These are my recommendations:
Position 1: Jamie Collins @collins4deschutes
Position 3: Amy Sabbadini OR
Amanda Page (Research them both)
Position 4: Rick Russell @voterickrussell
Position 5: Morgan Schmidt ♥️♥️ @morganlovesoregon
Your vote is extremely important! 4 years ago Morgan Schmidt lost the County Commissioner seat by only 2000 votes. The person who won voted for county employees to stop receiving full family planning coverage insurance and for more resorts to be developed while we’re in a drought. Vote to make sure this doesn't happen again!
Since gas prices are so high on our path home through the US we've decided we're just going to stay down here in Baja permanently. The food is more affordable, camping options are ample, and we will figure out how to handle the oppressive heat coming this summer. We'll continue to live off tacos, my non-alcoholic tamarind drinks, and trying to find every local bird in the Merlin bird app. What more do you need?? 🤷🏻♀️🤷🏻♀️
¡Feliz Día de las Bromas!🙂😂
We’re out of food after 8 days, time to go shopping. Here’s our journey to the closest stores that sell vegetables, although we never found non-over ripe avocados or bell peppers, just a few of the things we wanted. Life on the road in Baja is always a journey.
My heart is full. Stress levels extremely low. Laughter & good conversation levels high. It’s been almost a year of no cancer meds just lifestyle choices. I’m beyond thankful for the choices I have available. I believe my body agrees. 🙏🙏❤️❤️🙏🙏
The last three weeks have been quite a joy! So much laughter, fun times, great food, and ongoing stoke about being back in Baja. We’ve been traveling with an evolving Oregon crew, camping on beaches, studying Spanish, watching birds, engaging with locals & all the interesting folks who flock to Baja, and visiting Guerrero Negro, Loreto, and La Ventana as we head south. Los Barriles is next, 8 weeks in Baja to go..
Please stop using ChatGBT! You’re supporting Trump & destroying the environment.
ChatGBT uses a ridiculous amount of water & electricity to run & cool its servers - and its parent company’s owners donate large $$ sums to campaign for MAGA Super PACs and individuals. Every single question and response, and every penny you pay for the services counts.
Baja’s spiritual side was gifted to us through Grey whales yesterday. 😍 We had a joyous morning with a friendly mom showing her 2-week old calve how to safely interact with boats, staying away from motors which will be helpful for their long migration north to Alaska later this year. Magical!
Goodbye Japan! We wrapped our trip in Asia & Japan with a quick stop in Tokyo. Haven’t spent time here in years, that was fun! Never a boring moment in this crazy town!
Hokkaido! ❄️❤️ Love the calm vibe, the light powder (and lots of it!!), delicious food, onsens, and tranquil temples.
It’s been a great snowy & windy adventure with the Bend & Chiba crews! ❤️ Definitely looking forward to returning to have more time here, this trip was quite the tease!! ❄️❤️
Some photos and videos for you all.
Japan. Turn the volume up and take a big breath out. Thankful for this beautiful country and opportunities to regulate our internal systems while our world is crazy. So happy to return here, as always. Nipon ni a-u-to genki ni naru. 🙏
🇹🇭Summarizing the Thailand questions you’ve asked while we’ve been here🇹🇭:
⭐️ First - Thailand is AMAZING, affordable, & safe including solo, women, and LGBTQ travelers! ⭐️
💰Average Costs: $40/night on 3 star hotels (mainly booking.com) AND $40/day for 2-3 healthy meals & lattes/matcha drinks.
🚶♂️Daily getting around: Walking is our preference but there’s the Grab app for taxis (across Chiang Mai & Chiang Rai is $3-6, across Bangkok $15). Tuk tuks are still around, and scooter & bike rentals are common too.
🚌 Moving locations: Easy!! There are flights, buses, trains, Grab taxis, and ferries for islands to get anywhere. Example: we get off a flight in a tiny airport and local buses await every flight to move ppl to the nearby island ferry docks.
🥾Things to do: Thailand has it all from spiritual, beaches, nightlife, shopping, cooking & massage classes, hiking & biking & camping, waterfalls & outdoors, etc. Look online & on Google Maps for what interests you, there’s a lot of info out there.
📅When to visit: Definitely check the weather for when you plan to visit - monsoon season is intense as is burning season in the north. It can be cold on the beaches early fall, etc..
💆🏻♀️Thai Massage: You’re fully dressed, they’re $9.50/hr and are amazing! Look on Google Maps and choose places with great reviews. Options start at 30 minutes and go up to 2 hours.
🚫Don’t: 1. Only go to the big names you’ve heard!! (Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Phuket, and Krabi). That’s like coming to the U.S. and only going to Manhattan, San Francisco and Waikiki. 2. Don’t wear tank tops & shorts to temples. Be respectful and cover your shoulders & knees. 3. Never pass money with your left (bathroom) hand, only pass cash with your right. A little forward bow is nice too.
🗣️Language: In bigger cities there’s more English, but we’ve been able to communicate at every hotel. Google Translate is great for restaurants with no English and for shopping. You should learn basic Thai like hello, thank you, how much, etc.. as it’s super helpful!
Continued in first comment below..
I was 23, my 3rd ever day in all of Asia when I visited Wat Phra That Doi Suthep in August of 1998. Today, visiting for the 3rd time was surprisingly emotional. Doi Suthep was my first Buddhist temple experience and I remember how completely unfamiliar everything was, while being enthralled at the same time. It was the start of my education of Buddhism and my love of visiting Buddhist temples all across Asia. Since then I’ve spent years in Asian Buddhist environments and am beyond grateful for everything I’ve experienced and learned since that day. I thank my younger self for getting here on a 5-day trip to Thailand just to figure out if I can travel safely in Asia, mainly India, as a solo woman. Thankfully the answer was yes!! 🙏♥️
