The Traveling Matie

Hanoi is a chaotic place whose charms slowly grew on us. Upon arriving, we quickly learned that sidewalks are used as parking lots for scooters and the best way to travel by foot is to join the throngs of scooters, cars, and other pedestrians in the street which is instantly overwhelming. We later learned, that if you make eye contact with the oncoming scooters, they will avoid you, but as soon as you look away, you are fair game. This news lead us to "stare down" every oncoming driver at each intersection.  The pho is delicious here, and the coffee is the best we've ever had. We explored some local temples, checked out a night market, walked around the central lake, and spent the afternoon at the spa. Upon flying out of Hanoi, we decided to stay in one of the airport "sleeping pods" to make things easy for our flight the next morning. What an experience! The capsule/ pod had a bunk bed which was fun as neither of us could recall the last time we slept in a bu...

Days 1-17: Washington, Oregon, California Mike and Debbie's backyard After a lovely send off from our coworkers on Dec. 2nd, we fully embraced the start to our two month fun-employment/ early retirement by spending a week in WA. Seattle gave us her best--sun, snow, and rain. It was a joy to see many people whom we adore and to explore some of our favorite places. Last Sunday, we bid family and friends in wonderful Washington adieu and headed south. Oregon started off by welcoming us with great visits with friends in Portland and Salem. As we continued south of Roseburg in the cold and dark, the car began vibrating profusely and creating its own rhythm. Low and behold we had a flat tire. Luckily, we were back on the road within the hour and made it to Klamath, CA. Katie and the Redwood Looking up in the Redwoods Matt "eeling" at Eel River As the road trip continued, we drove through some of the Redwoods , stretched our legs at   Patrick's Point Stat...