Saturday, July 25, 2009

Canada likes it on top.

Hello sugarpants! Gosh - I've missed you girlies bunches!

Sorry this post is late in coming. It seems that whenever I go on vacation to "get away from it all" the "it all" is just waiting to pounce on me when I get back. Like this.



Buuuut I've managed to escape the monotony of work, chores, etc long enough to do a bit of blogging today. Got SO much to update y'all on..

So. First things first - Roadtrippin'.

It was a pretty fanfreakintabulous experience, let me tell you.

Well, actually...telling the WHOLE shebang would take more time and brainpower than I'd like, so we'll just touch upon the highlights, 'kay?

Mmkay.

(Disclaimer: I took well over 200 pictures. I've done my best to whittle them down for y'all, but still...there is an avalanche of photography coming your way. You have been warned.)

But first, a brief summary:

So..Mum and I started off in NorCal where we live, made our merry way up through Oregon and Washington, kicked back a few days in Victoria, Canada and then moseyed back down Highway 101 towards Cali.

All in 9 days.

Phew.

Alrighty. And now here goes my best effort to chronicle our escapades through photography..

California

Goodgraciousme. If you've never been to The Avenue of the Giants in Northern Cali, you are seriously missing out. These trees are freakin' ginormicous.

They're so big, in fact, that I created that special adjective JUST FOR THEM.


Sigh. And redwoods smell so deliciously pine-y, too.
I want to go back..

And another fun/relatively unknown way to get a good look at California's hidden beauty - the Skunk Train.

(Named not because it runs on skunk juice, but because it runs on diesel, which I guess some people think smells icky. I personally love the smell of diesel. Don't judge.)


Cuter than Thomas. That's for sure.

View from the front.

Oregon


God, this state is beautiful. I seriously mean it. It felt like we were driving through a post card. PLUS they fill up your gas for you. Sweeeeet.

Anyhow.

On the way up, we stopped by Crater Lake, which was...wow.

Photos don't do it justice.
At all.


We also saw this fabulous sunset. Postcard-tastic.


Then, on our way back to Cali, we stumbled upon what was undoubtedly the highlight of the trip. It went something like this.

"...a walk-through safari? AGHMOMSTOPTHECAR!"

*SCREEEEECH*

We miiight have worn down a half inch of tread with that little maneuver.
But honestly...the tire damage was so. worth. it.

Allow me to explain.


Yes, those are lion cubs.

Yes, I got to hold one.

Oh lordy. I thought I was going to have a cutegasm.
But there were little kiddies around so I managed to control myself.

...er.

Moving on.


Baby opossum!
I know. Some people think they're gross.
But I think they're just misunderstood.

Daddy lion.

Tiger being...tiger-y.

White tiger.

Zebras.

Exceptionally large guinea pigs Capybaras.

Deer.

Baby leopard!
He was a feisty little guy. Didn't get a chance to hold him. =/

We also spent some time in Seaside on our way back. Seriously adorable little town.


Me looking cold.

And, of course, when we realized it was along our route, we HAD to stop here:

Fresh cheese and ice cream?
Uhm. Yes please.


Washington

When we made it to Washington, things reeeeally began to cool down.

Brr.

But it was nice and toasty inside this building here.


I always thought the Space Needle looked like a UFO on stilts.

...is that just me?

Later, we visited my dad's godmother at her home in Dupont, where I FINALLY got a chance to take a walk and stretch my legs.

And you know what that means...


Flower photog!
C'mon. You know you dig it too. ;P


Canada

We decided to ferry our car from Anacortes, Washinton into Sidney, BC. Fascinating experience.

(Hint: It's fun to pull out your GPS and watch it freak out when it realizes your car's immediate location is in a large body of water. Do it sometime.)

On the boat, they had all sorts of neat merchandise. Including this. Heehee.

Mum disapproved. Wah.

Once in Canada, we wound up utterly befuddled. 95 kilometers per hour? 14 degrees celcius? And let's not get into currency conversions. Holy mackerel.

Needless to say, we basically collapsed on our hotel room beds and watched Canadian TV for the rest of the night. (Which is, for the record, awesome. Lovin' the Tim Hortons commercials.)

But the next day we woke up bright and early and ready for adventure! The metric system could not daunt our determination!

Uh. Yeah. So we started with a tour of the Craigdarroch Castle, which was absolutely stunning. And I got to play a sooper old Steinway piano. =]

*swoon*

We fueled up on candy bars at the gift store, because chocolate and peanuts are pretty much the best form of nutrition on Earth.

Mouthgasm in a package.

Then we moved along to the Buchart Gardens.

I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves..











I assure you, there's about 120934603460936 more. But I'm practicing a little self control here. Just for you guys. =]

So after traipsing around the gardens for 2 hours, we were famished. Thankfully, we had reservations at the Fairmont Empress for high tea.

For those of you that don't know - high tea is basically an excuse to dress up and act prissy while you devour little sandwiches and pastries and lightly sip expensive teas.

And I loved it.



The ladies.

The food.
Yum.

Mmkay. And that's the end of my photo spiel.

So, it may seem like I had little time to listen to ED's petty annoyances on this trip, but the truth is...I did worry quite a bit. There was a lot of heavy food and a lot of sitting in the car. I was SURE I had gained at least a few pounds.

So imagine my shock when I hopped on the scale at home and it told me the same thing it did last time.

I maintained.

But you know what? That's okay.

I went back to my nutritionist this week, and we re-evaluated my frame size. She had previously put down "medium", which would mean I'd need to be at least 117 pounds to be at a healthy weight. But we re-did the test and I'm actually "small", so I could be anywhere from 105-117 and be fine.

And since I'm right smack in the middle of that range, I don't need to gain anymore.

HUZZAH.

The only drawback of this is that I need to be extra-careful with my bones and calcium intake, now. She says it's very likely I still have bone-thinning (osteopenia) from the abuse I put my body through, and that coupled with the fact that I already have a smaller frame puts me at high risk for fractures.

Yikes.

But hey - I'm all for more dairy. Yummm. Bring on the calcium!

Hmm. What other news am I forgetting..?

Oh!

Got my nose pierced!

Yeah, a bit of a spur-of-the-moment decision. I actually wanted to get a tattoo done this summer (I've designed it already - will show in a later post), but Mum and I talked about it and we decided I need to take more time to think about it before I get it done. I was a little bummed out, though, so we started talking less permanent/reversible options...and voila!

It stung a bit, but I'm overall happy about how it turned out. =]

Wow. Sorry, I know this was a long post. I certainly don't blame you if you skimmed it. Next one will be less all-over-the-place. I promise.

So it's bedtime for me, now. But lastly - is anyone willing to do a mail exchange? I've given up finding more PB&Co flavors here, and don't really want to order a bajillion jars online. So if anyone is willing to buy a jar or two (I'm especially interested in White Chocolate Wonderful - yum!) and do an exchange for some Larabars, let me know!

Luff you girls! I'll catch up on commenting in the morning. <3

20 comments:

mayapamela525 said...

I've always wanted to do a Canada road trip! Looks amazing, I'll have to see Oregon soon.

Love the nose piercing, I'm debating one myself.

americangourmande.wordpress.com

Anonymous said...

Hey sugarbaby :)

ive missed you SO much and am so glad you updated!!!

wow, it sounds like you had an amazing, incredible, super fun roadtip! the photos are absolutely beautiful..and the baby tigers? awwww too cute!! i want one :)

Im so so happy for you about reaching your goal weight :) way to go darlin! your so fantastic! heres to health!!! and just make an effort to keep up that calcium intake so your bones are protected!

ooo you got your nose pierced...i love it :) you look beautiful, you lil studmuffin!

Have a wonderful weekend hun,
loves u much!
xxxx

Anonymous said...

OHMIGOD BABY LIONS!!! Soooo cute :)

Glad you had a good time with the momma Morgs! And I'm so happy you're at a healthy weight! YAY :) ED has also been bugging me about gaining during my trip...hopefully my nutrish appt. soon will prove him wrong :)

Nancy said...

Haha, I had to right-click and press "show picture" for each photo you had! Only because my internet is messed up, totally not your fault. And it was totally worth it! Because all your pictures are so pretty!

And that super large guinea pig is so cute!

:D

Anonymous said...

I lurve all your pictchahs! They're so pretty and everything!!! The baby animals are oh so cute too. I'm glad you're back. (^_^)

Anonymous said...

Yayz, I missed your posts! I read all of this one actually. It looks like you had a fabulous road trip with your mom! I want to comment on every place you stopped, but that would take forever so I'll just say: OMG BABY ANIMALS!!!!

Sorry ED bugged you a bit.. but hopefully, now that you know that the weight gain was all in your head, you'll be able to push ED aside more easily on the next trip. Congrats on reaching your goal weight!

Oh and that thing with my dad is... pending. I don't want to say more in a comment, but my internet is still being weird so I don't know when I'll be able to message you next and tell you what's going on. Hmmm.

Have a fab day, love you!

Anonymous said...

Baha you don't even know how excited I am about this!
I knew 2 kids going in to Pomona, but neither of them from my high school. Ahh it's Disney-land college (well... I don't really like Disneyland but you get the gist...)
But yeah, I'm just STUPIDLY GRINNING right now because GA! this is so awesome!
Sadly... I'm taking time off from school, so I won't be there in the fall. I'm hoping to visit though (gotta see my friends!) so I'll let you know when!
DON'T hesitate to email me with questions!
THIS IS SO EXCITING!
haha ok, enough being obnoxious. but really. this.is.awesom

Jenny said...

ahh it sounds (and looks!) like you had a fabulous time and truly embraced your vacay time -- amazing, girl! those animals are so precious and you're not half bad yourself ;) very beautiful!

love,
Jenny

Peanut Butter Swirl said...

yay your back :D
I am so jealous that you got to hold lion cubs - they look SO cute and cuddly :)
congrats on maintaining and not having to gain anymore weight! you rock my socks girlie!

Chanel said...

I'm not going to lie, I'm pretty upset you didn't get me one of those "Canada likes it on top" shirts. I would have paid you back.

I mean really amazing shirts like that don't pop in your life everyday.

Moving on..... miffed we didn't get our piercings done together :(

Happy Note.....

Nice to see a blog again, I was really sick of seeing Mulan every-time I looked for pictures and witty comments like a stalker person.

Awesome.

Need to talk to you soonish because I am losing my mind right now.

<3333333

CaSaundraLeigh said...

What a fun-tabulous time! Mom and daughter time=priceless! I looove leopards and get all awe struck around them lol. I have quite the obsession!
p.s. Love the nose piercing! I got mine done about 5 years ago--love it :-)

Anonymous said...

i'm so glad that you had an awesome holiday, and it looks like you had so much fun (despite the ed thoughts :) ) i love the buchart gardens, they are so beautiful! i haven't been there in ages, but i'm hoping to go back again this summer with my mum. did you happen to get to roger's chocolates?

congrats on getting to your goal weight too, that's so awesome :) and i'm sure you'll be able to keep up the calcium... yogourt and milk are too delicious to give up anyways :)

for pb&co, i don't get that many flavours up here either, but i know i've seen dark chocolate dreams, cinnamon raisin swirl, and possibly mighty maple. not sure how much it would cost to send a couple jars down there, but i can check it out if you want me too :)
take care,
jee

Anonymous said...

i'm so glad that you had an awesome holiday, and it looks like you had so much fun (despite the ed thoughts :) ) i love the buchart gardens, they are so beautiful! i haven't been there in ages, but i'm hoping to go back again this summer with my mum. did you happen to get to roger's chocolates?

congrats on getting to your goal weight too, that's so awesome :) and i'm sure you'll be able to keep up the calcium... yogourt and milk are too delicious to give up anyways :)

for pb&co, i don't get that many flavours up here either, but i know i've seen dark chocolate dreams, cinnamon raisin swirl, and possibly mighty maple. not sure how much it would cost to send a couple jars down there, but i can check it out if you want me too :)
take care,
jee

Anonymous said...

What an amazing trip! That's the kinda vacation I like - roadtrippin' it and visiting all sorts of amazing places. The baby lion. So. Dang. Cute. I wanna buy one now, lol.

Congrats for maintaining and achieving your desired weight!! Boo-yah to ED.

Devan said...

Victoria is amazing isnt it!?

congrats on everything girly!! you deserve nothing but the best!!! WAY TO GO on reaching your goal! :) Kick ED in the DANG ass!!!

LOVE the canada shirt ;-)
xoxo

Anonymous said...

Haha YES we can meet up if/when I'm out there!
Morgan - on the real - this is the coolest thing ever. AHHH! Haha good choice my friend, good choice.
So seriously though, DON'T HESITATE to email me w/ questions etc.... if you couldn't already tell, I can go on for HOURS about Claremont.
Talk to you soon!

JuJuBeans said...

Reading your post made me miss Seattle *sighs* My brother lives there and it's my absolute most favorite-EST city in the states. Mt. Rainier is so beautiful, and the fish market is amazing! I had the best wild sockeye salmon sashimi when I was in Seattle last time. I'm going back later this year!

Anonymous said...

Oh my God, what amazing pictures! Morgan, I seriously recommend you take photography! you'll rock in them!
And I'm so happy for you that you've reached your goal weight! May you never have to be bothered by calories and diets again!
Oh, and high tea? ooh lala...I like! I love the idea of me sipping on tea with my pinky sticking out!

Breaking Free said...

Augh!! Morgan I am so glad that you are back!! Your trip sounds awesome and I totally envy the safari-tour thing.
Huge congrats on getting to your goal weight. I think it's an added bonus that you don't have to gain any more and that you discovered you actually have a small frame size. LUCKY!!!

My store gets a whole BUNCH of the PB&CO flavors--WWW, Bee's Knees, Mighty Maple, DCD, Smooth Operator, and that weird chili one. So if you want to do a mail exchange just hit up my email allamericansaddlebred@yahoo.com!

Hope you have a great week!

cherry_melancholic said...

You look like you had such an amazing time! THe animals are so gorgeous :)
xo