Vancouver 2

NIt is late Friday afternoon as I sit in the hotel room with the afternoon sun streaming in while I look down on the city and the bay below. There are at least 6 large ships at anchor, a number of yachts plus other small craft plus a cruise ship leaving! And that is where we will be tomorrow afternoon. The cruise became a reality this morning as I scooted round Canada Place and looked up at the huge liner!!!

But back a couple of steps!

Yesterday, Thursday was an extremely long but very worthwhile day. We made the trip out to Vancouver Island. Back home, everyone asked whether we were going to Victoria and the Buchart gardens or insisted that we went! The implications of the trip only dawned on us as we planned it and once again Steph proved an invaluable source of information. The trip involved a walk to the bus, bus, sky train, which confused us a bit as in this section it is underground, then another bus for about an hour and finally the ferry to the island! This was a pretty spectacular trip tho chilly out on deck. Yet another bus trip to get to Victoria! 

View from the ferry of some of the islands

Amazing plantings all over Victoiria - hope to see lots of these on our cruise

Bike envy!!!!

We had arranged to meet a friend of Jenny's at the Rebar restaurant so had brief photo moments on the way through and while waiting for our table, were able to hit the market in the area. Lunch was superb, a shrimp - basil pesto- tacos dish. ( we have had some delicious meals on this trip). We wandered back at a more leisurely pace but didn't dawdle as there was still a longish bus trip to the gardens. They were amazing and a riot of colour with the most incredible mass plantings of ordinary plants eg geraniums mixed with more exotic ones. We all wished we had more time. I loved the sunken garden and the beds of dahlias, and experienced numerous 'wow' moments as one rounded another corner and another explosion of colour!

The sunken garden at Butchart gardens

A few of the dahlias

We were picked up by Linda's sister in law and taken back to their house. Trixie and Mikey have lived on Vancouver island for the last 18 years and have beautiful house near Sidney where Mikey works. We thoroughly enjoyed being in a home again and the 2 long-haired Jack Russels and Siamese cat were rather overwhelmed by the petting! We were made so welcome that I left my one crutch (luckily I only took the one!!) behind and only remembered as we were about to board the ferry home - too late to turn back - so a piece of me is permananently there. I hope I can return!!

The ferry back was quiet and we managed to reduce the return trip to just one bus a relief! 

A view of the sunset and the other ferry

Friday was a very much quieter day, thank goodness. I scootered down Burrard Street down to Canada Place and enjoyed exploring the precinct, watching the people, boats and float planes and getting very excited when I saw another cruise ship berthed - it made our trip very real. We all met up to watch Fly Over Canada in the old IMAX cinema and then lunch on the waterfront. It was quite a disappointing area and certainly not a patch on our Waterfront, very underutilized! The others decided to hit the shops on Robson Street, but shopping from the scooter is more than a little difficult, so I scootered home.

Canada Place

One of the many pianos dotted round the city

Different forms of transport

Early  evening Andrew (David's brother in law) fetched me and we walked a couple of blocks to their apartment and I spent the evening with them, Claire, Matilda and Sabrina! What a fun evening. Even in the 4 months, both kids have changed so much  but remain delightful. Sabrina is walking well and talking a little, definitely knows which is a blue M&M! And Matilda served me a tacos with her restaurant toys. And then I was allowed to read 3 bedtime stories. Still smiling!

Matilda as superhero 'Flash, Claire, Sabrina and Andrew

It is now Saturday and D-day. We are due to start the embarkation process at 12:00 and set sail at 16:30. I have sadly handed over the electric scooter - it was fab and so useful but as I am almost pain free and coping extremely well, as long as I have the boot on for support. Walking remains slow but I am covering longer distances. The manual wheelchair may be used - especially to jump queues!!!

Not too sure how much blogging will be possible in the next week as wifi from the boat is exorbitant so will probably only communicate once we are on land - but making memories will come first!!

Vancouver 1

I suspect there are going to be a few posts from Vancouver! What a fabulous city - it has most of what I love, sea with mountains nearby and a fabulous cycle/ walkway which  we lucky enough to explore today!

But let's take a step back

On Monday we caught the Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver which is a 5 hour trip along mainly the coast line. Was a bit of a pity that it took almost an hour to disembark and go through customs and then were lucky enough to get a taxi van to the hotel. Unfortunately there was a problem with our booking so we had to have some lunch while we waited for our rooms on the 29th floor to become available. Steph and Lauren fetched us and we caught the bus to Kits and stocked up on picnic foods, and then passed via Steph's house for glasses and picnic blankets and made our way to the beach and met up with a number of Steph's friends. 

Apart from a very large free yoga class there were numerous other picnic groups, small barbecues and lots of walkers and cyclists.as the sun is only setting after 9pm we had a protracted evening with a stunning sunset. 

Another bus ride and we thankfully tumbled into bed.

Tuesday dawned clear, a little chilly but warmed up quite quickly. After breakfast, I was introduced to my new transport, a small motorized 3-wheeled scooter which is fabulously easy to manouvre. The main group set off by bus to Steph's and collected their transport for the day - bicycles!!!  Which was rather an interesting experience for some as they were a little out of practice!! In the meantime, image my way via a taxi-van to the Granville Island Market

Offloading the scooter out of the taxi van!

I then set out to explore the market which is quite amazing with lots of fresh fruit (including cherries) and veggies plus anything else you can think of in the food line plus numerous crafts. A number of things were very tempting - but I made the mistake of converting to rands and didn't buy too much stuff. Got some very nice earrings tho!!!

Some cement silos within the precinct!

Lauren and Stephanie getting the bikes unlocked for the 'oldies'

Linda and Lauren setting out

Me surveying the cyclists!

Karen preparing to get aboard

Passed this along the way - totally appropriate!

The others joined me on their bikes and after they wandered a bit, we all 6 of us set out again along the Seawall which is an amazing cycle / walking path which stretches all along the edge of the city and goes through numerous parks and alongside beach areas. It was fabulous to see it being used by all types of people. It was a wonderful way to see the city and I tended to bring up the rear as the scooter only had a couple of speeds!!

The Science museum ( not it's correct name!!!)

We ended the cycle in Stanley Park after passing the Totem Poles and looking at the Coal Harbour. Unfortunately, we only afterwards realized how isolated the area was, in terms of thoroughfare and it took an awfully long time (1 1/2 hrs to get a taxi to make me and the scooter home.

Takeaway sushi was very welcome!

Today, Tuesday, we hired a very large car! All the photos I took tended to cut it in half!!! It was a 7seater and we were all thankful that Steph drove. We crossed the Lionsgate bridge and headed north with our first stop in Squamish where we went on the Sea to Sky Gondola and then across the suspension bridge. I ditched wheels today and used my crutches only and was very satisfied with my walking ability - the worst is standing around!

A view out of the gondola.

Looking back at the suspension bridge

Unfortunately my balance may have improved but at the expense of my photographic focus as today's shots are pretty poor! Thank goodness Karen took some really nice ones!

We drove onto Whistler and had a very nice lunch which included a Caesar cocktail which is a spicy tomato cocktail type! Unfortunately it has been an extremely hot summer so the snow has melted and the rivers and dams are extremely low. In fact there is a fear that some of the trees may be dying off. 

The town was overrun with mountain bikers in some very scary attire!!!

A view of some of the peaks on our return trip

The others made their way to Gastown for supper but I decided to stay home and watch the sunset and rest up. Tomorrow we are off on another day trip on the ferry to Vancouver island, Victoiria and the Buchard gardens. Thank goodness, we have earmarked Friday as a shopping day!

Seattle

DYesterday, Saturday, was spent traveling across the breadth of America. We started early in the morning with 2 Uber taxis to JFK airport to catch US Airways to Charlotte and then to Seattle.

We left early in the morning in 2 Uber taxis - certainly used them enough and / or taxis in NY like I never have'

Got to the checkin at US Airways and had to re-distribute the luggage so that we all weighed under 20kg!!! It is quite useful being in the wheelchair as one tends to go onto the plane first, right in the front of the queue! And the others come on as well. We haven't managed to get bulkhead seats but that has been fine  as the space has been wider plus the planes haven't been full! The first flight was only  1 1/2hr but we waited for a further 4 hrs for our flight to Seattle which was a 5 hr flight. We had to wait to disembark as someone passed out as we were due to get off. Finally we arrived and met up with Steph at the hotel which is in a perfect place for shopping and Starbucks 

The view from our window this morning just after sunrise.

There were numerous homeless people on the streets this morning when we went out for coffee at Starbucks.

Next visit was the Pike Place Market which was quite amazing with an amazing fish market and flower market plus the rest.

We then went on the monorail with the view to go up the Space Needle, but the waiting period was 3 hours so we gave it a miss and instead went with Steph's friends, Dan and Erica and Uber to the Gasworks park which gave us a fabulous view of the river and the skyline. On the way, we were taken past 'the troll under the bridge' which has become a fun landmark. I have retired for the rest of the day, whereas the others have hit the shops and are hitting a restaurant for dinner.

Tomorrow we go by train to Vancouver!!!!

The leg!!! Resting on the crutches!!

New York!!

This is the 2nd attempt at this blog - I somehow managed to delete the whole one yesterday as I published it! So will concentrate on a photo tour.

Tuesday was day1 in NY in the rain

Window boxes on the way to Central Park

View in Central Park

Queue outside MOMA - short one thanks to the wheelchair!

Fabulous paintings and ceramics to delight the eye and inspire 

Van .Gogh roses and tiny ceramics using mother - of- pearl

Tuesday - hop-on-hop-off bus, ground zero and One World Centre 

The one corner of the remembrance pool

Reflections

On top of the world

The chandelier in the theatre!

Wednesday - Uptown tour, Amy dancing, shopping and night time tour with the Manhattan Skyline

One of the highlights of the trip - watching the rehearsal for their November Show

Manhattan from Brooklyn.

Yesterday was a rest day for me - yes, I have overdone it!!! Statue of Liberty and shopping were on the others agenda. I explored locally and we ate at a local Chinese restaurant which was delicious.

Packing cup now to leave for Seattle and the next leg.

Leaving on a jet plane

So the  6th August has finally arrived and I am packed and ready to fly! After the roller coaster of the last month it feels quite strange to be on my way! Add to that, that I usually try to travel with only a couple of pieces of luggage and if possible catch the MiCiti bus to the airport, I am suffering from overload!

My lift, Yvonne, had to park so that she and Joslyn, the designated 'pusha' - quite an outing for her as she has never been to the airport before - could unload all my bits and bobs which includes the suitcase, my backpack, handbag, fleece, 2 crutches, and the wheelchair with its 2 footrests and a cushion for the seat!!! I seem to take up quite a bit of room! 

I learnt that if you are an assisted passenger, you can't check in on line but as I did the usual 'Stein' thing we arrived with bags of time to spare. Going through security was a breeze, but I didn't go through the X-ray machine so was patted down. Thankfully I was dropped off at the Mugg and Bean so enjoyed a coffee milkshake and people watching - a favourite pastime and as I couldn't do much else than sit, very welcome.

Yvonne, Joslyn and I - just about colour coordinated- at checkin in Cape Town.

I have spent a very quiet time in Jhb though I did see Dave and Sally, before they set off for the Cape to walk the Otter Trail. Otherwise Karen and I have been packing, discussing and planning the next 3 weeks. I have been weight bearing a bit more, under the careful supervision of my private orthopod but

the general opinion is that all the paraphernalia will be coming along on the trip as walking long distances remains tiring and sore!

Lauren and Jenny trying out the loungers in Dubai.

Not much to recommend to me as being a 'specialneeds' traveller they kept putting me in a lounge with others like me (though more decrepit) but we did manage an escape!

AT Last we are in New York. Nothing to report yet as we are only just waking up to a rather grey rainy day. I am sharing a room with Karen and Jenny, both Duracell bunnies for note!!

Even though we were flying, time seemed to stand still. Two back-to- back flights of 7 & 13 hours are killing. We struggled to get the bulkhead seats promised, but eventually managed which was a blessing for me, I even got a box to put my foot on for the 2nd half! The food was good as were the movies!

So few photos and little exploration to report on, but.......... More to come