the rockies

This post comes as an reflection, since I was too busy enjoying the comforts of home to write until now. We drove from San Diego straight to the Grand Canyon, got there after dark and went right to sleep in the van. The next morning, we took a lot of beautiful shots from different viewpoints around the canyon, as the sun was casting shadows.

It was another 16 hours to get to Denver from the Grand Canyon, but we decided to book it and drove straight through. Arrived in Denver around 10:30 p.m. to Brice’s lovely home, where we crashed hard. Waking up refreshed and ready, we went to Le Peep for breakfast (our favorite meal).

 

Brice with his breakfast burrito.

 

 

Crab cakes with poached eggs atop? How could I say no?

 

 

Marissa's burrito. The girl can't get enough Mexican.

 

Brice drove us downtown and we passed the Coors Field, ending up in LoDo (lower downtown, for those who are new to the area). The Falling Rock Tap House was our place of choice to watch the Denver football team (forgot what they’re called). We were the only people in the place, and our waiter told us to grab the couch and pull up the table. It felt like a cozy living room lined in beer bottles…

Europe backpacking trip shout-out!

 

The brewhouse took us on a 14-beer flight, among the most notable: chili beer and a great ‘punkin’ ale.

The next day Marissa and I went hiking at Red Rocks. Elevation 6,500 feet.We were winded after about two steps.

 

Since we were so close, we decided to round out the trifecta of breweries with a tour of Miller Coors in Golden, CO.

We met up with Marissa’s friends Shelby & Nicole for dinner that night at a vegan restaurant (sorry no pictures, hungry hippies would have attacked), and the next morning was Marissa’s BIRTHDAY!!! Our new breakfast ritual with Brice  took us to Snooze, Denver’s b-fast hotspot. Absolutely amazing menu offerings and the place looked like a 1960s mod diner. The afternoon was spent shopping around downtown Boulder, which was a really cool college town. We really slacked on the pictures in Denver, must have been our blogging burnout. That night, however, I was on full paparazzo duty, documenting the best birthday ever!

 

Shelby's smooshed sushi surprise.

 

We gave her endless amounts of money for the jukebox, and the birthday girl had a ball! Everyone did! Our breakfast ritual turned into lunch the next day, and we’d been waiting the whole trip for one of Biker Jim’s Gourmet Dogs. Unlike The Spot, these dogs were off the chain! His menu changes daily, all offerings were wild game, except the mini-printed “Hebrew National” at the bottom of the menu. Marissa and I both got the rattlesnake/pheasant combination dog, and Brice had a jalapeno elk cheddar dog. The lovely chef tops each dog with caramelized onion and cream cheese, and lets you put the rest of the fixings on. So good. We would go every day for lunch if we could.

Thanks so much to Brice and Shelby for being amazing hosts! We had a great time in Denver and this will NOT be the last time we visit you both!

Brice's house.

We left Wednesday around dinnertime and stayed at a Walmart Inn somewhere in Nebraska, drove all through the next day and I made it home to Brighton at 11:30pm Thursday’s eve.

Ahh, so good to be back. Reflection post and possibly a video montage still to come.

X’s and o’s,

Gretchen Klosterman

Soups on

My sweets,

Waking on a drizzly day, Kimmy blessed us with two free passes to the world famous San Diego Zoo, wahoo! The cool weather brought most of the animals out to play, and I got a pretty neat children’s poncho out of it.

Rough housing rhinos

Playing with pinecone

Geoffrey

Bear!

Gorillz

Koala bums

Zeebs

We had lunch at the delish Prado restaurant in Balboa Park, post zoo. I fed my muffuleta addiction while Gretchen had a turkey cranberry sandwich of some sort. Gotta love terra chips!

Kim let us whip around in her mini Madza, which was a nice change of pace from the Van. Here is Gretchen in her racing jacket.

Botanical garden!

 

Muddy feet afterward

Went out on a delish sushi/sake/tempura binge with Kim and Mike!

One last tofu fry…

Get it, Mike!

The next day we took a stoll around some surrounding neighborhoods, Mission beach and Ocean beach! First nice day in southern Cal.

Carnitas torta y burrito!

Mike is the recipient of the Roadscholar’s ‘Kitchen Rager’ award for being the best cook along our travels, mainly for his trio of delicious soups we were able to feast on during our stay. The pork posole was lovely, in addition to:

Borscht!

and Seafood chower!

Thanks to Kim and Mike for being such lovely hosts, we continue to be so lucky!

En route to le Grand Canyon tomorrow with a hearty meal in our guts! (Actually, we have already came and went, but due to the timing of things we have to delay the post, maybe tomorrow) Stay tuned!

Best,

Marissa Behringer

 

 

“it’s beer o’clock.”

We left LA Saturday morning, jonesing for a veggie burger from a little place in Hermosa Beach that was featured on the Travel Channel, called The Spot. Call us jaded, call us cynical- but if something is featured as one of America’s Best Burgers, it better blow me away. The Spot was not good. Being overpriced and having barely any customers inside should have been a giveaway. I ordered a barbecued tofu burger and Marissa went with the chili veggie burger. I needed a sip of water after each bite to swallow. I imagine experience this was similar to the spoonful of cinnamon challenge. Worst meal of the trip. Onward and upward to San Diego!

Arrived at Aunt Kim and Michael’s place around 2! Just in time to catch the re-cap of the MSU game. Go Green! The house is awesome! Two blocks from Balboa Park and a short walk to the world-famous San Diego Zoo! That afternoon, the hosts with the most took us out to Point Loma to explore the old lighthouse and get a great view of the city.

The four musketeers went back to the house and Michael (the incredible chef) made burritos! (How San Diego of us.) The next morning we took a short drive to Torrey Pines and went hiking up a hefty hill then down to the beach!

"Look you guys it's growing on a rock!"

"See?"

Then we all went to La Jolla, a hoighty-toighty area just north of San Diego. Ate lunch at the Contemporary Art Museum Cafe, then climbed down 120 stairs to this cave to watch the waves crash in.

After our day of exploration, we made delicious sangria and had a homemade Mexican soup, prepared by Michael.

Our San Diego post part deux will premiere at a computer near you soon. Expect lions and tigers and bears… OH MY!

As Aunt Kim would say, it’s beer o’clock and I have places to be.

-Gretch

Smog check

Hello again! Last we spoke, we were on our way out of Big Sur and heading south toward the city of angels. The drive was just as pretty away from Big Sur as it was toward

There was a dolphin sighting somewhere inbetween here and there

The winding roads we once drove were replaced with…

Traffic as far as the eye can see. Totally gross! After finally making it off of the 405, we took the advice of a very handsome young man and made our way to Cha Cha Chicken in Venice Beach. The restaurant was open air and breezy, which was appreciated on this 100 degree day.

We both ordered the combo, which packed a jerk chicken enchilada, a jerk chicken tostada and fried plantains with a tad of sour cream. Here are the remnants mid-munch

There was even a depiction of the Ukiah hot springs inside!

Spicy, sweet and delish! Haven’t had a plantain since my Costa Rican days. It was nice to reminisce. We hopped back in the whip and drove the short distance to Gretchen’s cousin, Bridget’s, crib in Marina Del Rey. Bridget had over some very quirky company, and we called it a noche.

The next morning, we traded in the standard 4 wheeled beast for beach friendly cruiser bikes. We took to the Venice strip to take in the scene.

Pumpin iron oceanside

I’m usually one to air on the side of caution, but playing basketball in my bulletproof vest always seemed to be a little much

Gretchen picked up some new sunnys, and we cycled to the Abbot-Kinney area of town. Lots of cool shops, restaurants and bars. We grabbed some late lunch at Casa Linda. I tried the chicken mole and Gretchen went with a carnitas quesadilla.

Delicioso! We did a bit more browsing and I lusted after this chair

Most price tags were a little higher than our penniless pockets could handle, but twas fun to look!

Because everyday on this trip has been nothing short of a food binge, we took to Runyon Canyon Park to do some hiking around. The place was full of dudebros hauling up the steep climp, some even toting yoga mats to do some machismo push ups at the top of the canyon. Pretty L.A, I guess.

‘The Sign’

Sprawl!

Very pretty and very hot. I had high hopes of seeing Matthew Mcconaughey or the like jog by, but maybe next time. We cleared the sweat from our brows and headed to Merchantile for some lunch. We both went with a southern favorite, the muffuletta.

Boastin’ capricola, salami, mortadella, provolone and a marinated olive salad, both of us needed a box when we fell short of eating more than half. We did some driving around and cut through the Beverly Hills area

R.I.P

Freddy Seegs, with it’s front full of foliage

We had enough ritz and returned to Bridget’s with our sights set on another happy hour. We hit up the Whaler on the Venice boardwalk and got there just as the sun was bidding us adieu.

The next morning, we both declared it to be a beach day. First things first, though. Food. So we took a walk down Ocean Ave (anyone else remember that amazing song..?) in search of some breakfast. Unfortunately, the much talked about Omlette Parlor had closed its doors for good this past Memorial Day, so we settled for Benice. Can anyone spot Gretchen?

Madame G ordered some New Orleans french toast with bananas (made with sourdough bread! wee!)

And I had veggie huevos rancheros. And a salsa caddy.

After breakfast, we basked in the sunlight and thought about the concert we were attending later on in the eve, Neon Indian with some special guests at the Music Box on Hollywood Bld. It was decided that we should email the lovely Daniel Gill in search of press passes for the event, due to the priceless, mass exposure our blog would give the band. He responded to our email and granted us two photo passes for the show. What a peach! The concert was about 15 miles away and took us a little over an hour and 15 minutes to arrive (???)

We hit up a bar next door (oops, forgot the name) that featured 24 different beers on draft. I went with a Big Sky saison, brewed in the lovely Missoula, Montana! Hi Carol and Kevin!

After a little confusion at the door (they had no idea who we were), we had to text the band manager and get things situated with the passes. All was well, and we were in. What a beautiful venue!

I think we arrived a little bit too early…

First up was Miniature Tigers, or Mini Tigs for short

Awesome sweater, and ‘stache. The lead singer, drummer, and keyboardist/bassist all rotated instruments and sang/played different ones depending on the song. A pretty talented group of lads.

Prefuse 73!

Scott Herren (lead guy) is part of 6 or so different music projects, this one I believe to be his most popular. Heavy on the beats with slight interludes of some pretty invasive reverb, id describe it best as electronic hip hop.

Neon Indian! (play, it’s like you’re there!)

Ronnie, lead guitar, shreddin’ in his white hot ensemble and killer loafers

Waah!

Admiring from afar, Ronnie’s LED guitar!

Dad’s camera wasn’t all that conducive to taking the sharpest pics, but what a great view to watch a show! All bands impressed and had us jammin’. A lovely L.A send off. Tomorrow we trek south to San Diego, but not before a stop at the Spot in Hermosa Beach. A special thanks to Bridget for being such a great hostess to us!

With ears abuzz,

M.B

Whatever happened to predictability?

Our second day in San Fran was pretty low key. Not a whole lot we knew to do down there that didn’t involve a lot of cash mons, so we cruised over to our old friends, the Tanners.

Unfortunately, they must have been out for the day. So we were back on the road. We drove towards the water to be closer to Melanie’s bus stop. We took a nautical stroll around the piers to pass the time.

Weird self cleaning bathroom pod

A prime hottie sighting

A bridge!

Art

We said our solemn goodbyes to Ms. Underhill and hauled south to the 1, heading to Big Sur for the next night or so. The drive was amazing!

We stayed in Big Sur State Park and started another one of our infamous ragers

Succulents in the firelight

Gretchen and I spent another romantic evening together by the fire, and hit the hay.

The next morning, we headed to the beach to watch a bevy of bodacious babes, a hoard of hunks if you will, ride the Cali waves.

Beach Babe

Gnarly seaweed

One wave surged up a little close to our stakeout and soaked a few items. Woops!

Overall, a lovely day at the beach. We hopped back in the whip and continued on down the 1. Next stop, Los Angeles! A special shoutout to everyone who has been following our travels. And an extra special one to Rob Welling too : )

Sunkissed,

M.B

blessed by sage

Before we left Tuesday, we had to hit up Voodoo Doughnut- Portland’s ultra-hip confectionery. Although we had heard rave reviews about the maple bacon doughnut, it alone would set us back $3, so we went with the baker’s dozen fun box. Some were hot pink, some traditional, some with sugary cereals perched atop. All delicious. We saved most of them for Melanie and her roommates in Ukiah.

Portland to Ukiah, California took us about 13 hours. After which we were in a foggy haze for our introduction to Mel’s roomies. We met: Kelly, Lucy and Boris (Cassie was on holiday in Syria); and settled in for a long winter’s nap.

Wednesday we awoke with magical powers of persuasion, and convinced Melanie to play hostess for the afternoon! She took us out to the grand redwood forest of Montgomery Woods and to Orr Hot Springs, about 28 windy miles outside the city. The hot springs were a series of naturally warm tubs and pools in the woods, with many interesting characters inside, most of them nude. We sported swimsuits (obviously) and kept our Midwest modesty to solo soaks. Aside from the relaxing hot springs, we strolled through Montgomery Woods 2-mile pathway, amidst trees taller than most buildings. A sight to behold.

That night, Melanie and Kelly made pizza for all of us! (Sorry there’s no pic.) Take our word, it was delectable. Fresh veggies and goat cheese, dough from the co-op- yum! A couple of Ukians, Mary & Adrienne, who work with Melanie, came over and we all had a nice relaxing evening chatting.

Thursday morning Marissa went for a quick run and after I had finished showering and saw no sign of her, I got a little worried. Boris said he had seen her zig-zagging the neighborhood, looking bewildered. I decided I’d take the van for a spin around the block after and hour and a half of waiting. Exactly two hours into her run, I was waving like a madman at the top of Mel’s hill flagging her down. She was a bit sore and tired that day.

We picked up Melanie from work and drove to the City of 10,000 Buddhas, which is a Buddhist monastery, with a restaurant. (?) The menu was all vegetarian, and we enjoyed the authentic Thai flavored protein balls, made of soy, quite profusely. The afternoon brought sun and relaxation, reading in the backyard (well, I read and Marissa passed out). We reconvened at the Ukiah Brewing Co later that evening and met up with Mary, Adrienne and Boris. (Look! We made other friends!) All of their beers were organic, whatever that means, and interesting.

Friday was the annual book sale at the Veterans’ Memorial Hall, and every inch of lit cost only 50 cents! What a deal. We three ‘booked it’ to Lake Mendocino, to picnic. ‘Twas a lovely day. Nightfall brought the neighborhood block party, complete with the Dirt Floor Band, Ukiah body odor, and plenty of dancing! How neat!

Saturday we set our sights on the big city, and decided we were indeed going to Saaan Fraaaan-cisco. The Surf Motel, our humble abode was in the Marina area. We hopped on a bus to Chinatown!

So many fun knickknacks. Very different from New York Chinatown, a bit cleaner.

From Chinatown we walked to Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf. Cool street performers and seafood restaurants lined the streets.

Dipped our toes in the water at the beach!

Split a banana split (ha!) at Ghirardelli Square!

We hit the tizown at night, frequenting the Bus Stop (cool), Bullitt (ew), and the Buccaneer (funny). Met a fellow MSU alum whom with we had mutual friends! Small world.

Great times with Melanie! Thanks so much to you and your roommates for being awesome hosts! We love you guys!

Xoxo,
GG

So-Po, No-Po, Whoa-Po

Greetins!

Taking off from Seattle, we decided to make a quick pit stop in Renton, WA to pay homage to the face melter himself, Jimi Hendrix,  in Greenwood Memorial Park. His grave site was not difficult to miss, as it dwarfed all of the other headstones and was covered with portraits and lyrics etched into the marble.

Just jammin’

My fave

Oddly enough, as we headed further south, we heard on the radio that September 18th was actually the anniversary of Jimi’s death, which is the day we visited. I thought I had seen a ghost drift by…

The food has, as expected, gotten better the further west we travel. Heading towards Portland, we were curious when we read about a spot called Nick’s Famous Coney Island. One of us born and one of us raised in southeast Michigan, we had to check it out.

Neither of us got coney dogs, but settled for some pretty dolled up hot dogs. Gretchen ordered the Chicago Dog, topped with cucumber, tomato and onion. Guess they were out of pepperoncinis..

I went with the Bacon Cheddar Dog, covered with the obvious, and some house made pasta salad

Deciding we were going to continue eating healthy, we added some Coney Cheese Fries

Definitely not comparable to a Lafayette coney, but it more than fulfilled our hot dog jonesing.

After lunch we strolled around Hawthorne street and visited some shops. A few bunk vintage places, but a few jems as well. We picked up some rations and headed to John’s house, our latest home stay for the trip. I met John during the memorable Montie Halloween 2009, in his rodeo clown costume. John and his girlfriend Corey had a bevy of restaurant knowledge, and took us to Porque No? for some late night grub. Pork tacos with a beer was a nice welcoming to Portland. They also insisted we had to go across the street to The Space Room, a bar with just the right amount of space theme. We ordered a A.M.F, which was a kinder Spanish abbreviation for “see you later, buddy”.

Trouble in a glass

We crashed in John’s living room and took in the artwork

In the morning, we consulted again with John and Corey, and they decided on bringing us to the The Screen Door. for breakfast. Gretchen got the Blueberry Corncakes and I got a fritata with -wait for it- cremini and portobello mushrooms, carmelized onions, spinach and brie cheese, Topped with an aoli and arugula. Both were amazing! Too busy eating to take a pic.

After reading about it in a paper at the restaurant,

the two of us set out to the Time Based Art Festival held in an old school building. There were a few short movies, a gallery space, a few installations and a singing group. I think the meaning of most of them was too “deep” for Gretchen and I to understand. We’re just not on that level

Art movie still

Picture me rollin’

Humming troupe, holding out the same note for the entire day

Sweaters

Making a rock potion

After our culturing, we headed to the Powell’s Books in the Pearl District, the largest independently owned new and used book store in the world. Totally huge, with any book you could probably think of, even a rare book floor. The most expensive book in the house is the first public documentations of Lewis and Clark’s journey, published in 1814. If that sounds up your ally, it can all be yours for $350,000. Per this time of the day, we needed a beer, so we checked out Deschutes Brewing Co. We split a sampler tray and chose 6 different beers to try.

Our favorites turned out to be the Black Butte Porter (which we each nabbed a case of to bring home) and another one I can’t remember right now. But they didn’t have it in sixers to take back to Michigan, so it’s both gone and forgotten.We explored the rest of the neighborhood, and headed over to Dove Vivi pizza for dinner.

What followed was ecstacy.

Breaking it down: (Smoked Mozzarella + Balsamic Roasted Red Onions + Chives + Fresh Sweet Corn) + (Smoked Mozzarella + Sauteed Kale + Butternut Squash + Cranberry Reduction) = The best meal so far on the trip! This pizza was too amazing for words, receiving top honors from us both. We rolled back to John’s house and had a low key evening.

Monday, a brand new day of food and sights awaited. We started off visiting The Grotto, a catholic sanctuary and botanical garden that Gretchen’s great, great uncle, Father Ambrose Mayer, founded. She took a slew of pics for her Grandma (Hi!) and we took in the awesome surroundings.

We had be hearing lots about Portland’s food cart scene in the recent days, so we figured it was a must to check out. We headed to the downtown area for lunch to grab some meals on wheels.

BBQ Fusion was our first stop

Gretchen was the first to holla at a BBQ bowl, filled with BBQ pork, pinto beans, rice and coleslaw. I followed suit. Awesome! Had the seal of approval from the Portland Trail Blazers coach himself.

After, Gretchen had a hankering for crepes. Whether it was to take her back to her European experience a few years back, or to settle a sweet tooth, I don’t really care. But we ordered a Nutella and banana crepe, and it was nothing short of artwork

Tres amazing. After our cart buffet, we took a suggestion from one of John’s roomates, and headed to the Portland Rose Garden, the oldest public garden in the U.S of A

The gardens have thousands of different varieties of roses, most of which were still in bloom, which was a surprise to see at this time of year. We felt inspired after the T.B.A and decided to get ~arty~ with some flower pics:

Taking my dad’s advice, we both took some time to, you know

Post-gardens, we headed to one of Portland’s many happy hours at a place called Bartini. Half off martinis and appetizers? You mustn’t tell us twice.

We split a Basil-Lemon martini and an Elderflower martini, and shared a polenta, mushroom and tenderloin appetizer, some coconut shrimp, and some goat cheese stuffed figs. We cannot complain about our lives.

Enough was enough. Too much food, not enough mental stimulation. So we picked up John and headed to the Hawthorne Theatre for their Monday night trivia. Suffering a tough loss, we took second (What is the difference between an Asian and African elephant other than size? Ears! Remember this, it may come in handy when you need 5 more points to win someday) and took home some trashtastic swag.

Both of us are now outfitted for Rock of Love III. We ate a late night hotdog at Zach’s Shack before heading back to the crib for the night. John had a particularly strong beef with Zach’s, he himself preferring Franks-O-Lot, but we wont get in to that now. We would like to take a moment to thank John (and roomates!) and his girlfriend Corey for being such knowledgeable and kind Portlanders. I’m sure we wouldn’t have gotten as much out of our stop had it not been for them. Thanks, John!

Overall thoughts on Portland: The food, the FOOD! Every bite was amazing, every sip was a dream, every sight was a Kodak moment. Four stars! Tomorrow we have a early start, heading south towards Ukiah, CA. Hurray for Melanie!

Goodbye Portland, we will miss you.

Peace Love Dove,

Moeseph

lots of sleep in seattle

Aunt Chrissie hooked us up with our next “Bed & Breakfast” in Seattle at Laura and Luis’. They live a mere thirteen miles north of the city in Edmonds, and also house adorable twin boys, Will & Topher.

For our first day of activities, our Seattle tour guides suggested we take the ferry from Anacortes to Friday Harbor to rent mopeds. Obviously our inner speed demons agreed, so off we went!

The island was quaint and picturesque- and our joy came when we took those mopeds out on the open road! Although they topped out at about 29 mph, we felt as though we were flying! Editor’s Note: this is as close as I will ever be to riding a motorcycle.

Went to lunch on Roche Harbor, looked like a scene from a vacation magazine! We split the crab nachos and a mushroom lovers pizza with goat cheese.

After our day of heart-racing speeds, we were pretty whipped. Our next day while Laura took the boys to music class, Marissa & I ‘yelp-ed’ the best breakfast place around and settled on Patty’s Eggnest.

M ordered the North Beach Omlette, made with four eggs:

And after struggling with the menu and the array of choices, I settled on the waitress-recommended classic, Eggs Benedict:

After a solid coating of egg to lining our stomachs, we proceeded to Woodinville- Washington wine country. Chateau Ste. Michelle, the oldest and most prestigious vineyard & winery in the area, was the first stop. We signed up for a guided tour of the grounds and factory (and had a free tasting afterward, score).

The MOST ENTHUSIASTIC tour guide I’ve ever had (including Stefan in Tuscany) TOM!!!

Available at the most upscale Costco near you:

We sampled the Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and the sweet Moscat Canelli (best name):

After Ste. Michelle, we moved onto Silver Lake winery just down the road. The barista (incorrect?) told us he’d only had ten tourists the whole summer, and guilted us into buying a lot of wine. The winery did offer the cute and adorable “Girly Girl” wine, which donates proceeds to breast cancer research.

Across the street from Silver Lake was Novelty Hill | Januik, which looked more like a prison than a winery.

And down the road was Woodhouse Family winery, that had amazzzzing Malbec!

Four wineries and we were down for the count. I only partook in half the tastings, so I drove back to the crib. Laura had sweetly prepared pesto tortellini, a salad and a baguette for dinner! Yum! We watched the Top Chef finale with L&L (Ed was robbed) and hit the sack. The next morning was downtown Seattle with L, W & T.

They look so Seattle GQ:

Pike Place Market was our destination, the fish guys were hilar!

Fresh flowers everywhere! $5 a bundle!

Restaurant from Sleepless in Seattle, where Tom Hanks and Rob Reiner have lunch:

GUM WALL, left our bubblegum mark:

First Starbucks EVER! Overpriced coffee junkies unite! The mermaid’s hair is suspiciously scandalous, which is the trademark of the original store.

Space Needle:

Laura took us to see the Fremont Troll after. How creepy is this? And how much more creepy is it that someone spent so much time working on such an ugly beast? Creat of the week for sure.

We decided to stay in Seattle for one more day to explore, and discovered Red Mill, the best burger joint in town. Marissa ordered the Verde burger, onion rings & butterscotch milkshake:

I ordered the Red Mill Garden burger, o’ rings & cherry shake:

We’ve got to stop documenting our terrible eating habits. A huge thanks to Laura, Luis and the boys for being such gracious hosts. We had the best time staying with you and can’t wait to see how much more handsome Will and Topher become, if it’s possible! 🙂

Peace and love to you and yours,

G.

Party Platter B

Friday morning we sadly packed up our bags in Missoula and shipped out with the border in our sights. We decided to split up the 10 hour drive and stop for the night somewhere around Seattle. We stopped in Everett, WA at another Walmart Inn. This ultimately ended up being the worst sleeping location thus far. The car was lightly scented with the gasoline vapors wafting from our malfunctioning camping stove. There were absolute creatures in the parking lot until the 3 a.m hour. A straggler rolling up around 6 a.m to blast Mariah Carey on his speakers across from our car was the final wake up call. We left for Vancouver soon after

.

Border patrol was a breeze, slightly awkward, but we got through with no problems.

Canada!

First stop was Lynn Canyon Park to do some hiking and exploring. The hike was a little intense at times, but took us to some cool views and a suspension bridge.

And lots of banana slugs.

After the park, we got a quick slice of pizza and checked into our hotel downtown.

That evening we partook in a few cocktails at the ‘Irish Snug’ downtown and met some international friends. Our bartender made a super Burt Reynolds shot, but ultimately our eyes proved to be bigger than both our tolerances and our wallets.

Thanks Forrest!

German creepers

Enrique creeper

The following day, Gretchen needed a little R&R time back at the hotel, so I braved the Canadian drizzle solo. Rain coat was donned, and away we go!

The thing I soon came to realize about Vancouver is that everyone looks better than you. Everyone has great haircuts, amazing shoes, and ultimately makes you look and feel like a sewer rat. That aside, Vancouver has a sweet downtown! The Gastown district was my favorite by far. Lots of unique shops and cool eateries.

There was a clock there. Tourists really took to this clock.

Hockey creature!

Thought provoking Canada

Risque Canada

Urban Canada

Cutie Canada

Raving Canada

East Lansing, BC, Canada

Olympic Canada

Designed in Canada! John Fluevog shoes. Maybe when I have a job…

After my moseying around, I returned to the hotel to find Gretchen fluffed and ready to set out again. We headed back to the Gastown area to grab some dinner. Settling on a sushi place, we quickly decided Party Platter B was the way to go

Party Platter B was NOT the way to go. Epically huge. We left with massive leftovers.

The following day we weaseled our way out of paying for hotel parking, packed our stuff, grabbed a quick lunch and headed back to the states, where the gas was in gallons and the sales tax wasn’t 12%. Whats with the suction cup thing on Canadian gas pumps, anyway? Major struggle at the BP.

At the end of the day, I still prefer my homeland to that of our northern counterparts. But either way, I leave you with a song from the best musician to call themselves a canuck.

Signing off,
Mar B

k & c fanclub

Three nights of bliss in Missoula! We have had the best time here- Kevin & Carol are such gracious hosts. We’ve enjoyed a day in downtown, an evening in the hot tub, which had the most perfect view of the beautiful mountains in the backyard; a day trip to three spectacular local breweries; and showers galore.

Thanks for the stickers, Carol!

Amazin’!

First (and favorite) stop of the brew tour took us to Kettlehouse. Best described…a warehouse speakeasy? Our bartender was shoving ample samples our way as soon as we perched on our stools.

Happily sipped were:

Fresh Bong Water Pale Ale

Cold Smoke Scotch Ale (favorite!)

Ye Old Bong Water Hemp Porter

Hellgate Honey Hefe

We both decided on the Honey Hefe, a light start to the day.

We loved the Kettlehouse so much that we immediately cruised over to a grocery store around the corner to grab some cans to enjoy post-roadtrip. This photo doesn’t do our creature siting justice, you’ll have to take our word for it.

Next up on the docket was Bayern Brewing Co, a German style microbrewery. The spot had both great beer and wildlife to offer. Gretchen met a new friend!

Marissa enjoyed a Dump Truck Summer Bock and Gretchen a seasonal Oktoberfest. Alongside we sampled some German Brats (one smoked, one chicken and andouille) served inside of warm French bread. They came with a variety of homemade mustard accouterments. Delicious!

Last stop was Big Sky Brewing Company, which was definitely the classiest joint. They offered four free tastings, which equaled out to about 2 pints. Among the offerings: Moose Drool Ale, Trout Slayer Filtered Wheat Ale, an IPA, Czech Pilsner, Saison Belgian Farmhouse Ale, Scapegoat Pale Ale, and a Summer Honey Seasonal.

It was a long six hours of sitting and tasting microbrews, which would tire any unemployed person out. We arrived back at the Keskeny’s and Marissa took a little nap. We ended our day chatting with K & C and watching videos of bears being tranquilized in Missoula.

Thanks again, Carol and Kevin for your hospitality! We both aspire to have Carol’s spice of life one day.

“Keep Missoula Beered,”

-Marodgers and Gretcherstein