Day 3: PNW trip

Mary and I are in Seattle on Day 3. Day 1 was our travel day and it turned out to be a very long day due to airplane mechanical problems and a huge thunder storm in Atlanta. We were supposed to arrive in Seattle at 7:38 pm PST and got here at 3:40 am PST! At least we got here. Long story but because of two nice women, Danielle and Leslie, at the Delta counter in Atlanta, we were able to get 2 seats on the next plane to Seattle. The flight was scheduled to leave at 9:47 pm and finally got off the ground at 1:30 am EST. We met a really interesting man while we were waiting for the second plane to leave. Dave is an oceanographer who will be in Brunei, Borneo in a week and specializes in robotic submarines and the Titanic. Weather delay shut down all the Atlanta flights due to a huge thunder storm. By the time we got to our hotel in Bellevue, it was 4:30 am. We slept for 2 hours and we managed just fine for the rest of the day.

We rented our car at the hotel (easy) through Avis and got upgraded to a Ford Fusion for a discounted price of an extra $5 per day. Turns out it is a nice car and so worth the extra $. Mary got us breakfast coupons for free for 2 mornings from the night clerk when we checked in so we had breakfast in the hotel. Nice buffet and nice people that work for our hotel, the Hilton Bellevue.

Headed out to Seattle to go on our Pike Place Market food tour scheduled for 10:00 am. I had printed Google maps and used my map app on my iPhone so found the way easily to the parking garage and the start of the tour. I booked it with Savor Seattle and the 2 hr. tour turned out to be fun and very interesting. Our tour guide, Brett, was really funny! We would never have been able to find out all the information he gave our small group of 8 and we got to sample some good food. Fresh doughnuts, salmon, peach salsa and cherry products, Piroshky, clam chowder and seafood bisque, cheese, and crab cake bites.





We were getting tired so after the tour, headed back to our hotel. It's about a 20 min. ride back to Bellevue which is east of Seattle across Lake Washington. We drove around the residential area near our hotel and the gardens of the houses are gorgeous - maples, dogwoods, willows, rhododendrons, peonies, roses, etc. Mary and I got some coffee at the hotel coffee place and checked our email and chilled for a while. Ended up using our Subway gift cards for a free quick dinner and crashed early.

Today, we have gorgeous weather. Clear blue skies and 45 in early am. Supposed to get up to 73 by 4 pm. We are at a Starbucks in downtown Bellevue to use our Starbucks gift cards for free coffee and breakfast and to use the free Wi-Fi. We have a 1:00 pm appt. to go on a helicopter ride today. So exciting! Gorgeous flying weather, too.

More later.

Delayed in Atlanta

So... Our plane was scheduled to leave Atlanta at 5:05 pm and after sitting on the runway for 1 1/2 hr. they realized the broken radio could not be repaired. Flight was cancelled and everyone had to deplane. The problem was that Delta had contracted the flight to Alaskan Air and told the passengers that the hotel voucher and reschedule of the flight would be at their main desk. Long story, but I got Delta to get us on a flight scheduled to leave at 9:47 pm. Atlanta had a huge thunder storm and all flights were delayed. We are still waiting to board and are scheduled to leave at 1:15 am getting into Seattle at 3:15 am PST.

We met the most interesting person. Think - The Titanic, Woods Hole Institute & Brunei. Stay tuned!

I'll miss the kids!

Do you know how hard it is to get cows to pose like this? Just kidding. They are naturals at this modeling business. 

This is a mulch pile that I had dumped in the pasture until I could get to it. The cows have decided it is their new playground. They just can't get enough of playing King Of The Hill. 

Every day they visit this pile and just stand on it. Cows are so easy to entertain!

Aren't they cute?

The Countdown Is On!

We launch our vacation in just a few days! How exciting! 

Delta Airlines is the Official Airlines of TwoSistersDreamVacaction

Only because that's what we are flying to Seattle. Non-stop. FIRST CLASS!!

Life is good.

Our rental car is ready and waiting. Our hotel rooms are booked. The itinerary is roughed out. Events have been planned and tickets have been purchased. All thanks to Susan- the best sister on the face of the earth!

Wish us fun times and luck and stay tuned for more updates. 

One of my recent pottery platters

 

Here is a large platter I finished recently and I love the way the glazes came out. The method of glazing is termed landscape because you can create "scenes" that look like mountains or water or sand.

We will be spending a good chunk of our time in Seattle. A MUST see on my

list of things to do in Seattle, is to visit the new Dale Chihuly Exhibit that opens

May 21, 2012. Can you imagine a 12,000 square foot exhibition area filled with

Chihuly glass? An outdoor area will also feature a walkway underneath glass

chandeliers which leads to a glasshouse that features the piece pictured above.

It contains over 1,000 glass pieces in red,orange, yellow and other colors. There

will be many other pieces featured both inside and outside- some from as far

back as 1971. I might spend the entire day here ooohing and awwing.

This is a slideshow - enjoy!
Here is a great link :

 http://blog.seattlepi.com/thebigblog/2012/04/11/peek-inside-world%E2%80%99s-largest-chihuly-exhibit-in-seattle/

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Hotel Accommodations

I've won hotel prizes and so far have won 100,000 Hilton points, $250 at Marriott Residence Inn and one night at the Seattle Grand Hyatt. We can stretch those out and probably get 10 days at 3 hotels. Hilton has an offer where 15,000 points and $50 will get one night so with some of the cash we've won, I can get a week at a Hilton.

Now for the rental car...

Maybe I can convince my husband to let us use some of his Marriott points!

TICKETS!!!

Our tickets are booked.
They are set in stone and sealed in place.
We are flying to.........................


                                   Seattle, Washington --- 2,600 miles away

                    Watch out Seattle! We'll be there to see you in June 2012!

Please send us any advice or tips you may have about traveling to the Pacific Northwest. This will be the first time for both of us to visit so we could use some help! Our next step is to book hotels, rent a car and finally form an itinerary.                             Look out folks- here we come!

Spring has arrived!

Happy Spring everyone. What a wonderful time of year here. We have had a winter of above average temperatures for a change. We are enjoying glorious days of perfect weather. And what could be sweeter than the perfume of orange blossoms? Enjoy your Spring days!

The Joys of A Clean Fridge!

I had not planned on cleaning the fridge. It was not on my list of " must do" items. BUT... I accidentally discovered a whole new world when I pulled out one of the crisper drawers. Where does this stuff come from? It looked as though someone spilled jar after jar of sticky something or other and the unknown substances had oozed into every crack and crevice of the lower half of my fridge.  Hours later, a sore back and two sore knees produced a much cleaner cooling cabinet. Now, when I open the door I get untold pleasure and satisfaction from a good job well done. I have my fingers crossed that this will last for many months to come. Yeah-right! I think next time I discover the Lost City of Goo, I will just buy a new fridge!

+++++ Happy warm December Boxing Day+++++

This is how I spend much of my time- tending to citrus. And I am ever so grateful for the above average temperatures for the month of December.

A huge thank you to my friend Kathy, who gave me the most amazing Breville juicer. Now I can have a fresh pitcher of sunshine in no time!

And, while reading previous posts on here, I realized that I never fully explained why I started posting. So here goes. Better get your cup of coffee or beverage of choice.

I won two airline tickets to fly first class anywhere in the world. Great win, right? And the first person who came to mind as the perfect travel companion is....... my sister. Trouble is, I won only the tickets. If we fly to far away lands- then what? We have no money or gift cards for anything else.

 To make it a real challenge, I proposed planning a vacation using only sweepstakes winnings. We like challenges. To make it an even bigger challenge, I thought a blog would be a good way to document our travels and post photos. Can you say steep learning curve? I am still on the upward side of that curve!

Our journey is slowly emerging for 2012. I am leaning towards the PNW while my sister really wants to go to New Zealand. I am hoping we can do both.
And if I am really lucky, we can enjoy several vacations together over the coming years. So, stay tuned because you never know what will just pop up out of nowhere.

That is a good summary of life actually. Stay open and flexible because you never know what will come your way. If you had told me I would be writing a blog, I would have accused you of being crazy. Well, aren't we a crazy bunch!

Buckle your seat belts and stay tuned. Check back now and then and see what is next on the roller coaster ride of life. You can join our blog or leave comments. Try it! You might just like it enough to start your own blog!

December adds to our trip

Susan and I have purchased new boots in preparation for our big trip. Course, we'll be traveling in June so not sure how much we will need these heavy boots. But if we want to scale the mountains of Montana---we are ready!

Florida Fall thoughts

I was just out planting a tree and thought of this lovely saying. Luckily, trees grow faster in Florida than other places. There is a chance I will someday sit under the dozens of saplings I have planted but then again... I'm a short person!

Tis the month of giving thanks

" Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful."

Buddha

Almost November

You know it's Fall when the Tithonia bloom!

Photo taken this afternoon

Happy October!

This is as close as we get to pretty Fall colors here in the South. Today, we greeted the day with delicious temps in the low 50's. It has been close to 5 months since we have enjoyed such cool dry weather. Heavenly!

We have had an unusually high amount of rain for September. There are now subtle signs that Fall is here. The Cypress trees are turning rusty red, the summer weeds are dying off and soon the winter weeds will sprout, the pastures have a golden brown tint to them and it is actually cool in the morning instead of the 80's. Last week might have been our last gasp of summer with highs in the mid-90's . You know we're there when we do not have to run the A.C. !

                                          Welcome September! 

We continue to plan our dream vacation and are aiming for June 2012 as our launch date. The PNW is calling our name. We will be borrowing ideas from our well traveled family and friends who have experience and hopefully have still kept their itineraries! Looking forward to your in-put.

Our Goal is getting closer

We have a few more wins under our belts and our goal of taking a vacation together is getting closer. We have been looking at trips to the NW United States (MT to WA) and also an Alaskan cruise. We would fly in or out of Seattle as I already have a free hotel stay there that I won. Maybe take a trip up to Vancouver from there and over to see Butchart Gardens in Victoria. Isn't this gorgeous!

 

Home Sweet Home

                                This is Freeport, Grand Bahama Island where we grew up.
                                                   What a great time we had!