Road Trips and a Change of Scenery

Funny how I can become so familiar with something that I forget it still holds mystery. My sister Elise, my dear friend Andrea and I decided to make our trip up to Spokane into an adventure. We would take roads we had never traveled and stay in cities we had never seen. I became reacquainted with the state of California, the beautiful pacific coast, my city of Spokane and my dear friends Elise and Andrea.

The cliffs along the central coast where unlike anything I could have imagined. Sometimes it was desolate, vast and desert like. Sometimes it was verdant and lush, almost a temperate rainforest reaching all the way down to the crashing waves. Every thing about what I saw made me feel tiny and powerless. We saw elephant seals, rock slides, orange and avacado orchards, vineyards, hippies and rednecks. I realized I still had a lot to learn about the state I claimed to know so much about.

In Santa Rosa with Shelby

We left without specific directions, just a map and food. We knew we were going to stay in Santa Rosa (California) with our friend Shelby, and in Portland with some of Andrea’s family…but we still had to find somewhere in between. It took us three of four days…we sort of lost track of time. We made it across the three states, saw friends and family and had time for some adventures and scenic routes along the way. Despite a lack of organization and amount of time we spent together we never had a major disagreement and came to Spokane loving each other more than ever.

A family dinner in Portland

In Portland we stayed with some of Andrea’s Cuban family and this was certainly a highlight of the trip. Her Tia and Tio live just outside of the city,, biking distance from down town. Tio was emphatic that we take a bike ride together when he found out I enjoyed riding. Their two grown children live just a few blocks away from their parents with their own families, each has one child. We met them all and had black beans and rice together. The little community they created was beautiful and they welcomed us in with overwhelming kindness. Together we enjoyed family, friends, food and good conversation.