Fabulous Vacation!!

You know you're destined to have a great vacation when you have fun on a 3 hour layover in an airport! While waiting for our flight from Minneapolis to Seattle, Rod and I met a big game hunter named Greg who was on his way to south Africa to kill a rogue elephant that was killing people from the local village! Of course, I didn't believe him! He did have on safari kind of clothes, a circular scar on his calf that looked like a bullet hole and the word "Bwana" on his shirt. But, feeling a little ornery (shock!) I said, "How do we know you're not just making this up? How do we know that you're not just yanking our chains, making this all up just for effect?" So, he then pulled out a catalog showing himself and several dead animals including a giant dead water buffalo in Australia! When he's not a "gun for hire" he runs a safari travel agency. It was very cool! We have his business card, so if any of you are interested or if you have any rogue elephants...
While in Seattle, we checked out the Space Needle that was built for the 1962 World's Fair. Check out this website to get info: http://www.spaceneedle.com. The area around the Space Needle is still set up like it was for the World's Fair with a kid's science center, special art work and some games and rides like a state fair. But, the best part was that they had FOOD like a state fair! Rod was thrilled to have a cherry snow cone!
One of the big draws of Seattle is the Pike Place Market (http://www.pikeplacemarket.org). This is where merchants have their stalls set up so they can sell their fruit, vegetables, flowers and crafts. The biggest difference between this and a farmer's market is that they also have stands where they sell fresh meat and fresh fish. When someone orders something like salmon, the workers pick up a giant one and throw it around to weigh it, cut it up and package it. They also do some kind of yelling when they throw. I’m not sure what they were saying, but it did add to the excitement! Rod and I treated ourselves to some fresh cherries, grapes and newly fried mini powdered-sugar donuts! (Well-balanced vacation diet!)
One place that was high on Rod's lists of "things to do in Seattle" was to visit the Boeing plant. We were able to see giant planes being built! They actually have these giant 767's, 787's on an assembly line! They are able to build a working 787 in about 4 days! Although, the planes are in such high demand, it will take you about 1 1/2 years to get yours after you put in your order!
As a special treat, we decided to take a ferry from Anacortes (just outside Seattle) to Sidney, British Columbia. We drove to Victoria and stayed at this amazing hotel called the Fairmont Empress. To get some info on this amazing place go to: http://www.fairmont.com/empress
While in Victoria, we took a seaplane tour of the area. I have tried to post a couple of pictures of some of the islands in the area. The flight was scheduled to be for an hour, but our pilot took us out for almost 2 hours! It was so much fun!
Downtown Victoria offers such a variety of experiences! Everywhere you turn there are beautiful flowers, gardens (see photos...hopefully!) bookstores, shops and FOOD!! How can a person not have fun when they can go to a bookstore, buy some English Bone China and eat some ice cream without having to walk more than 2 blocks!!!
A very, very special treat was having lunch with a "phriend" (a friend who also has "PH," pulmonary hypertension)! Jas and I "met" through the PHA online discussion board. We met in person last summer at the PHA conference in Minneapolis. I remember talking to her about the fact that she lived in Canada. So, I got in touch with her to see if she lived close to Victoria. Well, she only lives about 30 minutes away! So, on our last full day in Victoria, she drove in and had lunch with Rod and I! She is such a sweetheart and I am so glad that she got to meet Rod and he meet her! Also, she went to the doctor the next day (via ferry! It's such a different world!) and got some excellent news on her PH!! I'm also going to try to post a picture of Jas.
We returned to Seattle by way a ferry again and spent one more day in Seattle before heading back to the world of reality! Fridays are the nights Rod and I try to go to a movie. Well, there just happened to be a couple of movie theaters within a couple of blocks of our hotel. So, after we got settled in our room, we headed off to see Rush Hour 3! It was hilarious, really silly, but hilarious!
People often ask how I can travel when I'm sick and some of you may be wondering if it was difficult getting around to all of our activities while on our fabulous vacation. Well, the first part of the answer is that I couldn't go do the fun things we do if I didn't have such a wonderful husband who acts as my personal entourage! Secondly, every time I start getting tired and feeling sorry for myself, God throws a sign in front of me to remind me how lucky I am and to keep on moving and keep on living. On the way to the movie on Friday, I was dragging my oxygen (which is on wheels) and my backup medicine across cobblestones, cracked concrete and curbs. I started feeling sorry for myself and had just turned my head to Rod so I could let loose with some good "whines," when I noticed a beautiful young woman across the street. She was trying to figure out how to cross the busy street. She was having trouble because she was blind and she was alone. I swallowed my "whine" and gave Rod a kiss and told him how much I loved him. I also closed my eyes and thanked God for keeping my head and heart in check. I was also shown that goodness and kindness is still alive and well in the world when several people stopped to help the young lady get to her destination.
Well, as you can tell, we had a fabulous vacation! We wish you could have been there! (Although I wouldn't have shared my popcorn!)

Thanks for reading!
Annette