Oregon

JULY 26th - Heat Wave Day 1 (high 103)

We stayed with our friend Robby in Portland Oregon. When we got ready we went to Pier Park for some disc golf fun! Luckily the park was very shaded and not too hot. After the park Robby had to work so Ryan and I discovered Hawthorne Street on our own. It is a local area with shops and restaurants. Almost everything was closed because it was Sunday, but it was still fun to walk around.

JULY 27th - My Birthday (high 105)

We got up and walked around to find some place to get lunch. Then we took the bus downtown to the Chinese Garden. It was quite peaceful. Then we shopped a bit at Powell's Books. I could have stayed there much longer, but we left after browsing. Ryan and I then went to Forest Park which is the largest park within city limits in the U.S.

For my Birthday Dinner we went to the Melting Pot because I had never been there before. It was delicious.

JULY 28th - HOT HOT HOT (high 108)

It reached record temperatures today! So the combination of no air conditioning and blazing heat was horrible. We tried to stay in shops that had AC but most places in Portland don't.

For dinner I went out with a high school friend, Christine. It was really fun to catch up with each other. Then we went to a coffee house that had AC YAY! It was so nice to drink iced coffee and be cool.

The hardest part of the day was trying to fall asleep in the heat!

California Part 2: NOT Los Angeles

JULY 21st - San Diego Zoo

We planned a day trip to San Diego, but we ended up spending all day at the Zoo. We got lucky and got to see the Pandas up close. We also saw the Polar Bears, Seals, Elephants, and EVERYTHING ELSE!

So since the zoo took all day, we drove around the city, ate dinner, and then went back to LA for our last night at Ramzy's.

JULY 22nd - Los Angeles to San Francisco

We headed out for the 6 hours to San Francisco. We ended up stopping at Pea Soup Andersen's for some soup. Then we finally got into town around 6pm. We decided to go venture around Chinatown because it is pretty close to the hotel we stayed at.

Chinatown was fun. We ate weird food, and shopped around. The city is so interestingly beautiful. I loved seeing everything at night in the chilly breeze.

JULY 23rd - Sight Seeing

We had a long day sight seeing:

• Lunch at Fisherman's Warf (clam chowder in a bread bowl... YUMMMY)
• Viewed Alcatraz (not an official tour)
• Walked around Peir 39 and bought salt water taffy
• Walked the Filbert steps to Coit Tower to overlook the city
• Waked the Golden Gate Bridge
  
• Meet up with a friend from Studio who was also in town (Jason Childs)

We all ate dinner together and then Ryan and I checked out Union Square and saw 500 Days of Summer.

JULY 24th

We woke up and went to the Redwood National Forest with Jason. He had been hitchhiking so for part of his trip we became his ride. We drove down the Avenue of the Giants and finally got to a camp site called Kamath River Park and Camp Ground. We had so much fun walking around and then cooking spaghetti by campfire! Its not an easy task, but it was tasty.

JULY 25th

We went into the National Forest to hike the Tall Trees Grove (with our special permit). It was a nice hike, and it was absolutely awe inspiring. I don't really know how to describe it in words.

After spending the day in the Forest we dropped Jason off in Eugene Oregon, and then went to Portland to stay with our friend Robby.

California Part 1: Los Angeles

JULY 17th - here we come

We arrived at Ramzy's house around 3am!

Ramzy got up to go to work at 8:30am, and we followed shortly after. We did laundry, errands, and then meet Ramzy at work (Summit Entertainment) to eat lunch in the Yahoo! building. After Ramzy got off work, we all went to Tom Burgens, a bar literally across the street from Ramzy's house. Then we went to Whisper Bar at the Grove for the 500 days of summer wide release party (or so we are told). We didn't meet anyone famous there if that's what you are wondering.

JULY 18th - The Getty Center

For lunch before the Getty, we went to IN & OUT Burger! SO GOOD!

We went to the Getty Museum (an art museum) in Santa Monica. It had some great pieces including Irises by Van Gogh, and some wonderful photography by Paul Outerbridge and Jo Ann Callis, all of which I greatly enjoyed.

After the Getty we went to one of Ramzy's friend's party, and then to Ramzy's uncle's party. I had alot of fun at both! It was just some good clean fun with some interesting people. It was nice to not be sight seeing or planning, but just to be hanging out!

Around 10pm we went to Redwood, a pirate themed bar, and got in for free because Ramzy's friend Lora got us on the list. That is a long story evolving Twitter, but the point is Lora is a VIP!

JULY 19th - "HOLLYWOOD"

We went to Kitchen 24 to eat lunch. It is at wonderful Diner that is open 24 hours a day. Then we walked around Sunset Blvd., and shopped at Urban Outfitters (with the best sale I've ever seen at any U.O.) and Amoeba Music.

We came back to Ramzy's to relax and then headed to see Harry Potter.

JULY 20th- Extra Day in L.A.

We planned on leaving today, but we still had alot on our list of stuff to do. We went to Beverly Hills to stop in to Sprinkles (YUMMMY)! We got red velvet, vanilla milk chocolate, mocha, and chocolate marshmallow. I didn't eat them all, I shared with Ryan and Ramzy... I promise!

Then Ryan and I headed to Venice Beach for a little sun and body surfing. It was amazingly fun to just be at the beach. We then headed to the famous fish taco restaurant called James' Beach. It was featured in the movie I Love You, Man, and it was delicious.

VIVA LAS VEGAS!

JULY 16th - Vegas Baby!

We woke up in Hurricane Utah and drove 2 hours to get to Vegas. We parked at Treasure Island, walked the strip, went to Caesar's Palace, and shopped around. We only played the slots for a little bit, because Ryan and I aren't really into that kind of thing. We ate at the Bellagio buffet which was amazing! I ate truffle mushrooms for the first time ever, and we had crab legs (among other delicious things)! It was SO hot that we didn't really want to walk around to much, so we headed to New York New York because we had tickets to see Zumanity (a Cirque du Soleil show) there. That was the highlight of the Vegas trip. It was so good that we didn't want it to end! At night it was easier to walk outside because it really cools down. However, we didn't want to stay the night there so we got in the car and headed to Los Angeles to Ramzy's house.

P.S. - I wanted to see Vegas, but I did not want to support the unsustainable practices that Vegas holds so we tried to limit our spending there. It wasn't easy... Vegas is pretty fun! However, I don't think I will be going back any time soon.

The Great Grand Canyon Adventure

JULY 14th - The Grand Canyon (or so we thought)

The plan - drive to the Grand Canyon

The reality - We headed towards the Canyon and realized once you get into the surrounding area there is absolutely no cell phone service, so we had no way of finding out if the camping was full (the 1st come 1st serve). So when we got to Jacob's Lake it was getting late and still about 45 min. away from the Canyon we caved in and stayed in a cabin. It was super cute.

JULY 15th - The Grand Canyon take 2

We woke up early to head to the Canyon's north rim. (Arizona doesn't do Daylight Savings so it was 8am when we thought it was 9am!) Camping was full for the night, so we just planned on spending all day there and then figure out the plan of sleeping later. The Canyon is amazing! We hiked the Bright Angel Trail, and went to all the Lodge outlooks. Then after lunch we hiked Roosevelt Trail, and Point Imperial trail. Point Imperial is the highest point of the North Rim, and the hiking trail takes you through the forest area that has been burned and is coming back to life. It was so beautiful. Then we went to this Cookout that was kind of fun, but nothing to exciting.It was quite a day! We only did the North Rim side because it takes 5 hours to drive to the other side.

We drove until we got to sleepy, and then stayed at a hotel for the night.

UTAH

JULY 11th
We took the scenic route to Salt Lake City by I-10. It was quite a LONG drive. We stopped in Frisco Colorado for lunch, Grand Junction Colorado for gas, and Wellington Utah for dinner... Wellington was one of the oddest experiences so far. We stopped at the Cowboy's Kitchen which ended up to be a bizarre local place that serves about 3lbs. of food a person. This included bread, soup, salad, potato, and entree... it was quite disturbing, and can not be truly described in words.

We got into Salt Lake late and meet our first couch surfer host. It was a wonderful first couch surfing experience!

JULY 12th
Fun Fun Fun! We saw the Mormon Temple Square on a Sunday which was probably the most interesting day to visit. Then we met up with Kyle our couch surfer host, and he took us to the Salt Lake to float around. He also took us to Liberty Park for the drum circle. It was quite a turn around from the Temple. We got to see the edgier hipper side of Salt Lake. For dinner we went to the Bohemian Brewery which is where Kyle works.

JULY 13th
We planned to head to the Grand Canyon today, but my friend Devon let me know (for the second time apparently) that he was in Salt Lake City.... SOOOO we stayed another night. We walked around downtown while Devon had brunch with his family. We ate at a vegetarian hot dog stand, and hung out at the Sam Weller Bookstore.

Devon then took us on a "tour" of Salt Lake.

Devon took us all around Salt Lake and into the Mormon office building to go to the top floor. We had alot of fun hanging with Devon, but unfortunately he had to go spend time with his family. Fortunately, his dad let us stay the night at his place. It was so nice, hospitality runs deep in Devon's family.

JULY 14th
To the GRAND CANYON... upcoming post

COLORADO

Colorado
JULY 5th - Angel Fire NM to Broomfield CO

We stopped in Pueblo Co. to wait out a storm... our first real storm of the trip. When we finally got to Broomfield (where my brother Greg lives) we headed out to visit my cousin. After a brief chat we went out to Dave and Busters for some fun, and PRIZES!

JULY 6th
Rested, relaxed, and went to my cousin Susan's for dinner... nice chill day

JULY 7th
Slept in... Hung out in Lo-Do (lower Denver). We went to a "dipping" grill called Vesta where you get different food and sauces to DIP. After walking the city for a while we headed home with a movie... (oh man are we CRAZY)

JULY 8th
Played Wii, Cleaned car, Caught up on email... When Greg got off work we hit the town for some Gumbo, and drinks. We ended up at this bar getting free organic cocktails, and then we went to see MOON at the Landmark Theater. Greg fell asleep during the movie.

JULY 9th - by far the busiest day in Colorado
Got up and went to the Blue Devil's practice to see Greg's friend Jen. The Blue Devils are a Drum and Bugle Corp in case you didn't know. Greg stayed out with his Blue Devil peeps, so Ryan and I took some time to explore down town Denver.

We went to the Denver Art Museum, which is one of the most interactive Art Museums I have been to. Then we stumbled upon the 16th street shopping strip. After walking around for a while, we went to see an locally made film at the Starz Center called Sita Sings the Blues. Its super cute if you are into cartoon musicals. We ate at the Paramont, and then headed back to Greg's place.

JULY 10th - Exploring Boulder
Pretty much we just hung out in the shopping strip on Pearl St. until Greg got off work. Pearl St was really fun, it has street performers, shops, and restaurants (very entertaining). When Greg was free he took us to the Coors Brewery in Golden Co. It is a free tour with free beer samples, a must do for Coors fans if you are in the area.

I clearly am a bad blogger...

So its possible that no one is reading this, but if you are I am SORRY. I will put up a list of things we've been up to. Also, I have been working on a journal/sketch book that I can scan in and post.


SORRY AGAIN