From Washington to Oregon in a Day

This morning we left Arlington Washington and drove down to Portland Oregon. We stopped in Olympia, Washington’s capital, and at the Farmer’s Market bought breakfast – great fresh fruit: peaches, apples, plums. We also bought lunch – cucumbers, grape tomatoes and a great loaf of garlic and rosemary French bread.

Upon arriving in Portland at 3 pm we went to the Starbuck’s we had arranged to meet some people at. Debi Leonard and Annette Pederson are virtual assistants who met with us to discuss their business and each got a copy of the action guide for virtual assistants. We also met Triiibes member Patrick Proethe. Fiona met a new friend – Anna.

We’re now catching up on emails and such while we wait for Troy & Nancy to call us back. (The phone just rang; it was Nancy). They’ve kindly agreed to put us up for the night. And I just found out we are probably all going to another friend’s house for a BBQ.

Tomorrow is the long haul back to California. Here we come!

Heading Back to Washington Today – Still in Need of a Place in Oregon on Friday

We’re wrapping up here in Surrey British Columbia today and heading back into Washington. We’re sitting here in Canada knowing we’re going to miss it as soon as we cross the border.

Right now we’re at the Wired Monk Coffee Shop wrapping up some web work before we go make our lunch and then finish packing the van for the drive to Arlington to stay with Brad and his family for a couple of nights. We’ve really enjoyed being able to work at the Wired Monk; the people have been great. You can see some of our completed web work and web work in progress.

Many thanks to Renee and Rick for putting us up the last two nights!

We’re still in need of a floor to lay our tired heads in the Portland Oregon area Friday night. We really don’t want to drive all the way from Arlington Washington to Roseville California in one shot. We’d love to crash on someone’s living room floor Friday night so we can do the long haul Saturday and be home to see family and friends on Sunday. Let us know if you know of someone who can put us up one night.

Sisters Spend the Day Together Before We Leave for Oregon

Fiona has an older grown sister, Rachelle. Rachelle was at Fiona’s birth and is like a second mother to her since there’s a 16-year age difference. In fact four years ago when mommy ended up in the hospital for four month, Rachelle really took over as then 2-year old Fiona’s surrogate mommy. So they are very close. They’ve shared a room since Fiona was a baby. If Rachelle isn’t home when Fiona’s ready for bed, she doesn’t want to go to bed yet.

We”re about to leave in a couple of days to head first for Oregon and no, Rachelle is not coming with us. She’s all grown up with a job and can’t just take off. This will be the first time that Fiona and Rachelle have been separated for such a long period of time since Fiona was a baby. Of course they’ll stay in touch by phone, email, Skype, and Facebook. They’ll still miss each other.

So today they are spending the day together since Rachelle has off today and will be working the next few days before we leave for Oregon. Rachelle works at a children’s photography studio and later today they are going to go in and get their pictures taken together. Last night Rachelle bought donuts and yes, they had donuts for breakfast. Rachelle took a banana along when they left for the morning so she could have something ‘nutritious’ to give Fiona. I’m not worried about it. I just want them to have a lot of fun.

On another note, we’ve finalized the plans with the family we’ll be staying with in Washington before we reach Vancouver. But we’re still looking for a place to stay July 29 & 30 in Oregon. Any ideas?

Anyone Want to Put the Canfield Family Up for a Night or Two in Portland Next Week?

The best of plans sometimes have to change. We just found out this morning that our lodging accommodations in Portland, Oregon next week fell through. Due to an unforeseen family need, the wonderful family that were going to let us stay with them in return for our coaching services are unable to do so.

That leaves us without a place to lodge for a night or two. We have lodging in Washington on Saturday, July 31. We’d hoped to arrive late in the day in Portland July 29th and stay that night and July 30th with the family in Portland, leaving their place mid-day Saturday. If necessary, we can drive all day Friday, July 30th, stay a night in Portland and leave Saturday for Washington.

Ideally though we hope to leave Thursday July 29, arrive late in Portland, spend all day Friday July 30th in Portland and leave Saturday.

So if you are a Virtual Assistant and would like to receive our action guide, Building Blocks: Succeed as a Chief Virtual Officer, and one-on-one in-person coaching for your business from two great business coaches in exchange for a night or two lodging, please contact us asap!

Or if there is anyone else in the Portland area that’s just thrilled to have us and our six-year old visit, give us a shout!

24-Hour Driving Madness

Yes, we are the type of people who decide on a whim to hop into the van and take a drive – for the next 24 hours!

In early May 2007 just after we bought our 2005 Kia Sedona van, we decided to drive up into Oregon – just so I could say I’d been there since I’d never been into Oregon. We were just going to drive up and back home in the same day. Leave early that morning and get home in time to be in bed that night. No problem from our home in Northern California – right?

We piled into the van early Saturday morning and headed north. As we neared Mt. Shasta, we decided we had to go see the snow still on the ground. At 3, this would be the first time Fiona remembered seeing snow. Of course, since we hadn’t planned on being in snow, none of us had the right shoes or warm jackets. But play in the snow we must – and did!Fiona in snow at Mt. Shasta

Originally we had thought we’d just drive into Klamath Falls and back home. Instead we decided we’d like to drive back down along California’s coast. So we just popped through Oregon at Grant’s Pass so we could drive down into Crescent City, California and back home.

Now I can say I’ve been to Oregon! Not that I really saw much of it. I look forward to actually spending some time in Oregon during our trip at the end of this month as we head to Canada.

Jedidiah Smith RedwoodsAs we left Oregon and re-entered California, we drove through the Jedidiah Smith redwoods. Amazing! We finally made it to Crescent City and the beach late in the day. Again, we hadn’t planned on being at the beach that day just as we hadn’t planned on being in snow earlier that same day. But here was the beach and ocean and yes – we had to play. So in just one day Fiona got to see both snow and play at the ocean!Fiona with Daddy at the beach in Crescent City

Then we headed back home. By the time we finished eating dinner at a restaurant, it was dark and the fun and excitement of the drive was over. It was just the long haul home now – which took longer than expected. We ended up pulling off the road a couple of times for short naps so we could continue the drive home. We finally made it – early the next morning – 24 hours after we left!

Next time someone wants to take a drive for the day, let’s remember to take our pillows and blankets, snow gear and beach towels!

House Concerts Along the Way

Could I possibly end up performing in St. Helens, Oregon, Everett, Washington, and Vancouver? (Edit: St. Helens is out, this trip.)

House concerts beat coffee shops hands down. Coffee shops are really a place to go practice, knowing that absolutely no one is listening.

But show up to someone’s living room, where they’ve invited all their friends, and everyone brings something to drink and a snack, and you’re the guest host of a very cool party. When the hat is passed, literally or metaphorically, even a few drachmas from each guest turns into more than I’ve earned in every coffee shop I’ve ever played in.

There’s more than you really want to know about my house concerts at my tunehenge site.