Le Cruise: Final Post

I haven't even blogged Vancouver. Jeff says Vancouver has a way of drawing one back. I really would be thrilled if it did. Even Pete Bradshaw, Resident Red Coat, agreed with me when I said some of the city stylings reminded me of London. We had a blast.

Grouse Mountain. I'd never heard of it before I saw it, but hey, it wasn't too shabby!

Keile wins for height, Pete wins for Best Froggie Jump.

Without a doubt, the best way to approach the city is by scooter. We scooted around town all the live long day, squishing them into the same parking stall wherever we stopped and giggling while in motion. We even somehow ended up crossing the Vancouver bridge with most cars speeding by us at 70 mph. Halfway across I think it hit all of us, "What the heck are we DOING?!", but our large number helped us stay conspicuous. I saw a woman lean out her car window and snap a picture of us. Please note my unintentionally pointed toe in this picture. The grace of a ballerina, yes indeed.

Oh the power of a Grouse waterfall.

This picture makes the blog because a) I like the background, b) I like the boy, and c) my hair looks RED in it (???), d) it's a reminder that I should never let my pants get that tight EVER again (this was, after all, day 5 of the binge cruise).

if you're one of those people who likes pictures more than words, this post's the one for you!

i'm stealing these pictures from dre. i have a feeling she won't be mad at me. do you know about dre? you're about to find out how unabashedly talented she is. it just makes the heart and mind do flips and somersalts.

yeah the other one wins for all intents and purposes of framedness, but look at my bangs blowing straight out of that beanie! and check out that nostril flare! at a mcomber family reunion THIS would be the winner!


trippy in the best way.

those are our servers, sev right behind me, and sav on the far right. i think those 2 boys deserve every blessing. cruise employment is slave labor in nearly the truest sense.

mike party is also behind muchas fotos yo have robbed.

i call this the "ill-prepared for the weather doll drums and so i borrowed my boyfriend's beanie and look kinda like a hobo in it although he pulls it off very well" look.






we were about to board. ah, to think. at this moment i still had no idea what it was to be "cruising".

the dinner table. together, we got fat.

*fuzzy feelings toward these people*

VicTOOOOORIA

Victoria was boss.

Do you know how hard it is to get a bunch of mangy single adults to agree on 1 activity on a vacation? The only thing we could all agree on was "We have to do something AWEsome." But "AWEsome" could be many things, and many different amounts of money. We also felt uneasy splitting up, because cell phone service was either non-existent or cost big bucks per minute. It seemed we could spend 20 minutes debating the value of an activity, only to find that because we'd taken so long deciding, this activity was no longer an option. Oh, the soft power struggles. I may or may not have needed to soap out my mouth a few times, but I'm very good at saying things under my breath, so I didn't offend any old ladies.

Luckily, a tall blonde and handsome guy took the reigns and before anyone knew what was happening, we were on a Sea Plane with a bird's eye view of the entire luscious Victoria. We experienced Zero Gravity when the studly pilot Mick did a few dips, and I actually watched Jeff's camera float out of his hands. So cool. Dre almost threw up. So cool that she didn't.


Did you know that Victoria is the most haunted city in Canada? Me either, eh! bahahahahaahaha

We spotted a "Ghostly Walk" tour. We were intrigued; as far as I know OC doesn't offer such things. A bunch of non-believers there. We started by opening up our Chakras and I tried not to laugh. Then strolled past the "remaining energy bodies" in various locales, and I marveled at the story tellers' Gwen Stefani head phones. Juicy. At the end they said, "If you ever find out about any hauntings in Victoria, please email us." Oh, I am going to have SO much fun with that. I thought they'd never ask.

We ate fish and chips (or I just ate a bucket of double fried chips, and when I say bucket I do mean bucket), and then we hoofed it out to some famous donut shop, but by the time we got there all the good ones were gone and I was a little fearful that we weren't going to make it back onto the boat in time, or that if we did one of our number would not make it, because he was still looking for his lost camera and sunglasses. Turns out that plum sucks out of me the will to gorge myself.

We all did make it back onto the boat in time. Tired, chubby, spooked, but Victoria-ed, and therefore completely dazzled.

I would wish a Victoria on anyone.

P.S. For more pictures, check out Facebook. This is my sneaky way of getting my silent readers to come forth and show themselves, because you might have to add me.

Astoria Post Consolidation

Have you even been stuck on a Buoyant Pechanga? That's what our boat, the Carnival Splendor, felt like, especially at first. The decor was very gold accented with hot pink. I wish I'd taken a picture of the light fixture in my cabin. I can't even blame it on the decoration revolution of the 90s because it's a new ship. The actual experience of being there, without responsibility and surrounded by friends on that gigantic ship wasn't horrible, in fact, I was having a great time, but by Tuesday I was feeling quite ripe to set my feet upon the steady crust of dry land. Astoria, OR was our first stop, my first avenue for a vacation wish of stillness made true. When someone says "Astoria" everyone invariably follows that with, "GOONIES WAS FILMED THERE!" I joined in with an enthusiasm that was about 39% authentic. I've never seen it. I just join in because I imagine I would like it if I ever saw the cult classic.

We rushed off the boat. Land! Sweet Motionless Earth! I nearly dropped onto the ground to lend my lips to the gravel, but it's a good thing I didn't, because almost immediately after, it started pouring rain a la Costa Rica. My chap stick would have collected the mud before I could have jumped to my feet. I couldn't even look a few people in the eye; there had been an opportunity to pay more and upgrade to the Caribbean, and some had wanted to take it. Luckily it stopped raining about 5 minutes later, and spirits were lifted.


We traipsed around Astoria all day. It's a charming logging community full of people who were THRILLED beyond belief that our boat docked there. It had EVERYTHING to do with our infection vigor and vim; of this I am absolutely certain. First we hiked up a muddy hill to the Astoria Column and took a bunch of pictures. We made the pilgrimage to marvel at the Goony house that held absolutely no meaning to me, but was fun nonetheless. Yes, on a vacation, even the meaningless can beyond all reason hold meaning. :) I got a phone call from Shauna Lewis on her way home from the American Idol final performance; the update was well appreciated. My taste buds made friends with a Mexican Hot Chocolate. We walked along the water and I got a full 20 minutes to myself before Mike Cunningham yelled out, "Mer, why are you walking all alone and EMO over there?!"


I loved it. Really did.

Photo credit and praises be unto Mike Cunningham of the digitalorange.

We made it back on the boat for a leisurely dinner and dance party before some sleep and porting the next day in Victoria, British Columbia. Yeah yeah you KNOW I'll be talkin about that later!

I'm back.

And thanks to many of you, my Google Reader boasts over 600 articles. I shall pour over these all week and gleefully entertain myself. Christmas came very early this year.

Let's get down to business. Great time. Loved it. Enough pictures to choke a piglet. So many in fact, I'm not going to even deal with them right now (and besides that, I have to wait for everyone else to put their pictures on facebook so I can decide if I want to use theirs or mine).

For now, I will say that I don't expect to ever hear my stomach growl again, believe I have found a new Meredith-Fad in yoga, have cultivated a testimony of the terrific bunk-mateness of Kiele Iverson, have made a dozen mental notes to myself to never EVER go to Canada without a coat no matter WHAT month of the year it is (sweatshirts don't quite cut it), and have fallen in love with said country. What a dream, and I mean that quite truly. I loved, loved, LOVED Canada. It doesn't get nearly enough credit. They dress a little funny, but the cities Victoria and Vancouver were absolutely delightful.

AAAAaaaaand of course I did lots of self-reflection in those moments when I was either able to zone out the louder voices of our group, and/or was alone in my "Stateroom" in between gluttonous meals or jacuzi dips. Here's a little moment of "Let's Get Our Real On". Somewhere in in the time since moving to CA last August I've become a sitter and not a doer. I don't even know how or when I let this happen. It's not that I haven't been enjoying my time. Quite the contrary. I've loved the last year of my life quite spectacularly. But I need some hobbies, I need some progression, and I need to get moving. Now this is getting quite cheesy, but these are the days, these are the times, my friends. Life actually is interesting to me. I need to dig deeper than I have been. Is anyone still reading this blog post? Didn't think so. Maybe I'll make my grandkids read it one day and say, "See kiddies? That's when I decided to take up bird watching, and look where it's gotten me!!!!" with a big toothless grin on my face.

Pics of le cruise to come.

8 Day Hiatus

Don't even bother checking this blog for another another 8 days. And then next Monday, only check it if you're quite prepared to be bombarded with tasty visuals of my vacay.

I've got in my possession a few books, some nail polish, bathing suits for le jacuzi, and scarves and sweaters with which to brave the biting air.

I wonder if they'll make me chocolate Diet Cokes and put a straw in it for me with the little scrap of wrapping still on the top for germ transfer prevention. It could happen. Oh yes, it could.

Good News/Bad News

Good news: When you go out of town for a weekend and don't spend any of your time by a computer, you get back to work on Monday and your Google Reader has 91 articles for you to read. I felt like it was Thanksgiving dinner!

Bad News: Due to the piglet flu, my cruise is officially re-routed for Oregon, Washington, and Canada. I checked the weather averages for May in the 3 stops: 60 degrees. It's ok, I'm happy to trade in my swim suit for a scarf, but I'm thinking the contest for "Most Times Down the Water Slide in a Single Afternoon" will be greeted less enthusiastically.

Those cute little piglets are threatening my cruise.

Why I'm Going on a Mexican Cruise No Matter What:

I fear no Swine Flu.

(and in the 3 remaining weeks it COULD dissipate, right?)