June 23, 2009

This morning, we left in time for our tour of Alcatraz, but it never works out that way in a big city, huh?!?!?! Of course, Jake and I were flying through an unknown city, trying to make our ferry to take us out to the island, and we were convinced we had missed it. With a quick prayer and brisk run, we actually were able to make it onboard…last ones on? Jake and Kristin. The tour was AMAZING, with an excellent audio tour we got to listen to with headsets going through the penitentiary. I was thinking as we walked down the cell blocks, why are we so intrigued by this type of thing? Most interesting to me, and definitely a future topic of GOOGLE STUDY is the one executed escape from Alcatraz Island. I kept asking Jake all day, “Do you think those guys made it?” and probably other weird questions like that…it’s just so crazy to think that they might still be living somewhere. After returning from the island, we went to Bubba Gumps and had some shrimp (Kristin…Jake doesn’t eat that stuff!) San Francisco is an interesting city, and I would love it minus the crowds, tourists, and traffic. Haha…Grand Rapids is big enough for me. I’m missing Montana. It is beautiful here though, with the sun shining and the Golden Gate bridge; we are enjoying every place we go for very different reasons. Who knows what the next city holds? LAS VEGAS!!!

June 22, 2009

LONG DRIVE TODAY! The drive from Portland to San Francisco is a long one, but we left early enough to make it in on time…well, things didn’t exactly turn out the way we planned, but that’s the fun of it! Jake wanted to see the WORLD famous “Hayward Field” where THE LEGENDARY RUNNING SUPERSTAR Steve Prefontaine and many others ran. So we motored on down to Eugene where we took lots of fun pictures and had an amazing time in the University of Oregon bookstore.

WHEN THIS TRIP WAS PLANNED I (JAKE) HAD VERY LITTLE MUST DO'S, BUT OREGON AND HAYWARD FIELD WERE AT THE TOP OF MY LIST. SO WE SNUCK IN AND I TOOK A LAP AROUND THE TRACK AND SNAPPED A FEW PICS THAT WILL ALWAYS MAKE ME SMILE.

WHILE LEAVING THE BOOKSTORE I GOT A TEXT MESSAGE FROM MY RUNNING BUDDY AUDREY TELLING US THAT HER AUNT MARY LIVES AROUND THE CORNER FROM CAMPUS. I LOOKED AT KRISTIN AND WE BOTH SAID "LET'S DO IT!" This was a treat, as she was very kind and such a funny lady to be around. So, we had snacks and conversation there before heading out. In talking with Aunt Mary, I was reminded of the infamous school shooting that happened just outside of Eugene in Springfield, one year before Columbine, so of course I had to go there to see the memorial. It’s always so heartwrenching for me to see these kinds of things, as kids are so near and dear to my heart. There is a beautiful wall commemorating the victims and also those injured in late May of 1998. My heart breaks for those involved in such situations filled with extreme sorrow and pain.

So, on to San Francisco we went!!! We took the Oregon coastline, but it didn’t end up being what we had imagined and it was taking quite long to go through the windy turns, so we soon hopped on the I5 and headed to San Fran. Hours and hours later, we finally arrived at 3:00 am at Noelle’s house (friend of a friend) and we were able to get some sleep before our tour to Alcatraz Tuesday morning. Whew, what a long day!!! Have we been gone like two months or what?

June 21, 2009

Sunday morning I (Kristin) went to church to see a great friend deliver the sermon at the Covenant church in Seattle. Then, Sarah and I got our stuff together to go pick up Jake and then we all drove to Portland to be with her family. It’s always a joy to go and hang with the Parks and I also got to see another great friend from college (Mike, Sarah’s husband), too. Alex (Sarah’s brother), Mike, Jake, Sarah and I went out into the downtown Portland area on Sunday night, which was really fun just to be together and also for Jake to get acquainted to people I love so dearly from another part of my life. We went to a pub and then to this crazy donut shop “Voodo Doughnuts.” There were so many different crazy kinds of donuts, such as the one the guys ate, the Maple Bacon donut. (WHAT?!?!?!?) There were all sorts of them including one with Fruit Loops on it! We had such a great time just being together…sad to leave them!

June 20, 2009

Nice to wake up this morning, knowing that we can just chill and stay somewhere for a change. We went with Letha to “Top Pot Doughnuts” and stayed there and had an interesting conversation. I have already enjoyed SO MUCH our time here and especially just talking with people. Jake and Letha then went on their own to the market and I did my own thing for awhile until my best friends from college came into town. When I finally was able to connect with my friends, we went over to a friend’s house and she made dinner for a bunch of the girls. It was great to be able to reconnect with them!

June 19, 2009

Today was an all day traveling day, with a few stops just for gas and breaks. Off to Seattle we went! Upon finally reaching the city after a lot of driving, we met up with one of our friends, Letha, and took a small tour of her grad school downtown Seattle, Mars Hill. It seems like such a neat place, but what is even more interesting to me (Kristin) is what takes place there. The more I heard about it throughout the night, the more intrigued I became, as it seems like such a perfect place for me to study and grow. WE’LL SEE! I don’t know if I could ever live in Seattle though; it might just be too big for me. So, we went to a small pub with some of Letha’s friends and then headed out for the night. We had a great time playing Skeeball (just like at Chucky Cheese-hehe) and just hanging out together. Jake and I finally have other people than each other to hang out with! YAY! I found out early in the night that one of my close friends from Spring Hill summer of ’98 was attending Mars Hill as well, so it was great to meet up with him, too! What a fun time we had just catching up and talking. Fun night!