Magies trip to the Azores (August 2 – 11, 2007)
August 2, 2007
I often wonder why it is that no matter how much you plan, how well organized you are, or even how much time you have. There ALWAY, ALWAYS seems to be a tone of last minute things to do!
This trip was no exception. I was up late the night before finishing things, and didn’t get to sleep in, because of all the last minute things I had to do. What made it all worse is our air conditioner broke 2 days before, and of course it was during the hottest days of the year. Because of the timing we didn’t have enough time to get it fixed, so we roasted for 2 days. It was so bad, that I to shower 3 or 4 times in a day (in cold water) just to cool down and because I was soaked in sweat.
Anyway, we left for the airport at 4:30pm the cab was about 15 minutes early (great company, I have used them before and the last time they were right on time, I mean to the minute). The driver for some reason chose not to take the highway must of the way, whether it was because of traffic (rush hour) or not, I don’t know and since it was a flat rate I didn’t care.
We still got to the airport early at about 5:15pm and check in started about 3 hours before the flight which was 8:45pm. So we had to wait in an already long line before they even started to check people in. My husband started to complain that we were going to be rotting at the air port for too long and asked why we came so early. I informed him that if he didn’t like the way I plan things he could do next time. Though I knew we won’t be rotten, since I was super hungry and wanted to eat.
The different ways the Portuguese people do things, became very clear to me while waiting in that line. First any trip becomes a major production; the entire family goes to the airport and sees you off. (A rule I had already broken but taking a cab.) Then they stand around and wait with people (I have no idea why), then it is the luggage. The Portuguese have some thing written into their DNA that simply does not allow them to pack light. They can not do it. I try to pack as light as I can, many times I fail, but I do try. I am down to 1 suitcase and 1 carry on. Though the size of the suitcase may be big, but it is only one suitcase. I saw people there that had 4 or 5 per person, and since it was an entire family there was 20 bags. I swear I don’t know what I would do if I had to carry so much. As a matter of fact the women in front of me, turned to me and asked if I knew how much my bags weighted (we were only allowed 50kg per person, now I say this only because to the Portuguese that is not a lot). I told that I did not, since we hadn’t weighted ours (which was true, we didn’t know how much they weight though we were pretty sure we hadn’t reached our max) she asked if she could give us one of her bags, since she thought she was over. Now I am normally an easy going person, but first she started talking to me in Portuguese without asking if I spoke it (and I hate that) second she was both winy and pushing about it (and I hate both) so I told her no. She wasn’t happy about that but hey learn to pack lighter next time!
We got though the line and went in search of something to eat, we ended up at Coyote Jack and had burgers. I think I inhaled mine I was so hungry. After that we went to do some shopping (well looking, since Rick wouldn’t let me buy anything, since we didn’t have the room for it in the carry on. We went to the book store and I found a book on Portuguese sayings. The kind that allows you to say the most common things, like where is the hotel, how do I get to wherever and so on. I showed it to Rick and he started laughing because the way the words were written, it made the words in Portuguese sound less like they were suppose too and more like Klingon. After that we went though security, I had been waiting to see Rick go though this since he hasn’t been on a flight since the new security, measures came into place. He kept looking at me to confirm that the lady wasn’t kidding; yes dear you have to take off your belt, yes dear the shoes too. And then we got pulled aside and they asked us to open one of our carry on bags. They wanted to check Rick’s big film camera, they checked it over with this rode but then said OK. Funny how they left my camera completely alone. Buy the time we made it to the duty fee store it was already 7:30pm we got some gifts there and headed to our gate. We didn’t have long to wait before they started to broad people. In fact we were on the other side, on one of those internet stations and didn’t even notice right away. It didn’t matter since we were ones of the last ones in the plane, since then called it by rows number and ours was right before the first class. And it goes first class, then back of the plane to front.
The flight was not fun. I was originally worried because the women in the row next to us have an infant, but I swear that was the best behaved baby I have ever seen. Her 2 year old brother on the other hand was getting to me. But, that wasn’t the bad part. The flight left at 8:45pm (Toronto Time) and arrive at 6:30am (Azores Time) so even though we flew only 5:30 hours it covered the entire night with the time charge. And as much as I was tired I could not get comfortable or nor could I fall asleep. Which was not fun. Plus the plane was hot, like boarding on uncomfortable hot. So by the time we arrived I so wanted to hit the sack! Magie tired and then Magie get cranking.
Friday August 3, 2007
We were off the plane and through customs quickly, the only real waiting we had was for the luggage. Normally it takes about 15 to 20 minutes for them to even get the convector belt going and then the first few bags start to arrive, but I guess since this is such a small airport and since we were the only plane to arrive that morning, all of the baggage people must have been just standing around waiting for the plane. By the time we got to the luggage, the bags were already coming out. It still took about 20 to 30 minutes before our baggage made there appearance. Then we went out to look for Rick’s parents since we had no idea where we going or even how to get there. The one problem with having someone give you a trip (and in case I haven’t mentioned it, the entire trip was a Christmas gift from my in-laws. Which of course was very sweet and extremely generous of them) is that you no longer have the control of what, when and how things are done. And my in-laws (god bless them) are not the must organized people. I did not even have their address, in case for some reason I needed it.
Well we walked out to where the people were waiting to look for Rick’s parents and all of a sudden Rick was being grabbed, hugged and kissed by a happy, sweet looking older lady. My first thought was who is this? But as I am thinking this she turns to me and says you must be Magie, I’m Rick’s Aunt. Now I don’t know if the people there are so thoughtful, that they go to the airport just to greet people or they just don’t have anything better to do and get up super early to see their loved one get off the plane. However both Rick’s Aunt and Uncle as well as his cousin were waiting to greet us. Which it turns out was a good thing because my father-in-law was late. And it wasn’t like we were going to go over to there house for a visit it was as I mentioned 6:30 in the morning. But never the less it was super nice of them.
My father-in-law showed up about 20 minutes later and then we were off, where you may ask, the market. Since the airport in close to the market and it was early and they could still get the very fresh stuff, it was the best time. After that we headed off to my in-laws house. I had thought it was just out the city, but it fact it is about 45 minutes away. Not a big deal but here is the thing I just found out about Sao Miguel Island. While I knew it was lush and green, I had no idea how hilly and mountainy it was. Also all the roads run along the same hills and mountains. So you can well image all the curves and turns, and curves and more turns, and they are NOT spaced far apart, you go from once curve into the next turn. I was car sick by the time we got to the house. So here I was a tired, sleepy and now car sick Magie (oh what fun, oh what joy).
I pretty much went to bed right away. My mother-in-law offered us something to eat but I wouldn’t have been able to hold it down. My in-laws place was my mother-in-law family house when she was growing up and since her parents passed away and they have started coming here regularly they have fixed it up and made it very cozy, and comfortable. It also is set higher up on the mountain so it has a great view all the way to the sea. All in all it is a great summer house. Every thing except the guest beds, the house has one bedroom and an attic that has been turned into a bedroom. It has one double bed and 3 single beds in it. The double bed mattress seems to be made with small lumpy rocks, and is a little too small for both me and Rick and the single beds mattress seem to be made from one large flat rock. So sleeping had been interesting to say the least. While I did try the small lumpy rocks at first my back was in too much pain in it. So I ended up sleepy in the if I roll over I’ll fall off the bed because it is so small flat rock of a bed. Somehow it is better.
We got about 5 hours of sleep that day. And then headed out to look around, as my in-laws said, great that sounded good to me. Well their idea of looking around and my idea of looking around are not the same thing. The drove us around over those same damn curves, up and down the mountain and showed us the views from this spot then from that spot and so on. I had thought they would show us the towns or villages close by, you know this is the supermarket, this is the church, this is the local bar. Stuff like that. I hadn’t even brought my camera, and wasn’t in the sight seeing mode yet. So it was a complete blur to me. I would later find out that for my in-laws views seem to be a big thing, which for someone that while she likes a good view can take it or leave it, has to now find the patience to ooh and aah at the views.
It was kind of late by the time we got back, but my mother-in-law was up for going for a swim, and I never turn down a chance for a swim. So we headed to the shore. Sao Miguel, I found out has few beaches and all of them have black sand with lots of rocks on most of them, which is interesting (if not uncomfortable, big rock are not so good to lie down on). We took a swim in an area where there is a very small shore and some very rocking area. It is a place that if the sea is rough you will be blasted up on the rocks and made into paste. But it was still nice and the ocean was nice and calm. Then it was back to the house for dinner.
My in-laws place is on the side of a mountain (which a lot of house are since the whole damn island is either large mountains or big ass hills) and you can see all the way to the sea, which when you are sitting out back having dinner is a really nice view with dinner. We got to watch the sunset while having dinner. Then it was off to bed again and with the time difference neither of us were sleepy, so we spent a lot of time lying (not sleeping) in hard as rock beds!
Saturday August 4, 2007
We woke up after about only 4 hours of sleep and had breakfast, then we all headed out to do some sight seeing. We first went to place on the island for swimming called Lagoa cute little village, which has a nice little lagoon that we swam in. I quickly learned that there is a cost for everything around this damn island. If you want to get into an area there is a cost if you want to use the showers (cold water showers, not even warm) there is cost. And if you happen to sit on the plastic folding chair to dry off, guess what: THERE IS A COST FOR RENTING THE FUCKING CHAIRS!
After that interesting swim, we headed out to once again see more views. A couple of hours of ohh and ahh over the stupid views of the island on this side of the island and on that side, we headed to the second city on the island (it only has 2, a lot of small villages but only 2 cities). Now I have already forgotten why we went there (I was that bored) but once I was there I found it very nice and pretty. I had wanted to do some shopping in the locate shops (I always love to shop in those small locate shops) but as it turns out even though it was afternoon on a Saturday EVERYTHING WAS CLOSED! The city was having some kind of festival and everything was closed. So, no shopping for Magie!
We did end buying some shell fish from a street vendor, called Lapas the island use to have lots of them and everyone use to eat them but they are now hard to find, these ones came from another island. Since we had never tried them, my in-laws bought some. Ok, for future information DON’T BUY SHELL FISH FROM SOME GUY ON THE STREET! Now at the time, I did not think it was a good idea, but who am I to say anything. It wasn’t that we all got sick or anything, but they have to be alive when you cook them or dead only a little bit. These were all dead, so we ended up throwing them out, now paying 30.00 Euro (which was about $45.00 bucks) only to throw them away is not a good thing. I think we were only able to cook 7 of them, so that was 2 per person. After buying the shell fish, we headed back to the house. We were all tired and all that driving round and round was a little too much for me. We had dinner (which included are 2 Lapas each) and hit the sack. Yeah, another night on the flat rock from hell.
Sunday August 5, 2007.
I had decided that after the day before grand adventure that I wanted to take it easy that day. So Rick and I slept in a little, well as much once again as the lumpy and flat rocks would allow us. And then after breakfast we went to the beach, where I had planned to spend the day, with a little swimming, a little lying in the sun and so on. It went pretty much as planned, but once again Magie got smashed up against the stupid rocks at the beach, and found it hard to just swim. Then when I went to lying down in the sun, once again what do I find ROCKS! This entire island was nothing but ROCKS!!! I was really begining to hate those stupid rocks.
I did manage to enjoy a somewhat pleasant day. We even picked up a friend, this dog, we think it was a Beagle mix, just came over and lay down on my towel under our sun umbrella. He was sweet, even if he started to hog the towel. And the thing was that he just won’t not go, he just lay there. I ended up giving him some water (which was all we had with us) Rick said that he saw me, saw the word “sucker” on my forehead and knew he would have it set. He stayed with us right up until we left. We had to leave because even though we stayed under the sun umbrella, we were getting burned. So we just headed back to the house.
When we first got the island and my in-laws were showing us around they mentioned that there was a Pizza place in their village, when I asked them if it was good they said they did not know because every time they had gone, they could not get a table. To me that told me some thing. So as a treat and thank you, I made reservations at the Pizza place. At first my in-laws did not want to go because the only reservations I could get were for 8:30pm (they thought that was too late, even though every meal we had had been at 8:00pm so far), but then they decided to go ahead and go. The restaurant itself was very nice, all the tables were out on the cover patio and while they did had Italian dishes, the pizza was hand made in a wood burning stone oven, by a real Italian chef. They made one small pizza per person on a thin curst. Mine was so good!!! It was easiest one of the best pizza’s I have ever had. My in-laws however did not like theirs and they complained the entire meal, they did not like the place, their pizza was not good and so on. I think maybe Rick realized that I was on the verge of killing them, because he kept looking at me like it was OK. I really would like to know, who does that? Complains during the entire meal that someone else is paying for. I now believe that they have both have gotten to the too old and now are not happy with anything stage in their lives. It could have been the best meal, in the best restaurant made by the best chef and they would find something wrong with it.
Well after that “pleasant” meal it was home and off to bed (or rocks).
Monday August 6, 2007
When my Mother found out I was going to the Azores she told me (not asked) but told me that while I was there I needed to get some Portuguese ID, since all I had was my birth certificate. She said, actually assured me that it would be easy and would not take any time at all. I KNEW this was not going to be the case, but in order to make Mom happy on the Monday morning we all headed out to the big city to get Magie’s Portuguese ID. As it turn out to be a good thing that we were not in the sun again that day, because both Rick and I got a little bit sun burned, though more Rick and me.
So we got to the government office, took a number and waited. It turns out they have just introduce a new card, this card would now replace 3 or 4 old cards. It would have the equivalent of my SIN number, my identification number and some other stuff. So I would only have to get the one card. Also this card was brand new, it was still in the pilot stage and was just release on Sao Miguel and one other island, so that they could work out all the issues with the program and then release it country wide. So these people are just learning this new process, they even are working from sheets to tell them what to do and I show up. Someone who has no Portuguese ID, that is not a resident and has no locate address. I thought the woman would start crying when she realized everything she would need to do. There were of course hoops to jump through and they had to call Lisbon a few times to see if I had ever been issued any numbers (SIN and such) even though I told them I hadn’t. But what really took so long (we were there for almost 4 hours) was that my in-laws did not bring any of their ID (now this is ID that they by law had to have on them at all times) and I had to have 2 people that were not related to me (by blood) sign declarations and confirm that they would they pick up the card on my behalf. So my father-in-law has to leave and drives all the way back to the house 45 minutes and then back another 45 minutes to get the ID. Now I don’t know much about how these things work, but even I knew they would need to have their ID on them. I was in fact surprised that we weren’t asked for DNA to prove who we were.
After all of this was finally done, Rick and I went out shopping, while my in-laws went to see about getting new tires. Even though there were a lot of shops (and they were open) they really wasn’t that must to buy. I looked for clothes and found nothing. I looked for shoes and found nothing I liked but I did find a whole lot of ugly who would wear them shoes. And I search for gifts to bring back to people, we had I really hard time finding anything as well. We ended up getting some local liquor for Rick’s friends who are helps out with the house. And I picked up a CD for my Mom Boyfriend who was helping look after our cats and we got a couple of t-shirts for Rick’s cousin kids. But that was it. When we met up with the in-laws, my mother-in-law asked to see what we bought, she liked the t-shirts, but then said that the liquor was what the old ladies drank and that people did not drink it. So after we looked all over hell’s half acre it turns out we did not do so well. Good way to ruin our good mode over finding something. As it turns out, the guys liked the gifts (the bottles came in a little pack with 2 little cups) and they had even had it before and liked it.
After the shopping we went to visit my mother-in-law cousin who there are very close to, they were really nice and it was a pleasure to meet them. They also had the sweetest cat, which made me miss my babies at home at more (I wish I could just take them with me whenever I go on vacation!). I believe after that we went back to the house and had dinner and then once again off to sleep on the rocks. You would think that by now I would begin to get use to the beds but once again I remind you, they were hard as fucking rocks! So, no getting use to them.
Tuesday August 7, 2007
Today was to be a grand trip and we were to go the “Furnas” this is an area where they have hot springs and they have an area where the ground is really hot, so they have dug holes and people go there put a pot of food in and let the ground cook it. It sounds kind of interesting so why not.
The day did not start out well for me because I was not feeling well, but I tried my best to not let it affect anyone. We first went to a beach on the north side of the island but to be honest I don’t remember where exactly. The beach itself was nice and for a change rock free. The day itself was somewhat over cast, which for Rick was good because he was still a little sun burned. And while the water was nice, it even had a few hot spots and I mean that literally it had hot water coming from the ground. I step on a spot and had to move my foot fast before it burned. It however started to rain, not a lot just a little drizzle not big deal if you’re already wet. The big problem for me was that I was once again not feeling good. I got out of the water to sit on the beach in the drizzle and asked Rick to go get my pain pills. What pissed me off, was that my Mother-in-law then started acting like I was some great inconvenience to them, THIS COMING FROM THE “I AM A VERY SICK WOMAN” queen. I so did not need that from her of all people. But once I had taken my pills I was OK, still not great but much better.
After we decided to leave we went to shower and change (once again we had to pay) and after I showered (and got suck in to stall, stupid door wouldn’t open and the attend had to come and push it open). I met up with Rick who had this look of disbelief on his face. I asked what was up and he said that he had just seen a guy in the showers, ok so what was so interesting about that. The guy was smoking in the shower! WOW, now that is just wrong!
We headed out to put our food in the ground, it had to cook for at least 5 hours. Now the place was kind of interesting, however it was VERY stinking. The entire place smelled like sulfur, can you say “YUCK”! We handed the man the pot (all wrapped up) and he buried it. But it started to rain and the rain would continue on and off for the rest of the day. It would drizzle enough to get you wet and make you miserable but not enough to make you want to head for cover, it was even raining with the sun out. The rest of the day was spent looking at boiling pits, getting wet by the rain, shopping at the little stands, getting wet by the rain, then driving around looking for a place to relax and getting wet by the rain. I think we stopped and had lunch at some point but to be honest all I remember was stinking pits and rain.
At about 5:00 pm we went to get our food, now they have picnic tables there so people can enjoy their food but because of the rain we decided to go home and eat it. The drive back was about an hour and half but the food was still hot was we got there. And after all of the trouble to go to this place to wait around in the rain, the food was not good. I personally only had a little bit because I still was not feeling good and with all the driving around in and out of the car, I was more then a little car sick. But everyone else said that it was not good. Oh well a big waist of time but that is OK.
Wednesday August 8, 2007
Since we had such a busy day the day before and because I hadn’t been feeling well. We, that is me decided to take it easy on Wednesday. We slept most of the day away and only left the house later in the day because we were going to Rick’s Aunt’s and Uncles house for dinner. I had hoped to hit the beach again that day, but it just did not happen.
We did however get a call from the government office where I had applied for my ID card and they asked me to come back in to sign a declaration. So we had to make sure we were at the office before they close at 4:30pm. They wanted me to declare that I had been married in Canada, because all my paper work in Portugal still showed I was single, not surprising since I was 5 when I left. After we got that done, we headed to Rick’s Aunt & Uncle place.
We had a really nice dinner. Rick’s Aunt and Uncle and his cousins are all very sweet and welcoming people. We had dinner out on the back terrace but once again it started to drizzle luckily it didn’t last. But just like most Portuguese people they can not take no for an answer and kept giving Rick beer after beer. And for someone who doesn’t drink to have 5 or 6 beers. I was surprised he did not get sick. But all was well. Then after that great dinner and even greater company it was off to house and to bed, once again we hit the rocks!
Thursday August 9, 2007
One of the only things I had looked into doing when we were in Sao Miguel was going whale watching. When we were in the city on the Monday I had spoken to a few companies about it. I ended up booking with one. Now one of the things I was looking for was to go on a non-rubber boat. The company I choose had 3 tours a day. One in the morning, one in the afternoon and one in late afternoon. But they could only guaranteed the non-rubber boat for the last tour of the day. I agreed to that. Interestingly when I told Rick why I book the last tour he said “Yeah right, we still won’t get the non-rubber boat”. I told him it was guaranteed, to which he replied “Yeah, but something will go wrong with that boat, and the rubber one will show up”.
We had some plans to go to a ceramic factory in Lagoa, that my in-laws had pointed out to me on Saturday when we were there to do some swimming. I really wanted to check it out, since I love blue and white ceramic. We got to tour the factory and see how they made this, it was all hand made and hand painted. The best was the shopping, we were able to get some nice gift and some nice stuff for ourselves.
After that we handed to the marina for our whale watching tour and sure enough what show up THE RUBBER BOAT. When I asked about it, guess what I was told; that the other boat had broken down so they had to use this one. I just looked at Rick and to his credit he did not say “I told you so”. So we could either go on the tour in the rubber boat or wait around for 3 hours for my father-in-law to come back and get us. So we decided to take the tour. The boat didn’t have normal seats instead it had these bench like things that you straddle, well those aren’t too bad if you had long legs or if you don’t have to straddle them for too long, but try doing it for 2 and half hours! I swear my thighs are STILL swore! The ride out was both bumping and long, it was a good half hour of consent driving and the waves kept splashing us, so I got pretty wet. And since it was kind of cold, it made it even better. So lets see, 2 and a half hours, straddling a bench, being thrown around, while getting wet and cold. Can you say, oh what, oh what joy! And after all that, did we see a whale yes, way, way off in the distance for about a second. All I got to see was just the tip of its grey head poking out. Yeah note to self, don’t go whaling watching again.
After that adventure my father-in-law came and got us and we went to the mall for dinner. Just because they had lots of food choices and it would be fast. I do have to say that my father-in-law was a saint putting up with driving us all over the place, now granted he didn’t have anything else to do and any excuse to get away from my mother-in-law must be a blessing to him, but still it was so super nice him. After dinner, which was Burger King (and only because we wanted to see if it was same as in North America, and for the record, yes exactly the same) we headed back to the house.
Friday August 10, 2007
After all the running around the day before and the entire week, I wanted to take it easy for Friday. All I wanted to do was go to the beach! It turns out I am much more of a beach person than I thought I was or maybe I am turning into my Mother! But here is the thing about going to the beach in my family we do beach in the morning, that is the way we have always done it. My godmother set the tone for us and that just how it was. You get up early, you go to the beach and you leave before it gets too hot so around 11am or so. We often then headed to a picnic area and had lunch. Those are some of my best memories as a matter of fact. Well for some reason my mother-in-law likes to go to the beach at 5pm, ok what the hell is that, the sun is low by then, it is colder and you waste the day doing what. I have never heard of anyone going at that time when they could go earlier. But Ok if you want to go at that time go ahead but don’t start in on us because we want to go in the morning!
Even though I had wanted to go in the morning Rick wasn’t all that interested in going. I kept asking him if he was ready and he just kept stalling, I actually started getting upset with him until he told me he just wasn’t into going. That pissed me off, because if he didn’t want to do that he should have said something earlier so that I did not piss most of the day away waiting to go. And I guess after he saw that I pissed off he agreed to go. We spent a few of hours at the beach and then headed back to the house. I don’t know why Rick wasn’t into it, we had a good time and he likes swimming, I just believe he had a bug up his butt that day.
After we got back we had to pack, since I knew it would take us a while. Since our suitcases were full coming to the island and now we were taking a lot of stuff back. But some how we got everything in them. The problem I had was that all the heavy stuff was in my suitcase and while we were allowed 50 Kilos per person, we were only allowed a max of 30 kilos per bag. I found out later it was because the baggage carriers did not want to lift very heavy bags, I can understand that. But since all the heavy things were in my bag and my rather large bag had weight 26 kilos when we came, I was concerned they would not let us pass with a bag that was too much over if at all.
But after we got everything all packed away we just took it easy. While the trip itself was fun at times and I did enjoy seeing the island, it took its toll on us. It was not the most relaxing trip we had ever taken. I swear we needed a vacation from our vacation. Oh, well one more night of sleeping on the rocks and yes even after sleeping on then for 8 nights they still felt like rocks!
Saturday August 11, 2007
Today was a very simple day, get up get dressed go to the airport. So that was what we did. Got up, it felt good to be going home. We had breakfast and got dressed. Finished packing, my already heavy suitcase weighted a lot more, since I had all the heavy stuff in it (the gifts we were bring back). We took it easy and then we headed out. We drove the last winding roads back to the city, we stopped for lunch and managed to ruin my t-shirt with oil (olive oil, I believe) and the we headed to the air port.
The lines were impressive for such a small airport, so we had to wait awhile in them. My suitcase was well over the amount it was allowed to be. We were allowed 50 kgs per person, but the max a single suitcase could be was 30 kgs (which I did not know) mine was 46 kgs. But they were really nice about it and just put a heavy tag on it and let it pass. It would have sucked if we had to get another suitcase, at the airport.
Rick’s family showed up to see us off, not only his Aunt and Uncle, but his Mom’s cousin and her husband as well. Which was really, really nice of them and it was great to see them one last time.
Then it was off we went, arrived in Toronto in late afternoon, grab a cab and headed home. Arrive home to a house that was still really warm (stupid AC was fixed the next day, well the new unit was installed the next day, thanks to some great friends, who took care of everything for us!). And spent the rest of night comforting our cats, who were more than a little us and freaked that we had left them alone for so long. The strange people coming to feed them and take care of them did not count to them. The dog we pick up the next day, and we were pleasantly suspired to find he did not eat any one at the Kennel.
So that’s it!
Magie
August 2, 2007
I often wonder why it is that no matter how much you plan, how well organized you are, or even how much time you have. There ALWAY, ALWAYS seems to be a tone of last minute things to do!
This trip was no exception. I was up late the night before finishing things, and didn’t get to sleep in, because of all the last minute things I had to do. What made it all worse is our air conditioner broke 2 days before, and of course it was during the hottest days of the year. Because of the timing we didn’t have enough time to get it fixed, so we roasted for 2 days. It was so bad, that I to shower 3 or 4 times in a day (in cold water) just to cool down and because I was soaked in sweat.
Anyway, we left for the airport at 4:30pm the cab was about 15 minutes early (great company, I have used them before and the last time they were right on time, I mean to the minute). The driver for some reason chose not to take the highway must of the way, whether it was because of traffic (rush hour) or not, I don’t know and since it was a flat rate I didn’t care.
We still got to the airport early at about 5:15pm and check in started about 3 hours before the flight which was 8:45pm. So we had to wait in an already long line before they even started to check people in. My husband started to complain that we were going to be rotting at the air port for too long and asked why we came so early. I informed him that if he didn’t like the way I plan things he could do next time. Though I knew we won’t be rotten, since I was super hungry and wanted to eat.
The different ways the Portuguese people do things, became very clear to me while waiting in that line. First any trip becomes a major production; the entire family goes to the airport and sees you off. (A rule I had already broken but taking a cab.) Then they stand around and wait with people (I have no idea why), then it is the luggage. The Portuguese have some thing written into their DNA that simply does not allow them to pack light. They can not do it. I try to pack as light as I can, many times I fail, but I do try. I am down to 1 suitcase and 1 carry on. Though the size of the suitcase may be big, but it is only one suitcase. I saw people there that had 4 or 5 per person, and since it was an entire family there was 20 bags. I swear I don’t know what I would do if I had to carry so much. As a matter of fact the women in front of me, turned to me and asked if I knew how much my bags weighted (we were only allowed 50kg per person, now I say this only because to the Portuguese that is not a lot). I told that I did not, since we hadn’t weighted ours (which was true, we didn’t know how much they weight though we were pretty sure we hadn’t reached our max) she asked if she could give us one of her bags, since she thought she was over. Now I am normally an easy going person, but first she started talking to me in Portuguese without asking if I spoke it (and I hate that) second she was both winy and pushing about it (and I hate both) so I told her no. She wasn’t happy about that but hey learn to pack lighter next time!
We got though the line and went in search of something to eat, we ended up at Coyote Jack and had burgers. I think I inhaled mine I was so hungry. After that we went to do some shopping (well looking, since Rick wouldn’t let me buy anything, since we didn’t have the room for it in the carry on. We went to the book store and I found a book on Portuguese sayings. The kind that allows you to say the most common things, like where is the hotel, how do I get to wherever and so on. I showed it to Rick and he started laughing because the way the words were written, it made the words in Portuguese sound less like they were suppose too and more like Klingon. After that we went though security, I had been waiting to see Rick go though this since he hasn’t been on a flight since the new security, measures came into place. He kept looking at me to confirm that the lady wasn’t kidding; yes dear you have to take off your belt, yes dear the shoes too. And then we got pulled aside and they asked us to open one of our carry on bags. They wanted to check Rick’s big film camera, they checked it over with this rode but then said OK. Funny how they left my camera completely alone. Buy the time we made it to the duty fee store it was already 7:30pm we got some gifts there and headed to our gate. We didn’t have long to wait before they started to broad people. In fact we were on the other side, on one of those internet stations and didn’t even notice right away. It didn’t matter since we were ones of the last ones in the plane, since then called it by rows number and ours was right before the first class. And it goes first class, then back of the plane to front.
The flight was not fun. I was originally worried because the women in the row next to us have an infant, but I swear that was the best behaved baby I have ever seen. Her 2 year old brother on the other hand was getting to me. But, that wasn’t the bad part. The flight left at 8:45pm (Toronto Time) and arrive at 6:30am (Azores Time) so even though we flew only 5:30 hours it covered the entire night with the time charge. And as much as I was tired I could not get comfortable or nor could I fall asleep. Which was not fun. Plus the plane was hot, like boarding on uncomfortable hot. So by the time we arrived I so wanted to hit the sack! Magie tired and then Magie get cranking.
Friday August 3, 2007We were off the plane and through customs quickly, the only real waiting we had was for the luggage. Normally it takes about 15 to 20 minutes for them to even get the convector belt going and then the first few bags start to arrive, but I guess since this is such a small airport and since we were the only plane to arrive that morning, all of the baggage people must have been just standing around waiting for the plane. By the time we got to the luggage, the bags were already coming out. It still took about 20 to 30 minutes before our baggage made there appearance. Then we went out to look for Rick’s parents since we had no idea where we going or even how to get there. The one problem with having someone give you a trip (and in case I haven’t mentioned it, the entire trip was a Christmas gift from my in-laws. Which of course was very sweet and extremely generous of them) is that you no longer have the control of what, when and how things are done. And my in-laws (god bless them) are not the must organized people. I did not even have their address, in case for some reason I needed it.
Well we walked out to where the people were waiting to look for Rick’s parents and all of a sudden Rick was being grabbed, hugged and kissed by a happy, sweet looking older lady. My first thought was who is this? But as I am thinking this she turns to me and says you must be Magie, I’m Rick’s Aunt. Now I don’t know if the people there are so thoughtful, that they go to the airport just to greet people or they just don’t have anything better to do and get up super early to see their loved one get off the plane. However both Rick’s Aunt and Uncle as well as his cousin were waiting to greet us. Which it turns out was a good thing because my father-in-law was late. And it wasn’t like we were going to go over to there house for a visit it was as I mentioned 6:30 in the morning. But never the less it was super nice of them.
My father-in-law showed up about 20 minutes later and then we were off, where you may ask, the market. Since the airport in close to the market and it was early and they could still get the very fresh stuff, it was the best time. After that we headed off to my in-laws house. I had thought it was just out the city, but it fact it is about 45 minutes away. Not a big deal but here is the thing I just found out about Sao Miguel Island. While I knew it was lush and green, I had no idea how hilly and mountainy it was. Also all the roads run along the same hills and mountains. So you can well image all the curves and turns, and curves and more turns, and they are NOT spaced far apart, you go from once curve into the next turn. I was car sick by the time we got to the house. So here I was a tired, sleepy and now car sick Magie (oh what fun, oh what joy).
I pretty much went to bed right away. My mother-in-law offered us something to eat but I wouldn’t have been able to hold it down. My in-laws place was my mother-in-law family house when she was growing up and since her parents passed away and they have started coming here regularly they have fixed it up and made it very cozy, and comfortable. It also is set higher up on the mountain so it has a great view all the way to the sea. All in all it is a great summer house. Every thing except the guest beds, the house has one bedroom and an attic that has been turned into a bedroom. It has one double bed and 3 single beds in it. The double bed mattress seems to be made with small lumpy rocks, and is a little too small for both me and Rick and the single beds mattress seem to be made from one large flat rock. So sleeping had been interesting to say the least. While I did try the small lumpy rocks at first my back was in too much pain in it. So I ended up sleepy in the if I roll over I’ll fall off the bed because it is so small flat rock of a bed. Somehow it is better.
We got about 5 hours of sleep that day. And then headed out to look around, as my in-laws said, great that sounded good to me. Well their idea of looking around and my idea of looking around are not the same thing. The drove us around over those same damn curves, up and down the mountain and showed us the views from this spot then from that spot and so on. I had thought they would show us the towns or villages close by, you know this is the supermarket, this is the church, this is the local bar. Stuff like that. I hadn’t even brought my camera, and wasn’t in the sight seeing mode yet. So it was a complete blur to me. I would later find out that for my in-laws views seem to be a big thing, which for someone that while she likes a good view can take it or leave it, has to now find the patience to ooh and aah at the views.It was kind of late by the time we got back, but my mother-in-law was up for going for a swim, and I never turn down a chance for a swim. So we headed to the shore. Sao Miguel, I found out has few beaches and all of them have black sand with lots of rocks on most of them, which is interesting (if not uncomfortable, big rock are not so good to lie down on). We took a swim in an area where there is a very small shore and some very rocking area. It is a place that if the sea is rough you will be blasted up on the rocks and made into paste. But it was still nice and the ocean was nice and calm. Then it was back to the house for dinner.
My in-laws place is on the side of a mountain (which a lot of house are since the whole damn island is either large mountains or big ass hills) and you can see all the way to the sea, which when you are sitting out back having dinner is a really nice view with dinner. We got to watch the sunset while having dinner. Then it was off to bed again and with the time difference neither of us were sleepy, so we spent a lot of time lying (not sleeping) in hard as rock beds!
Saturday August 4, 2007We woke up after about only 4 hours of sleep and had breakfast, then we all headed out to do some sight seeing. We first went to place on the island for swimming called Lagoa cute little village, which has a nice little lagoon that we swam in. I quickly learned that there is a cost for everything around this damn island. If you want to get into an area there is a cost if you want to use the showers (cold water showers, not even warm) there is cost. And if you happen to sit on the plastic folding chair to dry off, guess what: THERE IS A COST FOR RENTING THE FUCKING CHAIRS!
After that interesting swim, we headed out to once again see more views. A couple of hours of ohh and ahh over the stupid views of the island on this side of the island and on that side, we headed to the second city on the island (it only has 2, a lot of small villages but only 2 cities). Now I have already forgotten why we went there (I was that bored) but once I was there I found it very nice and pretty. I had wanted to do some shopping in the locate shops (I always love to shop in those small locate shops) but as it turns out even though it was afternoon on a Saturday EVERYTHING WAS CLOSED! The city was having some kind of festival and everything was closed. So, no shopping for Magie!
We did end buying some shell fish from a street vendor, called Lapas the island use to have lots of them and everyone use to eat them but they are now hard to find, these ones came from another island. Since we had never tried them, my in-laws bought some. Ok, for future information DON’T BUY SHELL FISH FROM SOME GUY ON THE STREET! Now at the time, I did not think it was a good idea, but who am I to say anything. It wasn’t that we all got sick or anything, but they have to be alive when you cook them or dead only a little bit. These were all dead, so we ended up throwing them out, now paying 30.00 Euro (which was about $45.00 bucks) only to throw them away is not a good thing. I think we were only able to cook 7 of them, so that was 2 per person. After buying the shell fish, we headed back to the house. We were all tired and all that driving round and round was a little too much for me. We had dinner (which included are 2 Lapas each) and hit the sack. Yeah, another night on the flat rock from hell.
Sunday August 5, 2007.I had decided that after the day before grand adventure that I wanted to take it easy that day. So Rick and I slept in a little, well as much once again as the lumpy and flat rocks would allow us. And then after breakfast we went to the beach, where I had planned to spend the day, with a little swimming, a little lying in the sun and so on. It went pretty much as planned, but once again Magie got smashed up against the stupid rocks at the beach, and found it hard to just swim. Then when I went to lying down in the sun, once again what do I find ROCKS! This entire island was nothing but ROCKS!!! I was really begining to hate those stupid rocks.
I did manage to enjoy a somewhat pleasant day. We even picked up a friend, this dog, we think it was a Beagle mix, just came over and lay down on my towel under our sun umbrella. He was sweet, even if he started to hog the towel. And the thing was that he just won’t not go, he just lay there. I ended up giving him some water (which was all we had with us) Rick said that he saw me, saw the word “sucker” on my forehead and knew he would have it set. He stayed with us right up until we left. We had to leave because even though we stayed under the sun umbrella, we were getting burned. So we just headed back to the house.
When we first got the island and my in-laws were showing us around they mentioned that there was a Pizza place in their village, when I asked them if it was good they said they did not know because every time they had gone, they could not get a table. To me that told me some thing. So as a treat and thank you, I made reservations at the Pizza place. At first my in-laws did not want to go because the only reservations I could get were for 8:30pm (they thought that was too late, even though every meal we had had been at 8:00pm so far), but then they decided to go ahead and go. The restaurant itself was very nice, all the tables were out on the cover patio and while they did had Italian dishes, the pizza was hand made in a wood burning stone oven, by a real Italian chef. They made one small pizza per person on a thin curst. Mine was so good!!! It was easiest one of the best pizza’s I have ever had. My in-laws however did not like theirs and they complained the entire meal, they did not like the place, their pizza was not good and so on. I think maybe Rick realized that I was on the verge of killing them, because he kept looking at me like it was OK. I really would like to know, who does that? Complains during the entire meal that someone else is paying for. I now believe that they have both have gotten to the too old and now are not happy with anything stage in their lives. It could have been the best meal, in the best restaurant made by the best chef and they would find something wrong with it.
Well after that “pleasant” meal it was home and off to bed (or rocks).
Monday August 6, 2007When my Mother found out I was going to the Azores she told me (not asked) but told me that while I was there I needed to get some Portuguese ID, since all I had was my birth certificate. She said, actually assured me that it would be easy and would not take any time at all. I KNEW this was not going to be the case, but in order to make Mom happy on the Monday morning we all headed out to the big city to get Magie’s Portuguese ID. As it turn out to be a good thing that we were not in the sun again that day, because both Rick and I got a little bit sun burned, though more Rick and me.
So we got to the government office, took a number and waited. It turns out they have just introduce a new card, this card would now replace 3 or 4 old cards. It would have the equivalent of my SIN number, my identification number and some other stuff. So I would only have to get the one card. Also this card was brand new, it was still in the pilot stage and was just release on Sao Miguel and one other island, so that they could work out all the issues with the program and then release it country wide. So these people are just learning this new process, they even are working from sheets to tell them what to do and I show up. Someone who has no Portuguese ID, that is not a resident and has no locate address. I thought the woman would start crying when she realized everything she would need to do. There were of course hoops to jump through and they had to call Lisbon a few times to see if I had ever been issued any numbers (SIN and such) even though I told them I hadn’t. But what really took so long (we were there for almost 4 hours) was that my in-laws did not bring any of their ID (now this is ID that they by law had to have on them at all times) and I had to have 2 people that were not related to me (by blood) sign declarations and confirm that they would they pick up the card on my behalf. So my father-in-law has to leave and drives all the way back to the house 45 minutes and then back another 45 minutes to get the ID. Now I don’t know much about how these things work, but even I knew they would need to have their ID on them. I was in fact surprised that we weren’t asked for DNA to prove who we were.
After all of this was finally done, Rick and I went out shopping, while my in-laws went to see about getting new tires. Even though there were a lot of shops (and they were open) they really wasn’t that must to buy. I looked for clothes and found nothing. I looked for shoes and found nothing I liked but I did find a whole lot of ugly who would wear them shoes. And I search for gifts to bring back to people, we had I really hard time finding anything as well. We ended up getting some local liquor for Rick’s friends who are helps out with the house. And I picked up a CD for my Mom Boyfriend who was helping look after our cats and we got a couple of t-shirts for Rick’s cousin kids. But that was it. When we met up with the in-laws, my mother-in-law asked to see what we bought, she liked the t-shirts, but then said that the liquor was what the old ladies drank and that people did not drink it. So after we looked all over hell’s half acre it turns out we did not do so well. Good way to ruin our good mode over finding something. As it turns out, the guys liked the gifts (the bottles came in a little pack with 2 little cups) and they had even had it before and liked it.
After the shopping we went to visit my mother-in-law cousin who there are very close to, they were really nice and it was a pleasure to meet them. They also had the sweetest cat, which made me miss my babies at home at more (I wish I could just take them with me whenever I go on vacation!). I believe after that we went back to the house and had dinner and then once again off to sleep on the rocks. You would think that by now I would begin to get use to the beds but once again I remind you, they were hard as fucking rocks! So, no getting use to them.
Tuesday August 7, 2007Today was to be a grand trip and we were to go the “Furnas” this is an area where they have hot springs and they have an area where the ground is really hot, so they have dug holes and people go there put a pot of food in and let the ground cook it. It sounds kind of interesting so why not.
The day did not start out well for me because I was not feeling well, but I tried my best to not let it affect anyone. We first went to a beach on the north side of the island but to be honest I don’t remember where exactly. The beach itself was nice and for a change rock free. The day itself was somewhat over cast, which for Rick was good because he was still a little sun burned. And while the water was nice, it even had a few hot spots and I mean that literally it had hot water coming from the ground. I step on a spot and had to move my foot fast before it burned. It however started to rain, not a lot just a little drizzle not big deal if you’re already wet. The big problem for me was that I was once again not feeling good. I got out of the water to sit on the beach in the drizzle and asked Rick to go get my pain pills. What pissed me off, was that my Mother-in-law then started acting like I was some great inconvenience to them, THIS COMING FROM THE “I AM A VERY SICK WOMAN” queen. I so did not need that from her of all people. But once I had taken my pills I was OK, still not great but much better.
After we decided to leave we went to shower and change (once again we had to pay) and after I showered (and got suck in to stall, stupid door wouldn’t open and the attend had to come and push it open). I met up with Rick who had this look of disbelief on his face. I asked what was up and he said that he had just seen a guy in the showers, ok so what was so interesting about that. The guy was smoking in the shower! WOW, now that is just wrong!We headed out to put our food in the ground, it had to cook for at least 5 hours. Now the place was kind of interesting, however it was VERY stinking. The entire place smelled like sulfur, can you say “YUCK”! We handed the man the pot (all wrapped up) and he buried it. But it started to rain and the rain would continue on and off for the rest of the day. It would drizzle enough to get you wet and make you miserable but not enough to make you want to head for cover, it was even raining with the sun out. The rest of the day was spent looking at boiling pits, getting wet by the rain, shopping at the little stands, getting wet by the rain, then driving around looking for a place to relax and getting wet by the rain. I think we stopped and had lunch at some point but to be honest all I remember was stinking pits and rain.
At about 5:00 pm we went to get our food, now they have picnic tables there so people can enjoy their food but because of the rain we decided to go home and eat it. The drive back was about an hour and half but the food was still hot was we got there. And after all of the trouble to go to this place to wait around in the rain, the food was not good. I personally only had a little bit because I still was not feeling good and with all the driving around in and out of the car, I was more then a little car sick. But everyone else said that it was not good. Oh well a big waist of time but that is OK.
Wednesday August 8, 2007Since we had such a busy day the day before and because I hadn’t been feeling well. We, that is me decided to take it easy on Wednesday. We slept most of the day away and only left the house later in the day because we were going to Rick’s Aunt’s and Uncles house for dinner. I had hoped to hit the beach again that day, but it just did not happen.
We did however get a call from the government office where I had applied for my ID card and they asked me to come back in to sign a declaration. So we had to make sure we were at the office before they close at 4:30pm. They wanted me to declare that I had been married in Canada, because all my paper work in Portugal still showed I was single, not surprising since I was 5 when I left. After we got that done, we headed to Rick’s Aunt & Uncle place.
We had a really nice dinner. Rick’s Aunt and Uncle and his cousins are all very sweet and welcoming people. We had dinner out on the back terrace but once again it started to drizzle luckily it didn’t last. But just like most Portuguese people they can not take no for an answer and kept giving Rick beer after beer. And for someone who doesn’t drink to have 5 or 6 beers. I was surprised he did not get sick. But all was well. Then after that great dinner and even greater company it was off to house and to bed, once again we hit the rocks!
Thursday August 9, 2007One of the only things I had looked into doing when we were in Sao Miguel was going whale watching. When we were in the city on the Monday I had spoken to a few companies about it. I ended up booking with one. Now one of the things I was looking for was to go on a non-rubber boat. The company I choose had 3 tours a day. One in the morning, one in the afternoon and one in late afternoon. But they could only guaranteed the non-rubber boat for the last tour of the day. I agreed to that. Interestingly when I told Rick why I book the last tour he said “Yeah right, we still won’t get the non-rubber boat”. I told him it was guaranteed, to which he replied “Yeah, but something will go wrong with that boat, and the rubber one will show up”.
We had some plans to go to a ceramic factory in Lagoa, that my in-laws had pointed out to me on Saturday when we were there to do some swimming. I really wanted to check it out, since I love blue and white ceramic. We got to tour the factory and see how they made this, it was all hand made and hand painted. The best was the shopping, we were able to get some nice gift and some nice stuff for ourselves.
After that we handed to the marina for our whale watching tour and sure enough what show up THE RUBBER BOAT. When I asked about it, guess what I was told; that the other boat had broken down so they had to use this one. I just looked at Rick and to his credit he did not say “I told you so”. So we could either go on the tour in the rubber boat or wait around for 3 hours for my father-in-law to come back and get us. So we decided to take the tour. The boat didn’t have normal seats instead it had these bench like things that you straddle, well those aren’t too bad if you had long legs or if you don’t have to straddle them for too long, but try doing it for 2 and half hours! I swear my thighs are STILL swore! The ride out was both bumping and long, it was a good half hour of consent driving and the waves kept splashing us, so I got pretty wet. And since it was kind of cold, it made it even better. So lets see, 2 and a half hours, straddling a bench, being thrown around, while getting wet and cold. Can you say, oh what, oh what joy! And after all that, did we see a whale yes, way, way off in the distance for about a second. All I got to see was just the tip of its grey head poking out. Yeah note to self, don’t go whaling watching again.
After that adventure my father-in-law came and got us and we went to the mall for dinner. Just because they had lots of food choices and it would be fast. I do have to say that my father-in-law was a saint putting up with driving us all over the place, now granted he didn’t have anything else to do and any excuse to get away from my mother-in-law must be a blessing to him, but still it was so super nice him. After dinner, which was Burger King (and only because we wanted to see if it was same as in North America, and for the record, yes exactly the same) we headed back to the house.
Friday August 10, 2007After all the running around the day before and the entire week, I wanted to take it easy for Friday. All I wanted to do was go to the beach! It turns out I am much more of a beach person than I thought I was or maybe I am turning into my Mother! But here is the thing about going to the beach in my family we do beach in the morning, that is the way we have always done it. My godmother set the tone for us and that just how it was. You get up early, you go to the beach and you leave before it gets too hot so around 11am or so. We often then headed to a picnic area and had lunch. Those are some of my best memories as a matter of fact. Well for some reason my mother-in-law likes to go to the beach at 5pm, ok what the hell is that, the sun is low by then, it is colder and you waste the day doing what. I have never heard of anyone going at that time when they could go earlier. But Ok if you want to go at that time go ahead but don’t start in on us because we want to go in the morning!
Even though I had wanted to go in the morning Rick wasn’t all that interested in going. I kept asking him if he was ready and he just kept stalling, I actually started getting upset with him until he told me he just wasn’t into going. That pissed me off, because if he didn’t want to do that he should have said something earlier so that I did not piss most of the day away waiting to go. And I guess after he saw that I pissed off he agreed to go. We spent a few of hours at the beach and then headed back to the house. I don’t know why Rick wasn’t into it, we had a good time and he likes swimming, I just believe he had a bug up his butt that day.After we got back we had to pack, since I knew it would take us a while. Since our suitcases were full coming to the island and now we were taking a lot of stuff back. But some how we got everything in them. The problem I had was that all the heavy stuff was in my suitcase and while we were allowed 50 Kilos per person, we were only allowed a max of 30 kilos per bag. I found out later it was because the baggage carriers did not want to lift very heavy bags, I can understand that. But since all the heavy things were in my bag and my rather large bag had weight 26 kilos when we came, I was concerned they would not let us pass with a bag that was too much over if at all.
But after we got everything all packed away we just took it easy. While the trip itself was fun at times and I did enjoy seeing the island, it took its toll on us. It was not the most relaxing trip we had ever taken. I swear we needed a vacation from our vacation. Oh, well one more night of sleeping on the rocks and yes even after sleeping on then for 8 nights they still felt like rocks!
Saturday August 11, 2007Today was a very simple day, get up get dressed go to the airport. So that was what we did. Got up, it felt good to be going home. We had breakfast and got dressed. Finished packing, my already heavy suitcase weighted a lot more, since I had all the heavy stuff in it (the gifts we were bring back). We took it easy and then we headed out. We drove the last winding roads back to the city, we stopped for lunch and managed to ruin my t-shirt with oil (olive oil, I believe) and the we headed to the air port.
The lines were impressive for such a small airport, so we had to wait awhile in them. My suitcase was well over the amount it was allowed to be. We were allowed 50 kgs per person, but the max a single suitcase could be was 30 kgs (which I did not know) mine was 46 kgs. But they were really nice about it and just put a heavy tag on it and let it pass. It would have sucked if we had to get another suitcase, at the airport.
Rick’s family showed up to see us off, not only his Aunt and Uncle, but his Mom’s cousin and her husband as well. Which was really, really nice of them and it was great to see them one last time.
Then it was off we went, arrived in Toronto in late afternoon, grab a cab and headed home. Arrive home to a house that was still really warm (stupid AC was fixed the next day, well the new unit was installed the next day, thanks to some great friends, who took care of everything for us!). And spent the rest of night comforting our cats, who were more than a little us and freaked that we had left them alone for so long. The strange people coming to feed them and take care of them did not count to them. The dog we pick up the next day, and we were pleasantly suspired to find he did not eat any one at the Kennel.
So that’s it!
Magie
We headed to the panel area, it was easy to find, just look for the long line full of women and chances are that’s it. Sure enough, that’s what we found. Even through we were there about 2 hours before it started we were about 30th in line. What is funny is that I keep seeing the same people over and over at conventions with James. I did joking say to Colleen that I keep seeing these same people over and over again and don’t they have anything better to do then follow James around, now mind you, in order for me to see them I would also have to be following James around and no I really don’t have anything better to do. I did run into some people that I knew, so it was great to see them again! I also got to see the photo book project that was done for James, I had sent in a couple of photos and one was even chosen. One I had taken at Fangoria. The book itself was done in a year book style and it was really, really, really well done! I got to sign both James copy and the copy for Steve (Himber).
We still got pretty good seats in the front row, but off to the side. Kelly had join us before we went in to the panel. I was excited to see the panel since it would be the first one I had seen with more then 2 people and the 
first with more that just James by himself. Though I NEVER minded seeing just James. The panel started at 1:00pm. They introduced all the guests, which were James Martsers, Elisabeth Rohm, Ken Feinberg and Juliet Landau. James of course looked great, he did say that he had just rolled out of bed and if that’s he looks when he just rolls out of bed, well WOW! The panel was great, the guest were all funny and the answers were wonderful, they all played off each other, had us laughing and enjoying ourselves.
my pictures done right away. I had 2 with both James & Juliet and then 2 with just James. I requested a hugging picture and then something fun. Our first picture was with all three just with our arms around each other 
and the second was James idea, it was him hugging me while Juliet look at us all upset. 
After the pictures which was held in the Marriott, I was really hungry since I hadn’t had breakfast. The Marriott had a gift shop that carried sandwichs so I went to get something to eat. Colleen and Kelly joined me shortly after they got their pictures done. After that Colleen and I headed to the walk of fame (the autograph area) Kelly was going to get some sushi and meet up with Matt. Once we got to the walk of fame we got in line for James autograph and of course the line for James was the longest. I left Colleen in line for what I thought was just a little bit, since I just wanted to check out everything. Well when I walked in, I realized that while James had a really long line many people either only had 1 or 2 people or even no one in line, so I ended up getting first Richard Hatch, then Aaron Douglas from Battlestar Gallictica autographs. Then Mark Sheppard autograph.
After that I joined Colleen back in line and by then the line was moving fast, since James
After that I got the last of my Battlestar autographs which was Jamie Bamber, Jamie did ask why was he the last one to sign get to sign my Battlestar poster, I told him because he was the most important and therefore I had saved the best for last. Those pretty boys you always have to stroke their egos (actually he was really sweet and was just playing with me).
James started making his rounds around the room and started at the other side of the room so we would be one of the last group to get James attention. While I often feel sorry for poor Matt because while he is a fan, he is also a guy that could care less about being that close to James and goes along for Kelly (now that is a nice boyfriend) but on a selfish note I like having him around because he keeps us laughing and lightens the mood. So waiting around wasn’t so bad. We ended up talking to some nice people that were also from Chicago and even the author who wrote Spark and Burn (the first Spike novel) she had brought a signed copy along with another one of her books for James.
He also talked about his current producer music collection and working on his new CD. I had mentioned that I really like his music and the only ones I wasn’t crazy about were ones he didn’t write and that it wasn’t until I went the songs and realized that he didn’t write it that it made sense why they just felt off on the CD. We also had a conversion about the blues, writing and signing it, as well as getting older and how great it was for him to be in his 40’s. It was around this time that James had leaned in and kissed Colleen on the forehead, when she mentioned having a memory of her 40’s. I would also like to say that she at that moment became impossible to be around and sent the remaining time mentioning it WHENEVER she could. Yes, we get it! James kissed you! Enough already, now can we get back to me already! Colleen also presented him with her gift, a Bollywood movie, which was an Indian version of Othello and there was a brief talk about the play. Which then went into relationships and how he admires the guys that come to see him with their women, and stand just behind them and how they must have “big dicks” (his words not mine) at this statement Matt asked how about guys that were standing just beside the women and motioned to Kelly, James then replied “Yeah, that’s what I mean. You have a beautiful women!” and pointed to Kelly and then pointed to Matt “and you have a BIG DICK!” It was meant as a complaint about those being secure with them selves and it was taken as that! We all did keep bring it up to Matt through the rest of the weekend, James Marsters said you had a Big Dick and so on!! Hours of fun, it has given us! I do have to say that we (well maybe me monopolized most of the conversion and when it was time for him to leave the writer had to rush to give him her books. As James was about to walk away, I told him thank you. I had meant for talking to us and being so open. He just smiled at me and said your welcome.
Since we were running out of time, James was only going to be there until 9:00pm and he wouldn’t have enough time to go around the room a second time. Steve decided that we would have a Q&A so he put James in the middle and have us gather around him and ask him questions. I can’t remember most of them, but there was some talk about his kids and how they were doing and how he disciples them and so on. Then some one asked him about playing at the mile high club and was he a member, surprising he didn’t know what that meant. He must have not heard the term before because no surprise he was in fact a member. He then went into how he had dated a porn star and had had sex in all kinds of weird places but that he much preferred just simple sex, in a bed and that he was really, really good at that. He also admitted to a threesome with a former girlfriend that was a dancer (I think on soul train) and a Buffy writing. I was a little surprise by that, not that he had a threesome (or several) or that it was with a Buffy writing but that he would admit it. I then asked him if it was true that he had lost his virginity in a threesome, I had read that and wanted to know if it was true, he looked right at me and said kind of sadly that yeah it was true, but that he was too young, he was only 13 (and yes the next day he said he was 14) but the article I read also said he was 13. He did say some nice things about the girls he was with but that he didn’t tell them he was a virgin and so it didn’t go all that well. He also said that people should wait until there are older maybe 17 before they have sex, some then asked how about his kids and then said that people should wait until they were 45 to have sex. I also got to ask him if he was able to have a jam session with anyone alive or dead who would it be, he started by saying: Dead, Dead and dead. He named people like Kurt Cobain, Jimi Hendrix and bunch of other then he said Bob Dylan who wasn’t dead but was almost, he also said the same thing about Keith Richards.
We went for breakfast and tried to find a ihop but couldn’t (even through we map quested it) so we ended up at a Waffle house. After that nutrition breakfast of chocolate chip waffles and bacon and eggs. We headed out to find me a pharmacy since by this time I was in real need of drugs!! My cold was now is full blown cold mode. We found a Target which had a pharmacy in it and I was able to pick up all the drugs I needed. I was also able to pick up a cell phone, since my Canadian one doesn’t work in the US (it keeps asking me to buy airtime and then wants information like a zip code, it just a mess so I have given up). I knew I could pick up a cell for cheap and get air time, and I found just that. That way my friends and I could keep in touch while we each went off and did our own thing. Colleen decided to get one as well. Pretty good phone for $15.00 and it worked great.
I had decided to go to the Battlestar Gallatica panel, so I had to find the line for that. It turns
After that panel, I once again had to find a line to stand in this one for the Firefly panel with Mark Sheppard and Ron Glass. I had seen Ron Glass in Toronto in July and found him not the most interesting speaker, OK but far from funny. Nice guy and I enjoyed meeting him, but just not the most funny in his Q&A’s. But he was a hundred times better on stage with Mark. Maybe he just needs some one to play off of. I enjoyed the stories they told and got to ask Mark about his role on Medium (which I really enjoyed watching) he told us about the audition for the role and what it was like.
been waiting a while because she didn’t want to go through the crowds, can’t say I blame her. I decided since we had a bit of a wait that I would head over to the autograph area to get my 2 remaining posters autographs. One was from X- files, I had gotten Tom Braidwood the day before but now needed Bruce Hardwood. I also need Ellen Muth autograph on my Dead Like Me poster.
However I had to wait for Ellen Muth. I had heard from people before I ever saw her that she looks really thin in person (and suffers from an
After that I rejoined Colleen in line. What is really great about waiting in line for any James event is you always meet the best people and we had a nice conversation with some great people. Matt came along at some point and join us in the way to long, glad we were close to the front because it is now wrapped around the hotel line. Kelly made it panel just after we got into the room. 
We took a cab to the venue and what a surprise there was already a line to get in, the door opened up at 7:00pm and the concert it self did not start until 9:00pm. So the line was to be able to get in so that we get a good stop to stand in line. The place was pretty nice and what was really great was that they served boozed so you could get drunk while you waited. We hadn’t wanted to sit near the stage because we would be looking up the entire time, so we chose the big comfy red seats in front of the stage, though they were a little further back.
For What I Need
After the concert Steve Himber (James Manager) came out and they held a charity auction. They sold the T-shirt James had been wearing the day before (the one he took the Friday photos in) they even said they hadn’t washed it and James took the shirt while they started the bidding and started rubbing it on himself. Man I wanted that shirt, but once it hit the $500.00 mark I just couldn’t do it. I believe it went for around $800.00. They also sold a picture of James at his concert in London at Union Chapel, his Dragon Con badge and some other stuff that I can’t for the life of me remember now. The last thing was James set list of songs for that night (written by James) it went for around $800.00 as well. Now anyone who won an item got to go back stage and have James personalize it for them with an autograph, so you not only got to get the item but a little extra James attention. The funny thing about the set list was after the auction the sound guy in the booth (which was right next to us) started laughing and held up a copy he had (also written by James) and joked about how much he could sell it for. Well I did go up to him and offered $40.00 but he turned me down. Oh well, I have seen James give his set list away before so no biggie. Beside I wouldn’t be getting any personal attention anyway, oh I mean giving to charity. Yeah that’s it.
We did a little better in getting up earlier on this day. We headed out for Breakfast. After that we hit the convention, it wasn’t as bad as the day before, but still pretty crowded. Kelly went to check out a panel discussion, while Colleen and I headed to the autograph area. I was hoping to get the rest of my autographs and be done with them all.
After that I got in the Star Trek, first for Gates McFadden who was nice and still looks great. Then for Brent Spiner and while I was waiting for Brent, John de Lanice showed up and since there was no one in his line I jumped out of the Brent’s and got his right away. He was nice but very disheveled, like he just woke up and hadn’t remembered to comb his hair and stuff. I was able to get back in line for Brent since Colleen held my place. Colleen then heading over to line up for the Buffyverse panel while I waited for Brent’s. He was super nice and was joking with me about only having one “G” in my name, saying stuff like why have extra letters if
you don’t need to and how it cut down on time to write it down and so on and even though he hair is now almost all white he still looks
I had to get out of the panel fast so I left just before it ended so that I could get to the picture area. I had pre-ordered pictures with both Jamie Bamber and Aaron Douglas but I hadn’t made it to any of their photo sessions so far and today would be their last one. I got then right as it should have been ending but they both had already left. James Marsters was going to be doing his Sunday Photos next, so since I had already pre-paid I exchanged them for more James pictures, hey you can never have enough of those right? I had to wait in line again, but it wasn’t bad. I really don’t know how these women always make it to this places way, way before I do. I mean I saw some of them at the panel, I left
the panel early (about 5 minutes before it ended) so how did they get there before me? Must be some James magic I haven’t found yet!
That line was even longer than the one the day before. But boy was it super fun, they guys were
I headed start to the picture area because I had a picture with Mark Sheppard also pre-paid. He was scheduled to have already been there but since he was in the panel, I figured he be there later. I actually had to wait a while since no one told poor Mark that he was to be taking pictures. He showed up about half an hour later and an hour after he was suppose it and apologized over and over again. 
We all got up and got ready, Matt had originally wanted to sleep in but then decided to join at
After that “fun” panel was the Star Trek: Data, The Doctor and Q panel. Since I wasn’t able to get to any of the other Star Trek panels I had wanted to at least catch this one. But must to my dismay only John de Lancie showed up and he was boring! I really don’t want to seem mean he was just very short with his answers and he just didn’t really seemed like he wanted to talk a lot which sucks in a Q&A. I got so bored that I headed out before the panel was over about half way through and ran into Matt who had come in to the panel since his had been moved to an earlier time without him knowing and therefore had missed it. So we both headed out. I wanted to go to the dealer room and really check it out. So that’s what we did. Matt is a really great people to go to a dealer room with because he noticed things other people (like me) miss altogether. We ended up at Georges Jeanty table he was the one that is drawing the new Buffy: Season 8 comics, and in my opinion doing a great job. We got to talk to him for a while and I bought a sketch book he was selling. He even drew me a picture in it, he asked who my favorite charter was and then drew my own picture of Spike! Cool!! We wondered around a bit more and were joined by Kelly and then Colleen. Then our Dragon Con experience came to a close.
The only time we really had for any sight seeing was Monday afternoon and evening so I had us scheduled to visit the Coke museum and then Atlanta Underground. The Museum was fun if not a little hoking at times but still worth seeing. A few fun movies and stuff. Also I was the only one who didn’t get sick in the tasting room, I knew enough not to drink too much.
reminded me of a flea market. We did not stay, even though we were suppose to have dinner there.
After that interesting little scene we all to wait in line for CHARISMA’S Q&A. Maggie and Shawn joined us there. Since the wait was a long one, a couple of hours Christine decided to go back to the dealer room and pick a couple of t-shirts she had seen and I told Rick to go with her since he had hardly seen any of it going from one line to another. When Christine came back she was alone, I asked her if she had lost a husband. She told me that he had disappeared right after she got there and sure enough he shows up a little later with a long thin box. He had bought a sword, actually Bill’s sword from Kill Bill. It was nice but I would have liked the Brides sword better. Oh well, I am sure I can still scare someone with who shows up at my front door that is unwelcome with it.
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