The West Coast Road Trip

I am now officially checked in to my hotel room in Palm Desert, CA, where I will be spending the next week while I attend a Summer Institute for Medical Students at the Betty Ford Center in nearby Rancho Mirage. I will be spending the week with family members whose loved ones suffer substance abuse and are trying to recover. I am very interested in learning more about mental health and substance abuse issues, as these issues are much more prevalent in our society and in medicine than we give them credit. And after two years of medical school and my MPH, I still don't feel like I have enough skills to help patients in this regard. It's going to be an intense week --- we cannot have cell phones, palm pilots, computers, or cameras on campus (That itself is not difficult ...). We leave the hotel by 7:00 a.m. every morning and return between 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. every evening. And we have been asked to refrain from any sort of "mood-altering" beverage throughout the week --- no caffeine during the day and no alcohol with dinner at night. I am excited to see what the week holds ... but first, I thought I would post some pictures from my road trip this past week-and-a-half ...


I spent yesterday lost in the HOT desert and Joshua Tree National Park taking in the ... joshua trees (!) ... as well as the cacti, mountains, and an occasional fox. I prefer Death Valley to Joshua Tree, but it was still very beautiful.


My great-aunt Ferrol is one of the neatest ladies I have ever met ... she's very independent, a world traveler, and can tell a great story!




My cousins Jay and Scott's kids are too cute ...

Pushing a 92-year-old great aunt and keeping an eye on 2- and 4-year-old kids makes for an interesting day at the fair! After the Beach Boys, I returned the next day with my family to the petting zoo, quilt displays, and funnel cakes. Besides the bad sunburn and rugburn from going down the slide with my cousin's kids, I didn't fare too badly!


Who knew that I was such a Beach Boys fan? I certainly didn't, but when I visited the Ventura County Fair with my cousin Sheryl and her husband Richard, I was happy to hear several songs that I knew ... and I suppose that it didn't hurt that John Stamos (of Full House and ER fame) was the band's temporary DRUMMER. He most certainly was not a celebrity playing a rock star ... he had a great deal of talent and stage presence. Thanks for bringing the binoculars, Sheryl!

My new favorite fast food place? Anyone that has started a conversation with me about fast food knows my absolute passion for In'N'Out animal style burgers, but I may have found a place to give it a run for its money ... Rachel and Tony tipped me off to Burgerville, a northwest fast food chain that serves local beef and produce. After Mt. St. Helen's, I stopped to enjoy a fantastic blackberry shake and a Walla Walla onion cheesburger with fresh grilled onions from SE WA. You can ask for a fruit shake of your choice, but if the berries are not in season, you're out of luck! All the trans fat free canola oil used to fry my french fries is recycled for biodiesel. And the real kicker? They offer HEALTHCARE coverage to all their employees. Wow.



Last Monday, I drove eastward from Portland along the Columbia River and took in some amazing waterfalls, principally Multnomah Falls, the second-tallest, continuous waterfall in the country. I thought I was in shape, but after hiking to the top of it, realized that I clearly wasn't! I also approached Mt. St. Helen's via a long drive through a national forest and was thrilled that it was a clear day --- the clouds broke several times so that I could see the old volcano steaming away.



Portland is known as the "City of Roses," and I was not disappointed. After spending three days in Corvallis visiting Rachel and Tony, I pulled in to Portland in time to catch some of the weekly weekend arts fair underneath the Burnside Bridge, tour the Japanese Garden (voted as the most authentic outside of Japan), and catch a free summer concert at the International Rose Test Garden that overlooks the city --- gorgeous! The city has most certainly risen to the top of my 'where I want to live for residency' list ...


A man walking along the beach on the Oregon coast saw me sneaking up on these seagulls in order to get a good shot. After I finished, he wanted to know how much I paid them to stand in a row!


Little Helen, my friends Rachel and Tony's daughter, is perhaps one of the most adorable babies I have ever seen! I took waaaaaaay too many photos of her, but it was in honor of her 4-month birthday!