The view from atop the Space Needle on a windy afternoon.

… Or maybe, more appropriately, starting what we finished.

Dear fans, friends, and family,
Forgive us for leaving you hanging. While most of you know our trip has ended and we’re settled in our new digs in Portland, some of you may not know when, why and how it all happened. Don’t worry the best part of this story is not the end.

Now we reside in this rainy city, in a downtown apartment overlooking mature trees, museums, and old churches. The RV seems so far away now, and the search for our next sights have been replaced by the search for a job, preferably with benefits. At dinner the three of us start in rounds of remember when’s of our favorite times of the journey. Perhaps that’s why we’ve put off ending our blog, accepting that our days of travel are all just a memory is definitely harder than expected.

So now, let us begin where we left off… where were we… SEATTLE.

Leg 2, Days 16&17 : Seattle, Wash.

After walking through the first farmers market of the season at our future residential park blocks, and picking up some local wine and cheeses to take to Rich and Ali, we headed for the Emerald City. We made some last-minute reservations at a downtown hotel and arrived a little after 7 p.m. at a La Quinta adorned by an Orca Whale mural. We were completely exhausted, so decided to go grab some takeout dinners from the Whole Foods around the corner and call it a night. The next day we’d head to see the Space Needle and Pikes Place Market. We ate, argued, and went to sleep. Tomorrow would be better.

Braving the cold atop the Space Needle.

We woke up to a cold, gray, Seattle day and headed to Pikes Place to walk through the market and grab some lunch. We ate at Pikes Place Brewery, sampled some beer and cider, split a gigantic plate of Nachos and then walked around. There was an Insane Clown Posse concert that night so the streets were full of their face-painted fans. In an effort to ditch the clowns quickly we took the monorail to the Space Needle, which turned out to be as much fun as the 41-second elevator ride to the top of the skyscraper. While at the Space Needle we walked around, took two pictures before our camera batteries expired (go figure) and purchased some cute pajama pants along with some postcards we never sent. Then headed back through the icy winds to our hotel. Again exhausted. and not wanting to primp to go out to dinner, we headed to Whole Foods for another tour of their salad bar. Which is darn good, but just as expensive as a nice meal out. We were all excited about tomorrow’s voyage to Vancouver, BC and our reunion with The Canadian Mockett Family.

The next morning came and disaster struck, somewhere in between the showers and packing, Andrew and I exploded at each other. Now, I’m not even sure why or what this argument hardly concealed behind the bathroom door was even about, but it ended with us both in tears on the floor, questioning why we ever though it would be a good idea to spend half a year with each other in a rolling box and if we‘d make it out still in love or more importantly, ALIVE? But the show had to go on. After a long hug we hauled our 17 reusable grocery bags full of all our gruesome stuffs to the RV and got back on the road to Rich and Ali, Mathew and Emma.

To Vancouver, Canada we go!

Dreams and Reflection

In a king-sized bed the three of us, Andrew, myself, and Fynn can sleep peacefully, only stretching out to touch the person next to us if we want to. That is how we slept last night, and I had the most wonderful dream. I dreamed of all the places we’d been, the sights we’ve seen, the people we’ve met, the food we’ve eaten, and everything in between. Lastly, before I woke, I saw my lips recounting the stories of this last year of our life to faceless people and when I woke I knew our trip, this beautiful adventure, was over.

I looked over to my left to see Fynn, arms streched wide, tenderly wheezing as she exhaled dreamily. This is not the same child we left with, but a bigger, brighter, more wonderous version of my sweet little baby. Perhaps that’s just the effect of time and age, or maybe these experiences have changed her, leaving an indelible mark on her. In a year she went from waking up every morning asking if she had to go to (pre) school, to waking every morning asking where we were and what we were going to see today. She may not know the name of every state, but she knows alligators live in Florida, Obama’s house is in Washington, D.C., and she can tell you where to find the biggest, fastest slide in all of Central Park. What a year for a three, now four-year-old girl.

Then I looked over and saw my beautiful husband, and nor is he the same man that came home with news he and 20 others had been casualties of the (great) recession. Our leader now rests knowing he successfully and safely guided his budding family through uncharted territories. And while it was a group effort and took everything we all had in us, Andrew was always the backbone of this operation, and the rock we could lean on when things looked grim. Now, clean-shaven and coiffed, puffed up with pride, he’s ready for whatever is next to come our way, be it jobs, fortune, or fame. Most likely the first, and with his new do, he’s prepared and quite alright with that.

I too have changed. For me, this is only the second time where a vision of a grand plan became reality (the first being our magical wedding). And so the trip has turned me, the dreamer, into me the believer. Now I know my mother was not bluffing when she told me I could do WHATEVER I wanted to do. And I’ll take with me, to the next part of our lives together, this small piece of confidence, knowing that whatever I set my mind to, will happen. And it happened fast as lightning.

Sadly, Mischa was not privy to the massive mattress sleep over, but I feel like, for completion of the family, that I should mention how this awkward puppy grew into our big, sturdy, loving and protective dog, all on the roads of America. She’s been everywhere, man, but the only place she ever wanted to be was by our side, and at times in our laps.

Now all that’s left for this gang of travelers is to finish up these last days in Vancouver, and catch up our faithful readers, our team of rooters, and support, on all that’s happened in the past week. All that’s left is the story.

In less than 15 days we found our future home. In less than 30 days we’ll be living in a downtown Portland high rise with the city park blocks outside our window. We’ll be cutting leg 2 of our adventure about two weeks short. Here’s how it all happened …

Signing Day!

We had been apartment hunting for a few days and kept coming up against the same obstacle: Most buildings don’t allow so-called scary dog breeds, of which Mischa’s German Shepherd heritage is one. Pit bulls, Rottweilers, Dobermans, Chow-Chows and even Dalmatians are banned from the majority of Portland’s apartment buildings. We were getting more and more frustrated as the search continued.

Our super-spacious apartment! The view from just inside the entryway.

We arrived at the swanky Ladd Apartments expecting to hear the same old song, but we set up a viewing and crossed our fingers. The leasing agent took us to the elevator and the doors opened. We were greeted with the most wonderful vision since the Israelites watched the Red Sea miraculously part, for there before us was a large, black German Shepherd. We had found our home.

The view from our window overlooking the southwest city park blocks.

We looked at three units: One was way up in the sky with a tiny, tiny balcony; another was on the third floor with a cool eco-garden to look at, but not much space to live in; and the third was a studio-plus on the second floor with 926 square foot of living goodness and a beautiful view of the bustling park blocks, where dog walkers weave in and out of school field trips, and theaters and museums jostle for position on the old and fashionable streets.

On Friday we signed an 18-month lease and our lease begins in a month’s time. But first we have to explore Seattle and spend some time with the Vancouver Mocketts. Our journey is coming to an end, but there are still a few kicks left to seek!