So I dropped my son off in CANADA yesterday! (Deep breath, mama, deep breath). After days of searching for labs with the right kind of rapid Covid test, discovering that all ferries and bus service between countries were suspended due to Covid, and looking for any Airbnb or room still available on Vancouver Island; the pieces miraculously came together and I literally drove Elijah to the border and dropped him off for a 3 day adventure in Canada (something he has been looking forward to for a long time). A kind Canadian friend offered to pick him up on the other side. I couldn’t find a place to drop him off so I prayed and just kept driving until the GPS suddenly said “Welcome to Canada”. Yikes. I pulled up to the border patrol and said “Hi, I’m just here to drop my son off”. The guard was kind, confused, and mildly amused. I had to show my passport, roll down all the windows so he could look inside the car, and answer lots of questions until he was convinced that I really was just a clueless mom on a crazy road trip wanting to help make her kid’s dreams come true. We made it to the tippy top NW corner of our gorgeous country and Ernie, Tatiana and I are camping at beautiful Birch Bay on this side of the border while Elijah finally gets to see Canada, and then it is homeward bound! This whole journey is so surreal and crazy and wonderful!

#OurEpicFamilyRoadTrip

#canadiansarereallynice

#adventureattheborder

#thethingswedoforourkids

#thebeautifulpacificnorthwest

8/15/21 Lunch in Portland with our dear friend, beautiful artist, and daughter by choice, Iulia Ionescu, and then a gorgeous ride through Washington up to the Seattle area. Did I mention how much fun it is to travel with Elijah in the car? He reads books, reenacts musicals, and appreciates the scenery all along the way. Right now he is reading “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”

For some reason, Instagram is refusing to post for me, so Facebook it is! Onward and upward!

#OurEpicFamilyRoadTrip

#lovingthejourney

#ourfamilybychoice

#gorgeouscountry

Friday the 13th was a day of pure beauty! We visited the Trees of Mystery in the Redwood National Forest, and this 1st tree, they believe, is 3000 years old! It began its life in 900 B.C. and has lived through history and seen the coming and going of men and women through the ages. We rode a gondola to the tops of these giant trees, walked on the canopy trails spanning high in the tree tops, and felt incredibly small and deeply inspired. Today, Saturday, we drove all day through the Redwoods and mountains on our way through Oregon headed toward Seattle and then on to Vancouver. This country is so beautiful and vast and filled with surprises at every turn.

#OurEpicFamilyRoadTrip

#redwoodsnationalpark

#treesofmystery

#lifeisfullofsurprises

#beautyeverywhere

#forevergrateful

Early Morning Walk with the pups. I was scared to follow the trail into the woods because of bears and elk and my overactive imagination, but Ernie said “let’s go just a little further”. We walked down a wooded trail that opened onto the most beautiful and peaceful river beside a huge opening. No houses. Nothing there but a shack up in the woods and a giant swing set in the middle of nowhere by a river. The dogs went swimming. We were surrounded by beauty. I am discovering that often it is good to push past my imaginary fears to discover the glory that lies just on the other side.

#OurEpicFamilyRoadTrip

#pushingpastimaginaryfear

#lifeisfullofsurprises

#sohappytobealive

“POEMS WERE MADE BY FOOLS LIKE ME, BUT ONLY GOD CAN MAKE A TREE”

– Joyce Kilmer

My mother loved trees and would frequently quote that poem to me, and yesterday I understood my mama’s heart and zeal for living in a new way. We drove for hours through the Redwood Forests of Northern CA, and Eli and I stopped to drive through and stand inside of a 2400 yr old tree. 2400 years! It is 21 ft in diameter, 315 feet high, and continues to provide beauty, strength, and mystery to countless individuals who stop to witness this magnificence. I wept with gratitude…for my mother, for this trip, for these gentle giants, and for the indescribable beauty of this world.

#OurEpicFamilyRoadTrip

#thechandeliertree

#redwoodnationalforest

#cryingwithhappiness

#gratefulformymom

A private beach at Bodega Bay, a sumptuous lunch while getting the car checked out, a long and wonderful walk with Ron and Joanne, and 2 very happy, tired, and dirty puppies after having the time of their lives with us on the beach. It doesn’t get better than that!

#OurEpicFamilyRoadTrip

#bodegabay

#Watchingdreamscometrues

#happytiredpups

#backontheroadtomorrow

Ear licking and laughter at the Golden Gate Bridge!

Today we bid farewell to San Francisco and got some parting photos of the Golden Gate Bridge, which was actually visible today. It was cold and windy at the bridge, then it got hot and sunny again as we drove north through beautiful hills and farmland up to the coastal town of Bodega Bay. My deepest gratitude to my sweet brother, Ron, and sister-in-law, Joanne, for finding us a wonderful place to stay in the Bodega Bay RV Park. (Places to camp are not so easy to come by up here). Quiet. Cool. Peaceful. Next to a national forest. Walking distance to the ocean. Never would I have guessed that having a full hook up in our own little home on wheels would feel like such a luxury.

#OurEpicFamilyRoadTrip

#ilovemyfamily

#northerncaliforniacoast

#peaceandquietinthewoods

#takenothingforgranted

#gratefulbeyondwords

A COLD day in San Francisco!

Yesterday (Sunday) we went in to see the sights in San Francisco wearing our shorts and t-shirts to find people walking around in jackets, long pants, and warm hats. What!?! The fog rolled in and it was 61 degrees! After buying sweatpants and sweaters, we toured The Presidio, took photos on the beach in front of the Golden Gate Bridge hidden in the fog, walked around Fisherman’s Wharf, and had the best Chinese food we’ve ever had. The owner came over and said “I am a chef, let me order for you. I know what you will love. You don’t have to think”. We turned it over to him and he was right. It was amazing. We had blossom tea and watched as these tea buds blossomed into flowers in the glass. It was a magical night.

#OurEpicFamilyRoadTrip

#sanfranciscochilly

#youdonthavetothink

#houseofnankingsanfrancisco

A Molasses Kind Of Day

Today felt like we were moving through molasses. We were tired. Even our pups wanted to simply lie down under a picnic bench and rest. By 5:30 we surrendered, booked a hotel, ordered a pizza, and watched a movie. Just what the doctor ordered! Tomorrow we head into San Francisco.

#OurEpicFamilyRoadTrip

#veggingout

#takingabreak

#doingnothingissomething

A SAD & SCARY DAY

I wish I could say we had this amazingly beautiful day at Yosemite, but that was not the case. We drove 2 1/2 hours to our campground just outside Yosemite National Park. It was very deserted, which seemed odd. We smelled smoke and the guy at the front desk said there was a fire somewhere in the park, but that we didn’t need to worry. By the time we got to the front gates of the park, the smoke was getting so thick we could no longer see the mountains or the trees in the distance. A ranger said it was smoke coming from Northern CA as well as a “small” (500 acre) fire in the park. We looked on purple air.com (thank you, Ron Browning, for telling us about that site) and it rated the air quality in our area as a deep burgundy red which meant it would be harmful to our health if we stayed there for 24 hours, which was pretty obvious without having to look at the map. There was no place to go to get to better air unless we drove south or over to the coast, so we packed up (they wouldn’t refund our campground fee for the night), and drove another 5 hours through the smoke to get out of the danger area. It is 2 AM and here I sit at a Motel 6 near San Francisco and feel like I can breathe easily once again. Oh, the things we take for granted! We were lucky to find a room as everything was booked for miles. It was sad to see huge areas of beautiful forest that had already been in other fires, and to know more fires were burning nearby. It was scary to be surrounded by smoke rather than pure, clean air to draw those deep breaths from…the ones I needed to take to calm myself as I drove behind Ernie winding down the narrow, steep mountain roads we had climbed just a few hours before. It was disappointing to have to drive on without seeing this magnificent park. I believe we can still turn things around for our planet, but it will take a true awakening on all of our parts. I am feeling very awake at the moment. My hand in yours tonight.

#OurEpicFamilyRoadTrip

#smokeinthewest

#breathingeasy

#stillgrateful

#thetreesneedourhelp