Travels with The Rayman

In November of last year, we planned a trip to Orcas Island, an island in the archipelago of the San Juan Islands.  At the island resort of Rosario, old and fancy seemingly from another era.   It looked so impressive.  And we spoke of it often.  Memories of island visits danced in our heads.

The bathing suits were packed, the hats collected.  Weather was checked as though it really mattered since we had reservations with cancellation policies.  

So at 7 a.m. cousin Susie picked us up.  Oh, did I mention that Sue and Larry were part of the plan  We were going on vacation together for 6 days.  Sue was kind enough to drive and provide us great music from her playlists.  Singing even occurred.  

There was only one problem.  Beau was not a happy doggie.  His ears were bothering him (not a new problem).  So Friday and Saturday we rinsed his ears, swished the medicine rinse around, then cleaned them out.  Each time we did that he seemed to bounce back.  As good doggie parents, we arranged for Ryan to stay at our place with him.  It was all systems go.

To get to Orcas Island, a ferry is involved.  A reservation is needed.  And a five hour drive north thru Seattle out to Anacortes is required.  We did it all.  We arrived at Orcas without sinking into the grand Pacific.  And we drove to the hotel.  Enjoyed a cocktail by the pool.  Had our dinner.  It sounds positively lovely, doesn’t it?  Only problem was Beau.  Ryan found him to be very lethargic and listless.  So, I was on the phone with Ryan.  I had to cancel the dog walker we had hired for the week.  Had to get a vet appointment for Beau.  It was much more than that but details at this point will just bog down the blog.  Needless to say, distraction was involved.  Does the term “worry warts” have any meaning to you?

 

 

Our room was at water’s edge.  Seaplanes came and went until dusk.  Extremely quiet and relaxing…considering.

Fast forward to yesterday.    Beau was not improving.  Ryan was taking half a day off work to deal with the situation.  An appointment was scheduled with the vet at 1:45.  Rayman and I decided we needed to go home.  We told Sue and Larry we would catch the next ferry and rent a car to go home.  Nonsense.  They were going home too.  So, we packed out bags, checked out without penalty and hopped in the car  arriving at the loading area at 9:30.  We were in the standby line since our return trip has a reservation for Friday.  7th in line.  We locked the car and found a cafe where you stand in line to order your food.  Sue found a table outside.  We gathered there and so did the bees.  Sue is allergic so she headed inside.  We followed.  When the food arrived, she packed her egg sandwich up and went back to the car.  After we finished we went back to the car.  The street cleaner was there.  He went back and forth, back and forth kicking up dust like a bronco bull would at a rodeo.  It was hot.  Windows were rolled up.  We couldn’t idle…we were in a no-idle zone.  It was pure misery so we spent a lot of time out of car waiting for the 12:10 ferry which was, of course, late.  I’m sure Sue and Larry thought it was the “Jackson curse”.  Trouble being our middle names.  

The parking lot filled with trucks, cars, motorcycles and SUVs.  Still we persisted as Moscow Mitch once exclaimed about Elizabeth Warren who kept talking.  Finally, the ferry came, we were allowed on .  Once on the ferry we picked a place to sit and the bees reappeared.  Are pheromones involved?  Who knows.  We engaged in a take-off of musical chairs.  It was unamusing, mostly.  But after a while, one has to just laugh at the absurdity of it all.  Sort of like the joker does in a Batman movie.  That s when I started this blog. 

After arriving in Anacordes, the rest of the trip was a 75 MPH race home except through Seattle metro area.  By that time we reached Seattle, it was the beginning of rush hour.  

Susie drove.  She played her music.  This stifled conversation with the backseat (I was riding in the co-captain front seat).  So, I worked on my impossibly hard crossword puzzle.  It was a very, very, long day.  Almost 12 hours.  Arrived last night at 8:30ish.   Exhausted.  Annoyed.  Relieved.  And happy to see our Beaumeister.  

Key learnings:  don’t leave home if you even suspect the dog is sick.  That’s it.  It never turns out well.  The San Juans are beautiful and I want to return.  Rayman isn’t interested.  Perhaps time will change that view.

Oh, and we think is the RV is sold.  We should get a check in about 2 weeks.  Yippee.  Hope it works out to be the case.  But with our luck….