The BIG left turn

After travelling south down the Oregon coast for days, we realized the
time had come to turn East and head home. So in Florence, Oregon we
turned left and headed into the mountains. Ten minutes later the
lovely 70 degree weather we'd been enjoying for weeks, jumped 25
degrees and we rejoined reality.

Ok, maybe a tad dramatic, but it was a shock! Today we traversed
eastern Oregon (see pic) ok our way to SLC.

Moo

That's right, Moo.
Tillamook, OR
And it's her birthday.
Win-win-win

she is 31

for more details go here!

Ahem... The Goonies House

Astoria has contributed much to pop culture, not the least of which is
the house from Goonies... which was set in and shot here in Astoria.
Lovely house.

Right before I took this picture, a guy pulled up next to us and
simply asked, "Did you find it?" Surprised by his non-tourist-hating
attitude, I said, "Yeah, that's it up there, right?" Apparently, a lot
of people that come looking for the house can't find it (another win
for my in-brain GPS, as Cara would say). The helpful guy then
proceeded to list off all the other movie buildings nearby (the
Kindergarden Cop school was around the block). With a smile he drove
off...

I have to say, I'm impressed that the Astoria Visitors Bureau didn't
get a Ripley's Believe it or Not "attraction" built next to the house
and "develop" the entire neighborhood! It's just a house. It all goes
to add to the charm of this historic community.

Birthday latte

A shout out to the Astoria coffeehouse and my re-ignited love of latte
art.

I call this, beautiful on the west coast

Cara on the beach at the end of Lower Hoh Road

Probably the coolest room in which we've ever stayed

Astoria, Oregon

Seaching...

I've taken to new occupation... Prospecting and searching for stuff...
Made all that more easy now that I have a friend with a lantern.

Where the jazz is in Seattle...

Peanut butter and jelly.
The Lone Ranger and Tonto.
Harji - Lockhartinis and Jazz.

Some things were meant to be.

A yakking they will go, a yakking they will go...

some of you might remember that one of Cara's goals for this trip was to learn how to sea-kayak. Unbeknownst to us, the weather intended to to it's best impersonation of winter for the first couple of weeks we were here. Cold weather and cold water don't make for a optimal sea kayak learning environment.

However, we finally got out in some beautiful weather today and on a kayak trip around Sucia Island, just off the north side of Orcas island. It was about a 5 hour trip and we paddled all the way around the island. We saw a couple of bald eagles, some harbor seals, and these wicked cool birds called oyster pickers that have these long beaks for doing just what their name implies... picking (and eating) oysters out of their shells.

Some firsts:
1. Cara and I in a two-person kayak. We had been nervous to try such a thing, but we did awesome.
2. We decided that this doesn't actually count for Cara "learning how to sea kayak" since our "learning" was a brief run-through on how to exit the yak if it tipped. So the goal gets an asterisk, but not a completion.

What we learned:
1. My tall and wide frame does not fit easily into a kayak! It wasn't horrible, but it was enough to learn that while I loved the experience, I can find other ways to enjoy the sea.
2. Ocean tides and currents are amazing things... those of you that live by the sea (rhi/dan - I'm looking at you) are not so taken by tides are we are (strike that... as I am). The daily high tide and low tides can differ by as much as 8 feet (2.44 metres) here. Crazy!

OK, that's all i have.

WHALE WATCH 2008!

As part of Homeland Security's on-going effort to secure the borders, they are enlisting civilians to help watch "less-obvious" targets. We found these suspects not more than a couple of hundred feet from the Canadian border. Sure, they were frolicking and and acting cute, but I'm pretty sure it was a diversionary tactic.

Here are some pics. You be the judge:



Ok, so these targets are salmon vacuums, not really interested in us. But they sure are magnificent creatures. We were following the K Pod just northwest of San Juan Island. Apparently, there are 3 pods (the J, K, and L Pods) that are known as the Southern residents that show up around the Puget Sound this time of year. The K Pods has 13 members (I think). Apparently, all the whales have unique markings, so they can be individually identified. [ If you care, here you go The Center for Whale Research ].

The day was glorious and the whales were spectacular. The boat ride in the warm evening sun is a remedy for all that ails you. Plus seeing the sight of these guys will warm you up! Seriously, if I could keep a Harbor Seal in our backyard, I would.

it is not summer here.
it is 52 degrees this afternoon.
that is awfully warm and balmy
compared to what the weather has been like.
oh yeah, and the sun doesn't like to shine here.
that may seem like a no-brainer,
being that we are off the coast of seattle,
however, there is something called a rain shadow
that Mt. Rainer is supposed to produce
that apparently shields the islands from
most of the gross, grey weather in seattle.
I think Mt. Rainer and it's rain shadow might be
on a vacation.

they probably went somewhere sunny.
i don't know, like, maybe, denver.

here are some other random facts:
* we are currently line-drying our clothes in the living room
and kitchen because it is too cold outside to dry them.
* we may need to build a fire to get this job done.
* craig & renee's apartment has a long hallway
* we know this because we went to seattle last weekend
* there is not a stop light on orcas island
* last year, the brakes on the ferry boat went out
and the captain was not able to stop the boat before it
crashed into the dock.
* nobody was hurt, but
nobody left the island with their car for 3 months
while the dock was being repaired.
* this story alone was enough to confirm that we are
not going to move to an island.
* the library smelled like incense today.
* there was a teenage boy playing the guitar
in the lobby of the library.
* there is a man on this island who drives
a red beat-up volvo wagon.
* he has a long red beard and slicks back his hair
* when he wears his black & white striped shirt
and his black leather vest,
he looks like a pirate.
* except on the days that he rides his weird bike
with an enormous front tire
* it is called a a Penny-Farthing.
* then he just looks like a guy with a long beard
on a really big bicycle.
* there is a community garden here.
* all three women who work at the coffee shop are sisters
* their mother died a few weeks ago
* she had been sick for a little while.
* one of the sisters is saving money to go visit her
grandchildren.
* the sister who owns the shop just had cataract surgery
* her daughter comes by and fills in sometimes when
they are short staffed.
* she has two little girls.
* they are playing soccer this summer.
* sometimes i wear my headphones but don't play music
* it is much easier to eavesdrop on people's
conversations that way.
* i have been eating gluten-free
* well, trying
* there is gluten in everything.
* after a little research, it turns out I probably have not
gone gluten free one single day!
* did you know that rice milk contains gluten?
* so do jr. mints
* modified food starch is a form of gluten
* jr. mints contain modified food starch
* i enjoyed some jr. mints last weekend at
craig and renee's house.
* natural flavoring can mean gluten
* the FDA requires that manufacturers list every
ingrediant found in the food
* it does not, however, require that manufactueres list
ingrediants found ON the food
* so a lot of foods are dusted with flour
before they are packaged
in order to prevent the pieces sticking together.
* it is a crazy world out there when a girl
can't figure out if she is eating gluten or not.
* looks like someone is going to be cooking
a lot more when she gets home!
* i did perfect a gluten free fruit crisp
and i am working on getting the
flourless chocolate cake recipe just right.
* the coffee shop doesn't have a bathroom
(or trash cans or accessible outlets for plugging in computers)
* herb and cara are doing well, enjoying each other and their
modified honeymoon
* after all, we all need second chances from time to time

The Harjes Family Band

We didn't have a flowered-covered school bus or an old VW bus... we just have a Mini... which is actually Ok since the Harjes Family Band only has two people in it.

Coming to a interstate near you....

one day i will learn to use photoshop . . .

but until then, here are some pictures without much editing.

(oh, and for natalie . . . as you can tell, i have already had my roots touched up! they were almost an 1/8 of an inch and dark dark dark. so a lovely woman named justina fixed me right up on friday night.)


steak tostadas on the grill
herb and cara on the trail
sleeping loft 1
sleeping loft 2
view from sleeping loft
looking at herb from the sleeping loft
fruit bowl
scallops on farm fresh greens
kayaking cara
cute little nook at coffee shop

cute herb outside

working with what you've got

it was sunday night
and the girl nor the boy
had made it to the market.

but they were hungry.

"what shall we eat?"
said they.

if they were in denver,
the question would have been different.
"what do you want from Spicy Basil?"
or
perhaps,
"do you mind calling Pasquini's this time?"

but the restaurants are 8 miles away
and probably don't deliver much anyway.

but that didn't even cross their minds.

"i have steak in the freezer,
tortillas from thursday,
cheese from the taquitos,
mango from the scallop dish,
a peach left over from the fruit crisp,
green onion from the crab cakes,
red onion from the blue cheese steaks,
cilantro from the dressing last week,
half a jalapeno,
and one avocado that just never got used."

and in no time flat,
they were sipping french wine,
leftover, of course,
and eating tostadas by the sea.

life, in fact, can be splendid.
and what you need to make it that,
might just already be in your fridge
or somewhere else nearby.

the mini pooper

though we knew the mini was packed full,
it brought more to the island than we were aware of.

aside from our overnight bag for three days of driving,
herb's computer equipment,
and odds and ends like a yoga mat and bikes helmets,
the mini cooper was apparently weighed down
for 1700 miles
with all of our shit.

"a lot of people move here, but leave after two years",
said marcus, our new acquaintance that herb met
last weekend while cheering on the red wings at the bar.
marcus is apparently a fan of good hockey and good beer.
he is also a bit of a wandering free spirit who happens to teach yoga
and work for the fire department.
it is his eccentricity that actually makes him quite normal on this island.

"people think they are coming here to escape their shit", he continued,
"but they don't realize that the energy and the pull of the water
seems to just reflect it right back to them."

"are you a therapist?", i boldly asked,
knowing that only if he was a thearpist
would this question be received well.

"a therapist?!?!", marcus looked confused and maybe slightly offended.

nope. not a therapist.

"oh, well i am. and you speak like a therapist."
and then, to try and regain some ground from the embarassing moment,
i consciously get into a "one up" position,
"i thought you were one of my people."

marcus replied, "no. not a therapist. i am a yoga instructor.
but can i be one of your people? can we all be the same people?"

it became clear. marcus is not a therapist.
and it is becoming clear
that it isn't just the water around here that mirrors shit.

and in that moment, i didn't really like marcus.

who is marcus reflect . . . to expose . . . my tendency to label people; myself and others.
my desire to know where i stand; to know where you stand.
and to make sure we all know that we know where we all stand.
he irritated my method of operating.
suggesting we are all the same people; all the same.
it didn't feel good.
that kind of audacious suggestion causes me to wonder,
"if we are all the same, then who am i?
and if i am no different than you,
no better than you,
am i important?"

i found myself talking about marcus for the rest of the evening.
for as much as he irritated me, i wanted he and his partner laura
to come for dinner.
i wanted to build them a bon fire
and show them our kayak
and feed them gluten-free fruit cobbler.

marcus came up again in conversation yesterday.
herb and i spent most of the day yesterday trying to put him back together.
we knew it would come at some point.
most likely the end of this week or next.
a melt down.
a freak out.
a "what in the hell are we doing here" fit of rage.
what we didn't expect is that it would be him, and not me.

just like me,
herb brought his shit to orcas island
and yesterday, as he reflecetd on the wisdom of
marcus the "can't we all be the same people" yogi con fire fighter,
it became clear that this trip was concocted not to relieve him of his shit
but rather to highlight it.
and highlighted it was.

neither of us saw this coming.

and it is not really for me to write about in detail.
not because it is shit that is any shittier than your shit or mine.
after all, we are all the same people with the same shit.
right?
it is not humiliating or shameful.
but i won't write all about it because it is not my shit.

which brings me to a shit-filled delima of my own.
what do you do when your spouse is busted up and broken down
and you can't fix it?
not because you are not capable,
but because he needs to work it through himself?

because in my house, i am discovering, growing up,
there was a certain need we had for everyone to be okay.
because we cared about them, sure.
but also because if they were okay,
that meant we were okay.
i believe there are entire texts written on this particular brand of shit.

they like to call it co-dependancy.

marcus might call it being human.

so while herb deals with his shit,
i must struggle with my need for him to be okay
in order to know that i am okay.
to find a way to know i am me and i am okay
even as he is fumbling around and trying to find his way.

picture of the day (5/26/08)

turns out that i may have written a rough rough draft
of the first chapter of a book that has been inside of me
for quite some time.

**twofer**twofer**: picture*S of the day (5/25/08)

kitchen table art, living room, deck with bikes


breakfast on the deck
(sausage, egg, & potato scramble with avocado on top)

i am in love

. . . with herb, yes.
but also,
as of today,
with kayaking.
i hoped there would be
a love connection there.
i suspected there would be.
and it is true.
i love being on the water -
i always have.
and this, this . . .
activity?
sport?
whatever it is . . .
i want more!

picture of the day (5/24/08)

day #1 on orcas island, wa

this morning i wandered around the saturday market,
which is held in the village green each week.
dogs and bikers and kids . . .
everyone just enjoying themselves and their friends.

i loved this little booth . . .
every time i walked by,
there was a little girl
having a crown of flowers made for her.
now, i am not a fan of calling little girls "princess",
but this just seemed like a marvelous way
of honoring their sweetness and their feminine imagination.

i loved it!

iSlaNd*poLiTIcs*: a commentary on the subtly expressed political climate on island

i must say, so far, this island makes boulder-ites look like a bunch of yuppies!

dAy*tWo: oregan, idaho, and washington - oh my!

the drive continued.
there was driving.
and more driving.
about thirteen hours of driving,
in fact.
we left utah around 8:30am
(just a tad earlier than the day before.
but then again,
i didn't have the chance of having breakfast
with my three year old neighbor to distract me,
as i did the day before!)
and made it to a suburb north of seattle around 10 pm,
where we stayed the night
and were able to get an early enough start on friday
so that catching the ferry would not be too crazy.

and, for my sister amy:
a picture of an "uncle mino".
in fact, the license plate actually said
"LKMINO"

amy, BIL actually chased the el camino
down the street
so i could get this picture for you!
(amy's name for herb is BIL . . . Brother In Law)

i knew a little limerick about el caminos
when i was in high school.
i may have been known to repeat it as an adult.
like, maybe, even as recently as last month.
but this is a family friendly blog.
so i will leave that one up to your imaginations.

i suspect
(though i won't promise)
that this blog will become more interesting soon,
now that we have the driving out of the way.
thanks for coming by to check in on us!

(and even if you are not a blog person,
and are just reading to support us,
leave a comment every now and then.
we would love to hear from you!
you don't have to sign up or anything.
you can post under "anonymous".
just be sure to add your name with your comment
so we know who you are!)

you see what i see... sorta

It's almost like being my eyes! You see what I see! Well, actually, you see what I see only after I manage to fumble my phone out of my pocket, stay between the lines on the road, and gamely try to create "art" with a camera phone.

So after a lead in line that, who wouldn't want to rush over to my web gallery! Actually, it's pretty cool because I can upload pictures from my phone anywhere that I have a data connection.

So enjoy some pictures from along the way:
Harjes orcas web gallery

You might even say we're rep'n Orcas... I might... no one else probably would!

dAy*oNe: what you don't see is the SNOW

we got a nice early start on the day at 11:45 am.

it is unbelievable how much stuff we have shoved into that mini cooper.

they should name them mini supers.

we spent most of the day in the great state of wyoming and were eventually welcomed by the beautiful utah vistas . . . and a few hours of driving in the snow!

dinner was spent with jamie vienneau . . . an old friend of herb's from his utah days.

we missed nick, but it was fun to hear how they are doing from jamie.

time to get back on the road!

idaho, here we come!

xo

cara

today is the day for leaving

those boxes.

oh my.

8

eight

eight big boxes.

and they are all on their way to orcas island.

we will meet back up with them next week.

you should have seen me at the post office yesterday - 

trying to remember what was in each of these boxes

so that i could insure them for their proper value.

shaking, pushing, pressing.

shoving my hand into it through the tightly taped flaps.

god bless jesse, my friendly neighborhood postal worker

who did not kill me.

jesse has a cool wedding band and is celebrating 19 years of marriage this month.

jesse's black sharpie pen needs to be replaced but guess what:

either

a) jesse was messing with me

or

b) your black sharpie has to be dead for two years before they will replace it for you.

weird.

okay, we are packing up the last few odds & ends this morning 

and then we are off!

if you pray . . . 

please pray for good, loving, meaningful (and fun!) conversations and safe travels!

love you all!

cara

so you know where we will be . . .

this post is mostly just for friends and family who might care to know 

where we will be for six weeks this summer!

it is so simple, but lovely at the same time!  

it has one main room that has a deck out the back that looks over the water.

above the main room is a small sleeping loft, just big enough for a bed.

off to the side is a kitchen & bathroom.

that's it.  that's all we need!  

- cara