Las Conchas

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Vacation 2009 all over the place...

Ok I know it's been a while. Of course my cousin Steve reminds me of this so I must not disappoint.

Our trip started in Albuquerque where we stayed with Jesse's mom and drove out the next day to Colorado. On our way we stopped at the Aztec Ruins and had a picnic lunch.Back on the road we stopped in Durango and had some coffee while we checked out the town. Finally we made it Ouray around 4:30 to see my friends Lora and Steve at their Chalet. We had enough time to hike to Box Springs before dinner.







Thank you Steve for the great tour!! Dinner at Papillon which was some of the best Cajun cooking around.The next day was the jeep ride to the top of The Alpine Loop. I could be wrong about this. We saw several mining sights and went over the 12,000 foot mark. Thank god Lora was driving because I had to keep my eyes closed since the road was narrow with a steep drop off. That night we ate at the Beaumont hotel. Great appetisers and drinks. We then went to this great hamburger place and had the best burger and fries. The name of the place complete slips my mind.

Next day we head back to Albuquerque for some rest. On the 4th day we make our way to Jemez Springs. We stopped at a place on the side of the road for lunch where the women were making taco's. I can tell you that I didn't feel so good the rest of the day but good enough to drink wine.. lol Jesse went for a swim at the waterfall.. We also stopped at the Ponderosa Winery. We had a bit of wine tasting and I helped with the owners computer and scored myself a free bottle of wine. The wine was very good and I think I'll order some soon. On the porch there were hummingbirds every where.




Day 5 was back on the plane traveling to Seattle where Jesse's friend Steve picked us up and took us to Vancouver. I'm just realizing that I have mentioned 3 Steve's in this blog so far. LOL

Day 6 we hung out in the city, visited parks and walked around China Town for the day.

Next day we headed to Bowen Island for some bike riding and Kayaking.












Well the boys did a lot of drinking while Michelle and I did the Kayaking. We caught up and did a bunch of drinking after our kayaking.








Day 8 was early to rise to catch the ferry to Vancouver Island. We camped for 3 days in Little Qualicum Falls. Great place!!! As soon as everyone arrived everyone went to the river for a swim and of course crayfish hunting. They caught enough for everyone to have a taste.

Next day was a early morning hike to Qualicum Falls and various trails.




More swimming in the river. More trails for Rinah and I plus a group trip to Spider Lake. It was interesting but still not warm enough for me to swim.



Day 10 was a group trip to Cathedral Grove in the morning. It's a beautiful old growth forest. Once we finished the trails there we headed to Cameron Lake. It was amazing and yes you guessed it!! I did not swim... It looked inviting but I just could not do it. I think if I lived there I would eventually toughen up. After the Lake we went back to camp for some R&R. Later in the afternoon it was back in the car and out to Englishman Falls. The place was great and the water was so crystal clear. On our way back to camp we stopped in Coombs and stopped at the market called goats on the roof. They really had goats on the roof which was so weird and cool.Our last day we packed up and stopped in Coombs again for one more look at the goats. We headed to Victoria to finally catch a shower at Rinah's apartment of which I was eternally grateful.. lolol After Nadia arrived we all went out for dinner and then an evening walk on the water for sunset.









Day 12 was awesome. Nadia scored the 3 of us a free whale watching adventure. The best ever!! We saw Humpback whales, Sea Lions and Killer whales on our trip. We met Jeff (Jesse's Dad) for lunch afterward and walked around the town.


We stopped at Beacon Hill Park which of course is my absolute favorite. Later we had dinner at a great brewery called the Canoe. Great beer and I am craving more...

Our last day in Victoria we drove in the AM to East Sooke and did the coast trail.



We found some interesting sea life once we hiked to the water. Afterward we ate at the Cafe of which I don't remember the name once again. After a little swimming and hot tubing at the rec center we ate fish and chips at the house and had beer while we played Cranium.

Day 13 was sad because we had to start heading home and back to reality.. I'm ready to retire damn it!!!