There’s Always a Reason

When Melina was a baby she often cried for no reason other than some kind of cathartic release- like there were sobs inside of her and she just needed to get them out. Nothing could calm her down. Much to our delight we learned when Diane was born that not all babies are like this. With Diane there is ALWAYS a reason. It may take us hours or even days to figure it out but once you figure it out and fix the problem the crying immediately stops. Which is why it we were so confused when she cried and whined for nearly the entire 4.5 hour trip to Vancouver. We sang songs, rubbed her head, shaded her eyes from the sun, and handed her toys, milk, goldfish, water, and probably 20 apple slices but nothing calmed her for more than a few minutes at a time. And then, right at the 4 hour mark and upon entering the city of Vancouver, Melina figured it out.

But let me back up a bit…

We packed up and said goodbye to The Maple Leaf on Capitol Hill and walked a block to catch the bus into town. I was focused on ushering the girls onto the bus without causing too much of a bottleneck at the door when I heard the driver say “Well, hello everyone!” It was the super friendly bus driver from our first day in Seattle! We all laughed at the coincidence and it was nice to say goodbye to him like an old friend, making it seem as if our time in Seattle had come full circle.

Our plan had been to hang out in the city a bit before picking up our rental car at noon for the drive to Canada, but we were a little nervous of timing since our airbnb host let us know yesterday that we only had a half hour window to catch her if we wanted to get a parking pass. So we stopped in at Avis early to see if we could at least fill out paperwork in advance but lo and behold our car was ready so we installed the two car seats, picked up some coffee, and were headed out of town by 10:30am.

Neither Zach nor I enjoy driving, which is why we usually choose destinations with great public transportation. We would chose a plane, train, or bus over a car any day, especially with kids. It is so much more enjoyable for us to sit back and let someone else navigate the foreign roads and crazy drivers while we play with the kids and chew the scenery, so it’s usually worth it to us to forego the extra flexibility that comes with a car. Not to mention the hassle of having to rent two car seats. I know many people that won’t rent car seats because of cleanliness issues (like thinking about the last kid to puke in the seat), but that doesn’t worry me at all. I just hate having to pay for them and then worry whether I installed them incorrectly for the whole trip. But since the plans for this trip include a week on Vancouver Island where public transportation is rare, we gave in and got a car. 

The ride was actually easy and quite beautiful, and we even squeezed in a trip to Safeway to get the fixings for PB&N sandwiches (the N is for Nutella), which we enjoyed immensely in the car while waiting to get through customs. Other than Diane’s uncharacteristically foul mood the only annoyance was the fact that the GPS we brought from home that claims to cover all of North America refused to recognize the existence of British Columbia. In fact, when you set the country to Canada and then choose a province, the only choices you are given are “New Brunswick” and “Nouveau Brunswicke.” Thanks Garmin, but not even close. That will be soooo helpful next week while we maneuver Vancouver Island.

OK, back to our entrance into Vancouver. We entered via the Granville Bridge and the view is simply spectacular. The buildings are almost all the same honey-combed style from the balconies lining the outside walls which makes for a distinctly unique skyline. The sky was crystal clear blue and the sun sparkled on the water below, but our poor baby girl was just a mess. I was frustrated because I couldn’t see her in her rear-facing seat so I kept unfairly asking Melina to guess at what could be the problem. Melina was sick of trying to read a 16 month old’s mind so she was just making stuff up without even looking at the baby when finally she looked over and her eyes grew round and she said “MOM! I KNOW WHAT THE REASON IS! SHE THREW UP!” 

And that is how we entered Vancouver reeking of vomit. Poor Diane has been carsick before, but somehow we always forget her weak stomach until it is too late. On day one in the Virgin Islands I had to wash out her car seat in the ocean. Day one of a camping trip required borrowing the use of Nana and Grandpa’s washer in Winchester. So now you know why I don’t worry about the cleanliness of rental car seats…my kid is the one that pukes in them.

The poor girl that had agreed to let us stay at her adorable apartment managed to hide her horror at our stench enough to get us our parking pass and show us where she kept her detergent before fleeing to safety. I’m actually kind of shocked she didn’t kick us to the curb. It’s either because of her natural Canadian kindness, her bohemian love-everyone-no-matter-how-they-smell attitude, or the fact that the public areas in her building already smell of bong water that must have flooded the hallways and was then left to grow into a fragrant mold. Thank goodness her apartment doesn’t smell that way or we’d all be sleeping on the beach. 

Again, the selective amnesia took hold and we thoroughly enjoyed our evening in the West End. We dined on gorgeously huge mussels at Central Bistro and then walked to the waterfront where the kids splashed in the water and covered their last clean outfits with sand. We ate cupcakes as we strolled back to the apartment and the girls played on Melina’s air bed before singing each other to sleep. So incredibly cute. Now Zach is asleep already while I wait for the now clean car seat cover and clothes to finish drying in the laundry room downstairs and look forward to more adventures tomorrow. Oh, Canada.