End of the journey, Pt. 1

Sea Lion Caves, somewhere on the central Oregon coast. Not quite as awesome a roadside attraction as the BigFoot Museum, but still pretty darn cool.

So...I'm back in NYC and as much as I really wanted the chance to write about the rest of our cross-country adventure, it just seems impossible in light of recent events -- namely, that i felt compelled to fly home 2 weeks early and not complete the trip, and that Tim and I are dealing with the troubles of re-connecting after such a long time apart....more on all that coming up.

But we did truly see some amazing things and I want to honor it somehow. So, here it is in a nutshell:

The Redwoods:
Hands down, the most beautiful place I've ever seen and my favorite moment of the trip. When you stand in the middle of the forest surrounded by two thousand year old trees the size of apartment buildings, you understand the importance of this earth and the minor blip our lives represent. It made me feel truly grateful and humble about being alive. GO and see them!!

Northern California:
Home to our favorite inn of the trip: The Requa. Beautiful but unpretentious, yummy breakfast, and just the real deal all around. Also the place looks just like the Overlook from the Shining! (which we counted as a major plus, but you might not). Wished we could have stayed there longer!

The Oregon coast:
Rainy as all hell but rivals the California coast for scenery. Incredible jutting rocks! Churning blue surf! AND, what I believe may be the most magnificent, gorgeously perfect spot of earth I've ever been lucky enough to stand on. I'm keeping that location to myself for future reference. But it IS public, so if you've ever been to the Northern Oregon coast and innocently stopped at a rest stop to use the bathroom, you might have stumbled upon it too.

The Shelburne, the prettiest little Inn you've ever seen.

The Washington coast:
More rain, more beauty and the coziest, classiest, most welcoming inn ever with some of THE greatest food I've ever eaten. Who says you can't find gourmet meals at a Bed & Breakfast nowhere near a big city. Them, I will plug -- Shelburne Country Inn near Long Beach Washington. Tell David that Laura and Tim say hello.

See, I said I wasn't going to go on about our travels and then I did!

One more thing - I want to give a special shout-out to the amazing folks in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho. We were hosted by an incredible couple who were fans of Tim's work and his blog and and who were so very generous and lovely to us. Also, their friends -- artists and writers, moms and dads -- who welcomed us so warmly. And a special thank you goes to B: You probably had no idea how much you helped me when you talked about how difficult it was for you when your husband goes away, but for the first time on our road trip, I didn't feel alone with how I was feeling about all of it. And that helped me a great deal.

Well, ok -- so guess I'm writing about all that other stuff in my next post! Thanks for reading.