I just got a crash course in Brutal Weather 101!

It’s my brother’s 28th birthday and I have the day off, so early this afternoon I took him downtown for some window shopping. We only managed to hit up two stores on our list (Finnegan’s and Billy Galaxy) before it started to snow.

At first, we were really excited– it was just a soft flow of snowflakes that melted as soon as they hit the ground. But then we realized how unprepared our feet were for such weather, so we ducked into a breakfast-all-day place for some lunch.

After we were done eating, it still seemed within the boundaries of reality to continue on our to-do list, so we got on a streetcar heading to the NW. Once we saw how much snow was accumulating on that part of town, we jumped off, turned around and headed back to Burnside to defrost inside of Powell’s.

By this time both our feet were sopping wet.

Eventually we made it to Skidmore Fountain and got on the MAX to get across the river. But traffic was so bad and cars were already starting to slide around on the snow and crash into each other, so we decided it would be best if we just walked the rest of the way home.

Alan and myself, about halfway through our journey home.

Alan popped into Starbucks on MLK for a peppermint mocha to warm him up during the homestretch.

The homestretch which, of course, was gorgeous. I’ve always loved living in Irvington because it’s so darn cute, and it only gets cuter when winter comes calling!

Altogether we walked about 2 miles… In the snow… With soaking wet feet… Might as well have been barefoot! (And before anyone else asks, yes it was uphill both ways! Just kidding. :)

Happy Birthday Alan! Sorry we didn’t get to take you to see Zombieland, but hopefully your first snowstorm will make up for it.

And now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to put on my galoshes and go explore the park!

Mt. Lassen is 10,462 feet in elevation and part of the Cascade Range. It lasted erupted in 1914, and is one of the largest lava domes on Earth! The actual trail is about a 2,000 ft. climb, 5 miles round trip. We managed to hike that sucker in under 5 hours, and that’s including a 1-hour break at the peak. Not bad.

Fun Fact: All four types of volcanoes found in the entire world are represented in Lassen National Park: Shield (Prospect Peak), plug dome (Lassen Peak), Cinder Cone (Cinder Cone), and Composite (Brokeoff Volcano).

The views on the way up were incredible, but the view from the top was breathtaking.

On a clear day like this, the first thing you see upon reaching the summit is Mt. Shasta to the North.

Despite having hiked Lassen twice before (once when I was 10, even!) I got to be the weakling who took the longest to get to the top, clocking in at 2 1/2 hours before I reached the peak.

It’s not the most difficult hike, but it can sure kick your butt. The combination of direct sunlight, high altitudes and relentless glacier-cold breezes don’t make it easy on you.

Chris was sweet enough to suffer through the last mile and a half by my side, putting up with my need to take a 30-second break at every switchback. At one point we sat down, enjoyed the view and practiced our “model faces,” a.k.a. trying to look as bored to death as possible. Anything to take away the pain of being utterly exhausted and still having half a mile of steep inclines to scramble over!

As if I didn’t feel like a big enough wimp already, I had to watch Kyle take on the entire mountain in flip-flops. He outlasted us all in not only stamina but also spirit.

While at the peak we lost sight of him and noticed a stick figure on a far off ridge line some 20 minutes later! The next morning he disappeared around 8am, only to return 10 minutes before check-out, shirtless with chapped lips and tales of bear sightings. Crazy kid.

After everyone trodded, stumbled and skidded their way back down the mountain, we took some victory photos in the parking lot. This was Jillian, Gina and Tatton’s first time on the peak of Lassen. Way to go, dudes!

Once again, I was the last to arrive because I was too busy nearly killing myself every hundred feet! I actually think the walk down is a lot more dangerous than the walk up– all that loose gravel and dirt made for quite a lot of near accidents.

Stay tuned for Part III where I wrap it up, but not before locking our keys in the truck!

Some photos from our grueling trip to Laos. We booked a slow boat, which is apparently so slow you have to pit stop in a crummy town where everyone wants to sell you opium before waking up at the butt crack of dawn and getting in another, somehow smaller, boat for the second day’s journey. It was awful when it wasn’t gorgeous.

I can’t remember if I ever blogged about our visit to the Tiger Temple in Kanchanaburi, but I just finished editing that weekend of photos. There’s eight shots of Chris and I altogether, but these were my favorites.

A lot of people have been asking me if it was scary being so close to these tigers, but it really wasn’t! Some of the tigers were once orphaned and have since been raised by monks, and others have been bred at the sanctuary. Many have been handled their whole lives by humans, so they are pretty tame.

They really weren’t a whole lot different than your average house cat, except that they seemed twice as disinterested in entertaining us!

Our border run was a success, but unfortunately we didn’t dig the touristy vibe enough to stick around for more than a few nights. We are once again hanging out in Bangkok before makin our next move to Krabi.

As inevitable as it was, I’m still sad to have left Chiang Mai. I will never forget the $1 bowls of Kao Soi or the cute waitress at Black Canyon Coffee that once ran down half a block to give us back our change when Chris unknowingly paid with a 1000 baht note instead of 100.

Being on vacation is always loads of fun, but the actual act of traveling never outlives the novelty of being “on the road,” so to speak. The journey to Laos was certainly no exception: we rode a minivan for some hours to Chiang Khong, which is on the Thailand-side of the border, and stayed at an all right guesthouse with a fabulous view of the river that divides the two countries.

In the morning we took a boat across the river and went through the Hell of immigration. We each were fined 500 baht ($15) for overstaying our Thai welcome for 1 day. Oops.

Getting our visas was the real nightmare. Picture this: a tiny foyer, totally cluttered with travelers, all speaking different languages, no one knowing exactly what’s going on or what line to get in, or if you’re even in line, reaching over and around each other to throw their passports at the first official looking Laotian they see. Ahhhh– a true Kodak moment. Wish you were here!

After that mess we jumped in a cramped slow boat– 6 hours to Pakbeng, a crummy port town. Next morning, another smaller slow boat (but with all the same people) for 8 hours to the final destination: Luang Prabang.

We both got awfully sick during our night in Pakbeng from our guesthouse’s food. Chris took this utterly gorgeous photo of me just seconds before I ducked my head over the edge of the boat and barfed. Thanks, Chris! In his defense, he had no idea I was on the verge, and when he snapped it I was actually in the middle of saying “Can I sit there?” as he had the coveted seat next to the open “doorway.” Puking into the Mekhong River ought to win me some bragging points in backpacker circles… Now I just have to make friends with some backpackers.

After a hot shower, Wayne’s World 1 & 2 on cable TV and a lot of water and bananas, we both felt better and ready to tackle Laos.

Our time in Luang Prabang was overshadowed by the fact that neither of us were feeling very well, but we still managed to have some fun and see some sights. The town is really laid-back and cute, with a touch of France due to Laos having been a French colony not so long ago.

We climbed the local mountain-temple on our last day in Laos. You can do the math.

Halfway up there’s a bodhi tree and shrine.

From the top, the whole city is visible at every direction.

On the way down there were lots of golden Buddhas, marked by the day of the week. I asked Chris what it was meant for, but he didn’t know exactly. Having just graduated with a degree in Religious Studies, he was later able to redeem himself when he explained to me– in great length– the story and symbolism of Ganesha over ice cream.

We decided to save ourselves from more unnecessary pain and booked a flight straight from Luang Prabang to Bangkok. Otherwise we would’ve had to ride a 10 hour bus to Vientiane (capital of Laos), pay more $$$ for a Thailand 30-day visa, then ride another bus for who knows how long to Bangkok. Instead, we spent 1 1/2 hours on a plane for $160 each and got to Bangkok at 10 in the morning, and our immigration problems were sorted due to coming in on an international flight. Good deal.

As an aside, if we had flown Bangkok Airways it would’ve been almost $100 more per ticket, so we rode with Lao Airlines instead. This was my first time on such a small plane, and not nearly as scary as I’d've imagined. The plane seated about 64.

This weekend we have been staying at the A-One Inn, being mallrats at MBK, though yesterday we got out of the guesthouse and rode the skytrain to Mo Chit to witness the weekend market madness.

We got lost multiple times, despite having two different maps of the area, and I got sunburned beyond belief and spent much of our time sulking in Chatuchak Park about how hot it was.

After giving in to the air-con heaven of JJ Mall, we found a nice Japanese restaurant for lunch. I had avocado-wrapped salmon and cucumber rolls. You’d think we’d never had sushi before because all we managed to talk about was how good our food was. In retrospect it really was good– we had sushi for lunch again today at Sukishi in MBK and it was only so-so.

We’ve been visiting the movie theater a lot this weekend, too and have become very familiar with the Thai commercials and tributes to the King that precede each viewing.

We saw 3 movies in 2 days and returned last night for the last remaining English speaking film, which was aired in the VIP theater– the theater is much smaller and more intimate, and the seats are bigger, comfier and connected only in pairs with lots of leg room in every direction. You also get a blanket to keep warm (theaters in Thailand are fuh-reeezing!) and a free drink in the lounge.

• Push (2/5: Enjoyable, but awful writing, casting, acting, ending, etc. Dakota Fanning was dreadful and Camilla Belle did not convince me as being old enough to even hold hands with her love interest)
• Valkyrie (3.5/5: I love Bryan Singer, but I couldn’t fully get into a movie about an attempted assassination I already knew the ending to)
• Underworld 3: Rise of the Lycans (3/5: Love Bill Nighy, can’t stand the girl from Boston Legal. I much prefer Kate, but this was a good prequel nonetheless)
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (5/5: I thought it was going to be boring; it was everything but!)

Oh yes! I almost forgot– these last two photos are for my bro ‘n’ sis, Alan and Lindy. I don’t think you’ll have any trouble figuring out which photo is for whom.

We have seen these metal sculptures at two different shopping centers in lots of different forms: Boba Fett, Wall-E, and the hugest Darth Vader ever to name a few. We’e a little confused as to how much they cost, but Chris is in love and we may be coming home with a bite-sized version. If it doesn’t break the bank, we might’ve found the perfect souvenir for you– the dweeb who made me the dweeb I am today!

And this was spotted in Laos on our way to the mountain-temple. I haven’t got a clue what it’s about, but it stopped me dead in my tracks!

Well, that’s it for now! Next time you hear from me, I’ll be swimming in the emerald seas of Krabi and Phuket. Say hello to the winter for me, won’tcha ;)