Update time (part the first)!

Well it would seem that my best intentions of updating this blog as frequently as possible have fallen by the wayside… or perhaps it’s that I am doing it as frequently as possible and I’m running precisely on schedule. Knowing myself, I’m going to go with the former option (you probably will too if you know me very well). It’s not that I haven’t wanted to update, it’s just that work takes up a massive amount of my time, and in the pockets of free time that I do get I’m generally more inclined to jump on my (read: Trek’s) bike and go for a spin or to crack a beer and just veg out. If for whatever reason you have been waiting for me to update and have been a bit disappointed, at least take solace in knowing that in lieu of letting everyone know what I’m doing, I’m probably sneaking in some much-needed R and R. ☺

Where to start?

I already posted about how I felt that (despite a few hiccups) the Oregon Coast trip was a success. Email me at loganb1104@yahoo.com and I’ll shoot you some cool pictures from the trip, beyond what I’ve already posted.

Moving on from that, Rebecca (our “training guide” if you haven’t been paying attention), left us last Saturday afternoon to head home for some well-deserved vacation time before she heads to France. Elizabeth and I are officially “flying solo” (duo?) from now on, and we’re ready to make our marks on the Trek Travel circuit.

Our first major task was to FTP the San Juan Islands. Now, the notice that I’d be running a trip in this area was met with a bit of trepidation. First, I had no idea where the heck these islands were (off the coast of Washington, just north of Puget Sound, if you were curious). Second, why was I not being sent to an exotic locale like Provence or Bora Bora (because clearly my expertise on Pacific Northwestern life and culture was much, much needed, and because we don’t run any trips in Bora Bora… yet)? Finally, what the heck were Spaniards doing so far from home when they named these islands (upon much research, I’ve discovered that they were “exploring,” apparently… whatever that means).

Trepidation aside, Liz and I attacked these islands with a fury they have rarely seen, and we loved it. They’re absolutely beautiful As one former guest put it, every direction you look has a scene that looks like it’s straight out of a postcard. There are quaint farmhouses with small sheep, cattle, and alpaca (seriously, alpaca!) herds. There are picturesque beaches. There are small towns that somehow manage to be frozen at a time far in the past while still maintaining a hip, community-oriented, stylish, liberal lifestyle. There’s even a pretty impressive mountain (which I will describe in my next post).

If I ever end up wealthy enough, or I somehow marry into vast riches, I could definitely see myself having a summer house here…