So very frustrating when you buy an expensive video camera and you can't convert the files quickly and easily! #ReturnedToStore ugh. I still have the files from our vacation that I need to convert eventually to Leavenworth, WA and this incredible waterfall between there and Seattle and then a ton of footage from the Space Needle etc. and of the four hour each way train ride to Vancouver, Canada and the city itself. Anyway, this is the first moment I've really had to sit down and reflect on all that's happened. Firstly, the drive from Helena up to Seattle was lovely, and the weather over the passes was like another world! We went from cool, fall like weather to a full on snow storm, I have proof but alas, see the aforementioned camera drama. Of course I love all things rain and snow so I was clapping happily all the way. Seattle is famous for their rain, however there wasn't a cloud in the sky the entire nine days we spent there, however when we left of course it poured like Noah's flood. of course it did.
Seattle although pretty and offering up great food and attractions, is overrun with a homeless population that literally has a tent city on every surface of sidewalk and there is no "good" part of downtown, so just be mindful of that if you are traveling with kids or teens who don't pay attention to their surroundings. I adored the cruise and the ferry rides we took, and we got to watch a family of whales when we went to LaPush beach on the Quileute Nation Reservation See here on the Twilight voyage I convinced my travel companions to take with me. Here's the thing about book versus movie, every scene was shot elsewhere like in Oregon, Washington and Canada. Which leads me to my next adventure.
My last day of work before the summer break is June 15th, so I will leave at 4 a.m. June 16th and drive to Eugene, Oregon where I will stop and rest for the night and visit a friend who lives there, and then wake up Friday, June 17th and head to the salon and get my hair and nails did before heading to Grants Pass, Oregon three hours south of Eugene where I will spend a month with my Uncle Rick traveling the 400 miles of Oregon Coastline and South to California to the Redwood National Forest. I joined some Grants Pass Meetup.com groups so my Uncle doesn't have to keep me entertained on the days we aren't traveling or staying in the coastal hotels like Cannon Beach!
I bought a plane ticket for my bestie Tammi to fly in the afternoon of July 13th into nearby Medford, Oregon so we can drive into western Washington and northern Oregon, and over to Cannon Beach and see all the Twilight movie locations like the cafeteria and parking lot, and police station, and Bella's house and Edward's house and the beach they used for most of the films, etc. Then Tammi and I will head out on our road trip to Oklahoma on July 15th, through California so I can show her where I grew up. I am for us to stay in a few hotels so we don't get too tired but my plan is to get us to Inola Sunday the 17th.
I'll stay in Tulsa though because I don't want to get anywhere near Inola, too much pain there still very fresh. I cannot even imagine going to her grave or see where the trailer used to be, yeah can't do it. Monday the 18th I have an appointment with Nana's attorney in Claremore and then he will take me to storage unit in Inola where I will take possession of the items there. It is my plan to open the door to the unit, throw what will fit into my car "hopefully all of it" and then take what won't fit into my car to the post office and ship to Montana, this should take two hours max by my figuring. I was going to stay in Tulsa and go to Church on The Move that I miss so bad it hurts, and see some friends and eat at a few of my favorite haunts but I thought better of it. Best my friends come see me in Montana, after I come to Oklahoma to get my Nana's estate. So I'll head home July 18th and it'll take a good two days to drive home since I'll be staying in hotels and resting this time. Unlike the straight 30 hours it took me two years ago hauling a big trailer with my car loaded up on it behind the U-Haul with two unhappy cats in the cab.
So there you go, that's the plan. What are you doing for the summer?
