Blogs from Oregon, United States, North America - page 16

Weather-wise, I had been spoiled on this trip. After so many clear, cloudless nights, I was in the habit of leaving my rain fly crumpled up next to my tent. Some nights, it didn't even make it out of the trunk. I liked being able to see the stars while laying in my sleeping bag. I woke up about 6:30 with my wool blanket pulled up over my head, the usual for most mornings. Right away, something felt off. Normally I would lie there until my brain fully kicked into gear, but on this morning, something told me I needed to get up. I pulled the blanket back, and a couple of small drops hit my face. It was raining! I was up and out of the tent in a flash. Without the rain fly in ... read more

Friday: Settling in Arrrg, another race fail...face palm. I was running fine until Wednesday and boom, the pain struck me on my left leg. I don’t even know what it is that was damaged so suddenly. Somebody put a nail into my voodoo doll or somebody just doesn’t want me running races. It doesn’t matter. I was limping on Friday. There was not the slightest chance for me to be running the track town's Eugene 5k on Saturday or half marathon on Sunday, sigh. V will carry on as planned with the 5k and a full marathon. It had been a busy week at work. I was non-stop since last weekend. I didn't even pack until the night before. This is very unlike me. V & I left our furry kids at 6:15 am Friday. Left ... read more

It is hard to pick what my favorite spot is on the Oregon coastline because everywhere we stopped was so beautiful. We drove from San Francisco, California all the way to Seattle, Washington following roads that ran alongside the Pacific. We must have stopped at at least twenty beaches on the journey. I miss the way the scenery made me feel inside. I felt so at home in Oregon. I loved the smell of the ocean and the feeling of the breeze hitting against my face. I enjoyed walking along the sandy shore and feeling the sand between my toes. I miss exploring and trying to find sea creatures. We ended up coming home with a handful of baby sand dollars and I even found a purple one! It was such an adventure. One day we ... read more

There are some compromises to be made when you're travelling. You have plenty of time but money is very limited; the sooner you burn through it the sooner you have to come home. Sticking to a budget is challenging and this is why we ended up taking a flight from Salt Lake City to Bozeman that went via Seattle. If, like me, your knowledge of US geography is a little limited, you may not realise how crazy this route was, but a quick look on google maps and you will understand. Unlike our last big travel day, the day we went from Salt Lake City to Bozeman and then onto Big Sky was almost a complete disaster! Our first flight left at 7.30am so we had a 5am start which was a little painful off the ... read more

Geo: 44.9332, -123.043Whirlwind 11 days. Three major Eastern Europe cities. Three languages, cuisines, and currencies. Four countries, including Austria that we crossed through during overnight train trips Prague-to-Budapest and Budapest-to-Kraków. Over 13,000 miles traveled.We loved Prague, loved Budapest even more, and loved Kraków EVEN MORE! Found them all to be nice neat, clean, personable, charming European cities, each with a unique feel, vibe, and culture. Here are a few 'Top' lists:Top Foods and/or Meals:1. Pierogi, paczki, and kapusta in Kraków2. Duck confit and roasted pig knuckle in Prague (Mike's)3. Vegetarian soul food flatbread and vegetarian curry in the Jewish Quarter in Budapest (Sharon's)4. Outrageous breakfast buffets at all three of our hotels – who needed lunch?Top Sights and Experiences:1. Discoveri... read more