Call me a tree hugger

Victoria was beautiful!
I got some great pictures on my new camera....
but so far I haven't figured out how to download them.
Not that I have really tried and I'm pretty sure it's easy but I just have no
patience lately.

So here are the pictures I took on my old camera
when we went kayaking
(I stuffed it down the front of my bathing suit to stay safe and dry...
awkward but it worked well!)

Before we started out on our kayak tour
we got a visit from one of the harbor seals...
Isn't he cute? I just wanted to hug him.

This kayaking trip was great because we had a little experience to give us confidence.
And there was much less domestic strife!
I'd like to say it was because of our superbly improved communication skills,
but alas but I think it was the environment...
We were out on the "open water" so no bottoming out in shallow water
or crashing into the shrubbery on the side of the river like last time...

But the trip was hard physical work because we
covered more ground and the water was rougher.

The "angry sea".....so pretty.

And we got to see another harbor seal up close and personal...
So fat and lazy....
I'm not sure he even has both eyes open....

We had a beautiful day for it....
It was a great birthday!

Yesterday I had to go up to campus for some registration stuff
and I decided it was the perfect time to try out the bus.
My plan is to ride the bus to school because parking will be such a hassle and
well, I love the environment.
Nah, mostly I just want to avoid the hassle and cost of parking.

Let me just say that I'm pretty sure I have ridden a bus
only once before....when I was a little kid and our babysitter
took us for a ride on the city bus for a fun outing...
Remember that Al??

So needless to say, I'm a little inexperienced....
and it showed.

I was so nervous the night before.
I reviewed my trip route over and over,
wrote everything down including alternate buses to take if
I missed the one I had planned out.

The trip to campus went well and I deemed it a success....
but well, I spoke too soon.
I jacked it all up coming home.

So I caught the right bus number to come home but I picked it up
on the wrong side of the street so it was at the end of the route
instead of the beginning.
So we reached the end and the bus driver yells,
"LAST STOP!!" to me and the one other rider.

I quickly learned that the bus drivers are not paid to help
you figure out your route or give you a warm fuzzy feeling
about public transportation.
But he did tell me where I could pick up the right bus, so I shouldn't complain.

So I wandered around a little until I found the right bus stop
and ended up talking to random man who helped me figure out
where I needed to go and where I had gone wrong.

So I ended up semi-lost talking to a stranger.
But it was an OK neighborhood and he was a nice stranger.

All was well and I got off at the right place only to then see my next bus
speeding past.

So needless to say, it took me about 2 and half hours to get home....
but I made it!
Riding the bus turned out to be harder than I expected but....
I just know I'll get it right next time!

I took this picture of one of the UW libraries...the campus is just so pretty....