Yukon Ho!

Whitehorse. A fantastical mythical place where Andrew supposedly comes from. I'm a little ashamed to say I know next to nothing about the Yukon, the location is even a little fuzzy. Turns out, it's a real place, and it's very cold, but contrary to my personal beliefs, I did not drop dead gasping for air upon arrival. Don't get me wrong, it's still the coldest I've ever been, but I'm surviving just fine. 

We arrived at night, so aside from whatever the headlights lit up, and the inside of a pub, I didn't see much. Andrews friend Buck picked us up in his car which had "ice on the inside of the car!" To which buck replied, "....frost? Yeah... Get used to it..." He was right.

Day two, we took a drive around town so I could orient myself and actually see where we are. Andrew tells me they called it Whitehorse because of the rapids in the river looking like running white horses, but I think maybe it's just cuz it's snowy and EVERYTHING is white... And maybe they just really like horses. Apparently they had an unusually warm week recently and lost about two feet of snow, everyone was worried the bears would wake up... It was very confusing. So now they keep telling me how much it looks like spring here, but for me, it's still about as much snow as I've ever seen in my life. The river is at it's smallest in town, but still huge. It's mostly frozen, with a thinner part in the center flowing. Big blocks of ice jet up in spots, they look like big sinking ice ships. Almost everything blows my mind at least a little bit.

This week is a festival called "Rendezvous" which no one can really explain to me. Everyone dresses with garters and feathers and suspenders and such. There are all kinds of shows and events on all week... Really funny stuff, actually. Here's a few of my favorites:

I can't help but think of my mom with the scrabble championship....

Last night the northern lights came out and danced a bit. It seems to be a recurring theme that things aren't as extreme as they usually are, but I was completely blown away. We threw on boots and coats and hats and walked to the end of the street... Well, I stumbled... Sinking and falling into unexpectedly deep snow because I wasn't watching my footing. I felt like a five year old. I don't remember the last time I saw something for the first time. I mean sure this whole place is new to me, but you see photos, movies, all kinds of hints to prepare you... No matter how many photos I've seen of the northern lights I was not prepared. 

Anyone who knows me knows how surprising it is for me to find myself in the Yukon.  Sometimes I wake up forgetting where I am, but this place has a way of reminding me. In a big way. 

Montreal - July 2013

Yes, July.
What can I say, its been a busy summer.

The service industry kills in the summer. By August, everyone I know are just zombies. Shells of human beings. Everyone is exhausted, over worked, over partied (you know, to make up for the over-worked part), and generally over it. Suddenly you have a deep hatred for....pretty much anyone who sits in your section. You say things like, "Sure, sounds great, thanks so much." when all you can think is, "No. No no no. No. Please leave."

This is the same reason I ended up in Montreal this summer.
Usually I'm more of a long extensive trip overseas which I've saved for for months, but this summer, I knew I was going to need a change. Living on a small island, working more than full-time is hard. The island is beautiful and the community makes it worth staying, but even Salt Spring's biggest fans need to get away sometimes. I made the choice to stay here this summer and work hard, with the plan to spend the money I made on experiences which would make it worth it, and memorable.

Obviously this was in JULY so my memories on the details are vaguer than they may have been had I written this when I was SUPPOSED to, but I felt like my travel record is just not complete if I don't say SOMETHING about it. The photos will explain it better than I can.

Day 1. Reunited and prancing through downtown.

My roommate has a birthday in July, and we have a common love for travel. Last year we took a huge group of girls to Las Vegas, this year she and I decided to get away again. We looked at what was cheap, and easy, and where we hadn't been yet. "Wanna go to Montreal?"
"...Yeah. Sure. Why not?"
So with zero knowledge of the city, or really what we would do there, we booked tickets and a room (a GREAT deal through expedia.ca) and a few days later we were on the red-eye after work.

We flew in early in the morning and took a cab through all the grey outskirts and into down town. It really was like being in a different country from the get-go. I'd heard it was a European city, but they weren't kidding. Nostalgia hit HARD when we rolled into downtown with all the large stone buildings and little bakeries, not to mention everything being in French.

Our hotel was in a great location, and way nicer than we expected. We were a little nervous that we had little to no language skills between us. Allison wasn't even a little bit kidding when she said she didn't speak any French, and I can understand it well enough to get around, but my own speaking skills leave something to be desired. It turned out to be a non issue since everyone in Montreal is smarter than us and fully bilingual it seems.
We dragged ourselves up to our room, humid, hot, exhausted... First on the agenda: Nap time.

Hotel Rooftop

From the top of our hotel

Honestly, in the depths of a busy summer, I would have been happy and totally willing to spend the money on a plane ticket just to get in some good nap time and cable TV. I'm not proud, but at least I'm honest. However, after a good nap, we did end up deciding to actually GO on our vacation and see the city.
With our lack of knowledge of ANYTHING to do with Montreal, we literally stepped out the front doors, looked left, looked right, looked at each other, shrugged, and randomly wandered off in whatever direction. I imagine we looked somewhat like those dizzy kittens you see all over YouTube.

Meandering

When we went to Vegas we all had things we wanted to cross off our bucket lists, but here in Montreal, we had no idea what our options even were. We wandered into a Holiday Inn and pretended to be guests while the brochure stand guy showed us the hop on hop off bus route....which we did NOT do. Instead, we now had a map with all the sights circled, and four very capable feet. In cute shoes.

Allison and I after having used our built in coastal instincts to find the waterfront we didn't know existed. Roots.

Within about 20 minutes we got sucked into a giant underground shopping center, and by the time my friend - A montreal resident for the past couple years- found us, we were drowning in bags. He managed to drag us back into daylight, and proceeded to give us the ultimate foot tour of damn near the entire city.

Touristing

European much?

There is so much history and beautiful architecture in Montreal, I was in heaven walking around through all the little stone streets and cathedrals. We stopped in the old town area for my very first ever poutine experience...Up until this point I really didn't understand it. Fries...with gravy...and cheese curds? Do you WANT death?
Yes.
The answer is yes.
If thats what it costs, I'll take it.

We spent a lot of time walking, exploring the various areas of town. As far as I can tell, Montreal is set up in sections. All the good food is HERE, the night life is THERE, shopping is over there, and the touristy part is ooovvverrr.....there. So if you want to see the sights, get real good food, and go out for some dancing, you either walk a lot, or hop a metro.

Overlooking the city after our long long hike to the cross.

My friend was an excellent host and showed up every day to show us around. We spent a good chunk of one day hiking through the park, looking for a cross perched on top of a mountain. It doesn't take 4 hours, but thats what it took us because we couldn't for the life of us figure out how to get there. We did though! ...Aaaaand then we got out of there right quick because we were hot and hungry.

THE Cross. The one we though we would die looking for. I guess there's no better way to explore a park than to get entirely lost in one for several hours. 

Still looking for the cross

We DID check out the food network joints, which are pretty much right next to each other. Smoked meats are Montreal's "thing" so we HAD to try it, obviously. We shared ONE sandwich and were done eating for the rest of the day. We had one from "The Main" and by the time we made it across the street to "Schwartz's" we couldn't even look at food anymore. In a good way.

Giant adirondack chairs? Yes please.

French dinner

Looking for the room key, too impatient. There was hot poutine waiting to be eaten, so we resorted to this....

On Allison's actual birthday, we found a chic restaurant/wine bar, complete with pink lights and everything. The wine list was ridiculous, I wanted to keep it and frame it. We ordered appetizers and drank champagne and met up with a friend of hers, and then met up with mine as well. We wined and dined and ended the night dancing in a little night club up the road. There was also a random reggae club in there for a moment or so.

All over the night club area. Little cryptic photos with the fine for....being a squash? Drinking? Burping? This was one of the easier to understand ones.

Chic dining on Alli's birthday

We won't lie, the pink lights were a big part of why we came here.

Basically, we spent four days as jet setting, mimosa drinking, shopping, culture bugs. Big huge thanks to my friend Manlee for being the best host and showing us how to do it right.

Rooftop chit chats

I have awesome memories of hanging out on the rooftop of our hotel, looking at the city. Wandering around at 11:30 looking for ice cream sundaes. Dragging Allison to see World War Z after a long day of shopping. Thinking we were going to end up living in the park forever, never finding our way out. Our cab driver who danced right along with us when the J.Lo song came on the radio and stopped so we could get poutine. The woman in the museum who told me I should marry rich and tried to set me up with the guard, and invited us to their house for dinner. I even have fond memories of nap time in the hotel.

Having a relaxed moment

She loves love.

Late night sundaes, because why not?

A week away, mid-summer... Not easy to get off work. But totally entirely worth it. It made all the difference. I think I've finally found the trick to island life. Don't make plans. Do them.

Hitting the town

Flying home to Salt Spring Island via sea plane

Westport, CA: Life=Solved.

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth" - Robert Frost

Ok, so if you know that poem, you know that after that first bit, he goes on to make a decision to take the road less travelled and feels pretty good about himself blah blah blah. That's great for him, I'm happy for him, but I think the most important part of this poem is right at the beginning, while we can all still relate. Honestly, if you were literally in the freaking woods, would you take a dark path that no ones been down in a hundred years? Because if you do that here in Mendocino County, you might stumble onto an angry mountain man with a shotgun, or get eaten by a mountain lion. Its just not the smart choice. Especially if you have a lovely paved path with those cute little plaques along the way telling you stories about trees or whatever. Anyway, I'm getting distracted. What I'm trying to get at here, is that we often come to crossroads in life and I'm pretty sure its usually a lot harder than writing a fancy poem to find which way to take.

Currently, I don't have just two simple paths. I have a whole mess of little deer trails leading into various nooks and crannies, and the interstate on another side with a thousand exits that look like they lead you straight to food and lodging, but actually take you 20 minutes out of your way and you still can't find In-n-Out. So here I stand, trying to be poetic, but more just staring blankly ahead getting distracted by shiny objects and the Kardashians on MTV.

At long last I have come to the looking-down-as-far-I-could-to-where-it-bent-in-the-undergrowth part. OKAY. Step one. CHECK.
My mom came to town and we went on a little expedition to the coast over in Westport. The northern Californian coast is...wild. I'm talking no cell service, no wifi... and a huge swell on top of the normally massive waves.

Westport, CA

Sunny view from the studio porch.

We stocked up on supplies: wine, cheese, grapes, and chocolate. Picked up some soul searching books, and literally just shut ourselves in and read entire books at a time. Normally, non-fiction tell-you-what-you're-doing-wrong books are not my thing... Unless Oprah says its cool, then you know its legit, but we had a stack of books and a notebook and made a goal to just read for the sake of reading and cross reference or whatever.

Supplies

View from the table. I know, life is tough.

View from the kitchen table window.

Let me tell you, having been out of school for a while it was the closest thing to homework I've had in a long time. Most of it was just quotes and quirky little "what kind of learner are you" kind of things where you answer a bunch of questions and it tells you why your life hasn't been a piece of cake. OBVIOUSLY you're just not using your chakras properly, or whatever... I'm still not totally clear on what chakras are but they sound complicated and I can't be bothered to figure it out.

So in case anyone else was wondering why their life wasn't a beam of sunshine raining money and six pack abs, I've FIGURED IT OUT.
And I'm going to share it with you. YOU'RE WELCOME. Donations can be made to the cause of me going to Thailand.

Sunset from the studio porch.

1. Be mindful of the wonder... Ok obviously this is why I'm not hugely successful. I don't even know what this MEANS.
2. Think and act purposefully. Oh ok, yeah, that too, uh huh. Anyone who knows me will know that this is just out of the question.... I mean, yes I'll work on that.
3. Experience your work as your calling. Ummmm I'm a waitress..
4. Actively learn the lessons of hardship. I feel like this should be obvious. The first time I touched a hot stove was also the last. Furthermore,  after I couldn't eat for two weeks post-surgery, I LEARNED that pizza is AMAZING. I've got this one on lock.
5. Seek the win/win. Oh REALLY, thank you Captain Obvious. Tip top advice.
6. Remind yourself of your true self. This seems like a cop out. Isn't the entire book supposed to be about that? Shouldn't this one have like a little sub-list or something?
7. Move on. Oh. Right, ok I'll just do that then. Sweet, thanks. Life=Solved.
8. Be hopeful and optimistic. Whoops. Ok THIS is definitely my problem.. Easy fix.
9. Perceive hardship as temporary. No no, THIS one. Definitely this one.
10. Recognize when "good enough" will do. Um excuse me, but Tyra Banks suggests otherwise. BE FIERCE, GIRL. OH NO HE DI-INT! It might just be me, I don't know, but I feel like everything everyone has ever taught me ever has been the polar opposite of this statement.
11. Observe the storm. I don't really like rain anyways...
12. Become who you want to be. Again. This seems like an awfully big statement. This is like saying, "How to be rich: Just, you know. Make a bunch of money." SWEET thanks!
13. Be afraid and go ahead anyway. Ignore my instincts, settle for "good enough", watch storms. Got it.
14. Experience heartfelt positivity. I wish he'd told me this at the beginning of this list...
15. Give yourself permission to be human. I don't need permission, I'm FIERCE like Tyra! You don't know me! Gimme that book, I'll write it for you.

I just want to add right now, that those aren't even all of them. This book had like 101 of these. One hundred and one! I mean I have a hard time focusing on microwave popcorn instructions and thats only, what, 3 steps?

There was also one that challenged us to not say the following for 24 hours:

"I can't"

"I have to"

"I don't have time to"

Instead we are supposed to say:

"I won't", "I choose not to", "I don't want to", "I've decided not to."

"I will", "I want to", "I choose to", "I've decided to."

"I'm going to do something else", "That's not my highest priority."

Which I found potentially dangerous. What if you are being held hostage, picture this with me...
A bank is being robbed. You're at the window with a gun to your face. The safe is locked, there is no one to open it, you do not have the key... The man with the gun demands that you open the safe.

....."I've decided not to."

So maybe he settles for whatever cash everyone has on hand. After he's obviously shot you because you were being a jerk. He chooses someone to collect everyones wallets and reveals that he has a bomb strapped to his chest counting down 1 minute. There are a lot of people in the bank, there is no way they have time to collect all the wallets. The robber gets aggravated and they say,

......."I'm going to do something else."

Well thats lovely, now everyone is dead, but on the bright side, you were well on your way to "finding yourself" up until that point..

Ok, so thats pretty extreme, but in all seriousness, there are just some things in life that you "Can't" "have to" or "don't have time to" do.
I can't speak Mandarin. If I go to China and someone tries to speak to me I'm not going to say, "I've decided not to speak Mandarin."
I have to go to gynaecologists once in a while. Never in my life have I said, "I've decided to go get stabbed in the cervix."
When my boss tells me to stay late one day, and I've got to be on a ferry or I'll miss a very important appointment, I don't say, "I'm going to do something else."

Having said all of that, we came away from our weekend with a clearer head, somehow. I know its hard to think of me enlightened.. Something about three days of salty air and no electronics really realigns your thoughts. The house we stayed at literally has the ocean in the backyard. The car windows were all salty from being parked there and having the ocean spray in the wind. The most interesting things I learned from this trip was actually when we got back to reality.
I spent three days basically sitting and staring at waves and wasn't bored for a second. I came back and five minutes into a movie, texting someone, and checking facebook I was bored to tears.

I realize my blog is online, so this is not the place to preach about this, and also that I have in fact sold my soul to the internet - sometimes I accidentally check Facebook.. Without even realizing it... But turning it all off was the only way I was able to switch back on.

A wall in the house made entirely of old boxes from whiskeys and scotch

And in case anyone wants to have a little getaway on the coast you can visit the website for The Westport House