To Arizona...

We started off in San Jose this morning, had breakfast with Jeff and Ethel, and drove 20 minutes to see Stefanie, the UMin intern who lived with my parents my freshman year at UW. After a quick bite to eat, we headed off to Los Angeles to pick up Hannah. Six hours and a couple potty stops later we were at the start of Route 66 at the Santa Monica Pier with Hannah in tow. We were hoping to get to the grand canyon tonight, but that seemed out of reach based on how late we started in LA, so we decides to stay in Kingman, AZ. All in all we drove 725 miles. Tomorrow we will continue on our way to the grand canyon and travel more of the Mother Road.

San Jose

Today we drove the 60ish miles down to San Jose from Walnut Creek, picked Jeff and Ethel up from their hotel, and went to the Winchester Mystery House.  It was interesting. 

Some random WMH facts...
160 rooms
40 bedrooms
47 fireplaces
13 of a whole lot of things because it was the crazy lady's favorite number
6 kitchens
$5.5 million to construct

Fairly normal from the outside...

Due to the events of the day, we only drove 70ish miles...

Oregon coast to the SF Bay area

9/17
Portland
Tillamook (ice cream!!!!)
Down the Oregon coast on highway 101
Eureka, CA
499 miles

Karen at Tillamook, FINALLY!!

Yeah we got in a little car that took cheese all around...

9/18
Eureka to the Redwoods
Highway 101 to Walnut Creek to hang out with my favorite Godparents :-)
222 miles

I drove the car on a tree

Life is a circus

So, after hanging in Seattle for a bit and unpacking and repacking vehicles, I went to my first (and only) Husky game of the season.

Karen's first Husky game (or any football game for that matter)

Karen and I then drove from Seattle to Portland... pretty uneventful driving day.

While I Portland, I left Karen to hang out with her BFF from Suriname and I hung out with my two favorite young men...

"Angry" Owen

"Happy" Josh

We went to the circus, which was a little overwhelming, but pretty rad.

Who doesn't love it when Elephants sit on stools?

So tomorrow it's off to Tillamook and beyond!! :)

Back in Seattle... For now...

So after deciding on the road that I really wanted to just be back in Seattle, Karen, Hannah, and I booked it pretty hardcore to the lake house.

Day 1 Haines - Tok (added Karen) - Chicken 501 Miles
Day 2 Chicken - Dawson City - Whitehorse 427 Miles
Day 3 Whitehorse - Watson Lake - Kitwanga 715 Miles
Day 4 Kitwanga - Prince George - Marble Canyon 568 Miles
Day 5 Marble Canyon - Whistler (COWS!!) - Parents' Lake House 285 Miles
Total = 2496 Miles with Hannah Roberts and (most of them) Karen Henspeter

We played tourist in the city on Friday, going to the original Starbucks, Seattle Public Library, and REI. Yesterday Hannah left for Denver on the morning train, Karen and I went to the Seattle Sounders game, then I dropped her off at the airport.

Now it's the waiting game all over again. I'll catch up with my people here in the Seattle area, then hit the road again next Saturday after I take (force) Karen to her first real football game (GO HUSKIES!!). Then it's off to Portland and beyond!

Leaving

Last full day in haines tomorrow. Bittersweet. Will miss the people and scenery... But very much looking forward to new adventures.

Oh Haines

So I leave in five days... I love this place, but I feel like it's time to go for now. I don't know what it is about this little town in the mountains that makes me keep coming back, but I sure can't seem to stay away. So as I leave Haines, I know I'm not saying "goodbye" so much as "see you later." This time I go for an epic roadtrip and then settle in Seattle... at least for a while. Time will tell.

spring break

Though I'm not really a teacher yet, most of my income is from the xchool, which means that I gave myself spring break too. And how did I celebrate this amazing week? I swam with porpoise. Kinda. One might also call it falling in the water while kayaking. Well, the porpoise weren't really even that close. Maybe I swam near porpoise rather than with them. Though, I didn't really go swimming. I just stood I. The water up to my waist and laughed. A lot. And maybe it wasn't really porpoise at all. Because I was on a different side of the island from where they were. So maybe I just fell in. But it was still pretty hilarious if you ask me. Or if you ask my roommate, Karen. It was good times.
and I went to Juneau with my peeps. But that wasn't as cool as kayaking with somewhere around 200 porpoise.

Winter...

It's snowing sideways. We're 24" of snow shy of the record in town since they started keeping track... and it's supposed to dump 14" tonight... I'm trying my best to enjoy it...

Grateful for outdoor gear

Today I went cross country skiing. It was pretty much awesome. I forgot my camera though... my bad.

On a random note, this is my 200th post...

Grateful for snow

I live in a winter wonderland. And for now, I'm still grateful for it. I just need to remember that I'm grateful for it in April... when it's gross and melty... but until then, it's gorgeous.

Grateful for family

I love my biological family. They are amazing people who I generally enjoy spending time with. But once again as I returned to Haines yesterday, I was reminded that I have so much more family than people that share my last name. The family that I have in Haines is such a blessing. I was welcomed home with open arms and received four dinner invitations for later that day. People here welcome me into their home as one of their own. When I'm in Seattle, I have a set of parents who love me very much and a sibling who is pretty close and one who is a few hours away. But when I am in Haines, I have three sets of parents, siblings next door and down the street, little people who love me almost as much as Owen, Calla, and Josh, and a smattering of grandparents here and there. I am so blessed to live in a town that has so much love to share. As I went to a memorial service for one of those grandparents yesterday, I was reminded of what living a selfless, loving life can really be like and how long that memory will live on. Arlene Jackson will be missed for a long time to come. But Haines still has a lot to offer.

Grateful for Christmas songs

I've realized that as I've gotten older, I've started feeling less "in the Christmas spirit." Which then makes me feel a little guilty because it's the day of our savior's birth and that is something worth celebrating. But this year I've started really listening to the words of some of the Christmas songs that I've heard so many times before, and it's gotten me into the spirit of Christmas. Not the commercial spirit (though I do enjoy buying presents for the whole family with my parents money so there is something under the tree on the 25th), but the spirit of what Christmas really is. And while this viewpoint might not be very popular, it isn't even about my family and how great it is to be giving and loving during this time of year. It's about my Jesus. It's about being thankful. And that really is what the season is all about. But it's not just this season. On the 26th we should be just as thankful and in awe of the gift of Jesus as we are on the 25th.

And just for good measure, here's a couple of my favorite less traditional Christmas songs.
Leaving Heaven
Day After Christmas
Evergreen
While You Were Sleeping

Grateful for... uh... stuff

Grateful heart Friday time! Today, I don't necessarily have anything in particular that I am grateful for. I mean, I'm grateful for all kinds of things, but nothing sticks out today. I'm grateful for all the standard things, like having a place to stay and food to eat, and a fairly good life in general. But I guess that I should focus more on the things in my life that are worth being grateful for. So yeah.

Grateful for Haines... and Seattle...

It has been brought to my attention that my last blog post was a little on the downer side of things. So I am going to reinstate Grateful Heart Fridays starting today so I can be reminded of all the things that I am thankful for...

This week I am particularly grateful for my friends in Haines... the fact that a couple new people showed up in town that I think are ridiculously awesome. And the awesome people that have been there for the past couple years who I can hang out with like I never left.

I am also mega grateful for my time in Seattle. What I looked at with trepidation in the moments before leaving Haines, has become a blessing. Not that it's always easy, but I do believe that there is a good purpose for my time here. So I'm trusting God in that. And I do love the time that I get to spend with the little Maxwells.