20080524 - Northwest Vacation

We have been traveling for the last couple of weeks. May 3rd we drove from Tucson to San Diego and boarded the MS Ryndam for a 4 day cruise to Vancouver, Canada. The weather here when we left was sunny and beautiful, and San Diego was about the same. We drove to a parking lot near both the cruise dock and the airport and took a shuttle to the ship. It took us very little time to board the ship. After we got on board we had lunch while we waited for the stateroom to be made up for us. This cruise was a continuation cruise for some passengers so there was a mix of people enjoying the sun and people just boarding. Before we had finished lunch they announced that all the staterooms were ready and we went down to our room. From there we began a tour of the ship. We like to go to the top and walk down and through everything to get a lay of the ship. At around 4:30 we had the standard boat drill and shortly thereafter the ship left San Diego and the sun.

That evening it turned cool, but the next day it was downright cold. I spent most of the day reading (bad plan) by afternoon the ship was really rocking and rolling. I don’t usually get seasick but…. I don’t usually read this much or get this hungry or have a stateroom at the front of the ship. Before dinner I threw up, at dinner I threw up, after dinner I threw up. Luckily for me and the tables near me I had just gotten a seasick bag from a waiter at dinner and I was so discreet that I don’t think anyone saw me besides Rich and our waiter. The captain was right in the middle of announcing that we were facing 50 knot winds and 18-20 foot seas, but that the ship was not in any danger. Who thought it was? Of course, about this time empty seasick bags started showing up in baskets on the hall and stair rails. (only the second time I have ever seen them in all our cruising). That evening our stateroom attendant brought me some tablets and before too long I was feeling a lot better.

The next day was still pretty rough. I was now afraid to read anything. Because of the wind the captain had had to slow way down so instead of arriving in Victoria at 2:00pm we arrived at 7:00pm. Of course by that time the weather had smoothed down completely. The next day we arrived in Vancouver. In Vancouver we took the sky train to the Amtrak station where we were scheduled to take an Amtrak bus to Seattle. While we were in line to get our bus tickets a bell began ringing and the security people began chasing everyone out of the station and across the street. Turns out the bell was a fire alarm and it was not a practice drill. Eventually the fire department showed up and determined that a maintenance person had crossed some wires and set off the alarm. At that point we were all allowed back into the station. With the exception of 2 people everyone in the line took their same place. Canadians are sooo nice. So we caught the bus, and rode it Seattle.

The bus dropped us off at the Amtrak train station and we took a taxi to the airport to pick up our rental car. Interesting thing about the rental car - we had asked for a mid-sized car. First he offered a SUV for $20.00 more, then $10.00 more, and finally $5.00 more. With driving and parking in Seattle we did not want a big car. With gas prices he had more SUVs then he needed and not enough of the smaller vehicles. Eventually we got the car and drove to Seattle.

The rest of the trip time was spent visiting family. First our nephews in Seattle and their families: Eric & Ann Marie and their kids Eleanor (age 2) and Georgia (almost 1); Chris & Louise and Josh (age 2); and Greg & Monica and Olivia (age 6 months). We had a great time visiting, we had never seen Olivia, and the others had grown a lot since the last time we visited them. It drives me crazy that the boys did not start having families until we left Seattle.

Then we drove to Portland to see my sisters, my niece and their families: Sandy & Dale, their daughter Rachel and her daughter Lexie (age 5); and Christine & Steve. We had a great time visiting plus Christine (another quilter) and I went Fabric Shop hopping, always fun for me. Before we left I installed EQ6 on Chris’s computer and we had fun teaching and learning this software.

After leaving Portland we drove back to Seattle where we dropped off the car and took a plane to San Diego, picked up our car and drove to Arroyo Grande to visit Rich’s cousin Mike and his wife Ruthanne. Unfortunately, they live out in the sticks and we did not have exact directions. Soooo, we got lost, tried to call on the cell, no cell service, drove back to town, tried the phone again, lost cell service, drove back again, and finally had to have them drive to town to lead us to their house. (All of this at 9:00pm after getting up at 4:30am to be at the airport on time.) So when we met Mike drove Rich, and Ruthanne rode with me so we all made it their house safely. We had a lovely visit with them. This was the first time we had seen this house and really spent time in the area so we spent some time exploring.

After several days we headed back to Tucson. We left at 7:00am and arrived home in the early evening. It’s nice to travel, great to see people you haven’t seen for a while, but it is wonderful to be home again.

We have been home for a week now and I am almost back to normal. In between unpacking & laundry, catching up with my quilting groups (5), cancer labs, cancer doc (I am still cancer free), and checking into a Lifelong Learning Program I was pretty busy. Plus the weather was very odd: first record setting heat with major winds, and then cold, cold rain still with the wind. Finally, it has turned very nice, cool and sunny with a nice breeze.