See ya Seattle, Hello Hood River =)

So I am leaving Seattle after good couch surfing times and heading to Hood River to pick grapes! Yay, the grapes should be ready at the end of the week as am I!

We drove into Oregon yesterday, the Pacific Northwest as they call this region is stunningly beautiful. Camping tonight. Bought stuff for good ole American smores.

Cara =)


Happy Hood River

Tryin' to quit fast food?

In case you're tying to quit fast food, here's some help:

http://www.good.is/post/picture-show-visions-of-fast-food/?GT1=48001

YuCk!

Fired! Lovely!

So due to my last post I was FIRED! Hooray!

Let go, discharged, dismissed, not invited to return...whatever you want to all it. So now I am 'not engaged in a gainful occupation' even though I did my job adequately, perfectly and to the best of my abaility. Even though I am qualified, have an abundance of relevant experience and they need staff at the moment during a busy period. Thank you Corperate America!

The Convention Center gets flagged any time it's name is mentioned anywhere on the internet (hi guys! how's your day?) and while Naomi had cleared me working with everyone, someone didn't get the memo and had a problem with it. So beacuse we are not technically realted by blood and didn't grow up together beacuse I moved to Australia, but call eacother cousins and are trying to spend some time together, I can't work 'below' her. Not that I saw her much or she could favour me in any way...how favourbale can someone be when you are filling butter and making ice water?

So yesterday I slept in and did ranodm handy woman work for Mike next door (let's see if he'll fire me too now?) and was invited out by Jason, a couchsurfer who went to Bainbridge Island. He has recently moved to Seattle and is interested in exploring. We went for tea at the Wallingford Tea Rooms (now look there, they have just been flagged) and I has tea jitters by the time we left. No seriously, I was drunk on White Nettle, Pink Chai and Black tea with smoke and sherry flavours. To fix that we ate falafels and then went to Jason's local bar and played pool. I really enjoyed hanging out and forgetting that I am awaiting for grapes now with no employment. I guess it's no big deal.

I have organised a CS Hike for tomorrow to Kendalls Katwalk souwth east of Seattle! =) Who needs Convention Centers, work and money!?! wtf?

Still awaiting grapes!

"The Sun, with all the planets revolving around it, and depending on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as though it had nothing else in the Universe to do"
-Galileo Galilei

"We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy, even if it only picking grapes or sorting the laundry"
-EB White

I am working with my cousin Naomi who is the Catering Manager for Lynnwood Convention Center. I am doing functions work, more or less large scale catering . It's funny, you travel half way around the world and the trolleys are the same, the butter goes in little dishes, the debates on 'is it too early to make ice water' ensue and there is always politics and nice people. I plan to be here next week and then...to Oregon!?! I am calling Lloyd every Monday to check on the grapes, silly grapes!

I have hung out with CSers twice now and have had a nice time. The first was a bicycle trip to Bainbridge Island. We took a ferry, I love loading onto ferries with a bike! First on! Then today, I basked in the beautiful weather that Seattle is putting on in Gasworks Park (activities inculded tightrope walking). This was followed by dinner at Mama's Mexican resturant in downtown Seattle and drinks on the rooftop over looking the Sound.


Upcoming Bumper Sticker business:
"Just lie to make me feel better"
"Don't hit that guy"
"No thing, No fling"
"You guys hanging out more?""For the rest of my life"
"What I meant to say is, this Teriyaki sauce is banging"

Surprise Seattle

Burning Man to Portland to Olympic National Park to....surprise... Seattle!

So I am awaiting grapes! They are not ready yet and cannot be picked just yet! I talked to Lloyd today and he said October. So now I am staying with my cousin Naomi in Seattle. She works for a convention center and I am going to work part time until its grape time!

So many new photos and stories. What an experience Burning Man was. Indescribable. I could write all day and never adequately describe all that happened.

Cara =)

The place, the playa - Burning Man

Thank you Ben. Thank you.

The people, my people- Burning Man

Ben in all his glory


Jen in all her beauty


Couch Surfing camp


Calm Emin


Beeee happy! Woweeee


Friendship and joy


The fellas

Beautiful new friends

The night - Burning Man

Echo west wine

http://www.snooth.com/wines/echo+west/

mills, barnaby and lara- eho west, snow road and vile a vie

To Burning Man!

I am going!

The grand nostalgia of old photographs

Atlantic Beach, FL (1954) and Coney Island Amusement Park, Brooklyn, NY(1944)

-photos by Life

Last day in Kauai

On my last full day in Kauai my new found CouchSurfer friends took me to the not so secret Secrets Beach. It was beautiful! We roamed over volcanic rocks, swam at a secluded spot, rinsed in a water fall, let our sarongs dance in the wind and laid on the beach. Afterwards we ate marvelous sushi in Hanalei! All in all such a lovely day and the exclamation mark to my Kauai experience.

Thank you for the photos Mark!

What is success? This is fantastic!

Day 11- Kauai!

We are on the Island of Kauai staying on Poipu beach!

The house is on the beach and at this time of the year its the rougher side of the island so the waves are crashing. Kauai is smaller and quainter which is nice change from the traffic, people and military personnel of Oahu.

Photos soon! xx

PS. Oh by the way, I've placed all my flights on hold (airlines use the word 'cancelled' but that's a little too scary for me) and I'm deferring my course at RMIT for a year. The new plan: Kauai, Oahu, LA, Santa Rosa, possibly a CS Road Trip to Portland and then onto Echo for the grape harvest, to live on a river and slow down. Back in Oz in Oct/Nov to get a job and settle...lol, yeah, I want to settle down, in a minute...=) 

Day 8: North Shore drive

A rock with a hole with a rock...when you're the photographer you're never in the photos so you have to take what you can get!

Who loves shrimp!?! What about monster shrimp! 

This is the shrimp's revenge perhaps? Patrick and I shared fresh Butter Garlic ship and they were so yummy! 

The day: Up, pancakes made by Danny (with pineapple, coconut syrup and fresh grated coconut procured by Jason), to the 'secret/local' beach to snorkel with turtles (you touch them, its a $5,000USD fine, they touch you...what I ask? I was touched, several times!), pit stop at the mansion, to Waimea Bay (which I have affectionately named 'the bath tub' because the sand slopes into the water and then the bottom is flat and perfect) for swimming. After that we went home, washed the salt off and Jan, Pat and I headed off to drive around the North and East coasts of the island. The pali or cliffs were beautiful, green covered in vegetation. We saw lots of locals and less tourists (a relief, Oahu is so busy!), a sizable Mormon temple, a polynesian style McDonalds (bizzare). Stopped for shrimp on the way back. Photographed yet another beautiful sunset, chatted to a couple making a fire on the beach (yet more military personal- a deep sea diver station here for 10 years). Tacos for dinner, played Phase 10 cards with the adults and now....up WAY to LATE! GOODNIGHT! =) xxx 

PS. Hawaiian party supplies, From our island to yours.

Oahu Day 5

Turtle skin- look at that beautiful rich texture.

Oahu Day 3

Now who could pass up this photo opportunity! I LOVE CHEEESY PHOTOS! =)

Oahu- Day 2

The day of relaxation. Jason went on the coconut rampage again this morning as I was eating breakfast so after breakfast I ate half a coconut. Yum. Now I am on the lanai watching the ocean, the view is interspersed with palm tree trunks. I am listening to music on my laptop and it seems the waves are beating against the sand competing to be heard.

Oahu- Day 2

The day of relaxation. Jason went on the coconut rampage again this morning as I was eating breakfast so after breakfast I ate half a coconut. Yum. Now I am on the lanai watching the ocean, the view is interspersed with palm tree trunks. I am listening to music on my laptop and it seems the waves are beating against the sand competing to be heard.

The hunter cracks the nut.

Every task needs a supervisor. 

After heaps of effort its open...sorta!

More supervision and now the milking.

Older coconuts = iffy milk. Younger = sooo GREAT!

If you like Pina coladas, getting caught in the rain...=) 

Oahu- Day 1 of family vacation

So we left LA early and arrived in Paradise. Rented a van and the clown song played once again as the Bradley's, Colegroves and their copious amounts of luggage (which is an entity of its own) tried to fit into a van meant for 7 (while there may be 7 of us I am convinced there is double the amount of luggage). With my grandpa disregarding the GPS directions (I thought any minute the clam electronic voice was going to start using profanity and gain an attitude...'Ok then, turn right now dumbass') we made it to our house on the North Shore of Oahu. Did I say house? I mean mansion! Truly. You'll see the pictures. This is like a party house for large groups. On the coffee table there is a book signed by the Miami Cheerleaders.

When we arrived to the mansion at 2ish the cleaners were unexpectedly still there. The house had been trashed by its former occupants who had rented 2 houses in the area this one, being the nicer and on the beach, ended up housing everyone. They think there were about 20 people staying here! Need I say more about it being a party mansion? We went food shopping and were reminded of how things are often double the price in Hawaii. Except a pineapple which is $2.

We returned to the house and marveled at it some more. I went swimming/floating with style on our own beach took one of the best showers of my life. Outside, equipped with hot a cold water, looking at the tropical blue Ocean, listenig to the waves, hot weather and a breeze. It was Heaven.

After that Nonie, Jill, Kaylen and I walked on the beach, saw a perfect sunset and sea turtle. It was a bbq feast for dinner (including vegetables, yum!) and then bed time. I have my own room with a lanai (porch/verandah), a huge comfy bed, a closet with shelves to lay out my things and a fan to move the air. Heaven is Hawaii and this house me thinks =)

Happiness is a warm puppy Charles Schulz says.
Cara says Happiness is....
...a hammock on the beach in Hawaii
...fresh pineapple (I'll never eat canned again!)
...fresh coconut (now there's a hard nut to crack...my cousin is on the rampagne for coconuts with a hammer, screwdriver and determination)
...listening to the waves at you fall asleep
...putting your head beneath the water and feeling the water smooth tendrils of hair to your head like liquid fingers
Happiness (and after all the stress of the last 6 months I am so glad)