Oregon: The Beginning (Part 1)

Hello everyone!

I'm sitting in a little restaurant in Portland having breakfast and thought I'd do a post, because it's about to get crazy up in here. ;)

So, I left for Oregon on Saturday morning. The dogs were distraught that I wasn't taking them with me. Little do they know that they're about to go on another adventure with me! The trip took me up through northern Colorado, through Wyoming and Utah, and then finally all the way through Idaho before crossing into southern Oregon. This was the most beautiful road trip I've ever taken.

Northern Colorado

Wyoming

Utah

Idaho

     I couldn't make the 20 hour drive in one go like I used to (I'm getting old), so I stayed with a host from Airbnb. If you don't know what Airbnb is, it's an app that allows you to find people who host travelers in their extra rooms. You can choose from shared vs single rooms, or you can even book an entire house. I chose to stay with a wonderful woman named Vicki in Idaho. It was a fantastic stay. I even got to talk about life, the universe, and everything before I left.

     After that,  I was back on the road. It was only a  short drive through the rest of Idaho before I ended up in Oregon. After which, the most amazing thing happened. Just an hour or two into Oregon, I had the thought that I was home pop into my head. I have never once in my life had such a feeling. I am determined to make a home for myself here. I guess I should really call it a home base. Each time I travel, I fall in love all over again. We have such a beautiful planet and it's such a sin to not see the world. As soon as I get my passport I'll be continuing my journeys! 

Oregon

Found this at a gas station and couldn't resist

There were much more beautiful things that my phone didn't catch because I was driving and couldn't direct it very well while it took photos. I have to move it in the GPS holder and keep my eyes on the road at the same time, so I tend to only do that if traffic is moving horrifically slow or if there's no traffic at all.

Unfortunately, splitting the drive up into two days wasn't enough. By the last 3 hours of my trip, I was completely miserable. My fibromyalgia flared up and I spent last night curled up in bed with a cold water bottle on my neck trying not to vomit. I am feeling better this morning, luckily. I did, however, arrive about half an hour early. What on earth was I going to do in that time. I felt terrible and food didn't really seem like an option, but I ended up at a little coffee shop called East Portland Coffee Roasters. I got some Hazelnut & Caramel ice cream that was so good that it overcame my urge to not eat. 

Speaking of food, I am now sitting in a restaurant named Harlow eating Banana and Walnut Pancakes with peanut butter and drinking chai AND carrot/ginger juice. I am feeling much better and I'm contemplating running to the place that I'm staying (again through Airbnb, it's so much cheaper!) and grabbing my swim suit so that I can go play on the coast. I haven't seen the ocean in 5 years. I miss it. 

There is one thing that disappoints me about Portland: there's no In-N-Out Burger. BUT there is one in Salt Lake City, so I'll be hitting that up on the way home. I don't know why the craving has become so strong, but I'd be willing to tackle some one and steal theirs if I could.

I also might call the realtor. I'm ready to start looking at houses. I want to get started on creating a top-secret villain lair before gallivanting off into the world. Somewhere that is a sanctuary to plot world domination from. If you don't already follow my Pinterest page, you should. I have all sorts of fun hiking, travel, fashion, and home stuff floating about. You can find me under the screen name Nomad Therapy. I'm also on twitter @NomadTherapy. I'm even on the Instagram under nomadtherapy, too. I should probably get on Tumblr, but I'm already falling behind on my social media. Then again, I haven't been travelling a lot. Keep an eye out for new posts. I'm here a whole week, and I'm sure  a lot is going to happen, until then....

be the love you wish to have in your life,

Victoria 

All of July...

Hello everyone,

I'm so sorry I've been off the radar. The last part of school and the aftermath have been insane. Towards the end of school I was concentrating on just passing. Afterwards, I was in panic mode trying to find a job, but then, the most amazing thing happened! My military disability came though. I officially do not have to have a job AND I was able to pay off all my debt. So, now, I'm in the midst of a chaotic next few months, however, that chaos involves a lot of travel, so I figured it was best to start writing again. Let's get started!

First, I went to Kansas City for 4th of July to see my mother, her husband, and my niece. I also got to see several of my old friends. It was a fun trip. I went for a jog and then swung by Mr. K's house for coffee before leaving.

After that it was the 10ish hour drive from Denver to Kansas City.  I got a couple good photos on the way. I'm so glad I can set my phone up to take photos for me!

I really do love to drive long distances. It gives me time to think, jam out to music, learn a little Korean. ^.^ The only thing that made me sad about the trip is that I couldn't bring the dogs. My mother's house is a tiny 3 bedroom, with her and her husband, plus my niece and 2 sugar gliders a dog and a cat. Adding two large dogs to the mix, just would have been too much.

Once I was all settled in, it was straight to bed. The next day, my mother and decided to take my niece to T-Rex at The Legends (an outlet shopping complex on the Kansas side). It was about an hour wait, so I got to play in the dig pit with my niece.

After that we got her some school shoes and headed home. Then I went to grab a movie with an old friend Mr. H. We saw Ted 2 at the AMC Fork & Screen in Olathe, KS. If you haven't been to a Fork & Screen, I highly recommend it. It's much more enjoyable than a regular movie.

The next day was the 4th of July! We had to drive out to Ottawa, KS to pick up one of my mother's vehicles from the shop, then we swung through Edgerton (my hometown) to see what all had changed. Then it was time for fireworks!

The "lake" is still there.

The next day, I went to brunch with my Mother, my niece, and my best friend Miss K (no relation to Mr. K). It's an amazing little place called An Urban Table in Prairie Village Kansas. I HIGHLY recommend this place. The food is amazing, the service is awesome, and they have an extensive gluten-free menu. Plus, they have cool receipt booklets...which happen to be real books.

My mom and Miss K

Then Miss K and I went out for some girl time, grabbed some Kansas City BBQ at Smokehouse in Independence, MO with some old friends of mine. After that, I picked up BBQ from Smokehouse, Jack Stack, and Gates to take back to Mr. K. He's never had Kansas City BBQ before, and that problem needed to be corrected. He thought Western Kansas BBQ was the same as Kansas City BBQ and it most certainly is NOT.

I came home that Monday and hit some horrible weather on the way back, but after I made it into Colorado, I was almost fooled. The clouds were super low and they accentuated how green the grass was.

I was way too exhausted to go all the way home (and I didn't want the BBQ to go bad), so I swung by Mr. K's house and we had the BBQ for dinner. He agrees that Kansas City BBQ is not the same as Western Kansas BBQ.

I was so grateful to see my family. This is the second time I've seen my niece, and I'm always so excited to see her. I saw my mother when I graduated in May, but it was still really good to her again. Plus, I got to see my Kansas City friends. While I actually despise Kansas City as a whole, I do miss those important to me.

Now, on to bigger and crazier adventures. My goals over the next couple months. Go to Oregon in order to visit colleges to get my PhD at, TRY to make it to Burning Man, and finally, MOVE to Oregon around October 1st. Keep your eyes open, it's about to get crazy!

Be the love you wish to have in your life,

Victoria