Highlights from a trip for two

Now, I'm not sure how interesting the details of my ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND will be to many of you but - while some of the details are clearly on a NTKOB (need to know only basis)- I do have a few highlights that I'd like to share.

The trip from our part of Oregon to Vancouver, B.C. took almost six hours. When we left home, it was pretty darn foggy:

But somewhere part way through the state of Washington, the sun began to shine. It must've been an omen. Look at what I got to do:

Yes, that's right, even though it's illegal to pump gas in Oregon, in Washington everybody gets to do it. Even me:

Driving into downtown Vancouver, B.C., the first thing that struck me was the density:

These sky-high high rises aren't businesses, they are all apartment buildings - and they are everywhere!:

Yet despite its many buildings and enormous population, Vancouver is an incredibly beautiful city that seems to be built with a plan:

There are beautiful parks and pedestrian-friendly places throughout the city.
There are also amazing views:

The small hotel we stayed at was just as lovely and friendly as it was the last time we stayed here in 2001. The staff upgraded us to a corner suite and left us chocolate truffles and bottled water to welcome us:

Once we got settled in our room, we realized we were starving, so we headed into the city to find something to eat. This place was just down the block and I offered Jim the option of stopping here:

...but he said dinner with his wife would be much better (good man):

A Manhattan and a Sea Breeze welcomed us to Canada shortly thereafter:

After dinner, we took a walk. I took this picture to show Roxy that at her place in Vancouver, people arrive in limos and stand in line to get inside:

Hey, guess where people in Vancouver buy their mattresses and beds?:

Why buy a mattress anywhere else?!

We spent the next day delighting in Stanley Park:


When I looked up, this is what I saw. Look at the color of that sky:

We went to see the Beluga whales at the aquarium:

Jim enjoyed taking pictures of me, taking pictures:

When we downloaded the pictures off his camera, this is what we saw. Picture after picture of me with my face obscured. Clicking away. That little boy scares me, by the way:

Little Tiqa, the baby Beluga, stuck pretty close to her mama:

Until she saw this little guy. She was fascinated with him:

She just floated there for the longest time, observing him:

The aquarium is gorgeous. I highly recommend it:

Of course, we did some geocaching. Six different spots, to be exact. We even located a travel bug that came back to Oregon with us:

At the end of the afternoon, we sat in the sun on a bench and watched the people walk by:

Of course, no trip is without its small upsets. See this?:

I mentioned not too long ago that if there is something out there, I will trip over it or fall down it. Add now to the list: "cut myself on it". In my defense, it was a very tight squeeze between the end of the bed and the t.v. cabinet. It was the edge of the cabinet that got me:

And lest you think I'm just a big whiner, here's a picture of the nasty wound!! (whine, whine) Ok...maybe it felt a lot worse than it looked):

Fortunately, the monogrammed bathrobes in our room made me feel much better about the whole thing:

Sunday brought early morning snow and then rain:

We visited Granville Island - an artist community with many small stores, restaurants and a very fun public market:

Here, we envisioned new nightstand lamps for our bedroom:

We tried on hats at the hat store:

Jim won't let me share his pic, but here's his hat:

And though it's clear they were shipped in from far off locations, the colors of the foods and fruits at the Public Market were amazing. They positively soothed my eyes after the winter we've had so far:



I, of course, oogled the desserts:


and appreciated the pretty cookies and baked goods:


For the trip back home, we bought a marriage pie, though we didn't know what was inside it (marriage is FULL of surprises, isn't it?):

We're still not certain what it was we ate, but it wasn't bad:

As we headed back toward home, we saw scores of these beautiful bald eagles, about 5 miles from the Canadian/U.S. border, outside a town I think was called Delta. It's good to know they are thriving here:

Back into the states we drove - the border crossing has been totally remodeled and is very different from the last time we crossed:

Who knew that Lacey, Washington - home of the enormous, new Cabella's store - was right off the freeway?? We just had to stop:

This place is wild:

Who *doesn't* need a quiver duck butt???:

or a zip saw to cut through pelvic bones:

But I settled for the frontier farm instead:

When we got home, my donkey was reading a magazine and Roxy was waiting for us to throw her ball:

My mom and Bill, who had cared for the farm during our absence, had left us a wonderful dinner: roast beef, green beans, potatoes (and not pictured but included: delicious earth bread!):

We had a wonderful time. I love travelling with my man. It makes me very happy.
The End.