Getting Some Go

Beautiful ferry ride from Bainbridge Island, WA to Seattle.

There hasn’t been a huge amount of Travel & Go lately for the RetireTravelCeliacGo blog girl — more commonly known as me.

Since returning from the Japan cruise, we’ve been catching up on routine maintenance — blood work, physicals, dental cleanings, gum tissue grafting, scans, screenings and more — the appointments aging bodies need to keep humming or at least working.

R found one appointment-free week in July and decided we should get up and go — so off we set north to Canada, hybrid bikes strapped on the rack. Our plan was to cycle the much praised Galloping Goose Regional Trail a couple of times, catch up on sleep, eat seafood, and visit our aunt and uncle in Victoria and on the way home, stop off in Seattle for some shopping at Nordstrom.

R pausing on the Galloping Goose Trail

After plenty of years of traveling, we’ve learned that not all trips work out quite as planned. Not surprisingly, Victoria was packed with tourists, many of them German, which is not surprising considering the favorable exchange of Euro to Canadian and how much the Germans love the open spaces of the Pacific Northwest. Victoria was crowded but then, it is summer.

The Galloping Goose Trail turned out to be an ok ride, nothing spectacular, more stops and starts and road crossings then were detailed in its over-the-top reviews. Oh well.

We had a sweet visit with our Aunt Toots and Uncle Jim

We also visited the beautiful Goldstream Provincial Park outside Victoria where we heeded warnings about black bears and aggressive cougars. I hiked the safe trail since I’m not interested in being eaten.  And we indulged in fresh, heavenly steamed Canadian mussels and other seafood.

 

And finally, we enjoyed one of the pleasures of summer — ferry rides and a particularly sweet, breezy one from Bainbridge Island to Seattle.

Going is good.

But who wouldn’t love returning to the gorgeous Oregon sky.

Aaaahh! Summer is Half Over!!!

While waiting for John Mellencamp to perform, we enjoyed the beautiful Oregon sky.

Well, maybe not officially half over but once the 4th of July has passed, I start counting how many weeks of glorious summer are left.

Last winter was long. Not only did Bend experience record snow falls and unbelievably cold temperatures, but R’s pre-surgery tests, travel to Portland for prostate cancer surgery and then follow up appointments kept us in anxious motion as did his recovery. Summer, when it finally arrived, was to soothe the year’s hurts, warm our chilly souls, distract us with fun, musical outings with family and friends, and restore our spirits by offering time in nature.

So at mid-summer, how are we doing?

Pretty darn good, I think. Since June we’ve attended big concerts — John Mellencamp, Paul Simon, Pink Martini with more to come and listened to less well-known but thoroughly enjoyable local groups, including one our talented nephew and grandniece perform with.

Peaceful kayaking on Sparks Lake.

We’ve kayaked Elk Lake, Hosmer, and Sparks with friends and alone, watching bald eagles circling the water searching for fish while we, tucked in our kayaks, also admired the distant snowy mountains, clear lake water, and our luck at living in such a beautiful place.

And we’ve hiked comforting, familiar trails along the beautiful Deschutes River as well as new ones and slowly resumed cycling the roads, stopping to delight in acres and acres of treed vistas. And we’ve renewed our acquaintance with celebrating – birthdays, holidays, visits with others, or just whatever — as cautiously we move out of cancer’s funky mood, scheduled follow up appointments, and worry about the future.

Indeed, summer is a balm for winter.

The man with his Trek. Summer.