Categories
WanderLog

Thanksgiving in California

November 22-28 2014

Travel Dates: November 22 -28, 2014

Happy Thanksgiving! We have had a FABULOUS week hanging out with friends and family. Lots of cousin time, an afternoon playing in the surf at the beach, great food, Airstream improvement projects, and a memorial service for Sam’s grandmother who passed away a few months ago.

It’s amazing to me how little we post on Instgram when life is busy and we are doing more “normal” things. We are excited to get back into traveling this week as we start heading south towards Las Vegas!

Categories
Airstream Meetups

Meeting ASoloJourner

One of the exciting parts of taking the ferry to Port Townsend was meeting a fellow traveler. We had been following the adventures of Kerri (ASoloJournerer on Instagram) since the beginning of our travels. She travels with her dog Byron in her Airstream named Calypso. She spent a good deal of the summer up in Washington, and was hanging around Port Townsend as its one of her favorite spots.

Meeting fellow travelers is always interesting. Most of us don’t take selfies that often, and being a solo traveler, we rarely saw a picture of Kerri before meeting in person. We really should teach Byron to take a few more pictures. Not that it mattered – we were instant friends with plenty to talk about.

One evening we were in the mood for some good fish and chips and Googled up a local dive of a restaurant called Sea J’s Cafe, and Kerri was awesome enough to join us on our little adventure. We were a little skeptical, but it turned out to be absolutely fabulous! We sampled some fish & chips, the hamburgers, and the pumpkin milkshake was one of the best I’ve ever had!

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Our kids instantly adored her, and she was awesome with them. After meeting her, our kids immediately set about making some bracelets on their rainbow looms as gifts, which she accepted quite graciously.

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Luckily for us, we met up with Kerri again at Cape Disappointment after our paths crossed a bit later as we both traveled down the Washington and Oregon coastline. Thanks again for being so great!

Categories
Fitness & Recipes

Airstream Kitchen: Sweet Potato, Apple, & Avocado Salad

Sweet Potato, Avocado, Apple Salad

This salad is ridiculously delicious. Prior to trying out a similar recipe from Sprouted Kitchen, I had never thought of putting sweet potato in a salad. Its fabulous! Now I can’t seem to stop. I like to play with the ingredients, but I thought I’d post this one as it was a total winner.

Salad

  • 1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
  • 1 lb. sweet potatoes (about 2 large), cut into 1/2” cubes
  • 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
  • salt & pepper
  • 2 large apples, diced (granny smith is my favorite!)
  • 8 cups packed baby greens (I use mixed green leaf & spinach)
  • 1 avocado, peeled & chopped
  • 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes sliced in half
  • Feta cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Drizzle some olive oil in a pan and toast the quinoa for two minutes.  Add 2 cups water and bring it to a boil. Turn it down and simmer for 15-18 minutes, or until water is absorbed and quinoa is nice and fluffy. Set aside to cool.

Toss the sweet potatoes with the olive oil and some salt and pepper and lay out on a cookie sheet.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Set aside in a bowl to cool.

Build your salad! Quinoa works best when you layer it right on top of the greens (totally did it backward in my photo), then add apples, avocado, and tomatoes and top with Feta cheese and dressing.

Bon Appetite!

Apple Cider Vinegar Dressing

  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1-2 tsp. dijon mustard
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • pinch of salt and pepper

Whisk together in a small bowl.

 

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Categories
Washington

We Take Our Airstream On a Boat, Washington

Our tour of Whidbey Island was fantastic, but it was time to move along. We took a the Coupeville – Port Townsend Ferry off the middle of Whidbey Island, placing us for a tour of the Olympic Peninsula and nicely skipping over Seattle.

Putting the Airstream on a ferry was both exciting and terrifying. An experience like this highlights the difference between the things that Jess is concerned about and the stress that I feel. Jess wasn’t worried in the slightest about the process and the danger. I was pretty stressed.
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Between the picture of the empty ferry dock and our parked Airstream, I took precisely NO pictures. I was busy trying to avoid running our house into anything else in tight quarters. We DID make a video of the experience however, previously shared but added here to complete the post. Continue on after the video for more pictures and commentary.

I managed to take this epic picture of our Airstream with my phone, and it turned out to be a favorite of the trip.

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Having read other stories about parking on ferries, I was a bit nervous about pulling on and parking. I paid attention to the ferry guys, and they directed me to the spot they wanted me. Front and center is where we parked, right next to a semi full of recycled paper headed to a processing plant. We were second on and first off, which was fine by me.
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After parking, we climbed out and began to explore the ferry. It was interesting seeing a boat that never ‘turned around’ and was equipped with two bridges to make the back and forth easier to handle. The top deck was fun, but noisy and a bit windy.

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We brought along some ‘hiking snacks’ which we deploy in situations where either some light food or a distraction is useful. When possible we stop in at Winco grocery stores and raid their bulk food bins. Our snack today was green Australian licorice, which is a favorite of all.

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Being right in front, we had a great view as the ferry came into the terminal at Port Townsend. The ferry guys were awesome and fun with the kids in the few minutes before we climbed back into the truck.

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Driving off was much less worrisome than driving on. We pulled onto the exit road and headed through town to visit a friend, but more about that on our next post!

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Categories
General Information

Practicing Thanksgiving

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The time has come for us to celebrate Thanksgiving again here in the United States. I know Canada beats us to it every year, but I’ll blame that on their earlier harvest schedules. It is easy to be discouraged as every year, Christmas(tm) marketing and sales begin earlier and earlier. The holiday can also be a great time for those frustrated with the past and origins of this tradition to voice their displeasure. Despite the easy to find frustrations, I love Thanksgiving.

It occurs to me every year as we engage in our traditions that I really could be more grateful ALL year long. As we begin to count and quickly run out of fingers and toes, I am reminded that “Blessing, and glory, and thanksgiving, and honor be unto our God.” (Revelations 7:12) As we consider his love, work, and compassion upon us, I cannot help but marvel at the depth of his love and patience.

Is it a bad thing that we devote one day each year to giving thanks? I propose that it is not a bad thing, as each year serves as a fantastic reminder that I should “Live in Thanksgiving Daily” (Alma 34:38) and that I should “do all things with prayer and thanksgiving.” (D&C 46:7)

We are spending the season this year with friends and family near where I grew up, in Petaluma, CA. It has been quite a few Thanksgivings since we’ve been here in Northern California, and we are enjoying our time here. I am grateful that our travels allow visiting so many friends and family as we travel, and that we can enjoy the holiday without hurry. I am grateful for the many friends we have, and the new friends that we meet as we travel and explore. Above all, I and grateful for Christ and his sacrifice for us. May I do better this year to remember his hand in my life, and express my gratitude for his love.