And what a summer it has been so far!  It really has lived up to my expectations: barbecues and parties with friends and family, Cape Cod, Plymouth, Blue Hill, Panther Pond, concerts, Lantern Festival, kayaking, Blessing of the Fleet in Provincetown, the joys of poi, Stoneybrookhenge, July 4th in Athens, Maine, summer tomatoes and peaches, and tooling around on my bike.  I've made some new friends and gotten to know a few people better.

There have also been times of sadness as well since this is the first summer that my father, who passed away in January, is not here to go to the beach, red sox game, picnic, or up to our cabin in Maine.  Together with my sisters, we scattered his ashes at our cabin in East Blue Hill, Maine, Crane Beach in Ipswich, and this Wednesday we will discreetly scatter a small amount in Fenway Park(Hope it's not too windy!!).

I'm excited to be a part of both JP First Thursday on September 6th and Jamaica Plain Open Studios on September 29 & 30.  You can some see my photography during both these events and the whole month of September at Rhythm and Muse Bookstore, 470 Centre St., Jamaica Plain.  The opening reception for the show will take place during the First Thursday event from 6p-9p on September 6th.

See you then!!

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I left Denver on Monday morning at 7:30 am and arrived in Boston at 12:30am Wednesday!  I was anxious to get home, excited to see my friends and family again, to enjoy summer in New England, and start looking for work.  I arrived home feeling a great sense of accomplishment for of all the possible things that could of gone wrong, virtually none materialized.  I had researched and planned this trip, had places to stay with friends, had mapped out places I wanted to check out.  I certainly had worries and anxieties prior to leaving but as the miles passed by, those fears quickly melted away.  I met many wonderful, friendly, and helpful people.  I took the time to hear their stories, find out what they did for work and fun.  It helped me narrow down what truly inspires and motivates me.  I was thinking as I was driving the last leg of my trip home that I could be a truck driver since I enjoy driving so much. 

I brought my dad's ashes with me and they also completed this big journey and will be scattered on our property in East Blue Hill, Maine later in the summer.  I felt his spirit with me on this trip and realized how much I am like him than not. 

Lastly, I want to thank Chris and Yvette, Baji, Rich and Sheila, Jenn, Reidar, Mary, and Ella for hosting me along the way!  Your hospitality was a big reason why my trip was so successful!!

My roommate, Sara, and I will have a welcome home/summer solstice barbecue on Friday June 22nd at 7pm, 11 Spalding St. #2, Jamaica Plain so come and share some food, stories, and pictures of my trip!

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After Bozeman, MT, I took route 89 fifty miles to the entrance of Yellowstone.  I didn't have much time to spend there so while I was stopping at a bookstore/cafe to get a sandwich, I asked the owner how I could get the most out of the park in the few hours before darkness.  She recommended a route that would have me avoiding most of the real touristy things while still getting to see some amazing landscapes.  The pictures below will show you how beautiful Yellowstone is.  When darkness started to fall, I looked into hostel to stay at but they were all cost prohibitive so I ended crashing in the car so I could be at the Tetons for sunrise.  Sunrise was incredible as evidenced below!

It took 9 or so hours to get to Denver from The Tetons.  The scenery through Wyoming was varied from huge mountain ranges to rolling hills to red canyons.  I was exhausted but relieved when I stepped through Reidar and Mary's door.  I met my new niece, Ella!

Ella and Reidar

The trip is winding down and I'm anxious to get back east!

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I ended up staying another night at Doe Bay.  While soaking in the tubs which overlook a small rocky beach, harbor, and bald eagles coming and going, I met some cool people including a couple from Seattle, Mike and Celeste, and Emily, Liz, and Lana also from Seattle.  On Tuesday night hung out with Mike and Celeste up at the guest kitchen.  We pretty much hit it off right away and were joking around in no time!  I saw them again the next day at Constitution Mountain which is the highest point in all of the San Juan Islands.  The next night Liz, Lana, and I were invited to have dinner with Emily who'd made a slow cooked chicken dish for tacos and homemade salsa.  I pitched in with beans and rice and Lana and Liz brought up some good beer from Hawaii.  It was great to share a meal with people as most of my dinners so far had been solitary affairs.  We ended up having a great time late into the night, playing guitar, drinking wine, and sharing stories of our lives.  In a way, it felt like a celebration of this journey I've been on as I'd be heading back east the next day.  Though, my journey is in it's last leg, I feel like it is just beginning.  This trip, in a way, has helped me to wipe the slate clean.  I look forward to researching job opportunities in a variety of fields.  I've talked to many people on this trip and asked about what they are doing for work.  It has helped me to figure out which directions I would like to explore.  Sometimes you just don't know which direction is best and now I can take the time to try different vocations.  I've thought about working on a boat as a deck hand, working for the National Park Service, managing a hostel, doing photography on the side, etc.  I'm certain that something will come my way that works for me!

I'm off to Yellowstone, The Grand Tetons, Denver, then finally home to good ol' JP!!

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After Seattle, we headed up on the ferry from Anacortes and went to Friday Harbor and San Juan island to camp out for the night.  It had been sunny all week and when we arrived at the campground, it started to pour.  Jenn, with her freshly signed mechanical engineering degree ,  was able to set up a tarp to give us some shelter from the onslaught.  A cold front was passing through complete with a couple of thunderstorms and gusty winds.  We survived!  We met a couple of guys who were studying the whales around the islands and had flown out here from Wisconsin for a few weeks.  They hung out with us by the fire for a while until we were shushed by a couple of unamused(ing) neighbors.  What's camping with out some fun conversation around a campfire??!!! 

The next day, we arose early and got the ferry to Victoria.  I ended up having to back my car onto the ferry.  I said to the deckhand "You're making me do this because I'm from Massachusetts, right?" and he replied "yeah, as soon we saw your plate we had to make you back on!" Victoria is a beautiful city!  A lot like a miniature London with lots of Tea rooms and pubs.  We got a great sampling of beers at three different brewpubs as seaplanes touched down and took off from the inner harbor.  In the morning we had breakfast at John's Cafe and I picked up some local salmon, coffee, and beer from the store then said my goodbyes to Jenn.  I had a bit off an adventure getting to where I'm staying now at the Doe Bay resort/hostel/spa on Orcas Island.  I had to take a ferry from Victoria to Friday Harbor/San JUan Island, get off the ferry to wait for the ferry to Orcas Island.  But when I got off, they told me that the interisland ferry had broken down at that I would have to board the 4:15 ferry(which was running an hour late) to Lopez, get off, then take the 7:20p ferry to Orcas.  When I finally boarded the ferry, they made me back on again!  Then the captain made an executive decision to go straight to Orcas which shortened my trip considerably!  Once on the island I made my way to Doe Bay and picked up a hitch hiker who, as it turned out, works at the resort.  She was very nice and gave me a plastic letter "K" which she'd found on the ground in her travels and some lavendar which is good for the immune system and put them on my dashboard wich is covered with rocks and driftwood and other items from my travels.  I arrived hungry and tired but happy I'd made the decision not to go to Vancouver.  I made dinner then soaked in the tubs and did a Sauna.  I'm feeling very relaxed and am going to explore the beach and woods around here soon

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More pics from the Olympic Peninsula...

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I'm staying at a neat little hostel here in P.A.. It's in a red two story that is also the home of the hostel's host, a family of 3 and 6 baby chickens in the front yard!

Last night I went to hear some live music at the "Junction" tavern.  A band called "Junkyard Jane" was playing.  It was some great dance-able swampy blues/boogie.  I met a couple of locals  there, bartenders Phyllis and Cindy, Bonnie with whom I danced, and Ray who grades lumber at a local mill and whose humor and laugh was infectious!  Everyone I've met so far around here is really friendly and I've been able to glean a lot of local info from them.

Today I picked Jenn up at Sea-Tac Airport and we actually were able to fit her bike box inside the car on top of my stuff(We had visions of the box on top of the car with her riding on top!).  She's really happy not to be riding anymore.  I presented her with a bottle of Washington state wine to celebrate her accomplishment.  Tonight I'm staying at the Green Tortoise Hostel in downtown Seattle right next to the famous Pike Market and she is staying with a friend on the north side of town.  Tomorrow afternoon we are planning to head up to one of the San Juan islands to camp then we'll catch a ferry to Victoria on Monday.  From what I hear, the San Juan islands are gorgeous so I'm really looking forward to getting up there.

On the way here today I could see Mt. Rainier off to the Southwest.  It is still covered with snow this time of year and huge thunderheads surrounded it while everywhere else was blue sky

In less than two weeks I'll be back in Boston.  This has been an awesome trip so far and I still have a few days left to pack in a whole lot of sights and people!  I am looking forward to summer in New England, The Red Sox(I listened to the Sox game on the radio today), summer parties and barbecues, my family and, of course, my wonderful friends who've stayed in touch with me during all this time out on the road.

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Wow!  I've covered a lot of ground in the past couple of days but have been within the Olympic penninsula for 5 days.  I've probably shot about 300 - 400 pictures during that time!  Today was the climax of my trip when I hiked to Hurricane Hill which is situated at almost 6,000 ft amongst the peaks surrounding Mount Olympus and the coast of north Washington.  I slogged through snow most of the way which was up to 5 feet deep in places.  I was grateful that I brought my snow boots all this way.  It's amazing to think that I have made it all the way to the northwestern most point in the US!  I have brought my dad's ashes with me in a Teddy Peanut Butter Jar(all natural) and will bring those ashes back home to New England where they will be scattered in Fenway Park(I can't wait to get back to see a game!), Ipswich, and Maine.  What a journey!  For my birthday I sprang for a motel room, my fourth on this entire trip, in Clallam Bay and headed up to the Spring Tavern which overlooks the bay.  There were 3 other people at the bar and I was amazed at how cheap the pints were($2).  Jerry, the owner/bartender, cooked me up a pizza and we talked for a bit.  I had thoughts of staying another night but that was just the beer thinking for me.  Instead, I got up the next day and drove a relatively short distance to Salt Creek campground.  On the way, I stopped at Pillar point.  There I met a guy who works for the county parks dept.  Turns out he is from the east coast and has relatives in Ipswich!  I've met so many interesting people on this trip:  Jenn and Jorgen, Emily and Carlton, Alex at the Galax Hostel, Dane, Taylor, Angela, and Nicole, Tara, Peter, Carl and his wife at the Port Angeles hostel and countless others whose names I either didn't get or don't recall but who nonetheless made an impression on me.  Tommorow I wiil pick up the Canuck, Jenn, who finished her border to border bicycle trip yesterday(WOO HOO!!!) at the airport in Seattle.  I am giving her a lift back to Victoria and she's going to show me around.  We plan to take the ferry out of Seattle via the San Juan Islands and then after I will head to Vancouver for a night or two.

Will have a bunch of pictures up tomorrow

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Today is my birthday, Woo Hoo!!, and I'm in the most northwestern area of the US here on the Macah Indian Reservation at Neah Bay.  I arrived at Olympic on Monday and camped along the beach at Kalaloch then at Lake Ozette further north.  While at Ozette, I met 4 people(Dane, Nicole, Angela, and Taylor) who had flown from New Orleans to explore Olympic and hang out in Seattle.  They invited me to hang out with them at their campfire and we enjoyed some friendly conversation ranging from careers to music.  I've been to some amazing coastline here as well going on a 7 mile hike into the Hoh Rainforest.  The views here are breathtaking with snowcapped peaks looming over spruce covered hills, snow melt fueled rivers and waterfalls, and secluded beaches.  Yesterday I hiked 2 or 3 miles down to Shi Shi Beach(pronounced shy shy) on the Macah reservation.  It was really peaceful and I took many photos!  Then I went to Cape Flattery to hike down to the actual most northwestern point in the US.  The view overlooked a rugged coastline and Canada to the north.

I will write more as soon as I can but the power is about to be turned off where I'm hanging out and I still have to upload a couple of pics...

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I arrived in Portland on Friday with an offer extended by Jodi and her friend Peter to stay at his house for the weekend.  This ended up working out great for me as it was not far from Portland proper. 

Thanks to Peter for putting me up at his house and Jodi for showing me around, I had a lot of fun!!

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