Out of Town

Awhile ago I surprised a friend and we had so much fun together, we set a time to meet up again.  We were super excited to see each other and as the weekend got closer we started to look for hotels, but unbeknownst to us, the weekend we chose was the weekend of the cities biggest festival, so no "cheap" hotels could be found, so we decided to make a day of it.
Sadly I forgot to bring my camera, yet I had changed purses, so I could bring my camera, so all I had my camera phone, which wasn't awful, but it wasn't the best either.
We started with breakfast and then got our toes done.  The last time I got pink, so I stayed on the trend. Sadly none of the pictures really show how hot pink my toes are!

Then we went and had some ice cream.  We ordered the tester, so we could try 4 different kinds.

We sat inside, but the windows were super big and open, so we sat there.

Then we went up above the city and layer in the grass for hours on end, watching the crazy people come up and take photos.

Then we took our own.

Bestest Friend from Oregon

My surprise visit wasn't for only one friend, but for 2. I got to see my bestest friend from Oregon too.   We've been bestest friends since 6th grade (1988).  And although we've only lived in the same town for 2 years (my 6th and 7th grade year) we've been able to continue our friendship over the almost 30 years.  She even lived with my parents and I for about a year after we both finished college.

So after all the hoopla of the Hall of Fame and that surprise, I went and saw her.  Surprisingly,  she and her family live less than 5 min. away from my other friend.  We stayed up and chatted till 2am ( I didn't get there till 12:30am) and then we slept in till noon. It was so needed.  We went and ate bbq buffet breakfast and then went and got our toes done.
I love this girl and am so excited we've been able to keep our friendship going over all these years and miles. 

I love my color and am sad that they didn't ask if I wanted a flower, cause I would have gotten a yellow one.  It was also a very surprising nail salon as they had 3 guys working and only 2 women and there were 2 men getting their toes done. 

Safe and Sound

After 2174.2 miles, 4 states, and 25 days, I am home again.  I had an amazing journey of visiting with family and friends, taking a wonderful photography workshop, attending a wedding, and taking in all the sights and sounds of many towns. So glad I did it, but also now glad to be home.
In the following days you will see updates to my blog.  I will post dating them, but will add links to this post as I do, so you can check and click on here to find the new blog posts.  
1st Leg of the BTE

2nd Leg of the BTE- Spokane 

BTE- Spokane New Camera Feature  

BTE- Spokane Fourth of July

BTE-Spokane Matt and Diane Wedding  

 New Posts Coming Soon

BTE- Spokane River Cabin

3rd Leg of the BTE- Montana 

Best Trip Ever!

This summer I set out on a trip to take me to many different places and seeing many different people.  I started on the 25th of June and didn't get home until the 19th of July.  The best thing about this trip was that everything just seemed to fit perfectly together even timing wise. This map shows all the terrain I covered.  I just wish I could figure out how to draw on it to make it show the way I actually went, but I'm not that tech savvy to figure that out, yet...


View Larger Map

This part was written better in the post that comes right before it.  So read the other part, not this part.  I still wanted to include it.

[My first stop on the trip was in Springfield, Oregon (it's just right of Eugene) to visit friends from middle school. Yes, I'm still friends with my middle school friends and no it isn't just on facebook.  We hung out, watched the Bachelorette, did some thrift store shopping (this is where I got this), did some crafting, and did just a bit of eating.  Sadly I have no pictures of this part of my trip, as I hadn't taken out my camera yet.  I relaxed and got ready for my photography workshop, which I was super nervous about as I didn't know any of the girls that were going and it looked like they had all been talking to each other on the message boards. I was way worried about being the only one that didn't know anyone. 
The morning I left for my trip, I found a new and exciting tv show called Flea Market Flip.  I watched episode after episode after episode. It was super good, but I also think I might have been avoiding leaving.]

I took a shower and was off too my hometown workshop, in Jacksonville, Oregon, which is close to Medford, if you are wondering where we should be on the map at this point.

--on a side note--
Janell and I watched Conan O'Brien and saw this guy, Nick Swardson on it.  He was talking about his tattoos and BTE!  So hence, the name of my trip was born.  There is no video of that interview, which is way better than what I found here, but here he is talking about BTE and a few other things.

The rest of the story was that there were a bunch of them on this trip and they kept yelling, "Best Trip Ever!" Then it got shortened to "BTE!" Then one night, they all decided to get tattoos of it.  Not one of them thought it was a bad idea, so now they all have tattoos of BTE on their body...o

2 Days In...

So we are two days into my adventure and I've already had waaay too much fun. After an amazing massage from Roxanne, I headed out to lunch with Rondee Kim. (I wish I took a picture, but I totally forgot) It was the yummiest mexican and a great time to catch up with a friend.  Then it was on to Springfield and dinner with Janell and her family at Coburg pizza. It was super yummy pizza and a great time to catch up as well.  Today I've found a new show to watch, Flea Market Flip, got to hang out with Anne, paint pottery, paint some more crafts, and ate more yummy food.
Tomorrow I leave for my photography workshop, Hometown Workshop.  I'm super excited but totally nervous.  I hope that it's so much fun that all my nausea and anxiety goes away. I can't wait to meet you Karen.