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.

7/2/11 Time is funny

Time flies or it crawls depending on whether you are doing or waiting to do.....and I really noticed that this week as I prepared for my trip to Seattle and BC.

You see, I hadn't done laundry or cleaned house or begun to pack, and every day that passed I got more and more stressed about everything that wasn't done.  Yet for some reason, I just couldn't bring myself to do much beyond the bare minimum of schoolwork, pet parenting, exercise class, visiting parent, and eating dinner....I was in bed early every night and still felt tired the next morning.  I'll chalk it up to just one of those mood swing things.

But of course as I sit here now with two hours to go before I leave - the house is clean, the autofeeder/waterer is set up, I'm all packed and ready to roll.....so time is crawling. 

(although I just realized that I probably ought to see about getting the mail stopped rather than having the neighbor kid grab it)..excuse me for a sec.

OK, I'm back.  And then as I started thinking some more about time - I have to confess that I have things in my closet that  when I take the time to remember when I bought them - some are as much as 10 years old.  And yet they don't seem old to me.

Or take my exBF - who called and left a message Fathers Day weekend and then happened to leave another message last night and that one I called him back because he was actually trying to bribe me by asking me out for dinner or something,  (Don't worry - I didn't agree to anything - just told him I'd call when I got back from this trip - and I probably won't)

And when I think about it - it does seem a lifetime ago that we dated - but it wasn't quite that long - it was the same 10 years old as some of my clothes.

Yes, time is a strange thing to me.

How do you find it - does it pass quickly or slowly or differently depending?