Road Trip 2011: Crater Lake

Crater Lake - 6.11.2011

I left Eugene, OR around noon today and headed out towards Crater Lake. Crater Lake is a lake at the top of this mountain. It was formed millions of years ago after this volcano erupted. The lake is only filled by rain and snowmelt. It's super blue, super clear and super deep. Pretty incredible. Anyway, the drive up to it was beautiful. Mountains and forests and rivers all over the place. Sadly, once I got up to the top on one side, I found out the side I went up is closed due to snow. So, I got to take another scenic drive to the other side. Fine by me, as it was more awesome sites. Finally, I made it up to the top and the site was, to put it mildly, was breathtaking. I took a number of photos and I'll get those up later after I sift through em all.

For tonight I'm just hanging out in Medford, OR. Lookin to make the 8hour drive to San Francisco tomorrow. It'll be a long drive but it'll be awesome I'm sure.

Road Trip 2011: Oregon Coast

Oregon Coast - 6.8/6.9.11

The past two days have been awesome. Wednesday morning I started out of Washington and headed down to US 101. US 101 is the Pacific Coast Highway and is a fantastic drive. One of my first stops after getting into Oregon was Ecola National Park. The drive through the forest was beautiful and the coast was pretty breathtaking. Eventually I made it into Lincoln City, OR where I stayed for the night. Spent some time enjoying the beach at sunset.

This morning I went to Lil' Sambos for breakfast. These pancakes were amazing. Honestly. So good. I continued down the coast, stopping at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area to see the lighthouse and the beach. This beach is home to birds (duh) and seals. Yes - that's right, seals. It was cool to see seals just chillin on the beach. Also made a stop at Devil's Churn, and other little stops here and there. Eventually I made it into Eugene, OR. Tomorrow should be awesome!

EDIT** Oh yeah, I forgot to mention I visited the Tillamook Cheese Factory. I know what you may be thinking - a cheese factory? Yes, a cheese factory. It was really cool, and the cheese was really good. I bought some. But what was even better was the ice cream. Seriously, this ice cream was by far some of the best I've ever had. I chose the Marionberry Pie flavor. Marionberry is some hybrid berry that can only be grown in a certain part of Oregon. Anyway, it was good stuff.

Road Trip 2011: Leavenworth & Seattle

Leavenworth - 6.6.2011

Slept rather late today, but I think I needed it. After leaving Wenatchee, I stopped in this amazing town called Leavenworth. Leavenworth is little German town in the middle of Washington. It is very cool. I stopped and looked around, and took the time to enjoy a bratwurst. It wasn't as good as in Austria, but hey, it was pretty good.

After Leavenworth, I took this beautiful drive through the Cascades. There were parts that still had snow. Very cool. Made it into Seattle that evening. Driving in Seattle was probably one of the worst things I've ever had to experience. That's all I'll say about that :-)

Seattle - 6.7.2011

Spent today walking around Seattle, specifically Pikes Place Market. I just enjoyed walking around the city amongst the people. Had clam chowder at Pikes Place Chowder, which was quite good. Also stopped and got coffee at the original Starbucks, kinda cool. All in all, it was a calm and fun day.

Right now I'm getting excited about tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll hit the road towards the Oregon coast and see the sights. Should have some nice shots to share too.

Road Trip 2011: Wenatchee

Wenatchee - 6.5.2011

Said bye to Jairo and Chrissy this morning and headed towards Wenatchee. Got in around 4:30 this afternoon. Tonight, I'm staying with my bro's wife's sister and husband, Stephen and Cheryl Vandervort. They should me around the city and took me to see the sites. Quite a cool place. It's in a valley surrounded by the Cascades, as well as the Columbia River. Stephen and Cheryl have been great hosts and we've had a blast.

Road Trip 2011: Denver, Twin Falls, and Kennewick

Hey guys. Figured this would be a good way to keep you all up-to-date on my trip. I'm going to update this daily if at all possible. So far I've done a horrible job at that. Here are the past three days in one post. Sorry about that. Enjoy!

Denver - 6/2/2011

Arrived in Denver after my first day of driving. Things went really well. The GPS I bought, the Garmin nüvi 2360LMT, as been by far one the best purchases I've made in a long time. Highly recommended. Mostly boring drive through the farmlands of the panhandle of Oklahoma, Kansas, and eastern Colorado. Then... MOUNTAINS! So cool.

Twin Falls - 6.3.2011

Arrived in Twin Falls, ID. It's Western Weekend this weekend. I dislike this. They do have a Sonic. I like this. The drive in through Utah was beautiful. Loved driving through the mountains.

Kennewick - 6.4.2011

After almost 2000 miles, I made it to my first official destination - Kennewick, WA. Part of the tri-cities area, Kennewick is home to two of my college friends, Jairo and Chrissy Maldonado. Yes, they are married. They've been great and even are letting me crash at their place. Very cool. Seems like a neat area to live. The drive in was AMAZING. I drove the scariest/most fun stretch of mountain road I've ever driven. I learned later these were the Blue Mountains in Oregon.

I noticed something interesting on my way through Oklahoma into Denver. Throughout the rural areas, scenes of old, derelict homes, barns, cars, etc., are all too common. Some of the farms have hundreds of old cars half-burried in the land which made for a very interesting scene. Sadly, the opportunity to get out and photograph them did not present itself. But, I digress...

Seeing these buried cars got me thinking. At what point do things lose what once made them magical. We can all think back to when we got our first vehicle and the feeling that came with it. I can remember getting my truck and how much I loved it. Then, after years, it became just a vehicle, nothing special. Soon, it will end up in one of those farms, half-buried and thought nothing of again.

I think the same thing happens in our relationship with God. At first we are on fire for Him. We live and breathe Him 24/7. As time goes on, the relationship becomes dull (I think God feels the dullness, too) and just "Oh hey God, it's me. Thanks for the good things. Help me to win the lottery, I could use the money for a new TV." For some, the relationship fizzles out completely and God joins the junk yard, only to be visited when a part is needed. It's my hope that we can do a better job of holding onto the feeling we got when we first started our walk with God. Take a moment and look at your surroundings and just be in complete awe of what God created and how blessed we are to be apart of it. It is through our moments of childlike amazement that we can truly understand what a relationship with God should feel like, and how we should share it with others.

Can't Hear That

I spent this past week at the NWO Kid's Camp at Camp Bond in Tishomingo. I had an absolutely amazing time. This was my first camp experience - ever. I never did the whole camp thing when I was younger, I just never really found it all that interesting I guess. For what it's worth, I think I missed out on a lot of fun.

This week was eye-opening for other reasons as well. I realized once again how kids just have it so much more together than we do. They really get it - the love of God, how we should act, etc. Looking at the kids singing the worship songs, singing with all their heart, was very touching.

Today in church, this was once again reinforced. During his sermon, Jon showed us a gift his daughter made for him for his birthday. It said on it "Jesus died for you. I would too." Wow. I was kind of taken aback by this. How many people can I say without a shadow of doubt that I would die for? More so, why do I only have certain people on that list? If I am called to be Christlike, shouldn't the list not exist? Shouldn't be an all encompassing list that's not even a list at all but an understanding that God loves you unconditionally, so I will too?

The kids get it. I pray that I'll get it, too.

Patience is a Virtue

It's been an interesting few weeks at the Apple Store. With the release of the iPhone 3G S, things have been just crazy. Long lines, and lots of people, have been the norm on a daily bases. It blows my mind. Part of my job is to be the first person people talk to when they come to the store, find out what they are needing, and helping them get that just as quickly as possible. However, this means I also deal with every irate customer first. Let me explain...

For those of you unaware, if you need to have something looked at by a tech, serviced, whatever, you make an appointment, much like a doctor's office. This is easily done at http://www.apple.com/pennsquare. Many people still come the store not knowing this, so I have to educate them. Most people make the appointment and move on. Some people, though, are not happy. I don't blame them, really. Their phone/iPod/computer is many times a focal point of their lives, and if it isn't working, things are bad. I get that. But yelling and cussing me out because we are booked up for a couple days will not get you seen any sooner.

This works the same for people wanting iPhones. For whatever reason, some people feel a certain sense of entitlement. They feel they have a perfectly good reason why they should be able to get a phone before the 30 other people in line. No, driving from Norman or Edmond does not mean you should have first dips.

All this to say, it's a lot a fun to watch from a 23-year-olds perspective. At some point down the line, these people turn into whiny 7-year-olds and I turn into the mean parent that won't let them get what they want right when they want it. I want to know what age this happens so I can avoid it at all cost. I say all this lightheartedly, but I really mean it. These people, many times with their kids, begin to act just like their kids the minute I say "We are booked for appointments today" or "It will be about an hour wait to get your iPhone". There are times I wouldn't mind video tapping some of these adult temper tantrums, and then replaying it for them just to show how ridiculous they look.

Anyway, just felt like I should get that off my chest. Sorry this post wasn't exactly funny or thought-provoking. At the very least, I hope I've helped you learn the proper way to get something fixed/looked at by the Genii at the Apple Store. You forgot already? OK here it is again.

http://www.apple.com/pennsquare and click Genius Bar on the right.