Month: January 2010

Thanks to our neighbour Scott again, Morgane and I got to try out the coolest bike! One person rides and one kneels or stands. It took awhile to get the hang of, but I loved it.

Another amazing thing we saw was a lady who brought a bunch of hula-hoops. She was really good and even had a glow-in-the-dark one. But at night she really impressed the crowd when she used a hula-hoop on fire!

There are 5 or 6 torches around the outside of it. Her husband stands by with the fire extinguisher, just in case, and we’re glad even though she doesn’t seem to need it.

Our super VW neighbour loaned us his canoe to go see London Bridge. I know it may be hard to believe that London Bridge is in Arizona at Lake Havascu, but it is. It seemed odd to me when I first heard about it, too. I wondered why they didn’t keep it in England somewhere, but I guess they needed someone to take it and pay for it as well.

Ghis and Angela took the kids in the canoe while I volunteered to walk along the shore and take pictures.

They made it around the corner past the lighthouse and then began to run into some light traffic including the very large paddle-wheeler that ferries visitors to the casino across the lake. They got to ride a few waves as they crossed into the right lane.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t park their canoe anywhere. All the docks were private, so they turned around and headed back to camp.

As they left, I climbed up to the bridge to get a better view. I could see them paddle all the way back to VW land.

Up on the bridge with my zoom lens, I found that I could peep into boats as they passed under the bridge.

It was fun, but I decided to switch to the other lens to get a picture of the entire bridge. I think I put the lens down on the edge of the bridge for a second because at the last second, I saw another boat I wanted to photograph – two ladies in a pedalo, one pedaling with her hands.

Somehow the lens fell onto the hard cement. I removed the lens cover and grimaced when I saw the broken glass. This was our one and only very good lens. I wondered all the way back whether we’d be able to replace it.

When Ghis saw it, he popped a protective filter off the end and showed me that the actual lens wasn’t broken at all. That was why he had put the filter on (He thinks I’m a klutz!). I am very grateful that he did and will be so careful from now on.

Morgane and I arrived in Phoenix and after visiting with Ghis’s sister, Michelle, we headed for Buses by the Bridge, a large gathering of VW buses and Westies at Lake Havascu, Arizona. We didn’t spot any buses until we got pretty close.

Once we arrived, we paid $25 for the weekend and we drove around looking for a place to park. We followed the road onto the beach, but at the end of the beach, we got stuck and couldn’t get back to the road! Lots of people offered to push, but I thought it was an excellent place to park.

Shortly after, a red bus tried to do the same thing and got stuck. We immediately recognized the bus as belonging to Jason and Angela and Bode, another family on a year-long trek that we had been trying to meet up with for ages. Maybe it was the horns on front that gave it away! We convinced them to park beside us.

I made sure to walk around and get a look at all the buses. It made us feel very luxurious in our Eurovan.

There were lots of activities organized over the weekend including a bouncy obstacle course for the kids, a raffle, a chili cook-off, and various silly games. Lots of colourful people, too!

There was lots of tie-dye and people selling stuff – anything from VW parts to VW pins and t-shirts and toys.

We met up with some people from the Wet Westies group that Ghis had chatted with on-line. I heard amazing stories from them about the incredible community shared by VW owners and enthusiasts.

Sometimes we ate food cooked up by a local fundraising group and sometimes we shared with our neighbours. One morning, Ghis cooked up buckwheat pancakes for our new friends.

There was always lots going on. Above, a bunch of brave swimmers enter the lake. They were all wearing tie-dyed bathing trunks!

At night we could hear the merrymaking going on into the night, but everyone was happy and respectful and we managed to get to sleep fairly early.

This morning we left and most of the buses were leaving, too. Many needed a push to get going! Most of the old ones had bumper stickers that said “I am flooring it!” or “Are you still behind me?” I guess it takes a special person to drive an old bus. But seeing one that’s been taken care of is enough to make anyone fall in love.

Happy Birthday to Me
Happy Birthday to Me
Happy Birthday Dear Heather
Happy Birthday to Me

Thanks for all the birthday wishes!

Tomorrow we fly back to Phoenix! I miss the sunshine a lot. Thanks, Ghis, for keeping up the blog.

Morgane is playing UNO with her grandparents while I pack up our stuff. Earlier I went for a walk in the forest with Glen and we went around Rice Lake. It reminded me that it can be beautiful in the rain – that you just have to go anyway

I am sorry for the mess with the pictures in the previous post.  I spent two hours trying to fix it and ran out of time and patience.  The Grand Canyon (and Michelle) awaits!

Peace!

Hey there!

Here’s what’s happening meanwhile in Arizona.

When Heather and Morgane left, I found a foam shop who was crazy enough to redo the upholstering on our back seat (the downstairs bed). It was pretty late so we agreed I would be back in the morning to remove the seat and order the foam. They assured me that it would all be done before the end of the day on Friday.

I spent the evening at a local library, writing, reading and watching a movie. Then I found a Walmart and set up for the night. They had music blaring out of exterior speakers, all night. I am glad I have earplugs…

After I left the seat in the morning, I went off to do some projects on the van. I had been wanting to install a hatch on the battery compartment for a long time. I finally did and looks good. Now I can access the compartment’s gear without having to first empty all our bins from the back. Then, it was time to go get Michelle (my sister offered to keep me company while the girls are in Vancouver).

She arrived at the airport and we went off to get her some mexican food. We then went back to the foam shop, got our seat, paid and off we went. We had some amazing sushi and went to the movies to watch a depressing movie that Oprah recommended. It was pretty good too. It was late and I needed a shower so we went to La Quinta and got a room for us and Carmanah. They had a heated pool and a hot-hot Hot tub. Nice. So nice that I booked our room there again for the girls’ return on Thursday.

In the morning, we went to the Apple store and then to Trader Joe’s to stock up for our little expedition to nowhere. It was noon when we finally hit the road. We decided to head towards a town called “Jerome” in the north. Then, maybe we would keep going north or go to Vegas or go to San Diego or go to Tucson.

We got out of the city sprawl using the highway and then took the Carefree Highway 74 for a long detour by the back roads. Are we ever glad we did it too. We made a sandwich in the Pleasant lake regional park which is definitely not worth the detour (unless you own a boat, there is no access to the water).

The highway branched off onto 89 and we headed back to the mountains.  Before we knew it, we got to 7200 feet.  It was an amazing drive through a goat path up the mountain.  The view points were both treacherous and wondrous.   When we got there, I realised I had forgotten to gas up so I cursed and we did not stop until we were in Prescott.

Prescott use to be the Arizona capital.  The streets are wide and the downtown area is very nice.  Cafes, shops and green spaces make it a nice place to slow down and have a good look around. We spotted the “Raven – Organic Café” and went in.  We would not leave until 4 hours later, filled and jolly and a little spacy.  We ate well and then a Gringo mexican band came on.  The Eric Miller Band were very entertaining and a very eclectic bunch.  Eric is the lead singer and classical-spanish guitar player.  His dad plays a mean-Santana-like electric guitar.  There was also a bass player and a very good low key drummer.  We really enjoyed them.  When they took a break, we yawned and headed to the Prescott Walmart for the night and had a good if cold night of rest.

In the morning, we packed up and left for Jerome.  We were an hour away and the road was even more spectacular than the previous day. We did not climb as high but it was smaller roads with sharper turns, up and up until we got to Jerome.  The village of Jerome is an abandoned mining town, reclaimed by artists in the 60’s.  It is now a nest in the mountain and they get a million tourists who choose the back road just to come and get lost here just like us every year.

We had breakfast at the Mile End Café.  We ate very well on their own, they are worth the detour.  After walking around town and taking a lot of pictures, we left and headed to Sedona.

The drive was ordinary and suppose to last only 30 minutes.  However, after 15 minutes, you drive to discover a drastic change in the scenery:  from desert sands and vegetation, the horizon unveils high peaks and beautiful red rocks.  We stopped in a rest area to take it all in.  We drove into Sedona and were mute with admiration at the adobe houses and surrounding Red Rock mountains.  We spent part of the afternoon driving around and then rest in a cafe.  We were directed to an Italian restaurant for dinner “The best there is!” according to the cafe personnel.  As we left the cafe, we noticed a high placed airport and decided to go up there and see if we could get a better glimpse of the sunset.

We drove down into town and headed for the restaurant.  We met Jay, the manager and he sent us in the corner, to his best table.  After sitting us, he left only to return minutes later with a hand full of rose petals.  In a hushed voiced he bent to my hear:  here, I am doing my part for you…  Michelle – my SISTER! – and I started laughing.  We had a good meal and they even were nice enough to let us set camp in their parking lot.  We had again a cold night and left to go to Flagstaff.

A few miles out of town, we came across Oak Creek Canyon.  We had a nice hike and got back in the car.  When we got to “Flag”, we were a little disappointed.  At first glimpse, the city seem to be just a bunch of houses and commercial stores all slapped together.  To be fair, we did not even gave it a chance as we discovered that we were only an hour and a half from the Grand Canyon.

We arrived at Grand Canyon at 2h30 pm.  Went to the tourist info at the IMAX theatre.  There, I discovered that our National Park pass was letting us in for free.  We caught a couple maps and drove to the very end of the south rim park.  We then drove back stopping at every vista to take in the view.  Words – mine anyway, will not do it justice so I will not even try.  Here are a few picts which don’t do much either:

Today we went for brunch at the Hotel Vancouver to celebrate my birthday. I had just stuffed myself with the perfect amount of prime rib and eggs benedict when the waitress brought me a tray of desserts with a little candle to blow out. I suspected something was up because seven-year olds have a hard time keeping a secret!

After, we drove to Kitsilano around W. 4th to visit some of my favourite stores. Morgane and I shopped for bathing suits at Swimco, the only store where I ever find something good. Then we checked out the books at Duthie’s. I grabbed a piece of my favourite Caper’s chocolate cake for later and finally we stopped at Coast Mountain Sports.

Ghis and I were both working at Coast in Vancouver when we met, but the store has changed a lot since then. I didn’t see anything I needed, like shoes. They don’t even carry Patagonia anymore!

Then we came home and got invited to my bestest friendest since highschool, Jennifer’s house. Morgane got to play with the girls and we had a good visit.

Back home, I forced my parents to watch my favourite movie of late (as I watched it for the third time): Away We Go. Luckily they liked it – I would have had trouble forgiving them otherwise.

Now I’m lying in bed, ready to sign off my blog. It’s raining again which just seems normal for Vancouver in January. Tomorrow, perhaps swimming at the wave pool.

Morgane and I flew from Phoenix, through San Francisco, to arrive in Vancouver Thursday night. We are having some good rest, especially since the rainy weather doesn’t make us feel guilty for not going outside. There isn’t even much snow on the mountains to lure us up there.

After visiting with her favourite cat, Pumpkin, Morgane unloaded all her treasures: shells, rocks and junior ranger badges. Grandma and grandpa were impressed with her fossilized shark teeth!

Here are some pictures of the cacti on the mountainsides on the way to Phoenix.

As we drove around, I didn’t see much beauty in the city of Phoenix – the buildings I saw were functional but they didn’t fit the landscape. We set the GPS for our first stop: the apple store. It was in a mall, but a southern-style mall. Instead of walking around inside the mall, there was an outdoor hallway with green grass (very rare in Phoenix) and fountains everywhere. It was very pleasant, especially with the warm temperatures.

After that, Ghis looked up the REI (outdoor sports store), so we could buy a duffle bag for the plane. Unfortunately it would only work on the shortest route setting (instead of fastest route). That meant that it made us take a turn almost every block! We finally made it downtown and then it told us to keep going. I started to wonder when we passed a small house with a horse in the backyard and then one with a donkey. It seemed we were on one of the reservations.

All this time, we were looking for somewhere to eat. We finally arrived at what the GPS said was our destination and there was nothing, no REI in sight! We don’t know what the GPS was thinking. We had to call the store to ask for directions. In the meantime, Ghis stopped at a grocery store and asked me to grab us some lunch.

Little did I know that as I crossed the threshold of the store, I’d be entering Mexico! Outside were the pretty coloured flags that are hung for special occasions. Inside the store I looked for sandwiches, but found only tons of Mexican food. Normally that would be great, but having eaten it twice the day before, I was not in the mood.

There were no sandwiches and I did not feel like tamales or tacos or anything else made with the same ingredients. Mexican music blasted in my ears. As I walked the aisles, I was impressed by the items I had never even seen in a grocery store. There was even a Jesus aisle. Instead of lunch, I bought pineapple empanadas and a piece of cake with sprinkles on it.

We ate that and I gave Morgane pasta from the fridge and we made it to REI. Then we checked into a great room at the Hampton where we will stay until it’s time to catch our flight on Thursday.