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This is a view from the car window as we drove across
Vancouver Island. Beautiful lakes, big cedar trees, mountains
and sky. It's gorgeous the entire way.
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Hi! We're just back from our vacation. We were gone just 8 days but packed a lot of fun and time with loved ones into that time. We flew out to Seattle and, along with Johnny's family, spent the weekend with Laura's family. Then we made a brief visit to John's sister's new home in Mt Vernon (the Washington State version--funny that we live in Mt Vernon, Virginia). We crossed the border Sunday night and caught the early morning ferry to Vancouver Island. The drive across to the west coast takes about three and a half hours. John's mom bought some prime beach front property back in the late '60s and we've vacationed there with the growing family around every other year for almost 40 years. His mom died a couple years ago and the property is for sale. This was a last hurrah reunion and all but one of the 35 assorted descendants made it--a record attendance. The weather was great. High 60s, mid 70s, the entire time and although some of the days started off foggy, we saw the sun almost every day and only had one overnight rainy patch.
The house on the property is pretty small and has just one bathroom. A few of the younger generation families stayed there. The rest of us stayed in nearby accomodations. This was the view from our place, a two bedroom apartment. The beach was just at the end of the walk and there's a nice hot tub there on the left just before the beach. The water up there is always cold--avg temp 60 degrees, so the hot tub was very welcome! Cox Bay, where this place was is a great surfing spot and we were the only ones in the water with bathing suits instead of wet suits! The apartment also had a fully equipped kitchen. We cooked our healthy breakfasts and often popped back for lunch. We also cooked a couple of the dinners for the entire crowd. I made fajitas (sliced grilled flank steak, tons of sweet peppers, caramelized onions, portobello mushrooms, sauteed chicken tenders, guacamole, sour cream, shredded romaine lettuce, and grated cheese. We had chopped fresh pineapple on the side and, later, at the beach campfire, s'mores. I made a ton of food for that night. John grilled and cut 6 flank steaks! I served everything separately so that people could create their own favorite mix.
I only ran twice while we were there, once near my daughter's house and in BC on the morning after we arrived. This lovely bike path paralleled the main road and I ran from our apartment to the beach house and back, a total of 5.5 miles. I would have run more, but there were plenty of opportunities to get exercise and most of them also offered the opportunity to visit with loved ones. I walked the beach a few times a day (~4 miles), joined in a little in the everlasting volleyball game--there was almost always a game going on. Another fun activity was walking out on Frank Island--a rocky part of the beach that becomes an island at high tide. It's a fun climb, and a bit challenging. This was the first time in years that I felt fit enough to go the distance. :-) The Pacific Rim National Park is just a couple miles down the road and we went on the Rain Forest Trail one morning. That's where my new picture (the one w DH at the top of the page) was taken.
This is Jeannine who was quite fearless in clambering all over Frank Island. The edges and tidal pools in the rocks provide lots of interesting fauna and flora.
DH admires a sea urchin that Rose found. The kids are great about knowing that the critters go back to where they were found after they've been admired and examined.
SIL David and grandson Benjamin pose on the rocks. David took a couple of the great pix that I'm sharing with you.
Laura and Tobey pose with me. We hadn't noticed that we weree in a similar colors until the photographer said something about it.
Our SIL, David, took these next two pictures on the evening before we left the beach. We were outside after dinner and someone noticed whales in the water just off the shore. There were at least three and they played there, jumping out of the water, chasing one another, blowing impressive waterspouts, and waving their tails above the water. They played there for about 30 minutes just before sunset. The first picture shows the whale's tale above the water to the right of center. The second picture captures a view of the mountains, layered with mist and sky and clouds. I really like it.
One other very cool thing happened while we were there. On at least three nights, after it got dark, there was phosphorescence on beach. John and I only saw it once (being part of the older, early-to-bed-generation), but it was amazing. The wet sand, near the surf literally sparkled and glowed when we stepped on it. We could kick up water droplets that shone and glittered on the dark beach. It was a greenish-blueish glow, very sci-fi! The others reported that later on, the surf was glowing, too.
DH and Johnny spent 45 minutes surfing on the day we left. Jack was among the admirers and got caught by the waves. He was a pro by that time, though and said, "it's okay, they'll get dry!"
Another shot of my two daughters, Laura and DIL Tobey. We went out to a place near Laura's and had a great breakfast. I managed to stick to my plan and special ordered an eggwhite omelet with summer veggies and a fruit plate, neither of which was on the menu. It was deelish!
A group picture just before we left Seattle. With DH, our kids and all five grandkids. I can't wait until Thanksgiving when we'll all be together again. I'm hoping to be almost to my goal by then! Funny how I'm a lot more willing to have my picture taken as I get closer and closer to my goal weight. :-)
My plan for the vacation was stay as close to my plan as was possible and to allow myself at least one treat every day. I had four s'mores, a cookie, a goodly share of tortilla chips, and whatever was being served for dinner. I did eat my planned breakfast every day and stuck to my plan at lunch time too. Altho I didn't do my regular exercise routine (biking, running, and weight lifting), I got a fair amount of exercise every day. Did I mention the beach volley ball? I was not
quite up to Misty May in skill or sartorial splendor, but it was fun and good exercise!
I went to my WI this morning. I lost 2.6 pounds at my last WI, two weeks ago and was hoping to avoid gaining today. Although our scale, which always travels with us, showed a 3+ pound gain on the day we returned (Saturday), I managed to jump right back into my good eating and exercise habits and LOST an additional .6 pounds at my WI! This morning my scale showed me the upcoming decade for the first time! Color me happy.
Lots more pix on my FaceBook site. Friend me and you can see! Tish Farrell Oliver.
Our heat seems to have abated, but I still have to get up fairly early a couple days a week to get my run in before the grandkids arrive at 7:20. This beautiful sunrise over the Potomac River is just one of the rewards of my early morning run. I also enjoy the fresh cool scents that are more evident at that hour. Joe Pye Weed and Sweet Autumn Clematis were especially evident on my last run. There is also a select community of early morning exercisers who nod or wave to one another in acknowledgement of our dedication and commitment. I look forward to greeting the blond woman who looks about my age and is always coming from the opposite direction as I am finishing my run. She's always out there, is in fantastic shape, and is an inspiration to me. I usually run in the morning and bike in the afternoon or evenings. DH and I have loved riding together after dinner this summer. We're planning a short "Bike Holiday" weekend next weekend. Thinking about going back to Maryland's Eastern Shore and doing a few of the great bike routes in Tablot County. We've done two of them before but are excited about exploring a little more. I love that this coastal county is pretty flat! I'm getting better at hills, but they sap a lot of my energy on a long ride.
Going green? Well, you know I like my charts. This chart shows my weight loss for 2012. That nice downward slope shows the trend of my loss well. As you can see, I've lost an average of just about one pound every week for the first 34 weeks of this year. There are obviously some pink spikes, where my daily weight went up, the last being when we were up in Canada (s'mores!) but you can see I've managed to get back to losing each time. 
