A State, A Province, Two Islands and a Wedding: A Week’s Adventures in the Pacific Northwest

Two weeks after our trip to Africa, we again pulled out our luggage—thankfully not those minuscule suitcases we were required to use while flying in those God-forsaken puddle jumper airplanes—and headed to our nephew’s wedding in Seattle, Washington.  While we were excited to spend time in Seattle, visiting with family and enjoying all the wedding festivities, we decided that since we were already on the West Coast and Bob had an inordinate amount of free Amtrak miles, we would extend our trip and head north to Vancouver, British Columbia, a city we have never visited.
We arrived in Seattle a few days early and between various wedding festivities and exploring the city, we covered a lot of ground. Between walking tours, a food tour with our kids and a ferry ride over to visit Bainbridge Island, we were averaging between 18,000 and 22,000 steps per day. And boy, did we feel it. Between Bob’s legs and my never-ending knee and feet issues, there was not enough Ibuprofen in the state, let alone in Seattle, that would help our aching body parts. Thankfully, there was no dancing at the wedding!

When we arrived in Vancouver, I had already reserved two spots on a three hour walking tour and another two spots the next day for a two hour food tour in the oldest section of the city, GasTown. Since our main topic of conversation upon our arrival to the West Coast was our aching feet and limbs, I decided to book a bus tour for the third and last day to visit a few Vancouver “must-sees” located outside center city. I was a bit nervous because I forgot to pack my Sea Bands that help with motion sickness and I thought riding on a bus could potentially be fraught with peril. 
We got on the bus, and I dove into the seats closest to the front hoping to minimize any potential queasiness. As our fellow travelers boarded, I noticed that at nearly 65 and 70, we were two of the youngest people in our group. Unfortunately, Bob noticed as well.   
When nearly everyone was on board, Bob turned to me with great angst and said, “What has happened to us?!” He then pointed up and said, “You see that? That’s rock bottom! When did we get so old?!” I pointed out that FOR DAYS we had both been complaining about our numerous aches and complaints.  It turned out that by the end of the day, while neither of us were ready to go dancing, our body pains were at a minimum. Of course, the Ibuprofen could have finally kicked in.   
Our last stop of the day today was at Granville Island, home to a very famous farmers’ market.  Why is there such an allure for these types of markets?  After getting coffee, Bob and I walked around and around looking at all the produce, meats and baked items..two or three times.  When you live nearly 3000 miles away, it’s not like you’re buying a pound of homemade sausage and a basket of local organic strawberries.  After looking at all the homemade soaps, crochet hats and other forms of brick-a-brack for sale, we arrived back at the bus early.  No wonder our feet don’t hurt as much tonight.
I just want to end by saying that I think my friend Judy and I would be considered fashion mavens here in Canada.  It’s much cooler in Vancouver and I have been wearing my blue LL Bean coat that I bought before our trip to the Yorkshire Dales two years ago.  Judy bought the same coat in green.  I can’t tell you how many people have told me that they loved my coat.  I too love my LL Bean coat as it’s sturdy, warm and functional with more zippers and pockets than any one person could ever need—particularly if you’re also carrying around an LL Bean backpack , with its own large number of zippers and pockets.  But attractive? Stylish?  It is not.  As soon as I get home tomorrow, I’m calling Judy and telling her that I think I’ve found our fashion people.

 

 


W


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

We are Heading to Africa! Neutral Colors, Rule-Following and a Dreaded 44 Pound Luggage Limit!

A French Wine River Cruise: HIPAA, Sparkling Water and a Misplaced Letter “I”

Our Last Days of Safari in South Africa: Poop Spitting Contests and the Importance of Reading “The Memo.”