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Summer 2018 Vacation Roadtrip to the PNW: Victoria B.C. and Oregon (Part Two)

Summer 2018 Vacation Roadtrip to the PNW: Victoria B.C. and Oregon (Part Two)

Jody Yarborough
Travel

This post is Part Two about our 2018 summer vacation road trip adventure to the Pacific Northwest and Canada. You can read Part One here.

I hadn’t been to Victoria since I was a kid. Andrew had never been at all. Part of the reason we wanted to head north of the border was to have the excuse to ride on the ferry. The other was to go to Butchart Gardens. I’ve heard it is a breathtaking tourist attraction and I wanted to go see if for myself.

When you want to take your car to Victoria by ferry, there is only one option: take a vehicle passenger ferry that leaves out of Port Angeles, WA. Thankfully there are several trips made per day. Accessibility on a vehicle ferry is tricky because of the way they load the cars. They pack them in so tightly there is no room to let down the van ramp. We hadn’t made arrangements prior, so on the way over we had stay in our van and ride over in the belly of the boat. It wasn’t the most ideal, but the trip was only like 90 minutes, and we were just thankful to be headed on our way. (Going home we were able to load our van first so we could exit it before other cars got parked in around us. So we were able to scoot upstairs via the exterior ramp to the passenger/viewing levels.)

Romance Across the Digital Divide: The Story of How I Met My Husband

Romance Across the Digital Divide: The Story of How I Met My Husband

Jody Yarborough
Love Actually

I never saw the movie "Sliding Doors" starring Gwyneth Paltrow, but I understand the premise of the plot line one that explores the outcomes of her life had one event happened differently. While I try not to overthink things, especially hypotheticals about life, this idea of one subtle change impacting the entire trajectory of one's life lingers in my imagination. Like pulling the lever in a pinball machine, one switch can send the ball on a whole different path.

The romantic hopeful in me believes that the Universe would have brought my husband, Drew, and I, together no matter what. But the realistic pragmatist in me says, ummm, yeah right. Considering the fact that we lived 3,000 miles apart from each other, are 13 years different in age, and (at the time) had very few reasons for our paths to cross, the fact that we actually did meet tells me I should give our romantic selves a big'ole high five.

The year was 2004. I was living in South Carolina at the time with one of my best girlfriends, Robyn. She was in college there and I was working at the local newspaper.

A Sade Concert is an Experience of a Lifetime

A Sade Concert is an Experience of a Lifetime

Jody Yarborough
Pop Culture

I love music concerts. There is nothing that compares to seeing your favorite singer performing live. One of the best performers I've ever seen is Sade.

If you have never heard the music of Sade, well, you should. The band's lead vocalist is Sade Adu, born Helen Folasade Adu. She is a Nigerian-born British singer-songwriter, composer, and record producer of the British, Grammy Award-winning English group Sade.

All Aboard! Riding the Rails is a Reunion I am Relishing

All Aboard! Riding the Rails is a Reunion I am Relishing

Jody Yarborough
Travel

It has been five years since I rode Amtrak. It has been ten since I really rode Amtrak. Five years ago, my husband Andrew and I took a relatively short (in train time) trip from the Twin Cities to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The longer trip, five years prior, was from Washington State to Connecticut. Yes, I rode Amtrak all the way across the country. At this point, I could interject about my flying issues, but that is not what this blog is about, so I won't. I will say, however, that I have flown in recent years; Atlanta to San Francisco and back, New York, Washington, Minnesota, Texas. But lately, the skies have not seemed so friendly to me, so I'm in a self-imposed grounding. So when my Dad announced he would need hip replacement surgery, and I had the vacation time at work, the clickity-clack of my old friend the train echoed in the back of my mind.

Missing Mom on Mother's Day

Missing Mom on Mother's Day

Jody Yarborough
Love Actually

So yes, today is Mother's Day. And I'm wishing it was over. My mom passed away three years ago so she isn't here for me to call, hug or send flowers to. I have a lot of wonderful mothers in my life, and I do appreciate them, I really do. A part of me really feels like I should call my step-mom and wish her happy Mother's Day, but I just don't feel like it. I didn't feel this way last year, and I probably won't feel this way next year. But this year, yep, I'm abstaining from passing out some heartfelt Mother's Day love. Because yep, my heart just isn't in it. It's broken, missing my mom. And the cool thing is, that gives me comfort, because I know in my heart, my mom would understand.