Tuesday, July 29, 2014

How Much Fun Can You Pack In An Evening While Waiting For A Husband's Plane? You wouldn't believe!

Today is Tuesday. The last day I felt this alert was Sunday, and this will explain why.

I worked on Sunday, and this particular day was the beginning of another spell of really hot weather, which I guess we all sort of expect, it being summer, and all. The day started off with a big bang - a REALLY big bang - when one of the awnings crashed down on the sidewalk. Thankfully there were no people on the sidewalk. Even more thankfully, it didn't crash down while I was putting our sidewalk sale stuff out there, or now there would be a big gash where my head should be, and you probably wouldn't be reading this now. However, no one got hurt, although the adrenal that shot through my body was probably enough for a Work Safe claim, if I was so inclined to push it.

However, the day itself went on uneventfully, with surprisingly few customers, given the hot Steveston Sunday. I guess a lot of people were seeking the wetness of a beach or the coolness of a mall. 

Since Howard's plane was due to arrive at the airport at 10 pm, I was wavering between spending an hour and a half transit-ing home, spending nearly a couple of hours there, then driving back to the airport with Steve. (Actually, Steve would  be doing the driving, I would just be sitting.) When I grabbed my cell to tell him I wouldn't be coming home, but would hang around Steveston, go to the beach, grab a bite ... etc etc, I noticed he had sent me a text message - 

See? Great minds really do think alike.

 So, I had just locked the door and stepped around the corner into the shade, when he zipped around the same corner, parked the car, and we headed to Steveston Pizza for his first taste of the Green Earth pizza, which is only made by the very best artisan pizza makers in the world.


Roasted garlic, caramelized onions, spinach, enoki mushrooms, fresh tomatoes, and brie - can't get much better than that. Unless of course you order the Best of Seas pizza, which has to be pre-ordered and costs $725.00, and I'm sure it's worth every penny, if you like stuff like caviar and truffles.

 So we ate just about all of that yummy goodness, and finished off with a Screamer dessert - soft-serve ice-cream layered with lime slush and decided how to spend some of the time remaining - about 3 1/2 hours - before Flight WS723 touched down.

 ( This is about the time I should have checked my FB messages.)

 Steve decided a trip to the casino would be fun, so up we drive, and I mean up, as he headed for Floor 3 parking at the River Rock Casino. He had his little heart set of playing Blackjack, which I've only played unsuccessfully on scratch-off tickets, and even though he really, really, really wanted me to play, I insisted I would just sit and watch. I obviously didn't bring him good luck at this particular game - I'm not sure if he'll want to play it again.
However, I wasn't averse to playing a slot machine. I'm an old pro at this, as I must have been to casinos at least 4 times in my like, losing from $5 to $20 each time. Except for the time Pauline and I went last June, and we turned $5 each into and amazing $42.
It was great when the bells and whistles went mad, and that number on the bottom right started shooting up - at one point it actually went over 1000, and I was up to the amount I put in. Which was $20, thanks to Steve, who insisted on funding my gambling addiction.
I decided to take Kenny Rogers advice, though, and quit before I was absolutely broke. I printed my cash out voucher - when I showed it to Howard later, I told him I would cash it out when we really needed the money.
As we walked back to the car, passing happy smiling people on their way to lose all their money, we went by a very scenic overgrown area, and I was so happy to see a heron. He was almost hidden in the overgrowth, so I had to zoom in and find a spot between the trees and bushes to capture him on my phone, which is why the picture is a bit hazy.
And lo and behold, the blackberries are ripening. It's hard to imagine that a pretty white flower can first turn into a green, then pink, then black cluster of deliciousness. I plan to capture as many as I can this year.
Well. Now we only had about 2 1/2 hours to wait. (I really should have checked my FB messages.) I thought it would be nice to go to Iona Beach. Steve and I had been there a while ago, on a cool breezy morning, when we walked out on the 4km pier to toss a bottle in memory of George Donaldson for my buddy Patricia - being in Calgary she was just too far from an ocean to throw it herself.

 We didn't walk the pier this evening though, but wandered first of all to the IBA to check out the IBs that were supposedly there.
Neither one of us saw any birds in the Important Birds Area though, although it was a very peaceful and idyllic place. (Is that redundant? It probably is.)
 
Then we headed to the beach.
The tide was high, so we didn't have massive flats of sand to walk. It was so wonderful to hear the waves slosh  in, though. One of my favourite sounds.
No whales dancing in these waters, though.
The sun let us know time was passing, as it neared the horizon. (This also would have been a good time to check my FB messages.)
The last time my feet were in ocean water, along with the rest of me, was on January 1st, when Nikkie and I did the Polar Bear Swim.

Well, at least I did the swim. Nikkie only went in as far as her ... well, let's just say she wouldn't have gotten her panties wet. The water here was a lot warmer than at White Rock, though. Nice. But, you know that 4 km pier we walked along? That is actually not just a pretty sight - it is built on top of a what must be much longer than 4 km sewer pipe that leads from a sewer treatment plant about 1/4 km from the park. So I wasn't going to put much more than my feet in the water. The faint aroma penetrating our nostrils was enough input to my senses - I wouldn't want it to infiltrate my sense of taste as well.
So - pizza, casino, park - just as well to head to the airport now. (Damn. I really should have checked my FB messages.) On the way from the park, with Steve trying to impress and terrorize me with his driving skills, we realized we were driving underneath an approaching plane - so Steve yanked on the wheel and did a Dukes of Hazard landing on the gravel parking area. I'm sure the other people appreciated this as much as I did.
If you are one of my faithful readers, you may remember hearing about my shadow at times - the one that actually does the things that I wish I, as a real person, could do? Well, here is proof it exists - I'm the shorter one of course. Steve's shadow unfortunately seems to be underneath the wheel of his car.
Okay. We get to the airport. Check the arrival signs. Now I didn't have to check my FB message - this is when we find out the plane is an hour late, and will arrive at 11pm instead of 10. An hour and a half wait gets turned into a two and a half hour. What on earth shall we do for 2 1/2 hours? Go the bar, of course.

 Steve may look happy now, but that look doesn't last for long. He ordered a beer,
and even though the bartender probably wasn't even born when Tom Collins were all the rage, he still knew how to make one, although he may have just poured a little too much of  whatever makes one's lips pucker.
It was good, though, especially when the ice started to melt and toned down the citrus hit a bit. Of course it was good, it had gin in it. As I told the bartender, when I get old I'm going to start drinking gin, so it's just as well to start practicing.

 After we finished our drinks, we headed up to the observation deck to check out the sunset.
After the sunset got a bit boring, we watched a King of the Hill episode on Steve's phone.
Then - we checked the arrival times again - now the gd plane was delayed yet another hour, and wouldn't land until 12:20 am.

 Since neither one of us could come up with a good way of passing away almost another 3 hours in an extremely quiet airport, we got in the car, paid a whopping $18 parking fee for our adventures, and headed home. About an hour and a half later, we headed back out, another half hour drive, and only had about a ten minute wait before Howard came down n escalator and back into our lives.

I'm going to close with this FB status update from last night - it's self-explanatory
Tamar Vokey
15 hrs · Surrey ·
went to bed 4 hours before the alarm went off, got up at 5:30, at work by half past eight, worked for 8 hours in a hot shop, and home by 7:30..Stumbled to bed and crashed - for about 5 minutes when Howard came in to tell hamburgers were done. .Couldn't get back to sleep so got up and had part of one. Before I was done, he looked at me and said, 'Well, any muffins tonight?' I didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but if was laugh it would have been a hysterical one.
LikeLike · ·

And by the way - this is the following FB message I should have checked when I got off work - thanks, Josh and Bernice -

Mom wanted me to give ya a quick note that she seen uncle Howard board his plane in Toronto
We are delayed in Toronto. Lighting storm moving over the airport. Dunno how long we will be sitting on the plane. Our guess is uncle Howard is delayed too

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