Is the day.. The day I've been waiting for for so many years. I can't believe this is all about to happen really. I can't believe I'm going to step on a plane, then step out of the door after taking a nap and be in a foreign land, with different dialects, culture, food - everything.. And it will all be there, just waiting for us to immerse ourselves in it.
I can't wait..
Brasileiros
Hoje e o dia.. O dia que estava esperando por anos e anos.. Eu quase nao acredito. Estou animado demais, mais ainda... A ficha nao caiu.
Nao posso esperar..
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Dallas
Sunday, April 19th, 2009 - Sunday we left El Paso and headed for our last stop before Houston in Euless, near Ft. Worth. There we met my friends/roomies Greg and Mel at my old favorite beer garden in the DFW area, The Flying Saucer.
On Monday, Greg and Mel convinced us to stay another day and I decided to prepare a little churrasco for dinner. There I received my first churrasco battle wound. I was holding a plate as well as one of Greg and Mel's brand new knives in my left hand, and went to yank a piece of paper towel off with my right hand.. And when I did so, I jabbed my hand right into that new, expensive knife. The results were not good. Blood started going everywhere. I am embarrassed to say this, but not too longer after this, my field of vision started closing in and all of a sudden I couldn't see anything.. I almost passed out. Pathetic. I've had stitches all over my head and body all my life, don't know why this was any different. But alas, I never did lose consciousness; just received a new scar on my hand for life.
It always seems to work out that just before a life adventure of mine I will stay with Greg and Mel. Don't know why, but it's a tradition now.
Para os Brasileiros
No Domingo nos saimos para Dallas - nosso utimo lugar para parar em nosso viajem. Nos ficamos com meus amigos melhores - Greg and Melissa. Parece que antes de uma viajem, eu sempre fica com o Greg e Mel.
Eles me convidaram pra ficar mais um dia, entao nos ficaramos. Na Segunda, eu fiz um Churrasco Brasileiro.. E enquanto cosinhando, eu cortei minha mao bem mal.. Eu vou ter esse corta para sempre agora!
4,000+ miles
Beginning
End
Monday, April 27, 2009
Scotland Booking
As we make preparations to leave just about everything here in Portland except our backpacks, so come bookings in Scotland:
Glasgow (Guesthouse)
Oban (Guesthouse)
Inverness (Hotel)
St. Andrews (Hostel)
Edinburgh (Hotel)
More to come..
Glasgow (Guesthouse)
Oban (Guesthouse)
Inverness (Hotel)
St. Andrews (Hostel)
Edinburgh (Hotel)
More to come..
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Grand Canyon -> Colorado -> Texas
Wednesday, April 15th, 2009 - We arrived in Colorado delirious after very little sleep and an 11 hour drive.. But it was awesome to see family again after a couple weeks of not. There we hung out with my sister, my bro in law Frank, their kids Mason and Molly, used their internet, ate their food, and used their john.
This was the first time Ana had seen Colorado as well.. It was mid-april and blizzarding - almost literally. I-70 was actually closed for an 80-mile stretch on the day we left; good thing we weren't driving through denver or we'd be stuck. Ana liked Colorado, but I told her it was kind of a strange time to go. It was right in between seasons so the weather didn't really know what it wanted to do.
After resting up in Colorado, having great conversations with family and restoring our souls a little, we left and headed for El Paso. My cuzzie Bryan and his woman Monique just birthed a baby - Madeline. Madeline was literally born beautiful; it's strange. I've never seen a baby born like that.
Driving out of El Paso, I showed Ana some houses on the other side of the river - "See those houses over there? That's Mexico." We then drove through west texas to get to Dallas so we could stay a night with my friends Greg and Mel. On the way we stopped in Kent to fill up on gas. I went in to buy some power steering fluid and heard a customer telling the lady behind the cash register that there was something "suspicious" ontop of one of the gas tanks. "I hate to say this word, but it looks kinda like a bomb.." That picqued my curiousity, so I went back out there and looked around. Sure enough, there was some sort of electrical device that appeared very homemade sitting ontop of a gas tank. I took a photo of it and then we got the heck out of there.
Para os Brasileiros:
Nos chegamos no Colorado depois do dirigindo quase onze horas. Estava massa pra ver familia depois do tanto tempo. Estava nevando muito a la; foi bonita, e a Ana gostou. Depois do Colorado, nos viajamos pra Texas - no El Paso onde meu primo, a namorada dele (Monique), e a crianca deles (Madeline) moram. Madeline nasceu bonitissima - e estranha na minha opininao pra ver uma crianca tanto novo e tanto linda.
Depois do El Paso, nos fomos pra Dallas, pra ficar com meus amigos Greg and Melissa.
This was the first time Ana had seen Colorado as well.. It was mid-april and blizzarding - almost literally. I-70 was actually closed for an 80-mile stretch on the day we left; good thing we weren't driving through denver or we'd be stuck. Ana liked Colorado, but I told her it was kind of a strange time to go. It was right in between seasons so the weather didn't really know what it wanted to do.
After resting up in Colorado, having great conversations with family and restoring our souls a little, we left and headed for El Paso. My cuzzie Bryan and his woman Monique just birthed a baby - Madeline. Madeline was literally born beautiful; it's strange. I've never seen a baby born like that.
Driving out of El Paso, I showed Ana some houses on the other side of the river - "See those houses over there? That's Mexico." We then drove through west texas to get to Dallas so we could stay a night with my friends Greg and Mel. On the way we stopped in Kent to fill up on gas. I went in to buy some power steering fluid and heard a customer telling the lady behind the cash register that there was something "suspicious" ontop of one of the gas tanks. "I hate to say this word, but it looks kinda like a bomb.." That picqued my curiousity, so I went back out there and looked around. Sure enough, there was some sort of electrical device that appeared very homemade sitting ontop of a gas tank. I took a photo of it and then we got the heck out of there.
Para os Brasileiros:
Nos chegamos no Colorado depois do dirigindo quase onze horas. Estava massa pra ver familia depois do tanto tempo. Estava nevando muito a la; foi bonita, e a Ana gostou. Depois do Colorado, nos viajamos pra Texas - no El Paso onde meu primo, a namorada dele (Monique), e a crianca deles (Madeline) moram. Madeline nasceu bonitissima - e estranha na minha opininao pra ver uma crianca tanto novo e tanto linda.
Depois do El Paso, nos fomos pra Dallas, pra ficar com meus amigos Greg and Melissa.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Grand Canyon
Tuesday, April 14th, 2009 - Tuesday we packed up all our stuff at San Clemente and headed out for the Grand Canyon. Unfortunately the only campsite I could get for our 2nd night at San Clemente was a little farther away from the ocean, and a little closer to party central and doggie barking central. Neither of us slept that great.. But we had to caffeinate our veins and hit the road so we could get to the Grand Canyon, about 10 hours away.
The closer we got to Arizona, we noticed the windier it got. We finally stopped at a dinkie gas station in Arizona and when I got out my hair shot backwards at a 180 degree angle consistently. I felt like a fighter pilot. It was pretty cool. I started the gas pump and somehow made it back into the car, which was rocking. I took care of a couple things inside the car and then noticed the rain against the driver's side window going completely horizontal. Then I realized it was only raining on the driver's side window, which seemed wrong. Then I realized it wasn't rain. It was gasoline. Lest the gas station explode, I jumped outside to stop the blasted gas pump from trying to kill us.. In doing so, I got gasoline on the entire left side of my person, including my face and hair (which I have a lot of these days). I also got it all over the driver side door, not to mention all the gasoline that covered the entire driver's side of the car. "Coincidentally", the gas station just so happened to have pay-for-use showers on the premises. I wonder why? I couldn't use it because someone else had been in there for 30 minutes already. I wonder why?
We were absolutely exhausted when we got to the Grand Canyon. I asked the park ranger what the forecast was for the night and he told me "Lows in the 30s and winds are getting higher, through the night they'll get up around 60 miles per hour. There may be a little precipitation (ie, snow) as well." Good news.
We got to our campsite and our neighbor was the Marlborough man. I don't think I heard him say a word to his woman all night, nor his 2 wild dogs. We hurriedly made dinner (tomato soup, hot dogs, toast, beer) and then ran to the tent I'd staked down and tied to a tree, as it was already in the 30s and the wind was howling. During the night, the wind tossed my tent around like a ragdoll. Out of the 3 months I spent camping a couple years ago, this was probably the coldest night I'd had. Neither Ana nor I really slept at all that night, as the wind was collapsing my tent down completely onto our faces probably ever 20 minutes. Throughout the night, we also heard multiple other campers pack up their tents and leave. We roughed it out though, and apparently the only others near us to really rough it out was Marlborough man and his woman and wild dogs.
By 6:30AM we were ready to go. We got out and saw snow on our tent, on the ground, and in the sky. We packed up and caught our first real glimpses of the actual canyon.. It truly is breathtaking there. Ana even mentioned that it made her forget about the last night. After spending some time viewing, it started snowing hard. In delirious fashion, we headed out for Colorado to see my sister & frank, and their kids Mason & Molly.
On the way there, the planet morphed into Mars. Everything was red, including the sky, which rained mud. At times, the sand-air was so thick that we couldn't even see the cars in front of us.
That was a delight.
Para os Brasileiros:
Na Terca, a gente saiu para o Grand Canyon. Infelizmente, a gente nao dormiu muito na Segunda por causa dos cachorros das visinhas e as festas pertos. Entao a gente dirigiu quase dez horas para o Grand Canyon, e quando e gente chegou, eu descobri que a temperatura ia ser zero aquela noite. Aquela noite foi a noite mas fria que eu senti enquanto acampava na minha vida!
A gente nao consegiu dormir aquela noite porque o vento estava forte demais, e nossa barraca estava movendo toda a noite. A gente "acordou" as seis e meia e saiu para ver lugares do Grand Canyon.. E foi incrivel. A noite da Terca quase valeu a pena por causa das vistas do Grand Canyon.
Enquanto a gente foi olhando o Grand Canyon, comecou a nevar - muito. Entao, a gente saiu do Grand Canyon e viajou para o Colorado, onde minha irma e sua familia moram.
A gente estava alem de cansado.....
The closer we got to Arizona, we noticed the windier it got. We finally stopped at a dinkie gas station in Arizona and when I got out my hair shot backwards at a 180 degree angle consistently. I felt like a fighter pilot. It was pretty cool. I started the gas pump and somehow made it back into the car, which was rocking. I took care of a couple things inside the car and then noticed the rain against the driver's side window going completely horizontal. Then I realized it was only raining on the driver's side window, which seemed wrong. Then I realized it wasn't rain. It was gasoline. Lest the gas station explode, I jumped outside to stop the blasted gas pump from trying to kill us.. In doing so, I got gasoline on the entire left side of my person, including my face and hair (which I have a lot of these days). I also got it all over the driver side door, not to mention all the gasoline that covered the entire driver's side of the car. "Coincidentally", the gas station just so happened to have pay-for-use showers on the premises. I wonder why? I couldn't use it because someone else had been in there for 30 minutes already. I wonder why?
We were absolutely exhausted when we got to the Grand Canyon. I asked the park ranger what the forecast was for the night and he told me "Lows in the 30s and winds are getting higher, through the night they'll get up around 60 miles per hour. There may be a little precipitation (ie, snow) as well." Good news.
We got to our campsite and our neighbor was the Marlborough man. I don't think I heard him say a word to his woman all night, nor his 2 wild dogs. We hurriedly made dinner (tomato soup, hot dogs, toast, beer) and then ran to the tent I'd staked down and tied to a tree, as it was already in the 30s and the wind was howling. During the night, the wind tossed my tent around like a ragdoll. Out of the 3 months I spent camping a couple years ago, this was probably the coldest night I'd had. Neither Ana nor I really slept at all that night, as the wind was collapsing my tent down completely onto our faces probably ever 20 minutes. Throughout the night, we also heard multiple other campers pack up their tents and leave. We roughed it out though, and apparently the only others near us to really rough it out was Marlborough man and his woman and wild dogs.
By 6:30AM we were ready to go. We got out and saw snow on our tent, on the ground, and in the sky. We packed up and caught our first real glimpses of the actual canyon.. It truly is breathtaking there. Ana even mentioned that it made her forget about the last night. After spending some time viewing, it started snowing hard. In delirious fashion, we headed out for Colorado to see my sister & frank, and their kids Mason & Molly.
On the way there, the planet morphed into Mars. Everything was red, including the sky, which rained mud. At times, the sand-air was so thick that we couldn't even see the cars in front of us.
That was a delight.
Para os Brasileiros:
Na Terca, a gente saiu para o Grand Canyon. Infelizmente, a gente nao dormiu muito na Segunda por causa dos cachorros das visinhas e as festas pertos. Entao a gente dirigiu quase dez horas para o Grand Canyon, e quando e gente chegou, eu descobri que a temperatura ia ser zero aquela noite. Aquela noite foi a noite mas fria que eu senti enquanto acampava na minha vida!
A gente nao consegiu dormir aquela noite porque o vento estava forte demais, e nossa barraca estava movendo toda a noite. A gente "acordou" as seis e meia e saiu para ver lugares do Grand Canyon.. E foi incrivel. A noite da Terca quase valeu a pena por causa das vistas do Grand Canyon.
Enquanto a gente foi olhando o Grand Canyon, comecou a nevar - muito. Entao, a gente saiu do Grand Canyon e viajou para o Colorado, onde minha irma e sua familia moram.
A gente estava alem de cansado.....
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
San Clemente I
Sunday, April 12th, 2009 - Sunday we left Montana de Oro where the weather was cold and headed for San Clemente where the weather is always warm. What was supposed to be a 5 hours drive turned into like an 8 hour because of traffic in LA.
As we neared, I noted to Ana that I still can't really place what it is about San Clemente that I like so much. Aside from the beach, there isn't necessarily any major sightseeing or anything.. It's just a small, mellow beach town. I guess I just find it to be a little hidden pacific jewel.
As we drove in though, Ana thought it was very charming.. And the campsite is completely different than any others on our trip. Our tent was closer to the water than you can get in a hotel.. There's nothing like going to sleep next to steady waves rolling in.
There, our camp-neighbor was Duncan. Kind of a wacky local but very helpful. He and I traded/bartered for tools we both needed, though he gave me a lot more stuff than I gave him. That evening, he told us that he got into a skirmish with a local gang member, so he was going to leave because he was 'sure' the guy's buddies would all be back later to take care of him. I found the whole story a little odd, but he gave me all of his campfire wood, so his story was fine with me.. Monday, I was talking with a park ranger and I mentioned his name. The park ranger noted that Duncan is a "wack", and not to believe anything he says. Apparently he frequents these grounds a bit.
Back at my starbucks I was hoping to see my friend Chester, who I happen to somehow run into whenever I come to San Clemente. He's getting his masters at a nearby Theological Seminary - Talbot - the same school Josh McDowell ("The Case for Faith") graduated from, and is always fun to talk with as he's quite knowledgeable in theology. As we were finally leaving on Monday after I was done with work, Chester showed up.. Apparently that was the first day he'd gone to starbucks in over a month.. Good timing.
It was a great stay here, though a short one. Ana noticed how different it is camping on the beach than camping in the woods; it's a whole different kind of camping. She also mentioned that she wouldn't have any problem living there. :) But like I told her, should fate lead us there, then it will.. But for now, we're just letting life lead us wherever it wants to take us.
Para os Brasileiros:
No Domingo, a gente saiu do Montana de Oro e foi para San Clemente - meu lugar favorito do campamento, e minha cidade favorita no California.. Talvez nos Estados Unidos. E nao sei por que? Nao tem coisas famosas, nao e grande.. Somente uma cidade pequenha e tranquilo no mar.
Campamento no mar e completemente diferente que campamento no floresta. Na minha opinao, nada e melhor que indo pra dormir perto das ondas. A Ana gostou do San Clemente, e agora ela prefira a campamento perto do mar mas que campamento na floresta.
As we neared, I noted to Ana that I still can't really place what it is about San Clemente that I like so much. Aside from the beach, there isn't necessarily any major sightseeing or anything.. It's just a small, mellow beach town. I guess I just find it to be a little hidden pacific jewel.
As we drove in though, Ana thought it was very charming.. And the campsite is completely different than any others on our trip. Our tent was closer to the water than you can get in a hotel.. There's nothing like going to sleep next to steady waves rolling in.
There, our camp-neighbor was Duncan. Kind of a wacky local but very helpful. He and I traded/bartered for tools we both needed, though he gave me a lot more stuff than I gave him. That evening, he told us that he got into a skirmish with a local gang member, so he was going to leave because he was 'sure' the guy's buddies would all be back later to take care of him. I found the whole story a little odd, but he gave me all of his campfire wood, so his story was fine with me.. Monday, I was talking with a park ranger and I mentioned his name. The park ranger noted that Duncan is a "wack", and not to believe anything he says. Apparently he frequents these grounds a bit.
Back at my starbucks I was hoping to see my friend Chester, who I happen to somehow run into whenever I come to San Clemente. He's getting his masters at a nearby Theological Seminary - Talbot - the same school Josh McDowell ("The Case for Faith") graduated from, and is always fun to talk with as he's quite knowledgeable in theology. As we were finally leaving on Monday after I was done with work, Chester showed up.. Apparently that was the first day he'd gone to starbucks in over a month.. Good timing.
It was a great stay here, though a short one. Ana noticed how different it is camping on the beach than camping in the woods; it's a whole different kind of camping. She also mentioned that she wouldn't have any problem living there. :) But like I told her, should fate lead us there, then it will.. But for now, we're just letting life lead us wherever it wants to take us.
Para os Brasileiros:
No Domingo, a gente saiu do Montana de Oro e foi para San Clemente - meu lugar favorito do campamento, e minha cidade favorita no California.. Talvez nos Estados Unidos. E nao sei por que? Nao tem coisas famosas, nao e grande.. Somente uma cidade pequenha e tranquilo no mar.
Campamento no mar e completemente diferente que campamento no floresta. Na minha opinao, nada e melhor que indo pra dormir perto das ondas. A Ana gostou do San Clemente, e agora ela prefira a campamento perto do mar mas que campamento na floresta.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Montana de Oro
Saturday, April 11, 2009 - After driving highway 1, we reached our first camping spot on our tour in Montana de Oro. I was interested to see what Ana would think of her first night camping in California. I must have taken a different way into & out of Montana de Oro last time I was here, because for the life of me I don't remember seeing the towns of Cayucos or Morro Bay, and they looked freaking cool. In fact, they reminded me of beach cities in Brazil.. Tons of houses, buildings, bars, etc lined the beach all up and down.. And at the end of it was this dramatic mountain jutting out of the water - the shape of which looked a lot like Sugarloaf to me. Very strange.
The campground is actually about a quarter mile off the beach, which is actually good because it was frkn cold there, and the ocean breeze is even colder. After we set up camp though, we walked down to the beach. There's a large rock there on the beach that is (barely) climbable. I climbed to the top of it last time but I didn't remember it being this tough to get to the top of. The only way to get to the top has lots of loose sand all over it, making traction tough. I was very proud of Ana for making it to the top with me; and getting to the top provides a great reward.. At the top, the rock juts out far into the water and large, violent waves crash into the rocks below, while you watch safely from the top. You can also find a comfortable place to sit and watch the sun set over the horizon from the top of this rock. Beautiful.
Back at camp, we got the fire going and made some salmon and potatoes. The fire pit was not conducive for easy cooking, and the potatoes fell into the fire plenty, and eventually I just left them in there because they weren't cooking. They came out black and crisp. I didn't do anything different to the fish than usual. So I found it all the more funny how Ana thought this was like the best dinner ever.. Things just taste so much better when you camp; I don't know why. I think maybe it's got something to do with the fact that nothing is convenient, and you have to work a lot more to get anything.
The night was very cold, and some amateurs next to us were screaming as loud as they could every few minutes until about 2:00am, but Ana always had a smile on her face. She is amazing.
I destroyed the amateurs. InMyDreamsAndThenIWokeUp
Para os Brasileiros: Depois do dirigindo no "Highway 1", a gente chegou no Montana de Oro. Antes do Montana de Oro ficam as cidades do Morro Bay e Cayucos. Essas cidades parecem a Brazil; casas, restaurantes, e edificios ficam perto do mar. E tambem fica uma montanha no mar que parece a Pao de Acucar.. Pao de Acucar e mais bonita que essa, claro, mais e interesante ainda.
Perto do mar fica uma pedra que voce pode subir, mais e muito dificil. Fui orgulhoso da Ana para conseguindo em cima. La em cima da pedra tem vistas maravilhosas.. Ondas batam a pedra em baixo, mais voce tem seguranca em cima. E ai, a gente viu o por do sol em cima da pedra. Foi incrivel.
Aquela noite, a gente fez fogo, e depois eu fiz salmao e batatas. A comida nao foi feito bem, mais a Ana adorou.. Foi engracado por que eu sempre achei que a comida feita em acampamento ta melhor. Nao sei por que atualmente, talvez porque ta mas dificil para fazer coisas.
Eu fui muito impressionado da Ana. Ela sempre tinha uma sorrisa na sua cara.
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