Traveling Around Paradise

It's  been difficult to find time and blog, but I really should try to jott some things down, something to come back upon and reminice. 

Bali was a blast, the Gili islands were probably my favorite place so far. It's pure paradise. The snorkeling was out of this world, discovering some of the biggest sea turtles on the ocean floor and most colorful assortment of fish. I can't wait to look at our gopro pics.

The gili islands are islands off of Bali, but are actually part of Lombok. Lombok is a Muslim country, which made it even more interesting. Up to 5 times a day, you could hear the mosque prayer anywhere on the Gili island, coming from the big speaker. It's interesting to listen to, obviously not understanding a word. At times, it would be a little bit eerie when the streets were silent, or when they would go off at 5am, but it was just something that I never really heard before. Kinda neat to experience that culture. 

On another note, the abundance of drugs on the island was crazy. Every corner I turned, I was being offered magic mushrooms and Molly.  And there's no police on the island, which scared me a little. The lonely planet book directed us to a security station if anything was stolen, but other then that, no authorities.

    Hanging at Pearl Pool for the Day!!

Also, the island allowed no motorized vehicles what so ever! Kinda neat- just horse drawn buggies and bicycles. And there were cats everywhere! BUT Absolutely no dogs allowed. At times, the cats could be pesty. They would be scavenging at your feet in restaurants, fighting over left over fish with other local cats. At one point, there was a cat that went potty right next to our dinner table. All these Cats, deffinetely made me miss my dogs. 

Gili had some of the bluest water I have ever seen. And the temp was perfect. Our hostel, Woodstock Hostel was amazing. The staff were the coolest bunch of guys. Every night they would come into our bungalow and tighten up the mosquito nets and light some awesome inncense that kept the bugs away. They were constantly helping us book things, answering all of our questions and just always joking around and having a good time. Ron was the man! 

After Gili islands, things shifted a little bit. We took a ferry back to Bali, Amed and about 2 hours after being back, my stomach went A-wall. I started puking and then Matt started with similar symptoms and then gabe. It lasted about a day, mine trailing on the longest. It was miserable. I think I have the most sensitive stomach out of the bunch, which sucks because I want to try all the street food. My last couple meals were the chicken satay, a peanut sauce dish at the local street food markets. After my stomach went BaZurk, chicken satay is now on the bottom of my list. 

I have been really trying to eat by the guidelines of "how not to gett sick abroad" but unfortunately my stomach has been a little woozy the last couple days with some unfortunate travelers diarrhea. Not fun. 

We've been abroad now for about 18 days. It's been absolutely exhilarating. So much detail and experiences that I've skipped over in the blog.I will for sure be back to recap more. Until then.

Bali is beautiful

Where do I even start? Bali is spectacular, beautiful, full of culture, wonderful food, temples, and genuine Balinese people. And- What's better then being in a wonderful paradise with the love of your life, but- is sharing it with your good friends that you haven't seen in a good long year. We re all here together indulging in the bali culture together. Finally spotting lindsay and Matt, Creeping up on them in customs, in line waiting to enter the Indonesian country. Happiness already fluttered my whole insides.

We arrived in Denpasar Bali and had a driver already set up through an acquaintance I had at work. His name was Ketut, a genuinely, honest, happy Balinese man. He brought us straight to our place, flowerbudBungalos. The cutest bamboo bungalows I had ever seen with netted bedding, which makes me feel like a princess, but serves the purpose of keeping Mosquitos and bugs off your body while sleeping. After settling in, we headed to the beach where we caught up on the last year and remineced on memories. 

Bali has some of the bluest water I've laid my eyes on. We hung out first on the most southern tip of bali near uluwatu. We beach hopped, checking out all the different beaches. Each one owning their personal unique character. Cliffs and canyons at some, looking out into the sea, others burried in beautiful luscious vegitation with Palm trees hovering over you. 

One of my favorite things so far, is visiting the monkey Forrest. It's always been a dream of mine, ever since I was a little girl, and watching monkey trouble over and over again, to hold a real live monkey would make me one happy gal. I got to make this dream come true as soon as we went to the city of Ubud, the culture heart of bali. Bought some bananas and the monkeys came straight for Gabe and I. Those sly lil guys tried to steal our whole bushel of bananas from the beginning. And actually, we did see monkeys earlier on too at one of the temples we went to in Uluwatu, but one of the monkeys bit Gabe, not hard but it still sketched me out. So I passed on the first  sighting. Anyways, I love monkeys. They surround themselves by all the religious temples, they are a sacred animal here in Bali. 

Since we re on the topic of animals, I will inform you of all the geckos that are here. They inhabit all over our walls in the restaurants we eat in, the places we stay and are apart of bali. They sit and eat flies off the walls, helping to keep the bugs off you. Linney loves them. Personally, I am always thinking of then crawling on me in the middle of the night, laying babies in my mouth, but i try to keep those thoughts out of my head. 

Going for a bike ride now, we re at the gili islands, 3 small islands neighboring Bali. I will try to blog a little bit more and capture these fascinating memories for the sake of your reading, and for my own personal self, trying to take everything I possibly can IN and indulging it. 

Driving Home

After a wonderful weekend in Scottsdale with my family, we are making our way back to Utah. Our weekend was filled with so many fun things. I got to see my favorite person in the world, my grandma Myrt, And my cousin Adam, who I haven't seen in 3 years. Gabe and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary at a beautiful hotel and got a couples massage and lastly we got to celebrate my aunts 60rh birthday. What a fun weekend! 

My grandma is seriously my idol! I love her so much. It was amazing to see her and have her make it to my aunt debs bday. Cherish every moment you can with your family!!! It sure is a treat when I get to see them. 

On the ride home, I started to realize that I wasn't feeling too hot. Well thinking back, my mixture of events explains it all. First a day at the pool, with a few FULL strength beers and not a lot of sleep, and then a deep tissue massage (releasing tons and tons of toxins from my body) followed by a night of celebrating my aunts birthday- that explains it all. Being dehydrated and getting a massage followed with getting even more dehydrated is not very nice to do to your body. The deep tissue massage was amazing though! So nice and relaxing! I think I've drinken a lot of water to the point where it's annoying Gabe, stopping every hour to use the restroom facility! I've been spending some of this driving time tho looking up tips to do before a massage. So for next time Cassie.

 Check it out....

Massage Tips 

Remember, you are about to stimulate your body's most powerful system of detoxification. If you do not follow the recommended instructions given below, you may feel sick after receiving lymph massage. The lymphatic system is responsible for handling and neutralizing toxins and wastes created from food, pollution and our own body's daily cellular activities. It is also responsible for housing and transporting immune cells.

MASSAGE TIPS

Massage Tips Before your lymphatic treatment:

• Arrive at your appointment well hydrated. Dehydration will severely impair your ability to detoxify and rebuild and may make you feel ill.
• Expect to undress to your level of comfort but know that direct contact with the skin is always best. Tight clothing and under wire bras will make it difficult to get lymph moving.
• If you choose to wear clothing during your session, wear cotton underwear
• Arrive with an empty stomach or eat a light snack prior.Drainage will be performed in the deep abdomen and organs.
• Do NOT apply lotion to your skin prior to treatment. Dry skin contact is more effective for stimulating the stretch response needed by your lymph vessels.
• Do NOT drink alcohol or consume recreational drugs the night before or immediately after your session. Your liver will be responsible for detoxifying much of what the lymphatic system collects so please don't burden it before your session or you may feel quite sick afterwards.
• Plan and allow for a period of MOVEMENT immediately after your session. Your lymph collects toxins and places them into the blood stream for removal. 10 to 15 minutes of gentle movement and breathing is recommended such as a short walk before getting into your car after the session, walking your dog, or hitting the gym or a gentle yoga class is one of the most critical massage tips to follow.
• Plan and allow for a period of REST after treatment and movement if needed. Your body's resources and nutrients will go toward "cleaning up shop" and this may include an immune response to cleanse any bacteria or foreign cells that don't belong.Rest will allow the body to regenerate and heal.
• If you are already sick, fighting an illness, or recovering from illness, consider shortening your session or contact your therapist to identify the best time to receive lymph work. The first acute 24-48 hours of illness is NOT the appropriate time to receive massage. Be prepared for your immune system's increased response listed above!
• Use the restroom prior to getting on the table. No one likes to "hold it in" or run to the restroom in the middle of a relaxing Lymph Drainage session!

I'm feeling a lot better now. But for a good hour, I was not feeling well. I'm glad it's passed and over with. Tomorrow I will only be drinking water.

Favs of Portland

Portland was Amazing. Oregon is one of the most beautiful states I have ever been to. I was there for 4 complete days of awesomeness. I wanted to recap my adventure a little bit and go over a few of my favorite things about the city. 

I absolutely love that there's no Sales Tax. Unfortunately in Utah we have to deal with that :( It makes splitting checks easier, and it such a treat to read the price tag and pay actually that.

I love the fact that Cats are such a huge part of the demographic in Portland. Walk down the street for 5 minutes and your bound to see a cat. Cats are everywhere; boutiques, yards, walking along the paths. They even have an instagram hashtag called #portlandpussy. HA!

Green. Green. Green. This place is one of the greenest places I've seen besides Ireland. I love all the moss covered trees and green grass. The hikes were amazing. Even looking out into the blue ocean, look behind you and you have  view of a green forrest. The best of both worlds. Ahhhh.

I love the variety of the city. Lots to choose from. Lost of vegetarian/pescatarian restaurants. My favorite of all, lost of micro beers. Even at the gas stations. Full strength. Anyone that knows me, know I am a sucker for micro beers.

Portland is not Park City, in my meaning of that, I am trying to differ the closeness of the Mountains. Portland has mountains, but they are an hour away :( It's still such an outdoorsy place, but you have to get in your car and drive a little. Park City has the mountains int he back yard, something I think we take for granted here. I didn't mind at all that we had to drive to the mountain in Oregon, but what I loved about it, was that you still have a neat little city to play in. So again, the best of both worlds, its outdoorsy and somewhat of a hipsterishy, local, fun city.

I love the neighborhoods. They are so cute, real similar to Austin. In one neighborhood between Hathorne and Belmount (not quite sure), there is a huge sunflower in the middle of the street that they repaint every couple years. It covers the whole street. Its so cute. Theres chicken coops in some peoples yards. Stuff to look at. Eye candy. Artistic people.

Things you have to do in Portland

You have to check out Hathorne and Belmount neighborhoods and Mississippi Avenue!! Theres a store in Hathorne called House of Vintage and its the biggest thrift store I have ever been to. I was in heaven. Every time you would walk into a room, there would be another door to another room to check out. Absolutely loved it.

Go to the coast. Sands beach is amazing in Oswald State Park. The path to get down to the coast is beautiful and you walk through these huge trees. When you get to the beach you have green forrest surrounding you and a cool waterfall to your right. The sand is super soft and when the tides are low you have some neat tide pools to play in.

Check out Mount Hood! And on your way go to Trillium Lake. Its the coolest little lake ever. And you can walk around it and take tons of photos and soak up all the beauty. I wonder how many times that day I said, "this is so beautiful!" I wish I had a device to count for me.

Go to the Huckleberry Inn for a huckleberry shake. The town is close to mount hood in Government Camp. Super good. The foods nothing to rave about, but the shakes are awesome!!!

Visit a brewery while your in Oregon. I visited the Full Sail brewery and it was awesome. There everywhere.

Go to the Historic Timberline Lodge. Its on Mount hood and you get to see the cool views of the drive up of mount hood. They filmed the shining there. It was built in the 1930s. Beautiful place!

Go to the famous Burnside skatepark in Portland. I had to do this. The skatepark is featured in tons of skate videos and is world famous. Check!

Eat at Gravy on Mississippi Avenue for Breakfast. Its so good. It better be, because we waited an hour and half to eat!

Check out the Gorge. My experience was an intense, 6.9 mile hike called Dog Mountain Hike. It gives you great views of the hike and you can see everything. http://www.portlandhikersfieldguide.org/wiki/Dog_Mountain_Hike

Lots more to check out, but I'll be back to find more hidden treasures. Thanks to a good tour guide!

All Finished

Our road trip was amazing. I love being on the road and having no reservations or places to be. I was excited to get home though and sleep in my bed :)

Lake Tahoe was amazing. I am glad we decided not to move there though. Truckee, the little town, is a bit smaller then park city and not as artsy or cultured. I did enjoy some of the little towns though that were closer to the lake. The lake is absolutely gorgeous too. In some spots, you can see all the way to the bottom. Theres a lot of kayak, paddle boards and boat rental shops surrounding the lake. Theres also tons of campgrounds, little cottage hotel/motels and some bars. We didn't spend a lot of time there, we didn't even camp. We just got out at a dog friendly beach and let panzo do a little swimming. He's such a little swimmer dog, its quite comical because its not in his breed. But he just cant get enough of the water.

All in all, the trip was amazing and unforgettable. If I had to spend some time in California, which I wouldn't be opposed to at all, I would live in Ocean Beach or Santa Cruz. Ocean Beach because its such a cute little beach town. The pier is beautiful and its so dog friendly. Everything is in walking distance, its not too big, its not too small. They have a farmers market that we got to go to, EVERY wednesday. The people there look neat and around our age. I wanna go. Santa Cruz was a little bit more touristy, but I could see myself fitting in there too. I loved the pier, and the downtown area is really cute too. They had a little trolley that we road that reminded me of park city that took you from the beach boardwalk area to the downtown area in 5 minutes. We'll see what happens. Ya know, I also fell in love with Vail when we went for the Burton US open. Its way cuter then Park City, and I love the set up of it. The only problem is, its kinda spend, from what I heard. $$$$$ Everyone said that Park City would be expensive too, but we've managed this far. I guess it helps to know people. ;)

Anyways, we're back home and settled in. Our cable/internet has been shut off since Lindsay and Matt left and it was in Matts name. Time to start reading more and renting movies from the library. Thats where I am right now. Im getting two books today, one recommended by Ashley Devaan called Wild, by Cheryl Strayed and The Traveler,recommended by Andrea Currie. YAY!!!!

I wanted to share a few more pics from my trip. Especially the ones from Big Sur, the most beautiful place ever. I can't get over the beauty. I kept asking myself, Is this real life??? Seriously, the beautiful water colors and then all the amazing flowers that were surrounding the beach. Unbelievable!

BIG SUR- In and out of the Clouds

BIG SUR

Driving down the Mountain where our campsite was

Santa Cruz Board Walk, taken from the Pier

Sand Sculpture

Lake Tahoe @ its finest

Panzo swimming away in Lake Tahoe

Lake Tahoe Bound

Cutting out of San Francisco a little early. We went over the Golden Gate Bridge, check, and had dinner in a little Bay Area so we experienced a little bit. Wish we would of made it to fishermens wharf, but we ve seen a lot and we re ready to start venturing home. Once you jump on 80, it's a 10 hour shot.

We are stopping in Tahoe and may camp for the night there. We did have plans once to move here, so now we can actually check it out.

I would like to do another road trip sometime starting in San Francisco and head north, finishing the states coast.It's sooo Big! Better yet, just move here for a year. I would live in ocean beach or Santa Cruz, those were my two favorite spots.

California here I come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      

In a week or two we will be venturing out for our Road Trip. Time to pack up the car, pack up the pooch, get some snacks, and get on the road. We are heading to Sedona, AZ first to go to some really cool rock slides at a state park called Slide Rock State Park. Sedona is also really well known for their Red Rocks which we'll be seeing all the way from MOAB to Arizona. Then after Sedona, we are going to scottsdale to spend some quality time with the family. It'll be good to check out Grandmas new Pad and see Auntie Deb & Dan.

Then after Arizona, time to hit up California for some Exploring. I have been to Cali once and that was when I was a baby, so technically, that doesnt even count. We will be making a few major stops, one in San Diego and one in San Fransisco. The rest of our time, we have nothing scheduled, we're just going with the flow. We have a couple of friends on the way that we will stop and see.

We are also going to do some camping at Big Sur, Northern California. They have tons of great camping and beautiful hikes. There is a 10 mile hike that I would like to do to these hot springs called Sykes Hot Springs. There are really cool waterfalls on the way too.

If we can, and have enough time, we would like to check out the Redwood forrest.

<-------------- Yeah I wish that was our WHIP!

I just cannot wait to lay on the beach, chill on the board walks, people watch, eat tons of good Mexican Food and do some camping & exploring!

And while we are there I would like to VISIT Sea world and we may, just may, go to Disney Land if my manager Ty can get us free tickets, which he said is a great possibility. We'll Seeeeeeeeeeee, The Adventures are Endlesssssss!!!!!