Random thoughts/ month 6

I can’t believe we’ve been on the road for 6 months!! That’s (potentially) half of our travel time. And we’re STILL in the US! This month we:

+ had a blast in Seattle. It’s easily one of our favorite cities. In the 5 days spent there, we visited with the Friedmans, Laura and her beau Jeremy, my Miami friend Brian and Hani’s Boston buddy Mermer and her husband Akram. We ate, drank, walked the Saturday market, and ate and drank some more, with the obligatory stop at Pikes Place. A deliciously fattening food extravaganza!

+ toured “famous” landmarks from some fab movies in Astoria, OR. I made Hani stop so I could snap pictures at the elementary school from Kindergarden Cop and historic house from The Goonies. He did not do the truffle shuffle.

+ discovered Cannon Beach, OR, a beautiful little town right on the water with pristine beaches that are dog friendly. The girls had a great time chasing seagulls and playing in the sand.

+ ate out way through Portland. We stayed with an old high school friend, Yair and his wife Christine, who have both been in the food industry out there for years. Our favorite Portland food by far was Yair’s food truck: ChickpeaDX. The falafel was to die for! A must eat if you’re in the area.

+ had a random connection via Instagram. While parked in downtown Portland, someone had snapped a picture of Skyhorse and posted it on Instagram. Someone recognized the truck as ours and tagged us in the post. Convos/emails/texts ensued and we met Antonio, a creative designer who captured the picture. We had a wonderful time with him and his brother, and were gifted some fab hats from his newest collection. Hani is obsessed with them!

+ drove the PCH from Washington through Cali. We had some gorgeous weather as we saw sea lions, jaw dropping cliffs and enormous rock formations in the ocean.

+ spent 7 days in SF bouncing from our parking area in Daly City, outside Hani’s brother Amad’s place, to my sister Estee’s apartment in SF. Thankfully, we were able to borrow her car so Skyhorse was not actually taken into the city. We walked downtown SF, had a spa day, ate at some delicious places, did a day trip to Tiburon and Sausalito and had much needed down time.

+ celebrated Hani’s 35th birthday on October 12 with friends and family. We went to the farmers market and walked the piers during the day and had a big birthday dinner that night. It was awesome!

It was also the first time since our wedding in December that all of the siblings were together.

+ drank and lot of wine and some bubbles. With all the breweries we’ve been hitting, I was craving some good wines so off to Sonoma/ Kenwood we went!

+ spent quality time with one of our favorite old co-workers John. He came out to San Fran with his daughter on Hani’s birthday and then we spent a day with him in Vacaville and Old Sacramento. We ended up doing what we would have done with John had we been hanging with him in Key West–a movie at the independent theater.

+ “did” Yosemite. I can’t really say we saw the park because we didn’t really give it a fair shot. At that point, we were cold and not in the mood to explore. Plus, we’ve been spoiled by seeing animals right under our noses at other parks and the breathtaking views of Alaska and Canada. Yosemite just didn’t compare.

+ finally met Jack and Casa Azul in person! Jack was featured on RV Crazy with his homemade camper a few years back and Hani contacted him. From that began a long distance relationship planning and brainstorming our camper build. We stayed on his property for 3 days working on the truck, getting feedback and spending time with him. We left with some great tips for our upcoming border crossing and a detailed map of Baja. Thanks again Jack!!

+ are now in LA to see some friends for the week before my parents arrive to travel with us for a bit. And then onward to Baja!