take care and until next time! xoxo