My weekend, just a bit late
So last weekend was pretty dang fun. How fun was it? Well, it was so fun that it took me a full week to recover, so it was either really super fun or fiendish, and I'm going with the fun.Last Friday, Kim's friend Steve came out from backwoods Ontario and we hung out for a few hours after I got off work, eating dinner and watching some Firefly. But the weekend really started on Saturday, when I got up at 8:00 to watch my Netflix stuff before going over to Kim's place. This went ok and I got over to Kim's a little after 11 to go hiking. She, however, was quite not ready to go anywhere as her alarm clock had failed in its duty to wake anyone in the house. So while I played with Cricket, she and Steve woke up and got dressed.
About noon we get on the road again, and we travel south and east until we reach Issaquah, at which point I direct the Kia to Threadneedle for some much desired stash buying. I knew that I would have a chart there that I ordered in a few months ago. I did not know that the designer would have sent a free chart from the same series since it took her so long to get the order out, nor was I expecting to have my chart paid for *and* a $30 gift certificate as an early birthday present. From an anonymous source, I might add. Sweet. So I spent the $30 and a bit more to get the threads, the latest Mirabillia, and some Kreniks for the Mira, and the JCS 2005 ornament issue. It was good, and the fact that my annual quest for the ornament issue ended in record time just made it sweeter.
Getting back on the road, we head to Twin Falls state park and go for a walk. And some more of a walk. And then I find a nice walking stick, and while I liked the stick it had some odd fuzzy moss on it that kinda weirded me out, so I passed the stick off to Steve. This did not please Kim, who spent the rest of the hike worrying about the stick hitting her and poking her eye out. Aside from being lazy and completely out of shape, the natural beauty of the park made it a pretty day. My big problem was that I started the day out dehydrated, then continued to exert myself and sweat. By the time we were on our way back to the car I had about had it. Then Steve gave me a can of lemon ice tea that he had in his backpack, and after downing that in about five seconds flat I began to feel a lot better.
After the hike we went to Jamba Juice, Qdoba, Starbucks, and Krispy Kreme, so if there was any exercise benefit to the hike it was quickly extinguished. We next went to Uwajimaya for fun Japanese snacks, then went to Kim's work so she could water her plants and grab her birth certificate for our Sunday adventure. We ended up at Kim's where she tried to get me addicted to WOW. I now have a level 5 Human Warrior Woman character, and so far I think my favorite part of the game is the fact that I can kill innocent creatures. SWEET.
I left her place fairly early, and got home and in bed before 8:30, because I knew that the next day would be long. And oh, how right I was.
The next day began at 2:35 in the morning, where I got up, took a shower, found my passport, got ready to go, then got on the computer for a few minutes. The few minutes stretched past when Kim and Steve were supposed to be at my place (3:15) then at the time that they were *absolutely* supposed to be here, I called them. They had just left Kim's so I farted around for a couple minutes more, then walked outside and waited for them. After they showed up (at about 3:40) we needed to get gas, and then we finally got on the road to Canada. And tried very hard to stay awake.
We got to Laura and Neil's place about 20 minutes late (a minor miracle at that point) and after piling in their car and hurtling down the road, made it into the ferry line with seconds to spare. The ferry ride over was mostly uneventful, with Kim sleeping in an effort to be able to be awake during the exciting parts, and me wandering a bit (with wandering cut abruptly short as I found the food). For some odd reason sausage, a blueberry scone, and coke sounded like the best possible breakfast, so I purchased and sat down in the cafeteria to eat. The scone was dry, and while I did not want to admit defeat, the last three bites were too much for my mouth to handle. It was sad.
After my meal I wandered back to where we had staked out seats. A couple minutes later Neil showed up again, and he, Steve, and I went up to the front of the ferry and watched the sun, water, and pretty scenery around us on such a glorious morning, and all commented on how it was very pretty and yet we would still normally be sleeping. When we were about to go into a fog bank we all went back inside, Steve and I to our seats, and Neil to wander around again.
Anyway, the ferry docked and we all drove off. I though it might be fun to go see the Burchardt Gardens, but the fact that the brochure didn't list entrance prices made me a little leery. We got there and they wanted $22 each to go in. We all thought this was a bit steep, so we turned around and went to the Butterfly Gardens that we had passed a bit earlier. It was rather fun, and a whole heck of a lot cheaper! I took lots of pictures, because butterflies are pretty.
After the butterflies, we went back to a bakery that Laura remembered. Neil was giving her a hard time, and I felt bad because Laura had said something on the way out, but my tired brain could not remember, so I could not support her. We had some tasty treats, and I had lime tea (interesting, but ultimately EW) and a cookie, while those who had not had breakfast already ate a bit more. I also got a box of organic tea because I am a sucker for weird tea these days.
We drove into Victoria and wandered into the Empress hotel to see how much tea would be. We all decided that if $22 was too much to wander through some gardens, then $55 was really too much for tea. So instead we used the bathrooms, and I got some Tylenol to take care of some cramps that my period forced upon me. People were interested in why I needed drugs, but I wasn't going to say "I'm cramping" in front of guys, so I just said "Pain" until they quit asking. (My period will always arrive on the one most inopportune day of the month, even if it has to be up to two weeks late to do so.) After the drugs kicked in I was feeling much, much better.
After leaving the Empress we were all set to wander about, but Laura and I had different plans. We were going to the Needlework Store, even if we had to figure out how to get there without looking lost. After getting there we browsed for about an hour, with the guys getting bored first, Kim soon after, and me finally losing to Laura after I had gone through all the charts. This is when Neil got his "neat" new hat, as well as some sunglasses.
Upon leaving the needlework shop, we wandered down through an "art fair" that was mostly lower-level crafts like soapmaking and hemp jewelry. At the end of the fair was a place where Neil and Laura had tried and loved a beer, so we thought we'd go there for lunch. They didn't actually have it, but a place just across the street did, so we went there.
And wow, did they had horrible service. But the food was ok and it wasn't like we were in any great rush, so it's not like it was the end of the world. But it was really, really super slow.
After lunch we wandered around some more, saw another street fair, went to a bead shop, and then wandered through yet another street fair by the harbor. This one was almost the end of me. Halfway down the fair I stopped to look at some berries, and I could not make my eyes focus. As I tried my vision began to grey out, and only a quick bit of concentration kept me on my feet. But oh, so very barely. Near the end of this fair was a booth doing spray paint art, and while Neil and Laura were both interested in watching, I was so ready to be done with my day by then. Anyway, after they were finished we visited the Empress again to use the facilities, then got back in the car to wait in the ferry line. At this point Neil left to wander some more, so Laura moved up to the driver's seat to nap, I took her place and got a nice 30 minute nap while waiting for the next ferry.
After getting on the ferry I sat by Laura, and we talked a bit and stitched a bit, her on a thing for her computer monitor and me on a little kit of Macintosh Roses that I had bought in Victoria. It was fun.
This is the part where you would normally say "and then we went home," and that would be it. But noooooooo. See, Steve is a dork. Steve apparently has absolutely no government issued picture ID, and for all the months that he and Kim have been talking about having him visit her, it apparently never entered his mind that perhaps he might want to get some, just for border crossing purposes. So, it's late. We're all tired nearly to the point of passing out. And we get to be waved to the side and sent to Customs and Immigration like bad children because some moron only had his *expired* student ID and a handful of health cards.
Um.
Having a passport, and never having not had one when I passed a border, this was an entirely new and not appreciated experience. We had to wait to have a immigration official talk to us, and while Kim and I were fine (I with my passport, she with her driver's license and birth certificate) he was a bit more of a problem. The Immigration guy could not believe that he didn't even have a driver's license and while he said something about it being expired and therefore no good, and that he hadn't had time to get any real ID, and blah blather blah everything but I'm a big fat dork, eventually I think the Immigration guy took pity on us and let us go, after telling Steve that it might be a damn fine idea to get some real ID.
The whole time I was in there I was pissed, and if I had the energy I'd have been smacking Steve upside the head for being such a dork. Anyway, the rest of the drive was fine. I made inane conversation telling Kim about stuff that had happened to me at whatever point on the road we were driving on to try to keep her awake. I got dropped off at home and was in bed something like 4 minutes later.
Weekend over, and the week to follow was filled with a whole bunch of blessed sleeping. Mmmmm.
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