Honeymoon Installment #6

After the bad-oyster episode in San Fran, we spent the night in Klamath, California, which is right in the middle of a redwood forest. The hostel we stayed at came highly recommended and was clean and warm, BUT. It was at this hostel that I was introduced to a new kind of personality; the reason why conservatives hate liberals. Hostile, self-righteously more granola-y than though types. We left very early the next morning and headed up to Portland to rendezvous with my cousin.

It was a windy day and the seafoam was blown by great gusts high up the mountain into the forests where it clung to trees and plants like great globs of snow.

Portland was absolutely amazing. Great shopping (I used Lucky's online guide), great food (we had Peruvian the first night and had some Voodoo Donuts the next day), and chill vibe. Let it be known that Oregon is hands-down the most magically beautiful state I've been to so far.


My cousin took us on a hike up a mountain along the Oregon coast, and I couldn't help but think of Milla the entire time, the place was so mystically northern.




The forest was filled with these little guys, fully 3-5 inches long.


Tree-bark that faced the ocean had become worn and gnarly. This one, in the shape of a heart. Cute, no?


A heavy fog surrounded us as we reached the top-- it was one of the hardest hikes I'd ever done; 2 miles uphill and steep, too.


It was worth it though... this is the view near the top. On our way back to Portland, we stopped at the Tillamook cheese factory and went crazy on cheeses of all kinds, and even dipped into some white licorice ice cream. I could easily, easily live here.

I just came back from my biz trip to Seattle today; Seattle was actually the last leg of our honeymoon as well, but we were sick as dogs (again). So, I graced this fair city twice in a week. This time around was a bit better-- I got to fit a little shopping in, so I'll be debuting my LEOPARD PUFFER COAT, yes, I know, paging the love child of Peg Bundy and Missy Elliott-- as soon as I catch some sleep.

Good lord, I hope not to see the inside of a plane again for at least a little while...!

Yours,

Elissa.

Honeymoon Installment #5

Lucky for us, a couple of our good friends have other good friends out in San Fran. We met Ian after a shopping jaunt of mine to CB2 and H&M and he took us to his favorite seafood restaurant, Bar Crudo.

Lace Dress: thrifted. Tights: Target. Shoes: MIA. Jacket: The Gap, thrifted.

Everything was raw, and so unfreakinbelievably tantalizing... I mean, butterfish paired with wasabi creme and some other fish with macadamia and pomegranate seeds, it was magical. I'd never had raw oysters, and they were amazing... I never thought anything could so accurately taste like a river.

I wore some of my wedding jewelry out. Pictured, Bracelet: vintage, Grandview Mercantile. Rings: Ruby Lane and Grandview Mercantile, both vintage.

...except for the last oyster I had, which tasted a little like wood.

The whole next day, I had the worst case of vom ever in my life. We had a schedule to adhere to, so we folded the seats in the back of the van down, spread out the sleeping bags and drove to Klamath along to my nauseous soundtrack. Lord. I dug through my camera to find that I had missed some beautiful scenery along the way....




Til the next installment,

Yours,

Elissa.

Honeymoon Installment #4

Early in the morning, we decided to take advantage of some lesser-known San Franciscan attractions. We came upon the Seward Street Slides, hidden in between the houses and built into the hill. I grabbed some cardboard and gave it a go, but found that just going down on your butt is a faster --though dirtier-- ride.


From relative obscurity to infamous ubiquity, we moved on to Alcatraz. We took a ferry over to the island.


Alcatraz was one of those things on our list that we "had to" see, though I didn't expect to learn and be held captive by (haha) that decrepit rock.


One of the more interesting things about the island is that after the prison closed, a group of Native Americans occupied the island in hopes that it would become its own reservation. A considerable population lived there for 19 months until they were removed.


Not only did prisoners live on the island, but guards and their families did as well. Some of the then-children they interviewed for the audio tour (highly recommended) recalled Alcatraz being a peaceful place to grow up, rather bucolic. They took a sailboat to their mainland school every day. Pictured above is the town hall, where there was a bowling alley and dances were held. Inside, the floor is overgrown with clover, and there are dozens of dead sea birds down there, reduced to skeletons except for their wings which are still full-feathered.


The prison is part of the parks system now, and many of the gardens that were tended by prisoners who had earned the privilege still exist. When Alcatraz first opened, it was nothing but a rock. Soil had to be imported to cover it before they could ever think about gardening.


I'm honestly amazed what kind of ruin buildings can fall into after only 40-some years of neglect.


Here, a little peep of the showers, complete with soap to drop --or not.

Bomber: Marshall's. Tee: Target. Jeans: NY&Co. Bag: Urban Outfitters. Boots: Gift from a friend.

Although firmly in vacation mode, I had the presence of mind to have my sweet do a head-to-toe, so that I could, for those of you completely disinterested in my travels, provide for you a personal style-related reprieve.


Oh my imprisoned sweet!! Let me re-enact a certain scene from The Cable Guy to warm the cockles of your intractable heart!!



Here, in the recreation yard, you can look out and see San Francisco. How tantalizing-- to be utterly locked away, but within sight of freedom, separated by only 1.5 miles of cold, choppy water.

On this day, a woman was breast-feeding an infant on the steps.


This story brought to you by a laptop that has winged its way to me here in Seattle. I'm sitting in the lobby of the Hilton enjoying a Hefeweissen and editing my photos. I'm attending a training to do some "experiential marketing" back home of a new, rather awesome new gadget. On the way here, an elderly woman was showing me her Kindle, and was surprised that I also didn't have one (while I was surprised that she did have one). I explained to her that I thought that doing away with tangible books and things made me a little sad, to which she replied, "That's old people thinking, and you have to snap out of it! If you don't embrace technology, you'll only be watching the world from the outside. This is your world."

Talk about experiential marketing.

Considering a Kindle now, but maybe after I finish The Orchid Thief,

Elissa.

Honeymoon Installment #3

Eventually, we arrived in San Francisco. After testing the van's suspension on the city's hilly avenues, we ended up at Golden Gate Bridge.


Like a postcard, no? I couldn't believe how many people were there, considering it is November, but it is quite the draw, and a pleasant-though-windy, sunny 60-degree day to do it on.


We explored the little military catacomb things in the hills adjacent...


And faced down a few ghosts.

Aww... bridge love.


Snagged ya! I wanted to cross the bridge, then cross back, but by the time we were done fooling around in the catacombs and we were half way across, we were already in danger of running out of time on our 4-hour meter! Glancing through the paper Tim had given us the day before, I saw that The Exploratorium was free on Wednesdays, so we headed on over.


The park in front of it you may recognize, but only if you're into terrible action movies, as the park where Sean Connery's "Mason" reconnects with his daughter "Jade" in The Rock. I only know because I'm actually watching it right now, ironically enough.


The outside of the Exploratorium is nearly as good as the inside...


Here I am pushing the boundaries of science, meeting with my huge-headed twin from Dimension X.


Here, you can watch ice crystals as they form from water you splash on the surface through a polarized lens.


I loved this scene-- upstairs are a bunch of sound-related experiments. Not sure what he's hearing, or if his hair is dry.


Afterwards, we checked into The Mosser (highly recommended, and only $50/night through Travelocity). I was feeling under-the-weather (I blame it on my cactus-eating foray) and we decided to hang it up and call it a day, but not after eating an amazing pesto pizza and taking pervy pictures of people through the bathroom window. Hey man, fair use.

As you're reading this, I bit the bullet and am in Seattle, but I'll return to my tale-spinning on Wednesday. Hopefully I'll have my wedding pictures back by then, but I guess we'll see!

Yours,

Elissa.

Honeymoon Installment #2

The next day, our destination was Pigeon Point. A friend of mine used to work for Hostelling International, and recommended the hostel they had there-- they have a beach-front hot-tub! Our first stop was somewhere around Santa Cruz. I had been itching to get out on the beach.


If you watch movies, you know that nothing positive can happen around an amusement park that is closed for the season (OR, dunh dunh dunh... for life!) but this cute little boy chasing a seagull seemed a harbinger of beachly welcome. Shortly after I snapped this pic, a city worker picking up trash mentioned that the fecal something-or-others per million were high that day. Then I saw a homeless woman washing an open gash in the shower and we hopped back into the van and took the worker's advice to head north.


Ahh... much better. We found ourselves amongst the richers in this comely hamlet. We sat on the pock-marked, craggy cliffs above the surf (serf? haha) for awhile until we moved on to our next perch.


The cliffs are covered with some kind of succulent that looks like supersized grass. I broke one open and tasted it (why do I do these things?) and it was super astringent and made my teeth feel weirdly dry.


We drove on for awhile until we found this next beach, with nearly no-one on it except for a couple of surfers braving the frigid waves.



The beach proved a boon for my macro setting:

Hollow little pods scattered the beach.

Tides and rivulets etch into the sand.

Alternately craggy and soft-sanded.

The drive up Highway 1 was exhiliratingly scenic. I dashed from one side of the van to the other taking pictures as we rolled along. Below might be my favorite:

Finally, we reached the lighthouse. You might be able to tell in this picture (click it and blow it up??) that there are seals resting on the rocks below.


As we snapped pictures and toured the grounds, I struck up a conversation with another photographer who offered to shoot us.


Tim told us about how he was a former heart surgeon and professor, we told him we were honeymooning. He was visiting the light house as well, and had a hotel room he had paid for for the night, but he had decided he was going home that night instead. He gave us his hotel key card and the address and told us to have a nice time.


Goodbye, lighthouse! We took Tim up on his offer and had a restful evening in Petaluma. He even got us some refreshments to stock the mini-fridge! Thanks Tim, for the excellent hospitality, and also for not murdering or robbing us.


'Til the next installment... I have to weigh a conundrum. I am scheduled to fly out to Seattle tomorrow for a work-type thing, but I also have a competing offer for my time. The Seattle thing is for sure, but temporary. The other thing is still up in the air, but would be permanent, and permanent is a very good thing.

Ai chihuahua,

Yours,

Elissa.

Honeymoon Installment #1

We spent a big chunk of our day with American Airlines. SkyMiles proved to be an extraordinarily absorbing read. Yes, I want an electronic scalp stimulator and catbox that masquerades as an elegant house plant!


After we landed, the rental car company presented us with a vehicle upgrade, perfect because we had a whole bunch of camping gear to lug around. I'm happy to report that, even as a minivan-hater, the 2010 Chrysler Town and Country is a certifiably bomb ride, bomb enough to pose with.

Aw, yeah....

The first night and day we spent in San Jose. Neither my Sweets nor I are travel planners, we kind of play it by ear and lean on Yelp a lot. We were lead to Bill's Cafe, where the 5-star rating was well-deserved.


The chicken apple sausage and Chorizo omelet was frickin' insane, but this fried-banana topped Bread Pudding French Toast? Let's just say I owe it some flowers.

Speaking of owing, I owe a certain tree two lemons...




Later, I made lemonade with the sugar packets, stirrers and styrofoam cups in the hotel room. Ohmmmmm......

To be continued!

Yours,

Elissa.