Spreading my wings …

I’ve been spreading my wings lately and testing my travel boundaries … I did that trip to Toronto and had a little visit with my best-besty.

When I came back from Toronto I went to a family reunion in Kelowna. Gerry rode his motorcycle and I flew there and met him. We had a great weekend visiting with my step-mum’s side of the family.

And had a blast hanging out with my parents.

The next weekend I drove (by myself for the first time since the cancer diagnosis) to the mainland and had a nice visit with my parents and my niece Heidi.

It doesn’t sound like much of a trip – but I was really worried about my stamina. Driving to the ferry terminal. Taking the ferry. Driving from the ferry into Vancouver takes up a lot of energy … but the trip went really well. I was tired but not exhausted.

Best part of the trip was seeing my niece… I don’t get to spend a lot of time with her so in the brief 26 hours we had together I tried to cram in as much lovin’ as I could.

I got home and didn’t bother putting away my suitcase because then I left for a solo trip to Seattle. This would be my biggest trip alone yet!

I grabbed the Anacortes ferry and drove from the mainland to Seattle to see my beloved band the Go-Go’s play a show.

I’ve NEVER driven in America before. I was a little stressed out … and I hit a minor traffic jam and had a wee panic attack that I would be late but I made it to my hotel only about 30 minutes later than I had planned.

Had a quick restorative nap in my swanky king-sized bed (self care is very important) and then met the band for a family dinner.

The dinner was hilarious … and a disaster. I think there was about 12 or 13 of us at the table and the waiter could not have been worse. It took FOREVER for him just to get our drinks and it got worse from there. Half the table’s food arrived but it was stone cold. The other half of the table never got their food. It was a shit-show right from the start.

The last time I saw the band was New Years at the River Rock Casino and I was in a lot of pain. I had JUST finished my radiation treatment and was SO burned and SO uncomfortable. When I look back at it now … I can’t believe I went to that show. What a nut I am. Ha ha.

So even though the dinner was a disaster – I was so incredibly happy to be sitting there with my Go-Go’s family – playing catch-up and enjoying each others company. Gina leaned over to me and said “We were worried about you Hon…” in that amazing Baltimore accent of hers. Tears welled up and I slapped her arm and told her to stop being nice to me or I would start crying. Ha ha.

In the morning Jane and I met up and spent the day wandering the streets of downtown Seattle. First we hit up Evolution Fresh for green smoothies. It was right near the hotel and I think I went there 3 more items before I headed home. ha ha.

We wandered up the street to Sephora for make-up. Then hit Fluevogs in the hopes that they would have at least ONE pair of vegan shoes this season (no luck). Then we went through Pike St. Market in the search of Pirkko.

I’m not a “label” girl but I really love the Marimekko line of clothing. They are modern and fresh looking but also a little retro. Most of their clothes are made out of cotton … which is important to me because I can’t wear synthetics anymore. Too HOT! Even though my hot-flashes are much better since I started wearing that Lady-Care magnet … I find that as soon as I put on something synthetic/scratchy/tight I heat up like a burning flame.

Jane and I shopped our little butts off and then we wandered over to Veggie Grill for some sustenance. I kind of lost my mind and ordered a lot of food. Ha ha. It’s nice to have my appetite back. 🙂

I’m so glad I pushed myself to do this trip solo because if Gerry had been with me I never would have spent all this one-on-one time with Jane.

It’s crazy how much we have in common … besides the same haircut. Ha ha. I love that lady like a sister. Love. We had so much fun … it was a wonderful day hanging out with my favourite Go-Go (don’t tell the others I said that).

Around 3pm we headed back to the hotel for naps (she had to perform that night) and I met up with everyone around 6pm to catch the van out to the venue. The van was LATE! So late … we spent about 40 minutes hanging outside the hotel waiting for the van to arrive. Patty Smyth from Scandal (who was also performing that night) came and joined us out front. I just HAD to take a photo. 🙂

Can you imagine if you wandered by the hotel and saw all these woman hanging out? I would plotz! We finally made it to the venue (Chateau Ste. Michelle) which was gorgeous. Wow. What a nice place to watch a concert…

I left the band to let them do their warm-up thing and I went on the hunt to find my friend Greg. Because we were so late I ended up missing Naked Eyes and The Motels but did get to see the last 4 or so songs of Scandal. Patty’s voice is still so killer. #bangbang

Then the magic started … The Go-Go’s hit the stage!!

What a fun show!! During Cool Jerk the band picks people out of the audience to come up on stage and dance. I managed to get Greg up on the stage and snapped a cute photo of him dancing.

There is nothing cooler than seeing a grown man geek out to my favourite band. I was grinning from ear to ear the entire show. The show was FANTASTIC! I was cursing myself that I didn’t bring my camera. What was I thinking?? I managed to get a few cool shots with my iphone.

It was so nice to be able to introduce my sweet friend Jane to my amazing friend Greg. Two punk rock icons colliding in the best way possible …

When we got back to the hotel – I was getting out of the van and we were accosted by autograph hounds. They started screaming  “JANE JANE! Sign my record.” Jane was still in the van and that’s when I realized they were yelling at me. Ha ha.

My friend Susan said “That’s not Jane.” and he yelled “Yeah right. Why won’t you sign it? You’re an asshole!!” We started laughing and she said “You’re obviously not a fan if you think she’s Jane.”

I couldn’t believe how rude he was being to us … that’s when Jane got out of the van and said “If we’re assholes then I guess we won’t sign any of your stuff.” BOOM! #micdrop It was awesome.

A few of us hung out in the hotel bar for a bit and Martha Davis from The Motels joined us. She was really nice … gave me a hug and told me I smelled amazing. 🙂

If you’re curious I was wearing Que Sera Sarah (a special blend made just for me by SarahWen Perfume).

I fell into bed deliriously happy.

The next morning I met up one last time with Jane and we headed to Evolution Fresh for more green drinks and I bought some food for the road.

Hung out with the ladies in the lobby while they waited for the van to load. This poor bell-boy/man/person. This wasn’t even all of the luggage…  🙂

Said a sad good-bye to the ladies and then I hit the road back to Victoria.

I am so thankful to the Go-Go’s (especially Jane) and the Go-Go’s team for all the fun in Seattle. They are an amazing group of people and all the hugs, love and support they’ve given me during all this cancer stuff has helped me more then I can put into words.

I feel like myself again. I don’t know if you fully understand how isolated you become when you do cancer treatment until you’re in the thick of it … Your life gets really small and very intense. For the first time in a long time I feel like myself again. Mojo is back!!

Now what should I do??  🙂