I am ending the blogging session on TravelBlog - all of my friends and family are on facebook and it seems a much better platform to keep you all updated on the adventures of Dogan and myself. Double posting is also getting tedious. I hope you enjoy having a sneak peak into our lives as we settled here in Portland. All our love, Beth & Doges [View Full Entry]

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On August 27th I celebrated my one-month stay in Portland OR with the "Last Thursday" Alberta Street ritual - the crazy art walk. With only a few more "Last Thursdays" schedule (the last one being the Halloween bang - which I cannot wait for!) - I wanted to thoroughly enjoy the atmosphere on the warm summer eve. As always, craziness ensued. There was ping pong in the street, hair cuts, free advice, Native American drum circles, DJ's, interpretive dancers, solo dancers, mimes, people on stilts, and the best part - a bicycle jousting contest. Yes, you are thinking right - two [View Full Entry]

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Portland. Home. It takes a little getting used to - being in this new place with so much to discover. Being unemployed also is a bit of a trip - not having "responsibilities" straight away has given me the time and flexibility to get my bearings, get sorted and get my feet sturdily beneath me. I thought it appropriate that Dogan and I make the last hour venture to the Pacific ocean - truly completing a coast-to-coast adventure. The drive was beautiful but due to the heat wave, I wasn't the only one with the idea to go to the coast [View Full Entry]

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Day 5: Finale: There’s no place like home. According to Jamie and Diana - the drive to Portland would take me about 12 hours. It was a daunting amount of time to be in the car, but I was determined to not stay another night in a hotel and push through. We left before dawn, quietly sneaking out of the house so as to not wake Jamie or Diana. Dogan, with all enthusiasm, jumped readily into the car and settled down into his spot. I wondered what he would do tomorrow when we wouldn’t be jumping in the car. The drive [View Full Entry]

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Day 5: Salt Lake Madness If there was a day where things had to go wrong - today was it. We got a later start since we were on the road a bit later than expected the night before. Also - I figured that SLC wasn’t too far away - 4 hours according to google maps. I had time, surely. So on the road the scenery changes significantly - it’s beautifully breathtaking. I have a real appreciation for geological history and for those wagon trains that ventured out here in the 1840s. I felt like I could have been in a [View Full Entry]

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Day 4: Colorado The day began in fog in Kansas and ended with a beautiful star-lit night in Colorado. Interesting Points for today: - I had a waffle for breakfast this morning. The Days Inn actually has fast-food waffle maker. It was yum. They also had gravy to top over biscuits. If I ate meat, I would feel obliged to have partaken in the mid-western delicacy. - Landscape was flat and vast. I took heaps of photos - but none would do it justice. - Passed an exit called “Kanornado” - someone’s clever idea to combine Kansas and tornado??? - Speed [View Full Entry]

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Day 3 - Middle America Today was a long haul - all the way from St. Louis Missouri to a small Hoboken town called Colby, Kansas. Quickies: - Clock 620 miles roughly - Stopped 7 times - Left St Louis at 6:30am, arrived at 4:00pm - Passed two cops (luckily preoccupied busting other people) - Every morning I set up my cockpit. It makes me feel like I’m in control - Highest cost of gas on this leg was $2.74 per gallon - Car smelled funny this morning. Not sure if is Dogan or me. - Saw the word “lube” 3 [View Full Entry]

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Doges and I had an early start this morning - check out of the hotel and on the road by 5:45am. A stop at a Dunkin' Donuts with WiFi let me do some necessary check-ins. One donut, half a luke-warm coffee and Dogan's brekkie later, we were back on the road. It was strangely peaceful driving so early with no cars on the road. I turned on some tunes (thanks to everyone who contributed to "Beth's x-country Playlist"!) and zoned out. Tennessee is a beautiful state - even though I only saw it from the highway, I was in awe. The [View Full Entry]

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Day One - Charleston to Knoxville TN It was bittersweet leaving Charleston. Despite only having the 17 and the 526 as my last sights of the city - the sun was rising over the river marshes and despite myself, I let the memories come swarming in. I still can’t believe I am doing this. That said - once I got past Summerville, I set into driving mode. It was a synch of a drive and I found it somewhat beautiful as the flat plains slowly turned into undulating hills. There is one point along the 26 that you drive around the [View Full Entry]

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Dear Charleston, I have decided to leave you. I want you to know that is it not you, it is me. You have been my home for nearly two years now - but sadly, a home that never felt quite right. I moved here with someone I loved very much. Together we adopted a dog, made wonderful friends and explored the surrounds of the South - north to Myrtle Beach, the smokey mountains, Chattanooga, Asheville, all the way up to the OBX and down to Savannah. Still, despite the quaint neighborhood and on-goings of the city, I knew inside you were [View Full Entry]

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