Our 50th Wedding Anniversary

Back in Las Vegas at the airport.   The whole story unfolds below.

Before we left on our mission to Poland, we started planning our dream motorcycle trip celebrating our 5oth wedding anniversary for the summer after we got home  We were going to go to Victoria BC in Canada.   We were going to go with David and Judith Nielson our dear friends.  They introduced us to the Church and sold Ross our first big motorcycle.  We decided to go to Canada because that is where we spent our honeymoon.  We had the routes all planned, Victoria, San Juan Islands and the scenic way home.  It would be about 10 days of wonderful riding.   

This is who ended up going.  From left to right, me and Ross, Judith and  David, Sheldon and Kathleen Ernsten  and our friends from Las Vegas, Nola and Paul Harber.  This was Monday morning about 7:30am as we were getting ready to depart.

We are on our way.  We are really looking forward to going through Mt. Ranier  National Park.

On the third day out we were in the park and there it is in all of it's glory, "Mt. Ranier"

This is one of the lakes in the National Park.  The weather was picture perfect and forcast to be for the whole ten days we were going to be gone. 

There was some road construction so we got off the bikes to stretch and take a couple of pictures.

We stopped in the town of Yelm for lunch and were leaving and heading to Port Angeles WA to stay the night and then catch tthe ferry over to Victoria the next morning.  However things didn't go as planned.   On our way up HWY 101, a car turned out right in front of Ross and I without looking and there was a huge crash.  WE had an airbag on the bike which everyone laughed at but it saved our lives as it blew up and catapulted us over the car onto the ground.   The next thing I knew was laying on the road on glass afraid to move as my foot and pelvis hurt.  Our friends told me that Ross was ok and then the EMTs arrived and the ambulance and we were taken to Mason General hospital in Shelton WA where we spent the next 2 days. After x-rays, I found out that I had broken my ankle in 2 places and would require surgery and a broken pubic bone on the other side.   Ross has some HUGE bruises and a split lip that required stitches.  That pretty much put an end to our anniversary trip.  Our friends left and took the scenic route home, not going to Victoria, (those are good friends) and we had to arrange a flight home.  I have to be in a wheel chair for the next 6 weeks.   That is so tough.  But it could have been so much worse.

This is what remains of the bike.

Pretty sad!!!!  It was a beautiful bike with brand new tires and we had many great rides on it.

Here I am in the hospital bed.   When the nurses found out that this was going to  be a specisl ride celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary, they went out of their way to make our stay as pleasant as possible.

Ross just got finished getting his lip sewn up and checked all over for other injuries.   

The nurses were amazing and helped us so much.     Christine on the left sent us home with a care package of stuff that she thought I might need, they got the wheelchair ordered and Carol the Social services nurse found us a Cabulance to get me to the airport.   These people were amazing.

There's my wheelchair, my mode of transportation for the next 6  weeks.

Here comes the Cabulance.  It was really cute and just so cool as it could lift me and the wheel chair right in without me having to shift into any other seat.  There was plenty of room for me, Ross and our stuff.

Here we are at Sea-Tac airport.  I'm waiting for Ross to get us checked in.  We arrived back in :Las Vegas and Kent picked us up in our car.  So how did we celebrate our 50th?? by sitting on our sectional eating take-out pizza rather than a wonderful dinner at a quaint resturant in Victoria with our good friends.................  Such is life!!!