My Happy Place

We took a vacation. It was grand.

I'm taking longer than usual to get back to our "normal" life, because I have a pinched nerve in my neck. (If you know me well, or even know me on facebook, you'll be aware that I do NOT write about aches, pains, viruses or day-to-day illness, out of respect for others, particularly those who suffer from really serious conditions.)

This has been going on for several weeks, since before we left for Canada, and has prevented me from writing or reading for any length of time. That's why I've been absent from here, and from reading your blogs. All these weeks, I have been itching to read and write, so here I am, with my laptop perched on two large cushions so as not to irritate my neck.

It is good to be away from home on the anniversary of Katie's passing. As the day approaches, I worry that if I am in our house, I will walk by the door of her room, go in, and re-live her death, moment by moment. I realize that I don't have do that, but feel helpless to stop myself. It takes an annual effort to resist re-living the entire month preceding her passing. So I planned our vacation to take us away over the day it happened, and it went well.

The best way to tell you about it is in photographs...they really are worth a thousand words.

That's Gregg and David in the distance. We walked for hours and had a picnic lunch on this beach - my favorite place to hike

My friend Teri calls this a "God-circle" - shining on Incinerator Rock. I saw more than one of these on this trip

Surfers love this cove

David finally talked us into doing something we have been resisting (for reasons of economy) for several years: taking a seaplane trip to Hot Springs Cove. It was a blast.

My father used to fly a single-engine retractable (landing gear) plane called a Mooney 201, so I love small planes, but have never been in a seaplane before. Gregg has, but David and I had not. This trip included a hike out through old-growth forest on a beautifully-maintained boardwalk to three, natural hot spring pools. Gregg and David carried our lunch, water, towels and a change of clothes.

If you thought you saw this in the slideshow,

you did. 

We were stunned to come across it on our hike out to the cove. 

It felt like a love-message from our girl.

We saw thousands of these (known as "sail jellyfish," though they are not jellyfish), which rarely come ashore,

and we saw Spiderman's underpants, on the sidewalk in Victoria. If you see him, beware - he's going commando!

We stopped at a tiny winery to buy a couple of bottles of their excellent wines which are unavailable in the U.S. This is the Venturi-Schultze Brandenburg #3 dessert wine, and I highly recommend it - particularly if you accompany it with a serving of sticky date-toffee pudding.

We took beautiful walks through the countryside and city.

Community garden in James Bay neighborhood

We ate fabulous food and met interesting, fun, kindhearted people. We spent time together as a family, just the three of us. It was pure joy.

Spoiler alert: this might be our Christmas card.

Whenever we visit, I feel as if I want to move to Vancouver Island - for good. It is my "happy place," so while we're always glad to be home, we had a heavenly vacation. And I felt Katie's presence in so many lovely ways that it was easy not to grieve for her - even on the 16th.

Thanks to all of you who sent messages, thoughts and love during this time. I deeply appreciate it, and want you to know that we are well...and happy.

Spring Break 2013

Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts on Katie's 18th birthday. They brought more comfort to my heart than words can express. We had as good a day as possible, under the circumstances. We went to one of her favorite restaurants for dinner, and looked at old photos of happy times together.

Beautiful iris sent by Elizabeth A. - thank you!

 To those of you who visited her bench and sent photos, a million thanks.

The Meek kids stopped by with Angela on their way to school

Grandma Icel & Bev visited

Maribeth & David with me on Katie's birthday

We went away a few days afterward to see my parents. My dad just turned 86, so we celebrated with him - Happy Birthday, Kappa! 

Unfortunately, my mom wasn't feeling well, so the celebrations were low-key, and there aren't any good group photos. Fortunately, she is now feeling much better - hooray for antibiotics, when needed!

Playing cribbage at the condo before dinner

I love the exuberant joy in these pics

Cannonball!

Airborne

Summer Vacation

We took a few days of vacation last week, traveling to Canada (oh, Canada! How I love thee) with my brother and sister-in-law. This is the second time we've taken a summer vacation with them, and it was even more fun than the first time. We try to go for a long winter weekend with them so that the skiers can get together, but I'm not a skier, and this is the vacation to which I look forward all year long. This vacation is my favorite.

I love the beach - most any beach that is good for walking - but this place is like heaven on earth, for me. There are some fabulous places to camp, to go rustic and to stay in luxury. We aim for somewhere in the middle, with comfy rooms and fantastic food. Then we spend our days hiking, and try to burn off all of that good food.

I don't think I've taken photos of my food before. Food bloggers do it, and now I can see why. The food on this trip deserves describing: fresh halibut, all-you can eat Dungeness crab, wild Pacific salmon, tuna, skate wing, mussels, clams, a variety of salads and desserts and breads...it was a foodie's paradise.

Mussels and clams in broth with nasturtium, cilantro and potato

Salad with edible flowers

We ate all of our meals together, and the conversations were fun. At the breakfast buffet, David would load up his plates with a variety of baked goods, cereal, etc. This photo was taken just seconds after my brother said to him, "Hey, the French are calling; they're running out of croissants!"

We rented bikes for a few hours and went cruising. We got to know the bike man. We hiked coastal trails and beaches. We climbed up and down high places and saw tremendous panoramas, surging waves, sunshine and mist, sunset and morning fog. We saw old-growth trees, lichen and moss, ferns and salal that was taller than any of us.

The peace, the open spaces, the wild Pacific Ocean, the creatures, eagles, ravens - we even saw a whale in its summer feeding area! - the friendliness of the locals, the purity of the salt air...oh, it was heavenly.

Just behind us, the fog is slowly evaporating. This is where the whale surfaced several times, showing us dorsal fins and tail.

You can see the islands (behind Jim & Caroline) beginning to appear out of the mist.

This is the place to which we retreated right after Katie's Celebration of Life, five years ago. It feels like coming home, as we've been there a number of times now. It was comforting to spend the days preceding the "anniversary" with family in this haven. I felt so much gratitude to God for His creation, and for allowing us to make this trip again. It is a privilege and a joy. We also spent a day in Victoria, about which I've written before. It's a city I love and never tire of visiting.

I hope you enjoy the photos in the slideshow. (Note the "ugly laugh" one on the beach. Oprah always talked about her "ugly cry," so it's only natural that I should have an "ugly laugh" picture.)

21 Years (xoxo)

If you like reading about travel or romance, read on...

Gregg and I just spent three days in Victoria, B.C., celebrating our 21st wedding anniversary. If you've been a reader here for any length of time, you'll recognize the theme. We used to head up to Sooke Harbour House outside of Victoria, but it has changed so much during the years of our marriage that we don't go there anymore. Though I'm sure the food is still fabulous and the views and accommodations are among the best I've ever experienced, the atmosphere is not quite to our taste nowadays.

Here are the specifics:
1)  the owners expanded the inn, so now it accommodates many more guests than it used to do. It's not as cozy and quiet as it was when we first stayed there
2)  they have raised the prices beyond what we think is reasonable for the rooms that are desirable (above the bottom floor) - there is much less quiet and privacy in the ground-floor rooms
3)  they quit packing lunch for guests. The breakfast is wonderful, and delivered to your room, but the lunches and the loaner-backpacks were a big plus for us, when we used to stay for two nights and go hiking in the local parks and beaches. This is no longer offered
4)  we found the restaurant's staff to be increasingly pretentious. Sooke Harbour House has been very glowingly reviewed for many years for a variety of good reasons, but as the accolades poured in, so did famous people, and we became uncomfortable with some of the airs and graces of the newer staff.

If a few of these things were to change, I would love to return to Sooke, but thus far, they haven't, so we now stay in downtown Victoria, in a hotel that is part of a chain. It has everything that we want - and we can stay there for two nights at the price of one night at Sooke Harbour House. We drive up to Port Angeles early in the morning, park our car and walk to the first morning sailing of the Coho ferry. After settling in our seats, we enjoy the view from the ship during the hour and 45-minute ride across the Strait of Juan de Fuca:

Looking back at Port Angeles and the Olympic Mountains from the Black Ball Ferry Line's M.V. COHO

Once the ferry has docked, we go through customs and then walk to our hotel via the waterfront paths. Here is the view from our room:

Looking NW from the hotel.
That's the Victoria Clipper cruising into the Inner Harbor.

Here is the view out the other window, to the South.

Our anniversary weekend always coincides with the Swiftsure sailing race, which we love. This year, it also coincided with a gala put on by the David Foster Foundation - THAT David Foster - the musical promoter, arranger, discoverer, also known as "Hit Man." The city re-named one of its thoroughfares in David Foster's honor, for all of the charitable work that his foundation does in Canada. There was a lot of excitement in front of the Fairmont Empress Hotel, the grande dame of Victoria's Inner Harbour: police, security, big black Suburbans, a purple carpet and huge white awning, chartered buses, a Rolls Royce, Bentley and other fantastic autos...

Fancy cars lined up in front of the Empress Hotel

We do a lot of walking in Victoria - that way, the eating and drinking don't bring any guilty feelings! My favorite place to have lunch is a Japanese restaurant called Sen Zushi. Gregg loves to speak Japanese to the people who work there. We usually stop for a sushi lunch on our first day, and that's what we did on Friday, May 25th.

Then we walked some more, looked to see what was new around town, did a little window shopping, and went back to the hotel for a nap.

The concierge made reservations for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants.

I bought a cute new top (on sale) to wear for our anniversary dinner, as a surprise for Gregg. I wore a black skirt and leggings with one of my shirts and this new top (a vest with lots of hand-made details). Here we are at dinner, celebrating 21 years of happiness. We are thankful!

I had the most incredible soup of my life: fresh asparagus bisque with TRUFFLE oil on top - oh, my! Heavenly!

We walked back by the light of the sun setting over the harbour. It was a busy night before the start of the race, and with much David-Foster-related activity. There is a sort of festival atmosphere around the race, with magicians, street vendors, rides for children, arts and crafts, food for sale, and lots to see. We enjoyed it all as we walked along the waterfront and through the park to our hotel.

The next morning, we followed our tradition and ate breakfast in the hotel's waterside dining room so that we could watch the sailboats departing for the start of the Swiftsure race.

Race entrants heading out to Ogden Point (where the race begins). That arrow denoting Spinnaker's Pub is for later.

Then we walked up the shoreline to see them go out. They leave in "heats," so there are starting guns firing every few minutes. The town's inhabitants come out in large numbers to watch, with their dogs and children in tow. It's colorful, festive and friendly.

Sailboats lined up behind me (Olympic Mountains behind them) and the crowds gathered on Ogden Point

 After watching the race begin, we walked around the lovely residential neighborhoods nearby, enjoying many flowers in bloom in lavish cottage gardens, Victorian architectural details and lots of clever renovations. We visited a local farmer's market, stopped for a refreshing drink at our favorite coffee shop, did some more window-shopping, and then walked back toward our hotel. We walked 6 - 8 miles each day we spent in Victoria.

After a nap, we went out to dinner at an Irish Pub which features at least a dozen (I think it's closer to 20) beers on tap - many of them are local. They also have fabulous pub fare and a lot of locally sourced food, with live music 7 nights a week. I had a small glass of apple cider, and then a glass of red wine, while Gregg had a couple of pints of a local beer with his meal. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of setting my phone against my nearly-empty wine glass...don't try this at home! Gregg's pale blue shirt paid a high price for my foolishness:

Though our waitress brought soda water and lemon, the stains remain. My bad.
Gregg was very good-natured about it, even posing with this funny bear for my camera

As we walked back from dinner, we stopped down at the Swiftsure race headquarters' tent on the quai. They had huge computer monitors up, tracking the progress of the boats in the various races. It was fun to see how far they had traveled since departing that morning.

Next morning, a clean shirt, a hearty breakfast, and all is well.

The following day as we ate breakfast, we saw some of the sailboats as they returned from the race. The wind was very strong and there were whitecaps on the waves, even inside the breakwater. We saw a number of billowing spinnakers, and knew that the sailors were having some excitement out on the open water.

We took a walk around the harbour to the opposite side, called West Bay. On our way back, we stopped at Spinnaker's Brew Pub for lunch. We've heard about it for years, and have been curious (it was okay, but not a place to put on the list of "must-eats"). Here is the beautiful view from our table, looking back at the inner harbour and our hotel:

and here I am, happy to be with Gregg, and ready for our last lunch in Victoria.

We walked back to our hotel, picked up our bag, boarded the M.V. Coho for the States, went through customs again, and drove home.

It was a wonderful, relaxing, peaceful trip with no agenda, lots of rest, good food and drink, and many, many laughs. Gregg is the BEST traveling companion: he is easy-going, adventurous, fun, curious, thoughtful, funny and a super-packer. (That last quality is not to be under-rated, as I dislike packing intensely!)

We've been through quite a lot in our 21 years, going from two careers and no kids to one career and a stay-at-home mom of two beloved children; building a house and being swindled in the process; sharing a happy family life and then going through Katie's cancer journey, moving to Seattle and enduring her passing; transitioning to life back at home with one child living and one in heaven, and now to "empty-nesting."

I am so thankful to God for leading me to Gregg,

and to Gregg for all that he does to make our marriage a joy!

Spring Vacation 2012

Gregg, David and I just returned from 6 days in Palm Desert, California with my parents. We flew down to spend a part of David's Spring Break in the condo, celebrating
my father's 85th birthday (a few days early)

Dad's birthday dinner at the bistro of his choice

and enjoying a little break from the Pacific Northwest's winter resurgence. It SNOWED while we were away! The temperature was in the 80s in the desert...aaaaahhhh.

This is the way they treat their median strips in the neighborhood

When we visit my parents in "the desert," we all have a few things that we like to do:
tennis
golf (for the men)
spa (for the women)
dinners "out"
daily walks in the sunshine
window shopping on El Paseo
car watching (for David)
enjoying flowers in bloom (I went a little bit bonkers over the flowers this time).

Hibiscus in the foreground; bougainvillea in the background

A lot of my parents' friends have homes in the area. It seems that "snowbirds" in the East tend to go to Florida; some from the West go to Arizona, but most of my parents' friends have chosen the Coachella Valley. So when we are in the desert, we sometimes get to visit with their friends, too. This time, Charlotte had us over for dinner, along with two of her dear friends, Sue and Betty Ann.

David & Katie in the pool at Charlotte & Fred's club in the desert

How well I recall other visits with Charlotte and Fred in the desert; our kids always loved to see them. Charlotte and David get along "like a house on fire," as she is a mother (and grandmother) to boys - she understands and enjoys David, and the feeling is mutual. Her community seems to have a rare collection of fabulous cars, and David always has fun seeing what is new in the clubhouse parking lot. This time, he saw his dream car of the year: the Mercedes SLS AMG (don't ask me; I don't know anything about it). He even took photos of it.

Another night, we ate in a French cafe and were seated at a table with a view onto one of the swankiest shopping streets in the area...which meant more avid car-watching for David. And it was practically a dog-show, as well. This is a place where people dress their dogs; we have seen a tutu, and even sunglasses, on dogs. Very amusing indeed - better than TV!

We took my parents out for dinner to celebrate my dad's birthday...

 ...ate dinner at home, played cards, sat by the pool, enjoyed a margarita and a beer or two...

...and let go of all things "work" and "school."

A break is healthy for everyone...

...except when there is a bug going around in the area, and there is one in the Coachella Valley, right now. If you watch the BNP Paribas Tennis Tournament, many of the players are also coming down with it, and David caught it on our last night in California. Fortunately, it was only a 12-hour bug, and he was able to fly home safely and comfortably, with no infection to others (so far, so good).

Today, we are unpacking and settling in back at home. Gregg and I took a brisk walk in the sun and breeze today. Vacation is wonderful, but it always feels good to be at home!

Whistler B.C., 2012

We've been in Whistler, B.C. for a few days. David loves-loves-LOVES to ski, as do my brother and sister-in-law. Gregg is also a skier, and though I do not enjoy it, I enjoy being with my family, so I go along for the company. We have taken this trip together five times, staying in different condominiums and getting better acquainted with the area, as David's love for skiing has grown.

On our first trip, in 2002, both of the children took ski lessons. Katie turned 7 on that trip, and lost a tooth.

David is in the bottom row, middle

Katie is the one in the middle

I can see that loose tooth in front, ready to come out

This year, David invited his friend from high school and college, Charlie, with whom he skis at Schweitzer when they are in Spokane. They are well-matched in terms of ability (and sense of humor). Charlie had never been to Whistler before, so it was our pleasure to have him with us and to introduce him to the area.

View of Blackcomb Mountain from the condo we rented

Unfortunately, my brother injured his arm and shoulder in a fall during Christmastime, so he was unable to join us on the trip. Though we missed his humor and his intense enjoyment of skiing, we did manage to have fun, but Whistler is certainly not the same without "Jimus Maximus." We were able to skype with him and share some laughs; I am happy to say that his arm is healing.

My parents generously treated us to two wonderful dinners while we were away. Since our next-door neighbor, Kim, has strong ties to the Whistler restaurant community, she gave us a couple of gifts to deliver to friends of hers who are in the restaurant business up there.

After unpacking the car, settling into the condo and taking a walk through Whistler Village, we ate dinner at Caramba!, and had the pleasure of meeting Kim's friend, Mario (who owns Caramba! in Whistler Village and La Rua restaurant at Blackcomb base). Mario is a gracious and generous host. Our food was delicious, and the deep dish apple pie was out of this world. The atmosphere in Caramba! is warm and cozy, with a real wood-fired pizza oven generating heat and adding to the casual feeling of welcome. We would recommend Caramba! to anyone visiting Whistler.

Having dinner at Caramba!

The first day of skiing was a pretty good one for the group. This resort has the distinction of having the most ski-able terrain in North America. Having said that, it does not always have good weather, good visibility or dry snow. Whistler-Blackcomb has a website on which you can check the weather at four different points on the mountains, as well as finding any activity you would like to pursue there. On this trip, there was little new snow at the mountains' base, and visibility was not great for the skiers, but snow conditions up high were good.  At mid-day, Gregg decided to move over from Whistler mountain to Blackcomb, which he prefers, while David, Charlie and Caroline skied together on Whistler.

That night, we ate dinner at Le Gros, taking another gift to Kim's friend, Pascal (the owner).

Obviously, Pascal is a character. His hat plays music and the legs do a dance

Le Gros is in an alpine-style house, with fireplaces and tall windows, soft lighting and delicious French food. We all enjoyed our dinner there, watching the snow fall lightly as we ate.

Gregg, me, Charlie, Caroline & David at Le Gros

The next day, Gregg decided to go snowshoeing with me, and take a rest from downhill. We had discussed taking a cross-country skiing lesson, but I really enjoy snowshoeing for its simplicity and directness, and Gregg agreed, so we rented snowshoes, got a trail pass and a map, and set out. It was snowing lightly when we left.

Gregg on the snowshoeing trail

I am the 3rd person in the family to use this ski parka, and it is still going strong (& warm)!

On the trail around Lost Lake

We walked about 5.2 kilometres along trails which form a loop around Lost Lake. It was a blast! I would love to find a snowshoeing group to join while my family of skiers are on the mountain. I just don't care to go downhill fast, so all of the expensive gear and lift tickets are wasted on me.

After we returned the snowshoes to the rental hut, Gregg and I walked to the village and ate lunch by the fireplace in a brew pub. Then we did a little bit of shopping, came home and got into the hot tub (each condo in this complex has its own tub outside). It was still snowing lightly while we were in the steaming tub - that was a novel experience, and really refreshing! Then a shower, and the skiers called to ask us to pick them up from the mountain. It was like a little honeymoon day, just for the two of us. I am so happy that Gregg wanted to spend the day with me.

On our last night, we ate at Bavaria restaurant. It has a lovely, warmly-colored interior, excellent waitstaff and delicious food. Their specialties are wild game, fondue and schnitzel. Each one of us tried something different; the boys had kangaroo meat and wild boar (I am not kidding)!

Thank you, Grandma & Kappa, for being with us in spirit and in generosity! We thought of you (and Jim) each day on our first vacation of the new year.

When we arrived home, the proof of my book was waiting for me. I have some final changes to make, and will let you know when it's ready on www.amazon.com. It should be completed in a couple of weeks!