October 1st - Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik bills itself as the Pearl of the Adriatic - and it is. The Old City is a compact walled-in area not too far from the port, and it lends itself well to a do it yourself tour - which is what we did.

The most popular activity in Dubrovnik is to walk the city walls - I believe it's about a mile and a half around and it certainly offers a wonderful view of the town and the ocean.....but it was a hot day and I'm a bit nervous about heights, so we opted to remain at ground level. Even so, I can't imagine a better day. There were several cruise ships in port and the place was crowded - so at the first opportunity we "took the road less traveled by". And just as Frost promised - it made all the difference.

Dubrovnik

Amalfi Coast and Pompeii

I went looking through my trip reports and discovered that I didn't take notes on this trip. That was shocking because the Amalfi Coast was incredibly beautiful and the excursion was worth every cent I paid.....and Pompeii is an incredible way to go back in time.
Although I'm sure it would have been even better in a car rather than a bus, I'm not certain I would be up to the intense driving involved - there were times that we had less than a foot of clearance - yikes.

A perfect day in a perfect place....

The Amalfi Coast and Pompeii

Rome

What can I say? I remembered loving Rome the first time I visited the city, and at the same time being overwhelmed by the place - by the juxtaposition of ancient and modern, by the effortless style of the Italians, and by the language which is so beautiful in cadence that it actually hurts me that I don't understand most of what is going on around me.

This time, I was a bit better prepared for all that is Roma. It was my job to get us from the port of Civitavecchia to the Forum where we had a tour booked (one that I'd researched) and then manage to accommodate both of our wishlists while still getting back to the ship at a reasonable time.

Not the easiest of tasks for the directionally challenged Em - but it worked out just perfectly with a minimum of stress. We made the train I was hoping we'd make, which gave us plenty of time to meet our tour guide who was actually running a bit late.

I now believe that I could take a dozen tours of Ancient Rome without becoming bored as each one tends to focus on a different aspect of the whole. I had many details pointed out to me this time that were passed over before - and by the same token, the place where Julius Caesar was assassinated and cremated was glossed over by this guide while it was the focal point of my last tour.

Which just goes to show that there are many different ways of understanding Rome. And for now, I think there is no such thing as a wrong way. Our tour was only 4 people - the guide was marvelous, and it was well worth the expense. The history of the Roman Empire is fascinating - I think our own government would do well to learn a bit from it.

Then it was off to complete my wish list by finding the Spanish Steps......on the way we visited Piazza Navonna, the Pantheon (on Judy's list), the Trevi Fountain, and a few other places whose names escape me. We'd gotten on well with our fellow tourists - a mother and daughter from Sydney, Australia and ended up having lunch with them in one or another of the squares....the food and the company were excellent.

We easily found the Metro - and from there the train back to the ship - everything moved quite smoothly - and thus ended an almost perfect day (it would have been perfect had Judy''s missing suitcase arrived.)

I'm typing this as I prepare for dinner. I fully expected to be able to post from Rome - I took my netbook with me on our trip - but there just wasn't time - too much to see and do, I'm afraid. Rome is, I think, the only place in the world that i have now visited on three separate occasions and still crave more.

I absolutely adore Italy - the language, the people, the history - it is intense and relaxing at the same time. Generallly I see a place once or perhaps twice and am satisfied, but I am leaving Rome wanting more.......and feeling comfortable enough that I might attempt it on my own (of course, any of you are welcome to join me). I cannot explain exactly what the magic is, but it is as real to me as the wet hair that I need to take care of before dinner - so please excuse me.

Rome (in a day)

We interrupt this trip report for WINE.......

Because how could I pass up the opportunity to attend the "World Tour of Wine" at my local shop today? And how could I not get my passport stamped at all five tables which got me a free event T-shirt along with a free wine carry bag.

What's that you ask? 

No, the wine wasn't free....but it convinced me to bring it home.  I'd already been to the Friday tasting with Stephanie and replenished my wine supply with an assortment of Italian wines, all under 10 dollars except the Amarone that the salesman convinced me to take.......but still - you can never have too much wine, right?

(Note to self - all that buying and I'm still almost out of rum - bad Em)

So tonight, let me tell you about one of the wines I brought home  - Cruz Alta Reserve Bonarda 2010.  Bonarda is an italian grape brought to Argentina, which is now about the only place you'll find it.  It seems that the Bonarda grape was used for everyday wines in Argentina and only recently have they been putting the effort into making export wines with this grape.  As an aside - when I googled for information, I learned that the average Argentinian drinks a third of a bottle of wine per day.....my kind of folks.

However - the Bonarda grape in Argentina is actually more likely to be a French grape called Charbono which has no relationship to Italy at all.

Confused?  I certainly was.....but even so, I found the wine to be quite delicious and worth bringing home.  It had the cherry flavor that I associate with Pinot Nour, but with a lot more body to it.  Let me give you the official word.

"Ruby color with Bordeaux undertones.  On the nose it offers red fruit aromas and flavors of plums and black cherries.  Fruity, silky and smooth with toasty vanilla and cedar notes on the finish."

At less than 10 dollars its not only something new to show your friends, its also a very good value for an everyday wine.

Milan....not Monte Carlo

When I first booked the Magic cruise – it was scheduled to dock in Livorno which is the closest port to Florence and Pisa……so I had plans to see the leaning tower for myself or perhaps visit Cinque Terre. But quite a while back, they changed the port first to Genoa – and then to Savona – neither of which really appealed to me.

So, Judy and I were planning on taking an excursion to Monaco as the best of the not so great options…..but I wanted to wait to book until we were onboard – and wouldn’t you know it had sold out.

Plan B was Milan – a two hour bus ride to a place that is known for designer clothing – most of which I couldn’t afford and wouldn’t fit me anyhow. But we figured it had a nice cathedral and would be a change of pace from the Mediterranean coast.

As it turns out – it was a wonderful excursion. First off, it was Fashion Week in Milan which meant that the people watching was firstrate…..I didn’t see anyone famous – but then I don’t follow fashion so who knows for sure. There were big screens set up in various plazas so that those without tickets to the various shows could still watch the runways – and we walked on a red carpet that was laid out along the main pedestrian drag.

And Milan has a beautiful cathedral – one of the largest in the world, in fact….along with the Castello Sforzesco, a 15th century castle that is one of the largest citadels in Europe

No, I didn’t buy anything – between the weak dollar and the value added tax – even a pair of Levi jeans was more than a hundred dollars….but it was still fun to window shop. A day well spent due to a happy accident for sure.

Milan

Marseille.......

I see London I see France I see someone’s underpants……with our stop in Marseille, that childhood chant became true. Marseille is the oldest city in France, and is the second largest after Paris.

Had I done a bit more pre-trip research I would have known that it is also the site of an archeological excavation of ruins going back to 6000 BC. and I would have been tempted to try to visit the site as well as the Old Port and Basilica Notre-Dame de la Garde.

But had I gone that route, I would have missed a wonderful visit to Aix-en-Provence, the birthplace of Paul Cezanne and home to an Old Town full of buildings dating back as far as the 1400’s. At different times Aix was inhabited by the Romans, the Visigoths, several Germanic tribes, the Arabians and the Spaniards before becoming “French” in the late 1400s, so the city reflects many different architectural influences – and that was the focus of our walking tour.

Now it is a college town, and a rather expensive one I believe. We walked the Cours Mirabeau, which is the place to see and be seen and checked out a few sidewalk cafes – I found the prices quite shocking, and it really wasn’t a good day for “people watching” as the area was packed with tourists.

I think that the French are not as outwardly warm and friendly as the Spaniards and Italians; at least I didn’t feel as comfortable or at ease as I did in other ports of call. I took French for several years in school, but was too intimidated to try using it – so when we found a place to sit, I used the “point at the menu” method to order my wine, which was delicious.   With my tongue relaxed by the drink, I think I might have managed a "merci" as we left.

Marseille - Aix En Provence

Stonehenge and Salisbury (the city, not the steak)

Belinda took me to Salisbury where we caught a bus to Stonehenge. I've seen lots of pictures and read lots of stories...but nothing could have prepared me for how imposing the site is and the sense of wonder that it evoked in everyone who visited.

Then there was Salisbury Cathedral which is quite beautiful and has the added importance of being the home of one of the original copies of the Magna Carta. The town of Salisbury itself has quite a number of medieval buildings so it was truly a walk through history.

Thank you again, Belinda - I wish I had the words to express how much the visit meant to me. You are an amazing woman and I'm lucky to know you.

Next it was off to the cruise ship. The flight in to Barcelona was on time - my luggage appeared in a timely manner (unlike my friend Judy's - but that's a subject that warrants its own page).....and soon I was onboard and checking out my very nice porthole cabin.

It is in the front of the ship which means I'm awakened quite early as we pull into port - but that actually works well because this cruise has a port every day for the next four and so there are some exciting (but long)days ahead....

Stonehenge, Salisbury, and London

Em in Europe 2011 - London

My visit to London was truly charmed.....not only because the weather was delightful, but because Belinda is a gem. She came all the way up from her home to meet me, and is a marvelous tourguide as well as a traveling companion. I still cannot believe how much we fit into a day and a half...and the credit goes to her excellent planning and sense of direction.
I found London to have a familiar feel because of the architecture and the location - Washington DC is also built along a river. Many of our government buildings share the same Greco-Roman marble columns and facades, and of course we share a common language (though I never did get used to looking the "other way" to see if traffic was coming.
The Tower of London was wonderful - I've always been fascinated by Henry the VIII and it was quite an experience to see where so many executions had taken place over the years. I have to admit that I didn't realize that the term "Crown Jewels" actually referred to crowns - I'd thought it meant the jewelry collection belonging to the Royal family.....but in any case, the grandeur of the crowns and robes and accessories was fantastic.
Time constraints meant that a lot of the "highlights" of London were simply drivebys - but still, it was enough for me to know I make a return visit soon.

London - September 2011

A bit more of Newfoundland

A bit more of Newfoundland - September 2011

St Johns Newfoundland - September 2011

Saint Johns Newfoundland

I see clouds of white...

lizards of blue........

That is a juvenile five lined skink - not the one I saw in the yard this morning (I didn't have my camera with me), but close enough.

Then there were the birds......two hummingbirds playing tag through the trees stopped off at their feeder, the usual collection of robins, crows, and bluejays hopping around the regular feeders, and the cardinals, sparrows, chickadees, and goldfinches all taking their turns to chow down.  I even got to see my downy woodpecker - this time poking at the Crepe Myrtle rather than at my finch feeder.

They were calling for rain in the afternoon so I figured better to get chores done early (and they were right - we just had storms roll through and I hear the rain again).  I grabbed the gas weed wacker from under the deck and must have startled a little grey tree frog who ended up on my arm......at this point I'm starting to get used to such surprises - so I'm sure he was much more frightened than I was.

And as I cleared some more of the brambles from my yard I felt a bit like a pioneer - building a life in the wilderness.  Never mind that I'm only a mile from the supermarket, a liquor store, a pizza parlor and a chinese restaurant - not to mention  McDonalds....the same distance from the interstate....and less than fifteen minutes from Walmart and Target.

What counts is that it feels like I'm in the wilderness.......and as I put my tools away, popped the top on a beer, and settled in on the deck to watch some more of the backyard doings, I said to myself.

What a wonderful world.

Hope your world is wonderful too....

8/2 - The US Debt Crisis

I don't blog politics (or religion for that matter) because I've found them to be the two most divisive subjects on the planet.  And here, I'm not really intending to blog politics.......its just that I was so frustrated with the way that our politicians couldn't just do the right thing - pay the bills we'd signed up to pay.  Instead, they had to hold our treasury hostage while they fought over what they wanted to have happen in the future.

Imagine going out and shopping for days and days - racking up lots of credit card bills.  Then when the statements come in - you decide not to pay them.  Not because you can't afford to pay them, but because maybe you shouldn't have bought so much stuff - so you want to put a plan in place so you don't overspend in the future.

Or think about your paycheck not showing up in your bank account.  Not because you didn't work, not because your company is out of money - but because management hasn't decided what sort of cutbacks they need to make next year.

As far as I knew, it was against the law to agree to pay for something and then not do it.....but in this country where people seem to think its OK to walk away from their credit card bills and their mortgages - and there are ads on TV for people who guarantee to get the IRS to take less money than you owe....why should I expect our politicians to do the responsible thing and allow our government to pay its bills.

I discovered my new Congressman (since I moved a couple of years ago) voted against raising the debt ceiling - and I was so upset that I sent the first email ever to his website........

Dear Congressman Cummings,

I moved just a couple miles across town into your district in 2009, and although I was not thrilled to find I'd lost Steny Hoyer, I figured as a Democrat you were also looking out for us so I voted for you without issue.
But you've disappointed me greatly with your vote to keep the US Government from paying its debts.  Too many people in this country alreadty have the attitude that they can run from the money they owe - from ordinary individuals racking up credit card debt to the rich corporate business men declaring bankrupty to protect their personal wealth. 
I am embarrassed that you promoted this sort of financial responsibility by voting to prevent the government from paying it own bills.

You might argue that you were standing on principle because you didn't like the cuts associated with the bill, but to me, you broke a far more important principle - that when we owe money, we pay it back.

Of course you don't need my vote - you were elected long before I moved to your district and I've no doubt you'll keep getting elected.  But I wanted you to know that you  don't represent me -  I believe in honoring my commitments and paying my debts. You are no Steny Hoyer.

7/24 - Nature Girl

Who'd have thought I'd be grateful for the low 90s?  But considering the heatwave around here I'm thrilled to be below 100.  This morning I braved the outdoors and got some yardwork done - no mowing or trimming because of the bad air quality...but I did manage to cut back a lot of things that needed it, collect a bag worth of tree limbs, and do a few other odds and ends before it got too miserable outside.

And this afternoon - even though it was hot, I sat outside for a bit listening to the radio and enjoying nature....some intentional - like the birds at the feeder and some unintentional - like the small tree frog that jumped onto the radio and stared at me for a bit. 

Last night there was a tiny lizard on the kitchen floor - I scooped him up and took him outside - he was gone this morning - don't know whether he scurried off or if he became dinner for some other critter...but in any case - I'm glad I didn't panic and feel the need to stomp him....my killing these days is limited to ants and stink buge.

So, once the frog decided to leap off to better places, I focused my attention on the birds,.,,,who actually seemed to be playing with all the darting from tree to tree.  There are bluejays and ravens and the occasional cardinal bouncing around......a few chickadees and a gorgeous goldfinch.....and then the criminal woodpecker who succeeded in drilling a big hole through my finch feeder so that he could get to the good stuff....I wrapped metal tape around the hole, and when I noticed him hitting the same spot this afternoon - I scared him off and he moved to the other feeder.

And to think I'd blamed that evilness on the squirrels......bad em.

Then there was the deer - this time, only one at the bottom of the lot - a doe munching out on whatever is growing down there.  No signs of zombiness so far....crossing fingers.

I do love watching life go by in my backyard......and I'm thinking maybe someday, with enough patience, I can become the Cesar Millan of deer.

7/21/11 - Wow - has it been a week already?

Where to begin?

Lets start with how my state has now inherited the heat wave (thank you very much midwest).Current temperature at 7:40 pm

I am tempted to try to fry an egg on the sidewalk......actually I"m waiting for dark to water a few plants that its been too hot to plant.  I scored a couple of overstocked perennials for 80 cents each at Lowes earlier this week:).

I learned that puked up catfood attracts millions of ants - ugh......(darn your sensitive stomach Ugly Girl).

Had a peridontal cleaning/checkup today and things are getting better........with a bit of luck I'll escape any more gum surgery.  My peridontist is off on a cruise next week - NY roundtrip on Princess....I teased him that he really ought to bring me back something as a thank you for my contribution to his vacation fund.

It is going to be hotter outside my hot tub than in it come tomorrow - I find that incredible.

I also find it amusing that out there it feels like the steam room that I loved so much on my last cruise.....maybe I should set up a lounger and a mist fan in the front yard and charge admission to my spa ;)

Sorry - I don't mean to focus so much on the weather....lets move on to cooler thoughts.  I bought some very cheap Real Sangria (that was actually the brand name, I think) last week and it was quite yummy....I'd been thinking about making some from scratch, but this stuff was so good that I'm not sure I'll bother.  Though if anyone has a good sangria recipe I'm open to trying it.

So, I'm opening my mail while I blog and here's a note from Expedia - it contains a prepaid Mastercard which was a perk from one of the hotels I booked - in fact, there should be a second Mastercard coming that goes to Carol.....I'll wait to mail that rumcake and send them both together.

Yes Lisa, I said rumcake.  I had it here as a gift for you two to share in Seattle but I completely forgot to pack it...so, I figure I'll send it to Carol now as a belated thank you for the room and maybe if you're  really good I'll send you some more crabcakes :).

Before it got so bloody hot, I was sitting out back on my deck thinking about how much I love my backyard.....I really do adore having woods behind me and watching the birds and the occasional rabbit/groundhog/deer/fox and whatever else is out there that I haven't noticed yet.  It's a reminder to appreciate my truly charmed life.

And speaking of charms.......my BFF Patti has agreed to cruise with me.  I had big plans for her "0" birthday but unfortunately work got in the way and I couldn't make it down to celebrate - so we'll just pretend this year is that year.  You'll remember I got hooked on the spa cabins - and because she was willing to fly cross country with me and the rates out of LA are so much less than Florida - we have a BALCONY spa cabin. Her actualy birthday, January 30th, is Lobster and Prime Rib dressup night - so I don't even have to pay extra to take her out to dinner to celebrate :).

I got an A on my first class assignment last week - and am caught up on the discussion for this week already so it should be a stress free weekend.

Saw a facebook post from my son that my granddaughter to be is fully ripe and can join us any time - the official due date is 8/14 - but since I'll be at Watkins Glen for the race that day, I'm hoping that she comes a bit early.  If she doesn't - I'm going to nickname her after whoever is leading the race at the time of her birth....lets hope its someone like Gordon or Stewart - I don't think they'll like me calling her Allmendinger. 

So there are my 13 things for Thursday......but let me leave you with one link that I found hysterically funny...I posted it on Facebook, but for those of you who aren't there....


From Damn You Autocorrect

We just blew the dust off of our Google Analytics traffic monitor and realized since we launched Damn You Autocorrect back in October, the site has gotten over 300 million page views! That’s crazy! So thanks to everyone for reading!
And now, thanks to the analytics, here are the 15 most viewed autocorrect fails sent in to Damn You Autocorrect since the site launch. Can you can guess what the #1 most popular submission has been so far?

7/14 - Thursday Thirteen (or whatever I get to)

Its Bastille Day which is, of course, the French version of Independence Day.  And that makes me think - Canada Day is also in July.....is there something about midsummer that has folks yearning to revolt?

I know that I have been feeling like revolting against work.  The new software program we are using is still quite buggy and frustrating......things that were easy to do before are now timeconsuming and complicated......and with our self-reviews due in a couple of weeks, I can't even get data on the amount of work I've done this year to support my goals, sigh.

But no matter how miserable I feel, my karma seems to keep coming through.  I was called into my boss's office on Tuesday and found the credit card manager there.  We were both very surprised to have the Department Head walk in, thank us for our hard work on the new software system, and hand us achievement award letters which equal a one time cash bonus that will appear in our next paychecks.

So ironically the system I despise has earned me department recognition,  a couple of bonuses and a pretty good raise last year.

My car stereo is acting up.  At first I thought it was the antenna because my FM goes out on occasion, but after a bit of googling, chances are it's the tuner itself and I'll have to buy a new one.  Fortunately it wasn't too tough to install, and if I stay with the same brand it should just be plug and play into the existing wiring harness.  (crossing fingers).

Speaking of electronics - why does darn near everything I own require a different kind of cord?  My MP3 player has a proprietary connection as does my camera.  Fortunately my cellphone shares the same connector type as my Nook.....and they all charge by USB - except for my camera, where I need to carry a special battery charger.  My new netbook requires a three prong outlet while my old laptop doesn't...and then there's my GPS with a cigarette lighter plug all it's own.  Seems like I almost need a suitcase just for all the cords that need to come with me.

I haven't finished the rest of the story of my trip to Canada - we went home a different direction through the mountains and following the Fraser River - it was gorgeous and I have the pics to prove it.

Everything in British Columbia is larger than life - including the mosquitos.  Apologies for the terrible pic but I haven't figured out macro - if there even is one on here.  Just keep in mind that the copper thing is a penny.

Yeah, these suckers found their way into my rental as we unloaded the car at Carol's and the next morning this one refused to leave willingly.

Our mosquitos are bad -  they include the Asian Tiger which doesn't follow the usual rules of coming out at dawn and dusk.....it feeds whenever it likes....but I'd never seen anything like the attack at Carols.  She and her son were wearing black shirts and the damn things clustered on their backs.  I should have been nice and brushed them off - but instead I was just grateful they were too busy to do much munching on me.

And finally, there were deer in the neighbors yard - not zombie deer, but what seemed to be a family - at least there was a doe and her fawn

and another larger deer that I didn't get a picture of.  I wish I'd had my camera from the start because they were so much fun to watch.  A rabbit came bounding through and the fawn followed it, I guess hoping it would play.  After a while I risked going in to get my camera and they were still there when I came back out....though I didn't dare try to get close.

I'm not sure that I want to make friends with the local deer anyhow - first, because I've got a lot of hosta and other deer treats close to the house, and secondly because there are a couple of days of hunting offered at the park, and I don't want these guys to get so used to people that they become easy targets.

And one last comment - Carol and Lisa had told me that they really liked the show Big Bang Theory - I gave it a try and am now hooked myself - thanks guys......

We've almost made it through another week - I look forward to catching up with all of you.

7/11 - We're going on a bear hunt...

Ever since Carol invited me to come visit British Columbia, I'd been a bit obsessed with the idea of seeing moose and bear.

Carol told me it wasn't moose season, but there was a good chance we'd see a bear - and the headlines of the local paper certainly made it seem likely.

The Whistler area supports as many as 70 black bears - and they offer a bear viewing tour, but at 189 bucks a head, that was a bit out of my price range.  Carol found out from some of our resort neighbors that there were bears on Blackcomb Mountain that could be seen by taking the lift, but at 40some dollars per person for the day, that seemed a bit expensive as well - not to mention I'm not particularly keen on being suspended on a cable high in the air.

So we decided to try finding some wildlife on our own  (note - this is wildlife as in one word - we found plenty of the two word version at the various open air bars of Whistler Village.)

First stop was the Olympic Village - the venue for ski jumping, cross country skiing, and the strange shoot/ski event known as the biathalon.

Turning off the main road, we hadn't driven more than a few miles when I had to hit the brakes to avoid this.....

Thank you Carol, for getting that shot......Ironically I'd only ever seen one bear in the wild before - and it was crossing the road at Skyline Drive in Virginia.  But this proves that contrary to what some people kept saying (and you know who you are) I didn't even come close to hitting a bear.

After that bit of excitement we headed on down the road further.  Eagle eyes Carol spotted something off a parking lot - so we pulled over and found this guy having lunch.

He was even kind enough to pose for me when I asked.

OK - maybe I was a bit closer than prudent - but I kept the car (which contained Carol, lol)  between me and the bear at all times.

We made it to the Olympic Park and the first thing I saw was the ski jumps which are HUGE - much  bigger than I imagined.  Check this out - Carol and her family are in the foreground for scale.

We also saw this sign - I guess better late than never :)

Properly cautioned (and after removing the chicken bones and other food trash from the car because I didn't want to come back and find company in the front seat, we headed up the trail to see the rest of the park.
I can now state unequivocally that bears can and do climb trees.

So, mission accomplished - bears everywhere.......thanks to Kaikoa's good eye, we even found a bear on the way back to town.

This one made me a bit nervous as he didn't seem particularly thrilled to be photographed and since the Depner clan insisted on staying by the car I didn't have anyone available to throw at him in the event of a charge.

But he eventually ambled off - and we headed to the slide center - where the bobsled, skeleton, and luge events were held.

Although the visitor center was closed, there were a couple of employees around who offered to go in and get us a map.  They also said that we weren't likely to see any bears because it was too hot for them.

I beg to differ - we headed to the bobsled track and were met by Bob.

 He seemed more intent on eating grass than us, so we decided to go ahead and walk around a bit - again, I was surprised at how big the track was and how steep the banking.

Thus ended our bear sightings, but I think we did pretty well for do it yourselfers :).

7/5/11 - Whistler

2011-07-05 - Whistler

My visit to Seattle 7/3/11

Seattle - July 2011

7/8- On to Whistler, eh?

On to Whistler, eh?

We left off on the Sea to Sky Highway 99 between Vancouver and Whistler.  It truly was an awesome drive with gorgeous views at every turn.  As I said, because the viewing points were almost all across the road we didn’t stop much, which meant we ended up at Whistler in early afternoon.

OK – now I have to go with the good news/bad news for a bit…....keeping in mind that I also booked our Whistler accommodations through Expedia – so I was already nervous.

Good news – didn’t have any trouble finding the resort and they let us check in early. 

Bad news – the room was supposed to have two pull out sofas and a Murphy bed –but it didn’t – there were only two beds and one was a twin.  If that wasn’t bad enough the balcony was “closed for repairs”.

At this point I’m thinking “damn Expedia again”.  You see, I looked over the paperwork and what I had said two adults and one child (Carol made me lie)….but their paperwork only showed two adults.  So, we went downstairs to see what they could do about finding us another bed.

Good news – they found us another room – and it was an upgrade to a one bedroom suite.

Bad news – I had turned in my door keys to the original room but we’d left the kids there and it was an odd configuration where there was first a keyed hall door and then a second room door, so I bruised my knuckles knocking loudly enough to be heard and let in.

Awesome news…..the replacement suite had a patio right in front of the pool and hot tub which was heaven for the ladies of the Carol clan who were, I think, fish in a prior life. 

So our good karma was back……..this place had enough beds that everyone got their own, and I got my own bedroom.

The afternoon was gloriously sunny and warm - the girls hit the pool and I took a walk around the village to see what they had.  Of course there were the usual: grocery, liquor, equipment, clothing, and lots of touristy little shops. 

But Whistler is apparently the extreme mountain bike capital of Canada, so they’d converted what was probably a beginner ski slope in the winter to some quite treacherous looking riding courses……and I stood and watched the daredevils fly down the mountain for a while.  (And it was funny to see bikes going up the ski lift – though I didn’t think to get pictures of that).

Coming from the east coast where even the biggest ski mountains are less than 4000 ft high – Whistler was HUGE – Blackcomb is almost 7500 ft high and the longest trail is seven miles of skiing……..I’m tired just thinking about it.  (But I would like to get myself back in good enough shape to give it a shot someday).  My neck got a bit stiff from looking up so much.

Nice accommodations, great friends, beautiful scenery – what more could I want?

I’ll give you a hint – they are brown and fuzzy and one of the most famous was named Yogi.

And THAT is what the next blog will be about………

7/7 - My trip report - Seattle and BC

OK - I wrote this on the plane so it's quite long and doesn't have pictures...but I wanted to get my thoughts down while they were fresh (and to kill time waiting for my delayed flight home).  I promise once I'm back and get the pics sorted....I'll do some sort of summary post over the weekend so don't feel obligated to read all of this rambling.....

First off, let me state for the record that I will probably never fly first class again except if I hit the lottery or if they give it to me free.....I grant that its much nicer to have extra seat room and get drinks and food - but I'm having a bit of buyers remorse about spending about 4 tanks of gas extra for it.
Not even a movie.....and because I was driving at the end...only a couple of free drinks.
As I sit on the plane waiting to get back east - its a different story.....probably still no movie - but at least this time I can drink whatever I like as I'm (hopefully) getting picked up when I arrive in BWI in another eight hours or so.
Once again, I've digressed.....so let me get back on track.....and I'll be posting this in pieces because its likely to be very long.....(what else is there to do with no movies to watch).....

Arriving in Seattle close to midnight, the first issue was that the phone with which one was supposed to call the various car rental shuttles just rang and rang at Thrifty. After about twenty minutes and a bit of panic - one came by- and there was barely enough room for me to squeeze on (bless the driver). Turns out that the offsite rental places in Seattle also offer parking.....so there were only two of us picking up cars - the "crowd" was all heading back to their cars. But the car pickup was easy enough - and I happened to get a Jeep Compass - not 4wd - but outdoorsy enough looking that it fit in well with the environment.
Except for the tags.....which were Hawaii.

No, I didn't ask if they drove the vehicle over.....mostly because it was late and I was tired....but I do wonder "why". It did get me a bit of extra attention at the border, but that's for later in the story.

Anyhow, I drove for what seems like forever to find the typical cheap airport hotel that I'd prebooked on Expedia. I'll confess that it was scarier looking than I'd expected. As I entered the office to checkin, I came across a drugged up man who was apparently looking to trade a hundred dollars for whatever he could get from the clerk It was clear that the young woman working the desk alone was very happy to see me.....and as I entered, he turned his attention to me (which is why I know his offer, lol). I ignored his words, and he eventually wandered out of the office and on to wherever Seattle druggies go in the night.

Thinking the worst was behind me, I gave my name and handed the prepaid reservation form over. Unfortunately my usual good karma was not working.......the hotel had no rooms available, even though I'd called to confirm my reservation two days before. According to the clerk, Expedia oversells prepaid bookings frequently, and the only suggestion she could make was that I head further out to a similar hotel that did have rooms, pay their fee, and then get my money back once I had returned.

(speaking of karma and first class, we've now been in the air for 10 minutes and I've yet to have been offered a drink......all that has happened is they passed out bottles of water before takeoff - I think I might push that service button for the first time in my life if things don't improve soon).

Anyhow.....I called Expedia from the desk - explained my situation to a woman with not so good "outsourced English". She couldn't help me, and asked me to hold for a minute while she transferred me to the audit department. I have no idea what those folks were supposed to do because they never picked up the phone.....and eight minutes or so I gave up holding and went to plan B....which was to drive back towards the airport and find myself a place to sleep. Lucky for me, I came across the Sleep Inn and even more fortunately they had one room left......and they gave it to me for the senior rate. That would normally set off some angst, but I was just grateful to have found a nice place to sleep.

Lesson learned - Expedia isn't "all that"......and pick a hotel that makes you go through a lobby to get to your room.....although the clerk here wasn't very big - I felt much safer having him between me and whatever drug-crazed folks were wandering around the airport area. After all - isn't that where the Green River Killer found his victims?
The room was nice, I slept well for a few hours and woke up bright and early to meet Carol and her clan in Bellingham. The drive was scenic but uneventful and less than two hours later we'd connected and were ready to head back to Seattle to catch up with the rest of the crew.

Hold on - here's the stewardess.......darnit - they are out of the chicken enchiladas so I'm stuck with pasta, sigh......note to self - never sit at the back of first class again....although I did say that I wasn't ever going to fly first class again - so I guess it doesn't matter.

It was a much more interesting drive back - Carol took the wheel and I got to look around a bit.....not the sunniest day ever, but there were promises of clearing in the distance. We got to the hotel and the karma started to work properly......we got a parking space right out front and they let us check in early. And then there was the bonus that Carol had gone shopping before i arrived so there was beer, glorious beer.........and Lisa and John....and did I mention there was beer.

After a celebratory toast and many hugs we were off to explore Seattle. I'd been there once, Carol a few times, but it was a first for the rest of the crew. The Sixth Avenue Inn certainly wasn't the fanciest place in town - however it was perfectly located just a few blocks from Pikes Place Market which was, I think, our first stop. It was crowded and loud, but fascinating.

(insert, I just got told that they found one more barbeque chicken breast - so I'm not eating pasta - yay...now if they would just bring my drink).

There was all sorts of different foods - many things I'd never seen before. I sampled some wonderful marinades a piece of chocolate pasta, and the best pear I think I've ever eaten. We even got to see the guys tossing fish.

Next was the "gum wall"....something on Carol's wish list. A bit gross, but still very cool in a "how clever to think of that" way.

We wandered down to the waterfront and worked our way along, stopping for a snack and some beer. There were three cruiseships in port, including the NCL Jewel, which is pretty darn impressive up close and personal. I did my best to "sell" the cruise ship idea to Lisa's husband John......time will tell how well I did.

We eventually found our way to the Olympic Art Park (or some similarly titled place) where I was a bit surprised to find a coil of rope and a giant eraser brush qualify as art....but who am I to judge. The afternoon was becoming bright and sunny which meant that the Space Needle needed to be next on the agenda......Carol sent the kids up and the rest of us wandered a bit and relaxed - there was some sort of Peruvian/Latin American flute band playing what seemed to be the same song over and over. Seems like I hear the same sort of music just about everywhere I travel - so I wonder if its a franchise :).

We learned that monorail was only two bucks and it would end up pretty close to our hotel - so we took it and headed to our rooms to grab some liquid sustenance before heading out to see Pioneer Square. The buses in Seattle are free - so we hopped the first one we found and the driver was kind enough to make a special extra stop to drop us off exactly where we needed to be.

(aside - where IS that drink anyhow?)

Pioneer Square is the oldest part of Seattle dating back to the 1850s and the architecture is very cool......it's a small area only a few blocks, and except for the cars, its easy to imagine yourself back in that time. Very cool place, lots of art galleries and specialty shops, but at this point we were thinking food. Which meant seafood on the waterfront - so we head back and chose Ivars which is, after all, a Seattle tradition. Once again, karma smiled on us as we arrived right before the place got busy, so we were seated almost immediately and had some wonderful seafood (with beer, of course).
John wanted to show us the brewpub that he and Lisa had explored the night before so we headed back towards the hotel, finding the Curiousity Shop along the way.

(aside -- the drink is finally here and she gave me TWO rum miniatures - so maybe its not so bad after all).

We quickly learned that what goes down must go back up...... all the downhill we walked to get to the waterfront turned to uphill - and since Pikes Market was closed, the elevators weren't working. As I write this, I'm wishing I'd taken a picture of what seemed to be the infinite stairs......maybe there's something on Google. But the important part is that we survived the climb and were looking forward to our beer reward at the brewpub.

But what John didn't tell us was that the bar was down a very long flight of stairs. Had the dear man not been a wonderful mapreader and navigator as well as a saint for putting up with our nonstop estrogen laced chatter all day, I would have rebelled. But the least I could do is be a good sport on this one - so down the stairs we went only to find that the place was quite crowded and the only seats available were at the bar - and of course we had under 21s with us - so that was out.

Poor John....... he and some unnamed others consoled themselves with ice cream though I have no idea where they put it as I was still stuffed from dinner.....and if that wasn't enough, Carol's magic refrigerator came up with a few more beers to let us finish out the night right.

Thus was Seattle.

The next morning we all had drives ahead of us so we knew we needed to get up early....and what I found most amazing is that we all defined early the same - so when we were about ready to head out and we wandered over to their room....they were ready as well. We said goodbyes (I miss you Lisa - and John as well of course - tell him I'm quite impressed that he knew I wasn't from New York - Carol kept thinking I was from Maine).....and headed on to the next part of the trip.

A few more Seattle moments.....
(OK - I'm on the second Bacardi miniature and lunch is here - so excuse me for a bit)

A pretty good airline meal, a third Bacardi and Diet Coke ( not to mention a piece of chocolate cake) later, I'm rethinking the whole first class/value thing....but again, I digress - lets get back to the trip report.

If you have known me for a while, you know that I adore 90's grunge.....so a trip to Seattle wouldn't be complete without some sort of Kurt Cobain tribute...and thanks to Kaikoa's googleing and Ellen's directions, we made it to the house where he committed suicide. Of course there were no numbers on any of the houses (I guess it was an attempt to maintain a bit of privacy)...but we were there. It was a great neighborhood overlooking the water and exactly the place I think I'd be wanting to stay in if I was an amazingly talented but troubled artist with enough money to afford it. There does seem to be a sad connection between artistic genius and a troubled soul......and too many talents die much too young. (Oddly enough, as I write this, the Foo Fighters have just come one my randomized MP3 player....reminding me that you do not need to be self-destructive to be talented).

There was one more thing on my list....I wanted to see the troll under the Fremont Street Bridge - and with some help from Carol's befrending of a garbage man - we found it. Not what I pictured, but still quite cool.

With our Seattle wish list covered (though I would never refuse an invite to come back)....we were off to Vancouver and the Sea to Sky Highway. But first, we needed to stock up on US supplies. You see, because of taxes and whatever else, things are much less expensive on my side of the border - particularly beer - which is double the price. So, as we drive towards the border, Ellen helps us find a Safeway (our favorite store) where we stock up on fried chicken, subs, potato salad, and beer. I am very jealous of those of you who have beer in your grocery stores because that doesn't happen where I live in Md, sigh.

Carol advises me that as an American I am allowed to bring a case of beer into Canada. She, on the other hand, can bring nothing.......which didn't seem like a big deal until I realized that they pay twice as much for beer as I do - even Molson which is their own damn beer.

Carol also lines up our passports in the preferred sequence and advises me to always tell the truth to the border folks. Being a perimenopausal American woman and thus every agents nightmare, I reassure her that we'll be just fine.

So we approach the border.....something I haven't done by car in many, many years. I'm surprised to find a "pre-line" on the US side.....Carol tells me that occasionally the US Border Patrol does this just to piss off the Canadian customs folks. The vehicles in front of us drive slowly by without issue, but when I come up, the agent motions me to stop. OMG - does he know we are trying to smuggle Red Hook out of the US?

Once I calm down a bit, I realize it's probably the Hawaii plates. Maybe he too wants to know how the heck we got the car across the Pacific :). In any case, he asks a few questions that I consider a bit nosy, but I answer anyhow. Then there's the dumb blonde question: Am I carrying any foreign currency? I respond in my best dumb blonde "Aren't we still in the US - in that case, no".....and we get to pass by to the
real customs border...where the Canadians are very polite - ask if I have any alcohol or fireworks....I mention the 12 pack of Red Hook and say no fireworks or anything like that. Heck, I didn't know you could buy fireworks in Washington state - where I live you can't get anything but sparklers.

She lets us pass and suddenly I'm driving in a foreign country......wow. Of course, I'm so psyched by the experience that I miss the restroom parking which means that poor Nevada (the girl, not the state) has to relieve herself in what was reported to be an extremely grungy bathroom....though I doubt it could be worse than the Philly airport.
Properly relieved, we head off on the highway to Whistler. I'm grateful to the Canadian government for upgrading the road for the 2010 Winter Olympics - it is nice and wide with plenty of places where the speeders can pass the gawkers. But I wonder at their inability to provide scenic overlooks accessible from the mauka (mountain) side of the drive.

Eventually I gave up wondering and just cut across the road illegally to catch a photo op. I like to think of it as consciencious (sp) objecting to a bad law...but I'm glad there wasn't a police officer in the area to see me :).

It truly was a beautiful day and the scenery is quite amazing - I found it every bit as impressive as the California coastline roads I've been privileged to take. We passed through Vancouver which looked a lot like very other large coastal city...not to take anything away from it - perhaps I'll have the chance to visit it for a few days in the future - but I didn't find anything unique in the drive through except that we did have to drive through - there was no bypass.

And now, those 3 drinks are kicking in and I think I want a nap before we get to Charlotte - so I will continue later.