There and back again

Things are pretty well back to normal at our house.  Suitcases are unpacked, clothes washed, travel accoutrements put away.  It's hard to believe we've only been home a few days.

Despite the potential disaster from our delayed departure out of Victoria, the rest of the trip was smooth sailing. 

First stop after Los Angeles was San Diego, a new port for us.  The cruise ship docked along side a veterans memorial walkway.  There was a maritime museum made up of about ten different kinds of ships, including a submarine.  Next door to that was an aircraft carrier, one seriously huge piece of equipment.  It was impossible to get a picture of the whole thing, we were so close.  The walkway ended up at a park dedicated to veterans, with tributes to sailors returning from WW2 action (Embracing Peace), and Bob Hope.

Several of the museum ships in the background

The Midway aircraft carrier and The Kiss

Another interesting part of the walkway was the seating.  The local kids had painted ceramic tiles which were then used for the tops of the benches.

Next stop, Cabo San Lucas.  This was our first test of tendering with a walker.  Piece of cake.

Cabo San Lucas gets a lot of cruise ship passengers ...

After Cabo was La Paz, another first for us.  We docked at the commercial port and were bused into town, about 30 minutes away through an arid, brown landscape (and scary curves in the road), to a beautiful seaside town.

 Next, Loreto, about which I've already posted.  Take a look at this beautiful town:

The Town Hall

The square in front of the Town Hall

The Mission

The Mission

The pedestrian-only street

Finally, Puerto Vallarta.  We've been there quite a few times, but this time we were on a mission:  Our friends had asked us to pick up some tea, only available in Mexico, from the Walmart.  Though the store is only a few blocks away from the cruise dock, there is a busy road to cross, with inadequate sidewalks and confusing Walk signs.  It was probably the most challenging aspect of our trip (other than choosing from the dinner menu).  But we did it!  And later that night, our travelling companions, Linda and Brian, presented us with more tea.  They hadn't been sure we would be able to negotiate our way to the store, so they picked some up for us.

It was a pleasure to share our vacation once again with Linda and Brian.  Linda and I went to the same high school, but in different grades, and we first got to know and enjoy her and Brian at our high school reunion cruise last year.  We met each night for dinner, catching up on the day's experiences, and getting to know each other better.  We did a little shopping, saw a few shows, had a few drinks ...

Hmmmm .... Where to go next ....

Gulf of California

Picture this:  We are on our balcony in sunglasses, shorts and a t-shirt.  The ship glides quietly over the calm seas.  The air is soft and warm.  Despite email messages and Facebook posts from friends and family, it's hard to believe that there are places in the world that are cold and snowy.   

We were in Loreto yesterday, the oldest town in Baja.  It is a beautiful place, quite different from other Mexican towns we have visited in the past.  It is exceptionally clean and in good repair.  The local fire fighters are selling t-shirts and bottled water to raise money for the fire station.  The main shopping thoroughfare is pedestrian only. There are no people getting in your face, trying to sell you junky souvenirs: they greet you and wait for you to enter their shops. 

I was interested in a small cotton rug, and the young salesman let me take two of them from the store, down a couple of blocks to where Tom waited, to get his opinion.  When I got back and indicated my choice, the salesman said, "Please, take both!  I get a better commission that way!"  Hard to argue with that logic.

Think we may give Loreto a second look.

Cabo

It's been getting warmer every day since we left LA, and today was the Full Meal Deal: sunshine, sunscreen, sun glasses,  sun hats, and 28 degrees. 

Cabo San Lucas is a tender port, and this is our first experience tendering with a walker.  Piece of cake.  There are specially designated crew members just waiting to help.  They carried Tom's walker down the last flight of stairs,  had it all ready for him at the bottom,  took it from him at the tender steps, then two of them helped him on to the tender into special seating, then on comes the walker.  Same getting off.  No problem.

We wandered through the port, stopping to check out the merchandise, fighting off the street vendors.   Tom occasionally parked himself in the shade while I explored the stores (and bought a few things for the Baby Grands).  He watched a group of urchins begging for money from the tourists, reporting back from time to time to a couple who were clearly their handlers, a modern day pair of Fagins. 

Then back to the ship where we sat on our balcony and had lunch: salad, the best crusty rolls ever, and Dos Equis (crafted in Mexico since 1897).  And here we still sit, soaking up the sun, watching the water play, admiring the beaches.  I wonder if para-sailing is dangerous ....

Travelling light

"I have to tell you," said Consuelo, the Princess Cruises rep, as we wait for the hotel shuttle bus, "You are very positive people!"

The sky is overcast when we leave home yesterday morning,  but with no hint of the fog that blankets the Victoria airport when we arrive there a half hour later.  "We may be calling you to take us back", jokes Tom to the cabbie.  How prophetic.  After watching the fog grow thicker and thicker, Alaska Airlines bows to the inevitable and cancels our flight. 

I wheel Tom back to the Alaska desk where we wait with all the other passengers on the flight to get rebooked.  We get the same excellent ticket agent, and pretty much the same schedule,  just a four hour delayed departure from Victoria and a two hour delayed arrival in LA.  I phone Princess and give them our new flight information.  Alaska looks after retagging the luggage.

Tight turnaround in Seattle:  Immigration forms, passport control, baggage claim, baggage recheck, three trains to get to the new gate, bathroom stop(!!), arrival at the gate with the last group of boarding passengers for the flight to LA.  Couldn't have done it without the wheelchair assistant,  a quiet-spoken young man who knows all the shortcuts through the airport.

LA.  Terminal 6 is under renovation so passage through it is extraordinarily complicated.  Another wheelchair, another assistant, who takes us by elevator down one floor, then outside the terminal (Were we not clear that we were going to baggage claim?), down another floor in an outside elevator, then back inside the terminal to ... tada! ... baggage claim.  "Most of the inside elevators don't work," he says.

As we wait for the suitcases to arrive on the carousel, Consuelo approaches.  "Are you the Thompsons?", she asks.  (She says that after many years doing this job, she can easily pick her passengers out of any crowd.)  Princess has asked her to wait for us,  their delayed passengers,  and we are her last pickup of the night.  She comes with a luggage trolley and we wait.  One orange suitcase arrives almost immediately.  The walker appears at the oversized luggage desk.  No second orange suitcase.  

The wheelchair assistant takes us to the lost luggage desk where we make our claim.  That turnaround in Seattle was too quick for one of our suitcases;  it missed the flight and is arriving on a later one.  "Going on a cruise?" the guy on the desk says.  "I'll make sure it's delivered to your hotel tonight."  "Next time I see you, I'll buy you a drink", says Tom.  "Thanks, but if I see you again,  it means we've messed up again.  Just have one for me!"

So we did. 

And the missing suitcase arrived about midnight.

Houston, we have a problem ...

We live next door to a spaceport.

A well-respected Victoria construction firm tore down the old house next door and built an eight unit building in its place.  We were glad to see the old house go.  It was poorly maintained; the grass was rarely cut; bindweed covered all the hedging and travelled over to our garden; and there was a constant stream of short-term renters.

The new place is a study in contrasts.  It is a very modern design - concrete, black brick, grey stucco, silver and glass railings - yet the parking lot is surrounded by a lovely cedar fence that makes an attractive space for us off our back patio.  The front and back are nicely landscaped, but the sides of the building rear four stories straight up, almost at at the property line.

But it's the lighting which is most noticed by the next door neighbours.  Already they have changed the fixtures on the main (side) entrance of the building so that they shine down, not out directly into the neighbours' windows.  We're now in negotiations with the builder to do the same with the parking lot lights, which shine through that lovely cedar fence right into our bedroom.  The site supervisor  tells us that not even electricians have got the hang of these new LED lights yet.  No kidding. 

So, for now anyway, we're living next door to a spaceport.

Our lovely back patio space

The spaceport, from our kitchen window