"it's not goodbye, it's just bon voyage."

Well, I officially leave in less than 48 hours and I could not be more excited. I feel so lucky and blessed to have been able to spend this past week with my best friends doing some killer rock climbing in Smith Rock, Oregon. Met some other amazing climbers there, which is one of my favorite things to do. Meeting people on this next adventure is going to be life changing and I am so ready for it.

After touring Deschutes Brewery in Bend, Oregon (free booze makes me an über happy lady) I spent a night in Portland and the next at my parent's property on the beautiful Hood Canal in Washington. We were bummed this year when our favorite music festival Re:Generation was cancelled, but we made up for it a little bit at the canal. There, I experienced one of the best nights of the year with beautiful amazing people for my goodbye party. To sum up, there was lots of Mount Ragemore summiting and wine bad slapping. I honestly can't believe how lucky I am to have people like that in my life. I am so in love with everyone that was there, and also with my other wonderful friends who couldn't make it. Saying goodbye over the past few weeks has been difficult, but it has also showed me how much my friends and family mean to me and what incredible people I have in my life.

                                                           

Though saying goodbye to everyone was hard because I am going to miss each and every one of you terribly, one of my best friends Kristina set me straight; "it's not goodbye" she said, "it's just bon voyage." I will see everyone soon enough for more dancing the night away. Much love. Now another adventure begins...

Photo credit: Charlie Martin

11 days and counting

In eleven days I board that plane for French Polynesia. My feelings are so mixed right now, I feel like they've been put in a blender. Three parts excitement, two parts dreading of how much I'm going to miss my friends and family, and of course one part stress. It's finally all coming together. I am so excited to be able to spend time in a foreign country where I actually speak their language. Besides a few weeks in Mexico and one month in 2010 spent in Grenoble, France, this is the only time in my life I have spent a substantial amount of time out of the country. I couldn't be more excited. I finally get to put my four years learning French to work! Worth it? Perhaps.

For now, if you see me, I'll most likely be running about trying to get last minute things put together  and doing errands; such as typhoid fever vaccinations and Costco runs to buy American snacks for the boys on Ardea. I'm lucky enough to get to say goodbye to some of my closest friends this week though as I'm off on a climbing trip to Smith Rock in Oregon. Time to get pumped. Then it's off to party at my property on Hood Canal, Wa to say goodbye to even more wonderful tribe members...

À bientôt!