"Paper or plastic?"
Checkout boy at our first Stateside supermarket, Seattle, WA
Wowzer! We're already two weeks into our grand adventure and I haven't once set finger to keyboard to keep you all (or should that be 'both') up to speed. Sorry about that, but we have been just terrifically busy. I'll start with a run down of some of the adventures we've had and try for some added colour later.
As you see at the top of the page, the good old US of A announced itself to us in a small but distinctive way. I had wondered how different it would be here South of the 49th parallel; was all of North America the same bland TV world we had come to know? No. In both countries it is not the done thing to pack your own shopping at the supermarket; either the checkout person does it for you and hold up the entire line while she packs and scans at the same time (a level of multi-tasking at which I have noticed women checkout assistants are vastly superior to their male counterparts) or there is an assigned packer per till. Still, in Canada I was never offered a choice, just a barely adequate plastic bag. Down here in the land of the free, choice is king. Paper or plastic? We chose paper as it would double up as kindling for our many expected campfires.
Portland wowed us. There are more brew-pubs per-capita than anywhere else in North America, hundreds of drinking fountains, free and fast public transport within the city centre, the world's largest independent new/used book store, a retired submarine which we toured and it's pretty to boot; lots of parks, trees and bridges. It had a very liberal bohemian feel, much like I had always imagined San Francisco would feel (we'll see...) but was smallish too. We also discovered there the supermarket chain whole foods; fabulous in every way! If there was one place in America we would move to it would absolutely be Portland. (Top event; free pizza from a place called Pizza-Schmizza that also sold local micro-brew beer! I'd live there)
We've decided in recent days that we're ready for a dog when we get home as the first new addition to family Denton. I was dead set on a retired racing greyhound but having swotted up from my find in Portland "Retired Racing Greyhounds For Dummies" (this series knows no bounds, and hurrah for that!) we've decided that might be too much work for a first dog and not ideal when little ones turn up, hopefully soon. So we'll get feelers out for an older mutt looking to slot into a loving home.
We've been up the space needle in Seattle and I had another Manhattan, a new tradition for the top of any major tower. We were also on the beach in Seattle for the 4th of July fireworks. I think the show was marginally better than the Canada day display we saw in Kelowna on the 1st July a few days before, what with Seattle being huge and Kelowna tiny, but few events will ever touch the memory we made watching the Kelowna show on a speed boat in the middle of Lake Okanagon with such good friends as Donna, Bernie and Jake, Blossom and David. We plated the phantom of the opera music through the boat's speakers as the skies erupted above us in what felt like a private show. Magic!
In Kelowna we also spent time Tubing (lying on a rubber ring behind a speed boat while the driver tries to throw you off. Enormous fun!), wake-boarding (Hard) and sea-dooing (brilliant, but I did scare the wife a bit).
We met a princess of Norway at last night's campground and spent 3 evening hanging out around the campfire with hr very ordinary family. Apart from the throne and tiara you would never have known! That's a story we'll tell you in person!
Surfing for two days in Cannon Beach was great, we were both getting up and riding well on day one when we were 'inside' the break surfing white water, but on day two we couldn't quite get in any unbroken waves 'outside.' Progress still to make when we get to Hawaii.
There has been kite-flying, beer drinking, book reading, beach walking, fruit eating, wood chopping, Volcano viewing (mt St Helens), island hopping, sea kayaking, church going, pool and cribbage and crazy-golf playing (Vic's kicking my bum), Oyster sampling, fire lighting, bike-riding and mucho mucho driving.
Please comment and let us know what you're ll (...both...) up to!
R n V
Checkout boy at our first Stateside supermarket, Seattle, WA
Wowzer! We're already two weeks into our grand adventure and I haven't once set finger to keyboard to keep you all (or should that be 'both') up to speed. Sorry about that, but we have been just terrifically busy. I'll start with a run down of some of the adventures we've had and try for some added colour later.
As you see at the top of the page, the good old US of A announced itself to us in a small but distinctive way. I had wondered how different it would be here South of the 49th parallel; was all of North America the same bland TV world we had come to know? No. In both countries it is not the done thing to pack your own shopping at the supermarket; either the checkout person does it for you and hold up the entire line while she packs and scans at the same time (a level of multi-tasking at which I have noticed women checkout assistants are vastly superior to their male counterparts) or there is an assigned packer per till. Still, in Canada I was never offered a choice, just a barely adequate plastic bag. Down here in the land of the free, choice is king. Paper or plastic? We chose paper as it would double up as kindling for our many expected campfires.
Portland wowed us. There are more brew-pubs per-capita than anywhere else in North America, hundreds of drinking fountains, free and fast public transport within the city centre, the world's largest independent new/used book store, a retired submarine which we toured and it's pretty to boot; lots of parks, trees and bridges. It had a very liberal bohemian feel, much like I had always imagined San Francisco would feel (we'll see...) but was smallish too. We also discovered there the supermarket chain whole foods; fabulous in every way! If there was one place in America we would move to it would absolutely be Portland. (Top event; free pizza from a place called Pizza-Schmizza that also sold local micro-brew beer! I'd live there)
We've decided in recent days that we're ready for a dog when we get home as the first new addition to family Denton. I was dead set on a retired racing greyhound but having swotted up from my find in Portland "Retired Racing Greyhounds For Dummies" (this series knows no bounds, and hurrah for that!) we've decided that might be too much work for a first dog and not ideal when little ones turn up, hopefully soon. So we'll get feelers out for an older mutt looking to slot into a loving home.
We've been up the space needle in Seattle and I had another Manhattan, a new tradition for the top of any major tower. We were also on the beach in Seattle for the 4th of July fireworks. I think the show was marginally better than the Canada day display we saw in Kelowna on the 1st July a few days before, what with Seattle being huge and Kelowna tiny, but few events will ever touch the memory we made watching the Kelowna show on a speed boat in the middle of Lake Okanagon with such good friends as Donna, Bernie and Jake, Blossom and David. We plated the phantom of the opera music through the boat's speakers as the skies erupted above us in what felt like a private show. Magic!
In Kelowna we also spent time Tubing (lying on a rubber ring behind a speed boat while the driver tries to throw you off. Enormous fun!), wake-boarding (Hard) and sea-dooing (brilliant, but I did scare the wife a bit).
We met a princess of Norway at last night's campground and spent 3 evening hanging out around the campfire with hr very ordinary family. Apart from the throne and tiara you would never have known! That's a story we'll tell you in person!
Surfing for two days in Cannon Beach was great, we were both getting up and riding well on day one when we were 'inside' the break surfing white water, but on day two we couldn't quite get in any unbroken waves 'outside.' Progress still to make when we get to Hawaii.
There has been kite-flying, beer drinking, book reading, beach walking, fruit eating, wood chopping, Volcano viewing (mt St Helens), island hopping, sea kayaking, church going, pool and cribbage and crazy-golf playing (Vic's kicking my bum), Oyster sampling, fire lighting, bike-riding and mucho mucho driving.
Please comment and let us know what you're ll (...both...) up to!
R n V
3 comments:
ive just written a long reply and lost the lot cant be arsed to do it again today
Hi Both, I'll try and recall some of what I wrote yesterday but I've been to sleep, had a row and had some beer since then.I don't know if I'm one of both or not but I have tried to comment. Some times I just do not know what to say, you are living a life at the moment that I cannot really comprehend, I am happy that you seem tp be living life to the full but it is alien to me.About dog's, my view is that you should not have a rescue dog,they are damaged in much the same way as people,they come with their own history of abuse ,neglect and other peoples values and they do not respond to councelling (whatever that is).Children are life changing. they make you poor financially but rich in other ways eventually.I remember the days when your Mom and I had a bit of money and then we had no money but you and Sarah.Children are like sponges they absorb everything you give and require more but give them a squeeze and you get a lot back. The price of fuel in this country has almost doubled in a year, it now takes £70 to fill my car up as apposed to the £35 I did cornwall on last year.Beer is also near the £3 a pint mark in Walsall in addition house prices are falling steadily. I'd stay there if I were you and invest in some expensive winter clothes.Work gets more depressing by the week. Even though it will put us on the bread line retirement cannot come soon enough, perhaps I'll get some male escourt work to the aged and infirm. Recently given a copy of Back to Black by A W What a talent what a waste.check out Alicia Keys and James Hunter, I like them. Got to go Much Love Papa x x x
got your card thank's. Seattle looks pretty much the same all year round. Car is slowly dying.Our Hill walking expedition to the North was a disaster except for the journey up where I introduced Tina to the delights of Masham.Onthe Tuesday we went to climb Whernside Hill but couldnt se the bloody thing for the cloud,driving rain and gale force wind so did the station at ribble head and pub. Wednesday planned to walk up Mickle fell in County Durham after a crap night in Middleton on Tees (dont ever go there) and Alternater Belt sreaded on car AGAIN,problem not the belt but tention spring. Couldnt get it repaired in the locality till the following Monday so RAC towed us back to Walsall 6 hour to in the wind and rain got home at midnight. Had to cancell two nights in Northumberland.Now a member of a daisy golf club. one day its reasonable the next dat its far from reasonable. Aint spendin no more dosh on lessons that only confuse me. never no when the next card wrecking 10 is coming from either go round in 90 something or120 something GRRRRRRR.
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