Home! (Oregon & California)

We had exactly 8 days at home in Eugene to get things together before leaving for 5 days in California, to then leave for Asia and Australia for 6 months. I’m sure you can imagine that it was a whirlwind, hence why I haven’t posted on the blog in a month. Anyways, I’ll give you the lowdown of us being home before we jump into our next travel chapter!

Our first full day back home was filled with doctors appointments to get prepared to go abroad again and do some general check-ups. We both went to the dentist for cleanings, nothing out of the ordinary there except for the usual “you need to floss more.” Scott went in for a CPAP appointment at the VA and then we both had separate travel doctor appointments with our designated providers. The VA isn’t always the most reliable so I scheduled my travel appointment before Scott’s so I could give him the low-down on what my doctor said. Before my appointment I had given my doctor a list of the countries I planned on visiting in the next 6 months so he could advise me properly. I ended up getting a tetnas booster (it had been over ten years, yikes!) a three part oral typhoid fever prescription, anti-malaria tablets for the countries that were at risk, and some anti-diarrhea medication. He also advised for as much mosquito protection as possible, to wash some garments with a mosquito treatment, and wear spray near standing water and at dawn and dusk. Malaria isn’t the only mosquito born illness you can get, there are things like Japanese encephalitis, and dengue fever, so being mindful is always on the safer side. We definitely had more peace of mind after visiting the doctors at home.

After that it was pretty much chaos up until we left. We were both trying to catch up with as many friends as possible while back home. I made sure to call my relatives on my dad’s side while we were home, as well as see friends for lunch, drinks, and even take the kids I used to nanny to Prince Pucklers for ice cream. I was also sure to hit up all my favorite places: Mcmenamins, Sweet Life, Placido’s, Da Nang, Sizzle Pie, just to name a few. Oh, and we still had to pack…

We got to see a lot of our rowing friends and some even came into town from Portland and Seattle for the weekend to go to the duck game and have drinks downtown. One of my childhood best friends’ moved back into town; I’m telling you it really was the best time. I missed Eugene a lot, especially the people near-by. Scott went out on the boat with friends, I went to go get my nails done (my pinky toenail had been MIA since the camino and the nice nail artist somehow revived it). We spent as much time with our parents as we could, though we’ll see mine in Malaysia in December and his in Australia later on. A week and some change had flown by, I wasn’t ready to go, but it was time to head to California for 5 days to go to one of Scott’s best friend’s wedding in Sonora. Did I mention we hadn’t packed yet?…

On our way to Sonora we made a quick pit-stop in Redding and stayed in one of the most beautifully decorated, basement air bnb’s I had ever seen. The drive was a bit much to do all in one day so I was thankful for the stop. Our final destination was Twain Harte, staying in a bed and breakfast called the McCaffrey House. Scott’s mom, Cathy, used to vacation in Twain Harte when she was a kid and had stayed at this particular BnB before. It was a lovely few days with delicious breakfast, paddle boarding at Pine Crest, and disc golfing at 3 links campground.

The second to last day in California was the day of Melody and Michael’s wedding. It was held in a beautiful rustic chapel at Union Hill Inn. There ceremony was filled with love and the Lord, followed by great food, drinks, and dancing. It was seamless and absolutely stunning, we appreciated being a part of their big day. The best part of it all is that we knew we would see them in a week because we happened to be in Bali at the same time as they were for their honeymoon.

We left for Singapore the day after the wedding, but had to make a few stops on the way to the airport. Scott took me to my first Major League Baseball game at the Oakland Coliseum where we got to meet some of his friends and one of his uncles. And our last stop before the airport was in San Jose to see some of his childhood friends before we left for six months! Like I said, two weeks flew by, and before we knew it we were back on a plane headed for Singapore.

Next stop ASIA!!