Category Archives: Travel

We Made It!

 

On Tuesday we left our house at 6:00 am and headed north to Anacortes to catch the 8:15 ferry to Sydney, Vancouver Island, B.C. Our ferry ride through the San Juan Islands was very foggy and misty for most of the way. At first it was hard to make out the islands till you got very close. Towards the end of the trip the skies lightened up. Vancouver Island was nice and sunny. We made it to Butchart Gardens. We traveled on the Black Ball ferry out of Victoria to Port Angeles to get home. From Port Angeles we had to make it to Kingston, Washington before the last ferry set sail at 11:10 pm. We were so thankful to make it on time and to be in our beds by 12:30 am! I’ll post many more photos from our trip when I get a chance to sit at the computer more.

This morning I took our middle son to the doctor to get treated for an ear infection that he’s suffered with for a few days now. His ear was practically swollen shut.  Thankfully he got 3 different medications that should relieve the pressure and pain. I guess a mom can always be called upon to give tender loving care,  even to her adult children…

Now to get caught up with my other world…

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

Victoria, B.C.

 

This is for you Cori G! You mentioned the Blethering Place and I hunted down an old postcard from the 90’s that I’ve had since eating there on a trip to Victoria. The back of the postcard reads…You can find this charming “Touch of Britain” nestled in the heart of beautiful Oak Bay, only minutes from downtown Victoria.

“Blethering,” according to Oxford, is Scottish for voluble, senseless talking.

I’ve made reservations on the Anacortes Ferry to travel to Vancouver Island on Tuesday and reservations on the Black Ball Ferry to travel back to the U.S. on Tuesday evening. Again we are packing it all into one day! Dear, Katie and I are setting out on this adventure.  We plan to stop at Butchart Gardens on our way to Victoria. It will be interesting to see what we can take in and if we make it to the Kitsap Ferry Terminal for the last sailing to Edmonds at 11:10 PM.

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

Roadtrip!

 

We’re hitting the road today to Seattle. On the way we are stopping overnight in Clovis for Jeff and Heather’s wedding. Jeff is my cousin Jim’s youngest son. Jim’s wife Jeanie was my best friend in college at Cal State L.A. I introduced her to my cousin and they got married the same year Dear and I were married. At the wedding we’ll get to see family and friends. I’m looking forward to seeing Jeanie’s sister Kathy B. who has become a wonderful bloggy friend of mine. My parents and sister Kathy will also be at the wedding. We’ll hit the road bright and early on Sunday morning and drive straight through to Seattle.

If you don’t see me around the blogisphere for a few days you’ll know why…

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

Sherman Library & Gardens

 

Last Tuesday on my drive to Laguna Beach I spotted this sign and decided to stop and check it out. I peeked in and liked what I saw and then noticed that they also had a Cafe. It cost me $3.00 to come onto the grounds and get to Cafe Jardin.

I had a nice lunch in a great peaceful setting with a lovely view. After lunch my camera and I did some scouting and we really got our $3.00 worth!

 

 

 

 

Sherman Library & Gardens was founded in 1966 by Arnold D. Haskell and named in memory of Moses H. Sherman, educator and California pioneer.

The grounds are beautifully arranged and the Spring colors were gorgeous. The library focuses on the history of the Pacific Southwest and is a research library not a circulating library.

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

Travelling South Along the Coast…

Ellen b. is headed down the coast to Laguna Beach today. I hope to explore some beaches and anything else that strikes my fancy.

 

Then 20 of us are meeting at this restaurant for dinner for my niece Debbee’s birthday…

I’m crashing at my sister’s house in Huntington Beach for the night because on Wednesday some of us are meeting at…

 

The Happiest Place on Earth.

All regular blogging will resume (Lord Willing) later in the week…

Blessings to you all…

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

I Won’t be Needing my Passport…

The wedding in Cancun has been cancelled. The young couple decided they wouldn’t be able to live with themselves if even one guest got sick. They are seeing if they can put together a ceremony in New York this weekend…

The airlines are being generous with changing tickets. We’ll see how the resort handles their and our losses. So far we will only have to forfeit one night of our deposit. It would be nice to get a full refund….

Our hearts go out to not only our Jenna and Justin but to the country of Mexico and to all who will suffer loss because of this epidemic.

Update: The wedding has been moved to a hotel in Orlando Florida for this Saturday. Lots of phone calls and scrambling and changes of flights and the event will be happening. :0) Unfortuanately Dear and I will not be able to transfer our tickets for Florida but our son and DIL are going to be able to swing it!

Should I stay or should I go…

So this is part of the beautiful resort in Cancun we are suppose to be at this weekend for our niece’s wedding…Cancun, Mexico. We are praying and consulting before making a final decision on whether we will be cancelling our travel plans. We are praying for the young couple who have to make the decision to carry on with the plans or cancel the event that has been planned for so long. Praying for wisdom and comfort in the decisions and praying about disappointments and concerns…

Also praying that the State Department and CDC get good information and give out good advice in regards to the Swine Flu and travel.

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

Target Birds on Holiday!

We’re joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for a fun little adventure called Target Birds on Holiday! Here’s our story that began in Norwalk, California a suburb of Los Angeles.

 

Well I found out just because the plane has Alaska written on it doesn’t mean all these big aluminum birds fly to Alaska. Our plane took us to Seattle, Washington.

Sheesh, she finally took us out of the box and here we are at the doorstep of our new home. Ellen b. advised us we would not be returning with her to California on Sunday but that we would be staying here with her two kids Dan and Katie and keeping an eye on the house while they are off hither and yon…

She took us on a little tour of the grounds of our new home. Yikes, I just realized she hasn’t named me yet! She named my friend here next to me Jack Sparrow. Such a strong name with adventurous possibilities. Oh I hope she doesn’t intend to name me Salty! How lame would that be! Well she says she’s still considering what to name me…

 

Hmmm…nice digs but that apple tree can sure use some pruning! Hard to land on branches growing straight up to heaven!

Now here’s a pretty bush to have a rest in. Hey lady! I still don’t have a name!!

We’re inside now looking out. She sure has some nice big windows and big trees around here. She informs me that we will have many more high perch possibilities here than at the condo in California. The only trees around that place are the palm variety…

So she says since we are on holiday we should get a little reading in. Reading is an activity humans enjoy when they are trying to relax and escape the everyday mundane world. I wasn’t too excited about sitting and listening to her read outloud but this story is so exciting! This Redwall book by Brian Jacques is all about animals and they talk and they hunt and they cook and travel and “save the day”! I love this book and the best thing about it is that there are Sparrows in it and she finally found the name she’s giving me!! In this book the sparrows are called Sparra and she thinks that the best name for me is Sparra Queen Warbeak! Can you believe how strong and cool that name is? Queen Warbeak…I just want to keep saying it out loud!  She says that Jack Sparrow and I will have the responsibility of protecting her home while she’s away. We will keep those pesky crows from moving in and thinking this is their territory. We’ll report to her any strange things that might be happening around the house while she’s in Cali. Even though she’s old, this is one cool lady that saved us from that Target shelf!

Boy I just hope the rest of our Target bird friends are having a good adventure and have found a good home. Hope they ended up with some good names, too. Oh and I must apologize for Jack Sparrow and his lack of words. He just likes to leave all the talking to me, Queen Warbeak!

Thank you Susan human lady over at Between Naps on the Porch for thinking of this great idea to liberate us birds from the Target shelf! I bet if you click on her name later this evening or tomorrow you’ll see more of our friends on Holiday!

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.