Welcome to Vancouver, a Nuclear Free Zone

Seriously, I have been away from a computer for 2 weeks and it feels strange having a mouse in my hand. Odd.

So, ya, I have returned. I know it's been awhile and I apologize. I had the NSAC competition in San Fran then I did a little west coast sight seeing. It was nice, well parts of it.

From the top here we go:

San Fran - It was a good time is you disregard the drama that stupid people make and the fact that we were robbed. We got 2nd at the National Competition. Which I guess isn't bad for being out of 215 schools, but when you have the client telling you that they liked your campaign better than the first place teams, it's a bit rough to take. You might be wondering how they can like us better and we get second, easy, it was a competition with 5 judges. The Postal Vault people only counted for 2 of them. The salt in my opened wound would be the small margin that we lost by. But, sore loser aside, we did amazing and if you would have told me when we began this adventure in August that I would be second in the nation I would have told you that your pants were on fire. Plus I did get to meet Bobbie Cox which was AWESOME!!!!!!

My mom met me the day after the competition and we took a trip up to the redwood forest. Seriously, these things are massive. It has always been a goal of mine to see them and they were just as cool and amazing as I thought they would be.

There are WAY to many homeless people in San Fran. They have a huge problem and it was bad enough that I doubt I will return to the city. Not to mention the 4 point something earthquake that hit whilst I was there. I watch way to many National Geographic and Discovery Channel specials to move to earthquake zone. Yes I know that Missouri has a massive fault, but lets not think about it till the Discovery channel does a special on it. And if one exist don't tell me.

Seattle - Our next stop was Seattle. Obviously. Seattle is very hilly and no one seems to mention that. So be warned, there are lots of hills. Seattle was cool. Way too many Starbucks, but they were created there. Didn't really do anything big in Seattle but eat some awesome seafood. I was sad that I didn't eat more seafood. The Space Needle is fun. I am not sure what the obsession people have with going to the tops of tall objects and looking out is all about. If a building is over 50 stories or is cool shaped then people feel the need to go to the top. Strange.

Random thought: Who discovered that fish make good glue?

Victoria, Canada - We took an early morning ferry for 3 hours to get to Victoria, a small island off the coast of British Columbia. I was hoping to spot some whales, but alas, none were to be found. There isn't really much to do on Victoria but see some really beautiful gardens about 30 min outside the city. I do enjoy me some gardens though, so I didn't mind. The city was so clean and our tour guide had the driest humor so that was entertaining. I noticed that if you left the tap water running for over a min it would start to smell fishy. Not good when you are brushing your teeth. Plus a seagull almost got into our hotel room. So that always makes like better. We only stayed on Vic Island for a day before heading off to mainland Canada.

Vancouver - We took a seaplane or float plane and i hear they are called to get here. Has anyone ever been on one of these? It's kind of cool while being completely scary at the same time. It was definitely worth trying once. And most likely only once. Vancouver is a ridiculous city. Everywhere you look high rise condominiums are going up. I am talking everywhere. It's kind of creepy. I guess I never think of Canada as much of a cosmopolitan place, but Vancouver proves me wrong. The freakin Canadians are so nice. I would be reaching in my purse to find a map and before I was done opening it up someone would be asking me if they could help me. Kind of creepy nice in a way. Maybe I just a jaded American, but I really wanted to punch a Canadian just to see what they would do. Would they still be nice? Probably. Vancouver is also gorgeous. Amazing weather, mountains to one side ocean to the other sides. It was just spectacular. We took the Amtrak back to Seattle via the cascade route. I recommend this route to everyone. It is so scenic and awesome. It makes me almost want to move to a small town right on the US/Canada border so that I can be fortunate enough to see those sights everyday.

I could go into more detail about the trip like how I became a squatter on a Gray Line tour or how I made nice with a front desk clerk who might get me a job in New York, but I'd rather not.

Being at home reminds me of everything that I need to do. It also reminds me that my dad died 4 years ago Sunday. Which was fathers day. Yippie. I hadn't really forgot about it, you can never actually forget, but I was focusing on my travels and the new sights and not on that fact. But now, being at home it surrounds me. And once again saddens me. Grrr

I hope you have a great day.

Remember to be like the Canadians and be nice. Also say eh and where lots of denim.