Road tripping

I just got back from a four-day road trip down to Southern and Central Oregon with Tim. Even though it's only a few hours away, I hadn't been to Crater Lake or Bend since I was a a kid. Our trip wasn't as glamorous as my trip to Cabo or Napa Valley, but it was AWESOME.

Our first stop was Crater Lake in Southern Oregon. In case you've never heard of it, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the U.S. and the 9th deepest lake in the world. Because the water is so deep (and clean) it's the most jaw-dropping deep blue you could imagine. While we were gaping at the view, Tim and I met a lovely couple who was visiting from New Mexico. They snapped this picture for us.

Tim and I did a hike from the rim of the crater down to the water. It looks like an innocent, 2-mile hike, but the steep drop in elevation makes for a beast of a walk back up. (In case you were worried, I'm wearing SPF 50 in this picture.)

After Crater Lake, we drove up to Bend, which is a growing town in Central Oregon. About 15 miles south of Bend, we found these incredible lava caves. Apparently, tubes of lava from nearby volcanoes carved out tunnels in the rock. Now, you can rent a lantern and hike about a mile deep into the lava caves. Needless to say, it was pretty freakin' cool. I'm also quite proud of myself for overcoming my claustrophobia and not totally freaking out about being 30-minutes deep into a cave full of bats and goodness knows what else.

In the decade since I've visited Bend, several trendy microbreweries have also sprouted up. We visited a few of them, including 10 Barrel and Crux Fermentation Project. Rumor has it they're opening a 10 Barrel taproom in my neighborhood soon. I must admit, I'm not a huge fan of their flagship beer--the Apocalypse IPA--but the food was great and I can never say no to a taster tray.

As you can see, it was a pretty action-packed weekend. Not to sound like too much of a cheeseball, but I feel pretty lucky to live within driving distance of mountains and lakes and rivers and waterfalls and so many other beautiful natural resources. If you've never visited the Pacific Northwest, I highly suggest you book a trip.

Just for the record, I don't hate the sun

Too bad every morning doesn't look like this! Image: David Yu/Flickr.

The sun and I have a long, drawn out, off again/on again, love/hate type of relationship. Here's why: In 2010, when I was diagnosed with an early-stage melanoma, I realized that after years of sunbathing, I'd never be able to lie out in the sun again without worrying.

Luckily for my skin, my hometown of Portland, Oregon is notorious for being covered in dark, grey clouds from October to June. So imagine my surprise when I left for work Wednesday morning and discovered a bright blue, luminous sky. Seriously. It was breathtaking. My theory is that the election finally ended and the clouds parted (just kidding, kind of). I'm not sure what caused the break in the clouds, but I loved it. The combination of the bright sky and the crisp fall air.

Throughout the day, the sunshine had a lasting impact on my mood. After I got to work, I was indoors until it got dark out, but I occasionally stole a glimpse or two from the window and the sun was still there.

It's no secret that energy from the sun sustains life on our planet. But it amazes me how much of an impact it can have on our moods. Just for the record: I don't hate the sun. I just recognize that, like almost anything, too much of a good thing is, for lack of a better word, bad. As long as we don't take sunbathing to excess, I like to think melanoma survivors can live a relatively normal life, which includes smiling when the sun comes out and playing outdoors.

Happy almost Friday! Have a great weekend.