my epic "ca-ca-tion" part THREE

19AUG11

vancouver  island

tofino

tofino is a beautiful place. the beaches are like white silk almost.

this is the day we went whale watching

grey whale

hump back whale

these creatures are simply breathtaking...

my epic "ca-ca-tion" part TWO

lets see where was i.... OH YEAH, the ferry ride over to vancouver island.

17AUG11

vancouver

vancouver island

st. pauls church with his feathered friends

we stayed in nanaimo. this too is an incredible place i will be coming back to :)

18AUG11

vancouver island

nanaimo

tofino

these is where we stayed and had breakfast

a nanaimo bar

its 3000 calories of goodness!!

more beaches

(qualicum beach)

I almost went cave exploring :)

(horne lake caves provincial park)

this made me laugh

cathedral grove

macmillian provincial park

this is one of the many examples of the circle of life. when a tree falls, new ones grow.

this was such an amazing sight. the road was two lanes and pulling off to the side was not an option. the mist circling the mountains was breathtaking.

"pacific rim"

later in the trip i learned that the locals called august "fog-ust" the fog would be thick and then in a moment the sun would burn it all off and there would be a blue skies.

19AUG11

tifino

and the fog could roll back in, just like that

you say its your birthday (enter guitar riff here) its my birthday too lol

being forty has been easy, in a very unusual way. i'm thankful for that :)
while i was forty...

1. i survived raising teenagers
2. i helped take care of my granny till the last beat of her heart
3. i taught my grandson how to roll his tongue (we are currently working on whistling lol)
4. i traveled to the most amazing places
5. i seen whales
6. i petted a baby tiger
7. i raced go karts
8. got chased by canadian geese IN canada 
9. i went to another country
10. i sent messages to the universe
11. i took my grandson to the library
12. i used some yogurt and avocado's and my older sister and i had home made facials :)
13. i walked in the park LOTS
14. i stopped taking my big camera EVERY WHERE (and replaced it with my iphone lol)
15. i started meditating regularly
16. i painted my bathroom "sunshine yellow"
17. i've been preparing myself for a burning - one of old journals (my way of letting go)
18. i seen some live music (how casual did THAT sound... I FREAKIN' seen U2 -epic)
19. i completed LOTS of projects (am the queen of starting things lol)
20. i walked barefoot on LOTS of beaches
21. i still sing too loud while "listening" to the radio
22. i still play my air guitar flawlessly!
23. i still dance around my house
24. i still laugh till i cry
25. i still snort when i laugh
26. i still squeal when i'm startled
27. i still giggle at inappropriate things lol
28. i still break out into song
29. i still worry
30. i still tease and joke and make fun
31. i still dream in color
32. i still scribble down notes on random pieces of paper
33. i still cry when i watch certain movies
34. i still believe in all the little things
35. i still tremble when i get so excited
36. i still want to take photography classes
37. i still count my blessings regularly
38. i still smile at strangers
39. i still love carrot cake
40. i still miss my dad something terrible on my birthday 

last year i made a list of things to do. i think for it being my first list, i didn't do to shabby. i have had an amazing year. filled with all sorts of peeks and valleys. i am SUCH a virgo - i was studying my list thinking WTH, i didn't MAKE BREAD! lol its all good though, right. 

so i need to come up with another list of things to do while being 41. that may or may not happen. :)

my epic "ca-ca-tion" part ONE

last year sometime, a friend and i talked about going on a road trip.
january 2011 i began saving my pennies. i put myself on a tight budget and began to dream.

11AUG11
wyoming
utah
idaho

the morning of my trip

i laid on my bedroom floor

experiencing an anxiety attack 

it lasted over 30 minutes

(the view from my floor)

i can only speculate why i shut down...
when i was able to find the "on switch"...
my journey began.

i got to drive a Cadillac :)
(and yes they are all that AND a bag of chips!)

we made it to lava hot springs, idaho - after working a half day at work.

the secret garden by the hot pools

the moon was close to being full...

12AUG11

idaho

oregon

a little bit of idaho

i determined driving through the state of idaho, they must have got a killer deal on orange cones, cause they decorated the highway with them threw the ENTIRE state!

i also came to the conclusion there is varying degrees of "construction". for example there can be signs of "road work ahead" but the workers must be someplace else "working". lol.

i fell in love with oregon all over again.

we stayed in burns, oregon. a cute little town filled with extraordinarily nice people. we ended up walking two miles that night. see we THOUGHT the restaurant was just up around the corner. evidently it was around SEVERAL corners and a small hill. lol

13AUG11

Oregon

i went to my first farmers market and photographed my first strangers :)

 

brothers school in brothers oregon :) i couldn't help myself. it reminded me of my boys

i could NOT get enough of the fuzzy trees :)

we traveled through willamette national forest

and after many hours of traveling 

i got to see her again after about  20 years :)

all though this is the first time i have seen this side of her (the oregon coast)

she (the pacific ocean) is as beautiful as ever! 

we stayed the night in yachats, and ate fish and chips :)

14AUG11

Oregon

Washington

getting up early to see the full moon over the water.

then we drove up the coast on hwy 101. 

i had people tell me before i left, i would grow tired of this highway

(something i never did)

in fact i would forget to photograph things because i was caught up in the beauty of it all.

had some lunch and some ice cream : tillamook, oregon

then we went over "the bridge"

and just like that... we were in washington!

on yet another beach... life is GOOD :)

(but missing the boys i left in wyoming)

we stayed at a cute little bed and breakfast

we ate good food

and raced go karts on "nascar night"

it was like being 10 all over again :) 

i think i would have made my boys proud with my driving abilities

(i am certain i could have been a race car driver in another life time LOL)

15AUG11

Washington

i hung out at the worlds longest beach-and watched the international kite festival

we stopped for a potty break at a casino... $20 and 10 minutes later :)

16AUG11

Washington

Vancouver, BC

we woke up in lakewood, washington

then spent the morning in seattle :)

my happy feet at the market (i know, i know, i just can't help it)

the view

from HERE

THEN we went through THIS

and wha-la POOF! i was in another country :)

I'm still super bummed the lady that let us through the border

(the one who has to wear a bullet proof vest to work)

didn't stamp my passport!

we drove in "klicks"

then we seen THIS

iphone

nikon

i absolutely LOVED vancouver!

the photo's are right out of the camera no editing, simply splendorous :)