The Radio Girl

Road Trip Wrap

Here's a question...

How do folks with full time jobs and responsibilities find time to blog at all?  We've been back from Washington for a few days now and this is my first chance to post anything.  Although if I didn't spend so much time with the talking heads on BNN.ca I'd free up quite a few hours every day.

Here's a mix of pics from our trip, starting with the fishies in the pond in front of our hotel, The Medallion Spa and Resort in Arlington, Washington. 

The fishies swam right up to us when we walked over the little bridge at the hotel entrance.  They all looked up at the same time and opened there little mouths like they were waiting for food.  Or lip synching.  It was hilarious. 

Of course the second I whipped out my camera they reverted back to normal fish behavior and just swam around.  Fish divas.   

By the way, if you ever head to Snohomish County in Washington, The Medallion Hotel is a good choice.  Clean and quiet rooms, free internet and hot breakfast and it's close to everything including the Seattle Premium Outlet Mall and the Tulalip Casino.  We paid $99US/night for three nights - a good deal for a fairly luxurious room.    

My Fella went golfing one day while I took a three hour walking tour of the area.  And we both spent some quality time at the Seattle Outlet Mall - 130 discount stores including our faves, the Adidas store and The Gap. 

My Fella and I both had shopping budgets and stuck to them.  I still can't get over the great deals you can find at these outlet stores and keep in mind, I'm pretty cheap.  Shoes and clothing in Canada are both really expensive compared to US outlet malls - even items on sale in Canadian stores are almost twice the price you'd pay in the USA.

My Fella picked up summer shirts (t-shirts at $6, golf shirts for $15) summer shorts ($10/pair, same price as in the thrift stores in Canada).  And I bought a new mini backpack on sale.  I carry around small backpacks instead of a purse and I've had my current one for about six years so the leather has started to rip.  I also bought some comfy Naturalizer tennis shoes for my daily ninety minute commute to work. 

And I found a lot of cute baby clothes (for a pal - don't get any crazy ideas :) 

Look at those teeny weeny little Puma socks.

My only embarrassing purchase of the trip was 10 Gap khaki skirts. 

Yes, you read that correctly.  I bought 10 Gap miniskirts on sale for $10 each (regular price $35 CAD).  They are my fave skirt ever and I already own a couple that I wear all the time, usually three or four times a week. 

For the past year I've been looking for them online and it seems regular Gap stores don't carry them anymore.  You can imagine my complete and utter joy when I spotted a bunch of the skirts at the Gap Outlet.  My Fella says I actually squealed.

Which explains why I bought every single one in my size (couldn't fit them all in the pic below :) 

I now have twelve Gap khaki miniskirts.

I'm set for life.

Road Trip Day #1

We made it to Washington State in 5 hours yesterday.

My Fella and I left BC about 2:30pm Pacific time and arrived in Arlington around 7:30 last night.  The US border crossing was a breeze.

My Fella was in the drivers seat so he spoke to the guy at customs.  Despite being a confident guy, My Fella gets very nervous at the border - stuttering, odd outbursts of laughter, etc.  It's actually really cute.  And he's very respectful, taking off his sunglasses and looking the customs officer in the eyes.

Immediately after crossing into the USA we noticed something we hadn't seen last summer - acres and acres of cornfields.

As a closet commodities fanatic I'm aware of the increased amount of corn that US farmers have planted this season but seeing it for yourself is cool.  I'm such a market geek :)

We stayed away from the I-5 and tried to take secondary highways the entire way, and we still made good time.

My Fella and I were up again at 6:30 this morning.  He went golfing and I was at my laptop for the market open so I could sell my entire position of Manitoba Telecom on the ex-div date.  I'm heading out for a walk for a couple hours and then we'll meet up early this afternoon to explore the area by car. 

It seems strange that My Fella and I planned this weekend getaway and then we do our own thing, but that's why we travel so well together.  We like hanging out but we also need our own space.  If we can still do our own thing, it gives us more stuff to talk about when we're together.

Some quick money comments:

1- My behind-the-counter sinus Rx costs more than double the price in Canada than it does here in the states.

2- I bought the pills at Rite Aid, an American drug store chain.  I used my American Express and was surprised when they didn't ask for any id, like my drivers license.  Then the clerk informed me I didn't even have to sign the credit card receipt, since it was under $25 bucks.  ???  Does anyone else see something wrong with this?

Washington Road Trip

One more sleep until our road trip.

My Fella and I are heading to Washington State for a long weekend road trip. 

We make our own long weekends because one of us usually has to work on the national holidays - i.e. I worked both Sunday and Holiday Monday on the Labour Day weekend.  And there was lots of traffic on the road last weekend.  We prefer to travel against the grain when the highways are quieter.  Fewer yahoos behind the wheel. 

So we're heading to the Washington coast for a few days.  We want to compare US RV prices against dealers here in BC, and research the process of buying/transporting a motorhome across the border. 

We originally wanted to go to a Mariners or Seahawks game, but the schedules didn't work out.  Thank goodness we can still visit the Seattle Premium Outlet Mall in Tulalip. 

"Hello Gap Outlet.  I've missed you..."

Dam Good Post

My buddy Calypso wrote a good post on his recent pass through the Hoover Dam.

It reminded me of the last two road trips My Fella and I took down to Mexico and our own experience crossing the Dam.  These pics are great memories for us but they don't capture the amazing power of the rushing water or the incredible scenery.

It is an awe inspiring site and Calypso wrote a cool piece, including his early morning pics of the Dam. 

Road Trip Pics

Here was our weekend in BC's Columbia Valley:

The weather was a mix of sun and cloud - a couple of rain showers, but really warm all weekend. 

We didn't see any bears... 

Or moose.  Mooses.  Meese?

But we saw tons of these little guys.  We packed about fifty carrots in our snack cooler, and they ate at least half of them.

And here's a little Canadian beaver in the grass.

Actually he's a present for a co-worker.  

She brought me back a little stuffed kiwi (the animal, not the fruit) from New Zealand so when I saw this teeny stuffed beaver in a Canadian hoodie, I knew this was right up her alley.

This next pic is My Fella looking waaaay down at Toby Creek. 

A few years ago we went white water rafting down this river.  It was a hoot.  And a bit spooky.

We were beginners and I don't think we were ready for the fallen tree stumps, the huge rocks or the ridiculously fast rapids.

Or wearing wetsuits in front of each other so early into the relationship  :) 

Caddyshack Stunt Double

We're back from our Columbia Valley road trip.

As you can see, I made some new friends.

Doesn't he look like a stand-in from the movie Caddyshack?  

Not much time to post more right now - I'm off to my part time radio gig.  I'll put up a few more pics tonight. 

Road Trip

We're heading to the Columbia Valley for the weekend.

Here's what we'll be doing, in pics:

Chances are we'll be doing more movie watching than hiking or whacking around tennis balls.  My Fella hurt his back at work a couple days ago. 

I should clarify that - he was at work, but he actually wretched his back while reaching for a sandwich.  Damn sandwich.

But you know what really ticks me off?  His chiropractor suggested he submit his bills to Workers Compensation.  And he knew how My Fella hurt his back.  Doctor Shyster! 

No wonder our taxes are so bloody high in Canada :(

BC Road Trip

This morning we woke up in a different time zone.

My Fella went on a work road trip yesterday so I tagged along.  We're still in BC, but for some odd reason southeastern BC is in the Mountain time zone, while the rest of the province is Pacific time. 

That really played havoc with my mind this morning when I couldn't figure out why the TSX wasn't open yet.  I was in the wrong time zone.

Anyway, I love BC road trips.  This is such a beautiful part of Canada.

The clouds rolled in as we drove closer to the Rockies.

And then the rain came...

After the third or fourth rain shower, we noticed this... 

You may see it better here, right over the train tracks... 

And a few miles further down the road, we could see the clouds open up just past the trees. 

I love snowy mountains.  From a distance. 

My Fella has a few things to take care of this morning, and soon we'll be back on the road for the long drive home.  But I have my laptop and my daily apple, so I'm a happy cat.  

And My Fella was pumped about last nights' hotel stay, which meant he could add more little bottles to his mini shampoo collection.  He has a huge supply of shampoos/conditioners from previous road trips. 

He hasn't actually had to buy shampoo in about three years.

Not sure why this makes him so happy.  Guess it really is the little things in life :)

Spooky New Year

I totally forgot about this picture, taken about six weeks ago on New Years Eve.

It was our first night in San Blas, Mexico and I was working on my laptop out by the pool of our little hotel.  We had been on the road for almost 12 hours that day and my fella had already crawled into bed, exhausted.

I was alone downstairs in the courtyard, but within a block in every direction I could hear New Years Eve fiesta noise - loud talking, laughing, mariachi music, Mexican fireworks, etc.  It was just getting dark and the pool was reflecting Christmas lights from the windows of the hotel.  

Suddenly the teeny hairs stood up on the back of my neck.  I could feel someone staring at me.

I slowly turned around and immediately saw them.

Two shining eyes ... piercing the night like teeny flashlights. 

Scared the frijoles (beans) out of me.

After calming my speeding heart rate, I stared into the dark and finally recognized the shape.  It was a small black kitten.  He wouldn't jump down from the wall, but my New Years Eve kitty hung out with me for almost two hours. 

He didn't make a sound.  Just swatted his little paws at imaginary bugs, and sat quietly watching me work.  Supposedly it's bad luck when a black cat crosses your path on Halloween.  What about New Years Eve?

I was just happy for the company.

Where's the Fire, What's the Hurry About

We're back from Mexico and returning to 'normal' life.

When you pack up and just take off for two months, it's easy to forget how busy your everyday life is.  We returned home to:

• a stack of mail about six inches high

• bills to pay

• groceries to buy

• clothes to wash

• tile to grout

• taxes to file

• friends to visit

• strata meetings

• doctors appointments, etc. etc.

But I wanted to take a minute and quickly post these pictures.  It's kind of ironic that I'm rushing to get this done, because these shots describe the total opposite - the slow pace of life in small town Mexico.

The first photo was taken over a year ago in downtown Lo De Marcos, a small coastal village in the Mexican state of Nayarit. 

It was a hot, humid Friday afternoon in January of 2008.  We weren't sure if this little guy was actually guarding the Corona truck or just taking a siesta.

But he was really cute. 

So we decided to stop by again this year (Jan '09) to see if he was still around.

Yup. 

Exactly one year later... same street, same dog, same spread eagle position, same bored but satisfied expression. 

There he was, just happy to be relaxing in the hot sun.

I think many of us can relate, including Billy Joel.

"Slow down, you crazy child, take the phone off the hook and disappear for awhile
It's all right, you can afford to lose a day or two..."

"And you know that when the truth is told, that you can get what you want or you can just get old.  You're gonna kick off before you even get halfway through...
Why don't you realize, Vienna waits for you."