Trip to Canada

Yes, this trip was in June and it is now practically October... nonetheless, some tales need to be told.

In June, Jono and I ventured on yet another roadtrip. *sidenote: this truly is the best way to see the States* This time we travelled the length of the 5 Freeway: a freeway that goes all the way from the border of Mexico to the Border of Canada and spans over the states of California, Oregon and Washington. It was such a beautiful drive!

We set out on Sunday after the service and travelled all the way to Fall River Mills in Northern California. Fall River Mills is a tiny rural town nestled in the most exquisite valley just south of Mount Shasta. On a clear day you can see the mighty mountain very well, topped with snow year round. Friends of ours have a home there and they graciously let us stay in it for a few days. Our time in Fall River was mellow and relaxing. We rode our bikes along the farm roads, receiving the strangest looks from the locals as they passed by in their TE-rucks (as Cois would say). Jono went on an escapade to try and find a good fishing spot, but the locals were very protective of their river and so he returned home with many warnings of "the warden" and how strict he is. Needless to say, no fish were caught. On one of our days there we decided to go kayakking up the river. THAT was an adventure. Everything started out just grand with birds tweeting, butterflies flying by, a cool breeze whispering through the riverbed and deer feeding by the water's edge. But, as the afternoon drew on, the wind suddenly came up reaching gale force potential (ok, I may be exaggerating a bit) and it was not in our favor. In short, our marriage was tested that day... and that's all I'm going to say about that. :)

All the bugs after our drive through the night

Fall River Mills Valley

His face says it all

Goodbye Fall River!

From Fall River we got back on the road, heading North. Next stop: Vancouver BC, Canada! This stretch from California through Oregon and Washington was most beautiful. We saw all kinds of wildlife from a bear cub along the side of the road to a female deer and her baby. It felt like we were in a scene from the movie Bambi. It rained all the way through Oregon, which I hear is pretty typical for this state. Portland, OR seemed like an awesome city with so many rivers and bridges. And since the annual rainfall there is 90cm, I think I would have a ball living there. Washington was just as beautiful as Oregon, I wish we could've spent more time there. With a quick stop in Seattle for Starbucks (no, we did not visit the Pike Place store - too much effort), we made it to Vancouver by sunset.

Majestic Mount Shasta

More Shasta

The Essentials

Seattle Drive By

Vancouver BC: city of enchantment. I LOVED this place! It is just so uber cool. Firstly: it's beautiful, with sweeping mountains surrounding  Vancouver island and a striking skyline. Secondly, it's just cool. Josh and Tami, Jono's brother and sister-in-law, live there. They were awesome tour guides, showing us all the fun things around he city. On one of our days there we went on a bike ride around the city on the "seaboard trail": this was so much fun, with a view of the water on your left and the city on your right the entire day. Vancouver is a very outdoorsy city, and so people riding their bikes is a pretty common sight. We picnicked at one of the beaches along the way. I was very sad to leave Vancouver, but we hope to visit there again some time soon.

Grass RoofTop

On our way back south we visited Jono's grandma and uncle in Cottonwood, California. It was good getting to meet more of Jono's family, since this is one of the reasons we decided to live in the States for the first portion of our marriage. Uncle Roy has a tender spot for animals, and has raised all sorts of "pets", from a bobcat to a wolf. He is currently raising a flock of geese, and they think of him as their mother and so follow him everywhere! We call him the goose-whisperer.

I made it back in!

From Cottonwood, we set out to UC Berkeley to visit our friend Chris Reinhardt. Reinhardt is an avid cyclist, and so we got our bikes out and rode around the campus taking in the sights. I really liked UC Berkeley and enjoyed riding by a group of hippies protesting: typical of Berkeley I've heard. We visited with Reinhardt late into the night at Jupiter, a great little restaurant that everyone should visit when in the Berkeley area. With our tummies full of yummy pizza we hit the road again, this time homeward bound.

I love going on road trips with Jono. There's something about being on the road together that is just so refreshing. I feel so privileged to be able to say we've driven to Canada and back. Thank you God for providing for us so generously!