You know? Doing girls things! But now, looking back instead of forward, how could I ever imagine such a special and wonderful bonding experience than traveling together on our motorcycles?
The first trip was back in 2009. We had bought me a small motorcycle to learn on so that we could take our little granddaughters on over-night motorcycle trips (It is always wise to have a Grandma along with a Grandpa). We planned a three-day adventure to the Four Corners area with the granddaughter that lived the closest (Jocelyn). We stayed in quaint little bed and breakfast houses, swam in motel pools, ate at fun southwestern restaurants and hiked the Mesa Verde ruins. We thought it was a trip to remember but little did we know that the spontaneous idea to include Jocee in our adventure to the San Juan Islands in 2013 would turn out to be the next "trip to remember". Sixteen days of adventure to be exact.
My new motorcycle was much bigger and safer than the first, but not safe enough to carry a passenger. So I secured my stuffed Minnie Mouse on the back and we tucked on a Mini Minnie on the back of Grandpa's motorcycle for Jocee. Our little stuffed Minnie's were our good luck charms to keep us safe. Fellow motorists seem to give a Grandma with a Minnie Mouse on the back safe passage.
Sixteen (16) days of playing the card game, "Speed", on ferry rides, in motels (while it was raining), at restaurants (waiting for our food) and at every bed and breakfast we stayed at. Sixteen days of going in every cute store we could find, trying on jewelry, hats and searching for that perfect sweatshirt from the islands. Nine (9) days of eating the most delectable breakfasts, served by our delightful bed and breakfast hosts and hostesses. Sixteen days of cots, mattresses on the floor, private rooms or charming beds (some areas came with spiders and critters). We hiked to the most magnificent waterfalls, photographed a zillion photos of ourselves, viewed the world from the top of Whistler Peak in British Columbia, scouted out bears, raccoon, a fox, eagles, osprey, deer, and millions of ground squirrels (which we seem to have a lot of photos of). Come to think of it, we have a lot of photos of the San Juan Island ferries, whales, spider webs, flowers, harbor seals, lighthouses and starfish, that we don't remember taking. We put our rain gear on - we took our rain gear off and we did it all again several times a day. We laughed at her first (reluctant) taste of fresh clams, her witty comments and her catchy phrases. We hugged and bonded and barely left each other's side. We felt young again with her vitality and vivacious energy and wore ourselves out by the end of each day.
Grandpa and I intend to keep planning those little adventures that truly make life special. Not that the boys in our family aren't fun but those granddaughters really can make "a trip to remember". My looking forward dreams are a little different now because my looking back experiences have taught me so many things. I will keep planning the cooking, sewing, shopping, piano-playing activities but we will enhance them with some thrilling rides as well.
