As I predicted, this month is flying by so quickly I am feeling more and more overwhelmed by the minute! It’s all leading up to extreme awesome fun, but, oh man, the to-do list is out of control right now! We’re leaving town on October 6th, driving down to LA, gettin’ hitched on the 10th, spending the next 2 days at Disneyland (wooo!), then driving all around the west side of the country on our way back to Portland (Pete doesn’t have to be back at work till the 21st!)…
A lot of the important stuff is taken care of… our buddy (and knit designer) Homero is cat-sitting and watching out for our house while we’re gone, so that rocks, and we just got a final tune-up on Pete’s getting-old Prius and upgraded his AAA membership, so we’re all set for lots of driving. We got every map we could possibly want/need for where we’re headed – we are traveling analog style, no iPhone or gps bologna for us! Nothing against those, of course they would surely make our trip much easier, but I have this weird love of analog map navigation, so I’m reeeeally looking forward to the road-tripping!
Getting to my point… So now is where I ask a favor of you, dear readers… We need recommendations! We’re heading to all these states, towns, and cities where we’ve never been and know nothing about! Our general trip (which might change as we’re on the road, since we’re keeping everything very loose and open to our whims):
- LA area to Flagstaff, Arizona
- Up around the Grand Canyon and through scenic Utah stuff to Salt Lake City
- A possible quick swing into Wyoming, just to add another state into the mix
- Up to Pocatello, Idaho, then over to Boise
- Possibly up to Spokane, Washington, and maybe a quick swing into Montana
- Around Washington and eastern Oregon with whatever time we have left, and maybe some southern-ish Oregon if there’s extra time
If you live in, have lived in, or have been to anywhere on that route, we would love love love to hear your recommendations for: vegetarian-friendly restaurants, thrift stores, and yarn stores – the main three – and also: bookstores, record shops, cool coffeeshops or bars, other stores worth checking out, sights to see, fun or weird places to take pictures, etc…
These engagement photos, by the way, were taken by the awesome photo team of Vivian+Alex, aka L’Oiseau Rose – Portlanders, they are open for business for these kinds of shoots as well as boudoir photos, ooh la la!
So, yeah, um… I’m working on tons of projects right now, wedding-related, club-related, and knitting pattern-related, so that’s fun… If you were thinking about signing up for a club subscription and liked this month’s ebook, be sure to grab that this week, as the October club gets released in a week and you’ll no longer be able to get September as part of the subscription (but you can still always get it alone, don’t worry). Just so you know.
And hey, guess what, October 1st is coming on up Friday, and you know what that means? Ocean Breezes will finally be released for sale to all! (I know there are some people who’ve been looking forward to that for awhile!)
Lee Does Stuff 
missoula, mt is my hometown. man, do i miss the food there! taco del sol is the hippy burrito place downtown, big dipper ice cream… unfortunately, a lot of the restaurants i favored have given way to others, but really a great food town.
the best (and secretish) thrift shop in town is in the basement of the senior citizen center, right near big dipper. i also like secret seconds, and the old stand bys of goodwill and salvation army are there too. you MUST check out the independent natural food store Good Food Store – great food and lovely, lovely place. started my christian hippies in the 70’s who thought all people deserved good food.
msla is also well known for its bakeries. lots! and yum! oh! and if you like books, i worked 7 years at the book exchange and it’s across from the goodwill. besides powells, i’ve never seen as good a bargain and used bookstore.
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thanks so much! that all sounds awesome, especially the thrifting! now we’re definitely going to try to swing over there!
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oh and the thrifting. all the small towns have the BEST thrift stores. there’s also a hotsprings if you head back down into idaho called jerry johnson. clothing optional, all natural fabulous.
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the LAist just posted a story about what they call the 7 best vegetarian restaurants in LA. they all look pretty rad, and the one i’ve been to (the veggie grill; there are locations throughout the OC/LA area) is great: http://laist.com/2010/09/24/editors_picks_the_7_best_vegetarian.php?gallery0Pic=7#gallery
oh, and in fountain valley (20 minutes from disneyland) is au lac, a veggie vietnamese place & basically my favorite veg restaurant ever: http://www.aulac.com/map.html — if you’re cool with meeting an internet stranger i would totally come have lunch or dinner with you guys there.
possibly the single weirdest thing to do in LA is the museum of jurassic technology; it’s sort of like a classier version of ripley’s believe it or not, except that some of the things in it are real and the whole thing has a serious intellectual mission: http://www.mjt.org/
LA is not long on good bookstores or record stores, unfortunately, but amoeba records is excellent. i’m pretty sure it’s bigger than the location in berkeley.
the yarn lady is one of the biggest yarn stores in the OC (possibly the biggest?); i actually live in the OC & not in LA so i’m not as familiar with the yarn stores up there: http://www.yarnlady.com/store/index.html — they recently changed their location; the address on their website is right, but if you type “yarn lady” into google maps it might send you to the wrong place.
let me know if you have questions, especially about orange county!
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I’m on the Westside of LA, but I grew up in Laramie, Wyoming and spent a year in Santa Fe before making my way out to the coast.I’m very fond of the two yarn stores closest to me, both in Santa Monica. Yarns Unlimited is this funky little hole-in-the-wall with a huge selection of novelty yarns, a lot of slightly odd colors, and a rotating staff of large men, sweet old ladies, and terrifying Russian women. Wildfiber is much more upscale – open and airy, with a friendly, knowledgeable staff. The thrift shops here aren’t really known for their amazing bargains, but Out of the Closet often has fun stuff (and they save some of the best for Halloween, especially in West Hollywood), as do the National League of Jewish Women’s stores. The Goodwill in Hollywood has some AWESOME dresses this time of year, too – I got a black velvet and blue tulle ballgown there a few years ago that I think Nancy Reagan might have worn to prom in 1985.If you go far enough east to wind up in New Mexico, Santa Fe is gorgeous, and shouldn’t be too full of tourists this time of year. The Georgia O’Keefe Museum is well worth a visit, and so is the Chuck Jones Gallery.Laramie’s also farther east than it sounds like you’re going, but if you do make it up there, check out Cowgirl Yarns and Jeni’s Originals for yarn, and Jeffrey’s for eats. Their menu is almost entirely vegetarian – and when they opened 20-some years ago, a lot of people thought that would never fly in Wyoming. The Whole Earth Grainery is just up the street – it’s been there since the 70s, and it’s a great source for bulk herbs, all kinds of noodles and really good cheese. I don’t have specific recommendations on the western side of the state, but Jackson Hole is beautiful (pictures really don’t capture the Tetons), and has enough influence from visiting celebrities that it shouldn’t be as difficult to find veg-friendly food as it can be in other parts of Wyoming.
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I don’t have any recommendations, but I just wanted to say that this post makes me happy–the pictures are great, and I’m so excited for your big adventure! It sounds like you’ve got house- and cat-sitting logistics under control, but definitely let us know if we can do anything to help!
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Hooray for roadtrips! And maps, and stopping for milkshakes and singing along and having weird debate-style arguments about silly things. (em. aren’t all road trips like that?)
I can give you restaurant recommendations for the Ballard area of Seattle. Salt Lake City is beautiful, but unless you order Guinness, you won’t get a “full-strength” beer. Also, you can go to the salt flats and wildlife reserves to see buffalo, coyotes…I even went to the desert to see the old transcontinental railroad grade, some ruins from an old cowboy party-town, and to shoot the bejeebus out of some rootbeer cans. This was the tour my brother gave us 🙂
Cheers!
Daisy
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Yay! Roadtrips! I’m a lifelong Utah native, so here are my recommendations:
-Bryce canyon national park. I’ve seen every park in Utah, and this is by far my favorite. Do a little hiking, because this place is just ridiculous. And it will be beautiful in October.
-Goblin Valley. You won’t need long here, but it’s really cool.
-Wild mushroom pizza in SLC (it’s at like 3000 South State Street-ish) They are cheap and make a fab veg pizza.
-The best non-chain thrift store I’ve found in Utah is Ye Olde Catholic Thrift Shoppe in Cedar City. They have weird hours, but are worth it.
-While you’re in Cedar, eat at Sulli’s Cafe – classic diner food with unintentionally vegetarian options.
-Utah and Idaho are littered with stores called Deseret Industries – these are massive thrift stores owned by the LDS church, much like Value Village or the Salvation Army. There are just a ton of them – one in every good-sized town.
-Don’t go to the salt flats. They are horrid.
-Blazing Needles in Salt Lake City is an awesome yarn shop, but I never let myself go there because they carry all the fancy expensive yarns. But that’s the best one we have, in my opinion.
-While you’re driving through Utah, turn your radio to 90.0 FM – this is KRCL, our community radio. And it kicks ass. (I think they’re doing a pledge drive October 6-7, so hopefully that won’t interfere with your trip.)
-Go to any coffee shop in SLC (my favorite is Nobrow, 315 E 300 S) to find a copy of City Weekly – this will have the info for you about restaurants and events. It’s a really great mag.
-If you go through Logan, UT on your way to Idaho, stop at Logan’s Heroes – they have amazing subs.
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I actually kind of enjoy driving across the salt flats at night, especially on a full moon. They’re fun for photo ops, too – or maybe I only think that because my dad’s got a bunch of pictures of me riding his mountain bike on them when I was 11 or 12.
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Thank you so much for all your input! We ended up going to Bryce Canyon (amazing!!), and we made it to Blazing Needles (great shop!).
Didn’t make it over to Cedar City (sad to miss out on that thrift shop) since we drove up highway 12 to get from Bryce to SLC. Also didn’t make it to a Deseret thrift shop in Utah, since we were doing some thrifting there on Sunday when they were closed, but we did score some awesome thrift finds at Savers in SLC! Utah thrift stores had the best sweaters of anywhere I’ve looked!
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If you are going up to Spokane, WA, you really should hop on over to Couer d’Alene, ID. It is a great little artsy town with a lake and beautiful downtown. You would do yourself a favor by going to the coffee shop “Java,” and ordering a “Bowl of Soul.” Trust me, it will change your life. In fact, you should just skip Spokane and spend some quality time in Couer d’Alene. Take pictures on the boardwalk, check out all the fab art/craft/thrift stores. (I can’t remember the names of any of them, but just ask around, the people are friendly!)
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there´s a really great yarn store in spokane called a grand yarn… i don´t remember what road its on but its on the south hill, which is the nicest part of spokane anyways. there´s also paradise fibers but thats a lot more like a warehouse.
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In Pocatello hit up Portneuf Valley Brewing for some good brews and a pizza. Also try the Deseret Industries, they’re like Goodwill but for Mormons. Also spend some time downtown there are some neat antique and vintage stores there.
In Spokane there are some great vintage stores near the convention center.
Try to make a trip to Coeur d’ Alene, it’s beautiful there! And only 30 minutes from Spokane. Just walk down Sherman and hit any of the shops there.
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Congrats on the upcoming nuptials and have fun on your honeymoon!
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In LA, check out The Museum of Jurassic Technology. Also, spend some time in Silverlake – it’s got a bunch of great vegetarian restaurants (I like Flore), and great shops like Secret Headquarters comic shop and The Giant Robot Store.
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Woo hoo, congrats on the upcoming wedding and roadtrip bonanza!
I was in SLC for a week this summer and ate at a delightful vegetarian place called Sage’s: http://www.sagescafe.com. I also had a good meal and one of the best cocktails I’ve ever tasted at the Copper Onion, and good beers at the Beerhive. Have an amazing time!
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We live in Lander, Wyoming & worked at Folklore Coffeehouse…awesome coffee (Raven’s Brew if you’ve ever heard of it). I can’t recall the names of the shops but there is a nice used bookstore, a bike rental place & some good restaurants that sell veggie foods. Sadly, the LYS closed right after i bought my first knitting supplies. Lander is pretty much the rock climbing capital of the US…Red Rock Canyon, Shoshone Nat’l Forest. Riverton, 30 min drive north has a movie theater, a health food store. And in Lander you can camp overnight in the park. Nice little town if you pass that way 🙂
Congrats & have a great trip
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(lived…we’re not there now)
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My ex was from Lander – I haven’t been there in years, though.
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Congratulations, I will send you a separate e-mail with some LA recommendations. 🙂
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Good lord, could you two be any cuter? Congratulations and Happy Travels!
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Belated thanks! (Man, have I been horrible with comments lately!)
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What fun! I’m envious of your road trip, it sounds like a blast. If you are going to Missoula and don’t mind heading east a bit further, Helena is 113.14 miles from there. Helena is home of The No Sweat Cafe, which to my mind is one of the best restaurants ever. I haven’t been there in many, many years (much to my utter sadness) but they still get fab reviews if you want to google them. (They are also on facebook.) When I was there (again, many years ago), there were a bunch of funky shops on the street to visit as well as a real old, super cheap hotel that was leftover from the gold mining days. Nothing posh, but definitely an experience. The street that The No Sweat Cafe is on is part of their historic district so I’m sure there are still neat things to do right in the neighborhood.
http://visitmt.com/categories/moreinfo.asp?IDRRecordID=7639&siteid=1
Have fun and be safe!
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Thanks for the ideas! We didn’t make it to Montana at all, but I’m hoping for a future trip out that way, so I’ll keep Helena in mind!
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If you are going through Boise and have a bit of time head to the city center. Park around the intersection of 8th St. and Main or Idaho Street. If it is a Saturday you’ve landed in the middle of the weekly market with lots of options for produce and fruit, arts and crafts and food. You can walk to Rediscovered Books (a new and used independent bookstore with a finger on the pulse of Boise) and the Record Exchange if you like independent music stores. For coffee, the Flying M at 5th and Idaho (big supporters of the arts), good and cheap eats at Guido’s Pizza (thin crust, by the slice – behind the Flying M), Pollo Rey for burritos and the great deli at the Boise Consumer Coop (a short drive away). The Coop is a good place to stock up on supplies for the drive through the High Desert. For fun – the Boise Art Museum and the Idaho Botanical Gardens, walk the Greenbelt, walk in the Foothills (start at Camelsback Park). There are a couple of good yarn shops in Boise but I suggest that you stop in Ontario, Oregon (you’ll need coffee by then) about 50 miles west and go to the White House. I’ve not been there but many friends rave about it. They also have dying supplies. Congratulations and have a wonderful trip.
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Thank you so much for all your ideas!! We loved Boise! We were there on a Monday, so no downtown market (sounds cool!)… We super loved Record Exchange and found some great things there! I got a used knitting stitch dictionary book at Rediscovered Books (though, I was bummed at their lack of a decent craft section) and had fun browsing there.
We ended up at a different coffee shop (I forgot to write down Flying M when we went downtown) – Dawson’s Downtown, I think – it was a nice place, cool recycled coffee bean bags framed on the walls. We had an awesome late night dinner downtown at Flatbread Pizza, delicious! And then the next day we ate at Boise Fry Company – so good!!
For yarn, couldn’t go to White House, since we took a different route and didn’t go through Ontario. Stopped at Knit Wits and Twisted Ewe, both nice shops. But my favorite was outside of Boise, in Nampa, called Puffy Mondaes – tons of spinning stuff and other kinds of craft stuff besides yarn, fabulous shop!!
Thanks again!
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Just stumbled onto your blog from threadbangers.
I moved to Boulder, Utah (way south in the state) in March and highly, highly recommend stopping in for a visit. Hwy 12 is probably the most gorgeous drive in the country and Hell’s Backbone Grill (where I cook) will serve up some delightful food (breakfast is more veggie friendly than dinner but we can do either).
Enjoy!
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If you do end up in the Bend area, drop me an email a day or two ahead and I’ll see what I can figure as far as food. Bend is pretty boring, although they like to THINK they’re hip and trendy. 😉 Every coffeeshop is the exact same as the one before sadly. As far as yarn, Juniper Fiberworks is nice as can be…Gossamer Knitting has beautiful stuff, but if you’re not hip and trendy they’re not that interested. (You’ll qualify… yer hip and trendy). Good luck have fun!
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We did end up staying in Bend our last night, but I didn’t see your comment until the morning we were leaving… We had some great pizza at Pizza Mondo for dinner, then we had the best breakfast we’ve ever had at Chow! Amazing!
We did make it to Gossamer – nice to look at, but I didn’t find anything to buy (maybe because it was our last day so I was super picky about purchases by that point).
Thanks so much for your input!! Much appreciated!
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