West Coast Tour

We've had a very busy month of June...
Brooke defended her dissertation and got her PhD,
We had family in town for graduation,
We sold my beloved Subaru so that we'd only have one car for the drive back to Seattle,
We hired professional movers and rented a storage facility in the Seattle area,
We hosted a birthday party for Ryan and other birthing class babies,
We had Ryan's 1-year pediatrician appointment and Ryan's final helmet appointment (that's right...no more helmet)
We boxed-up all of our things,
and on Saturday June 19th, the movers came to take away all of our things, we returned the keys to our apartment, and we officially became homeless.

So here's a summary our migration back to Seattle....

Day 0 - Moving Day
We had to pull an all-nighter, and even then we weren't ready when the professional movers arrived at 7:30am. We ended up haphazardly stuffing random boxes with the remaining items, so unpacking will be difficult.

This pic shows our apartment just hours before the movers were scheduled to arrive....


It was evening before we finished cleaning the apartment and turned in the keys, so we decided to stay in a Santa Barbara hotel that night.

Day 1
Staying an extra day worked out well because it allowed us to say goodbye to a few friends one last time. That morning we had breakfast with A/C and the Twins at the East Beach Grill. It was nice to hang out in an area that holds so many memories for us from triathlons, to hundreds (maybe even thousands) of games of volleyball.

Later in the day, we went through our regular Sunday morning routine of going to the farmer's market and getting coffee at Starbucks. We also met up with the wine crew for what else but drinks at Hollister Brewing Company. Unfortunately, I forgot to take any photos.

We managed to drive only 100 miles north before deciding to stop at the Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo.

The main dinner room. Frightening, huh?


We figured that if we're going to stay at the Madonna Inn, with its over-priced rates and gaudy decor, we might as well select the most extreme and memorable room: The Caveman.
The room is built into the side of the hill and is covered with rock from ceiling to floor.

The room was equipped with a pair of caveman clubs....

The room was completely impractical and even dangerous for a child that's learning to walk,(we made Ryan wear his helmet) but it was definitely a memorable experience.

For a guided tour, click here....