Where to Begin?

Where does one begin to describe spring break?  Do I sum up?  Do I start at the beginning?  Do I give a general itinerary and then detail highlights?  Do I start with where I am now (in the middle) and work backwards?  Do I arrange it by topic: "Traveling by Train," "Friends,"  "Sights--Manmade," and "Sights--The Glories of Nature"?  Do I drown my reader with a deluge of words or a barrage of pictures?  It is almost certain that, should I attempt a thorough, day by day explanation, it would take many blogs and many days.  That would increase the risk that the readers (all beloved five of you) would lose interest, and that I would grow distracted or bored with the project and leave it half finished.  I wish I could link you to Allie's blog, so that you could get her views and pictures, but hers is private and requires an invitation.  Everybody go facebook her and ask her for an invite.

Well, let's start at the very beginning, then.  It's a very good place to start.  Allie and I, ever partners in crime,  have been planning our spring break trip for months.  It was to unite several goals, whims, and wishes in one combination of awesomeness.  We would travel by train (something we've been curious about for years), I would get to see Olympia and hang out with her family (She's been to my place countless times, we've been living together for nearly 7 years, and I've never been to her house!), I would see San Francisco/visit friends there (That's been on the to-do list four nearly FIVE YEARS) and she would get to see it again (She hasn't been there since she was a wee little child), we would hang out in Portland and see the rain forest and visit friends and stuff, and we would take our longest trip together yet.  Our adventures together thus far have been limited to a few days; this would encompass more than week.

So the plan was formed.  We would take Friday off of work (the first day off I've taken this year, go me!), so that we could catch the California Zephyr from Salt Lake to Emeryville on Thursday night.  We would arrive in San Francisco on Friday afternoon after traveling by train for 17 hours.  We would stay with my friends in SF and gad about the city in high fashion until our departure Sunday night aboard the Coast Starlight (the cheesy train names are delightful, aren't they?).  After another 17 hours we would meet up with more friends in Portland on Monday afternoon.  There we would gad about the forest and gardens and bookstores until we left on Wednesday evening aboard some unremarkably named train.  That's about where we are now, although probably not where I'll be when I publish this, since I'm writing this on Angie's computer without access to my pictures, which would no doubt make this post more interesting.  So by the time I publish this blog post, I will probably no longer been in Portland.  Heck, it might not even be spring break anymore.  Anyway, this train will carry us for a measly 1 1/2 hours to Olympia, where the station is only a few blocks from Allie's house.  Then we'll spend the remaining four days hanging out in Allie's hometown with trips to Seattle and adventure.  Finally, on Sunday night, we'll fly home.  Monday morning reality will burst in on us in the form of alarm clocks, and normal life will resume. 

So, there you have it.  It only took a full page just to introduce our Great West Coast Extravaganza (the GWCE).  Describing it in detail shouldn't be hard, right?  Sheesh. 

Well.  This post will have to stand on its own without pictures.  Angie's home from work, and it's time for adventures to begin again.

Happy trails!