Recent Posts

At the end of August 2024, we ended our time in Bend and we had a full schedule ahead. We loaded up and struck out to Nehalem/Manzanita, Oregon – our first time at the Oregon Coast. We met up with Annie’s family for a weekend stop on the way up to Seattle for the month of September. On the way to the coast, we stopped off in Newport at the brewery that produces one of my all time favorite brews - Rogue Dead Guy Ale. We bought a palette of beer (practically) and took the pups for a stroll on the pier, catching harbor seals - the pups of the sea - as they floated beneath us. Copper and Bennett caught whiffs of their sea brethren but couldn’t quite put their noses on the scent–one they were well acquainted with from our time in Pacific Grove and the abundant marine life there. In Nehalem/Manzanita, we celebrated Annie’s birthday with a homemade vegan Biscoff cake and spent time with baby Fiona, the newest and most potato-like member of the Elliott family. When the potato slept, we explored the town and enjoyed the beach, marked by amazing beachside cliffs, crested by sunset rays flashing through the coastal fog. The trip was too fast as it was only a few nights before we were off again as we crept our way up through the PNW forests to Astoria, OR and then on to Portland for an overnight hotel stay–one of Bennett’s favorite stops on the road. Bennett loves hotels for some reason. An overnight stop in Portland meant one thing: McMenamins. This iconic spot served as the perfect gathering place to meet up with friends and coworkers. Breweries, a cigar bar, apple trees, and sprawling outdoor spaces—what more could we need? Shoutout to Jax and Nick, Dave, and Becka for coming out to join us. After a couple of pints and plenty of laughs, we hit the road again, Seattle-bound. Spirits high after getting to catch up with some old and new friends, it was time to get serious – next up was Seattle, WA and the dance card was booked solid. After settling into our new house–a small one-level, 2 bedroom Airbnb with a spacious yard, dwarfed on all sides by multi-level townhomes, we kicked things off with more Elliott family time. First up, we all reconnected at a brewery on the water to bring in Annie’s younger sisters to the crew. During their visit, we spent plenty of time at Catherine’s (Annie’s older sister) home in the Magnolia neighborhood. Everyone braved a vegan tasting menu ( vegan tartare, anyone? ) for an extended birthday celebration, explored the Museum of Pop Culture (MoPoP) and took plenty of photos-especially of the new addition to the ranks of the fierce Elliott women. From there, Seattle went hard. Somehow an Isle paddleboard arrived at our doorstep - not sure how. But we figured we might as well take it for a spin and see how well Bennett could manage. You could say it went swimmingly. Though we do think a seal was becoming very interested as it followed Annie and Bennett into shore at Golden Gardens. The paddleboard plan was short-lived however. We only got in a few spins before the cold came in. At least we’re set up for next summer!

Flashback to 2021 - Annie and I are walking along a gorgeous river, with Copper and Bennett leading the way. Assorted breweries and restaurants were strewn across the riverside. The sun was shining, the people friendly. We had some beers at a brewery, while another next door celebrated a grand opening. We spent only a quick night in a quaint AirBnB, right alongside the Old Mill District - what that meant we didn’t really understand. We woke up in the morning, had this amazing breakfast and set our targets homeward to Colorado. In 2021, we roadtripped to Seattle for a few weeks (dogs in tow) and we picked a few overnight locations to stop at on the way to and from, and Bend was one of those locations that really stood out. After that short stay, we were hooked and knew right then we’d have to come back. Not long after arriving back in Colorado that year, we celebrated Christmas at home then visited Little Rock to celebrate with Annie’s grandparents–another short road trip with the whole family. And on our return home, I recall doing some work with my laptop spread out in the back of the Jeep, with Annie driving. I’m uber-focused on my work, going through a lot of prep materials as I was still gradually onboarding for GitLab at that time. That’s when Annie interrupted me from the front, saying “your..brother is calling me?”. He was wondering if we were okay, that mom was frantic, that something could be wrong. That’s how we learned that Colorado was on fire, and it was seemingly very close to our house. I recall a lot of emotions as we considered if our house could be in danger, if we could be homeless, or how many others would be impacted. We learned as we got closer that our concerns may have been a bit over the top. The wildfire was not that close, though it wasn’t a complete non-risk. We did have close friends who had it much worse and friends of friends who lost homes. It was a scary time and definitely shook us a bit. It’s with this backdrop we flash forward again to 2024. On our travel north from the California redwoods to the Oregon pines, we skirted the Park fire in northern California (the fifth largest in California’s modern history). We stopped in Redding and saw a number of firefighters passing through, staying at our hotel to help with the nearby fire. We continued on past Mt. Shasta (and the portal-IYKYK), past Klamath Falls, and on to the winding Deschutes River. As we drove through the pines, the skies were thick with smoke coming from the west. It felt like there were fires everywhere around us. We started to unload and take in our new abode for the month, near Tumalo in the north part of Bend. Two days later, another spark took light 2 miles away from us. We could see the smoke plume and we monitored the FireWatch app to see if we’d just have to pack up and go after all. Fortunately, as time passed and water bombers passed directly above our heads, the summer heat dissipated, rain came, and the fire was contained. We could finally breathe a sigh of relief and actually settle in! The location - stellar. The yard was huge (and securely fenced). We had a lovely pergola, hot tub, outdoor couch, hammock, and some other hammock-chair thing. An outdoor table, firepit (which we decided not to use). We were inspired that we must take some of this back into our own yard space one day and took copious notes.

So with our time in Los Angeles at an end, we set off up the 101-North, with stops planned in Ventura and Santa Barbara before arriving at our next base in Pacific Grove. At this point, we’ve designated Grant’s Jeep as the cargo car, due to its boxy and broad nature. This leaves Annie with the dubious advantage of transporting the pups – an advantage due to them being pups, the dubious part being the requirement of contending with Copper’s car demeanor at various intervals. Our stop in Ventura was brief but lovely, grabbing a bit of brunch with an old college roommate of Annie’s and her husband. One of our favorite parts of this trip has been the opportunity to reconnect and rekindle old friendships that haven’t had face to face connections in up to a decade. After this, we forged onward to Santa Barbara, where we would encounter pier-side uni (sea urchin), the rosegarden at the Santa Barbara Mission, and the masses. Being graduation weekend for many nearby colleges, the town was flooded with tourists (tehrists, as we fondly refer to them), and it was HOT! We meandered around the pier and a few streets for a few hours before loading back up and homing in on our destination. Arriving in Pacific Grove after dark, we weren’t quite sure how things would go. We had a pleasant arrival without issue, with ample street parking and a very sleepy town all around us, both of which were a bit of a shock coming from LA. We were in for a further adjustment upon entering the house, which ended up being three times the size of our San Pedro cottage. We unloaded what we needed, and crashed for the evening. The next morning, the town of Pacific Grove emerged from the fog, a Brigadoon-esque idyllic village with storybook-looking homes and cottages. We remarked many a time about picturing Belle reading from a balcony here, or Hansel emerging from a cottage there.

The sands trickle through the hourglass as our time in L.A. comes to a close. The flames flicker in the corner of our cozy San Pedro cottage - the sounds of raccoons chattering, tires screeching, and gunshots (or fireworks) popping lightly in the distance. We’re pretty sure they’re fireworks. While we blew through the bulk of activities in the first month, we were able to shoehorn a few more points of interest into our final weeks in L.A.

So where did we leave off in our last post? Ah, yes - Yamashiro… crispy rice cakes and gorgeous views of Hollywood 😋 What we discovered over the next few weeks is that L.A. not only has a lot to offer, but it also provides access to a wide range of activities. It’s not that surprising, but it’s different being able to experience and take advantage of it. We’ve pulled together a few highlights from mid-May to June. Disregard the fact that we’ve fallen behind in documenting our adventures as we’re now in Pacific Grove. We’ll have to catch you up.

Saturday, June 22, was a perfect encapsulation of the workdays on the Monterey Peninsula. Since before we left, our work week has been Tuesday-Saturday, originally intended to take advantage of the smaller Monday crowds on the mountain during ski/snowboard season. We haven’t changed it since hitting the road, and it’s continued to be a great setup to explore more popular areas on less crowded days. At any rate, here are the mundane details of our workday should they be of interest. Annie has been feeling pretty sick the past few days (Covid? Flu? Bad cold? You know the drill), so Grant gets up with dogs and lets them out in the yard (making sure to keep a close eye on Bennett in particular, who has decided we do in fact live here now and that this is her new neighborhood to terrorize). He makes his tea and heads upstairs to the office–our new place is a 3 bed/2 bath, which is quite the expansion from the 1 bedroom bungalow in LA. Eventually Annie gets up as well, makes her mate (IYKYK), and eases into her workday. Dogs get breakfast and around noon we decide to go on a W.A.L.K. It’s a gorgeous day with lots of blooming flowers this time of year, and clear blue skies. We stroll around the neighborhood blocks, still exploring our area, and feeling thankful to be able to just pop out the front door and walk anywhere we want-a luxury we didn’t fully appreciate until we didn’t have it. 

Throughout the course of our time here in Los Angeles, we've spent the time comparing to our lives back at home in Colorado, absorbing the culture, and trying to get a feel for what it really feels like to live here. Some of the things we've seen, heard, or unfortunately smelled may stand out but don't fit squarely into a post of their own. So we're collecting some of our random observations here... #1 - The skyline of San Pedro is filled with AT-ATs, or brachiosauruses.