To Latitude 0°0’0” - Stories from the USA
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Getting ready to go!
April 16, 2010
Our departure from Ellensburg is less than two weeks away and we are frantically trying to get the apartment ready for our departure. We have succesfully sold most of our furniture and are trying to sort our "stuff" in to piles of needs to go to Ecuador now and can come to Ecuador later. My clothes have been the easiest to divide. Anything that will no long close or cover my growing belly goes in to the suitcase to come to Ecuador later. The things that are harder to make decisions about are items such as our climbing gear, books, and my shoes!
Here are some photos of the house and our attempts of packing
We have already finalized our first leg of our journey. We will be departing Ellensburg the evening of April 29th and will spend 2 days in Kirkland with my parents. The afternoon of May 1st, Saturday, we will head out for Salem, Oregon to spend the night and part of Sunday with our good friends Oscar and Letta and their daughter Adalin. From Salem we will head to San Francisco to stay a night and part of a day with Joe and Laura and then to San Diego. Our schedule has us crossing the US/Mexican border early in the morning on May 4th. We will then head to Guerrero Negro and then on to La Paz to catch the ferry to Mazatlan. The rest of the journey is up in the air, but we'll keep you updated as our plans progress!
Hasta luego!
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On the Road (Ellensburg-Kirkland-Salem)
May 1, 2010
We left Ellensburg on April 29th at 6:00 pm. We were glad to leave the windy, cold spring weather, but sad to leave the friends that we've made over the past 15 months. On the way out of town on I-90 we hit a dust storm. It didn't last long, but left an amazing brownish-red haze in the air.
Dust storm on I-90 in Washington heading west from Ellensburg to Kirkland
Another shot from our drive on I-90 west from Ellensburg to Kirkland
We spent 2 days in Kirkland with my family, finishing up our shopping and saying our farewells. We finally got the car all packed up (and yes, packed is the correct word!). We shoved Becky in the back and headed off for Salem to spend the night with our friends Oscar and Arletta Narvaez and their daughter Adalin.
My dad, me, and my mom outside of our house in Kirkland, WA just before we left.
Our drive to Salem went fairly well, except for the crazy traffic we hit around Renton. There was a 4 car pileup on the freeway which held things up. After that it was smooth sailing all the way to Salem!
And we made it to Oregon! Hooray!
Tomorrow we head off to California. We're driving 4.5 or 5 hours to the California Redwoods (with many stops in between of course) then continuing on to San Fran and to see Joe and Laura Sweet! Can't wait for sunshine and California weather!
Total mileage so far 335
108 from Ellensburg to Kirkland
227 from Kirkland to Salem
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The Oregon Coast and in to California (Salem - Eureka - San Francisco - Santa Clara)
May 2 and 3, 2010
At around 10:45 on May 2nd we left behind our gracious hosts (Oscar, Arletta, and Adalin Narvaez) who provided us with wonderful accommodation, food, and gas during our stop over in Salem. It was wondeful to see them and we are excited about their new little boy who will be arriving in about a month!
Us with the Narvaez family (Oscar, Adalin, and Arletta)
We left Salem and headed out with a plan to take highway 101 all the way to San Fransisco in one day (with Eureka on our list of places visited I don't need to say too much about how we didn't make it in one day!). We made it to Eureka and spent the night there, but the drive on 101 was amazing! I highly recommend it to anyone who has time to experience it. We followed the coast for quite a while and then hit the Redwood National Forest. The giant trees towered above us, but let some sunlight in... here are some photos from the coast and the Redwoods. More photos can be seen here.
Becky and me on the Oregon coast
The sun filtering through the Redwoods in the Redwoods National Forest on Highway 101 in California
Herd of Elk off of Highway 101 near the Redwoods National Forest
We made it to Eureka, California and realized we were not making it to San Fran that same day. So we crashed at a very sketchy Super 8 Motel which provided 3 of us with accommodation and breakfast for only $60 including tax (great job with the negotiating Becky!) and headed out at 7:00 the next morning for San Fran. On our way we stoped in Mendecino County for a wine tasting at a vineyard (well, Arturo and Becky stopped for a tasting, I took some pictures). We made it in to the city around 1:00, found parking (which was a miracle) and then spent 3 or so hours exploring San Fran's waterfront. Our highlights included driving across the Golden Gate Bridget, walking around on Fisherman's Wharf, sitting in a trolly (they charged too much for us to actually ride it), and me eating ice cream at Ghiradelli Square (what? I'm pregnant, give me a break!). Here are a few photos from our adventures in San Fran. More photos can be found here.
Arturo and me outside of Jaxon winery in Mendocino County, CA
The Golden Gate Bridge, CA
Becky and me on a San Fran trolly
We stayed the night with the lovely Sweet family. Joe and Laura (and dogs) were gracious hosts! We greatly appreciated the free accommodation, dinner, cake AND breakfast! Definately a top review of the Sweet B&B! Thank you guys SO much!
A very early AM at the Sweet's house after a wonderful night's accommodation
More tomorrow about our adventures on Highway 101 and Highway 1... off to bed.
Total mileage so far 1,002
362 from Salem to Eureka
305 from Eureka to Santa Clara
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Highway 1, the Big Sur, and out of the US...
May 4, 2010
We woke Joe and Laura up around 6:30, had breakfast with them and left Santa Clara around 7:30 to continue heading south to Mexico. We caught Highway 1 which was quite the drive, but worth every minute of it! The Big Sur is one of the most amazing drives we have ever done. I would say it is comprable to the Great Ocean Road in Australia. We passed through mile upon mile of rugged coast line. Jetting clifs, rocky jetties, and deep blue oceans which ended in churinging waves as they crashed against the coast. Although it was a bit cloudy the clouds rose wile we were driving and only added to the beauty of the drive! Here are a few pictures from the Big Sur drive.
Arturo and me at a stop while driving the Big Sur in California
A picture of one of the many amazing views we had while drivingo n the Big Sur in California
At some point we saw artichoke farms which was pretty cool because I don't think I have ever seen an artichoke plant. They're pretty cool looking. After coming off th Big Sur and back on flat straight coast again we came across several beaches full of Elephant Seals! They were so amazing! There is a group called The Friends of the Elephant Seals who help protect them and their habitat. They have a viewing area set up so you can see them without getting to close or disturbing them. We spent a bit of time there and loved every minute! They are such amazing creatures!
This was just one beach out of 3 full of Elephant Seals
I liked this one because he had been itching himself with his flipper
Our next stop was at a place called Pismo Beach. At Pismo there are giant dunes where people come to play on their sand buggies. You can drive on the beach and drive out to see all of the dunes. There are miles and miles of dunes, it's pretty amazing. We started walking out to the dunes but they were pretty far (our car wouldn't make it through the loose sand) and it was really windy, so we hung out for a bit, tooks some pictures then continued on to San Diego/La Mesa for our final stop in the US.
Our car on the beach with the Pismo Beach dunes behind it
Arturo at the Pismo Beach dunes in California
By the time we reached Los Angeles it was 5:00 and we got to experience real LA traffic. Luckily we selected two highways that had HOV lanes (405 and 5) and we zoomed past all of the traffic. It took us over an hour to cross the city. We even had to stop and wait at a gas station for a bit because Arturo needed a break from driving in LA traffic.
Traffic in Los Angeles, California at 5:00 pm... rush hour!
We arrived to Leann's apartment in La Mesa, California (right outside of San Diego) around 8:30 pm and had dinner with her and her roommates. They were wonderful hostesses and great sports, allowing three strangers in to their home. So, a big shout out to you girls! Thank you again for everything!
To Mexico tomorrow!
More photos from this day of our travels can be found here.
Total mileage so far 1,514
512 from Santa Clara to La Mesa, CA.
