Welcome to Chaos !!

Hello from a beautiful Portland! I have been kind of busy since I arrived here AND my Mac laptop decided
to quit responding so I have to try to fix that highly annoying issue when I have some time. I don't like writing on here from my phone.....I'm not ignoring the blog but I've been busy plus there is the technical glitch.
Anyhow, the weather is warm and sunny. It rained a bit yesterday but I did bring an umbrella with me so I came prepared, now I have covered the mandatory when traveling weather report.....
I started off today with Chhaya and a walk in the park.



I love the trees here, everything is so lush and healthy.



Then I met up with my friend that I used to work at the Bush Company (in Anchorage) with, she lives here in Portland.....lucky her!



I had a delicious strawberry/rhubarb pie. I think I might need to go back for some more of that tomorrow.



And I am working tonight. Me and Mandy worked at one of the many strip clubs in Portland last night. We might try a different club tonight or go back to the same. Yes, I have pictures (of course) and a description but that will be a whole different entry.

Me and Chhaya have arrived in Portland, Oregon. It's beautiful here! The bridge over the Columbia river and the river itself.....WOW, gorgeous!



The first thing we did was to locate a park, we ended up at Delta park. The trees were amazing. Sunshine and warm too. I feel lucky and happy.



Then after plenty of confusion I located the motel. I got lost trying to find it. I managed to drive from Kenai to Portland without getting lost or confused, then when finally in Portland I get lost. How funny is that? After I found my new home (in the ghetto, seriously) I hauled my stuff into my room and then headed straight for IKEA.



When I spotted the Swedish flag I almost cried. I miss Sweden! I signed up for an IKEA card and ordered some vegetable balls and got a side order of meatballs for Chhaya.
Some Princess cake too. I'm going back for more tomorrow. And when you sign up for the IKEA card you get all the coffee and tea you want FOR FREE!



Later in the evening I picked up Mandy at the airport, YEAY! I am laying in bed now and I have to say that I am exhausted. I have so many bruises that it looks like I have been in a traffic accident or in a bad fight. Moving is not easy on the body. I need to sleep and tomorrow I will be ready for Portland! I'm excited!

I have accomplished more since I left Kenai over a week ago than I have in a long time. I have done more than just drive from Alaska to Washington with Chhaya next to me but I don't write about everything I do here on the blog because some of it is too personal (I already share a lot of my life here) and some I want to keep away from nosy rodents that like to talk shit and gossip. But I do feel somewhat proud over my own abilities I have to say. I've had this Pippi and dog in my car for years now, it's kind of a representation of me and Chhaya. Me and Chhaya are a team and I grew up with Pippi Långstrump (Longstocking) and Pippi is a great role model for everyone I think. At least she is my role model, if I had to pick one.



A while back I wrote that I noticed that each time I get a new box of Q-Tips something usually changes or happens in my life, it's an observation I have made over the years. Well, this time the new box of Q-Tips coincided with me and Chhaya leaving Alaska. Coincidence or not?
Some people say that there are no coincidences. I don't know.
And last year when I was feeling worried about leaving Alaska (a move that I decided to postpone) I wrote about my concerns and feelings. A friend of mine read it and wrote me this message on a match book. I have kept the match book with the message.



Fear no change. Change can be scary. I hope this change is good for me. I can say this much, so far so good. I am done with the long and sometimes torturous drive through Canada and I've had some pretty good days since then. I'm in Spokane Washington right now. It's beautiful, lots of large leafy trees and the weather is nice. I am heading West on Monday. Not sure about any frequent updates here on the blog.....bad internet connection and little time.
So be patient with me.....more is to come!

Well, me and Chhaya are back in the US. We entered into Canada via Tok, Alaska last Saturday around 5 pm, drove through the Yukon and British Columbia and arrived in the US, Washington State today Wednesday around 4 pm. What a journey! I don't even know how many miles we put behind us.....but I think I drove roughly 2500 miles. Or about 4023 kilometers. Since I started in Kenai and I am now in Eastern Washington. I managed on my own with no accidents, brake downs, tickets, getting lost or anything major. My journey is not over yet. I have stuff to take care of and organize and people to see. I am happy (I think, I'm not sure actually....more like empty), a bit tired and ready for sleep. That is what I am going to do now, call it a night. Chhaya is already sleeping......
I just want to lay in a hot bath, scrub my body, wash my hair, pluck my eyebrows and slather on moisturizer.

OK.....I am so far MISERABLE on this trip through Canada. All my stuff is divided in between my car and another car that was not allowed into Canada, well the driver wasn't. So I don't know what I have and what I don't have in my possession at this point. I barely have any phone connection. I spent my first night in Whitehorse where I did not have any phone connection whatsoever and I actually cried a bit this morning because I was so tired, frustrated and just fed up. Whitehorse looked depressing and ugly, shitty latte too and a bunch of cop cars and cabs driving around at night. I guess all the drunk Canadians were taking taxis last night because getting a DUI is a felony in Canada. And if you have one you might not be able to enter the lovely country of Canada, in case you didn't know.....Now I am in a small village called Dease Lake off Highway 37, I am heading for Katwinga which is about a six hour drive away where I hope I will have phone service and might be able to shower. After that I will see how I feel and go for Prince George. I was lucky to be able to find a computer here in Dease Lake at the place where I had breakfast, Chhaya will get some bacon. I can't upload any pics cause my phone is not working. I HATE THIS DRIVE so far. My advice to anyone thinking about driving alone through Canada is - DON'T. It's BORING, it all looks the same.....endless forest, mountains and huge lakes, way too far of a drive, long distances between everything and the roads suck big time plus there are barely any signs telling you any valuable information about distances etc. The road from the border and into Canada was beyond terrible for a good stretch.....like WTF? Go ahead and do this drive if you have a driving partner, a comfortable RV or just like to suffer in general. YES, it is scenic, beautiful and majestic but after 500 miles of never ending forest, it's boring. At least for ME. I have seen enough trees and mountains now to last me for the next five years. Thank You Canada!
I can't wait until I am back in the USA again! Chhaya is bewildred by this whole ordeal and just as miserable as I am, imagine being stuck in a car for this long. The only highlight so far was that I caught a few minutes of the UN Assembly Meeting when I arrived here at the café, I watched Putin's speech on a muted television. I should be his travel companion, confidant and chess partner. Putin needs to call me already! I'm waiting......
I guess I should start driving again, the faster this torture is over with the better......

I am currently on the road in Alaska. Most likely I will be out of commission for a while starting tomorrow at some point since half of the time I don't have any cell phone signal in remote areas. So if you don't hear from me.....you know why. I am very tired but besides that OK, things are kind of chaotic at the moment but somehow everything will work itself out, I'm hoping. Chhaya is the best travel companion. I'm going to sleep now, looking forward to at least eight hours of good sleep. I'm a bit disappointed that I will miss out on the live coverage from the upcoming United Nations General Assembly on Monday that my Putin will be attending. I hope he will say something smart and useful. I will have to watch that after the fact. Time for bed now.