It All Started With A Cupcake

I love a good cake. It's all about the desserts for me. I'm not ashamed to admit it. People talk about going lo-cal, watching the fat, watching the calories.

Sure, whatever. You do that. I'll take the cake. I'm not talking about eating the whole thing here. I can have a few bites and be good. Which is why I'm even a bigger fan of the cake of cup. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. 

My twist on the cupcake - Chocolate with Almost Frosting

Cupcakes. I'm obsessed. Give me a mini little cake and I'm a goner every time. If I walk down the street and see a shop with those tiny little bites of heaven gracing the store window I have to stop. I need to stop. 

Which is why when I heard about a new show on the Food Network called "Cupcake Wars" I was all in. Yeah, I said it. All In.

I'm not ashamed to admit it. I was hooked. I couldn't miss an episode. Some people have mocked it. They feel it's a waste of an hour. They  don't understand the beauty of the cupcake.

Blueberry Pancakes

Each Sunday I found myself waiting to see which city the next batch of bakers (haha, see what I just did there?) would be from.

It was that fateful day when I saw it. The most delicious looking cupcake I had ever seen. And it was Vegan. I was intrigued. I had been on a dairy-free kick for a few weeks.

The judges couldn't stop raving about it. The chef's name was Chloe Coscarelli and she won the show. I was hooked. I needed to learn more.

I signed up for her newsletter and began getting her recipes. I tried out her cupcakes. They were the best I had ever eaten. I kept baking. My friends raved. They were the best they had ever eaten.

I was hooked. I tweaked the recipe and changed the frosting to make them my own. I couldn't stop. I could get into this vegan thing. Could I just eat cupcakes forever?

Cinnamon-Espresso Chocolate-Chip Cookies

I knew it was time to try some food. I'm not big on the cooking but I thought I'd give it a whirl. Chef Chloe had so many delicious Internet recipes. I tried a few and loved them.

*Sigh* They weren't enough for me to cook with everyday so I got lazy and just stuck with my dairy-free, vegan-cupcake infused diet.

Hey, a girl's gotta start somewhere. Might as well make sure the cupcake is first and foremost.

For the past year I had been happily creating my cupcakes. Playing with different frostings and doing my thing. My, I can-eat-whatever-I-want-as-long-as-it's-good-for-me thing.I don't like to follow diets.

I don't like to be told what or what not to eat. I like to follow my own rules. So this time when I saw that Chef Chloe was coming out with a vegan cookbook I thought it was time to give it another try. Except instead of being vegan, I was going to be vegan*.

That's right, vegan*. Here is my disclaimer. I am a chocoholic and I love sushi. Those are two things that I don't think I can willingly give up. Besides, chocolate and sushi are good for me. True story.

Falafel Burger

I know that there are some of you out there that have become vegans because of your love of animals. This is great. I love animals too. I adore them. But I have to admit these are not my reasons for going vegan.

I an becoming vegan* because I love the food and love the healthier lifestyle. I can't claim to do it because of animals.

I'd be a hypocrite if I said that. If I ate my vegan meal and then opened my leather Louis Vuitton purse to get out my leather Coach wallet to pay for my meal. Baby steps.

So it was with extreme excitement that I received my new cookbook in the mail. It was the first time I actually read a cookbook from cover to cover.

Mac & Cheese

I bookmarked all of the recipes that I wanted to try immediately and the next day I went to Whole Foods and bought all of the ingredients that I'd need.

I didn't recognize myself. It was an odd transformation. For the next two days I was a cooking fool. My parents were the beneficiaries of my new found skills. Cookies, burgers, pasta. I was unstoppable.

Well, until I ran out of ingredients. Then I was put on hold for few days. But that won't stop me. I'm into this cooking thing now. I'm even on a Brussels Sprouts kick. Didn't see that one. Ever.

I never thought we'd get much use out of our food processor when we registered for it years ago. If I'd have seen this coming I would have gone for the 12-quart. Who would have known.

My Cupcake twist - Chocolate with Peanut butter & Choclate Frosting

If you would like to find out more about Chef Chloe's cookbook, please visit her website at:

http://chefchloe.com

Please visit my other website at:

http://redismynaturalcolor.com/

The Sport of the Shoe

I love shoes. It's not a secret. I'm not afraid to declare my love. I'll shout it from the rooftops.

Some people might refer to my love as an unhealthy addiction. This is just negativity.

I don't like to use such mean terminology for such a beautiful, um, sport. Yes, that's right, I said sport.

Sport you ask? How can a shoe collection be a sport? Well, maybe the actual collection can't be, but the shopping part? Sport. For sure, sport.

Can't I just take them all?

I know. I just participated in a sporting event at DSW's preview opening of their Flagship store in NYC.

My shoe team consisted of me and Liz. We arrived early thinking we'd have time to eat and prepare for the race. We were wrong.

Apparently we had to line up. A line? Damn. We had some stiff competition. We were starting to get nervous.

We had to focus. Wedges and heels. That's what we were here for. Wedges and heels. Find our size, grab the box and go.

The line began to move, they took our tickets and we were in. WE WERE IN. I was ready to hit the aisles. We hit the escalator and as we neared the top and rounded the corner it was like the sun was shining down on us.

Death by Shoe

I started to run to the right when ooooh to my left cake pops and Perrier. Oh My God they have Cake Pops!

A distraction. They threw in a distraction. Focus. I needed to focus. I was here on a mission. I forged ahead. Wait. I stepped back.

I grabbed a pop and got back on track. I headed down the aisle and my eye settled on a shoe when there it was. The Champagne Tray.

It was like an obstacle course. Every time you tried to get to the shoe you had to overcome the rope bridge or the giant wall.

Aisle after aisle of shoe. We didn't know where to start. And those crowds. Each time we thought we had it conquered we were told there was another floor. And there went that Champagne Tray again.

Hello? Want to come home?

The D.J. was playing, people were laughing, we were dancing and grabbing shoes at the same time.

Yes, it is possible to dance and try on shoes at the same time. We are professionals in our sport.

Our pile was growing. We had some decisions to make. Go with the cork or go with the red patent leather? Take the wedge or peep toe?

Several times during the event we switched shoes. Each time we thought we had our final choice we'd spot a new looker from afar and sprint. We had to get our shoe before anyone else did.


Then it was time to relax. The main event was over. We had completed our activity and had won. Big time. I'm talking gold medal here. We could fully enjoy the festivities. Goody bags, t-shirts, quadruple points for luxe members. We had earned our rewards.

Now let's go find that Champagne Tray.

You will be mine.

To find out more about the new flagship store visit:

https://www.dsw.com

Please visit my other website at:

http://redismynaturalcolor.com/

One of a Kind, Me.

Look, a pointer.

I had to make a trip back to the West Coast for some unfinished business. I know, poor me. It was a tough job but I knew I was up to the task.

I viewed this as my chance to do the things I kept saying I needed to do the last time I said I needed to do them and didn't. Did you follow that? Good.

First stop - Canine Companions. Sure, we'd been here before when we met Dean Koontz but we'd never taken a picture by that sign. You know, that sign. 

The sign that lets everyone know that this is where Dean Koontz has been. I've been meaning to take a picture here for five years. Yes, five years.

It's amazing what you do when you know you won't be around anymore. Which is why we ran across the street to the cemetery.

Why you ask? Because we always said we were going to stop for a long time. How long? Well...

We've been seeing this graveyard for...that's right...five years. Rumors flew. Pet cemetery, Indian graveyard. Time to find out.

Look at that - the burial place of Oceanside's founders. Mystery solved. It was a peaceful hill overlooking Mission San Luis Ray. Sure, not as exciting as a Pet Cemetery but...wait.

There was a headstone outside of the cemetery in the far corner. We had to investigate. Well, what do you know! A cat grave site. Okay, so there was a little truth to the rumors.

You find the best things on the street.

Another thing I'd always wanted to to in San Diego was go horseback riding. I had been trying to find a place for years but to no avail. It was either for couples or lessons.

I didn't want lessons and well, Mike didn't share my enthusiasm for the horse. I wasn't faring too well. I gave up my search. But then, as if the one-last-mission fairies were shining down upon me, there it was.

Well, maybe not the fairies, more like Groupon and Living Social. I got my ride at Vineyard Trail Rides in Ramona. I opted for the 9 a.m. slot. Sure, it was early but besides the guide, who was also the owner, I was the only person on the trail. This is how it should always be.

Gallop, trot, cantor, whatever. I could do it all in peace. I didn't have to worry about anyone else enjoying their ride either. Just me. My horse was great too. I barely had to do anything and of course it was another beautiful day. Not a cloud in the sky. Another good reason I took the early time slot. It was still cool but by the time I was done it was starting to heat up.

There was a bonus on the trail. It was actually a "ride and drink" offer. You take a two-hour trail ride and get a wine tasting.This may come as a shock but I actually forgot my wine.

*Gasp* I actually was in it for the ride. I know, I know, how could I. We rode for an hour, took a brake where I had my mini bottle, then continued for the next hour.

I didn't realize I left my bottle until I was driving away. And the tears came to my eyes.....

As you can see, I like to do my own thing. I love it when someone wants to come along and join me in my adventures. The more the merrier. If you don't want to, that's okay, I'm fine trying things solo. I don't want to want to miss out on something because I was alone or felt silly doing it. 

I still haven't finished my list of needed sights to see. Yes, the list has gotten smaller but it does seem like the list is never ending. Which just means more traveling. I'm not complaining.

It's great to be unique, one of a kind, or as that great sign on the street says, the Black Sheep. Normal is so overrated.

Black Sheep are the best. Dirt is harder to find on them.

If you would like to learn more about the places mentioned in this blog you can visit their websites below:

 www.vineyardtrailrides.com
http://www.cci.org

Please visit my other blog at:

http://redismynaturalcolor.com/

New York State of Mind

The new living room in the driveway look

Ah, New York. It seemed like we'd been planning this move for a long time. Probably because we had. Are we moving, are we not, should we move? We couldn't decide.

We kept putting it off but we finally made our decision and picked a date. Late December. It sounded like a great idea. Christmas in New York. Everyone loves the holidays in the city. I know I do.

What's not to love? The decorations, the city all aglow, the shopping, Broadway, stores open late. Needless to say, I was pretty excited. Until I remembered one little thing. The cold. Damn it. THE COLD. I had forgotten about that part. We'd just finished packing. Was is too late to turn back now? Just a joke. No really, I'm joking.

Amongst the Rooftops

We arrived in NY and to our surprise it was warm. A reprieve. Temporary, yes but it didn't matter. Anything to help us adjust would work. We knew what was coming. January. AND February. I might not make it after all.

Christmas was only a few days away. We had to unpack and put our things in place. Not an easy task when you have another house full of furniture to deal with. We had an easy solution. Set up outside. Nothing says welcome home like a couch in the driveway. My mom was amused. Dad, well, not so much.

Work was almost done. Now it was time to play. Into Manhattan we go. We were on our way to see a show. I'm all about the shows. I've been going to Broadway since I was 3 years old. That's a long time. Tonight's selection - How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

We arrived early. I know you're not supposed to take pictures in the theatre when the show starts but we were so early I thought hey, why not? Apparently they frown upon any pictures in the theatre at all. Let me stress that. AT ALL. I guess if I were famous they'd bend those rules a little. At this point, those rules were not bent.

The play was fantastic. My parents had seen it and loved it which is why we decided to see it. I highly recommend it. Although be careful when you get wine in those plastic sippy cups. They leak.

Afterwards we decided to walk around. The best part about the city is that it's open late. Yes, the whole city. Ok, maybe not the whole city but most of it. This is what I missed the most. When trying to get coffee late at night only to face a closed establishment, many a conversation has ended with, "you know, if we were in NY..."

On the plane ride over I had just read an article in my New York Magazine about an art installation called "Rooftops". I thought it was interesting. Just a bunch of rooftops placed on the ground. I was wondering if I'd be able to see it. For years I had been clipping places to see, things to do but since I was in San Diego it had never happened.

Well what to you know. Walking around the corner on the way back from our play - Rooftops! Fences prohibited us from climbing all over them but it was pretty cool to see them displayed in the middle of block. After all these years, I finally got to see something that I read about in my magazine. This move was starting to look better and better.

The stuff dreams are made of

Oh my God. It's the Peep Mobile! The freakin' Peep Mobile! I was just walking down the street in excitement from my rooftop display when there it was. Just sitting in the parking lot down the street in all of its yellow glory. Who knew one even existed?

It was turning out to be a perfect night. We'd only been back in NY for a few days and it was already magical. What a night this had turned out to be and it wasn't even over yet.

It was getting close to midnight, that's right, midnight, and the stores were still open. I knew I had to made one last stop. Cupcakes. Every night needs to end with a cupcake. Magnolia Bakery had my name on it. We strolled in and picked out a few chocolate creations and then our night was complete. Wait, that time thing is too good for me not to say it again. The bakery was open until midnight.


Yes, I know there are going to be good times and some not so good times. Like that January and February cold thing I mentioned earlier. Maybe I should have held off on the move until March when spring starts rolling in. But then I wouldn't have seen Rooftops or the Peep Mobile. Or Daniel Radcliffe in How to Succeed. And those are definitely some good times that I don't want to trade in. It's not too often you see a giant marshmallow bunny driving down the street.

For an alternate ending and for different pictures go to my other blog at:

http://redismynaturalcolor.com/

Out With a Bang

I am moving back to New York City. There I've said it. I'm still not really sure how I feel about it. I haven't talked about it much. Partly because my California friends have banned me from speaking about it.  They know how they feel about it.

Yes, we all know how they feel about it. So I haven't said much other than I'm moving. I knew the date was approaching. They knew the date was approaching. We just didn't realize it was approaching this fast. I had too many things that I still wanted to do. Still needed to do. I wasn't ready to go yet. I'm still not sure that I am ready to go.

 People keep asking me if I'm excited. I don't know what to tell them. I know, I know, it's New York. I love New York. Really, I do. It's where I'm from. It's the city, a great city. I don't need to be sold on that. I don't know what's holding me back. I realized before I started worrying about leaving I needed to focus on my final days.

It happens every time we go to an amusement park though. We live only an hour away from most parks. Two hours at the most. I have an amazing time. Dilemma you ask? No. But the thrills, joys and highs you get are fabulous. Especially when you know you live close by. That's right, close by. I won't live close by anymore.

But I'm still here. I will enjoy every last second. I had to get in some last important items. I knew there were some places we'd wanted to go forever. Now was the chance. We had to do it. It was time to end our year with a bang. We had to make it the best. weekend. ever. No pressure. None at all. I knew we were up to the task. So we went to top. The peak. The mountain. The mountain of magic.

Yes, we planned this. Shocking, I know.

What could be more perfect? A park filled with roller coasters. Nothing but coasters. It's pure genius. I had only dreamed of a place like this when I was little. It's all about the speed and drops. I love to feel like I'm flying.

We were excited all morning. We got there for the opening of the park. Winter in the park is phenomenal. No lines. Well, almost no lines. We breezed through almost every ride. Coaster after coaster - flying, soaring, looping, dropping - my face hurt from smiling so much. I walked around like I was living the perfect life. We were having fun and we were carefree. Even if it was only for a day.

Thoughts of moving were pushed away. Even though I knew I would be getting on a plane soon, too soon, I didn't think about it. I'm only thinking of it now, as I write this. We walked around the park for hours. No, really. Eight plus to be exact. It just meant we could eat more. Perfect.

I have always loved the feeling of flying through the air. That first launch where you feel the wind whipping through your hair and you can smell nothing but the air around you is amazing. Each time we went on a new coaster I felt free. I'm not a screamer. I'm a smiler. I couldn't stop smiling on every ride.

If I could ride those coaster every weekend I would. Line free of course. My teeth hurt from the wind rushing at them but I couldn't close my mouth. All ride photos showed screamer after screamer. People scared or nervous or just yelling for the hell of it.

Not me. All of my photos had the look of pure joy and the smile. It was as if I was on a photo shoot and I was supposed to keep that smile going to whole time.

Which is ironic since growing up I was the frowner. Had my mom known then that all she had to do was introduce a little high thrills to me to get me to smile things might have been a little lighter.


We thought it was all over and slowly headed for the exit. We didn't want this magical day to end. But then, as we neared the gates, we saw our final ride. It had lights. It had music. It had magic. It met all of our requirements. The carousel was perfect to end the night on.

Besides, it's the only time I'm going to get Mike on a horse so I couldn't pass up this opportunity. We chose our stallions and hopped on. The music began and we took our final ride.

For an alternate story and for different pictures go to my other blog at:
http://redismynaturalcolor.com/

Zombie Capitol of The U.S.?

When I received an email from JetBlue warning me that my TrueBlue points were set to expire I knew I couldn't let that happen. I'd been saving those bad boys forever. I had to book a flight. I didn't want to mess up. As part of our "Tour the West Coast Before We Leave" plan, we knew we had to pick a location we'd never been to. It was a toss up - Seattle, WA or Portland, OR.

It was a tough call. Rain or rain. Hhhmm. We went with rain and Seattle it was. Once we made our decision, I figured I would call a reservations agent before I booked the flight to get conformation on the dates to make sure all was right. She assured me that all was a go. Keep that in mind. I'll get back to this later.*

We were pretty excited. In case you haven't guessed it by now, I feel best when I'm traveling. Home is on the road. I even sleep better when I'm traveling. It's always been like that. In a hotel, in a car - I sleep through the night when I'm not in my "normal" bed. As soon as I get back to my regular place of residence, I never have a good night's sleep. I couldn't wait to be in a new city.

Street Art

 When we arrived we had everything all mapped out. We knew exactly what we wanted to do and we knew we would do it all. From the moment we arrived we were in heaven thanks to my friend Sandrine. She steered us to the Hotel Max. All we needed to see was that there was a pillow menu. Every variety you can imagine. We were sold from the moment we stepped into our room.

We only had a few days so we knew we had to be on the move. First stop - the Space Needle. Now I'm usually not a big fan of spending a lot of money just to ride up, walk around, and ride down. But hey, this is the Space Needle. It's not like we're just going up and down an elevator ride for that price.

Even Bigfoot visits the Market

Besides, how can I say I went to Seattle and didn't go up in the Space Needle? Exactly. I couldn't. So I won't. Because I did. The views were pretty nice. It was only a little overcast. The rain was actually starting to clear up. *Gasp*. That's right, the sun was fighting for equal time. I may have even pulled out my sunglasses.

We headed back down and it was on to Pike's Market. This city is really the easiest city to figure out and I mean that as a compliment. The streets, the train, it's great for people that aren't used to cities. If you are a city person, it's a a great change of pace. Once we got to Pike's, I could have lived there. Okay, well, maybe not really, but no, I could have.

That place is great - the flowers, the fruits and veggies, the seafood. I've never seen things so inexpensive and of such quality. Of course that's probably the only place where you'll find things so inexpensive which is why I said I could live there. We couldn't leave without watching the fish being manhandled so we hung

A Little Fish Toss

around for a little bit. A little crab toss, mussel toss and fish toss and then we were good to go.

Then there was the great Starbucks debate. Which one holds the claim to fame of being the first. Is it the one on 1st & Pike's or is it the one in Pike Place Market? Apparently each one says they are but only one has the official stamp. We weren't taking any chances. We posed by both. Hey, we're coffee people, we needed that picture.

Next stop on the tour was the underground. We had been hearing about this for months and we were pretty excited about it. We pulled up to the tour location, got ready for the first segment and saw the children. The ones under five. The one in particular that was screaming through our orientation.

Now people, please let me make myself clear. We pay good money to go on tours. If you can not find someone to watch your children, please, please do not take them on a tour that lasts over one hour. That will be in dark, confined spaces that echo. That require silence so a tour guide can speak. Why do people do this? Also, please silence your cell phones and do not take that call and start talking while on our tour.

But back to the underground. It really is a fascinating place. Crazy to think people actually lived down there. We only walked a small portion of the city and once we were shown what the entry points looked like, every where we went after that we knew how extensive they actually were.

Of course, what would a dark, musty, "basement-like" place be, without a ghost or two. Supposedly there are a few hanging around some of the areas. They must have been hiding. We saw nothing. Felt nothing.

The most surprising thing of all was when we got out of the tour and came back up. The sun was shining. And so it was time. Time for the piece de resistance. The unexpected bonus to our trip. Who knew just by flipping open the magazine in our hotel we would have discovered gold of such amazing proportions. That's right my friends. I'm talking about.....ZomBCon 2011.

We could hardly contain our excitement. Are you kidding me? Zombies? In Seattle? What's going on here? The article said Seattle was the zombie capital of the United States. What luck! And this weekend. We happened to be in town for the weekend of a zombie convention. Holy Sh*t. We've hit the mother lode.

We knew we had to get there. We didn't care what it took. We would rearrange our schedule to make sure it happened. We found the train, hopped on and we were on our way. Once we arrived we couldn't contain ourselves. Literally. I tripped over a huge sign in the lobby, knocking it over and really made a grand entrance. I sure had arrived.

The cast of The Walking Dead was supposed to be they had a steep "sitting" fee. Plus, we were late comers, not advance ticket holders. My goal for the day was just to pose with a zombie. Eating me of course. There were quite a few "B" list actors there which for us zombie aficionados was pretty cool to see. Not cool enough to pay $50 to pose for a picture with though. I don't pay to pose. I have enough fun taking my own pictures, why would I pay someone for theirs?

Don't eat me!

If you'd like to check out the sites that we visited, go to the websites below:

http://www.hotelmaxseattle.com/
http://www.spaceneedle.com/
http://www.zombcon.com/
http://www.undergroundtour.com/


For an alternate story and for different pictures go to my other blog at:
http://redismynaturalcolor.com/


*I want to thank customer service at JetBlue for giving me inaccurate information when they assured me that my flight dates would fall within the restrictions of my TrueBlue miles. They were incorrect and I lost off of my miles. When I called them on it they said it was my fault for not reading my rewards membership. After explaining that I did read them but got verification from a JetBlue rep that it was acceptable to fly on those dates I was told, "too bad, it's your fault". Thanks again JetBlue.

Cupcakes & Cornpops

When we first planned our trip to Seattle, it was just that - a trip to Seattle. It's part of our Conquer the West Coast Tour. Now that we are leaving there are so many things that we need to do. Too many things. Why didn't we ever do any of these excursions in the eight years that we've lived here? No one ever does, do they? Until it's too late. We weren't going to let that happen this time.

We started preparing for our trip when it hit us. Vancouver. I'm not talking the one in Washington State. I'm talking the one you need a passport for. You know, the good one. No offense Washington. We got excited about our little side trip. Ah, Vancouver. We'd never been to the west coast of Canada before. East coast, sure. We were old pros. Well, at least I was, but the west? Nope. Never been. We knew we had to get there.

We were all set with our Seattle plans. There was plenty to see, plenty to do but we weren't sure what we were going to do in Vancouver. We looked through a few books at Barnes & Noble but that only gave us a few ideas. The problem - it was going to be cold & rainy. We were limited in our choices. I decided to take matters into my own hands. I settled on the important things. I didn't care what we did once we got there as long as we completed my missions.

Mission one: Cupcakes. I started watching a show called The Cupcake Girls a few months ago. It's set in Vancouver. Lucky me. I needed to try these little cakes. We set our GPS on cupcake and drove. Over the border, through the rain we went. We arrived at the trademark cupcake awning and I had to contain myself. I ran out of the car when we saw the meter and realized we forgot to change our money. Oops. Mike ran to the bank while I waited. And watched. So close and yet so far. Finally we entered and saw them. A sea of little cakes dancing in front of us. Mini cakes, little cakes and even big cakes. I didn't know what to choose.

Death by Cupcake

Of course you can't just have one. Or two. Or three. Well, you see where I'm going with this. We packed up two for later and sat down with two for now. I went with a lemon cake with lemon frosting. Mike went with chocolate on chocolate. I consider myself a cupcake pro. I've eaten my fair share of cupcakes & I bake them all the time. This was the first time we found ones that we both enjoyed. The cake was moist and delicious. The frosting was so soft and fluffy.

In case anyone is wondering, I had to substitute the chair for the floor when I had my death by cupcake. Remember, it was raining. I was feeling good. And full. Mission one accomplished. But we couldn't stop now. There was more to do, more to see and another mission to fulfill.

Mission Two: Canadian Corn Pops. As soon as I realized that we would be going to Canada, I knew I had to have these. For anyone that loves the pops, you have to believe me when I say that these golden puffs far outshine their American counterpart. I don't know why they are made differently but they are. They even look different. They taste like actual corn, they are round, light in color and are tasty treats. Plus the box is in French and English which I always like better anyway. Bonus! Whatever we decided to do, I didn't care as long as we got my pops before we left the country.

They make 'em bigger in Canada

We put mission two on hold while we drove through the city and aimed for Stanley Park. On a sunny day this is probably a stunning place to walk around and picnic. Unfortunately we didn't have that opportunity because, did I mention it was raining? It was still a beautiful place but we didn't get to linger too long at the photo spots. Although at each spot you have to feed the meter so we weren't staying long anyway.

When it's raining you're on the run in, run out plan. We got to see the whole park, stopped and got some nice souvenirs at the gift shop and even got a lovely souvenir from the park on our windshield. Thanks for the ticket Stanley Park. We'll remember you fondly. We decided we had enough after that and headed back to the city to complete mission two.

I needed my pops. We hit up a few smaller grocery stores and nothing. We drove through some really cool neighborhoods. We needed to come back here. There it was - the Safeway. I know, I know, it's a sad thing. I was excited to see a supermarket. We ran in and made a beeline for the cereal aisle and there they were. I think I even heard some angel music in the background. My pops. Oh sweet lovin', there were my pops. I grabbed two boxes and crap. Cereal is expensive in Canada. $5.50 a box with our club card. It was worth it. I needed these. We headed out. Mission two accomplished.

Golden puffs of heaven

Time to head back to Seattle. But not without a final trip to duty free. No one heads back across the border without that last stop. We thought we would commemorate our trip with some British Columbia wine. And like that it was all over. Back to the U.S. It was a successful trip. We may not have seen all that we wanted to but we accomplished our missions and for a day trip in the rain we got the job done. Who knows. Maybe we'll be back some day. In the summer next time.

To find out more about the places we visited go to:
http://originalcupcakes.com/cupcakes.php
http://seestanleypark.com/

For an alternate ending and for different pictures go to my other blog at:
http://redismynaturalcolor.com/