Hello again

Well, for the few of you that actually follow this blog you will have noticed that my whole "going to do a small segment of Cape Town each week" has been a flop. I am blessed with lots of work and not much time to be creative with the whole blogging concept. But there are certain moments that I experience throughout my days that I feel I should write about. Simple things like:

As I left the coffee shop the other morning a smile slowly grew on my face as I thought about that very moment in time. It was a brisk morning and my spicy Chai was slowly warming my insides. Down town was just waking. I walked by a stranger and we shared a smile. "What a wonderful little town I live in" I thought to myself. My work day was just beginning and I was hoping the snow would begin to fall again.

It's these little moments in time when I truly feel blessed to be here on earth. To live in a time and place where I have the leisure to grab a morning tea and then amble to work with a smile. No rushing around, just enjoying each moment.

Cape Town 1st entry

In my attempt to get my creative juices flowing and to get a lot of photos out for everyone I am giving myself a writing assignment. I am going to break our Cape Town trip into several vignettes. So here goes.


Taylor and I planned to stay at a guesthouse the whole time in Cape Town. The day I was leaving I get an email from the innkeeper and it turns out that they have had a huge sewer problem come up and they had to re-locate us to a different location. Not only did we get a new spot, but for 8 of the 10 nights we were upgraded to the suite for no extra charge.

view from balcony

view from window

view from balcony

Our guesthouse was located in a darling section of town named Tamboerskloof. We were able to walk right out our door to the popular shopping district of Kloof and Long St. After a really yummy breakfast in the sun room and two pots of tea we set out to explore this new city. People along the way were of every color and so spoke different languages. We curiously watched parking attendants direct people to parking spots and wondered how that worked. The system here does not rely on meters but people. For a mere R2 or R5. (really cheap parking) you could get a spot and the attendant was always watching your car and even helped you park by directing you into the spot. We never did brave the driving on the other side of the street thing. We walked through the city centre and down to the V & A waterfront. Lots of large ships, neat  foot drawbridges that pivoted out of the way when boats needed to pass. We found an outdoor lunch spot and listened to xylophone players and then an acapello group.

looking back at the city centre and Table mtn

 

 

 

After a bit of shopping. (Taylor has been seriuosly deprived of this) we headed back up the hill to find a good place to grab a bite in the neighborhood. It looked like this was going to be a wonderful place to hang for 9 days. It was so nice just to be together again.

Cape Town

Well, folks you only get this one cute photo of Taylor in our suite. Be happy that your internet speed is the bombdiggity, I just waited over 15 min to get this one photo. I will happily post all sorts when I get back to the states.

Hello, from Cape Town. First, I have to say that this place is everything that everyone said it would be. It is so beautiful. After over a day and a half of travel, Taylor and I were reunited in the little airport. It was so great to see his gorgeous sunburnt face. It was late at night so not much to see on the way to our guesthouse but I met a very nice local on the plane and he explained that where we were staying we would have great views of Table mountain and the city itself below us. He was very right. Our little guesthouse is set beside a small mountain named Signal Hill and behind us in Table Moutain. It is an absolutely great location. We have been able to walk to all our meals and all the way down to the V&A Waterfront.

 It’s kinda funny, but the first few days we did a lot of shopping. Taylor was in need of several things and of course those of you who know me well, know I didn’t mind in the least. Cape Town is known to be the shopping capitol of Africa for goodness sake. Along the way we took it all in. So many different colors of people. Very beautiful, I love all the variety of language, you have Afrikaans, English, Xhosa, German, French. It’s wonderful. Of course, I wish I knew them all but for now it is really easy to get around with English. People are very friendly. It is fun to learn the nuances of how they speak language. Here are some examples, a to go box is a take away, all buildings for lease say “To let”. I keep thinking there are toilets everywhere...It’s not a check it’s a bill, it’s a booking instead of a reservation. This may seem kind of silly to explain but it is one of the many things I enjoy when as we get to see more places in this world. The other thing is the bathrooms. Weird, I know? But it’s fun to see different latches, sinks, what kind of hand dryers they have, etc. There are so many different ways things are done. Mostly here, you only have hand dryers. No paper towels at all. Where as in Spain, you had papertowels but it was like using a kleenex to dry your hands. The coolest sink so far was a tilted granite slab the water ran into a reservoir you really couldn’t see. Neato! 

In the first two days, we did 6 of the 10 most favorite things to do in Cape Town. We still have to see a sunset from Signal Hill, ride the cable car to the top of Table mountain and go to Robben Island to see where Nelson Mandela was held for so many years. Fortunately for us we still have plenty of time to do this. 

The biggest adventure so far has been the paragliding. On Monday morning Taylor asked our innkeeper to book something for us and BOOM, we were set to go in only 45 min. For me this was probably best. I was a bit nervous to jump off a perfectly good mountain side. Our two pilots picked us up, Jacque and Steph. They were great from the start. Super funny with a little cheese ball twist, but it was fun. Jacque is the 2nd best paraglider in all of South Africa and I think Steph is right up there. He just returned from 3 months in Germany, paragliding. These guys are making a living off doing what they love, it’s great to see. They drove us up to the launch spot on Signal Hill and explained what we needed to know on the way. They have an assistant named Irma who is doing an internship with them. What a crazy group to do that with. She was very sweet. When we got to the launch site there was another person ahead of us. It was nice to see them take off first. It set me at ease a little. So Jacque and I were set to go first, you get into a big old harness and they prepare the paraglider. When the paraglider goes up initially you are swept back a little so someone is in the front of you to help with that. Then you run, run ,run until you are airborne. It’s really amazing. We fortunately, did not have to run in the bushes. Taylor and Steph had to do a little of this. Once you are up in the air it is very relaxing and exhilarating at the same time. Jacque and I had a small paraglider so he had to work a little harder to get us up higher in the air. Man, was it FUN!! You truly do feel like a bird. We had great views of the Atlantic and the area in Cape Town called SeaPoint. You could also see the stadium where the World Cup was played. Taylor and Steph were in the air maybe 15 minutes after us. So Taylor and I were able to see eachother flying thru the sky. It was awesome!! I’m so glad that Taylor is an adrenaline junkie. I probably would never have done that on my own. Taylor of course is hooked and at this very moment is walking to the bookstore to buy a book on the subject while I blog. Will I ever learn to do it on my own? Probably not. I thought it was awesome but near the end I started getting kind of nauseas. Never did hurl, but kind of made the last bit of the ride a bit less enjoyable. Jacque and I soared over the stadium and gently landed in a big field. Irma, came over and said “You were gone for a long time” Some people only go for 10-20 min. I think that Taylor and I were up for about an hour. It was so great to rush near the tops of the trees and to be above the birds. It’s all about finding the thermals to get you higher. The rest of the afternoon we were both on a bit of a high. We went for coffee with the guides and then strolled back up the hill to our little room and thought “what the hell do we do know? It will be hard to beat that morning?” We ended up going back out for a great little lunch and had a mellow evening at home. It’s great to be on holiday.

Anticipation

It's a Sunday evening and I am sitting on the couch with a curled up kitty and classical music in the background. All I can say is "ahhhh" I love these days that just go by slowly. Getting a few things done, but no real agenda. I find myself getting up from the lovely purple couch to continually write things down in preparation for the big trip ahead. Yesterday I went on the most epic mountain bike ride I have ever attempted. It was beautiful. It's up near Mt. Bachelor and after just 4-5 miles of climbing you get all the rest in an awesome downhill ride all the way into town right to 10 Barrel brewing. It's funny how I always seem to end up there after these day long mountain bike excursions. I think mountain biking is quickly becoming my gravity fed sport of the off winter months. But back to the real reason I am bothering to write on this here blog.

In a just over a week I will be traveling 10,400 miles to South Africa where Taylor and I will rendezvous in Cape Town. Oh how I hope this week to come flies by. This has been one long year but man oh man, do I love the travel that it has allowed Taylor and I to do. It has almost been 6 months since our last trip to Spain. Can't believe it's been that long. In some ways it has gone fast and others it has just drug on. But soon we will be hanging out and enjoying a whole new scene on yet another continent. Wow, is all I can think in my head. I hope to soon be getting a few blog posts up from Cape Town. So keep your eye on the blog and hopefully there will be some good stuff to come.

Hopefully soon I will be relaying my own photos here but until then you can daydream a little with me too.

Another day inmersed in beauty...

Casey, I and the the dog troop once again set out for a hike into the wilderness. This time the Three Sisters Wilderness to one of my favorite spots, Golden Lake. It's nestled right below one of my favorite mountains, Broken Top. We set out early and got to the newly moved trail head much to my dismay. This added on a mere 2.4 miles to the hike, but I definitely felt them at the end of the trek. We all had a great time meandering along the wide trail that once was a road and got to the old section where you used to be able to park only to realize that we were down one dog, mine. Crap?! So we split up and I ran towards the car and Casey went a bit up the trail. Well, eventually I realized that I just had to run all the way to the car since no dog was in site. Sure enough, there was Yeti all smiles laying at the car. I guess he thought we were done or he thought we needed to add even more miles to the day. Sure, I wanted to run an extra 2.4 miles. Thanks Yeti!

 We once again set off at a jog to meet up with Casey. We lost both other dogs that day but for not nearly as long. Needless to say the leashes came out. The hike seemed fast and it was beautiful. We had a quick lunch at Park Meadow and then got to Golden Lake.

It's a beauty. The Sisters got snow just last week so they were especially picturesque. From the lake you head up another mile to two small tarns.

Jefferson

 Casey and I shared a PBR and had lunch at this spot. So beautiful. Yeti engaged in his favorite activity, digging in water.

The day was stunning. Here are some more shots of the gorgeous day.

Casey and headed out of this great spot and attempted to find the right trail out. We found a trail and at first it felt right. Then as South Sister got closer than I remembered we hesitated. We had spoke with a guy near Golden Lake and he had mentioned he also came up from Park Meadow since he was just a bit behind us we went and asked him to verify we were heading the right way. He had a GPS yipee! So we turned back and continued on the trail. It still just felt wrong. I swear we only about 20 minutes from Green Lakes. Well, GPS works great if you are headed to the same spot. Turns out that the guy had messed up and missed the turn to Golden and went all the way to Park Meadow, but he had originally come from Green Lakes. So, Casey and I turned around and were so happy to have added on more mileage to the day. (Ha-Ha) Didn't I mention earlier that I was looking for more miles or was that Yeti? I was still a bit unnerved and didn't feel better until we passed the point on the trail where you head in to Golden. It was all downhill from there, well you would think, but it's not. I swear the trail was longer on the way out. The dust was thicker and the hills just kept coming. But we made it and headed straight for the Three Creeks Brewery for an adult beverage and some grub.

Overall it was another awesome day in the mountains. Below is a testament to the dirt on the trail.

Huckleberry Season

There they are. The little gems that we head out to get each Fall season so that Taylor can make a delicious pie for one of the holidays. For those of you who haven't picked this small, delightful berries, it's kinda a pain in the ass. But well worth it. In about an hour and a half today I managed to pick maybe 2 1/2 cups. Just shy of a pies worth. Fortunately, my friends with me were willing to share a bit of their pickings.

Little Bjorn was a gem out in the huckeberry patches helping his dad; Eric, with the process.

We've got a great spot that doesn't seem to fail us. This year was a little better than last. The berries were a bit bigger. Yeti found his way to the lake all by himself in the boredom of waiting for the peeps to finish up. Cabot Lake is maybe a 1/4 mile from where we were picking. Yeti is so darned used to the place after 4 years of going there, that he didn't need to wait for the damned slow humans.

I can't wait for Taylor to actually be home to cook this darn pie that I worked so hard for. We don't have many traditions so this is one that I treasure.

Happy fall to everyone, it's just around the corner. Grab the last days of summer and enjoy.

Donaca Lake Attempt

So Casey, I and three dogs (Yeti, Tillie and Muddy) headed out on a beautiful Wed morning to a far off place in the middle of the Middle Santiam Wilderness. Our objective was Donaca Lake. A nice jaunt thru mossy, lush woods. Much different than the mountains near us. We arrived at the trailhead after a long dirt road to an over grown parking lot, the trailhead sign dilapidated and no place to register that indeed there were people in these here woods for the night. We noticed a small plume of smoke behind the parking lot. We evaluated it and it seemed to be smoldering and the opposite direction of where we were headed so we ventured on our way to the first creek crossing only about a mile in. We came upon a small creek with a narrow 20' waterfall cascading down amongst large boulders into a very inviting swimming hole. We weren't quite hot enough to make that plunge so we went above the falls and crossed the creek, barefoot I must add. Ouch!

We continued to meander up thru the green, lush woods and marvel at the scent that surrounded us. I love the smell of the woods. Around one bend we did smell a bit of smoke in a little valley but also heard a maraud of propellers and were a bit relieved to know that some sort of forest service personnel knew about the little fire. We came upon another creek crossing, yes again barefoot, ouch! We continued up the hill and found the trail to be less than maintained. You could see it, but I would bet in maybe a year it will be over taken. So we're having a good ol time and we come to an old road that is truly overgrown.

Yep, that used to be a road.


We were all excited about the next 2.5 miles because the guidebook mentioned ambling. That sounded like fun, then we would reach the little green lake. So along we go and then as we round a corner we see ash in the air. Not a fun feeling in the gut when you are in the woods somewhat in the middle of nowhere. There is a spot fire right off the trail. Little flames here and there. You could see where it had torched about a 20-30' square section of the forest. Fortunately, it is so wet and moist the fire didn't take off. We made our best attempts at squelching the flames with Nalgenes and a trowel. Kinda  a joke, but you do what you can. We grab our packs and look to the little spot again and sure enough more flames. Granted they were little but stilll, come on! So back up into the ash we go. Once again we jump back onto the trail and decide to check out just around the bend to decide if we should continue or head back. Well, around the corner there is quite a large overturned log crackling. Yep, we turned back. Bummed, but feeling like we should maybe not sleep where we could be cut off from getting back in case the fire did take off. At this point, I am not looking forward to my wee little feet crossing the creek again and than a brain burst. We have flip flops on our packs. Duh?! Needless to say we had much more comfortable crossings after that. We don't really want to go back to the car so we find a great spot to have a beer and see if smoke starts to come our way.

The Coors was for you Tay.

We enjoyed the sound of the creek and the dogs loved it.

Well after 2 beers and plenty of smoke free time. We decided to call it a camp and enjoyed the evening. Tillie made a little bed above the river.

Yeti crashed out in front of the tent. He's pretty old ya know?

We had a great time. Good dinner, good conversation and no bugs. Which was like a miracle. We happily closed our eyes listening to the sound of the stream and no crackling. I will admit I woke up in the middle of the night and made sure there was nothing orange coming our way. But all was quiet, and clear. We had a great lazy morning and headed out.

Back at the car for yes, another beer. We could still see the little fire going across the way. the smoke did seem a little more dense so we were happy that all was well over night. As we sat there we could hear chainsaws and saw a helicopter fly over the fire. Gotta love the response to the little fires that were kinda all around us. We questioned how whoever was in there got there because we certainly didn't see anyone. We also wondered if we just missed seeing our friend, Ralph. Who knows if it was smoke jumpers or not? Fun to speculate.

So that's the most recent journey. No glimpse of Donaca Lake but lots of beautiful country and good times.

Things that get you by...

Lynette, Shana and I at Michael Franti concert

I'm looking back at a glorious day in my little town of Bend, OR. I woke to another sunny day. Had an excellent cup of tea and raced around getting ready for a morning of mountain biking. The trails were covered in moon dust but we were able to zip along as best we could. Me and 3 other girls tackled a 2 1/2 hour ride up in the Deschutes wilderness. So fun to be blazing along and enjoying a view of blooming light, lavender lupine amongst the sage.

The hours in the afternoon spent sitting in my quaint little yard reading up on what to do in Cape Town, South Africa. I love the idea of an adventure to come. My dogs (one just visiting) and the cats lazing around or chasing bugs. Soaking up the sun.

I have spent alot of time alone in the last few months and some times are definitely better than others. This afternoon is one of the good ones. I love having some music in the background and letting myself escape into a good book. I also have been reflecting back and want to say thanks to all my friends that make this long distance relationship actually work. If it weren't for all of you. I don't think I could do this.

Of course, I have to give credit to my furry friends as well. They are always ready for me to get up in the morning and give them some love.

To you Taylor, can't wait to see you and yet another new continent. Let's live it up!!

Euro Urban Living

My blogging skills aren't that great so these pic's aren't in the order I would prefer, so skip the church photos until you read the last of the post. :)

View from our little balcony no not the church...

Taylor and I arrived at our last little home via taxi. The roads are so small all around our apartment that he had to drop us off a few blocks away. In fact, we actually went to the wrong door first and then realized that our street was tucked in to all the others. Not a through street at all. All the doors here have locked doors to enter and all the shops have steel doors to close over the shop at night. A great place for graffiti. Anyway, back to the casa...We open the first locked door to find a narrow red stairwell and it is pitch black. So we haul our stuff up three small flights of stairs, still with no light and find our door. Thankfully it's the first one. However, as seen in the picture above there are 3 locks to unlock. It took us at least 3-5 min just to figure out the combination in which to unlock these locks. Once inside we realized that we indeed had 5 locks to keep us safe. Wow! Really!? Do we need that many? Where did I book us an apartment? My doubts were raging at this point. Once inside we realized that it was indeed a great little place. Very clean, small but cozy. Our previous two places were quite cold so this was going to be a better place to read a book and drink our warm morning beverages. We also eventually found a light switch that is on a timer for those of you still wondering if we ever had a light in the stairwell.

We soon plunked all our things into a small bedroom and put our feet up for just a bit. We got out to wander that evening and found that we were in the thick of it all. So fun!! La Rambla which is a large shopping district is less than a 10 min walk and we were also able to walk to many other touristy sites within a hour or less.

Sunday we took a stroll to the famous Gaudi cathedral that has been being built for over 100 years. It still has 30-40 years to go before it is completed. All I have to say is it is weird. Don't get me wrong the stone masonry is amazing but one part looks like church gone vegas with these odd colored balls and colored writing on the pillars. But then you turn the corner and the church looks like an evil being that is holding onto beautiful statues of saints as captives. Then there are the lizards and snakes on each corner of another part and then don't forget the part that looks like a candle has being melted all over it. One book said that you would either love it or hate it, but it would definitely be a conversation piece, well that sure is true.

It is our last day here in Barcelona, we plan to go do a little shopping, take some more photos of this amazing market that is off La Rambla. (You 'll probably see a post of just those photos sometime soon) We woke up this morning at 5:30 and walked down to the pier for a sunrise photo. it was neat to see the city start to come to life. After that super early morning we are having round two of the day. We both just woke up from a nap. I love vacation...