On the Road Again Pt. 1- Goodbye PNW. Hello Northern Cali

 Another job, another move across the country. 

Two years ago, we moved from Western Michigan to Eastern Washington. It was an adventure and a time in our lives that we will always cherish. See previous posts as to why and how much we loved living in the Pacific Northwest. 

But now we are on to a new chapter in our lives, and hopefully, a longer one. My dear husband has accepted a job at LeTourneau University in East Texas. So, in June, we were off.

As last time, we began our trip with a visit to some physicist friends. Jan, Michaela, and Pepper live in Wilsonville, OR. Edward met them through World of Warcraft (yes, we are that kind of nerd) and then in person at a physics convention in Rochester, New York. Michaela is in academia and Jan is in a corporate position, but they are both physicists. Pepper, the most popular of the three where Milli was concerned, is a two year old black Labrador. She was so excited to meet Pepper that she made a "Squee." She has made it a  few times

before leaving Washington, but she now makes it so often it is her new nickname.

We only stayed one night with Pepper, but they became fast friends, mostly because Milli loved being licked in the face, which meant Pepper was not held back from doing the thing he wanted most to do.

Our adventure had already begun with a small hitch. We had broken our camera on the top of Mt. Kit Carson the week before and had to replace it.

 The only place we could find that carried the one we wanted was a Radio Shack in Portland. We stopped there and bought it. Therefore, we have no pics of our trip into Oregon.

Hitch number two happened just afterward. We called Michaela as we were leaving the Radio Shack to say we were close. She reported that they were locked out of the house and were waiting for a locksmith. When we arrived, we found them waiting for us with sheepish looks  on their faces. No worries.

We joined them on the steps and waited. It didn't matter where we were in proximity to the house, but where we were in proximity to good conversation. Plus, Milli got some fun grass and puppy time.

We has a lovely dinner and breakfast with them and fabulous espresso in the morning! Please ignore the fact that I spilled some on my shirt. I also had my first soft boiled egg in a real egg cup. I felt so European. We hugged and said goodbye.

Then it was on to a fabulous seafood restaurant we had discovered the year before called Tidal Raves. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves good seafood and is going to be on the Oregon coast anytime soon. This is the view from our table. Sorry about the reflection. Last year we took a trip to visit Jan and Michaela over Ed's spring break, which was in February. Not exactly springtime. But there were things blooming in Oregon, even though there was still snow in Spokane. On that trip,

Jan and Michaela became the first to find out about Milli. And we took a long drive one evening to the coast just to eat at Tidal Raves. It is all that the reviews say it is.

So, we sought it out again. The food was just as good and the view almost as good as it had been 18 months before. The view was better on that other occasion because it was sunset and there were cranes cracking crabs open on the rocks. Still, Milli had a great time flirting with the wait staff and looking out the window.

 Then it was a beautiful drive down the Oregon coast. Pine trees, coves, beaches, inlets, cliffs, cabins, waves, wonderful.

It was a little overcast, but that just made the view easier to see. We drove south and would soon leave the PNW behind. We both mourned a little and we hope that there will be chances in the future to visit and to show Milli where she was born. 

At some point we crossed the boarder into Northern California.