left side
it took a heck of a lot of traveling to do it, but i am finally feeling more myself these days. following a long weekend in the pacific northwest full of food, fresh air, long walks, and relaxing i can certainly say i don't feel like the cancer patient i so overwhelmingly felt like most of last week and the week prior. travel is on my new list of required chemo-busting, stress-reducing activities. like yoga, it reminds me to take deep breaths and enjoy the most basic parts of life - friends, food, being outside, seeing new places, and slowing down. this was a great vacay because despite a general lack of planning, it turned out to be jam-packed with lots to do each day. and at the end of every one of them i was left feeling ready for bed but not overly, sickenly, tired.
friday was mostly a bust as we spent an uneventful afternoon at PHL waiting for our flight. we were rolling big in first class thanks to rotten's elevated status with us airways. red-flagged name notwithstanding, we crusied through checking in and were harassed by the security line keepers about getting into the first class line. i guess kids that look like us aren't invited, or so they thought. a few games of egyptian rat screw and indian poker later and we were boarding the plane, amazingly not delayed thanks to the winter weather in the area and we winged our way to SEA. our arrival came a bit later in the evening than i'd like to be out, and luckily all parties involved were a bit tired and weary of saturday's planned 7:30 departure for BC. so we headed to bed, and i, for one, had visions of big mountains dancing in my head.
saturday we headed north, thwarting border security rather handily and eased into vancouver mid-morning. my friends quickly learned that one of the magical things about being on chemo, and therefore, traveling with someone on chemo, is that food is a high priority, especially if it is particularly alluring. i succumbed to a banana nutella crepe very early on and pretty much didn't stop "being on vacation" until the vacation ended. i love food.
we shopped around for a while on robeson street, then enjoyed lunch at earl's, a very cool bar/restaraunt. we had seats over looking the street and some decent people watching ensued. following lunch (salad and pizza for the rottenest and i) we went to stanley park and took advantage of the views taken in while walking along the seawall. it offers views of the city as well as the moutains to the north of the city. here we also spied rollerbladers, other tourists, small children, and totem poles. what an assault on the senses.
driving north from there we were treated to what the sea-to-sky highway has always been known for and what it is known for now; always it has offered insane views of the water and surrounding forests and mountains. you really get the sense you are escaping civilization for something much better for you. now, it is a haven for construction, as the olympics are coming to town in 2010 and as it goes, vancouver, whistler, and every place in between is readying itself for the masses. those are some games i'd love to go to. anyway, we stopped at the big chief in squamish, the tallest chunk of granite for climbing north of yosemite, spotted some craggers, and then moved on to the grocery store for some goods. whistler was just around the corner and after touring some of the neighboring townhome communities we found the westin and checked in for the night. apres life beconed and after securing some skis it was yet again time to eat, this time at black's, a bar at the foot of whistler mountain. we thought the nachos there were the ones we had enjoyed six years ago during our spring break adventure, but we were wrong. still tasty, we singled out the correct bar for visiting apres ski the following night and headed back to the rooms for relaxing, napping, bathing, etc. dinner was a bit of a bland letdown at the mountain club, a very hip-looking place with the atmosphere and service to make it worth the money had the food actually not tasted like cardboard. i had salmon, which is actually out of season currently, so it was a risk, but everyone else struck out with their meals as well. with stomachs full of the un-tempting fare we headed back to bed.
starting vacouver off right with a banana/nutella crepe.
the view of vancouver from stanley park.
the drive between 'couver and whistler is one of the most spectacular i've been on.
apres... driving on saturday evening.
sunday was ski day, a beatiful bluebird day ripe with big, fluffy clouds, that unfortuantely for a couple of runs, grew more dense through the day but never really threatened the skiing. blackcomb followed breakfast, and it didn't disappoint. after a couple of runs getting used to alpine skiing again i had my legs below me and got completely choked up skiing a couple of fun, rolling groomers that reminded me why i love skiing so much and also that i am pretty much a strong and healthy person. we took a break for lunch and continued on, getting a full day in. my favorite run of the day was happened upon by chance as rotten and i picked our way down the mountain "last run". we found ourselves on a steep groomer and hit max speeds racing down, carving arching turns. i loved it and really wanted to do it again, but opted to save the feeling as the last of the day. it was amazing and the icing on my cake. following nachos and a change of a flat tire we were in the jeepster two heading home to seattle.
sunday was a gorgeous day to be skiing. we did both blackcomb and whistler. here's a view of whistler from blackcomb.
the gang.
revisiting the nachos of our youth at the irish pub at the base of whistler. hunger makes the heart grow fonder.
monday was without agenda and ended up being a great day spent touring the neighborhoods of seattle. we breakfasted in alkai beach in west seattle. this spot offered great, sweeping views of the entire city across the water. we coffeed and shopped in capitol hill followed by a brief re-fueling (ok, rear window-taping) session in belltown. then it was off to ballard where we found more coffee, thai food and some shopping. you can sense the reoccuring themes of the weekend, no? amazingly for us it was sunny yet again and all day we were treated to seattle's finest - views of the city and mountains, water, too. we watched a huge barge coming through the equally large locks and soaked up the end of the day's sun by walking down to the water and sitting in the olympic statue park as the sun set. dinner landed us at matt's at the market with seats overlooking the pike place market and the water beyond, with ferries crossing between the mainland and bainbridge island. it was a perfect way to round out the trip.
mid-morning coffee at vivace in capitol hill. rumored to be the best in seattle. it did not disappoint. most importantly, neither did the cookie.
requisite space needle shot.
crocuses in february. we love places warmer than the mid altantic!
we watched a barge loaded with gravel travel through the ballard locks. very cool.
sunset, a la ferry boat, over puget sound.
so, home sweet home, and i am working hard to retain the buzz from the weekend away. i am content and quiet in a good way. even though it is nice to be home i can't wait to go away again. soon enough. another break from being in cancer land.
friday was mostly a bust as we spent an uneventful afternoon at PHL waiting for our flight. we were rolling big in first class thanks to rotten's elevated status with us airways. red-flagged name notwithstanding, we crusied through checking in and were harassed by the security line keepers about getting into the first class line. i guess kids that look like us aren't invited, or so they thought. a few games of egyptian rat screw and indian poker later and we were boarding the plane, amazingly not delayed thanks to the winter weather in the area and we winged our way to SEA. our arrival came a bit later in the evening than i'd like to be out, and luckily all parties involved were a bit tired and weary of saturday's planned 7:30 departure for BC. so we headed to bed, and i, for one, had visions of big mountains dancing in my head.
saturday we headed north, thwarting border security rather handily and eased into vancouver mid-morning. my friends quickly learned that one of the magical things about being on chemo, and therefore, traveling with someone on chemo, is that food is a high priority, especially if it is particularly alluring. i succumbed to a banana nutella crepe very early on and pretty much didn't stop "being on vacation" until the vacation ended. i love food.
we shopped around for a while on robeson street, then enjoyed lunch at earl's, a very cool bar/restaraunt. we had seats over looking the street and some decent people watching ensued. following lunch (salad and pizza for the rottenest and i) we went to stanley park and took advantage of the views taken in while walking along the seawall. it offers views of the city as well as the moutains to the north of the city. here we also spied rollerbladers, other tourists, small children, and totem poles. what an assault on the senses.
driving north from there we were treated to what the sea-to-sky highway has always been known for and what it is known for now; always it has offered insane views of the water and surrounding forests and mountains. you really get the sense you are escaping civilization for something much better for you. now, it is a haven for construction, as the olympics are coming to town in 2010 and as it goes, vancouver, whistler, and every place in between is readying itself for the masses. those are some games i'd love to go to. anyway, we stopped at the big chief in squamish, the tallest chunk of granite for climbing north of yosemite, spotted some craggers, and then moved on to the grocery store for some goods. whistler was just around the corner and after touring some of the neighboring townhome communities we found the westin and checked in for the night. apres life beconed and after securing some skis it was yet again time to eat, this time at black's, a bar at the foot of whistler mountain. we thought the nachos there were the ones we had enjoyed six years ago during our spring break adventure, but we were wrong. still tasty, we singled out the correct bar for visiting apres ski the following night and headed back to the rooms for relaxing, napping, bathing, etc. dinner was a bit of a bland letdown at the mountain club, a very hip-looking place with the atmosphere and service to make it worth the money had the food actually not tasted like cardboard. i had salmon, which is actually out of season currently, so it was a risk, but everyone else struck out with their meals as well. with stomachs full of the un-tempting fare we headed back to bed.
starting vacouver off right with a banana/nutella crepe.
the view of vancouver from stanley park.
the drive between 'couver and whistler is one of the most spectacular i've been on.
apres... driving on saturday evening.
sunday was ski day, a beatiful bluebird day ripe with big, fluffy clouds, that unfortuantely for a couple of runs, grew more dense through the day but never really threatened the skiing. blackcomb followed breakfast, and it didn't disappoint. after a couple of runs getting used to alpine skiing again i had my legs below me and got completely choked up skiing a couple of fun, rolling groomers that reminded me why i love skiing so much and also that i am pretty much a strong and healthy person. we took a break for lunch and continued on, getting a full day in. my favorite run of the day was happened upon by chance as rotten and i picked our way down the mountain "last run". we found ourselves on a steep groomer and hit max speeds racing down, carving arching turns. i loved it and really wanted to do it again, but opted to save the feeling as the last of the day. it was amazing and the icing on my cake. following nachos and a change of a flat tire we were in the jeepster two heading home to seattle.
sunday was a gorgeous day to be skiing. we did both blackcomb and whistler. here's a view of whistler from blackcomb.
the gang.
revisiting the nachos of our youth at the irish pub at the base of whistler. hunger makes the heart grow fonder.
monday was without agenda and ended up being a great day spent touring the neighborhoods of seattle. we breakfasted in alkai beach in west seattle. this spot offered great, sweeping views of the entire city across the water. we coffeed and shopped in capitol hill followed by a brief re-fueling (ok, rear window-taping) session in belltown. then it was off to ballard where we found more coffee, thai food and some shopping. you can sense the reoccuring themes of the weekend, no? amazingly for us it was sunny yet again and all day we were treated to seattle's finest - views of the city and mountains, water, too. we watched a huge barge coming through the equally large locks and soaked up the end of the day's sun by walking down to the water and sitting in the olympic statue park as the sun set. dinner landed us at matt's at the market with seats overlooking the pike place market and the water beyond, with ferries crossing between the mainland and bainbridge island. it was a perfect way to round out the trip.
mid-morning coffee at vivace in capitol hill. rumored to be the best in seattle. it did not disappoint. most importantly, neither did the cookie.
requisite space needle shot.
crocuses in february. we love places warmer than the mid altantic!
we watched a barge loaded with gravel travel through the ballard locks. very cool.
sunset, a la ferry boat, over puget sound.
so, home sweet home, and i am working hard to retain the buzz from the weekend away. i am content and quiet in a good way. even though it is nice to be home i can't wait to go away again. soon enough. another break from being in cancer land.
Comments
THAT TRIP KICKED SERIOUS A$$!
Good for you! Thanks for sharing. I'm inspired to vacay again myself.
Keep at it,
PL
Aunt Kathy & Uncle Al