A Belated Oregon Vacation.

Today I was going through the tedious process of salvaging some photos off my Facebook when I realized that I never blogged about our Oregon trip. Thankfully, I uploaded about 70 photos from our trip to Facebook, so I could save them to my computer. Phew! Flipping through those photos really made me happy. We had such a fun trip.

Mark and I decided to go to Oregon because, well, it's one of my favorite places in the whole wide world and he's never been there before. My family used to go there every year, but because of my parents' mission and my school I hadn't been there for about 5 years. It was high time to go back! This was also the time when Mark found out that the internship in Munich wasn't going to work and we didn't know if we were going anywhere for the summer. So needless to say, we needed a break. We packed up the car over spring break and headed for the coast!

Welcome to Oregon!

Blech. Nasty snow in the Blue Mountains. Exactly what my dad warned me about. This section of our trip was definitely white knuckles on the steering wheel. The scariest part was going down the summit because the road was so steep. Boy, was I relieved when we finally made it out and down into the valley where it was raining!

Headed towards the Columbia. A break in the clouds. After this, I took a few pictures of the turbines along the Columbia River, then it was took dark to take any more. We made it to our hotel in Portland around 9 p.m. and were so excited for the next day!

Mark down by the Columbia River in Portland. We went to investigate the Saturday market in the city center.

Gorgeous.

I was so excited to see green grass, blooming trees, and clear skies after being stuck in Logan for the winter. Logan has nasty inversions and black snow that won't melt in March.

The "Made in Oregon" sign is behind there somewhere.

One part of the market.

After that, we made our way to Sweetpea Baking Company (a vegan bakery) and had a delicious lunch. It was so overwhelming to eat somewhere were I actually could eat any item if I wanted to. It was so hard to pick, but I decided on a vegan chickpea melt (supposed to be like a tuna melt). It was so good. Mark got a double stacker grilled cheese. Then I picked up a carrot cake cupcake on the way out. Yum!

After that, we decided to go to Multnomah Falls because we didn't know if we would have time for it later in the trip.

We accidently came across the old highway that runs between the current freeway and the mountain. It was gorgeous and I'm so glad we found it.

We also found Wahkeenah Falls, something else I'd never seen!

We hiked up to see it closer.

Then we went to see Multnomah!

A bearded Mark! It's so weird to see him with a beard. I'm so used to him being clean shaven for his internship now.

The next day we drove to Astoria. What a cute town!

Looking out to where the Columbia almost meets the Pacific.

The Astoria Tower

The Columbia and the Pacific Ocean!

The views from up top are phenomenal.

Of course, I had to get in some shots of Astoria, too.

It sure was windy up there. The only reason there's just a picture of me is because Mark was scared of getting anywhere near the railing and basically clutched the building the whole time. haha! Oh Mark. Soon after, we walked back down the tower and were safely on the ground again. :)

Ocean ho!

Next stop was Seaside. We had fun walking around the shops and strolling the beach.

After several unsuccessful attempts at a taking our own picture by the ocean, a nice lady came by and offered to take our picture for us. Thanks, kind lady!

Seaside beach

Canon Beach!

Mark and the coast!

This is one of my favorite stops along the coast. You can see so much.

Oceanside!

Cape Meares lighthouse. Some morons decided it would be cool to shoot out the windows and even the lens inside. :(

Then we made our way to Pacific City. I love this place! Here is Cape Kiwanda.

Mark took off his shoes so he could venture out in the ocean. This was his first time, and I think he's a little skeptical!

So cold!

We walked to the other side of the sand dunes and watched the waves for awhile. This is where my shoe almost took a fateful dive off the cliff into the ocean, but Mark climbed under the fence and rescued it for me. We had this all on video because it happened while I was filming the ocean, but sadly, it is lost. :(

Tierra Del Mar, where we usually stay in our relative's beach house.

The next morning as the sun was rising, we stopped by Cape Kiwanda to say goodbye before we headed home.

We had such an amazing trip and I'm thankful that I could salvage these photos from Facebook. There is something so amazing about the Oregon Coast that I don't think I can ever get enough of. It's a combination of the relaxed attitude, the nice people, the cool air, the green forests and the ocean that just make it so magical.

Impatient is the word.

Thanks for all your support on my lack of blogging. It feels good to get back to writing (it is my major, after all.)

Okay, time to share the news I've been DYING to spill for months--remember this post?

Mark applied for an internship in Germany. Munich to be exact. It was for an auditing position with Deloitte & Touche, one of the top accounting firms in the world. We found out about it early September and Mark applied in October. He received an email from the Deloitte & Touche branch in Munich letting him know they would be glad to offer him an internship, but there actually wasn't an "official" position for him in the summer. The man said there might be one, however, but it was all up to one company's decision. Who that company was and what they had to decide remains a mystery to me. But the man said it could be "as late as February" before he would know if there was a position for Mark.

Well, let me tell you, the time has dragged. And I am beginning to get IMPATIENT. Dare I say irritable? And I'm not even the one applying for the position. Mark seems pretty cool about it though. (Luckily, patience is one of Mark's best attributes.)

Here's why I'm so antsy: There are a lot of changes in store for us. I'm graduating in May. We're moving (maybe even to a new country). We've been in the same apartment for almost three years. My family wants to go on a trip to Europe over the summer with us. But here's the thing, we can't start planning it, because we don't know when we can go! Summer is going to be here before I know it, and all my plans are up in the air. As much as I like flying by the seat of my pants (which is how I make most of my decisions) I can't handle flying by the seat of my pants with this one.

You see, I miss Europe. When we found out about the internship opportunity, I immediately began searching the net for pictures, videos and apartment listings in Munich. I've been to Germany before, but only to see one castle.

I also recently discovered Google street view, which is available for some parts of Europe, such as Switzerland. I've started browsing streets here and there, seeing places I've been before. This does little to help the situation.

I'm so proud of Mark for applying and coming so close to getting accepted. Hopefully we can get an answer soon so we can close this chapter of our lives and start planning a new one. Let's hope time flies by--and fast.

One street corner I remember standing on in Lucerne, Switzerland. (Google street view)

Hopefully I'll see you soon, Europe!

Updates!

I've got so many updates to share with you!

First things first, school starts on Monday. Am I sad? Yes. Well, kinda. I'm excited to go back and get it over with. Plus, part of me is just yearning to go back and be a good student. Of course, this ambition usually lasts a week, if I'm lucky. Last week I took a walk around campus at night by myself. It was such a good walk to just think about where I'm going with my life. As I walked around, I couldn't believe how pretty campus was and I know I'm going to miss it when I leave. Part of me regrets my college experience so far, that I've just been really passive about it all. I've really got to make the most of my last year and so I have no regrets.

Second update--I'm going to a concert tomorrow! Iron & Wine, one of my favorite musicians of all time, is coming to good ol' SLC for free. You'd better believe I'm excited. I'm sure there are going to be millions of people there, but it's going to be great. Here's one of my favorite songs by Sam Beam (the frontman and founder of Iron & Wine):

(Gotta love flamenco!)

Third update--I'm going to another concert in September! Another one of my favorite bands, Pearl Jam, is coming. I figured since I've pretty much loved them my whole life (started listening to their music when I was about 11) then I'd better go see them. They never swing by Salt Lake, so this is going to be their first concert there in 10 years. Luckily, I snagged tickets but they definitely aren't for free. But that's okay, because I'd pay to see Eddie Vedder any day!

Yet another update--I'm going back to Europe!! Things aren't set in stone yet, but we're planning on going back in March or May. My brother and my parents have always wanted to go over, so last weekend we sat down and talked about it and decided that we should make it happen. We've been talking about it for awhile now, but I always figured that since we were going to school then we wouldn't have enough money. Hopefully, if we get a good deal on tickets, then we would be able to save up. I can't tell you how excited I am! Not only because I'm going to Europe, but we're going to be going to Germany, where Mark served his mission. I can't wait to go with him and see all the places where he was. It'll be so much fun to see him get excited about seeing those places again.

Here's a rough itinerary of some places we want to go: Hamburg, Berlin, and Munich in Germany, Simrishamn in Sweden (where my great grandfather is from), and Bern in Switzerland (where another set of great grandparents came from). That's what we have so far. There's been talk of possibly visiting Prague.

Here's Simrishamn

Image from here

Man, this is going to be a good year.

Ich werde zu zurückkehren, Europe

Four years ago, I was on my maiden voyage to a foreign land. Four years ago, I sat impatiently on a plane. Four years ago, I went on a trip to Europe. 

I remember when I first spotted the continent--I really hadn't slept at all on the plane. We were served croissants as we flew over France. I looked down and saw the beautiful towns scattered on the hills and I was in love. 

The first smell of Europe was the wall of cigarette smoke that smacked us as we walked into the Fiumicino Airport in Rome. After that, it was the best two weeks of my life. Cigarette smoke and all. 

It's so hard to believe that it's been four years since I've left because I still have dreams about going back. Usually in my dreams, my trips to Europe will be sprung on me the last second, and I'll have about five minutes to get ready. I frantically search and cram everything into my luggage. Yet somehow, I never manage to make it back. 

One of my companions on my trip was my journal. I was constantly writing and collecting. I even kept gelato napkins. Yep, I did. 

I won't bother you with too much of my journal, so I'll only post a few entries. Here's a snippet, about my first day in Rome. 

(Caution: Beware of the over-usage of exclamation points in my entries. I guess you can tell I was really excited to be over there.) 

June 2, 2005

Today we leave Rome! So sad. It's been so fun here! Yesterday we started the day by going to breakfast. Their 'continental' breakfast is soo good, sweet croissants, crispy rolls, and a creamy/slushy yogurt. It's so good! Then we met 'Frenchy,' our courier, and walked down to the subway (my first time in a subway!) and rode to the Colosseum, where we met up with our tour guide for the day, Fabio, a rather attractive Italian man I would say. Then we walked up to the chapel holding St. Peter's chains and the Moses statue by Michaelangelo, which was awesome! then we caught the bus to the vatican--OH WAIT! I forgot the coolest part, we went on a walking tour of the Forum, the ancient part of Rome. We saw old ruins, the senate building and some old arches. It was incredible! Then we walked around and out of the Forum and to my favorite (well one of my favorite) things in Rome, the big building with the statue of the chariots, it's incredible! (EDITED: Vittorio Emanuelle II monument) ...

June 3 and June 5 

(I started an entry, then finished it later)

...Yesterday we left Florence and arrived in Venice, my favorite place so far. Well it's a close one between Rome and Venice, but it is beautiful. We caught a water bus over to our hotel, it was awesome! We walked up to the front of the boat and was waving to everyone, and then the bus driver was like, "You very nice!" and then he turned on some music and we all started dancing, it was tons of fun. It was so nice to feel the breeze and to actually be dry for once. I swear it's so muggy here, you're instantly sweaty, it's gross. Then, by the end of the day you feel so sick it's almost unbearable. But anyways, we went to our hotel and dropped off our luggage, then we went to St. Mark's.

We went through the church and through Dodge's Palace, that was pretty cool. We went out and had some free time--oh wait, we went and watched a glass blowing demonstration and I bought some earrings. We shopped more after then went to dinner--wait, I keep forgetting things. I fed the pigeons on St. Mark's square and they seriously attacked me! I had them on my head, shoulders and arms, it was crazy! ...

and perhaps one of my more favorite, yet short entries:

June 5, 2005

Hey! Well I'm not on a bus anymore, so hopefully my handwriting will be more legible. I'm in Innsbruck tonight, and I like it a lot! I'm right in the middle of the Alps, and it is so pretty here. I wish I could spend more time in this place, it's so clean and nice and smells good! There's a lot of cute, nice guys too. It's actually cooler up here and it keeps my hair under control, which is lovely! In Italy, it was so hot and humid, it was OUT OF CONTROL! Tomorrow we are headed to Neuschwanstein and then on to Lucerne! I'm so excited. We didn't do much today, just mostly chilled in Innsbruck. The city is so beautiful! I can't get over it. Isn't it amazing how many people there are in the world? I've seen probably more people in these past couple of days than I have in my whole life...

I love that last line because it is so true. Those big cities are just packed full of people, yet everyone lives together so wonderfully. It's amazing. 

I felt so safe over in Europe. Mark and I joked, as we went on our anniversary trip to Seattle, that we felt safer in Europe's bigger cities. I remember that even as we walked home late at night in Rome, I never got the heebie jeebies like I did occasionally in Seattle. 

And how could you not feel safe being in places like this? 

People in Europe seem to be more natural. It actually felt like I could get away without makeup. That's a good feeling, let me tell you.

I also loved how a lot of people walked, biked, or took public transit. Granted, Europe wouldn't have enough room if everyone had a car, but I just loved how there were less big streets and more bikes.  

And even though not very many people in our group liked it, I loved the overnight train! 

Europe has deep historical roots, and Europeans proudly take care of them. I think it's so astounding how many of the buildings of the bigger cities have been around for hundreds of years. It doesn't seem like they tear down a building if they know they can build something bigger and better. They have buildings with character, and are proud of it. 

I don't remember how old these buildings are along the Grand Canal in Venice, but trust me, they are pretty darn old. 

Oh Europe. I'll come back and see you soon. I can feel it in my bones.