I am pondering how to cover the last bit of our trip. We packed an amazing number of things into 2 weeks. Which was made feasible because of so many kind friends. We were a little nervous because we hated the idea of tampering with peoples schedules or adding a hassle to their life and the truth is we are just not the neatest most organized travelers. Fortunately most of our friends know that and just tell us to close our door. Even more so I pondered about how much to post on an open site about all these great folks. Hate waiting for that picture permission but hate even more not to ask. Regardless from our side all went incredibly smoothly except I felt guilty about being so spoiled by all our hosts.
The flight from Port Hardie to Vancouver was much shorter than the drive from Vancouver to Abbotsford. Lots of intense interstate sphaghetti masterfully navigated by sheryl. Good to be with pickleball and Baja friends, Brian and Sheryl who quickly got us on to the courts. Have loved learning how Canadians deal with the long winters…. Lots of indoor activities! I remember being so cold on skate ponds in Mass but plenty of indoor scating rinks here…. And all other sports. I want to come back to curl and ice fish.
We got to see the birthplace of Sasquatch at Harrison Hot springs . A beautiful lake for sure but with sense of small community and homieness. I am so happy we moved to California but there is something really special about meeting someone who grew up in the area.
After gaining a couple of pounds in Abbotsford (despite pickleball and hiking) , we moved to downtown Vancouver. More kind friends (Landon and Donald) who not only gave us a place to stay but took us on an unforgettable tour of Vancouver. We always look for the “art scene “ in big cities which is not always easy to do, but we even got to go behind the the art scene. For me, truly the best possible way to tour the city…. Through the eyes of its art. (And a little daydreaming for me of what it might be like to be an art student).
Loved learning of bicycle travels through city with Francie… though we opted for her compact car zipping around the city we want to come back for bicycling. We were there on Truth and Reconciliation Day. (Google for more info). It was good to have lot of open discussion about the history, the treaties (or lack thereof), and simply acknowledging the sadness of what happened to the First Nations people.
Vancouver is a great city, definitely a place we could live. At least in the summer! One of the things I loved about Victoria is that it was so close to its natural surroundings. Mountains towered over us, the ocean surrounded us, and gardens filled in the rest.
Our departure from Vancouver was very slick… friends dropped us off at bus station, then onto bus which drove right on to the ferry 20 minutes away, then the bus drove off the ferry and to within 200 yards of our hotel. Mass transit at its best!
The last time we were in Victoria we stayed at the Empress splurged on tea (which now costs 90 per person) and got upgraded to the presidential suite. Hope Maris has fond memories. Hard to ever beat that but our room was very nice (Chateau Victoria). We had dinner at our friends’ home…. Such a warm and wonderful dinner with their family.
From Victoria it was back to the USA where friends picked us up at the ferry terminal in Port Angeles and drove us another 2 hours out to a beautiful spot on the Washington coast. (Sekui). So very lucky we were to get a combo of foggy, chilly drizzly weather mixed with brilliant sunny blue weather. A perfect place to relax, gain more weight and take a walk on the beach. Once again, nice to hear about Jay and Vicky growing up here in this area. Seems like we have met so many with generations of family living in the same place.
Another theme of trip has been remodels…. Seems everyone had just finished or was in the midst of a major remodel. Jay and Vicky’s wins the prize for biggest remodel and greatest calmness in the face of it. Maybe that’s because they are headed to LB. Or maybe it’s because Vicky can already envision baking Christmas cookies with the Grandkids in the kitchen.
Another drop off, this time in an abandoned JC Penney parking lot. A few hours on a fairly comfy bus with free drinks and snacks that once again drove onto a ferry then onto the airport to drop us off. Clever us grabbed that hotel shuttle that dropped us off our Marriot about a half hour before friends picked us up for dinner. David, Brant and I (as well as assorted other characters) were housemates back in about 1984. In Memphis we shared a home… along with Huey, our cat. So great to be together with David and Karen (remembered by Maris as the woman who saved her from a goose attack on the American river). And so interesting to talk about kids and college and our lives.
Seriously do not book early flights. Waking at 3 am is not good for you (we know this from many years of call). But we did it, and arrived in Sacramento early enough to attend a celebration of life. (Thanks once again for friends who drive to airports). So special to be included in this remembrance of this woman. We enjoyed our time with Sally who allowed us to stay in her home in Placerville (amongst her beautiful paintings and intricate baskets) it was held at our former home… the perfect spot for a big party. So happy to see it being loved and used and enjoyed. Sad to see some things changed but that is all okay …. And they certainly had some great bands playing on those decks. And my bee hive was still buzzing.
Coming back to Shingle Springs is always a mix of happy and sad. These friends are truly a part of our family. It is also like we stepped out of a movie that kept running and then we suddenly step back in for a bit. In the meantime we started our own spinoff miniseries in Los Barriles. We packed in book club (the wine/gourmet club), dinners with friends and of course pickleball. It is wonderful we can tease, laugh, even argue with each other… but we always finish by talking about what’s next? New years? Whale watching? Pickleball workshops? Mainland exploration?
We have met and reunited with so many people on this trip. It’s the beautiful scenery that imprints on my brain, but it’s the long conversations over coffee, or the adult beverages around the fire pit… and many other special spots that made it feel full of warmth and love. We have terrific friends in LB who So often they talk about their other home and now so much easier to visualize.
This is the patio Brant and I put down at our old house… piece by piece. On our anniversary we went to the rock store and found these pieces of seagull shaped pieces of rock to put amongst the others. (Hard to explain to those rock guys what we were doing). We put these 2 big seagulls into the patio plus a little one for Maris. Ok so they do look a little like butterflies…. But it’s a good memory!
Taking a chance and publishing without checking with anyone. Haha not many folks read my blog and I usually take pics of people’s backs so I think it should all be good.
Now back to LB…. And time for that hurricane report!
Life's Been Good To Us So Far! 