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The whole name of this blog is 'Something Clever' because I don't ever have anything clever to say about my trips so I say "something clever" instead... so I am loathe to attempt to summarize into anything pretty or simple. I do have a few things to say, but nothing terribly profound I don't think..

• Random: the vast variety of climates and temperatures that I went through required a stronger face wash than the one I brought with me... my sad skin was not prepared. Otherwise, I had 2 small articles of clothing that I didn't need (but I wore anyway just to make sure everything got used!) and I willfully left my umbrella at home hoping that I wouldn't need it and that was a pipe dream. My hideous pink "I <3 San Francisco" umbrella proves it. Otherwise, with my winter/running gear, workout gear, 2 PJ sets, 4 dresses/leggings sets, jeans and a few miscellaneous tops I was totally fine. A little sick of my clothes, but nothing terrible. (Very grateful for all the places I did laundry!!) I had a pretty reliable packing system and really enjoyed my backpack over a rolling bag, though I am sure rolling would have been fine as well. There is just nothing like putting everything you own in that moment on your back. I was REMARKABLY lucky to keep my bag through every flight and absolutely nothing crazy happened (except for the GROSS food that someone spilled on it in presumably the Edinburgh airport... Friday the 13th! It was too fresh to have happened elsewhere in transit I think.)
• Being a tourist in January/February is awesome. While it does obviously change your perspective to see places in different seasons, I was very happy for the most part with what I was able to see and with the quantity of people seeing it with me (relatively very few!) I guess I have learned that taking a trade off, I would rather have less ideal weather and fewer humans than see things at their perfect season with 80 bajillion other tourists. I had a great time being cold, because I wasn't being cold at home, and I happily had enough clothes to deal with it. I had a great time being warm, because it was different than being cold. Overall I experienced so much different scenery and so many different things, and I was happy to do it at a relatively 'low' season!
• I have never been great about "The point is the journey, not the destination". I just don't generally roll that way and I have to really stop and make myself focus on enjoying the journey as opposed to the destination. I can't decide if this trip was good for this problem or bad for it?!?! It was either many small journeys leading to many destinations that I could check off my calendar (Yes I had a two month calendar with all the details of where I was supposed to be and what I was supposed to do each day...) or one long journey back home with many stops along the way. Looked at that way, the whole trip was about enjoying the journey and not the destination... (although coming home is wonderful!) so I think I will indulge in that particular view, while the other interpretation can also be true. Who knows. I did start to kind of have misgivings in places where I didn't know anyone of "Why am I here?" because it seemed like I was just trying to be able to say "I've seen Vancouver" as opposed to really seeing it?!?! Which is not a good way of going about anything... I did start to feel like seeing all the 'touristy' things wasn't the most fulfilling, and I did do a good job of resting and not forcing myself out to do things when I was really tired... but overall I am so lucky to have been able to take this trip and have the time and space to contemplate these kind of ridiculous 'first world problem' kind of questions.
• In related thoughts, I think had I had fewer destinations I might have read up more on them and been a little more prepared with specific things I wanted to see and historical places to seek out. As it were, I think I flew by the seat of my pants reasonably well and learned interesting things based on where my whims took me, but considering how many destinations there were I didn't get to really 'dig deeper' much of anywhere (however it was much easier when I had local tour guides ie friends to do the work for me, thank you!) I think there is something to be said for staying longer in one place (why I go live places) but this way I got to see tons of friends and wasn't staying in any one place very long. Keeping things interesting! And the true Stanley way! How many milkings was this vacation?
• I can't remember where I heard this (probably some horrible romantic comedy movie, so forgive me) but it some quote about how vacation is vacating your life. While this could be taken in a bad way, ("Why do you need to vacate your life, is it really that bad?") it has returned to me over and over in this trip for two reasons. First, I got to vacate my life and have totally different food (that I had to choose sometimes but not all the time: I hate choosing food!), only do the dishes at other people's houses (MUCH better than doing dishes at my house), and experience something totally different from my regular for two entire months (That's 1/6th of this year. Holy cow.) It was so refreshing. But also in vacating my life, I am so much more aware and constantly reminded how I am inserting myself into other people's daily lives as a part of their everyday. At home, in my normal routine, it's rare that I think about other people and their everyday, I just assume that they are going about their business as I am. However when on vacation you are constantly seeing other people going about their regular lives as you are just passing through. You think "They do this every day, and today I happened to see it." It is just interesting to me (though now that I explain it, it just sounds kind of ridiculous, sorry...)
• At the beginning of the trip, beset by terrible jet lag and a pretty miserable mood (I blame the darkness in both Vermont and Norway) I was just kind of getting through. I was very happy with my race and learned some really cool stuff in Norway, but it was really Natalie in Edinburgh who helped me snap out of it and start to be 'awake' again. As the trip evolved I did feel less crummy and have some time to think about where my life is headed after my "Year off": just sounds so hoity toity! (and wonderful friends to discuss options with)
• I have said this before and will say it again. Taking a "year off" to "think about my next steps" is absolutely the height of privilege. The HEIGHT. I totally understand that. I am immensely lucky to have been afforded this opportunity and I am very very grateful to my friends all over the world who hosted me and communicated with me while I was gone. Thank you for indulging me.
• What was your favorite place? I have NOOOOOOOOOO idea!!! They are all special and wonderful in their own way. There is so much to learn in the world and I have barely scratched the surface of finding out what there is to know. I think home is my favorite place... but absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder and while Vermont is amazing and beautiful, there are MANY MANY other places that are also amazing and beautiful. I am so lucky to get to see a few of them. 

And now I have written an epic. Great. Sorry! Hope some of that made sense! I just go on and on about nothing... what ridiculousness! Until next time! (Next trip!)

Eureka, Montana, USA & Environs

We got in to Eureka at about 8pm (after a twilight tour of the Kootenai Falls Swinging Bridge and a dark tour of the Libby Dam!) and had an early night in preparation for our early start the next morning, as I had agreed to run the Snow Joke Half Marathon (hehehe get it?) with my host Lat and some of his Cross Country athletes that he had coached that fall. (When I say "run with" I mean line up at the starting line and start running at the same time and that's about the only 'with' that happened... but that was fine!)

We headed out at 6:30 to Seeley Lake, MT, to get our bibs at about 9:30 and wait with Lat's fellow coach and athletes for the race. There was much debate about proper clothing (which was of course different for them than for me as they were going to be running a lot faster than I was) but we headed out of the Seeley Lake Elementary Gym for the 11am start reasonably confident in our choices. We experienced another bout of changeable weather as I remember it being reasonably clear when we left the elementary school, but it soon turned snowy as we ran north in the southbound lane of Route 83. Being that I had not trained hard for this race and I started out standing near Lat and his friends, I had difficulty getting into the right headspace to run 13.1 miles. I was winded from even starting to keep Lat's pack in my sights, and also had forgotten about the elevation thing (not as high as Rwanda, but not low at all) and I was upset already about the length of time Lat would have to wait for me. Running in the slush with some middle schooler and his mom constantly passing me and walking was not that fun. However, when we turned off of the main road onto dirt, the run got a lot brighter (running on white instead of on slush) and my mental attitude improved enough to keep going. This race is famously run by MANY MANY dogs (leashed of course)... so it was really fun to see the dogs pass and see the family members who had driven out to points on the course to help the runners/dogs with water and de-icing the dog's paws. There was a beautiful pair of springer spaniels running with their owner who were near me a lot of the way, and they were so cute! I was beginning to think the lake was a total mirage, but we did eventually get to a few points where we could see the lake (there was a lovely bridge that I really enjoyed) but mostly it was just very nice forest with large trees and houses, a lot like the Milk Run but longer, and fewer hills. There was a lot of downhill on the dirt road stretch, so that was lovely, and I also decided around mile 7 that I would run/walk because I hadn't trained very well. I ended up finishing only 3 minutes slower than Norway... which was a little disappointing considering that I had trained much more intensively for that race (haha me and running is not really that intense) but I was proud that I was able to get over my terrible mood to continue and finish and I enjoyed my playlist with all my good songs and had fun. Now I have 3 half marathons in my continent quest finished and will continue to make plans for Antarctica 2020 and deciding where to go in Asia, South America and Australia.

We headed back (smelly Ellen and fast Lat) to Eureka and Lat made dinner (He cooked a lot and I thoroughly enjoyed it... Thank you Lat!) and we passed out. On Sunday we decided to take it easy and embark on a stellar driving tour of Eureka. We drove to the Canadian border, saw bighorn sheep (I was not that impressed as we only saw girls, who should apparently be called medium horn sheep) and tons of deer!! Deer are everywhere!! (Or large rabbits that can wreck your car, as Lat calls them) We counted up the businesses and their types in Eureka and figured out that indeed, Lat lives in Enosburg, Montana... except the nearest other towns are further away, and there is a bit more tourist infrastructure than in Enosburg. It did seem like a very similar place. We drove out a little way to have a scenic view of the 1972 Army Corps of Engineers most scenic bridge, the longest and tallest in Montana! The Koocanusa Bridge is very long, we walked across it to stretch our legs and kick snow over the side... and while at first I was like 'Oooo a bridge'... I did learn to appreciate it as we fully experienced just how long it was. As you can see it wasn't terribly clear much of the time I was there, so no amazing mountain photos, but it was a very beautiful place! And I am sure the mountains exist under the clouds!

We went out bowling (Dairy Center, Montana anyone?) with Lat's friends on Sunday evening and had a great time (Boys vs Girls is always an excellent idea, especially when the girls win!).

On Monday, I was recruited to dust off some random Powerpoints in my Google Drive and present to Lat's students about my various travels. I thoroughly enjoyed myself (I do like talking) and Lat was able to get things done, so it was a win-win. We (mostly Lat, but I will say we) made dinner for some of his friends Monday evening and tested how many people can successfully fit in his kitchen, and then I got to sleep in Tuesday while he went to school until it was time to venture to the airport. We dropped of the glass recycling and arrived sufficiently early (Ellen loves being early and Lat is not a fan) to fulfill my requirements, and I started my journey back home. (Short flight to Salt Lake City and then red eye to Boston and Megabus to Burlington on Wednesday. Claire I was kind enough to come get me and I was fed in Bakersfield before being chauffeured to Enosburg to fully complete my world circumnavigation at 7:30pm on Wednesday March 1st! Whew!)

GIANT THANK YOU to Lat and my family who made the final leg of the trip wonderful (I really thought I would be sick of traveling and sick of loading/unloading my backpack, but it was never really that big of a deal, just kind of reality) and even stocked my house with groceries upon my return! (Thank you mom!!! I am undeserving!!!)

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Two things about America that I forgot before I get to Canada... (1) Everything is a drive through! From San Francisco up through, there are these tiny buildings (chains and independent stores) that you drive around to get coffee. I think it must be claustrophobic inside the building! Caffeine (and Subway!) is taken very seriously (and speedily!) My favorite chain (by logo/color scheme) is Dutch Bros! (2) There are these funny traffic lights (thought I was seeing things in Portland) at the on ramps to some highway entrances, and they flash green for when you can go: "Only one car per green". To try to improve traffic flow?!?! I had never heard of this!

On to Canada! I arrived safely Monday night and noticed flashing green lights?!? And made it to my Airbnb on the bus after finding $2.75 in exact change, no small feat. It wasn't far but with my ever expanding bag, I was happy for the lift. 

I headed out running (by taking the bus! Where everyone thanks the bus driver on entering and exiting!) on Tuesday morning in Stanley Park. As I don't run with my phone, there are no photos but it was a gorgeous day and Stanley Park is very cool. Google it! I returned to do laundry (after my final "training" run) and get some groceries for a calm evening of cooking and sleep. 

Wednesday I headed out to Granville Island for some heavy touristing after visiting City Hall

 (Mr. Vancouver himself) and a very cute coffee shop in a historic building (saw many historic buildings with plaques on this walk, privately owned well maintained homes in gorgeous colors. The coffee shop used to be a house as well.) I headed down to the water (lots of waterfront paths in Vancouver!) to head toward the island (not really an island!) and found some pals:



and a cool sculpture!

  

All those clouds back there are covering mountains. Right there. I never got a good picture because there were always clouds covering them but they were very, very impressive. Closer than the mountains in Seattle! (All pretty though!) I wandered around in the market (good for lunch, though Pike Place Market is definitely better) Apparently this is the second most visited tourist attraction in Canada after Niagara Falls, and it showed, probably the most tourists I've seen in an enclosed space this whole trip. It was cool with lots of shops (brooms, glass, silk, chocolate, paper, and of course the food) but I'm not sure if it was totally worth all the hype. I did also tour the Granville Island Brewery and got somewhat of a beer education, which was cool.

Then took a ridiculously expensive boat ride over "False Creek" where they used to float logs, like in Seattle, to Yaletown/Downtown area.

 

I had intended to tour the downtown area more, but having spent my every last cent on the dumb boat ride, I could no longer afford the bus ride back to the Airbnb. All I could picture was my dinner and packing to do at my accommodation, so I headed back (which ended up being relatively close but I was tired and experiencing urban fatigue!) I packed last night and am currently bussing to (almost) Idaho! I was happy I chose to head to Vancouver, what a beautiful place and nice weather to enjoy! Have a good weekend everyone!

Seattle, Washington, USA

I bussed easily to Seattle on Thursday afternoon, kind of chatty passengers but humorous bus driver and good book improved everything. For some reason (locations starting to blur together at this point) I thought I was going to be further out of town (I chose my accommodation for proximity to the bus station) but I ended up right in Pioneer Square in the oldest part of Seattle and found my Buddhist temple accomodations easily. I was able to run out to the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park before it closed at 5pm and learn all about the Alaska gold rush and how it put Seattle on the map. It was totally fascinating how a zealous promoter named Erastus got all the mayors/kings to send their citizens who wanted to gold rush to Seattle, where they spent $$$$$$$$ getting "outfitted" because the Canadian Mounties wouldn't let them cross through Canada without 2 tons of supplies each (to keep them from starving.) In all reality by the time the news reached the greater world all the best claims were taken, but Seattle made tons being the departure city and people had a good time in the wild even if they mostly found no gold. Great free museum and out to this sunset over Smith Tower.



After sleeping in the temple overnight I got up early for a beautiful amazing run on the waterfront Friday morning, down to the sculpture park with the awesome view of the mountains and boats! (And a really cool large sculpted head looking out over the water.) I came back to clean up and start touring! My first stop was Pike Place Market where I met the pig!



Saw the gum wall (ugh)



got cheese curds at Beechers Cheese



(what public cheese making! Every day!) and ate lots of good stuff. Nutella roll, peanut butter canoli, and candied fruit (plus a book from an awesome used book seller) made my wallet lighter but my stomach full! I headed down the street, steeling myself for the large expense that would be the Space Needle. While there are many taller and cheaper ways to see the view, I really wanted to have the experience. I got a shared ticket with the Chihuly Glass Museum, but chose to go up first (had to wait for a bit so took a detour to the fountain)



before scaling the height. It was a very nice (as well it should have been for that price) modern presentation about the history of the tower in the bottom, as well as complimentary cheesy photo



before heading up to the real view! And what a view it was! I have been lucky to have one nice day in most of these west coast cities and otherwise rain, but boy it was a nice Seattle Friday!

  

And then I headed down (stayed at the back of the elevator after having to ride in front on the way up!) to what would turn out to be maybe my favorite museum ever of all time. Like whoa. It wasn't big or lengthy, but the Chihuly Glass Museum included my favorite bright colors into the most amazing sculptures and displays. It was so gorgeous. There aren't words (or photos) but I did try.

 
 Big flowers at entrance.



How does he do this without breaking all those pieces?!? All wired into a metal base.

     

It was obviously indoor/outdoor and I was loathe to leave! But I headed back to my kind accommodation that had been willing to keep my bag all day via the cool giant public library and the arctic building



to be picked up by a family friend for a day of incredibly kind hospitality. On Saturday we saw the hangars where they make and paint Boeing planes!!!!! And then to the Mukilteo ferry for a trip to Whidbey Island with stops in Langley for lunch at Useless Bay Coffee (plus beach walk)

 

Fort Casey State Park with retractable guns they used to defend the US (but never had to battle)

 

Oak Harbor for a naval base tour, as well as a small hike at the deception pass bridge

 

with gorgeous cold blue water! The eddies and current we had seen all over were mesmerizing. We headed off the island via the bridge and through the tulip festival towns (no tulips yet, but lots of snow geese) to a spaghetti dinner and excellent conversation. The next day I headed out to another friends house (sister of the first friend) for a gorgeous (if slightly soggy) dog walk in Greenlake Park and a relaxing calm afternoon! Monday was another wet day but I was treated to a tour of the Queen Anne neighborhood (big hill!) and the Smith Tower (another very well done historical exhibit at the bottom and then up!!) and to Delicatus for a really good lunch. I boarded my bus to Vancouver full and grateful for the excellent tours I had received!!! Thank you Danielle and Beth and families!!!! Today I have run in Vancouver (in Stanley Park!) and done GROSS laundry (wanted to do last run before washing) and now heading out for groceries! Update soon!

Highway 101 & Portland, Oregon, USA

Due to driving fatigue, general weariness and rain, there are not tons of photos of this leg of the trip, sorry about that! As I left Cresecent City I did enter Oregon

and take a beach photo:



I feel like the Pacific is somehow more wild here than other places I have experienced ocean? But perhaps that's because I havent experienced other ocean in a while? While there was some crazy surf in Indonesia, it didn't feel this wild. Maybe it's the cold that changes the perception. I stopped in the cute town of Bandon for some photo ops with these guys:



(see lighthouse in background?) before getting to Coos Bay for my Oregon coast stop (passed a GIANT GIANT pile of logging sawdust that was truly impressive) at a cute hotel, and then went through the Oregon dunes Tuesday morning, which were impressive but I neglected to photograph (photo fatigue). I arrived at the Tillamook Cheese Factory a little after noon on Valentines Day very hungry! And I was not disappointed! The pesto grilled cheese that I had was very good (not as good as Loleta Cheese in CA, but good) and then I got a GIANT tub of ice cream for $5. Seemed like a deal to me! 3 scoops!



That's what I thought of that! Yummy in my tummy. They are getting ready for a massive reconstruction project at Tillamook, so that will be interesting when it's done. They have self guided tours (cool boxes on the windows with labels so you know what you're looking at,) and it was very cool to see the process. I still think aging cheese that's shrink wrapped is cheating after the labor intensive aging room maintenance I used to help with at Boston Post Dairy!

 

I didn't take a photo of the packing side (which was cooler! Haha) Oh well. I drove over some mountains, past lots of people fishing in interesting super curved boats (again no photos, sorry) and what I think was bald eagle #1 of the trip, to happily surrender my rental car (though terror had mostly dissipated to just mild unease). Not sure if it was worth the hassle to find a gas station myself (rather stressful) but I did (instead of paying them to fill it for me) and also discovered that you can't pump your own gas in Oregon! Spent several hilarious minutes trying to get all my possessions out of the car and easily navigated the clear Portland light rail to my Airbnb. The next morning dawned very rainy, and as I am attempting to "train" for another half marathon, I headed out for a run in the rain through Tom Mcall Waterfront park, crossing bridges and running on a water-level sidewalk opposite the park to run back to my accommodation. There were relatively a lot of people out exercising and biking (to work?) for the weather, but not tons. I was really struck by whatever zoning that seemed to allow businesses on what appeared to be quite residential streets, so there were very cool restaurants and shops very near the nice house where I stayed. I warmed up and headed back out in the rain for a pilgrimage to Powells Books, one of the biggest independent bookstores in the US. It was amazing, I spent a while there and impressively emerged with only one book!

 

(Hilarious parody of Oregon Trail computer game above the books) I do have a weakness for cards though!

 

I met up with a friend and we went to Random Order for a quiche snack before our Portland International Film Festival movie about Mali and dinner at Bollywood Theater (a restaurant, not another movie!) It was great food all around (our quiche had Tillamook cheese on it and the Indian food was very good) and I left Portland the next morning for Seattle (with a home-made bagel/hand mixed rosemary cream cheese in my hand) While I didn't see a whole lot of Portland, I liked the sensical public transit, intense bookstore, neighborhood businesses, brave the rain exercisers/commuters and FOOD! Haha

Highway 101, California, USA

My finger hit publish before I had written any conclusion to the previous post, sorry about that, but I figured I was close to done and I was too tired to fix it. I got road trip groceries to supplement the ones from Uncle Mark after my Golden Gate tour day, and then I was up the next morning to go get my first ever rental car. Through a few bookkeeping mistakes, both mine and theirs, I endured a long hour on hold dealing with various car rental locations before finally heading out for the redwoods. And I will say that I really really really don't like driving someone else's car. It is not fun for me, especially on highway 101 which has a lot of speed limit changes (65? 45? 55?) and constant signs about "RADAR ENFORCEMENT". I tried to suspend my terror to enjoy the sights, which got easier when I entered the REDWOODS!!!! Which made all driving discomfort worth it!!! I traveled from San Francisco to Eureka on Day 1, venturing onto the Avenue of Giants for an "auto tour" and was just continually floored by the scenery. There are no words or photos that will do them justice.

  

I was able to meet the cat and dogs at my Airbnb before passing out for the night and getting up early for my complimentary 2 eggs from the chickens. I headed to Loleta Cheese company for a taste test and amazing grilled cheese from the grilled cheese bar!!! and continued to the Humbolt Bay Wildlife Refuge. It had been raining for a long time evidently before my arrival (see 'lake' above) but I was really happy to have gorgeous days! I was taken with the barn (not why people should stop at a wildlife refuge!)

  

And the moss!

  

And the actual wildlife...



Continued to Trinidad! (California haha)

 

Before getting to more redwoods! I stopped at Prairie Creek to walk on a really cool short "multisensory" trail (for people with visual impairments but also for me/everyone) and really marveled at how the parks have been working to be accessible for a long time (1981 was one of the signs I saw for an accessible trail). I got to hike for a little more time, totally obsessed with the moss on these trees, almost as cool as the redwoods!



It doesn't photograph well (or I am a terrible photographer) but it looks cool. Also elk. Just chillin.



But more trees...



and trunks



and roots



and ferns



and bridges


and amazingness!!!



I headed north to Crescent City to find my very basic hotel (but with a fridge!) and do laundry (gross clothes!) This morning I kind of ran/rock climbed this island (it is attached by a road, I didn't swim there!)

 

and got to watch a sea lion flex its muscles getting up onto this lounge place



(so intense, sea lion muscles! Interesting!) before seeing my final redwoods



and entering Oregon! My next post! Ta ta for now!!