We arrived to Chelan on a smoky Tuesday evening. Wednesday and Thursday were spent mostly indoors at Grandma’s house. Although stuck in doors due to the smoke, we got to do some great visiting. JZ’s childhood buddy came to visit with us on Wednesday evening, and Thursday afternoon Little Monkey and I packed it up and went to visit friends for the day. So far what I’ve loved most about this trip is introducing Little Monkey to our friends and to their little monkeys! Thursday night I even got a Mama’s night in with wine and board games while the Papas watched over our monkeys.

Friday came and finally we got out of the smoke. Because of our traveling and for insurance purposes that I don’t fully understand, Little Monkey missed his 15-month check up. Luckily, we have great insurance and I was able to find a pediatrician in-network in nearby Wenatchee. While it was a little bit of a drive to get the appointment, I did not mind at all. Grandma came with us and we got to see clear blue skies! The appointment went very well and the three of us enjoyed a lovely outdoor lunch and a walk around Wenatchee’s Pybus Public Market. We even stopped for delicious espresso milk shakes on the way home (can’t remember exactly where, it’s a little drive through near Entiat but soooo yummy!). JZ went out Friday night with his buddies.

With help from the rain gods we had semi clear skies come Saturday morning. This was great news! Finally, Little Monkey was able to get outside with Grandma and enjoy her beautiful country home picking grapes and looking at flowers. Saturday night Grandma watched over Little Monkey and JZ and I went out with his pals for some good old fashion fun on the town in Chelan. Between dancing and boating in the moonlight, our night out was one for the record books!

Sunday rolled around and it was time to pack it in and move on. The skies had cleared up and we would have loved to stick around Chelan a little longer, but we had already pre-paid for an airbnb in Missoula, Montana. We took a detour on the way out of town to see JZ’s old childhood homes. Neither of them burned down, but the scorching right up to the doorsteps and all around were devastatingly surreal. Praying for everyone who was affected by these horrific fires. And praying for rain!

On The Road Again,

Kato

Well, the first leg of our trip was filled with a plethora of emotions. It began a day early, as we attended the service for my beloved grandmother. This was both a beautiful and a solemn occasion. Her death was sudden and my relationship with her was a deep, true friendship that spanned beyond generational gaps. She loved me fiercely and I her.  This sadness, unfortunately, will follow me through this adventure- and I’m sure beyond. Nonetheless, our adventure began.

After a few days in the bay area (California) with my family celebrating the life of our matriarch, the Zoo Crew headed out.  We had reserved a hotel in Bend, Oregon and so the trip to Seattle was broken up into two days. The place we stayed in Bend (http://www.entradalodge.com) was perfect. It backed up to trail heads and was super pet friendly. After a loooong night of driving from the bay area to Bend (lots of tag teaming and pulling over to rest), we enjoyed the hotel the next morning by taking the dogs and baby for a hike and then on a bike ride. Yes, we put the baby bike trailer in the car and our mountain bikes on the rack. We leisurely checked out of the hotel and then headed to Deschutes Brewery for lunch. Although our visit in Bend was brief it made the list for places to consider moving someday.  We definitely plan on taking some vacations there in the future to experience the city more.

(insert picture of monkey with his beer)

We are blessed with a fantastic group of friends and were able to spend our Seattle visit in an adorable guesthouse located on our friend’s property in Lake Sammamish, WA. Lake Sammamish is about 40 minutes outside of Seattle and definitely made our list of places we would consider living someday. Pros: friends, great schools, has a lake, has greenery, semi-affordable for the style housing we like. Cons: Seahawk territory! (Remember when I said bay area?! Yea- we are 49er fans!).

Despite all the Seahawk paraphernalia EVERYWHERE- we had a great time visiting the Seattle area.  We spent every night with friends, which was the best part. You see, JZ grew up just 3.5 hours East of Seattle and moved to Seattle after graduating high school. Most of his closest friends are now in and around the Seattle area. We attended a group BBQ/pool party, a rooftop BBQ that had beautiful views of Seattle, a little Sunday Funday on Lake Washington, and just generally partied like rock stars with our friends and their kiddos! Little Monkey and I had a play date at the Aquarium. He and I also had a special day together exploring Seattle Center and the Science Center. I even got to leave Little Monkey with JZ one night and go take a dance class. I took a great hip-hop class at Velocity Dance Center that I would recommend to any adult dancers. It was fun enough for a pro like myself (toot toot- that’s my horn), and mellow enough for a beginner who just wants a fun workout.

Originally, we were scheduled to head out on Saturday for Lake Chelan, WA. Unfortunately the terrible fire situation in Washington State left the skies in that direction too smoky for Little Monkey- so we waited out the weekend in Samammish. Finally, Tuesday evening, we packed up the Subaru and risked the smoky airs of Lake Chelan.

On The Road Again,

Kato

Who? What? When? Where? Why?

Yes, we may be certifiable. Nonetheless, we are going to pack our bags (or more accurately, our Subaru) and head off on the wide open road.

Who is going? All of us! Meet the Zoo Crew.  I’m Kato- Mama of the Zoo Crew.  JZ is our Papa.  Little Monkey is our newest addition, born in April 2014. We have Queen Bee (Our eight year old Feline) who runs this roost. Then we have V1 (our five year old Vizsla) and V2 (our two year old Vizsla).

What are you doing? Are you camping? Are you renting an RV? No, we are not camping. No, we did not buy or rent an RV. We are packing all of us into our Subaru Forester to travel the western United States. We will be staying with friends and family part of the time and staying in hotel rooms/rental homes at other times.

When are you doing this? This summer/fall (2015). After our lease is expired in our Tahoe Home, we are putting everything into storage and traveling.

Where are you going? Everywhere! Well, not everywhere. Just the wild wild west. We’re doing a western loop of the United States. Starting in California, we’re going to drive up to Seattle, over to Montana then down through Yellowstone to get to Colorado. From Colorado, we will head south to New Mexico then over to Southern California and back up again. The end. 😉

Why on earth? Because, we are CRAZY! Yes, maybe because we are crazy, but also because it is something we’ve always thought would be cool to do and we can. Now is the time.  JZ is blessed with employment that allows him to work remotely and our child is not enrolled in school yet. We aren’t blessed with a mortgage payment yet so instead of jumping into another rental we will spend our rent money traveling. This gives us the opportunity to: a) travel, b) explore different areas of the country we think we may be interested in living someday and c)visit with and introduce our Little Monkey to friends and family.

Wish us luck and check back here for updates on how things are going!

On The Road Again,

Kato