chasing rabbits stateside

While I was in Vancouver I had received an e-mail that had made me grin like the proverbial Cheshire cat. Shana had booked a flight to Seattle !!!! She would land in the morning, hire a car, drive me to Vancouver where we would stay the night, put me on the plane, drive back to Seattle and then fly home. How about that for grand romantic gestures. Any concerns I had about our feelings being mutual were blown right out of the water.

She landed at 8am on the Sunday morning and from about 6.30am to 8.30 am when she came down the escalators I paced back and forth wearing a tramline in floor, checking my watch, checking the arrivals notice board, checking the escalators. Blimey, was she a sight for sore eyes when she finally appeared. She is one beautiful woman, even when my eyes have only had an hours rest ! When we finally prised ourselves apart we picked up the hire car and drove into Seattle (good job I wasn’t driving, there is no way I would have been able to focus on the road ahead!).

It was a beautiful day and Seattle is an attractive city – if a nightmare to navigate. We stopped for breakfast, bought the cutest donut peaches, admired the flowers in the farmers market and then headed off to visit an acquaintence of Shana’s who ran a cake shop. Fabulous carrot cake followed and then a wander around a park. It was such sweet few hours, the sun shone and we walked and talked surrounded by people flying kites, walking dogs, enjoying picnics, not that our attention was on them. Shana also played the heroine, rescuing me from an impressively large and slimy worm that had decided to try and ‘worm its way in’ (arf arf) on our sunbathing (actually it appeared from nowhere, I figure the damn thing could fly), either way I got to see another side to Shana ;) ! Being outdoor equipment junkies we visited the giant REI store for a quick fix – miraculously keeping our wallets in our pockets (I’ve found someone who finds fleece sexy, she’s either perfect or crazy!). Then we started the drive to Vancouver, a pretty route as freeways go (was it a freeway or highway? I never can remember, or tell the difference), we were surrounded by water and mountains – perfect. There were no complications as we crossed over the border, although I was asked if I would be returning to the US in the next 3 months, I said no. After we drove off I remembered my trip to New York in 2 months time and quietly had a minor coronary, all the while telling Shana I wasn’t worried. We were entertained by people playing badminton and sunbathing on the lawns outside the checkpoint, not an obvious choice for a relaxing day out. One guy, crossing the border on foot, weaved his way between the cars carrying nothing but a bag of golf clubs. You probably won’t be surprised to hear that security from the US to Canada is a little more relaxed and more like travelling through Europe.

Once in Vancouver we headed straight for a hotel and settled in for the evening. It wasn’t until we were having dinner that it hit me just how significant the evening was. This was it, the final night of my 3 month tour, the trip of a lifetime. It was over. It felt like crossing the finish line of an amazing race. I’d done it. Kate the homebody had spent 3 months on the road, no problems, no threats to my security. Common sense, a little bit of the old grey matter and a certain amount of luck was sending me home in one piece. Teary eyed I talked about some of my experiences, all of them ‘highs’, there had been no lows, unless you counted all the goodbyes I had had to say. I had been amazingly fortunate and had 3 of the best months of my life. Suddenly, I had reached the end. I don’t know if I had blocked it out or if I had just naively thought it wouldn’t have much of an impact on me. Back in the hotel room I had a cry and realised how grateful and happy I was to be spending my final night with Shana instead of sleeping, alone, on a bench at Vancouver airport as had been my plan. It was wonderful that I got any additional time with her, whatever the occasion, but this made it particularly special and an incredibly significant evening for the both of us. I swear there could not have been a better way to end my trip than in the arms of the woman I had fallen in love with.

The next morning we had our second tearful goodbye at an airport (there will be more of these, but the happy ‘hello’s that follow each time we see each other again will more than wipe out the pain of the last goodbye) and I stood on the pavement watching her drive off, heartbroken to see her go, but amazed at my luck at meeting her in the first place.

posted by KP @ 12:08 AM