Denver Photos and Omaha!

 As promised, here are some pretty pictures of Colorado:

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Exercise Room/Ampitheater

pretttyyy

Red Rocks!

ice cream and jazz!

And one funny video of Cat playing a bar game:

As we drove east towards the Prairies, the Rockies in our rear view mirror, we got a little forlorn. This was the first time out West for both of us (California excepted), and we really, really liked it. Everywhere we went, even Mars/Nevada and hickville Idaho, was something new and exciting. Denver rounded the bend, back towards home and all the changes that are about to happen.

One last new city before a brief pit stop in Ann Arbor: Omaha, Nebraska.

Now, neither of us had high hopes for the city- after all, this is where The Jungle takes place. Maybe it was our low standards,  or perhaps it was the 7 hours of mind-melting boredom that is western Nebraska, but when we got there we were pleasantly surprised.

A city of more than 400,000, Omaha is the headquarters of five huge companies- including Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffet's mega-conglomerate. It's also got what perennially ranks as the country's best zoo (go figure...) The downtown, where we stayed, is a 6-8 block area full of great restaurants, bars, parks, coffee houses, shops, and converted warehouse lofts right along the Missouri river. We had our first experience with Air BnB, a service that allows you to rent a room (or an entire apartment if the owners are traveling) as if it's a hotel. Our hosts were quiet, Midwestern thirty-somethings with an INCREDIBLE apartment right in the Old Market. And since it's Omaha, this piece of heaven is in our price range, should we ever find ourselves settling in Nebraska. Air BnB is usually cheaper than a similarly-appointed hotel and you can actually stay in the parts of town where people live. Anyone want our place during Michigan home games??

We had an amazing evening taking in beer tastings, Thai food, and $2 margaritas.

Ohhhhhhmaha.

I know we were there for less than 24 hours, but Omaha- you're alright.

A 10.5 hour drive separates us from Ann Arbor, but we're not letting real life catch up to us yet. We still have Paige's wedding in Pittsburgh (another place we've never been) before the road trip is officially complete. Bring. it. on.

Denver! (And the Poudre)

Miles driven: 4000+
Costcos visited expressly for the free samples: 4

Denver is big- it's nearly twice the size of Salt Lake, Portland, or DC. Is also constantly buzzing. Not in a city-that-never-sleeps NYC way, but more in a lets-go-running-kayaking-hiking-biking all in the same day way. It is, in a word, exhausting. It's not all exercise and games, though. We stayed with Carys, a friend from William and Mary, who showed us exactly why everyone seems to want to live in this Mile High piece of heaven.

We arrived in the Highlands, Carys' cute and quaint downtown neighborhood with a peek of he Rockies just in time for dinner. We had some incredible Italian food al fresco at a street side cafe before unloading our bags at her house. Side note: it's incredible how social media has made our lives easier this trip. About an hour outside our destination, we will begin to Yelp, Foursquare, and Open Table ourselves into some of the most hidden(and therefore local) places in town. Now, it could be said that these programs also remove the mystique and local-ness of some of these places now that the tourists can find them, but regardless- they have saved us from an Applebee's more than once.

After meeting up with Carys, her sister Fiona, and Fiona's boyfriend Jamie at an arcade/bar (drunk giant Jenga anyone? Enjoy the video of cat playing such a game in the next post) we headed back to rest up for Red Rocks.

The next morning was spent hiking (see??) the Red Rocks amphitheater, a quasi-natural formation that Denver County turned into one if the most spectacular music venues in the country. More impressive than the sandstone formations , though, was the sheer number of people using the amphitheater as their personal stair master. We walked in to two different cardio pump classes going on, as well as about 100 Bob Harpers and Jillian Michaels hopping, running, and push-upping their body fat away. It was certainly a sight to see. For many reasons ;)

That afternoon, we grabbed lunch at a riverside sausage joint (gourmet , free-range, cruelty-free, and caviar-fed swine of course- this is Denver!) and took a tour of four of Denver's finest breweries. The "city of beer" certainly lives up to its name. At least, it did until we forgot around brewery 3.5 exactly which city we were in...


That night we went with Fiona and Carys to a local band festival called "Pickin' on the Poudre" (pronounced 'pooder'). A haven for blue grass and blues music, the Pooder, as it's apparently known, did not disappoint. Way up in the Rockies, the Pooder is set right along a fast-flowing river, which added to the chill in the mountain air. You may guess that country/bluegrass isn't Cat's favorite music, but Carys, Fiona, and I rocked out hard. At one point, with more than one whiskey and that West Virginia blood flowing through me, I danced a hearty jig with a mountain man wearing little more than a pair of red suspenders.

The next morning I went for a run (you know, just to fit in) and then we headed to brunch. Cat and I wandered around downtown Denver, went to what I'm sure is the worlds largest REI (go figure) and walked back to Carys' to nap and pack up. We met Fiona and her in a lovely park for a dinner picnic, while we watched four different volleyball games and several frisbee-ers.

At ice cream afterwards, we sat listening to live jazz while enjoying my favorite flavor-oatmeal raisin cookie. So while you might have to drink the fitness Kool-Aid ( sugar free of course) to really fit in, I think we could definitely get used to the laid-back, earthy, urban grace 5280 feet in the air.

* since I am writing this on an iPad in Iowa somewhere, pictures to come when we get to WiFi!

Salt Lake City

The 9.5 hour drive from Sacramento to Salt Lake was spent mostly in Northern Nevada. Now, you may think of glitzy casinos and washed up singers, but no. Most of Nevada looks like Mars. It's creepy and desolate - we got through it as quickly as possible.

See? Mars.

When we arrived in SLC, we checked into a really cute B&B that housed Team Great Britain during the 2002 Olympics. One thing about SLC, they never, ever let you forget that they hosted the Olympics once 11 years ago. The SLC2002 logo is still emblazoned everywhere, people mention it like all the time, and there is still an official Olympic clock telling you what time it in in Athens right in the middle of downtown. I mean, we get it.

Really though, it is a great city. We toured around Temple Square and visited the LDS Church History Museum, which was actually really interesting. Those Mormons really got kicked around back in the day. No wonder they came all the way out here to get away from everyone. The kicker was that we arrived just in time to hear the renowned Mormon Tabernacle Choir practice. The fact that this is a part-time, volunteer choir just blew our minds. We then hopped over to a local brewery and took in the Rockies while sipping on something that more than 50% of the city isn't supposed to have. And it was delicious.

After an amaaaaaazing dinner, we walked back to the B&B and sat on the front porch, just chatting. It's amazing that we haven't run out of things to say yet, but there's just always a funny story to be told or a hypothetical question to answer. On top of being married, we really are best friends. :)

The next morning we got up early and headed back to Temple Square to go to the top of the city's tallest building, the LDS Church Office Building, to get a good panorama of town.

 We even saw a wedding going on at the temple. Adorable.

 So, final consensus: SLC is a really charming city. It's got more going on than people sometimes give it credit for. However, if Portland is the lefty/granola/hippie city, Salt Lake is the exact opposite. It is the Anti-Portland. Everything seemed just a little too....neat and orderly. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Stay tuned for our Denver post after a weekend in the mile-high city -I'm sure we'll be able to confirm that there's more than one reason for that nickname ;)

California Lovin'

Hi! For all those that have been reading along, Nick is the usual writer of these posts. But, given that we spent three days with my family, I figured I'd take the reins for this one. Here goes!

Sunday, we had one of our longest drives since Minnesota - 9.5 hours! We took off early enough to make it for dinner - and we were welcomed with big hugs, kisses and screams of mixed delight and fear of new faces. Standard fare for kiddos, I'd say. Nick and I were expecting our twin 2 yo nephews, Sean and Luke, to take a while to warm up. Other than Sean's blood-curdling screams when we first arrived, nothing could have been further from how it went. We were happily cuddled, squeezed, played with (Nick more than me - no surprise to any of you who know us) and sought out every morning we were there with a Marco-Polo type phrase "Cata? Cata?" Neither twin differentiated between Nick and I - to them, we were "Cata", here to visit, play and entertain to their hearts delight. We loved it!

The other two kiddos - Isabel and Daniel - were equally, in different ways, happy to see us. For those of you who know my sweet niece, whelp, she looks like a cross between my brother's head size, my hair color, and my mother's intolerance for hot temperatures --complete with her own mother's sass and accent. Needless to say, she's already a spitfire. While there, we had a "girls day" which consisted of ice cream, a merry-go-round ride and a negotiated visit to the arcade. While with her, I realized that 4 yo olds are better salespeople than the best drug rep for Pfizer. Take this little convo, for instance.

Cat: Ok, Isabel, let's agree on how many games were going to play. How many do you think?
Isabel: Um I think 12 sounds good.
Cat: Uh I don't think so. I think 4.
Isabel: Ok 5 sounds great.

Another anecdotal note about our niece: she's entered the "tell me a joke/I'll tell you a joke" phase. However, the punch line aspect of knock knock jokes absolutely elude her. This is how it normally goes:

Isabel: Cata, let me tell you a joke.
Cat: Ok- go ahead.
Isabel: Ok I'm going - knock knock
Cat: who's there?
Isabel: Cupcake
Cat: cupcake who?
Isabel: I'm going to get you a yellow airplane! Rawr!

Or this little diddy:
Isabel: Why is 6 scared of 7?
Cat: I don't know, why?
Isabel: Because 7 ate 9,10...
And she would continue counting her numbers. Needless to say, Nick and I cross our fingers that our little girl is as spunky, but we hope she gets Nicks witty sense of humor ;)

Daniel, on the other hand, is turning into a charming, fun to be around (which is normally not the case with boys his age) and kind kid. He's just so easy to talk to that you often find yourself forgetting he's only almost 9. He introduced me and Nick to his favorite TV show and in turn Nick and I re-lived the 80s through the completely unrealistic Huckstable family.

Other than playing with our niece and nephews, we generally enjoyed being somewhere for four straight nights. We ate delicious homemade food, relaxed and took in the California sun. My brother and his wife are a delight to be around and both California and Minnesota make us want to live in a commune with our siblings (Leah and Ross, come too!) -with kids and dogs trampling around yards in a shared culdesac and horsing into bottles of wine when everyone is finally put to sleep. Someday...We're lucky that in addition to these kids, we have two other adorable nieces who we visited at the beginning of this trip - and both visits leave us with similar feelings. On the one hand, were happy as clams playing the "cool" (or so we'd like to believe) aunt and uncle - spoiling the kids and not having to worry about the tough stuff. Yet, on the other hand, increasingly these visits are making us turn to one another and say..."I'm kinda ready for the tough stuff, in fact, I kinda want it, all of it...you?" And the other emphatically nods. For now, we certainly aren't in a place where we can take that leap - for Pete's sake, we've been living out of our car for two weeks! But, I think when we can work out being in the same place for more than two minutes, were excited (mind you, while still being scared out of our minds) about the future.

We left at the crack of dawn on Thursday - and headed to Salt Lake City, the land of the free and home of the Mormons, a little less exhausted of driving and a little more homesick for a settled life.

Portland

The quick 2.5 hour drive from Seattle to Portland was a welcome change from the treks we're used to. We're also particularly excited about where we're staying when we get there. Let me take a moment to recount why. With the exception of Tim and Amy's house (which is beautiful and in an awesome location), we have frequented the types of hotels that often provide sets for episodes of CSI. For all the grandeur of the great American West, its hotel selection is left wanting. Super 8 is about as luxurious as it gets, which is at least two better than the Motel 6.

At any rate, we're staying at the Mariott in downtown Portland- right on the water. Our first stop in the City of Roses is actually above it- on the mountain overlooking the city that houses the Oregon Health and Sciences University. To save time, the university built a tram down the mountain so students don't have to spend time driving from one part of campus to another. I immediately wanted to ride it. Catalina took more than a little cajoling, and even then I had to literally push her into the car:

The views of the city are unbeatable though:

Portland is a little smaller than DC in population and area, so it felt a lot more manageable than Seattle. After lunch at an incredible local sandwich shop with our friends Justin and Matt, we set out to explore the city. Our first stop: Powell's Books- the nation's largest independent bookseller. To sum up our excitement:
1) they had an entire section on Canada
2) Like a kid in a candy store, Cat spent 90 minutes fanning through everything from Derridian theory to the decidedly light "Drink, Play, F*ck"- a delightful satire of "Eat, Pray, Love" told from the point of view of a recently divorced guy. We bought them both.

From there, we stopped at our #2 Portland must-do: Voodoo Donuts. This place is legendary for the sheer number of options you have for giving yourself diabetes. Anthony Bourdain's favorite is the Peanut Butter Oreo. 

Peanut Butter Oreo Bypass and Fruit Loops Foot Ulcer

To give you an idea of how popular this place is: we waited nearly 30 minutes in 90+ degrees and didn't blink and eye. And it was that good. If I lived in Portland, I'd have to break out the Rascal scooter in 6 months or less.

One Maple Bacon Bar, please! 

Now, we leave the typical urban landscape and see what is, to us, the only reason we would never, ever live in Portland. . Catalina remarked as we walked, "I think I've finally found a place that is too liberal for me" If you know her well, you know what weight this statement carries. The average Portlandian lounging in the park is unwashed, tatooed, lip-ringed, and aurally, vocally, and visually accosting. They also all play banjos.

The average Portlandian

Now, I don't mean to generalize. Portland is famous for being an outdoorsy, active city. Which explains why there were no normal people there on a beautiful Saturday afternoon- they were all out hiking- away from the pot smell and amateur philosophizing.

Don't worry, guys- you're fine.

After walking around a bit more, we get in the car and drive across the Willamette River to visit a couple of Portland's famous microbreweries. We then took full advantage of a Saturday night in a major city we'd never visited- we ordered Thai and watched Homeland in our hotel room. And we loved every minute of it.

Disclaimer: Justin and Matt are both lovely and completely normal- and in the minority in our personal experience. *

Seattle: Day 2

In Seattle, we're staying with two friends from college, Amy and Tim. Amy is a pharmacist and Tim is a post-doc at U. Washington in some type of chemistry that goes directly and hopelessly over my head (it is quite interesting, I promise...). Anyway, Tim and Amy recommended we go to to the "Fish Ladder", which is also attached to the Seattle Botanical Gardens.

Now, you may think (as I did) "a fish ladder? Preposterous! Fish don't have thumbs, which are clearly necessary to climb ladders." However, the Fish Ladder exists alongside two enormous locks that connect the Puget Sound to Lake Washington, making the Columbia River navigable much further upstream than it would otherwise be (I am not that smart, a smiling park ranger in a cowboy had told us this). Washington has at least four kinds of salmon, which as you know because you totally paid attention in seventh grade science, return upstream to their birthplace to spawn. Since salmon and other fish could be harmed by the ever changing levels of water in the locks, not to mention the boat motors and oil/gasoline spillage, the fish ladder was created to provide safe passage up and down the canal.

Cool, huh?

After a stroll around the Botanical Gardens with everything in bloom, we drove back down to Pike Place Market to engorge ourselves on all the delicacies therein.

Russian Pirosky

Colombiana Soda (found usually only in Colombia!)

Mexican Street Food

Beecher's Mac and Cheese

Yum. The ferry to Bainbridge Island was next on our Seattle bucket list. Washington State has an extensive ferry system that allows you to traipse all over British Columbia, the Olympic Peninsula, and all the little islands in between. Bainbridge is the closest and most populous of these islands (size= roughly Manhattan, population= 25,000). The views both back towards the city and to the Cascades were breathtaking. We had a stroll around the cute downtown and hopped back on the boat to the city.

After an AMAZING dinner of Margaritas and Mexican food with Amy and Tim, we sampled the night life in the University District, slept a bit, and headed out early for Portland. Huge shout out to them for housing us and being such amazing tour guides!

Seattle, you're all right. We'll definitely be back.

 

Seattle- Day 1

The 4.5 hour drive through Eastern Washington from Coeur d’Alene to Seattle is a little disappointing after all the drama of the Rockies. But it is pretty, in a really flat, crap-didn’t-we-already-do-the-Midwest kind of way. Then, the Cascades pop up out of nowhere and we rejoice, for there are mountains again. 

We drive straight downtown to Pike Place Market, which is probably one of the coolest things we’ve ever seen. Hundreds of stalls selling every type of spice, food, flower, and fish you can think of are crowded with locals, us, and about 14 million Asian tourists. We went in knowing that we would be back the next day- it’s just too much to take in at once. To calm our sensory overload, we wander into a fishmonger and order a halibut taco and a local IPA, poach a seat by the window, and look out onto the Puget Sound. Ferries are criss-crossing the clear blue water, framed by the snow-capped Cascade Mountains on one side and the imposing Mount Ranier on the other.

We then visit Catalina’s Mecca, her holy-of-holies: THE original Starbucks *insert choir of angels*. As we walk in, a fifteen passenger van screeches up to the door and a man in a three piece suit and sunglasses jumps out, opens the sliding door, and out piles a group of at least 20 more Asian tourists, all with cameras at the ready. We take our Frappuccino to go. (Note: We have nothing against tourists, Asian or otherwise. We do, however, have something against being squished into a small space by wall of people a la Indiana Jones, whatever their nationality)

Worshiping the caffeine gods

We walk through the Olympic Sculpture Park and up to the Space Needle.

 Please enjoy this video of Catalina riding up the glass elevator:

And this picture of her, terrified, at the top:

 And some photos of said Space Needle:

Seattle really is beautiful. We had two sunny days in a row, which I’m told is kind of rare this time of year. Although, more than a few locals (we made some friends at happy hour) told me that the reputation of Seattle as a foggy, London-esque sheet of endless drizzle is played up to keep tourists from staying too long. “Oh- it may be sunny today, but remember that all winter it’s a never ending torrent of dreariness and wet dog smell- save yourselves!” Then they chuckle softly as the tourists back away slowly, never to return...

Seattle- Day II, AKA Catalina's food tour, to come!