number of cities we stopped in overnight: 7 (reno nv, brookings or, florence or, newport or, seattle wa, butte mt, billings mt)
estimated number of miles we drove: 2, 925
estimated amount spent on gas: $409.50
number of nights in a yurt: 1
number of meals cooked while camping: 2
number of hotels stayed in: 4
number of days we had sunshine: 3 or 4 out of 8
number of books on cd we listened to while driving: 3 (bless me, ultima; the golden compass; the subtle knife)
number of sand dollars beachcombed: 7
ok, enough of that--let's get to the photos!
this was in crescent city, or, when we first reached the coast. we had just come out of the winding roads through the redwoods and were carsick, and this was the best place to pull over. we smelled the salty sea air, the ocean wind on our faces, felt the sea mist--it was perfect! the first thing we did was run to the ocean, david plunged his hand in the water and we licked the water residue to make sure it really was the salty ocean and not just a really big lake we'd driven to. off-season for swimming, but it was fun to walk along the beach with the ocean wind at our backs.
here's the long-awaited for yurt. outside and inside photos. our first stop along the coast: brookings, or. as far as camping goes, this is the most comfortable i've been. the campground was just up the hill from the beach--maybe a 2 minute walk. as you can see, the yurt came fully equipped with lights, a space heater, a futon, bunk beds, a couple chairs, and a table. the showers and toilets were located in the "community outhouse" area about 50 yards away from our yurt. don't worry, there was a girl and boy side, and everything was very private. david could even do the dishes in the shower the next morning without fear of being seen or intruded on! the park attendant told us further north near coos bay there were deluxe yurts!--kitchen area, toilet, and shower all included in the yurt. we were excited to try one of those out, but by the time we got to the park it was raining cats and dogs, it was super wet and cold, and the campground only had regular yurts available. we decided it was too wet to cook and camp (i know...whimps!), so we kept on driving to florence, or. and stayed in a bed and breakfast.
this is cape blanco lighthouse. it was on the road between brookings and florence. this photo doesn't do justice--it was raining so hard and the wind was at least 50-70mph, so the rain came at us sideways and felt like bullets! we could hardly push open the car doors to get out of the car. david jumped straight up into the air and landed about 2 feet in front of where he had originally jumped from--all from the wind. 
driftwood on the florence beach. well, more like a drifttree. we loved florence, or. we weren't even planning on staying there, but we ended up having a much better vacation because we didn't stick with our plans and went where the rain blew us. florence is a little artist alcove, has the best beachcombing beach, the nicest folks, and the best seafood restaurant anywhere! we stayed at a cute little bed & breakfast, and the owner suggested we eat dinner at the waterfront depot. the atmosphere is amazing--it feels like a quaint, intimate living room, has a new york city buzz about it, the most amazing menu, and prices that can't be beat. we had an appetizer, soup and salad (the most amazing clam chowder ever--i need to master that recipe!), main entrees, shared a dessert, and the bill was $40. the most expensive thing on the menu was the surf 'n turf at $13.50. they obviously make their money from the drinks at the bar; as we don't drink, we escaped with a pretty good bill! if you ever go near the state of oregon, you HAVE to go to the waterfront depot--it's worth the drive from whichever part of oregon you are in. 
this is outside the sea lion caves between florence and newport. one of our bright, sunny days, as you can see. so we're standing above the cave right now. you pay to ride an elevator down 250 ft, right into the heart of the cave, and listen to all the sea lions down on the rocks. it was amazing! there was a skeleton found in the early 1800s by an explorer; the sea lion skeleton isn't dated, but they've obviously been coming to this cave for a long time.
this is the view from the cave looking outside. i couldn't get over how rough and frothy the ocean is along this rocky coast. i am used to the east coast beaches of delaware and maryland--long stretches of golden sand, brownish greenish waves with a couple crests before rolling into the beach. on this coast, the waves crashed while still 100 yards away from the beach, and kept right on crashing, creating an ocean of rough white waves. 
the next three photos are of the tidal pools in newport, or beach. we went beachcombing during negative tide, and so we could go really far out along the rocks and look for starfish and other marine life. ironically, much of what we found in the tidal pools was the exact same marine life on display in the oregon coast aquarium in newport!
these photos are in the aquarium. in the above photo we are standing in a real live prehistoric shark jaw. the guy taking the photo said to look scared, but he took so long taking it that david looks like he's just kind of laughing at me and i look like i'm searching for cavities. below is an example of the original diving hats! 
we finally made it to seattle! christian and robin took us on a spectacular night tour of the city, as we arrived fairly late, and we think we got the best view of the city this way! we loved seeing the lights across the bay.
this is the troll who guards the bridge. he's smashing a car in his left hand.
the next morning they took us to the market--it was sooo cool to walk up and down the old brick roads and see all the fresh fruit, smell the flowers, look at jams and chocolates, watch the cheesemakers (photo below), and eat freshly fried doughnuts. seattle is a very busy city! it's sort of like the busyness of new york, the tiny roads of europe, the eclectic beatnik feel from the 60s all rolled into one city with major roads and bridges and water all intertwined. 
from seattle we traveled on to billings to see david's family. i don't know why i didn't pull my camera out in mt, but the fruit stands in seattle is where our photos stop. on the road to billings we finished the golden compass and began the subtle knife, the first two books in the dark materials trilogy. philip pullman presents interesting concepts, but neither of us felt attacked as christians. i thought his ideas were very similar to madeleine l'engle, whose works i devoured as an adolescent. overall, they were very intriguing and it kept us awake while we were driving.
in billings we had a bbq with all the cousins and aunts and uncles, and it was great to catch up with everyone. we also drove all around town looking at potential neighborhoods we'd like to live in when we move there, and found out msu-b has potential to accept david as an in-state student to finish his bachelor's, which is promising news. we still need to call and get specific information, but we feel very hopeful about being able to move in the next 12-18 months. we're excited to keep moving forward!!
