memorial day weekend 2018: west coast volkswagen road trip, round two.

i plum forgot i had a bunch of fun photos from our road trip over memorial day weekend!

this is our 5th annual road trip that we've taken over memorial day weekend, and the 4th one in our volkswagen bus! we've been really trying to make it out to glacier national park in montana, but the end of may still has some funky weather and snow there.

so this time we just went down the coast like we've done once before. we didn't have any stops or camp spots planned out ahead of time, which always ends up being the best experience, in my opinion. just pull over when you see somethin' you like.

that's myyy motto. 

and iiiiii like ice cream. 

this tillamook mudslide extravaganza really set the tone for me on this trip haha. 

i. was. so. happy. 

& i daydream of this very ice cream cone often. 

pelican brewing in pacific city. 

we loved it! you can stick your toes in the sand and have a brew while you wait for your table. and its right on the beach. 

we were reeeeeally digging the oregon coast this time. glad we spent most of this day pit stopping all along the coast. 

it's sooo freaking expansive. just beach for miles. so cool. 

we turned off onto a random campground we noticed on the ocean side of the highway, and they had 2 sites left. yahoooo. sold! to us. 

it was tillicum beach campground and it was perfecto. right above the beach. 

lovely morning coffee beach walk and then we pressed on south.

never pass up an opportunity to take a photo of the chedd in front of anything cute. 

almost entering caaaaaaalifornia.  this looks very hawaii to me!

perdy beach flowers and almost to our final destination of arcata, california to visit brother phil. 

^ the bread section at the food co-op made me chuckle. baker sick. no bread for you.

after spending some time with phil in arcata and eureka, we camped near boonville so that we could hit up anderson valley brewing the next day before our journey home. 

doesn't the cheddar bus look so cutes in the morning forest light? :) this photo was featured on real simple magazine's instagram, too. 

northern california is preeeeeeetttyyyyyyyyyyy. such beautiful landscapes. 

we made it to anderson valley brewing for our last stop before our long journey back to seattle. we love it there so much and wish we could have sat out on their back patio all day!

it was hotttttttttttttt on our drive north on I-5. we were losin it. the bus had no problems, but it was getting hot hot hot with a hot breeze on top. we eventually stopped in ashland, oregon late that night for food. i liked ashland a lot from what i saw! seemed real charming to me even in the dark lol. they love their shakespeare, that's for sure. 

i really loved these five free days with no agenda, tootin' down the highway in the chedd, our cassette tapes blasting, exploring that west coast best coast!

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previous memorial day weekend roadtrips:

(apparently the first one that we took in my car was labor day weekend, but i haven't seen these pics in soo long and they're cute...way back from my photo dump blogging days with no writing whatsoever, lol. & crater lake is incredible!)

2012  //  2014: Part 1, Part 2 //  2015  //  2016  //  2017

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cucumber, peach & prosciutto summer salad.

it's the cantaloupe + prosciutto combo for people who don't actually really like cantaloupe.

hey, we want that delightful juicy summer fruit + thin, salty, chewy meat flavor profile, too!!

enter the yellow peach. plus thin lightly marinated cucumber ribbons and a bunch of other tasty morsels atop.

this little summer salad is so so freshhhh, crisp, juicy and so flavorful.

sometimes when it's hot out you just want something cold and crunchy and easyyyyyy. but you demand flavor as well!

this comes together in under 15 minutes and satisfies all of those thangs!

my personal food critic peter really really enjoyed it too. this is key.

you quickly marinate your cucumber ribbons in a bit of white vinegar, pinches of salt, pepper & red chili flakes. while that's chilling in the fridge, slice and blanch your red onions. slice the peach and gather the rest of the ingredients. 

build the salad with the cold cucumbers, peach slices, prosciutto, red onion, cherry tomatoes, feta crumbles and torn fresh mint!

sorry bout it, cantaloupe. peach + prosciutto just does it betta. 

Cucumber, Peach & Prosciutto Summer Salad

Serves 2

Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 large cucumber, mandoline sliced into very thin ribbons

• 1/4 cup white vinegar

• pinch of salt, pepper & crushed red chili flakes

• 1 yellow peach, sliced

• 1/3 cup red onion slices, blanched

• 4-6 slices prosciutto

• handful of cherry tomatoes

• 1/4 cup feta cheese crumbles

• fresh mint, torn

Instructions-

Slice the cucumber long-ways into very thin ribbons. I recommend using a mandoline to make them consistent and very thin (be careful not to cut your fingers!!). Place the ribbons in a bowl and add the white vinegar with a pinch of salt, black pepper and red chili flakes. Toss and refrigerate while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Heat several cups of hot water to boil. Slice the red onion and add to a strainer and set in the sink. Pour the boiling water over the onions to blanch. Rinse with cold water and drain. 

Slice the peach and tomatoes.

Remove chilled and lightly marinated cucumber ribbons from the fridge and begin assembling the salad using the cucumbers as the base. Add sliced peaches, torn prosciutto, blanched red onion slices, cherry tomatoes, feta crumbles and fresh mint. 

Enjoy!

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