JD's Blog

Seattle

I went to visit my friend Sarah Huxhold in Seattle. While I was there, I had a great time driving around the Olympic Peninsula, visiting the parks and the troll under the bridge, and even going downtown to see Pike’s Peak market.

The very best parts about Seattle (in my opinion) are the fresh salmon and the fresh berries. I absolutely love blueberries and raspberries, and grilled salmon right out of the water is amazing.

Of course everyone was smoking pot in the streets, because it’s legal now in Washington. I didn’t mind so much. It smells better than cigarettes when you’re walking by.

For me though, it’s the crafts, the art, and the food that really makes me love Seattle. Well, that and my friends who live there! It really is a wonderful place.

Olympic Peninsula

The hiking all around Seattle is amazing, and I could never narrow it down to one spot and say “go there.” But the Olympic Peninsula is a deciduous rain forest that everyone should have an adventure in.

We hiked around on the coast, because I like to be near an ocean when I can. The tide pools were gorgeous, and full of bright green anemones and pink and orange star fish.

As it happens, we went to a beach that is famous. Little did I know, the place known as First Beach is in a book series called Twilight. So while we were looking at the impressive things in nature, we also got to see a lot of vampire groupies.

If you get the chance to go to Washington State, you should definitely hike through the Olympic Peninsula and visit the coast. It’s worth the drive.

Rocky Point, Mexico

This (above) is me in front of a fantastic taco shop in Rocky Point, Mexico. When I lived in Phoenix I used to enjoy going down to Rocky Point. It’s about a three hour drive, and it’s a peaceful fishing village where you can enjoy the ocean and get away from the heat.

Now I will admit that the desert on the drive out is kind of boring. You see saguaro up until the boarder, but once you cross into Mexico there isn’t much to see until you get to the ocean.

There are plenty of nice hotels to stay in. When I was younger, I always stayed at Playa Bonita, but now several nice hotels have popped up and line the beach.

Rocky Point (or Puetro Penasco, as the locals say) thought they were going to be a popular tourist destination.

Unfortunately, stricter boarder ID laws and bad press did a lot to curb the flow of tourists.

Still, perhaps it’s nice to know that it’s still a quiet fishing village and it’s a peaceful place for a quiet get away.

Sedona, Arizona

I was talking to a friend about places to go in Arizona to get out of town. She lives in Phoenix and sometimes she gets tired of being in the city. I was thinking about some of my favorite places when I lived there.

When I think of my favorite places, Sedona always comes up. There is a little place inside a box canyon called Enchantment Resort, and I have stayed there several times.

It’s a tucked away outside of town in a box canyon, and it’s just such a peaceful, stunning place to take a vacation.

It doesn’t matter what time of year you go. I think Fall is best because the hiking trails behind the resort have some trees that change color.

However, it’s a wonderful place to go any time.

Sedona has a wonderful arts scene, and there are lots of galleries to enjoy. There are pink jeep tours, and nature trails all over the place.

Plus, I think the red rocks are some of the most stunning scenery I have ever seen, of all the places I have been on Earth.

Of course, not having a DSLR, my humble cell phone pictures can’t begin to convey how beautiful it really is. Even with a real camera, it’s not the same as seeing it in person.

All I am saying is, if you are in Phoenix and need a break, it’s an amazing place to take one.

Love & the Desert y J.D. DeLemont

Not long ago, I wrote about my first book, “The Vampire’s Sister.” That was a Choose Your Own Adventure for the app Multi-Path Audio Books and it was a lot of fun.

This time I am trying a romance. The Book is called “Love & the Desert” by J.D. DeLemont, and it’s a fun book set in Phoenix, with all my favorite folks making a guest appearance, including the bands Element a440 and Hardwire, and The Poison Pen Bookstore.

I wrote a guest post with more information on a friend’s blog. But the main point is, please check it out on amazon.com and help me promote!

A Year in Oregon

As you know (if you read my blog) I was in South Korea from January of 2010 to March of 2013. I had a great time teaching there.

After that, I moved to Oregon to visit family from 2014 to 2015. These are some pictures from my year in Oregon, before I moved to Guam.

The art galleries at Cannon Beach are amazing. I love art, and although I don’t buy pieces very much, I enjoy just looking at it. It’s like getting an insight into the mind of another person for a moment.

For example, this person saw a canvas and thought it would be three dimensional, so they added sand and rocks to the painting.

I think it’s interesting that many people look at the same thing, and they can all see something different.

In this case, I actually did buy a piece. I really enjoy metal sculptures. I saw this, and I couldn’t help getting it.

Of course the best part of Cannon Beach is going over to Seaside and listening to the waves.

Sea grass always looks so amazing to me. I am not sure why.

I guess because my dad’s parents had a painting of the Oregon Coast on the wall in their living room, and I always liked to look at it and imagine myself there.

I love painting that you feel like you can walk into. And it’s amazing to go to the place where the painting was done, and walk into it in real life.

Plus, there’s something about a cold beach that is so refreshing.

I liked to bring an old Navajo blanket and sit on it, watching the kids play in the water and splash around.

Plus, the Oregon coast has so many cool rock formations to enjoy.

I love the west coast. I know that the east coast has more history (well, white history) than we do.

However, Oregon has a lot more too it than just the beaches at the coast!

I went to a pumpkin patch in the Fall, which was something I really missed when I was in South Korea.

Pumpkin patches and hay rides are such an American thing, as is Thanksgiving and turkey.

And of course, we have Christmas traditions too, because we spend it with family instead of as a “date night” like they do in Korea.

And then, of course, there is spring.

I went to a tulip festival at the Wooden Shoe Farm, which was a new experience for me.

It was really beautiful, and I had the “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” song stuck in my head the whole day.

Then there was berry picking out at the farms on Sauvie Island.

Koreans don’t consider raspberries to be food because there is a poisonous berry in Korea that looks very similar. I really missed them while I was away!

Plus, it’s just nice to be out in farm country. I like the outdoors, and farms are somehow comforting to me.

When I was very young, my parents and I lived in Northern California on a small farm. We moved to Arizona before I started Middle School and Arizona is “home.”

But, I do love farms. It reminds me of a childhood spent dragging bails of hay to the horses before school and learning to mow the pasture and the yard.

The hiking is wonderful as well. I went everywhere I could, from Babgy Hot Springs to Silver Falls, and everything in between.

Actually, there were waterfalls all over Oregon that are quite stunning.

Sometimes I wasn’t even looking for one, and just came upon one.

Other times I went out of my way to see them, like my trips to Multnomah Falls, which is a beautiful spot.

I think the hikes in the Columbia River Gorge, like the hike to Punchbowl Falls, were my favorites in all of Oregon.

On some of the trails, I was surprised to find rocks stacked up in the same way that you find them outside Buddhist temples.

I am always surprised by the beauty of nature, and I find that it is healing to the soul.

But of course, I am a city girl in my heart. I love to visit nature, but I also love to be able to go buy eggs at 2am. It sounds weird, but that’s how I am.

And as far as cities, Portland is a great one.

I loved the International Rose Test Garden, the Shakespeare Garden, and the Japanese Gardens.

I did get rained on a lot. It’s absolutely true that it rains all the time in Portland. However, that really doesn’t keep it from being beautiful.

Besides, when it’s usually rainy, we enjoy the sunshine that much more. It’s special.

Of course, Portland isn’t all gardens. It’s also a big city full of clubs, bars, restaurants, businesses, and everything else.

I think the most famous place in Portland might be Voodoo Donuts. Locals will tell you that Blue Star Donuts is better, and maybe it is.

But for me, I like a Bacon Maple Bar from Voodoo donuts on the rare occasion that I want sugar.

Definitely try out The Tardis Room, and eat all the food. Food is the best part of travel, after all!

And if you’re ever in Oregon, send me an email and I will suggest places to see.

jenifer.delemont@gmail.com

A Book!

Some of you may remember Choose Your Own Adventure Stories from when you were younger. They were quite popular when I was little, and I loved them because they helped me to feel more engaged in the story.

Well, now Dave Strand (of the band the Strand) has written an Audio Book App for iPhones and iPads which will allow you to relive the awesome media of Choose Your Own Adventure. Instead of having to read the story (who has time for that any more?) the books are all audio, so that you can enjoy them in your car or while you work on other things. After all, it’s so rare these days to be able to sit down and just read a book, but how much time to you spend biking or riding to work?

So the App Dave wrote is called Multi-Path Audio Books, and you should definitely download it! I thought it was such a great idea that I volunteered to write a story for it. I must admit, with a background in journalism, fiction did not come easily to me. And of course, it’s not so easy to write a story with one beginning and 30 different endings.

To write the story, I actually had to use my entire laundry room as a story board, because while most people can use a simple diagram to keep track of the story lines, I needed to print every single section and tape it to my walls, so that I could read each thread of the story over again before writing the next part.

It was certainly an adventure!

I really enjoyed writing the story once I decided to set it in Portland and use my family members and friends as characters. I do hope they will forgive me, but I think it’s an expression of how much I miss the place and the people since my husband was deployed to Guam. There really is no place like Portland, and no one as cool as my family (again, sorry guys!)

So, the story is called The Vampire’s Sister. It is a goofy detective novel full of vampires who do not sparkle in the sunlight. I hope that you guys will consider downloading it when it comes out mid-March 2015. I’m really very excited about it, and I think that even though it is cheesy, you’ll have fun playing it.

I’d like to thank every D&D group I ever played with, because without you guys I know I would never have had the guts to try my hand at fiction or Choose Your Own Adventure.

I have never considered myself to be a creative person. As a journalist I wrote about wonderful artists, musicians, dancers, etc. As an events coordinator with Third Eye Promotions I booked amazing bands and DJs. But I always considered myself the one to write about the creative types, rather than to be one myself. But I guess people change…

Please take a look into Multi-Path Audio Books and check out The Vampire’s Sister if you can. I really, really hope you guys will like it.

Thank you!

A Good Cause

My friend Sidra Omer and her family run a school for poor children in Pakistan called Bostaan ‘ilm.

Now, some of you may know that I work in South Korea teaching English. Korea is a rich country with no Taliban to worry about. It’s not a brave thing that I am doing- teaching here.

Sirda, on the other hand, is the bravest person I know. I am honoured to be her friend and honoured to tell you about her school. It’s a wonderful opportunity for poor children in Pakistan to get an education.

Remember, in Pakistan there are places where women are harassed for getting an education. And yet, Sidra’s school teaches girls! It’s a wonderful cause, and you can donate here if you want to help. I urge you all to consider helping Sidra to make Pakistan a better place!

So excited!

A band worth checking out!

My friend Sarah is travelling across the country with her music partner Yusif and playing shows all along the way. They have a blog of it, which you can follow here.

I am so excited for her, but I am also so jealous! I have always wanted to travel across the country. How exciting it must be!

My Friend David

So I have a friend and his name is David Matteson. He works with a group called Synthetic Human Productions, and they make short films. He’s really good, and I can’t believe I never wrote about him before. You should check out all of Synthetic Human Production’s videos, but for now, I find this relevant:

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