portland to kalaloch
Day 5 already? Can you believe it? Me neither! So far I’ve written about days 1-4. Day four was about my hotel stay in Portland and included some linked-out suggestions of fun things to do for a short trip to Portland! Click here to read that post!
And without further ado, here we go on day 5 of the cross-country United States extravaganza! This one has a little more sentiment and cheesiness than the previous days, so to be fair, you've been warned haha.
June 17, 2018
Portland to Kalaloch
Woke up around 6:30 this morning, showered, and had breakfast at the hotel before packing the car and heading out. Archy met two big Golden Retrievers in the stairwell who wanted to play with her. I let her say hello, but she sometimes thinks she’s a big dog even though she’s a small dog. A lot of confidence in that little furball.
After we checked out, I stopped at Voodoo Doughnuts and got a Voodoo Doll doughnut, a Maple Bacon doughnut, and one Peanut Butter Oreo doughnut. I took bites of all three but was only able to finish the maple bacon. In all honesty, I’m not a big sweets type of person. To me, dough is better suited for making pizza, God’s gift to humankind. But for people who like doughnuts, these are probably some of the best. The maple bacon one was delicious and had a nice balance of savory and sweet. Definitely recommend.
We made a couple pit stops so Archy could pee and poop and also so I could fill up the tank. I’ve been listening to “Everything I Never Told You” by Celeste Ng on audiobook. It came recommended, and it’s not bad. It’s at least a nice change-up from business books, and it’s definitely really well-written and keeps you engaged.
I’m currently sitting on Kalaloch beach with Archy on her favorite tapestry (and one of mine, too). We took some photos together, and by that I mean I took some photos of us together, and it seems like this beach goes on for days. There’s tons of open space and so much driftwood of all different kinds and colors. It’s absolutely beautiful.
We stopped and took a selfie earlier, too, at the “Welcome to Washington” sign, which was fun! I’m glad I have pictures of us crossing the Oregon and Washington borders.
There’s something about the beach and the ocean that’s immediately relaxing. It puts everything into perspective, all my current problems and worries in life. Archy keeps rolling on her back and gnawing at her leash. I know she would love nothing more than to zoomie all over this beach. I’ll have to take her to Ocean City in the winter sometime and let her have a ball.
I have received word that I’ve been offered an interview via Skype for the Masters in Philosophy of Performance and Theatre program at Trinity College in Dublin. Most of me is excited, but part of me is nervous. From what I’ve been told, Trinity is a sister school of Oxford and Cambridge. That’s a pretty big deal. A friend of mine once told me people don’t deserve things, but I think he is wrong. I think I deserve this. I’ve worked really hard to get this far, and I don’t want to have someone else’s opinion make me second-guess it. So I won’t. I am excited, and I will just be myself in the Skype interview, and we’ll see if it works out. It’s a really nice surprise given the amount of other uncertainty in my life LOL. Whatever happens with the interview, though, I’ll just keep going with this road trip and the comedy stuff I have lined up over the summer, and then I’ll just figure it out from there.
It’s kind of exciting, not having a full-fledged plan. Lord knows planning this road trip was actually pretty hella stressful, but it’s been really awesome so far. I was REALLY excited when I got the interview email, and I’m excited to virtually meet the person who thinks I’d be a good addition to this program. I have to thank David, Michael, and Trudi for everything they've done for me. Dude, I am seriously so lucky I have such amazing, powerhouse people helping me achieve my goals. Obviously my friends and family are dope and their support means everything; it's just nice sometimes to get that support from people you haven't known for like multiple decades (jesus how old am I? hahaha).
The sound of the ocean relaxes me so much, and there’s such a beautiful breeze right now. It is both incredibly peaceful and incredibly rejuvenating. I love being outside! If I make it to Ireland, I hope I meet other people who like hiking and stuff. It'd be nice to make some friends who like outdoorsy hiking and camping stuff.
I continued knitting my scarf with a new skein, so I’m going to do more of that after this entry. I finished the audio book a little bit ago, and I liked the way it ended. It felt sort of like a happy ending- at least as much as it could have been given the plot!
Archy started barking at a yellow lab that walked by, so I ended up chatting with the woman walking her for a bit and then also ran into them again on Archy’s walk, telling them about the move. She offered some driving advice, which was kind and definitely appreciated. I also met two cute little girls with a dog named Ruby! They loved Archy, too. Everyone loves Archy!!
Archy ate some more of her food, and I just had a banana and peanut butter sandwich. Going to do some more knitting!
Was so relaxed from knitting that I fell asleep! It was the best nap! When I woke up, Archy and I went for a nice long walk around B loop and down the wood steps to the beach. Sat on driftwood for a few minutes before playing a little on the hard sand. And by playing, I mean just like Archy running in circles trying to dodge me since her ball is packed away somewhere in the u-haul that is my SUV. She doesn't seem to mind not having her ball, though. Plus, I don't think she's technically supposed to be running around like this, but no one here seems to mind. On our walk back to the campsite we met an older couple and their two dogs and exchanged pleasantries. They asked all sorts of questions about Archy, and the wife said Archy and I are very blessed to have found each other, and I wholeheartedly agree. She’s a quite excellent little lovebug.
I just did the nighttime routine even though it’s not quite sunset. The next two days are back-to-back long driving days, and I want to make sure I get decent sleep tonight!
Archy and I just watched our final US West Coast sunset for a little while, and it was beautiful - everything I could’ve ever wished for. As the sun dipped below the horizon, all I could think was “isn’t it amazing that this beauty happens because our planet and the sun are constantly in motion?” I am super cheesy sometimes. But a lot of good comes from movement. On the way back to the tent Archy and I talked to a little girl for a bit whose parents were making her brush her teeth. She wanted to play with Archy, but I told her that Archy and I had to go to bed because we go to bed when the sun does, and she said, “me too. And when the sun goes to bed the moon gets a turn and back and forth. I said, “I know.. and isn’t that beautiful that they share like that?” And we both agreed.
So, I've noticed that most of my interactions on this trip so far have been with either children or people with dogs. What does that say about me? Anyway, a thing I'd like to highlight that didn't really get conveyed in my journaling is how amazing it is to camp out after a night in a hotel. It's like having just one night of those comforts can totally gear you up for some more camping. Also, I like people who camp because they tend to be friendlier than your average bear. I didn't have to ask anyone to take my picture with Archy at sunset; people just offered. Campers tend to have a pretty great 'we're all in this together' view of the world, which tends to be my life philosophy, too. Also, Archy did growl once at this campground because she saw another dog get a little too close to her tent. It was pretty funny since she doesn't usually do stuff like that. Typing this makes me miss her a lot because she's just the most wonderful little nugget. I can't wait to see her soon! And for the record, I am still looking for hiking and camping friends, though I am starting to realize that the weather here might cause the search to take longer than expected. Until then, I will brave this maritime climate and squeeze in some hikes in between marathon-training runs! Click here to read on for day 6: kalaloch to seattle to spokane!