Slight backtrack...

So, before I completely block Part Two of our American Road Trip 2008, I best share a few of the high (and low) lights. The general overview first:

NavyGuy and I left Berkeley Monday morning, drove the famous Highway 1 north approximately 4 hours, and stopped at a bed and breakfast in Mendocino, CA. Day 2, we got up early, pulled a long driving day, and got to Portland, OR where we crashed for the night at my college roommate's (Princess of Ales/Beer Widow) apartment with her and her husband. Then, Day 3, we finished the drive to Whidbey Island, WA (or more correctly, Anacortes, Washington). So, the basic gist is that we've spent three days in the car, and finally arrived in our final destination this afternoon.

Now for the fun bits...

~ I barely made it 20 miles into our ocean view drive on Highway 1 before feeling nauseous and forcing NavyGuy to pull off the road. In my defense, this is a road that twists and turns constantly, with obscene switchbacks, all the while leaving you exposed to look over the edge of a huge cliff with a 500 foot drop to the ocean and rocks below. Pretty? Yes. Good for weak-stomached midwesterners? No. Conveniently though, our stop allowed us to take a few beautiful photos of the vista and even whip out the video camera to record the Kodak moment. [Photos above are google images, but that's essentiallywhat our drive looked like - can you see the scary road snaking around the cliffs? Agh!]

~ Definitely saw two hippies sitting on top of their car in the middle of the Redwood forest in California playing a guitar and bongo drums.

Here's our super cute Auberge Mendocino Seaside Inn and Cottage - we stayed in the Riesling Room :)

~ We had a delectable breakfast at the B&B Tuesday morning in Mendocino, and I only slightly embarassed myself. I ask you - how uncouth is it to set your morning pills on the tablecloth so you don't forget to take them, only to accidentally lose the tiny birth control pill? On a scale of 1-10? What, like a 4? Anyway, NavyGuy and I commenced a discreet search and rescue operation and managed to locate the lost merchandise under the orange juice pitcher. Again, you can dress her up...

~ College roomie's hubby (front right) is a beer king at a new brewery in Portland - Hopworks Urban Brewery (I'll charge nothing for the plug) - so we met them there for dinner on Tuesday night. The pizza is amazing, and the beer... well, I'm not exactly a beer girl, but a couple pints of BeerMan's brew and I'm a convert. It was great to get to hang out with Sketch and BeerMan, even if our visit was a only a lightning quick 12 hours. Now that I'm in the same time zone as my buddy again, I suspect our next visit will not be only half a day in length.

~ There was one last Dairy Queen stop on this trip - chocolate cones will never disappoint.

Tomorrow NavyGuy and I are off to find an abode in this here little village. I'll save my first impressions of Anacortes until I've been here at least a full day, but so far I've toured one of the grocery stores, and stopped at the McDonalds - both of which proved satisfactory. NavyGuy and I are holed up in the Anaco Inn (hows about that creative name), in a pimped out room with a living room, and full kitchen! Score! There's also a potbelly fireplace thingy, and wifi (thank god). We found yummy frozen pizza at the grocery store, along with eight rows of wine - eight rows!!!! Mmmm... we clinked our glasses of Washington state red wine and celebrated surviving our 10 state road trip (yes, we totaled our travels at lunch today).

Stay tuned - the adventure continues!