I admit that I have been M.I.A. for a while, but for those of you that have not checked my frequent Facebook updates, the past month and a half has been a journey of epic proportions. My shinnaigans included multiple states, 14 cities, over 35 car rides hitch hiking, numerous breathtaking campsites, forests (types: evergreen and rain), drum circles, sacred burial grounds, nude fire dancing (I didn’t partake), sea turtles, numerous feasts of the mexican and hawaiian persuasion and most importantly… I encountered more kindness and hospitality then I could ever have dreamt. With nothing but a pack on my back the agenda morphed daily, plans were obsolete, the journey took a shape all it’s own and never ceased to amaze me.

The moment I left Pullman, WA I was thrust out of my comfort zone and quickly learned to adapt to life as a vagabond. Excited and naive, I took to the road and with a sign and my nearly unfailing thumb. The judgements of others are easy to see through car windows, strangers scowls were a common occurrence that became less and less offensive as days passed. Often the four wheels and metal that separated us from our perspective rides turned them from mere cars and trucks into the constant reminder that we were vulnerable to the various assumptions of others. Were we runaways? Drug addicts? Crazy? Murderers? Failures? Why didn’t we just drive our own cars? Needless to say, those with their unyielding stares and obvious disapproval chose to motor on by and leave us in the dust waiting for a ride that would aid us in connecting point A to point B.

This car was my favorite, with some maneuvering we fit a fish tank, chicken feed, fertilizer and some fence posts in the trunk and backseat so that we could squeeze comfortably in the buttery yellow vehicle of my dreams. Our rides in yellow cars proved to be very successful, just two days before we encountered an ancient yellow Isuzu Trooper. It’s owner Shane not only kept me in stitches the entire time I spent in the passenger seat, but he also had an outlook on life that kept me grinning well after I left his light-hearted company. Shane is an Oregon native planning to return to New Zealand the following week for a second time to live with is girlfriend he met there after a four month stint working at a snorkel shop in Maui. He sang the praises of New Zealand for several minutes and added to my already peaked interest in the island country.

My leaving Pullman is still sinking in, but I really went out with a bang thanks to my roommate and friend Morgan. She went all out for a Hawaiian themed bash with many of my friends that were still in town and those that could make it over for the big shin-dig. I was filled to the brim with the love and was very touched that so many of those near and dear could come out and say goodbye to me. Morgan knows how to throw a part with real class and style, for instance look at the centerpiece she whipped up!

I was just gonna throw some chips in a bowl and bust open a few 30 bombs of Pullman Water (Busch Light, for all of you that aren’t Cougs) but she insisted on fruit, veggie platter, cheese, crackers, nice beer, etc. One thing I was totally on board for was a punch concoction. Needless to say everyone was well fed and had their fair share of spirits in their belly. Great time indeed.

The next day I nursed my hangover and tackled what was left of my packing so I could jet home for a five-day stint in Olympia. The final drive across the state was filled with familiar sights, deep conversation with Lisa and of course the indicator that reminds you whether you are approaching or in our case leaving what Lisa’s father Mark calls God’s Country…

Yesterday I spent my time running around town getting last-minute errands done but took the time to take my dog for a walk in one of my favorite parks. Tumwater Falls Park has a beauty about it that changes with the seasons and the weather. In between the “April Showers” which were in all actuality complete downpours, dog Kona and I caught a break in the deluge and got to see the park at its very finest.

I do have an extreme love affair for this park, as well as family history. My grandfather Abie Merz was a well-respected, retired brewery employee at the Olympia Brewery that just so happens to be the nestled along the very falls you see above.

As a true Pacific Northwest girl, I LOVE my greenery, and walking this path you are engulfed in lush, mossy, mystical nature that can only be described as…magical!

As I got to the southern most tip of the park, after all the gorgeous falls, you see the Deschutes River calm down and meander its way towards the Sound where it will feed into the vast Pacific Ocean. I love the sea, no secret there. Being home and looking at this sight I was reminded and reassured that the love I have for the ocean stems from where I was raised and that no matter how exotic Hawaii is, I will ALWAYS have a love and appreciation for my hometown.

I can hardly believe the enormous amount of change that is occurring in my life right now, I’m really just trying to keep up. Flying into Pullman for the last time a week and a half ago was the beginning of the end. As I flew over the center of campus on my way, in between silent sobs I devised a small list of things I want/wanted to do before I drive out of here on Sunday.

Rollerblading on The Chipman Trail…

My dear friend Jordan Hightower and I are avid “bladers,” that have really bonded over our love of looking like fools while we fly by joggers and walkers like pros on the trail. We do our fair share of dodging turds on the Chipman when owners get lazy… in fact it can come across as a bit of a war zone if you read some of the signs along the path:

We have a great time and I will deeply miss the miles we’ve racked up in between Pullman and Moscow, I can’t think of anyone that can match my pace both in speed and in laughs, love you Jordy!

Next on the list was going up to the water tower that overlooks all of Pullman just above the CCN buildings. My friend Collin from work humored me when I told him I wanted to bask in the view of Pullman. With the promise of stars and me rocking my tapered and ever-so warm sweatpants he joined in on the fun. It was a bit chilly (hence the sweats) but it was a beautiful night and we even saw a shooting star which is actually just space junk burning up in the atmosphere…sorry to ruin that for the romantics but it’s true and was still cool looking!

For any of you that enjoy a GREAT burger and fries, you simply must visit Cougar Country during your next stop in Pullman. Any one of my past roommates will tell you that a burger and fries is up there on my favorite meals. I tend to eat very well and enjoy lean protein and vegetable with most of my meals, I can easily turn down a majority of sweets and have a vast knowledge of food but Cougar Country is for lack of a better word- BOSS! After blading the trail with Jordan I checked off another of my to-dos in Pullman by swinging by my favorite local burger joint and anyone that has ever been knows I am justified in my claims.

Over the past four years I have been forging my way into the “green” movement by keeping my carbon footprint to a bare minimum. I tend to walk, bus, carpool and bike to nearly all the places I go in Pullman, this has in turn led me to learn the nooks and crannies of the town and the best routes to get from A to B. The walk I would say  have taken the very most is the one to Northside Marketplace, my four-year establishment of employment. On my way to work I pass this small pond/drainage ditch that is actually quite pretty and attracts lots of red-wing blackbirds that cheer me up on my way towards the daunting “daily grind.”

As I am bee-bopping my way to work it sure is a sight to see on a sunny day, coupled with some Stevie Wonder in my headphones I come into work a happy camper indeed.

Northside has been a blessing and a burden over the years but in all honesty I have met some really amazing people while working there. There have been some that a bit of a drag but they always kept things interesting, ha! I’ve come to enjoy and appreciate working with food very much over the years and my people skills are borderline stellar after all the snobby, entitled freshman and athletes I have served. A small population of customers were downright sweet and they enjoyed the familiarity and humor I brought to Northside but it is high time to move on and I did on the 20th. The little cafe’ was always filled with music and chatter when I was working with some of my fellow baristas and they knew that working with me meant there would rarely be either silence or a dull moment:)

I am still checking off a few more things from the list but finishing work and joining the masses of the unemployed briefly is a set up for some pretty wild adventures that are on the horizon.

A couple of weeks ago I attended the Birds on a Wire  music festival. I was thrilled and thought there was no way I heard right that a folk and indie music festival was coming to Pullman. But alas the shit-tastic radio stations in the area made it happen and hats off to them! Turns out I can only stomach a certain amount and type of folk music and the people it draws in. Spectators and participants were just too damn “cool for school,” for my taste- but it made for an entertaining night. Friends of mine, Emily and Jess are fellow music lovers so I was delighted that they wanted to join me at the music binge taking place!

I and my partners in crime bellied up to the beer garden-which was composed of movable church like pews, serving just one type of beer in its holy barriers. That’s Pullman for you. I am trying to cherish those type of moments because they are the ones that made me fall in love with it. All in all the music was good for a bit, but I can’t sit around crossed-legged and listen to music very well. The pew manufactured beer garden in combination with the music proved not to be where I saw myself for more than a couple of hours. I am happy the festival came to town and could brighten the hipster kids eyes where the scene is rather desolate,but we had to ditch out after four acts. I love music, loads and loads but after that many acts I crave variety and some new scenery.

Thank god for the local watering hole- My Office. Less sidebags with patches and lots more Carhart and darts. The beard ratio was spot on- cowboys and hippies alike can muster up some eye-catching facial hair. It really turned around the night when anything from “Boot-scootin’ Boogie,” to “Hot in Herrrre,” came booming out of the speakers while we filled our ears with honky-tonk and r&b. I love the contrast! Top night indeed, I had such wonderful company and am still looking back on it and smiling. It was fun watching the multitude of performers and people from out-of-town try to wrap their minds around what they were doing in the wheat field of a town they arrived in.

Now I am down to one month until I jet off to Maui I’ve been enjoying and planning a lot of quality family and friend time before the day arrives. As the time ticks away I see myself transitioning and preparing to detach from the mainland way of life. I don’t know how long I will be there but I have at least a 3 month-long commitment to where I will be working on a farm 12 miles out of Pa’ia town.

While many join the masses that exit Pullman during Spring Break I made the decision to stay as “cougar country” emptied (not to be confused with Cougar Country- the best burger joint in town). I have had my share of truly epic spring breaks while at WSU, don’t get me wrong:

2007-NCAA Tourney in Sacramento where we sat front row/San Francisco road trip…

2008- Mazatlan, Mexico where I used my three years of high school Spanish and met some awesome locals

2009- VEGAS VEGAS VEGAS…

So now it is 2010… and I’m in Pullman with the few and proud that stuck it out. With my time in Pullman drawing an end and the fact that I am not a student in dire need of a “break” I am saving money for when I move to a vacation destination. I’m not disappointed in this decision at all and in fact I love having this time while Pullman is so empty-it’s like summer…without the river.

This weekend took me to Moscow, ID twice for some of my favorite things: good food, good beer and live music! Something I’ve always noticed about Pullman is the limited venues for live music. On Friday I listened to this band from New York named Ruha playing at John’s Alley Tavern- they had a really great set, just a fun group of guys that put on a real good show that had the limited population of Moscow hippies and myself dancing the night away.

Saturday my old roommates Tristan, Jess and I went to a new sushi place in Moscow, Red Bento. I highly recommend it, they had great food and really reasonable prices. Instead of taking a left out of the parking lot leaving dinner Jess took a right and swung around on main street where we drove by Bucers Cafe/Pub. Feeling spontaneous we went in when we saw two people through the window playing music. It must have been a open mic kinda thing because three groups came on while we were there. Bucers is like the Daily Grind in Pullman but with a dash of Ricos so we all loved it! Good coffee, beer, live music and even a game of Scrabble- oh and the mexican hot chocolate Tristan got was delish!

I searched and searched for a place to stay/work in Alaska and things never panned out. I’m a little disappointed but at the end of the day I am thinking that if it (my plan to go to AK) is not a HELL YES…then it is a HELL NO (for now anyway) so I began pursuing what I knew YES  was in the beginning and Maui is on the agenda. I took the leap and bought my one-way ticket to Kahului Maui and I’m so ecstatic to begin my journey post Pullman! May 10th I am out of the wheat fields of the Palouse and on my way to have a B-L-A-S-T! My co-worker at the glamorous Northside Dining Center Candice, and I are going to couchsurfing.com and camp around Maui for two weeks before I spend three months working in southeast Maui working on an organic vegetable/fruit/flower farm. I have to work about 25 hours a week and weekends off to do what I please and in exchange for my weeding, planting, harvesting, farmers market selling I will have a place to stay in a 8X10 tent on a platform and delicious food everyday that I am there. Pa’ia, the town I love is about 12 miles away so getting a bike will be at the top of my list of to-dos! I plan on job hunting and apartment hunting on my time off when I am not hiking and kayaking and learning to surf. Life is good and oh so exciting for me right now, and I am incredibly grateful!

Two months until I see this again

Finishing school once an for all has thrust me into a perpetual state of “what’s next?” Currently residing in Pullman post-grad is leaving me longing for something else, something grand and fufilling. Don’t get me wrong I love it here- but I feel like the last one to leave a really awesome party while the majority of my friends have already flown the coup. This place is a jewel I never even set eyes on until the weekend before my freshman year as an undergraduate at WSU. I fell in love with it almost instantly and as my dad put it on the day I returned home after graduating , “It was just the right place for you to really blossom.” He really hit the nail on the head with that.

I’ve never been one for school, I love learning but never cared much for grades measuring the knowledge I acquire. Frankly, my gpa was a poor testament to the effort put in… but I got the degree so that’s that. My friendships melded into a family and Pullman became the steady in my life. It was the first place I lived that I knew I wouldn’t be uprooted from with little warning. After a long span of 8 years moving around in the latter half of my childhood I was seeking stability and comfort. Most freshman were struggled with moving away from home while I was overjoyed that the next four years would be spent in the city of my choosing and I would not be hearing the words, “we’re moving again.”

Four and a half years later I’m plotting my next move and am buzzing with excitement to take a break from the bubble that is Pullman. It has turned into home for me and could even see myself coming back someday, living among the wheat fields, Cougs, Dissmores, treacherous B Street, stunning seasons and what I will miss most of all… the sunsets.

After graduation I was lucky enough to go to Maui, Hawaii with my Dad and stepmom Denise and had a wonderful time getting more acquainted with the island I’ve been making tentative plans to move to. 10 day in paradise and then I returned to Washington filled with gratitude for the Northwest and its beauty. I love where I am from but I’m seeking adventure and have been attached to Hawaii being my next step for some time now.

What I loved about Maui

1. Pacific Ocean

2. Lots of work and PLAY in the outdoors

3. WWOOFing possibilities

4. Residents glowing pride and respect of nature

5. SUN

6.Whales

7. Apart from fast paced, big city living

Not to mention the sense of belonging I felt walking around my first prospective landing pad in the little downtown of Pa’ia. Full of young, active people and not in the way I am used to. Sure, a college campus has a lot of young people and were they are active with a million things to do revolving around classes and campus life- and not the kind of active I am interested in anymore. Pa’ia was a charming, funky, artsy, laidback town with great food, fun clothing shops, many art galleries and the allure of both the ocean and many fruit and vegetable gardens in the area that intrigue me (for work oppurtunities on the island). The day I spent in Pa’ia was phenomenal and I could really see myself there in the near future! But I knew I had some time back home to plan just where the near future was leading me.

Back on the mainland  I released my attachment to the location of Hawaii and focused on the what instead of the where. I asked myself what made me happy there, what experiences do I want to have, what kind of people do I want to meet? I thought back to my list of What I loved about Maui and how it was really just a list of, “What’s Next?” With that thinking I opened a door I never would have ventured opening. Of all places it lead me to none other than the 49th state of the union- Alaska!

I flipped on the TV a week after me return, it was a Sunday morning. On that morning was a program about Alaskan Wildlife on the Travel Channel, not a channel I frequent much I must add. I was immediately hooked the instant I saw the image of a fluke and planted myself on the couch in awe over the very whales I love and saw daily in Maui. That hooked me, and as a self proclaimed mermaid I feel kindred towards whales and share their affinity for the ocean. Whales sparked the chain of events that led me to draw connections from my list to the Pacific wildlife utopia that is Alaska. I have some things in the works and am excited to say my summer is likely going to be spent in the land of the midnight sun!