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Camp Setup
This is our camp setup that we had on base. Untitled **Note: This is really long, but it’s b/c it’s the introduction…The rest of our updates should be more tolerable, and we’ll be sure to throw lots of pics in if you’d rather just look at those.
Well, we’ve finally begun our adventure! We wanted to keep our friends & family updated of what’s going on during our trip, so this is our travel blog where you can get all the updates and happenings. I’ll be writing most of the entries for convenience (me = Natalie), but definitely with LeAnne’s inputs. I’m just the computer geek, so it’s easier for me to type it all up.
For those who are unaware of what’s going on with us, LeAnne, my girlfriend, is moving to Alabama with me now that I’m out of the Navy. I’m going back home to Alabama in order to finish my bachelor’s degree in Environmental Biology and Geography, that I’ve been chipping away on since 1995. She is excited about seeing and living in a new area of the country & experiencing something different.
Although our trip officially began today, we’ve already been working our way up to the big day. The
Sharpe Park
This is where I planted LeAnne's second box. Sharpe Park, Montgomery-Dublin Headlands, which is a city park in Anacortes, Washington. This park has a great view of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and some of the San Juan Islands. It was a gorgeous day to boot. 24th of April was a momentous day for both LeAnne and I. It was her 25th birthday…a big occasion, by any measure. It’s a mark of adulthood, but you’re still youthful. It was a huge day for me, too. It was my last day in the Navy, after having served for 5 years and 1 month. It still doesn’t feel real, and I won’t admit that I’m a civilian. I’m really stressing the fact that I’m in the Inactive Reserves until January of 2010. I still have base access and privileges, which is really awesome for our trip, as we can stay at the cheaper campgrounds and hotels on bases.
So we began in Oak Harbor. We watched the movers come and pack up our things and send them on to Alabama. After all of our things were gone from the apartment, we stayed there for a few days in order to tie up loose ends. I was really busy. Eventually, we finished at the apartment, turned in the keys, and began camping out down at Cliffside Park. Yes, this is the campground right next to the command where I worked for the past 3 years. However, I
LeAnne finds a letterbox
She was so excited to find these boxes. still had so much to finish in Oak Harbor, there was no sense in leaving yet.
During our free time, I took LeAnne to 4 places around the island where I had planted letterboxes for her birthday. We are really into letterboxing now, and it’s like a fun treasure hunt for adults (you can check it out at www.letterboxing.org). So these letterboxes all had stamps that I had carved in honor of previous trips we had taken. It was a lot of fun watching her discover the boxes. One was out at Sharpe Park outside of Anacortes, and if you’re in the area it’s a must-see because of the beautiful overlook. Another was down in a place on the south end of the island called Earth Sanctuary. This is a spiritual park created by a private land owner who fixed it up & then opened it to the public. There’s a Dolmen, a labrynth, 2 stone circles, and even a Native American prayer wheel. The prayer wheel had specific instructions to follow in order to honor Native Amerian traditions, if you chose to use it. LeAnne & I both used it. There were other spiritual objects and shrines
Cliffs at Sharpe Park
We continued on down the trail to see the cliffs below. throughout the park, such as a Tibetan Prayer wheel with a DVD of 128,000,000 prayers on it that you’re supposed to spin around. I can’t say that any miracles happened, but the Creator can manifest in so many ways that I’m sure that place is blessed if only for its meditative and reflective usefulness.
So, we finally came down to Steilacoom where LeAnne’s parents live, to stay with them for about a week. Things had been falling right into place, which was great…It was a lot of little things. I sold my truck to a guy who saw probably the one poster that was up. I sold my washer and dryer to a guy who told me part of the money he couldn’t give me until payday, but I had to get rid of the machines, so I sold it to him thinking I’d never see the rest of the money. Suprisingly, he came through & paid me after the 1st. Another thing is I rode my bike to a parking lot where my truck was parked. I put the bike up on the truck and accidentally left my front wheel lying on the ground. I came back
LeAnne in the Dolmen
Here's the Dolmen at The Earth Sanctuary. This is used as a meditation device. The rocks were brought in from Montana - huge! an hour later and some guy had turned it in, so I got it back. Just weird things that I feel is the universe’s way of showing us we’re on the right track.
Today, we finished packing up the car & finally left for the open road. Our first stop was to be in Bend, Oregon, where LeAnne has some friends that live there that she knows from kayaking in Alaska.
The first event of the day was when we were passing some redneck in a truck who had slapped a piece of notebook paper onto his driver-side window that he had scribbled the words “FLASH ME” & he was grinning at us. Ewww.
We continued on our journey with LeAnne driving, and me writing stuff and looking at the maps. We took the scenic drive which took us to several waterfalls, one of which was Multinoma Falls. Really spectacular. After stopping at a few of the falls to get out and walk around, we kept heading on down through the Mount Hood area. On one of the highways, we passed by 2 scared looking dogs that had obviously been dropped off. They were well-groomed lap dogs,
Beavers
Fresh action from the beavers at The Earth Sanctuary...or did I do that? and LeAnne and I immediately became concerned. LeAnne called 911, and we turned around to make sure that the dogs were okay. As we were heading back down to the area where we had seen them, a deputy passed going the opposite direction (911 said they would send one out). We came back up the same section, and they were gone. We didn’t see them dead, so we are hopeful that they were picked up by someone who will take care of them.
As the sun began to set, we found ourselves on a road that wasn’t trafficked much where you could see Mount Hood in the foreground and Mt. St. Helens in the rearview. Spectacular. The road we chose eventually wound up, through, and then over Mount Hood, and we could still see the snow on the ground and smell the earth. In fact, all day today while traveling on the Columbia Gorge Highway, there was a strong smell of the earth. It got us both excited.
Now as I write this, we are pulling into Bend to meet with LeAnne’s pals. We will be staying here tonight, tomorrow, and tomorrow night, pulling out Sunday to who-knows-where. Our
Looking out over the water
This is just one of the many chairs to sit & relax in at The Earth Sanctuary. next obligation is not until the end of the month when we have reservations in Las Vegas.
We are looking forward to all of the experiences that we are going to have during our month (or more) long trip. It should be a blast, and it’s a great way to end my Navy career and for us both to start on something new and exciting. We both have high hopes for the future, while still remaining grounded in the reality of what we are doing. We are acutely aware of the obstacles that face us and our relationship, but we have faith that things will work out in a positive way, no matter what happens. For our family and friends, we would like to thanks you all for your support in what we are doing. We have seen overwhelming love, acceptance and support from so many people who love us both for who we are. Thank you all for that….Thanks for all the prayers, too. We know that we are blessed, and much of it comes from our friends and family.
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Meg
non-member comment
Congratulations!
Some great photos here. Thanks for sharing!