"there is only one wish on my mind, when this day is through i hope that i will find, that tomorrow will be just the same for you and me"--the carpenters

on our way to seattle, we stop in yakima, washington for a gig at gilbert cellars, a local winery. i had no idea that yakima, washington was an up and coming wine location? the wine was damn good too. this is an example of a lovely gig….where they wine and dine you, are thrilled you are there and it just all feels warm and fuzzy.

the crowd was small, but the warmth of the employees and the few patrons that were there certainly made up for it. 

it is also these moments that make realize the world is in fact a kind place. the gig was set up through friends of friends and then also put us in contact with a woman who would house us for the evening. then, get this: she went out of town! she left the key for us, under the mat and offered her home to us. a total stranger! amazing…

it was nice to get a good night sleep: have an amazing bed (therapeutic, what?!) a hot shower and some animal time! her dog, chip was awesome!

yakima itself was kind of a sad, little town. i went for a walk while eric was playing and met some strange characters. still, beautiful nature surrounds you, not a bad trade off? on we go to seattle!

now, i have had some pretty awesome vegan experiences on this trip thus far. i mean, LA? almost all of california is pretty veg friendly, but seattle may take the cake. especially since we stayed close to the university district, where one street houses so many amazing vegan options. i always 'happy cow' my current destination to see what my options are (although i can really make do just about anywhere, it is always nice to have someone else cook for me, have comfort foods of the past and of course, different choices!) seattle may have had the most! my first stop was pizza pi…an all vegan pizza parlor! what?! yessssss….

eric and i settle in at jess and gibbons apartment, who also were out of town and left a key for us. (who are these people? awesome, i say!) we decide to walk a to pizza pi. we always enjoy some good movement after a long day in the car…it was a lovely journey! we detoured through a park..

why hello there?

and just our luck, a street arts festival was happening close to where we were headed. of course, we did a little stroll though..

and then on we go to my heaven: pizza pi!

not only was the guy behind the counter super nice, but he gave us stickers, an informative dvd and a print out of all vegan friendly places in seattle! whoa!

i got the aloha pizza, complete with canadian 'bacon' and eric got the thai chicken (gardein is in fact good!) both were amazing. 

we stroll through seattle and see many interesting sights, like a dog in a baby carrier, on a bike.

we clean out the van and prepare to cross the border to vancouver! i had no idea crossing the border has become such a big deal and eric expands my concerns with previous stories of hassles. the border guard was pretty serious, although it seemed rather funny after it was all said and done. the dialogue went a little bit like this:

stern border guard: what do have in the vehicle?

a nervous eric nassau: um, we have a guitar, two backpacks, two bicycles….

(stern border guard interrupts, glaring unamused)

stern border guard: ---and hula hoops.

a still nervous eric nassau: um, yes. one hula hoop.

well, they let us in!

we go directly to the home of dave newberry, a friend of our friend scott cook. dave welcomes us in his home like we are old friends. if you know me at all, you may have heard me say this, but i will say it again: i fucking love canadians. in fact, i have never met one i didn't like? i love their little accents, their love and consideration for nature and mostly their intellect. maybe i just continuously meet the cream of the canadian crop, but these folks are wicked smart. scott shows up soon after, we enjoy a nice home cooked meal all together and then head over to the gig. we load everyone into the family van, which is always interesting…

they were good sports though! we go to the little mountain gallery, which is a great art space.

if you haven't ever been to a 'music in the round' kind of event, if you hear of one in your town, i highly recommend going. it is such a intimate experience, where you can really get insight into the songwriting process and also the back story to the music. i totally love them!

the stage was full of super talented singer, songwriters. those candadians were damn talented, but i thought eric represented americuh quite well. it was really nice to hear some new music, i enjoyed dave and jenny's music very much and i am already a HUGE scott cook fan.

a group of awesome folks went back to dave's house to hang out. i am always impressed by foreigners knowledge of american politics. i mean, these kids probably new more about what is going on in our country than most americans. it was very interesting and inspiring. the next day, a bunch of us went out for breakfast at Cafe Du Soleil.


 i have a delicious tofu scramble.

dave and elizabeth are awesome!

we walk back to dave and elizabeth's place. it is a rainy, dreary day and we struggle to get moving. we want to explore the city as we are only have a few days here. we try really hard to not let our experience of vancouver be dictated by the weather. so we head out on our bikes to visit one of eric's friends at her work and to go to stanley park. of all the cities we have biked in, vancouver might be my favorite. elizabeth gave us a bike map to use for the day and it was amazing: they have one way bike lanes! many streets that must be shared by bikes and cars, it was wonderful. we go to deadly couture to visit laura, who was super sweet.

we make it to stanley park, which is vast and beautiful, but our plans of our anniversary picnic are thwarted due to weather.

we teach scott cook the dance video and pack up our stuff. on our way out of town, we go to north vancouver to visit the lynn valley park. we get a little education at the welcome center and then head off to see the waterfall. although one must cross a pretty intense suspension bridge in order to get there. a little nerve wracking…but only because i have seen way too many movies where these bridges collapse. why do they do that to us?

it is really beautiful. i just love the colors of the forrest. wherever there is water in addition to the forrest, the air is so clean and refreshing. it is like instant recharge.

we are sad to leaver vancouver, but excited to explore seattle more.

we get to visit with jessica and gibson, who are both working on thesis and finishing up school: jessica her masters and gib his PhD. they are so sweet to welcome us into their home at this stressful time in their lives. we get to catch up and swap stories but then try to give them some space to get their work done. we go over to the linxweiler's to celebrate eric's 40 birthday. we are welcomed by this lovely family, with eric's parents visiting from ohio for the occasion.

my eric teaches eric's young son, cap, his first chord on guitar. it was amazing!! we go out for some drinks with eric and pam. we get to explore a little bit of west seattle, which seems pretty cool too.

great people and good times!

the next morning, we went to possibly the best vegan breakfast in my life. if only i was hungover? this would have been the best greasy spoon recovery spot. the wayward cafe!

we totally feasted!

and it was awesome! coffee and the local paper, vegan comfort food with my sweet baby…does it get any better?

we hang with jess and gib a bit more. eric and gib chat about music and realize that the chima's are one of the few lucky owners of an eric nassau original:

we try to leave them to their work to head out to visit the seattle troll!

we did some errands and went to a sweet record store. then it was time to get ready for the gig at the rogue and peasant. but first, i get to meet up with camille chu and her wookie, matt for some thai dinner. we give the abridged versions of what we have each been doing for the last 8 years.

hooray for chu!

great peeps, they were awesome in learning our dance for the video.

chu is tall and i am...well, not.

eric has often said this to me many times, but it has been cool for me to witness one of his many reasons for having this occupation: the uniting of people. chu and matt are my friends, eric had some of his friends come to the gig, some from college, some from lifetimes ago in columbus and then they bring their friends or families and then the magic happens: a bunch of strangers all get together and hang out for a universal cause which is the support of eric nassau. it is pretty cool to watch!

eric nassau: uniting the world, one gig at a time

chu and i have so much to chat about, we can hardly keep quiet during the set! i really enjoy matt and am happy for my friend to have found such a great partner.

it was such a fun night. the next morning, we have to pack up and reorganize, as always. possibly my least favorite part of the journey? i also realize how eric has developed so many skills from living this lifestyle for so long. you really learn how to pack light as you experience the benefits from doing so. you also put less value on things because their is always a chance they could be lost in the exchanges. their is great adaptability that comes with packing up and moving all the time. although it is not always easy, i am so grateful for all that i am continuously learning on this trip. it is pretty amazing to witness your own growth.

we leave seattle for the long journey to moscow, idaho!

still, in all i'm happy. the reason is, you see. once in a while, along the way. love's been good to me--frank sinatra

so then we go to portland oregon! we show up with our delicious vegan cupcakes from eugene to a little gathering organized by the lovely jessica. when i walk into the home of taylor, audrey, kathryn and joe (although joe was out of town)

 i instantly feel at home. 

oh hey, awesome vegan cupcakes...

i think i was having such a lovely time getting to know everyone at the little shindig, that i didn't take any pictures. i enjoyed talking to paige and then…it was amazing. these wonderful ladies work so effectively, they collectively make the most delicious meal. they are all so enchanting, in their own ways, eric and i will discuss through out the weekend how we just can't decide which lady is our favorite, we simply love them all! look our park circle ladies crew, you finally have some competition! :)

the following day, we woke with a plan to explore sauvie island. audrey, taylor, eric and myself head out on an exploring adventure. we eventually make it to the river to relax and enjoy a picnic. some folks were jet skiing and i just can't imagine being immersed in this water--it is freezing! beautiful, but fucking cold, man!

we had a lovely afternoon! we return to the house and once hearing that some of the ladies have never seen the karate kid 

(a film eric and i have been randomly quoting through out this trip) we knew their was only one thing to do: rent the karate kid immediately! we made some dinner and settled in to get a blast from the 80s past byway of cinema. wonderful!

ok, so the next morning….i mean, really…please ask me about this day in portland. it will surely go down as one of the funniest, most ridiculous and simultaneously awesome stories of our lives. i can't really go into the details, but just know it was hilarious. eric was so sweet and brought me breakfast in bed as i slowly awoke for the day. taylor went for a run, kathryn went to work, audrey went to water the garden, jess was planning on meeting us at the house in a little bit and eric…well, the man just loves chocolate! this is what the morning looked like:

and then this is us all together, blissfully happy!

we had plans for the always needed and especially appreciated organizing of the van and cleaning of our camping equipment. we quickly modified our plans to better suite our needs. jess offered to take us on a bike exploration, headed to an awesome park in sellwood. audrey, much amused by us, joined us in biking to the ladies shared community garden space.

one of the many reasons i love these ladies and much of the rest of the pacific northwest peeps: they all came together to get this garden space to grow food, for themselves and their friends. they are smart and hardworking, knowledgable about gardening, ensuring that this garden will in fact, kick ass. jess, eric and i continue on our biking journey!

the colors of this more industrial part of town, combined with some landscape, are so beautiful. i am so distracted while riding my bike, everything seems muted and earth toned and completely soothing. i absolutely LOVE portland. we get sort of worn out, so we pull off and take a rest.

we regroup and buck up for the last leg until we get to the park. and man, is it worth it! sell wood riverfront park is gorgeous. we are blessed with the most perfect weather. audrey had packed us some much needed snacks. we get some nourishment as we observe the dogs playing in the park. i know i have said it before, but their is nothing simpler or more enjoyable than enjoying your local community park. it is free and there for you, so use it! we go explore this really cool floating dock and soak up the sun. 

jess is such a wonderful addition. it is so nice getting to know her.

we take trail into the narrow woods of the park to a wonderful, more isolated spot down by the river. jess initiated an impromptu yoga session that was much needed for all of us.

jess initiated a much needed yoga sesh...

and she was a headstand rockstar!

we then meet up with audrey and kathryn who came to the park to do some kayaking. they opt to hike back with me, giving eric and jess a turn on the boat.

this day only gets better…

we loaded all our things, including our bikes into/on audrey's little car and off we go to the most amazing area and group, the city repair.

seriously, look this up and be prepared to be inspired. i instantly daydream how easy it would be to slip into this community. how many things already established that i am interested in. and then i think of some of the trendsetters in clintonville, spearheading their own little movements. all in all, this place just makes you want to start creating things…like this cat palace!

they have merged their backyards with their neighbors, to create a communal space, in which supports everyone, like this, perhaps the coolest chicken coop, ever?

one of their most visible projects is the intersection. it is so incredible, words will never do it justice. it has the people and their needs in mind, uniting the community and in a location that is usually drab, this intersection is far from it.

a kids play area

the tea station

a tea station? maintained by people of the community. the water was pretty hot and various delicious teas were on hand for your enjoyment. of which i absolutely did! a tub for dirty dishes is hidden by the cloth under the table.

it is like how things should be. lets all take care of each other, share what we have and enjoy life and our neighbors. we also film one of the largest dance numbers to date. it was amazing! we got a girl riding on her bike to join too!

we got some thai food and all headed home. the ladies countered eric with movie the water boy, as he had never seen in. not many of us remained awake too long for that one, worn out from a tremendous day.

we get an early start the next morning for mt. hood to go morrel hunting! a collective agreement on a pitstop to voodoo doughnuts in first on the agenda. i have heard of this place, making outrageous doughnut flavors and offering vegan options. i haven't had a doughnut in so long….this is my reaction to the vegan shelf:

voodoo doughnuts is total hipster doughnut establishment…the interior totally entertaining.

we all struggle to decide which flavors, with some like maple bacon, captain crunch, and ones with grape koolaid frosting.

jess goes for the blue raspberry

i go for the maple frosted, boston cream filled, complete with hipster mustache. 

we make another pitstop at the boneville dam's recreation area to check the sights and for a pee break.

back enroute to mt. hood

again, i am not sure what magic the mountains posses, but they draw me in. it is so crazy to see snow cap mountains!

this was my first experience of morel hunting. trudging the terrain was challenging, but i was excited by the possibility of finding some mushrooms

we may have been a bit early in the season for prime time findings, but regardless, it was enjoyable to take in the beautiful scenery.

just as i thought we wouldn't find any, jess finds one. i look closer and i find one too! HOORAY! we only found a handful of mushrooms for the day, but it was still really fun. the hike back, straight up was pretty challenging for eric and i. i constantly see why the people of the west have earned their outdoors-y, fit stereotype: its called elevation. ya know, mountains and shit. you have to be rather fit to explore nature in these parts.

we head back home, all pretty worn out from another full day. per usual, eric has more social plans in store for the evening. we head over to the river street studios to have a cookout with rob, aka big water and his friends. i instantly get recharged with the notion of seeing one, megan palmer! it is always nice to see a friendly face from home. turns out, the whole party has ohio roots!

after some grub, wine, hooping, and chatting, we head up to big waters studio so he, megan and eric can have a little practice sesh for gig the next day.

check it out: love rocks

we wake up early the next day to get our start to bagby hot springs. jess, kathryn, eric and i make the journey to this beautiful spot. hey netflixers, watch 'old joy' to get a look at this place, it was filmed there!

thankfully, it is a pretty easy and also totally beautiful hike in.

now these springs are SUPER HOT! we kept filling up buckets of cold water to not scald us!

we all soak and relax until we are good and pruney!

some of these tubs go way back!

i seriously love hot springs. i always liked taking a hot bath after a long days work, but to take one in nature? well, now ya just combined some of my favorite things…

hey look, i am in a tree!

it was another lovely day with these peeps! couldn't ask for more!

the drive home is breathtaking. like all of the surrounding areas are. it is amazing how a city as vibrant and active as portland has some of the most pristine nature just hours away.

we return home and get ready for the gig! we go to the alberta street pup for the musical stylings of big water, eric nassau and megan palmer! rad! i get to spread my wings and add door woman to my list of skills! 

i love watching all of these musicians. it is always a treat when eric and megan play together. 

the next morning, we try to do all the things we never did because we were too busy having fun. i head out to REI to get a warmer sleeping bag. turns out, my idea of going to warm,  sunny california in the spring wasn't exactly accurate. it gets super cold at night and i have my summer bag with me.

i head out to do some errands and eric gets organized and gets a lovely visit from KC and her adorable children. Suz enjoys mortimer just as much as we do!

i believe this could be our marketing picture for the eric nassau beard shirt, modeled by the lovely jess

we pack up and head out. i am pretty sad to leave this awesome community. such cool peeps, such a cool city. on our way out of town, we visit with eric's friends, amber, who is ranger at the dalles, a old damn that was pretty fascinating.

then we are off to seattle!