Lake Chelan on Memorial Day 09

It's been really amazing having Colin around while I try and settle into a new city. Having his family close by makes it feel a little more like home since I can't be around my own. And having a second-family around means you also get to reap the benefits....Colin's parents own a condo on Lake Chelan in eastern Washington...and they let Colin borrow it for Memorial Day. So, he invited a bunch of friends and we headed out over the mountains for a weekend on the water.


And yes, I'm sure I'll get some antagonizing remarks for this...but I brought my shuffle board. And, for the first couple hours before the heavy consumption of adult beverages began...it was a hit!


Colin's friend Martin (as seen on the phone, above) hooked us up with a pontoon boat...which was really awesome because we could fit a ton of people on it, and pull tubes. As you can see, everyone was pretty excited about it....no big deal.


We were on the boat 75% of the day, and I couldn't have asked for anything more. Even though the water was pretty flippin freezing, we went tubing, swimming, and played with the football and the frisbee....standard boat fun.


Chelan is a total tourist town...and apparently, it's pretty much deserted every season except summer. But there's a nice park and beach next to the lake...so Colin and Jordan played some pick up while we took a boat break.


The weather was absolutely perfect...so needless to say, we had some individuals that left that weekend with 2nd degree burns...good times. But since I'm so pastey...I heeded the "safety first" motto....and didn't get that much color at all......which could be good, or bad.


The lake, which apparently is 80 miles long....is bordered by beautiful mountains. So, once you left Chelan...you were basically in the middle of nowhere....which wasn't a tough adjustment after living in Fairbanks.

Breaking in the new place

So, today, I moved into the new apartment in downtown Seattle...and it couldn't have happened without the brute strength of Colin and Evan Matteson....haha. They lifted a huge brown couch up 6 flights of stairs (that's a lie, there was an elevator) and through my tiny little apartment doorway...they were champs. So, to pay them back I took them out for burgers...and we called it even.

That night, a couple of Colin and I's friends from UAF were driving through Seattle and spent the night at my place.


Here's Eric and Henri showing their mutual man-love for each other. They were in the process of driving from Fairbanks, AK down to California...and decided to grace us with their presence.



It was nice to see some friends after a long drive...and I'd never been out in Seattle before, and apparently a lot of the establishments that provide adult libations are located rather close to my new place....which I consider a jackpot.

Destination!

On May 16th, I arrived in Washington State. 3600-plus miles, a 12 pack of Mountain Dew, $500 in gas, and many, many carbon offsets later...I'm now living in Washington!


I feel bad for the people that live here, because they have no idea the level of crassness and profanity they are about to experience. Woop!

A Bourne Girl in Yellowstone...

Ahhh, Yellowstone....one of America's most beautiful national parks...and also one of the world's largest supervolcanoes. Apparently, if Yellowstone erupts, it could send us into a new ice age....but that didn't stop me from packing up my camera and driving the Hyundai through it.


On my way to Seattle, I drove off the beaten path (i.e. Interstate 90) and entered the park through the North entrance. I was immediately greeted by many asian tourists, and a large herd of elk.....win-win.


There was a lot of signage throughout the park. The picture above pretty much sums up the hilarity of them. I'm pretty sure the National Park Service could've chosen different rhetoric for this sign....but let's be honest, I'm glad they didn't.


I saw a ton of animals in the park...it was really, really cool...not to mention, all the geothermal hot spots. There were geysers, hot springs, mud volcanoes, and lots of other cool geothermal phenomenon that I'm too stupid to fully understand....it was great!


Here's my trusty steed. As you can see, there was still lots of snow on the ground. In a lot of places there was still 3-5 feet. But the snow made it really easy to spot animals. But don't worry Mom, my eyes were on the road at all times.


When I pulled over to take a gander at the "mud volcano", which was really just a huge, hot mud puddle....a bison decided to take a stroll through the parking lot. So, heeding the NPS's warnings, I hopped in the Hyundai to take shelter. It was cool seeing one so close.


I also drove over the Continental Divide, which was pretty neat. Clearly, I've flown over it more than a dozen times...but driving over it was just as lovely.


And of course, I stopped to see Old Faithful. Old Faithful was cool...but the whole super-volcano thing kinda freaked me out...so I took my pictures and vacated as soon as possible.


On my way out, I must have seen like 100 bison. I got caught in a couple bison traffic jams...which lasted about 20 minutes a piece. They're stubborn suckers, but they're also really amazing. I'm glad I went....even if it meant going solo.

Lots of catching up to do...

My trip out to Seattle was a whirlwind of flat land, Mountain Dew, bison, and cruise control. The trip, in total, took me 4 days. But, the only reason I made it in only 4 days, was because I drove 20 hours on the first day. Time for another round of good idea, bad idea.


Luckily for me, the weather was awesome throughout the trip. There were a couple hours of rain/snow...but all in all...it was perfect traveling weather. Day 1 went by really quickly. I left North Easton, Massachusetts (about 30 miles south of Boston) between 4 and 5am...and arrived in Iowa around 1:30am. I traveled through a lot of tolls, and a lot of flat land. Lucky for me, the more interesting landscape was still to come.


You may think I'm over exaggerating the flatness of middle America, but believe me....it was bad. Even my GPS was bored.


Luckily, on Day 2, I had a goal: to see Mt. Rushmore. And let me tell you something...I wouldn't recommend driving out of your way to see this "national landmark". It was definitely the most anti-climactic tourist attraction ever. All the pictures I saw of it in my childhood made it look enormous....when in reality, it was wee. A little too wee to warrant pulling the car 45 minutes off the highway. Sorry, Mt. Rushmore...add a couple more presidents, and maybe I'll stop by again.


Despite the Mt. Rushmore setback, I powered through a couple more states. Wyoming was amazing, and I attribute that, in large part, to the lighting. There were amazing crepuscular rays (that's right, I broke out the nerd vocab), that were like huge spotlights. It was absolutely beautiful.


There were also a ton of animals on the side of the road, which kept me alert. I must have seen about 327 deer. It was crazy.

Hitting the Oregon...err Washington Trail.

Yes people, the rumors are true. I am no longer one of the victims of the American economy...I now, have a job. Feel free to take a minute to get up from your seat and do a little jig in my honor. After months of searching, compounded with shoveling literally tons of snow and experiencing what can only be known as "domestic bliss"...I'm leaving it all behind to move to the big city. Well, it's not THE big city...but it's a pretty decent sized city.

I've been offered a position with a company called Global Energy Concepts in Seattle, Washington. For all intents and purposes, you can assume it's just a wind energy company...because that's essentially what it is.


In a drastic attempt to prepare for this move, my Mom and I flew out to Seattle last weekend to scout apartments for me. And due to the anal-retentive qualities I inherited from both the Bourne and Willis sides of the family...my planning found us place right downtown...and for a pretty reasonable price I might add.


Due to the early-on success of our trip, we had some time to hit some of the Seattle tourist attractions. We did a lot of walking throughout the city, down by the water, and in true tourist fashion, we even took a Duck Tour. I'm sure you're shaking your head at us...but it was fun, and the Bourne family isn't known for our seriousness. If we're going on a tour, dammit, we're going to quack at people while we're doing it.


Luckily, Seattle defied stereotypes and only coated us in rain for one day. As you can see above, we even got to see Mt. Rainier one day! Woop!

So, after I pack my bags up this week...I'll begin the drive out to the West Coast to start a new chapter beginning June 1, 2009. Wish me luck!