Days 6 & 7!

Hey, Blog Watchers! The time is flying by as fast as the odometer on the CR-V. Fun road trip fact #1- I bought my car from Charlie and his parents a year ago when we graduated. Charlie was moving to NYC and I was moving to LA, so it worked out perfectly. {Side note to Dr. and Mrs. Semine- those last few payments are coming real soon ;-) }

So far we have traveled 1,424 miles! Crazy. As I type this, I am sitting in the backseat watching the beautiful scenery of coastal Washington. We just crossed the Oregon/Washington border and it is truly awe-inspiring.

We arrived in Portland on Friday night at 7:30. On the way to Portland we stopped and swam in a river in the Redwood Forest. It was very refreshing. The air further north was thick with smoke from the wildfires. It was hazy and warm. We drove directly to the restaurant my good friend Jesse Leo works at called “Night Light”. Jesse and I grew up together in Bethel, CT. He and my other childhood friend John Ricci both moved to Portland about 8 years ago and they both love it. I can see why; Portland is a city rich in culture, beauty and great food. Snow capped Mt. Hood loomed in the distance as we enjoyed a cold beer in the late June heat of SE Portland.

Tommy’s sister, Dawn, also lives in Portland. She owns an amazing company called fruitforward.com. Fruitforward.com is a web-based wine club that ships two bottles of great wine every month to its members for a great price. Check it out!

Tommy and Dawn went out on the town and enjoyed an amazing meal at Paley’s Place. Charlie, Jesse and I visited with Jesse’s life partner, Silvana, before going to meet up with John at his burgeoning business, Mr. Biggs Wings. It was great to see John and Jesse again.

Saturday morning Charlie and I got to spend some quality time with Jesse, Silvana and their 17-month-old son, Silas. He has gotten so big since I saw him in November. He is talking a lot and loves to eat breakfast. We all went to the farmer’s market at Portland State University. It really was the best farmer’s market I’ve ever experienced. There was so much great local produce and food. Next, we made a quick stop at REI before saying goodbye to everyone. Tonight we will be staying at Pacific Beach State Park just outside of Olympic National Park in the Northwest corner of Washington. Tomorrow we will be getting up bright and early for our first backcountry foray into the wild! Can’t wait.



Oh, one last thing. Just wanted to say an extra special thanks for the tons of comments from everyone on the blog. When Tommy, Charlie and I finish an exhausting day of hiking and camping there is nothing like hankering down and reading all the wonderful comments and advice. Keep 'em coming!