Back to me old stomping grounds.

 Oh.  Canada.  

Ok so I must admit the trip has been amazing.  I forgot how beautiful the prairies can be.  Big skies…I mean mind bogglingly massive.  Sweeping clouds.  Feathered and adorable.  And sun!  Lots of sun.  Then the blue grey of sage bush, pronghorn antelope, mule deer with striped fawns.  Glorious.  I had to stop and just stand and take in the vistas.  I hope I captured these scenes so I can paint them someday. 

This year marks 50 years since I graduated from High School.  5 decades.  I lived in the best of times!  The best music, the coolest cars.  It was awesome! So now I was going to a cabin in the Cypress Hills to hang out with two of my besties from the 70’s. What a great reunion.   It was like we had never been apart, even though we had not seen each other for about a dozen years.  That cabin is modern, gorgeous, and had a very comfy bed.  Stories of crazy days made us laugh till we were breathless.  My favorite moment was one of my friends yelling “You made me pee my pants”!  Lol Mission accomplished. 🤣

I stopped in for a quick visit to a former hairdresser and buddy who now has 8 grandkids!  Again tears, hugs and laughter.  It was weird going through the town I’d left 23 yrs ago when I left to live with Mac.  Partially looking for some familiar haunts, partially hoping I wouldn’t drag up old ghosts.   Time has healed over a few wounds, changed the way things appeared, and spurred old memories.  Weird.  Not nostalgic, just weird feeling. 

Then north to meet up with my family: and a stay in the Bessborough Hotel, a grand old castle.   Thanks sis!  An evening with my family is frenetic, to say the least.  It was wonderful seeing them, hugs, lots of love, and a lot of noise.  Seems we all have to talk at the same time, louder and louder…lol I wasn’t use to that anymore. But overall it was wonderful.  

Seems Saskatchewan has a lot of old friends, so tonight I am watching the sky at my pal Georgettes acreage.  Its been a few years since I saw her and Tom.  Mac and I hung out with them a lot when we lived near High River. How great was it to chill out with them now in their new place in the country.  Then lunch in the Borden Hotel.  I am blessed with so many good friends. 

I feel lonely for my beloved.  At the same time touched by the concern and love I received on this trip.  I do need to stop the bad language that seems to slip out!  Why does that happen?  Chalk it up to stress I guess.

These experiences all show me that yes, I can survive alone.  I don’t like that word Alone.  It sounds cold and sad.  Each morning I wake up to widowhood.  Never in my plans.  I still can laugh, but my silliness level is low.  The pain of heartache is a new companion I need to come to terms with.  

It will be okay.  Tonight as I sit quietly with my friends, I contemplate the trip home.  The dread of returning to my empty flat sits like a rock in my gut.  Reality says I must go back, fantasy says Just keep on driving.  But my travels will be filled with more reunions with my buddies.  And some laughs and reminiscing and so it goes.  

I’ll choose my route, see more sights old and new, and reunite with my cat!  But not for at least another week.  

It will be okay.  In the words of Scarlett O’Hara “fiddley dee, tomorrows another day”.

Feeling the love in Montana

 Made it!  My friend Sandy F’n Campbell is a Widows Son brother to my John.  We go waay back, and what a great guy to have a brew and a visit with! After an excellent night in Dunmore at Marion and Sandy’s…I packed up, filled up and headed south.  

The trip so far has had tears, laughs, and long conversations: and thats just me in the car alone!  Now I was heading south, thru Cypress Hills, across the border, and onwards to Laurel MT.  And indeed, I hit construction.  All the way through Billings.  Luckily I think Mac was helping me stay on target, no swerving left or right ,and soon, with a few phone calls for clarity I was in Laurel.  Ok I did end up in a truck stop parking lot surrounded by big rigs and weaseling my way through them.  But soon I was at my friends Wally and Nevas house.  They are the best!  For three days they chauffeured me around, took me to The Man Cave and Lodge where everything was happening.  This years N/S run was outstanding!  Riders from Fort Mac, 11 from Saskatchewan, Sons from North Dakota, Alberta, Wyoming and of course Montana… and many had their spouses. One soul from Alberta had just returned from a ride to Tuktoyaktuk, talk about endurance!  Then made it to the event.  What a guy!  I love them all, with the exception of three (who were drunk the whole time, but are a-holes when sober) but they were are all Macs Brothers.

We had beers, Tacos by Dan,  many many heartfelt words of missing Mac and offers of help to me.  And big Man Hugs!  At the Lodge a Masonic tribute was on display, sort of the Widows  Sons version of goodbye, like a riderless horse with boots on backwards.  I was asked to say a few words, and I admit I did break down a couple of times.  But the crowd had many tearful faces.  Male and female, it was so touching.  He would have approved!  

The brotherhood shown me that day was healing.  I felt it was a big step to moving forward for me, to have strong people who sincerely care. I can only strive to thank them and will never forget them - they are my family now. We shared two bottles of MacArthur scotch and toasted absent brothers, the way Mac would have wanted.  And on Sunday, I started north. After 35 bikers sang Happy Birthday to me after breakfast!

Montana is gorgeous.  I stayed at one of our favourite spots in White Sulphur Springs, sat in the hot springs and reminisced about our times soaking in the pools. A friend who is a Widows Son and the local Sheriff took me for dinner…chicken fried steak, as big as a hubcap which although delicious was toooo much!  In the a.m. I packed up, and left for Havre.  Ok note to self: don’t leave without coffee…so after a quick return to get my phone charge cords, I was off! Yeah, I headed the wrong way.  Lol so a Uturn and I was on my way north.

The speed limit here is 70 mph…about 120 kpm, and that sure works for me! Breathtaking mountains, forest, rivers, it is amazing here! Stopping at the State Park and being overwhelmed by a chorus of birds, watching deer, one antelope once I hit the open prairie, it is hard to put in words the emotions it brings out,  and the joy and peace I’m filled with.  

I feel I’m healing.  His death is still raw, still fresh but now I am secure knowing I’ll be alright.  The love and support that has surrounded me from his friends on this trip leaves me with a deep sense of peace and hope for my future.  As my good friend Karen said “It’s okay”. 

Tonight I’m in Havre for my last night in the US on this trip.   Tomorrow another adventure commences into the Cypress Hills, this being my 50 year anniversary of my high school grad. Can’t  wait to see my girlfriends, share some Vino (did I mention my fav wine was $20 a bottle cheaper in Montana!) have some laughs and catch up on life.  Then I’ll venture to Saskatoon to see family.  But that will undoubtedly be another tale to tell.

In the words of Tolkien  “there was Frodo, pale and worn and yet himself again; and in his eyes there was peace now, neither strain of will, nor madness, nor any fear.  His burden was taken away.”

Sunshine and coffee…Happy 4th of July!

 I’m overwhelmed, comforted, flooded with memories of 4th of July.  22 of the, to be exact.  Thats how many Mac and I celebrated together.  Occasionally in the States, on our bikes, in the town voted Best Small Town to Celebrate the Fourth, Choteau Montana.  Yup a real live small town parade, where people celebrated whether Republican or Democrat…both parties had their float a s entourage with them…cheers, flag waving, very red white and blue! Friendly folk, making room in the shade for the two smiling Canucks.  

I was looking at older photos on my phone, and the red white and blue jello shooters I concocted, and consumed in our garage made me smile.  The crazy things we did, sometimes just ripping south from our place in Alberta for a cross border biscuit and gravy breakfast.  Yummo!

Or ordering almost everything on the menu for a Chinese takeout feast in Port Townsend with cousin Lynn.  A very good day indeed!  Fireworks all down the coast really topped it off.

Today I’m sitting in the sun with a cool and persistent breeze glad to be with friends in Albeeria.  The drive from Creston seemed long.  The traffic at the end of our July 1 long weekend was nuts!  July 1.  Once called Dominion Day, then changed by Prime Minister Pearson to Canada Day and now PM Truedope questioning if there is a Canadian identity at all?  What woke new hell path is this fool leading us down now?  I refuse to play that game, and won’t  sing his new politically correct version of our national anthem or ever call y’all ‘peoplekind’!   Lol but enough of my political rant (for now)

On my travels I saw some cool stuff:  hundreds of motorcycles and about 3 dozen HA’s (when did all the riders get white hair?) a wild turkey and her brood of 5 turklettes, beautiful rugged mountains and curvey highways.  Then arrived at my friends farm with her collection of cats, dogs and horses (and hubby Dave)  

In retrospect a very quiet 4th but we did enjoy a lovely breakfast at the golf course.  And of course ice cream followed 🤪 Now it may be time for a lazy afternoon nap.  Then who knows?? 

The adventure continues!

 

TransCanada Parking Lot: Marlean hits the mainland.

 Did I ever enjoy living in Vancouver?  I recall yes I did, and yes I drove in the city but that my friends was a LONG time ago!  

Allow me to build that back story:   On June 29 i caught the early ferry from Duke Point in Nanaimo to Tsawassen just out of Vancouver.  I had the good fortune to strike up a conversation with a mother and daughter standing in the food line, who were on their way to Williams Lake.  Two very nice women!  

For some reason I was convinced we’d docked on Hwy #1.  Apparently not and the “talking bossy google map lady” kept trying to divertme to routes and streets I was NOT familiar with. I became more and more annoyed and skeptical when I drove for an hour, under the Alex Fraser bridge, then under the Port Mann bridge, then the Patelo bridge…dang it this crazy route took me past Mission, New Westminster, into Surrey….what had I done?  All the while I could imagine Mac in my head tsking and “Jeez Marilyn you’ve done it now” but I was determined!  My long distance adventure was going to work out!

My goal…drive through BC stopping to see friends , 

then into Alberta seeing more buddies…carry on to Montana to crash the Widows Son’s north south rally, then up to Saskatoon etc to see family before heading home.  

When I finally reached Abbotsford, all lanes, both directions were barely moving.  And nose to tail solid traffic.  This O was not expecting!  Its got to get better…but noooo 2 hours to Chilliwack from Vancouver, 2 hours to get thru to Abbotsford….ridiculous!  

Ok first stop the historic Coalmont Hotel.  Its over 100 yrs old in a tiny hamlet, founded on coal and was why the Kettle Valley Railroad (KVR) was built.  Lots of history. 

The landscape is wild and rugged..steep roads up and down the mountains, lots of ATV and Side by Side trails…i had an in depth and potentially scary tour with my friend who’d grown up driving on those roads.  Likely much faster than we travelled that day.

Then hit the road to Creston via Osoyoos. Totally forgetting it was Canada Day aka big local parade day…and the shut down of Hwy #3 east.  

Great.  I drove around for over an hour before a kind soul tried to give me directions to leave town.  Alas I ended up crossing into the United States, very briefly.  Explained I was recently widowed trying to get to Saskatchewan to see my family…gadzooks!  So turn back into Canada where the border guy gave me the stink eye and let me in…by then thankfully the Osoyoos parade was over and I carried on to my destination for the night, the Pair a Dice RV park and campground.  An older place, meticulously maintained and its a good thing I reserved for a couple of nights.  Free hot showers, good wi-fi, and pretty quiet until a train came thru.  And I thought fog horns were loud!

And here I am, impressed by a beautiful full moon, in my comfy camper car, on the road to adventure.  Its odd driving a road I’ve ridden on many times, past Salmo - the ghosts of a past adventure with my darling Mac, the riding partner I adored.  Yup a couple of tears, a lot of smiles and a long conversation as I drove recalling times past. 

Tomorrow its day 5 on my grand adventure.  I will hunt down a grocery store and a fruit stand.  I’ve got a hankering for corn bread and fresh peaches!  And a big pot of coffee.

Sounds from my bedroom window…

 Nearing the halfway mark at end of June, its not hot, per sae, where I live, but may reach 18C on a sunny afternoon.  And warm air above means fog in the early hours.  Thick, pea soupy fog which limits your view.  Well limits my view anyways, which usually is of the ocean and across the water to Malcolm island.  Beyond that lies Broughton Strait dividing us from the mainland.  Its a pretty darn gorgeous view which I enjoy from the comfort of my bed. 

Summer brings tourists and also huge cruise ships.  They are impressive to see when they sail majestically between my house and Malcolm island.  And when they are on the other side, well then they are hidden, and I’m unaware of hundreds of passengers heading to Alaska.  Unless there is heavy fog. 

Its law that they blow their horns in the fog.  And becaise I have an app showing marine traffic (because after all, I want to know whats out there…blame it on being from the prairies🤓) when I hear ‘em, I can identify ‘em.  

Just before 4 this morning I heard what I think of as “the regular fog horn” which isn’t loud but its steady. To me it sounds quieter, reedy, “smaller”.  Not really enough to wake me.  But the Hoooo of a big ship, its unmistakable.  A sound much louder, deeper, substantial.  It echos off surrounding islands, very romantic.   And of course it makes me check on my Marine Traffic app.  What to my wondering ears did appear? Well its the Disney Wonder, followed by the Norwegian  Jewel.  Two beautiful big ships on their way to Ketchican Alaska.  

Whats cool is often on their way south to Vancouver on their return voyage, they sail on this side of Malcolm island.  A few times Ive seen the Disney ship with the mickey mouse ears painted on the funnels, and even heard their ships horn play “When you wish upon a star.”  Now that was a jaw dropper the first time I heard it! 

As these two sailed on, out of site still..i could tell whose horn was whose by their tone.  Its wonderous to hear  sounds of the ocean.  Ships, huge tug boats hauling islands of gravel on barges, fishing boats…including locals setting crab traps just off shore.  Then Mother Nature, never to be outdone, fires up a plethora of bird song, the occasional whale blow, sea lions..its a veritable din!  But for now its mellow.  The smaller fog horn, likely a lighthouse, is all that I can hear.  

A gentle morning has returned, wrapped in fog, luring me back to sleep. 😌🥱😴

This ain't no dress rehearsal folks.

 I love Maddie Please.  A wonderful author who’ve I discovered thanks to my friends at the Milo Book Club.  Let me explain.  The Wine, ‘ er Book Club was a wonderful social group of smart, fun,  creative  women where I used to live. And we actually did read books, and thru them I read The Old Birds Club.  As an over 60 something gal, the characters spoke to me, made me guffaw at times.  It was the kind of read that my dear hubby Mac would say “stop reading, you’re laughing and shaking the bed.  I’m trying to sleep”.  Hey its tough to laugh not out loud. 

And that was it - I was hooked on her writing.  Feel good stories, often with new adventures to be had by daring groups of friends who were mostly my age.  Good fun reads that wouldn’t let me put them down.  

Now were there steamy lusty bits to these books? No shades of grey thank goodness!  But lots of love, romance, wonderful honest and often goofy new encounters .  Women who took a chance, who succumbed to the call of a new challenge, of travels, and relationships.  I guess the characters were so real to me her books were easy to relate to. 

The latest book was set in Tuscany. A Vintage Vacation.   A place that has held my imagination ever since reading Under the Tuscan Sun.  In this book the main character realizes she was not getting younger, and this was it.  Her life.  Why not figure out what she wanted from it and make the most of it.  And that hit me hard.  Ok i may have 20, 25 years left.  If thats The Plan. As a friend told me “this is it, no dress rehearsal “. And I had to stop and ask myself - So just what do I want from those years?  Do I want to be That Widow who watches TV with a beer and her cat on a Saturday night?  Or do I want to push the envelope and step a wee bit out of my comfort zone?

I suspect my upcoming KIA Kar Kamping trip will be a good start at sorting that out!  I’m ready to test my air mattress, my coffee making skills on a one burner stove, and sleeping in the car.  Did I mention I’m a little scared of the dark?  Lol I’m sure Ill be ok, with my flashlight, air horn and bear spray!

Maybe I’ll text Maddie and let her know how I manage! She did friend me on Facebook after all.  Stay tuned. 

I'm off to see the wizard….

 A gorgeous sunny morning here on the Island, and Im doing what John and I said we would do once retired.  Coffee, bagel and cream cheese, hummingbirds abounding, and listening to Donovan while we wake up.  Yup.  A lovely gentle start to a Monday.  

On our catio we have flowers and 2 red lawn chairs with cushions,  very colourful, very welcoming.  Today Casey Cat sat in Johns chair while I enjoyed the music, and the Thrush vied for the most volume while it sang to me.  

We watched hummingbirds, jostling for position at the feeder.  Good thing I made a new batch of food to refill it this morning!  Amazing how much they consume.

Today I head to the Royal Bank 2 hours and a bit to the south to find out how to manage Johns estate.  The lady I made the appointment with sounded nice, lets see if we can get things reorganized so stuff continues copacetically.  Is that a word?  Almost have all the paperwork under control, hoping I feel as optimistic when I get back home!  I’m managing  to keep my head above water, good thing since I never did learn to tread water. Feeling optimistic that  I can handle the road ahead.  

I’m so grateful for all my amazing friends and the love and support I get.  Albeit occasionally Marlean takes over my brain and I forget I’m almost sixtyyacht and I want to go on a Grand Adventure.  🤓.  

Better talk myself down and be calm, cool and collected for the Bank Lady.  Lol  down Wanda, down!😎