It’s almost midnight and I am sitting on the back of the red eye West Jet flight from Vancouver to Toronto. The flight is at a quarter of its capacity so I fortunately have three seats to myself. Christopher took the three seats in front of me to sleep. He’s reading right now but I’ll check up on him when I’m done writing.
I must admit I am extremely disappointed I am on my way back to Toronto. As much as I love Toronto, I just want to be on the west coast. The freedom I have been able to feel over the past three weeks has been incredible. I’ve met so many awesome people, seen so many new and interesting things, explored my surroundings, spent time in the mountains, saw my favorite singer in concert and most importantly, became closer emotionally (and physically) with Christopher.
Let’s start with the trip:
I landed in Vancouver, excited, exhausted, but happy. I believe happy is the key word. The next few days were spent in Surrey. It isn’t that I disliked Surrey, I just didn’t appreciate it as much as the rest of the cities I visited. I ended up falling apart emotionally. It was as if someone had kicked me in the head and I collapsed. Things got difficult, my mood fell pretty low and my emotions ran high. I felt like I was suffocating. Not because I was in Surrey, that part kept me afloat. Being away from my environment gives me so much opportunity to question and dwell on my life. So, instead of insisting on spending time in Vancouver and seeing the sights, all I felt like doing was crashing. To be honest, I didn’t know if I was going to make it out of that. I know I mentioned sometime before how I no longer wanted to “crash” or “hit rock bottom” but the place where I was at was awful. I tried to talk to Christopher about it but I wasn’t making my feelings clear enough for him to understand what was going on inside of myself. The internal fight is probably still going on but was the worst then. But with that said, Christopher and I met up with one of his friends, Kim who told gave me a wise tip, the time to dwell is afterwards, if you are on route, there is no point in dwelling until it is already finished. So, that is what I am now doing. I tried my best to cheer up and I think I was successful for the most part.
We spent a few hours in Surrey and then headed down through Washington, spent the night in Everette, kept driving on through to Medford Oregon, crashed and the following day went on to Redding California after we met up with Scott (a hippie Volkswagon guy that Christopher met a few years back) to meet up with someone that never ended up happening anyway. We stopped in a place called Weed California to get gas. That is pretty funny.
Our furthest south position was: Hilltop Lodge at 2240 Hilltop Drive in Redding according to our trusty (not) GPS. While there, Christopher and I figured out that every hotel lies about their fees. There are always hidden fees and added taxes and stuff they add on afterwards. The price you see is only the base price, now try travelling with a dog, some hotels wanted over $20 for Kelevra alone!
On the way back from Redding, we spent the night in Crescent City, which is this beautiful small coast town in northern California. We found a motel with an indoor pool (and besides the chlorine turning my hair green) it was fun relaxing with Christopher. We stopped at this beautiful lighthouse before leaving and we went down on the beach and I thought I was going to go for a swim in order to get back to where Christopher was standing when I got trapped by the waves on all sides of me. We took the Pacific Coast Highway and jumped out of the car a pile of times to take photographs of the ocean, the waves, the rock formations, and anything else we found interesting. This one place we stopped (on Highway 299, Eureka Way) on the side of the road, Christopher took the camera and Kelevra down this incredibly steep cliff edge that I didn’t think he’d be able to climb back up, thankfully both him and the dog got back up fine. It was weird because all of the lakes around the Shasta Dam had low water levels. There was this magnificent ghost bridge just off the main highway that looked like it led to nowhere, it was fun running across it, looking at the spectacular view and admiring the architecture. The best part about the drive was being able to go into the water at a beach in Oregon. Now, I know it was February and yes the water was a tad bit chilly but I couldn’t resist. The waves were well over six feet tall, the weather was warm and I needed to be able to say I swam there so I went in the water with Kelevra. I wore my clothes, a skirt and tank top so I ended up being soaked without a towel but it was more than worth it. I picked up these beautiful rocks off the beach afterwards to remind me of such a beautiful day. I was so glad to be able to share that with Christopher. He stood on the beach and took photos while Kelevra and I chased the waves. On our drive back we saw fierce elk and were able to get out of our car and see them fairly close up. This one guy, who was actually very brave got really close and the one elk faked charged him and he just stood there starring at the elk.
We drove along the Umpqua River in Oregon and Christopher and I had an incredibly romantic and intense conversation about our relationship. This river was so beautiful and the drive was fantastic.
We ended up in Federal Way which wasn’t great so nothing to report there besides a fantastic night at the Quality Inn where the pool was open 24 hours and Christopher and I got to swim and relax in the hot tub until the wee hours of the morning.
The next day we were off to Portland to meet a fantastic girl (Kitten). We met her online but connected with her instantly. She showed us around Portland after we had an incredible meal at the Baghdad restaurant, Christopher had a beer chocolate milkshake that was made with Terminator beer (check it out and see a movie *they’ll actually bring your meal into the theatre to your seat for you if you order ahead of time* if you are ever in Portland). She took us to this eclectic erotic donut shop called Voodoo Donuts and I got their infamous “voodoo” donut. Christopher thought it would be hilarious to purchase a shirt with the logo “the magic is in the hole” and got me matching panties. Yes, this is a highlight of our trip hehehe. So we fell in love with Portland and decided to stay and attend a party at a local sensual club. That was definitely an experience… it’s worth a blog post of its own so I won’t go into detail but I just want to say I had a blast and we went a pile of times. We also got to ride the tram, go through the Portland underground tour which was absolutely lame and beyond fabricated but definitely touristy. While in the same neighborhood as the Paris Theatre, a local porn theatre we went to just to say we had gone, some guys pulled out their guns when one guy pushed down this one homeless girl. Christopher made me walk down another street and wait for him while he paid for parking so I wasn’t anywhere near the gangsters. It was insane!
We drove back to Seattle and did the Seattle underground tour which was actually very interesting. It was cool learning about the history of the city and the events that took place to make it the city it is today. We also went to Pike Place Market, home of the very first Starbucks. Now, this was incredible. Christopher and I are HUGE Starbucks fans, and perhaps more like huge Starbucks addicts so seeing the first shop was very special to us. The little shop without tables or public restrooms still has its original logo with the mermaid holding her tail and exposing her breasts. Come to think of it, I prefer the new Starbucks logo but it was still great to see it. The shop is incredibly busy but the staff is fantastic and will pose for photos and everything. Christopher bought me a mug and a unique Starbucks gift card as a souvenir.
We had to run back to BC for a brief visit to refill our meds because we decided to extend our trip for another two and a half weeks, unfortunately Christopher had to go to the walk-in clinic which cost $60 because they were too lazy to fill out the paper work themselves to send off to OHIP so we have to do it ourselves.
We went on to tour BC a bit but still didn’t end up spending a lot of time there. It was fun taking the ferry from Vancouver into Nanaimo again after six years. We took it at night so unfortunately the view wasn’t as amazing as it was last time but I do have to admit that the ocean looked beautiful in the moon light. I ended up seeing my ex girlfriend Sue for coffee, it was a short but sweet visit. After coffee we drove to Victoria, stopping at a wreck yard (Malahat Autoparts) to find stuff for Christopher’s Vanagon. He bought rubber mats and an interior cloth cover for a rear cushion that matched the interior colour of his van. We arrived in Victoria and stayed at a nice hotel. Christopher took me to one of his favourite local coffee shops in the area, Moka House where he got a London Fog and I got a hot chocolate, but I admit, I still prefer Starbucks. We toured the Maritime Museum and the superior court room on the upper floor and the Craigdarrosh Castle and then took the Victoria to Port Angeles ferry back to Washington. Now, the ferry trip is a blog post in itself but I am so eager to tell this story that I can’t help myself; we pull up into the ferry yard and of course we need to clear customs prior to boarding the ferry since it is a US vessel. Now, we already knew that going in but Christopher’s passport was still in the back of the car in his luggage. As he got out of the car, the US customs agents (a man and a woman) came up to our car. I will filling out the customs form as Christopher went to grab his passport (if you know the new rules, you have to show your passport crossing via water and air into the US now). The customs agents didn’t give us time to fetch our information for them before “looking” at our stuff while Christopher was looking for his passport. I got out of the passenger side of the car and came around to give them my passport and the info card. The male agent then asked us if we had ever been finger printed before. Well, with my arrest, of course I had, but Christopher had also been finger printed in order to get his carry concealed card from Utah. He also had an extensive FBI background check prior being given this card so the whole next part sounds a bit ridiculous if you ask me. The agents decided we were some sort of “threat” and were carrying some kind of “weapons” IE) firearms. So the cops were called, and our stuff was searched. After the search was complete by the two US customs agents and a Vancouver police officer, the Vancouver police brought in two dogs, to sniff out drugs, and firearms. Of course, nothing came up. The ferry had finished boarding and was waiting on us. In the end, they allowed us to carry on into the US. The Vancouver cop who searched us apologized for wasting our time saying, “9 out of 10 people we search we find something, 1 out of 10 don’t and you happen to be the 1 out of 10”. So onboard the ferry, a few people approached us and said they’re glad to see us and the search was useless. It’s true, it was useless but I suppose it’s what happens while the customs agents have nothing better to do with their time. The funniest thing was trying to explain why I had handcuffs in my purse… all I said was, “they are for recreational use.” Teehee. Seeing the houseboats and the sea planes were awesome from the ferry.
We spent my 22nd birthday touring Seattle. Christopher took me up the Space Needle and bought me a fantastic dinner up top. We ate overlooking the city at night. It was so special. (More to come about my birthday in another blog post).
Because Christopher and I fell in love with Seattle we decided it was important to view apartments to see what the cost of rent would be and to see the lay of the land so to speak. We toured three apartments, the Lowman building on Cherry Street, the Quintesa on Yesler Way and my absolute favourite place ever, the OK Hotel where Kurt Cobain first performed Smells Like Teen Spirit. All of these apartments were in Seattle’s Pioneer District and had amazing views of downtown and the ocean. Christopher and I are definitely trying to get an apartment in the OK Hotel… trust me, this place is amazing and is dog-friendly!
We went to Seattle’s Gasworks Park and attempted to take night shots of the city scape before heading out to New Horizons (another sensual club) in Lynwood, Washington. We also were able to visit Jimi Hendrix’s grave site in Renton, Washington and Kurt Cobain’s famous bench memorial where he used to sit when he lived in his Seattle mansion. Courtney Love has sense sold the house after his suicide in 1994. The park was actually hard to find but with the help of a few locals (and a few rich gangsta kids who asked Christopher, “do you support local graffiti” and he responded with, “whatever you guys do on your own time is your own business” and the one guy said back, “that’s tight man” so we laughed for awhile about that because they were more white than we are). We were able to spot the bench just off Washington Avenue. The bench is located in Viretta Park if you want to check it out sometime. We also did a downtown Seattle art walk that takes place on the first Tuesday of every month. It was super nifty. All of the art galleries along First Avenue open their doors to fresh exhibits that usually the artist attends and answers questions. Wine is served and the atmosphere is very trendy. The art is rather open minded, my favourite being a show of erotic photography. Christopher met up with a girl named Karla but I left to find a bathroom and by the time I got back, I was angry because I didn’t end up finding one that was open, “what is this, Portland?” so I pulled Christopher away and we went on to look at the OK Hotel, which had an insanely cool, laid back art gallery in their lobby that featured intense pieces of firearms and naked women.
Thankfully Seattle has 2 + people HOV lanes so we were never really stuck in rush hour traffic!!
We stayed at Motel 6 in Seattle (Sea-Tac actually) and had an awful time with their staff. We reallocated a “do not disturb” sign from another hotel in Victoria to use at the motel 6 knowing they don’t provide those signs. Well while we were touring Seattle, I took the sign off our door and placed it on the dresser before we left. Once we got back, our room was made up and the sign was missing. Christopher went down to the front desk and asked about the sign being missing. Their answer was to the extent of, “we don’t allow those signs at Motel 6” and the girl refused to answer the whereabouts of the sign. Christopher asked her to inform the manager that it was missing from our room. The next day, Christopher went back to check on the whereabouts of the sign, Christopher asked the staff to fill out a form saying the item was missing and it was worth a million dollars due to its sentimental value. That was a joke but the girl at the desk took it seriously and gave Christopher attitude. The manager then called the police (once Christopher was back in the room) saying he was causing a disturbance by raising his voice and yelling, which he clearly was not. The police came and decided it wasn’t worth pursuing or taking any action because he was calm and levelheaded. Anyway, the cops did nothing, we never ended up getting our sign back and we left that Motel 6 the next day.
We went to a store called Cabella’s on the I-5 heading toward Portland. I found these crazy self heating meals that you can store in your car or take camping and will provide you a hot meal without a microwave or stove. Christopher purchased snap caps and silica gel for his gun safe that were also part of the cause of “suspicion” on the ferry search.
We went on to Portland again to see a Matthew Good show that I managed to buy tickets for. It’s funny because Matthew Good posted a blog entry with a photo of his drive on the I-5 the same day we were taking it into Portland and he posted an image of a truck with a dog in the bed of the vehicle and I remember telling Christopher how I felt awful that the owner would do that to his dog, and in the photo was a car just like ours, but ended up not being ours, but we still passed the same truck! Crazy, eh? While we ended up missing his Seattle show because it was sold out, the Portland show was incredibly intimate with perhaps 100 people there. Most of the people sat on the floor. Christopher and I managed to get two seats in front of the stage, almost dead center. It was incredible sitting there, watching my favourite artist of all time perform, and it was even more incredible being able to share that experience with my love. Christopher found out where Matt Good would be after the show so we managed to get his autographs on CD’s that Christopher purchased us at the venue (Lola’s at the Crystal Ballroom). Christopher also bought us red wine to drink throughout the concert and he also purchased me a T-shirt that says, “in it for the money” that Matt Good signed for me. It was also a neat concert because upstairs there was a full ensemble of swing dancing happening above us. Christopher said afterwards it was the best live concert he had ever seen in his life, which is definitely saying something!!
I do have to say something about Portland though, for whatever reason, all of their Starbucks close early! And when I say early, I mean, extremely early like 6:00pm. It’s insane. So now whenever we see something close early, Christopher and I turn to each other and say, “what is this, Portland?” hehehe. And you are not allowed to pump your own gas in Oregon, all gas stations hire people to do it for you because of some silly law. It’s odd!
And on the topic of Starbucks, Christopher purchased a ton of the city Starbucks mugs from Seattle, Portland, Vancouver, and Whistler (but we didn’t actually make it to Whistler). I’ve also fallen in love with the Federal Way, Washington 24/hr Starbucks drive thru.
We went to the Llyod Center in Portland and went to a store called “The Deb” it was super kick ass and I bought two kilts and these crazy fuchsia heels.
We took Kelevra to a dog park in Portland and while we were there the police had tapped off a huge section of the pond and there were like six journalists on site. Christopher went up to one and asked what was happening, the guy said they found a drowned victim in the pond over way and pointed it out. Christopher and Kitten went off for a talk so Kelevra and I took a walk down to the pond and watched a police scuba diver go into the pond, mark off the spot where the drowned girl was. We left before they took her out of the water but it was incredibly intense to watch the police get their boot into the water, the scuba diver and all of the journalists filming the crime scene. I never ended up finding out what happened.
Onto brighter news, Christopher bought a beautiful king size blanket at Target that we have named, “blankie” that I have fallen in love with and want on my bed. I’m now addicted to sleeping with it, but Christopher took it back to his parents house… which makes me sad. He also bought beautiful 600 thread count sheets at Target that I also want.
I taught Kelevra how to sit pretty (sit with his paws up) and he caught on really quick! We found out how much he loves milk bones hehe.
I have learned that I hate GPS’s. For whatever reason, they always pointed us in the wrong direction, ARGH!
AND the sweetest thing ever was how Christopher kept getting me roses over our entire trip. He's so incredibly amazing. He also bought me a milk chocolate bar before our flight home because he knew I like to have dairy while I take off in an airplane. Thank you so much for such a special trip, Christopher. I love you so much.
So, our rental car had 13,398 kilometers on it when we started, we returned it with 20,170 kilometers which means we drove 6,772 kilometers in total on our vacation!!
