DAY 14....

leaving La Conner hopefully means leaving some of that heartache behind.  because Aunt Anita will always be there to visit. 
bye bye La Conner, i'll miss you.  hopefully you won't return
my belongings when i come back in a few days.
hello Victoria, BC, Canada.  i'm from America.  we do things veerrryyyy differently and we're a bunch of paranoid assholes.  but, we might be a little bit smarter.....

1. woke up at 5:45 to see Jess and Josh leave.  Anita made coffee and the 4 of us had one last talk about stuff, then it was time for them to head off on one of their several 12+ hour drive towards Kansas.  we gave big hugs and kisses, and Anita and i watched them drive away.  then we immediately went back to bed.

2. woke up a few hours later and Anita and i talked over coffee and bagels.  i got ready, put my big suitcase in Anita's garage for safekeeping of all but 4 days worth of clothes and stuff, packed my duffel into the car, and left for the ferry for Canada.  the hour long wait went by fast.  that's good because my kindle's battery was dead.  which reminds me......okay, charging. 

3. as soon as i found my seat on the ferry, i got almost overwhelmingly sad.  it was really quite ridiculous.  it's weird, i'm doing fine, but i'm so sad.  i'm trying to find the pattern.  i think it's leaving things/places behind.  which is clearly symbolic.  but man, am i exhausted.  so i went outside and took pictures around the boat.  at one point, the wind was strong and cold and too much.  but we made a turn, and it became a soft breeze that was almost warm.  i stayed out there for a long time.  when i was ready to go inside, i started working on day 2 of the retreat book.  i'm planning on working on it every day while i'm here.  it'll be a short chapter, so maybe i can get into day 3....
see ya, America. 
4. got cruised on the boat.  or i'm just flattering myself.  more than likely, i'm just flattering myself.  
dude on the far left may or may not have followed me to the other side of the boat. 
his friend to his right was trying to support his efforts. 
the guy to the right of them was a body building douchebag.  ridiculous jeans.5. we got there and drove off.  heading through customs, i was one of the first cars off.  but i had pepper spray which is an illegal weapon in Canada.  so i had to pull over and wait to have it confiscated- pardon me, so i could surrender it.  so i waited and waited and waited.  finally all the cars were gone and the lady came over and took it.  she took my ID which doesn't have my current address on it and wanted to know when i moved from there and why.  i was too scared to tell her i'd moved 8 times in the last 7 years.  she disappeared for a while and i thought she was going to come back to tell me that she found that out and i was too suspicious to be allowed into Canada.  thankfully, all was well. 

i got in trouble.  waiting to get disciplined.she gave me directions to my hotel, correcting herself once.  her first directions were correct and i couldn't find the place.  so i had to call Jess (thank goodness for international calling) who had to direct me through Victoria to find my hotel.  thank you Jeeze!  shut up Josh.  found it safe and sound.

headed into Vic.  6. checked in about 2 hours after i got off the ferry.  i'm only about 20 miles away, btw.  the hotel is pretty standard.  but MY room is in a special courtyard section that is super private, super quiet, and you need a key just to get into the courtyard.  i'm sure that makes my family very happy now that i don't have any pepperspray. 

the hotel is attached to an old restaurant, where i went for dinner.  and waited forever.  about 15 minutes later the lady brought me water.  a year later she took my order.  by that time i was so drained and feeling shitty that i told her i wanted my dinner to go.  i had a canadian beer and finished it before she even brought me my food.  yes, i can drink fast.  but she was real slow.  she even kept telling customers how she was "sorry it's taking so long, i'm walking around looking like an idiot."  i concurred. 

my first canadian beer.  won't be my last.she brought out a cafeteria tray and when my food was ready, she put the plates on it and told me to just leave it in my room when i was done.  so i walked all the way to the other end of the hotel with this big heavy tray, up two flights of stairs.  my room is literally the second to the last room on my floor.  all i could think about was how i was going to get to the room before mine, and trip.

7. stayed in my room, watched an old SNL and tried to eat dinner.  but i was still feeling shitty.  eventually i went out looking for a liquor store.  no such luck.  7-11 and that one little grocery store don't carry beer.  so i went back to the room, took a couple melatonin, and was out by 10.

pluses: this hotel is awesome.  the people here are super nice.  i had a green light but stopped for a pedestrian that was coming from the side who moved behind my car and waved me forward while saying "you got the green light, love."  i'm not even 10 minutes from this awesome touristy part of town.  i'm also pretty sure i'm near their own version of chinatown.  my hotel is really nice and comfy.  my nails are looking fabulous.  there's people everywhere and everyone is happy.

they've grown out past my fingertips.  girly.minuses: i was super frustrated at not finding my hotel.  i'm tired of feeling like shit.  i don't even want to do anything the rest of the trip.  i am not happy right now. 


Hello Sidney.  can you take my pepper spray and give
me incorrect directions?  you can?  awesome!
 oh Canada, you're just like any other man.  you're Manada.  i won't burn your flag or anything like that.  i'll just talk shit behind your back, then wait all night for you to call me. 

i'm either staying in my hotel room all day, or forcing myself to appreciate this once in a lifetime experience.  i'll decide after lunch.  which i'll be having delivered to my hotel room.