Maui: Day by Day

I didn't do a post of everything we did while in Maui by day. If you are interested in reading it, you can find a sequence of events here along with a ton of other pictures: http://meganelizabethsturges.blogspot.com/2012/10/picture-overload-maui-edition.html

Mmmmm... Mama's Fish House sounds SO good right now.

Maui is for Lovers

Remember that one time I went to Hawaii?

I. Loved. It.

In no particular order, I loved these things the best:

1. The weather -- sometimes it rained in the morning, but mostly, it was sunny and a little cloudy. Never really too hot, never too cold. Always lovely. Sometimes breezy. Perfect. Perfect. Perfect.
2. The views -- The ocean. The sunsets. The sunrise. The trees. The flora and fauna. 
3. The food -- Fish! (In particularly, Mama's Fish House. Pricey. But totally worth it. Twice.)
4. The drives -- Road to Hana is awesome. So much that we did it three times. Sort of... more like, we attempted it, turned around, attempted it, somehow started at the beginning again, and then finally made it. After that, any time we had to go on Hana Highway, we considered it an attempt. By the 15th time, we were total pros. But I loved the twists and turns. The waterfalls. The bridges! The dirt road. The random picture adventures. The secreted beaches.
5. The beaches -- need I say more? Every one of the beaches had their own appeal for different reasons. We visited at least seven different beaches, including: The Black Sand Beach, Koki Beach, Makena Beach, which were all my favorites. I loved the sand under my feet (except, as sand does, it gets everywhere) and the waves (unless they were knocking me over) and the sunsets on the beach, the people watching, and the reading on the beach! (I could do that everyday, for forever.)
6. The sun -- It kept me warm and it didn't burn me. And despite what people say, I'm at least one shade darker than when I left. (As long as you don't look at my legs.)
7. The diversity -- Between the beaches and the jungles, everything was so so so great.
8. The hidden gems -- We stumbled upon Koki Beach on accident. We also discovered a charming little garden highlighting the different cultures that populate Hawaii today. We went off-roading into a giant field of sugar cane, which was a little scary and not very advisable in our economy car, but totally awesome until we stumbled across a few other people.
9. The solitude -- There were a few times when I felt like I could be on the island all by myself and I LOVED it.
10. The hike -- We hiked the Papawai trail, which takes you through a bamboo forest and up to a giant waterfall (which we didn't quite reach). The bamboo is awesome. The mosquitoes are not awesome. Next time I go, I'm going fully prepared for more hiking.
11. The sunrise -- We were awake for it twice (crazy, right?). Once we were driving. And once, we were in Haleakala Crater National Park, watching from near the summit. It was breathtaking, mostly because we were freezing. 
12. The time change -- It is not as awesome coming back to Utah, but I loved that we were going to bed no later than 10 p.m., and waking up and going out and seeing things. It was very productive. I think it almost inspired me to change my ways. Almost.
13. Banyan trees.
14. Luau dancers -- Listen, those boys might have been no more than 18 years old, but they were attractive. And they had washboard abs, and more importantly, massive, muscley thighs. And fantastic smiles. And weren't half-bad dancers, either. Swoooooooooon. 
15. Our condo -- It was in a great location (Lahaina), two comfortable beds for Megan and me, an excellent shower with plenty of hot water, and was stocked with all the equipment we needed: body boards, snorkel gear (which we never used), beach chairs, beach towels, etc. etc. It was a great opportunity to stay in so nice a place for so inexpensively. 
16. And I almost forgot, my very favorite thing: NO BRA -- that's right. No bra. When you are spending the majority of the day in a swimsuit, there's just no use for it. I think I wore a bra three out of the eight days we were there. Magical. Seriously.

I didn't think there could be a list of things that I didn't like about my trip But there were a few things that I am glad to know:

1. Maui is not the place for single people, except for all of the reasons listed above. Just note that while attending the luau, the submarine adventure, on the road to Hana, or literally anywhere you go on the island, you will run into newlyweds, couples celebrating their anniversaries, couples, old couples, gay couples, and more couples. Everywhere. Maui is for lovers. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that someone thought that Megan and I were somehow...involved. However, we were not there on our honeymoon. 
2. Mosquitoes. I hate them. 
3. The grumpy guy at the luau is not interested in answering questions, he wants to drop off your drink in .00001 second because he has other tables to serve and wants tips, not to be friendly. He was the worst. And as I chatted with my seat mate on the plane, she complained that the locals are not very friendly. I didn't really interact with many locals, but if that guy was any way to gauge  she was probably right. 
4. That's it. Did you think this list would be long? I was in MAUI!! Of course it isn't long.

And now, the reason you are reading this post:

We took a lot of self portraits.

The beaches were amazing.

The sunsets were a perfect way to end the days' activities.

Loved everything about the road to Hana.

We are fun.

Bear Lake

We waited for a long time for this boat to come. And all got pretty terrible sunburns, despite slathering sunscreen all over us (multiple times). The tops of my knees, and some random spots on my chest and in my hair were the only spots I got burned.

Still hurt though, pretty bad.

But it was a good day. And the water wasn't too cold. (At least for wading in.)

From Sea to Shining Sea

All of the states shaded are places I've visited. I counted the states that I drove through. I may not have visited the cities in-depth, but I think smelling their cows and seeing the landscapes constitute a good enough visit. I did not include the states that I've only seen their airport. (Though, I think that would have only added two more states: Arizona and Minnesota.) And actually, now that I think about it, I think I have driven through/visited Montana and maybe even South Dakota, but that was before I can remember.

All this shows me is that I have a lot more traveling to do even within the Country's borders.

Hmmmm... where to go next?

With Bated Breath I Fly Home

Thanks to my very generous, very kind cousin, I had a flight scheduled to take me home so that I could attend family festivities for the greatest holiday of the year (Thanksgiving, folks). I have not been home for Thanksgiving since 2003, and so I am thrilled to be here. I hope it lives up to all my memories.

On the non-stop flight from Salt Lake to Cincinnati, I was assigned the seat 6B, which any frequent flier knows is a middle seat. Ugh! My luck with middle seats is not great. I usually end up between two very large, very smelly sorts of folks, and....

Honestly, I was just grateful that I had a seat.

I was the first to arrive in my row, so I sat down and waited, anticipating having to get up for the person who had the window seat. After a few minutes, a very cute bearded man with incredible brown/green eyes sat down with a friendly, "How's it goin'?" We watched as other people boarded the plane looking for their seat assignments, always targeting their glance further down the aisle. We were seated second row in economy, and so it was easy to see that each person was looking for a larger number than row six.

After a while, Beard mentioned that he thought that the passengers were likely to be all loaded, and we were not going to have someone sitting at the window.

I'm just not that lucky, and I told him so. I was going to wait a few more minutes, because they hadn't shut the door yet, and so it was very likely that the passenger was late, but most certainly on his way. The passengers were coming fewer and further between. And then they started coming in sucking wind, evidence that they had just run the length of the airport in order to catch their flight.

Every time someone appeared at the end of the first class cabin, my neighbor and I held our breath, hoping that we did indeed get to claim the extra seat.

"You've gotten my hopes up now," I commented.
"I think we're safe," he said.

I waited just a minute more and then moved over and buckled my seat belt. But the door wasn't shut, and there were still a few more passengers that had to find their seats. A Colts fan walked purposefully to our row and then looked around. We were certain we had his spot.

We held out breath again, waiting for him to ask me to move.

He moved on, and we both sighed in relief.

"I wish they would just close the door," I said.
"Any minute now," he confirmed, looking at his phone.

We talked about how he was a golf caddy, but currently it is off-season, so he just travels. He told me he was from Cincinnati, and asked why I did not fly in to Dayton instead of Cincinnati. We talked about the podunk airport he has to fly out of to leave the area of Oregon where he lives.

And then finally, they announced that the door was shut, and we were pushing off the gate.

Success! I broke out my Kindle, and enjoyed my window seat all the way home.

The Wedding

I just realized that I never did blog about Becca's wedding in Scotland. It was really neat to be a part of it, so I think that I should record what happened, although, now we're going based on memory. Goodness, I should have done this a month ago.

On August 18, 2011, Becca and Christian had their reception. It was a pretty stressful day trying to get there as Roberta was trying to line a bolero for Sarah's dress, and everybody else was trying to get rented kilts and hairs and nails and everything done beforehand. I set out on my own for the first time, trying to hunt down a needle in order for Roberta to hand sew the lining. It was fairly nerve wracking. Some how, we made it relatively on time? Becca and Christian disappeared for pictures and we got to listen to the bag piper.

It was held at the Edinburgh Botanical Gardens. We had heard predictions that it was supposed to rain all day, but luckily, it was just really overcast -- like a wall of gray clouds -- but no more than a few sprinkles until the end of the night. That made for some really good pictures, I think, because we didn't have to worry about weird shadows or anything like that. The gardens were beautiful and the grass was so green.

We had the dinner first for family members and members of the wedding party. It was held in this beautiful stone building. It was exquisitely decorated. Becca, Christian, Sarah and Will (the best man) were seated in a table up front. I was next to Will's fiance and Christian's friend, James and they provided amusing dinner companions. Becca and Christian both stood and said how and why they loved each other and thanked everyone for being there, then Becca's dad, Sarah and Will all gave toasts. Toasts at a Mormon function are very strange and I don't think any of us really know what we are doing when it comes to them, but everything that was said was really nice. Even Jason, who was acting as emcee, said a little something and seeing this big, gruff man expressing his love for his sister and his joy at her finding someone that made her happy was enough to make everyone tear up -- even him. So that was fun.

Afterward, they cut their cake.

And then the party started. The rest of the guests began to arrive. Some were decked out in kilts, which was really awesome, especially for the dancing portion of the evening. Becca and Christian danced to Then by Brad Paisley for their first dance. It was really sweet. Becca had hired a Scottish band that played traditional ceilidh (pronounced keel-ee) dancing. They had a call person that told us how to do each of the dances, but those that grew up in Scotland were taught in school, so a lot of them -- including my dance partner -- knew how to do most of the dances. They were really fun. I was laughing so hard, because of course, I am a terrible dancer. By the time I got most of the steps down, the dance was usually over. There was a tent set outside for when it got too hot and stuffy in the dance hall.

The evening was sogreat, and a ton of fun. I think it all went without too much of a hitch. Aside from Becca's phone being misplaced, and me freaking out about it, I think it was quite a perfect evening.

The next morning was the wedding. We didn't have hair and nail appointments to get to, so we tried to recreate Becca's look from the night before. I was in my pajamas when we arrived at the church, and we had to quickly get ready to go. We were late getting the ceremony started, but I hope that most people anticipated that...

Since Becca and Christian needed to be married civilly before going to be sealed in the temple, we did the ceremony at the church building, in the chapel. Flowers from the night before were put out to decorate the chapel. Sarah and I walked down the short, little aisle to Pachebel's Canon in D, and then Becca was escorted down with her dad. We sat in the first pew and the Bishop welcomed everybody to the wedding. We sang For the Beauty of the Earth and had an opening prayer. Then Sarah gave a little talk about the difference between being married civilly and being sealed in the temple. The bishop got up and spoke for a second and called the couple, "Brother and Sister McDermott", which was pretty funny. He really did give a very good talk. Then he married them and they signed the marriage certificate with Sarah and Roberta being the witnesses. After that, Roberta, Sarah and I sang How Great Thou Art. I was super nervous about it, because of course, Sarah has had voice lessons and is really good and not only did we not have the music, but we hadn't had time to practice. At all. But we mustn't have sounded too bad because I got a lot of compliments and I know that Sarah and Roberta both were told that we did a good job. Then we had a closing prayer and it was time to go to the temple.

But first, I had to run to the hotel to get Roberta's pills. Christian's friend, James, had his car and was nice enough to drive me over there and to the train station where we said good-bye to him and hopped on the train to Preston, England, where the temple is located. The ride is three hours long. We had them announce over the PA that Becca and Christian were getting married, and everyone cheered for them. I think I read most the way, while everybody else slept. The countryside that we passed made me extremely sad that I was going home shortly after. I would have liked to have seen much more of Scotland.

We got to the train station and had to wait around for taxis to come pick us up and take us to the temple grounds. I think Preston has the most beautiful grounds I have ever seen. Surrounding the temple was a real English garden. Red roses were everywhere, making me think of Alice in Wonderland, Painting the Roses Red...I was singing that the whole time Becca was in the temple. Becca and Christian were off taking pictures, and unfortunately, we ran out of time before we could get group shots with everyone. They went in to be sealed, and those of us who weren't able to join them in the sealing room waited around. I spent a lot of time walking through the gardens and taking pictures, but when it started to rain, I decided to head in to the waiting room.

After the sealing, we didn't have long before our train back to Edinburgh. So, the wedding dinner was McDonald's. It was very classy. We waited for our train, said good-bye to Sarah, who was leaving to go home. We had one stop where we had to change trains, and we said good-bye to Christian and Becca, who were headed to Glasgow for a few nights. By the time we made it back to Edinburgh, we were pretty tired.

Over all it was an absolutely beautiful wedding, and aside from running late and behind, went without a hitch. I was so happy to be able to be a part of it and be a bridesmaid for one of my very best friends.

Scotland Pictures

Cities are all the Same

When you are walking around Seattle, New York, San Francisco or Edinburgh, the truth is, from what I can tell, all cities are pretty much the same. So many people moving from one place to the next, tons of taxis and buses, the homeless, and an endless amount of street performers.

There are the people that paint themselves like statues and hang out, the ones that play different musical instruments (anything from drums to a trumpet or saxophone to bagpipes...), the magicians... My first night in Edinburgh we stumbled across a small band consisting of a bass guitar, drums and a bag piper. They were impressive young men, and we stayed and listened and enjoyed their music. On the street corner on Queensferry, there's a really good trumpet player that I liked, too.

In Edinburgh during the Festival -- and it's festival time right now -- people pass out flyers and advertisements for comedy shows and theatrical performances. It reminds me a lot of the flyers that are passed out in Las Vegas, only not pornographic. The performers walk down the Royal Mile dressed up in their costumes and singing some of the songs in order to advertise for the show that night.

The touristy shops are basically the same, even if the items are somewhat different.

The one thing that does change is the architecture. Except some of the skyscrapers, the architecture is fun to look at for a couple of days. And of course, I love the buildings in Edinburgh, having been around for hundreds of years.

In the end, my favourite places are the landscapes and picturesque countrysides and waterfronts where I can leave cliché citylife behind.

Edinburgh Night Life

The other night we decided to catch a film at the cinema. (Captain America, don't waste your money). Becca was on her mini-honeymoon and had left us to our own devices, which meant we didn't know which taxi service to get, so we ended up with some Chinese man that didn't speak any sort of English -- especially American English. We piled into his small sedan and headed to the theatre, only, and he dropped us off at the grocery store across the street. We loaded up on candy and pop and I wondered if it would be more or less difficult to sneak it all in.

It was easier. Actually, it turns out that you can hit up the bar outside the theatre and you can carry your beer bottles in. Cool. The guy selling the popcorn informed us that they "don't do butter" which turned out to be smart -- the actual auditoriums were spotless and carpeted. No sticky feet!

The movie was terrible.

Afterwards, we headed out and tried to find a taxi, but they had all switched off their lights and we were out of luck. The guys were getting incredibly nervous because right next to the theatre, there were a few night clubs -- gay night clubs. And they were overflowing with sailors and flamboyant men.

The people in Edinburgh are sort of terrible drunks. Josh and Jason were commended because they knew when to quit drinking, whereas their Scottish counterparts, continue to drink until they are staggering down the middle of the road in 6-inch heels and leopard print leggings. I wonder how many girls go into the hospital with broken ankles. Seriously.

We headed on down the road, and were probably only a mile or so away from Rebecca's apartment, but it seemed quite a long walk especially because Roberta -- the poor dear -- was hobbling with pain in her ankles, knees, back and neck. We were walking pretty slowly, which made Roberta feel like a target for all the crazy people on the road. She clinged to her son's arm and I was supposed to take Josh's. Only, Josh didn't actually offer his arm to me, so I let him walk ahead as if he were my bodyguard, instead of my escort. No big deal.

When we finally hit Dean Bridge and started down the hill into Dean Village, Roberta was using the hand rail and we came across a slug. Because of the wet climate, snails and slugs are pretty prominent around here, but usually underfoot, and not on the hand railing. Anyway, Roberta decided to flick the thing, and it went flying, somehow, forward. Onto my wrist.

I'm not normally a panicky person, although, maybe I really am because it seems like every other day, I'm writing up some experience where I'm doing the heebie-jeebie dance... this was no exception. The boys, who were dying from being so held back by our slow pace, turned around and watched me shriek while Roberta bent at the waist and nearly peed her pants.  

My First International Flight

I have a small recollection of being on a B747 at some point in my life, mostly because I remember being a little older and getting on the flight and wondering why there weren't four seats abreast and where was the giant screen at the front. But when I boarded the plane from Detroit to Amsterdam, I was overwhelmed by how big the aircraft actually was. I only wish I had been seated on the upper deck! There were 13 flight attendants manning the plane, and I wonder if they worked in shifts because although the same attendants helped my side of the plane, there were always different ones on the other side.

This whole trip, I haven't been extremely happy with my seat assignments. I prefer the window because I generally like to take a seat and not get out of it until we land. Usually, the flights are not very long, and so this is not difficult to do. Besides, I had every intention of sleeping the whole flight, just so that when I arrived in Amsterdam at 9:55 a.m., I would be well awake and ready for my first day abroad.

I had an aisle seat, and sat next to a neurotic couple that used sanitizing wipes on everything. They wiped down their tray tables and arm rests and then their hands. Their mother was one of those overbearing, crazy ladies and I imagine she was from New Jersey, who kept sneaking up behind us and saying, "What do'ya want?" in an exasperated, motherly tone. When the couple said nothing, she kept pestering them until the man was like, "A tissue. Do you have a tissue?" And the mother asked if he was chewing gum. He wasn't. "What do'ya want?"

It went on for some minutes. I tried to dive into a book.

We took off and I did talk to the couple -- who were really very nice -- for a few minutes, I read some, waited until we had eaten dinner (chicken in a squash of some sort and green beans) and then I was out. I tried to watch the movie, but the headphones they passed out hurt my ears and the ones I had brought were too short to comfortably sit back and listen. Besides, the first movie was Water for Elephants, which I had already seen and wasn't terribly interested in watching again. The second movie played, but I missed all but a minute of Jane Eyre, as I was perfectly sleeping. They played a final movie, and at that point, I was still pretty sleepy, but I felt bad for trapping in the couple, and besides, the flight attendants were feeding us breakfast (an egg on a crescent roll and a banana). I pulled out my book, and I was in Amsterdam before I knew it.

The airport in Amsterdam made me nervous. They did have everything in English, which was nice. I was certain I was headed the wrong way, and turned around only to walk to the end of the terminal, where I had to turn around again. There was no time to stop and see the touristy gift shops, no time to use the toilet, no time to do anything but head to the gate and walk through the metal detector (where would I have had time to pick up a dangerous object?) and flash my passport -- they had security screenings at every gate -- and then I stood and waited. And waited. They did not have bathrooms once you were in the gate, so I figured I would wait until I made it to Edinburgh. After a while, they began checking boarding passes and they had us enter another corral area, where we waited to FINALLY board the plane.

This plane ride was easy. I had a window seat. Sat next to an attractive man who assured me I would enjoy Edinburgh, even though the weather was bound to be pathetic until Sunday, and allowed me to read and sleep for the short trip.

We made it to Edinburgh. I made it through customs and filled out my little visitor card, even without Rebecca's address, and then waited for my luggage.

It was not to be. My luggage had not arrived to Edinburgh. Which, for some reason, I had known that this would be the case. I had thought while I was packing in Ohio that I should pack to be prepared for such an occurrence, but I brushed it off. I didn't want to have any toiletries in my bag to worry about security, and I didn't want to be carrying around heavy carry-on bags. They said that the bags would likely arrive around 1:00 p.m., and so I happily went out to find Becca. We called throughout the day, but there was no word.

I went to bed in pajamas from Becca, and decided to worry about everything yesterday. Only, yesterday, we headed to Glasgow to pick up Becca's wedding dress. By the time we got back to Edinburgh, Becca and Christian were off to meet with their Stake President and we were off to hunt for dinner. We knew that the delivery guy would have missed us by that time, but figured we could pick up the bag afterward, since they didn't close until midnight. However, that was not to be. So I spent the second night without my bag.

It has just arrived, and all is well. I will get along much more famously, now that I have my own items.... including underwear.

Happy day!

Good-Bye, So Soon

The last few weeks have been hectic and busy, and wonderful. I started out the craziness with a trip to Ohio to see my brother graduate. Brad gets cooler all the time. He's so easy going and hilarious, and fun to be around. He's so good-natured, and he gets along with everyone.

Graduations are pretty boring. I don't recommend them. I do recommend trips to the motherland whenever you get the chance, though. It was fun to be home, see everyone, and participate in a the time-honored tradition of going to Kentucky to decorate headstones of family members past. I haven't been to my grandmother's gravesite since she died in 2003.

You know you are in Kentucky, because they memorialize your rockin' mullet when you die.

It was great to be around cousins and aunts and uncles. I grew up with them always around, and these last seven years, I haven't been as much a part of all the traditions and get togethers that we have, and I've missed it. The weather couldn't have been more perfect - mid-nineties with only a titch of humidity - and the only thing that was really bothersome was the discovery of ticks. Yes, ticks! [Take the time to shudder. It's appropriate, I promise.] We found one on Kelsie's back two days later! And it was probably more traumatizing for the adults than it was for Kelso; she was so good about leaning forward and letting everyone inspect and work to get it out.

I started reading the book Creeker while at my Aunt's house, and found that Memorial Day has long been called Decoration Day in the hills of Kentucky. The explanation the author gave of what the holiday consists of: decorating graves, talking about loved ones passed, etc., coincided with our own family tradition. I love that we have just a little bit of hillybilly roots.

I stayed for almost a week, and was still sad to leave. I just missed the Troy Strawberry Festival, which was sad. Even more so, because I didn't get to go pick berries like I wanted to. It helped to know that just a week later, my family would be coming to visit me in Utah. All except Mark, who is recovering from ACL surgery.

We started out their visit with a trip to Bear River Lodge. If you are ever looking for a beautiful area to ride ATVs or get away in a luxury cabin in the mountains, I recommend it. It was beautiful. And just a little bit cold. There was still snow, and Brad's shorts froze over night after he hung them out to dry. We went for a mini-hike, took a couple ATV rides, sat in the hot tub and had a really good time. The owner is a friend of my dad's (an old mission buddy) and he totally hooked us up.

Kelsie was hilarious because she climbed on the king-sized bed and immediately did this little dance and laughed.... non-stop for five minutes as she shifted from one foot to the other. It was contagious, and we were all doubled over, laughing.

Afterward, we headed down and spent some time with my Grandparents in Clearfield. We went to church and then headed down to hang out with some friends, the Belnaps. They have been friends with my parents  for some 20 odd years.

The Bollschweiler Family Reunion started on Monday in Bryce Canyon area. We stayed at the KOA. I don't have tons of experience staying at KOAs, but this is by far the nicest one. The restrooms were remarkably clean - which is the most important factor of anywhere I "camp". (I'm no camper.) Much to Dad's chagrin, we did a lot of hiking. But the area is beautiful, and unlike anything I've ever seen before. We made sure to take lots of pictures (Amy and Mackenzie, you need to get me copies of the ones I don't have ASAP) and hang out with the family. All the siblings were there, and with only a few cousins missing, it was really great to having everyone there and Utah really is a geologically interesting place. There are so many different places and things to see in one state - all different. It is incredible.

Mackenzie had to take off a day early because she was headed to basketball camp, and so Dad, Brad, Mackenzie and I left and stayed in a hotel in order to get them to the airport in time the next morning. Only, ask my dad, flying stand-by is a pain in the rear, and even though I had to go to work, their flight wasn't set to take off until later that night. I left them in Salt Lake to visit Temple Square, and decided to show my face at work.

Mom, Amy and Kelsie came and stayed with me for a few days. It was fun having Kelsie at church with me, because she's a turkey. I had to take her on the elevator in order to find a suitable place to change her diaper in between classes. She decided that the elevator was super fun, and later told us that she needed to be changed again. We believed her. So I let her push the elevator button, and up we went, only to discover that she really didn't need to be changed at all. When I said, "Kelsie! You just lied to me! You don't need to be changed!" She responded with laughter. Peals of giggles, that made me laugh right back. Because she's sneaky and cute.

She obviously had too much energy to go back to class, so I stood in the hallway while she ran up and down saying, "You can't catch me - I'm a gingerbread man!"

Everyone at church thought she was cute. And of course she is, but she is also distracting. I didn't mind, though.

Mom left Amy down in Provo so that she could spend some time with her parents, and so I went back to work while Amy met up with some old friends. We made sugar cookie dough, that has yet to be transformed into actual cookies.

It was just so great having them all around, and now that they have left, I wonder what the heck I'm still doing in Utah? Who's idea was it for me to come out here in the first place! Why am I so far away from my family!?!!! It is torture to say good-bye, and I swear it gets harder every time.

I miss them already.

LaConner, Washington

Roberta and I visited LaConner on recommendation from her brother, Chris. It was about 45 minutes away from where they lived, and to get there we took a little detour before getting on the right road - which allowed us to look at some really neat houses. Once we were on the right road, though, it was really amazing to see all the cute gingerbread farmhouses and tulip fields. Most the flowers weren't quite in bloom, but the lush green of what will be beautiful tulips (my favorite flower...or one of) in the next few weeks was exciting.

We passed one field that was covered in white geese.

LaConner is a quaint little seaside town with a ton of little shops. Roberta and I walked around and checked out the different boutiques, snapping pictures along the way. I think our favorite shop was the antique lighting store - who knew looking at all the different lighting fixtures would be so awesome? We also played a little with Edgar, the English Sheepdog puppy who was out of sorts because he had just had his first bath.

We stopped by the LaConner grocery store, where they said it was built in 1985, but their refrigerated section was being powered by something from the fifties.

We tried our hand at the lotto.

And we won!

We decided that it was time for dinner, so we headed to the LaConner Brewery. On the way back, Roberta was telling me about one of her many lovers who is particularly dirty and definitely wants her body. It was unfortunate timing, as an Orthodox Jewish man and his son passed us. I'm sure they thought Roberta was a complete whore - when in fact, she is as straight-laced as the rest of us. (Or should I say, as chastity-belted?) We thought it was fairly hilarious, though.

The restaurant wasn't necessarily something to rave about, but the quesadillas that Roberta ordered most certainly were. Pepper jack cheese is always delightful, but these quesadillas also had squash, cilantro, shredded carrots and chipotle sauce. They were fantastic!

We headed back home after dinner. Of course, we crossed the bridge and headed towards the unknown for a while, but once we got turned back around in the right direction, we stopped and saw the old log cabin (that was creepy, and open...).

It was an absolutely beautiful day the whole time we were at LaConner and we both had a really great time.

I didn't spend much time in Seattle, because I had a plane to catch. But Roberta and I checked out the Pike Street Market and had lunch at Cutters. Roberta was convinced that the waiter was totally "checking me out" and "flirting with me." I am convinced that she still had traces of her pain pills in her, clearly affecting her judgment. She thought he was holding back because he thought she was my mother. We get that a lot, and have just decided not to correct the assumption. But with Jacob, she suggested that I tell him that she was my Madam, instead of my mother. That way, he would know that I was available. I did no such thing - but I did laugh ridiculously hard. He was dangerously cute though, with his Texan accent and great-looking beard. The view in the restaurant was amazing, as it looked right over the water.

Over all, I am absolutely in love with Washington, and the Seattle area in particular. It had been years and years since I've been in the state, and I really want to go back soon! I owe Roberta a HUGE thank you for letting me tag along and taking to me to all the really fun, cool and beautiful places we got to see and I can't wait to go back.