The Edge

Way long overdue post about San Francisco trip-ness. "Trip-ness" really should be a word. Because I'm sure it would make life more fun. Or something.

Anyhow, it was a great trip. Hubby and I did a lot of driving to and fro -- something we tend to do a lot on vacation. What can I say? We are driving people. I didn't go sightseeing around San Francisco as much as I thought I would. Based on our last trip there, I expected to go out and look around and take pictures while hubby was in meetings. But we stayed in a different hotel, which was pretty far from all the "action" sorts of places. It worked out OK, though, as it gave me some much-needed down time. I read a lot and watched anime and, overall, was a lazy bum. Oh, and I finished up the new prologue and got chapter 1 nearly edited during this trip, too. Love that. ( Read more... )

And here are some pictures!! (Not of us eating, thankfully ... but of other things.)

Tex's 2010 San Francisco Pics

I have other pictures to post -- some from Williamsburg and some from our latest jaunt out to Leesburg and Hillsboro. But I'll do them later, in a separate post. I was running way behind on fixing up pictures, so I spent the last two days doing just that. Argh!

Already here, actually. The family unit and I headed to Williamsburg on Thursday for a bit of a family get-away. Hubby had a meeting, and kiddo and I tagged along this time. I can't remember the last time we took a "family vacation". Actually, probably never. It seems the only place we really go as a family is Texas, and that doesn't count as a "vacation", seeing as how it's a whole "family obligation" kind of thing for holidays and such.

We went to Busch Gardens yesterday. It was our first time going, and the kiddo's first time at an amusement park, so it was a lot of fun. She was tall enough to ride quite a few of the rides, so we did a lot of stuff: Le Scoot (twice) ... Several "Sesame Street" Themed rides ... Escape from Pompeii ... Teacup Ride (twice) ... Europe by Air (twice) ... and I'm sure there are others I'm forgetting. We walked all over the park, and got to see the wolves and eagles. Also saw a gorgeous hawk and owl. Really beautiful, and the animal handlers were super nice about answering questions and just communicating with all the kids. So, lots of fun, but exhausting.

Today, kiddo and I got up early and headed into Colonial Williamsburg. I really, really wanted to see it, and I would have loved to prowl around for a whole day looking in all the buildings, taking the tours, carriage rides, etc. I knew better, though. I knew kiddo was worn out from Busch Gardens, and she really isn't old enough yet for all the history stuff to be interesting to her. So I didn't bother purchasing tickets to get into the buildings and things. It would have been way too expensive. As expected, We toured down one side of Duke of Gloucester Street (the main street in the colonial part of town), and she was ready to go back to the hotel. >.o So, yeah ... she was ready to leave after about 30 minutes of touring. Sadly, we had an hour and a half until the shuttle came, which is a long time to have to deal with whiny child. Luckily, I convinced her to walk up the other side of the street so that she could stop and talk to the character actors and such. She liked that. And we saw some horses with the carriage rides. They had hitched up to the rails in front of a couple of the stores, and their handlers said the kiddo could pet them. That was a big hit. We also got to tour a gorgeous, gorgeous garden with heirloom plants and such. I'm not much of a gardener. I pretty much have no green thumb, although my roses seem to survive OK somehow. But I would LOVE to be a gardener. I love the idea of being able to have a beautiful, well-laid out garden to enjoy and care for. To me, the garden was the best part of the whole thing. I'm sure kiddo's favorite was the horses. We still got to the shuttle bus stop about 30 - 40 minutes ahead of time, so she spent quite a bit of time trying to get the oxen penned near there to "talk" to her. They totally ignored her, so she lost interest and decided to read her book, instead. I felt really fortunate that I had thought to pack the book, although I kind of felt foolish this morning when I was sticking it into our backpack. No more, though -- the book was a total lifesaver!

Kiddo did the pool this afternoon, so I got a couple of hours "off" -- which I wasted by watching something on TV. (Damn you, writer's block!) Tonight, we are going to the dinner with hubby. It's something I don't usually go to because it's pretty dressy, but it seems like this one will be more casual than normal. Plus, they had a bunch of empty spaces because people already left to go home.

We head home tomorrow. It's been a nice trip, and a really nice and relaxing get-away for the most part. I love the place where we are staying, and hopefully we can come back again. But ... I'm also ready to get home and get all our routines back to normal. They really haven't been since my parents' visit, which is frustrating. >.O

As in: "Home again, home again. Jiggity Jog." Which is what we always said as kids when we got home from ... well, anywhere.

Needless to say, I am back home. Glory Hallelujah! *tosses confetti*

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Hubby and I went to Boston in November (2009), and I am just now getting around to posting my pics from the trip up on flickr. Actually, these aren't all the pics I took -- just the ones I liked the best.

I had never been to Boston before, and I was pretty excited about going. Sadly, once I got there, I felt pretty underwhelmed by the city, overall. There were things I loved about it, but just as many things I didn't like at all. The weather didn't help much, as it was gray and rainy -- like what we had left back home. Also, we didn't have much time to sight-see. So I don't feel like I saw enough of the city to get a good feeling about it. Maybe I'll be able to go back one day and look around more.

In the meantime ...

Linky-loo to Tex's Boston Pics

Here are my favorites of the photos I took over the weekend. I played "Queen for a Day" at the National Harbor Westin, where I enjoyed a bit of a mini-vacation. I wasn't able to do a lot outside, as it rained pretty much the whole time I was there. No biggie for me, since I enjoyed having the time to myself, either way. Before the rain set in, though, Hubby, Kiddo, and I enjoyed walking around the Harbor area a bit and taking in a few of the sights before they dropped me off at the hotel.

We ate at Rosa Mexicana -- a restaurant I LOVE. They make the absolute BEST homemade guacamole in the world. Seriously. It is to die for. And they make it right at your table, so it is fresher than fresh!

There are stairs near the restaurant, leading down to a little beach off the harbor. And there is a giant statue of a man buried in the sand. I have no idea what the statue is called, but you can see his head and parts of his legs and arms coming up out of the ground, his hands extended as if reaching for Heaven. It's a pretty neat and powerful sculpture, but a booger to photograph. Particularly since there were little kids crawling all over the poor guy! I didn't really want rugrats in my photo, so I had to settle for a detail of one of his hands. I was pretty happy with the result, though.

Other than that, I shot some street scenes from my hotel window, showing the rain pelting down. It rained like a big dog. Seriously. o_o

On Sunday, Hubby and Kiddo came to pick me up. They came a bit early so that Kiddo could swim in the hotel pool -- a nice treat for her, since it wasn't crowded at all. After the first ten minutes, they had the place to themselves. How lucky is that? After, we checked out and ate at Rosa Mexicana again (who could pass up fresh guacamole? Heh. Not this gal!). After lunch, we drove around a bit, touring Old Town Alexandria this time. It's such a pretty place, full of these old townhouses and buildings brimming with charm. I love driving through there, and I managed to snap a few photos this time, which made me happy.

So, the photos:

(I'm trying Flickr, as they seem to have better protections built in. So, hopefully this will work correctly. I'm still trying to get the hang of it! >.O)

Old Town, Alexandria
National Harbor

So ... I'm finally getting around to posting some of my pics from the Vancouver trip. Overall, I had a great time. It was relaxing, although the trip back really took a toll on me. I'm still exhausted from both it (and jet lag), as well as having to jump right into my normal, hectic schedule as soon as I came home.

I decided to split this up into three posts, just so I didn't overload folks with tons of pictures. This first set are assorted pictures from around our hotel, as well as the harbor right next to our room. We had a great view of the harbor and a lot of Vancouver from our hotel room, so that was pretty neat. Also, we took a (really really LONG) walk around the harbor to get to Stanley Park. Some of the pics are from that stroll.

So, on with the pics!!

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So, I'll just jump in to the whole picture thing without bothering with much blather up front. =D

These are from Stanley Park and the Aquarium (which is in Stanley Park):

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I managed to make a little headway on the NaNo fic today. Not a huge amount of headway. Still, at this point, I'll take pretty much anything. I hate these stupid dry spells. So, so frustrating.

I wasn't able to work as much as I had hoped. I got up "early" (for me) for breakfast at around 8 AM. I ate a quick breakfast with the hubby unit, then he headed off for his morning meeting. I went back down to our room and decided to lie down for just a little while. Maybe just ten or fifteen minutes ... just long enough for the fog to lift off of my brain a bit. Uh, yeah. I woke up two hours later, when hubby came back after his meeting. He had a very short window between it and a luncheon he had to attend, so he walked with me to the Tim Horton's nearby so that I could get some lunch for myself. (Have I mentioned how much I LOVE Tim Horton's? Yeah. LUV. ♥)

I took my lunch back to the hotel and set up camp in the club room upstairs. It has a fantastic view, and today was no exception. I could see seagulls and eagles flying around outside the windows. Not to mention the mountains in the distance. I had a really nice, clear view of them today, as it wasn't cloudy. I guess it must have been inspirational, because words actually started coming to me. Yay! I'm not sure if the words were good ... or if they even made sense. But, hey -- I put words on a page. I'm happy.

I wasn't happy that I only had about an hour and a half to work before I had to meet hubby. If I hadn't fallen asleep this morning, I would have had a lot more time. Oh well. *sigh*

After hubby was done with his luncheon, we met up with some friends and took a cab to Granville Island. We spent a nice couple of hours just wandering around the markets and shops down there. I remembered Granville Island from the first time we visited Vancouver, around five or six years ago. And, it was just as charming and fun as I remembered.

Shopping-wise, I managed to snag a really neat leather bag. It's black, small enough to carry around easily -- just the right size for my glasses case, my wallet and change purse, and a couple of other "girlie essentials" -- and it's hand made. The workmanship is really beautiful on it, particularly because it's a simple design. I think it's really beautiful and something I can see myself using for many years to come. At the same leather store, I bought a little soft leather pouch, which was also hand made. I didn't really need it, but it was so darn soft! I just couldn't resist it. *shame* I also got two pairs of earrings: one pair of round silver dangles that depict the Inuit symbol for the eagle, and a pair of little "dot" type earrings that are made from glass. I decided to get a heart-shaped glass pendant, to go along with the new earrings. It's so blue and pretty. *luv vibez* I was totally lured by the shiney. =P I found a little stuffed hamster to add to my daughter's stack of loot. She really, really wants a pet hamster, but I am too afraid of Fae eating it to get her one. Maybe this will fill that particular desire for a while. We found a cute submarine toy and a really neat hockey jersey for our kiddo's best bud from preschool. I found a really pretty, hand-made ceramic bowl for my mom's gift. It is black on the outside and rim, and a pretty, bright yellow on the inside. Perfect for her, as her kitchen has a black, yellow, and white color scheme. (I know, it sounds like a bumble bee or something -- lol. But really, it's a cute color scheme for the room.) Hubby found some Asterix comic books, which he loves. Those are really hard to get in the US, and they had a lot of different titles. After some persuasion from me, he also treated himself to the box sets of DVDs for the TinTin series. I'm really glad he decided to treat himself. He deserves it. And, last but not least, I got my little jade bear. I collect little animal statues and fetishes, and I try to get a jade bear every time we come to Canada. I just love them, even though they are a little dorky. I still need to find something for my dad, but I think I'm mostly done with my shopping. Good thing, too! >.O

After shopping and a lot of people watching, which was fun, we headed over to Yaletown to meet up with our friends for dinner. We ate at this fantastic seafood place called Coast. I had crab-encrusted halibut served over a mixed vegetable and potato hash. It was super, super yummy. The restaurant was a fantastic experience, and I'm saying this as a person who doesn't even like seafood very much! The only draw back was that I wasn't overly fond of our waiter. He was friendly, but I thought he came off as being a little full of himself. There were some other things I disliked about him, too, but I'll just leave it at that. Overall, it wasn't enough to ruin the dining experience. Good food and good company definitely outweighed one prissy, pissy waiter. =D

After dinner, hubby and I cabbed it back to the hotel. He had agreed to meet up with some people from the meeting to go to a nearby casino. So, I headed back up to the room ... and here I am. Typing an LJ entry.

Tomorrow, I think we're going to bum around Stanley Park. It should be fun. There are carriage rides and an incredible aquarium. Not to mention it's just gorgeous there. It should be fun, and a good way to pass our final day in the city.

Latest round-up/inane rambling about the trip ... (because I just know everyone is dying to know. And, yes, that was typed sarcasm, why do you ask? >.O)

Let's see. Yesterday, we spent a good bit of the day at the Butterfly Conservatory. Definitely one of my favorite things to do here, and something I had told hubby we had to do, when I found out we were coming here for the "surprise" trip. It is amazing. Imagine walking into this light and airy room filled with tropical plants -- trees, ferns, all kinds of flowers, rock formations, and even a waterfall and a little stream. It's like stepping into a jungle in the middle of the "hum-drum" world. And, then, you see the butterflies. Literally, everywhere. They flutter around you as you walk in, darting close, as if to look at you and, then, darting away again to find something more interesting. One even landed on me as soon as I walked in the door. Thousands of butterflies. All kinds, all colors, all sizes -- all flittering and fluttering around this space. It is magical. It sounds so cliche, but it's the only way I can think of to describe it. Just absolutely magical. I'm hoping I got some nice close up pics of them, but I won't know for sure until I get home.

After the butterfly conservatory, we decided to drive to Toronto. Neither hubby nor I had ever been, and it's only about an hour away. The QEW was pretty backed up because of the time of day, so it took more like 2 hours to get there. But we had a good time. We drove all around the city to look at it. I liked Toronto a lot. It is very urban and very industrial, especially on the outskirts. But it also has a flavor/feeling that, to me, is unique. Definitely different from any other large city I've visited, which is pretty neat. We stopped off to eat on the way back, in the hopes traffic on the QEW would thin out a bit. The restaurant was just a little pub-type place that we happened across, but it was excellent. I loved that it was very dark and cool inside. The kind of place where you would go every day and just linger for hours. The food was delicious, too. I had Shepherd's Pie, which is not the easiest thing to find, and it was so yummy. *drools*

The only downside is that Canadians seem to be very bad drivers. Please understand, I mean no offense at all to anyone on my flist who is Canadian, or to anyone from Canada who happens to read this. I don't mean any offense to Canadians at all. This is a statement based on our experience on the QEW, where everyone was speeding at least 20 miles over the posted speed limit, we were cut off (like, in bumper-to-bumper traffic) three times -- once by a car, once by a motorcycle, and once by a HUGE truck ... and, then, this woman tailgated us and called my hubby an "asshole" because he was going the speed limit. >.O That part of it was not a good experience, although I was kind of glad to see there are some drivers out there in the world who are actually as horrible on the road as us United States residents. *nervous laugh*

Hubby went to the casino next to the hotel last night. He played for a while, and came back at about 1 AM. I decided to go back over with him, as the casino is relatively "new". We were here three years ago, and they were building it then. I was curious to see how it had turned out. It is a HUGE building. And, very very nice. There is a full-sized shopping mall with several nice restaurants and a lot of stores. There are fountains and statues, so the decor is lovely. We went into the casino, and I played the slot machines for a bit. I finally quit at 3 AM because I was bored, but I did manage to win $15. (Wooo! BIG winner! =P)

Today we drove into Niagra on the Lake. Definitely one of my favorite places on earth. I love this town so very much. I have a silly dream of one day owning a house here -- something quaint with a pretty yard and lots of flowers, off the beaten "tourist" track ... just a place to escape from everything. It's a silly dream, but one that is very near and dear to my heart.

We ate lunch at The Anchorage, a favorite restaurant from three years ago. It was just like we remembered, and just as good. After, we drove around the town a bit, finally parking near the "main" tourist area, where we walked around and browsed in some shops. The browsing wasn't as much fun as it could have been because it was very crowded. And let me tell you -- most tourists are freaking rude! They just shove everyone out of their way, never say "please", "thank you", or "excuse me". And, they seem to think the entire world is here for their benefit. Sadly, I think a lot of them were from the US. It made me feel a bit embarrassed that we don't seem to be more considerate and/or take greater pains to fit in when we travel somewhere. Even so, it was a pleasant afternoon. I found a few more things for my daughter, including this very neat stuffed elephant. I can't wait for her to come home so I can give it to her. I hope she'll like it.

After Niagra on the Lake, we went to the Botanical Gardens. I spent a lot of time in the rose garden, which I love, but we also walked around most of the grounds. I think I got some really nice close-up flower pics. At least, I hope so. *crosses fingers*

We headed back toward the hotel and ate an early dinner. Hubby is over at the casino for a while, but they will have a fireworks show over the Falls tonight at 10. We switched rooms because we couldn't see the show last time. I'm hoping we will have a better view this time. I'm not sure if I'll be able to get pics, but I hope so.

We head home tomorrow evening. All in all, it's been a great trip -- even though I'm still sick and congested as heck. I'm glad I've had fun in spite of that.

Wow, I totally fail at the whole title thing, don't I? >.O

I hadn't expected to do another gallery update/addition so soon after my last one, but my Rinkya package arrived this past Sunday, coinciding nicely with the start of my child-free "vacation". (My daughter is off visiting my parents in Texas.) So I figured no time like the present and scanned stuff in. The Rinkya package was pretty small, as I've been trying hard not to be as active with buying things. To round things out, I finally worked up the courage to post a few things I've had for a while but never updated. Well, "worked up the courage" isn't quite right. These are the cels I wrote about several months ago -- the ones I purchased from a former friend who ended up, basically, trying to cheat me out of the money I had paid her. It took about 9 months for the cels to reach me ... and another 7 or so before I could look at them without being angry. The situation still hurts; I don't suppose you ever get over being treated like that by someone you trusted. But the pain has dulled a bit -- at least enough that I can look at the cels now and enjoy them. And I suppose I should feel lucky I got my cels at all; another friend of mine has been waiting for over a year for her stuff from this person.

So, the newest new stuff:

Card Captor Sakura:
Kero-chan
Yukito with Teddy Bear
Yukito, ep. 65
Yukito transformation, ep. 65
Toya Movie Cel

Fushigi Yuugi:
Hotohori

Nightwalker:
Shido Genga

Saiyuki:
Yaone Repro

Weiss Kreuz:
Aya

In other news, I looked up the tracking info for my DVD "swag". It's on schedule to deliver July 5. This sucks in a couple of ways. First, it means no new anime to take with me on our trip. Second, I won't be here to rescue the box from my front step. I'm sure the UPS guy will just drop it there and leave, and our pet sitter doesn't come to check on the cat until after 6. We've had a couple of thefts recently -- nothing major, just bizarre stuff like the squirter thing off my hose and some of our outside lights. I know it has to be kids stealing stuff "just because they can". But I worry a box sitting unattended will be too much of a temptation for them. I hope my DVDs don't go missing.

We are scheduled to leave on July 4. I'm not even sure what time, but I guess I should try to pack tonight. Although I've been looking forward to the trip, I have no desire to pack because I'm sick. I have no idea how it happened -- maybe a total allergy overload that turned into a cold or something. But I feel icky and would rather stay home. Hubby asked last night if we should cancel the trip, but I didn't have the heart to tell him yes. I do not feel up to going, and I fear flying will be a special kind of hell. At the same time, he has really been excited about it, and I couldn't ruin it for him. I'm hoping massive doses of Dayquil and sleeping a lot will go a long way toward helping me to feel better. Bad thing is that you really can't do much for a cold. Just have to let it run its course. Hubby doesn't get this, as he rarely gets sick. And he gives me the distinct feeling that he believes I did this "on purpose" to ruin the trip. Bleh.

One good thing that has come of not feeling well is that, last night, I got to watch a lot of the Bleach episodes I had Tivo'd. Nothing better than lying in bed watching anime with the cat. Hee.