Day 66 – June 8

After a leisurely breakfast I geared up for a hike to the river, just as it started to rain. Clad in my waders I was not to be dissuaded and headed off. I followed the trail that I had found the previous night and within 15 minutes was at stream side. The Englishman River, like many of the B.C. Rivers we have seen, is gin clear. Although I had not seen any signs of fish the previous night the river and its setting was too attractive to resist. I walked upstream for a ways and then fished downstream. Ate ran hour of unproductive fishing I headed back to the BRT only to coincidently ruin into Diane who was hiking out to the falls. Despite my inappropriate hiking attire, waders and fly vest, I joined her for the walk.

On the return trip we ran into a couple of Denman Island residents and we exchanged some useful travel and fishing info. They were interested in travelling to Newfoundland so we offered some guidance on where to go. They recommended that we stop at a nearby community, Coombs, on our way to our destination for the day, Tofino.

Coombs proved to be a popular destination as witnessed by the challenge we had in finding a parking spot for the beast. Our Denman Island guides had suggested that we eat at the Goats on Roof restaurant so we worked our way through what could only be described as a fairgrounds crowd to the restaurant. As it turned out Goats on Roof, complete with sod roof and yes, goats on the roof, was a speciality grocery store as well as a restaurant. Established in the 70’s by some self proclaimed ‘hippies’ the current establishment reflects its roots in the plethora of products offered in the store. There is not a preservative, artificial flavour or colour to be found on a label, which is reflected in the price tags.

The restaurant offered wild salmon burgers with sweet potato fries that attracted both of our attention. It was not only delicious but also very filling. After lunch we had monster sized single scoop ice creams while we walked around the other stores lining the street of the immediate area. A group of teenage buskers were performing on a series of home made xylophones and maracas, obviously really enjoying themselves and entertaining the crowd with the infectious rhythms of their music.

Goats on Roof

Jammin’

We headed west across the island through Port Alberni, which although close to the east coast of the island is on an inlets that flows to the west coast, almost cutting the island in two. As we climbed the coastal mountains towards Tofino the weather closed in and we passed through periods of rain. At points the road became quite narrow and twisty as it skirted the steep cliffs. Once past this constriction the road widened again and began its descent to the coast, accompanied by clearing skies.

We found our destination, Crystal Cove RV Resort where Sean and Carla were staying in the MRT, along with Casey and her boyfriend Alex in his parents Westfalia. There was a vacant site close by where we set up. Crystal Cove is a very high end park, with small but well separated sites. The lots are raked after each use and the common areas have beautiful well maintained gardens. In addition to the full hook ups, wifi and FREE fire wood the amenities were reflected in the $50 per night price.

Crystal Cove – Tofino

We had been gifted some frozen Halibut by Bev the day before so we prepared the main course of barbecued halibut accompanied by a rhubarb crisp Diane baked. We had a great campfire fueled by the free wood before retiring for the night.

Day 67 – June 9

After a restless night, Diane had a very upset stomach, we had a breakfast of egg mcmuffins hosted by Sean and Carla. Diane’s tender stomach limited her to toast and tea. We headed out back towards Nanaimo for our trip north in a new armadillo, with Casey and Alex in their VW filling the now vacant place of the LRT. The trip to Coombs was a repeat of the weather of the reverse trip the previous day. At Coombs we split off and continued north along the scenic 19A ocean road while the MRT and the fill-in LRT went on to explore Coombs.

Beauty on the beach

Along Vancouver Island’s east coast

Along the road I explored for possible fishing sites but nothing appeared worth stopping for. We found our planned rendevous, Miracle Beach Provincial Park and had just finished our reconnoiter of available sites when the others arrived. We had found a double site big enough for all three vehicles and quickly had a campsite set up and a fire going, with left over wood from the previous night.

It wasn’t long before a Rummoli game appeared and we spent the next hour or so disrupting the campgrounds with out laughs and groans. Casey peaked early in the game while Sean’s steady game had him in good stead for a win – until the last ‘winner take all left on the board’ poker hand which Alex, who until then was on the brink of cashing in his last chips, won, clinching a narrow margin over Sean.

Our fashionably late supper of spaghetti was courtesy of Alex’s father, an excellent cook, who had made a delicious sauce for the trip. Thanks.

Day 68 – June 10

Although we had planned a somewhat earlier start we were on the road by 9:00, after saying our goodbyes to Casey and Alex, who we wouldn’t see again September, and confirming our rendezvous of the night with Sean and Carla. With clear skies we headed north along the coast where we were treated to great views of the snow capped mountains with a backdrop of blue skies and white clouds, tourist bureau stuff. We continued north through Campbell River on Highway 19 which then veered further inland from the coast. We stopped at Roberts Lake picnic area along the way, at the end of a somewhat ominous logging road, really not a BRT kind of road but at the end was a lovely isolated picnic site with a great wharf jutting out into the clear water of Roberts Lake.

The lake was nestled in a valley with snow capped mountains at the end. Time spent fishing here would certainly not be wasted on any front so while Diane did her daily back exercises in the beast I tried my luck. Two boats trolling on the lake gave me some hope that at least there were fish in the area but after an hour my most positive fishing result was one smallish trout that followed my fly into shore. Diane joined me after finishing her routine and enjoyed the view (of the mountains, not my backside) while I tried, without any success, a variety of delicious looking flies on my line.

We explored a couple of other spots on our way north but most either proved difficult to fish from the shore or were effectively inaccessible due to their steeped sided banks. Weather phased from overcast, to rainy back to sun as we continued towards Port Hardy.

On the road to Port Hardy

Our destination for the night was the Port Hardy RV Resort, formerly the Sunny Sanctuary according to our guide book. Basically a grassed field with hookups, plywood stall washrooms and showers, a pay laundry with a broken dryer, at$37 a night its only redeeming virtue was its geographic proximity to the ferry terminal building, 10 minutes down the road.

We arrived at 5:30, in time to explore one more lake down a nearby logging road which was touted as the best cutthroat fishing in the northern island. Possibly the case but despite being close to the road steep banks and heavy undergrowth to the lake’s edge again thwarted my fishing efforts.

We arrived back at the ‘Resort’ as Sean and Carla were checking in and we all set about the now comfortable routine of setting up for the night. As the very expensive cost for the ferry was partially determined by vehicle length we had booked for a 23 foot long vehicle requiring that the bicycles and their rack be removed, about a $120 saving. As we had to be dockside at 5:30 the next morning, I busied myself with the extraction while I had daylight and a sense of humour.

Supper for us was left overs and some of Sean and Carla’s barbecued lamb chops eaten in the BRT due to weather and an infestation of noseeums. In light of a 4:30 start to the day we retired early-ish and watched some more of the movie we had started two nights before. It appears this is going to a serial movie.

This rant has been building for 60 plus days, starting with our first gas purchase in the good old USA. Firstly some background, to save us hassles we went to the trouble of getting US dollar VISA cards before the trip, which also avoided the incremental surcharge from VISA on every purchase. So at our first stop for gas at those attractive lower taxed American prices, I punch ‘pay at pump’ option and slip my shiny new credit card into the gaping yaw of the pump. The pump pauses for a second and then queries me ‘credit or debit’, I’m on a roll as I hit the credit option. Again, another pause and then I am challenged for a verifying zip code. It’s like playing Who Wants to be a Millionaire with Chevron, each question gets harder. Ever try entering a Canadian postal code into a numerical keypad?

No combination of pushing buttons was going to get me past this point so I yank the card out of the pump and head inside, I’m exercising the ‘call a friend’ option, where I find out a couple of things. Firstly America has not yet endorsed that new fangled chip and pin credit card technology. You know the one where the card owner has a 4 digit pin code (known only to them) uniquely attached to a chip imbedded right before your eyes, there in the card, the technology us back-water Canadians have been using for nigh on to a decade now. Oh no, down here its tight security – zip codes (you know the ones listed on line) and signatures (which are never checked) all the way, probably on the insistence of Homeland Security. I’ve never felt so secure as when I bought gas. Secondly it appears that gas and run must be the number one crime in America if the level of security associated with a gas purchase is any measure.

So now here is where it gets interesting, depending on the gas chain, the proprietor, phase of the moon, I could never break the code, a patron having a credit card but no zip code was confronted with one of several options:

-Lets call this one the Texas Hold’em option. You leave your credit card with the clerk, tell them what pump you are at (after your first round trip to the pump and back you learned to check that before going inside) the attendant turns on the pump, whose natural state is in the off position, and you pump gas, after which you return inside the station for the requisite signature ceremony. A variation of this, discovered by Sean, was to leave your wife, who happened to be in the washroom at the time, hostage until you return from the pump. Upon exiting the washroom Carla was told she couldn’t leave the building until Sean paid for the gas. BTW that variant of the Texas Hold’em scenario was only executed once.

-Let’s call this one the Bob Barker option. You guess how much gas you are going to need and the attendant rings it in, prints a receipt, which again you perfunctorily sign. From this point there are two variants. One is you pump your gas (if you happened to guess right the pump stops at the pre approved amount and you are done) . If you guessed high, the preferred outcome, after filling up you go back inside to get a new receipt for the credit you will get for the difference between your guess and the actual amount pumped. Confused yet?Other variants on the credit option is the attendants ‘promise’ that the credit will automatically be posted to your account and there is no need to go back into the station. That is the ‘trust me I am a professional’ variant on the Bob Barker option. The second variant is that they give you the credit back in cash – the pay me now variant of the Bob Barker option.

My worst experience with the Bob Barker option was in Washington State where a new attendant pre-approved a too small amount before noticing that I was driving a vehicle that had a gas tank with the capacity of the Exxon Valdez. That visit required that I pump his guess and then return to reset the pump for my guess to top off the tank and then go out and pump again. So in one stop I got the Bob Barker twice with a ‘trust me I am a professional’ closer – nice. I counted six round trips between pump and station – a personal best. I have entered hostile foreign countries faster and with less hassle.

It should also be understood that these options are sometimes delivered in person, face to face, over a counter while at other times by the Great Oz through a speaker from somewhere behind three feet of cruise missile proof glass. I knew my credit card was always safe when I slipped it into the stainless steel tray that served as the Great Oz’s hand.

Now I can’t finish the rant without talking about my favourite place to buy gas, Oregon. In its wisdom Oregon still requires that gas gets pumped by attendants, there is no self serve in the state. So you drive up to the pump, roll down your window and a fluorescent vest clad gas gnome appears. You pass the gnome your US Dollar credit card, tell them fill it up, they swipe your card and then they pump your gas. Servicing three to four cars at a time they return, when your tank is full, with a slip for you to sign. That’s it, no retinal scan, no cavity search, no spousal hostage, they just pump your gas. How can it be that simple. I hated to leave Oregon.

Back to my rant. Gas prices. Gas prices in the states are like Russian Roulette. We saw as much as a $1.00 per gallon difference over the 60 days. Aside from the understandable state variations that are tax driven (I think California is trying to dig its way out of Arnie’s deficit on the back of gas tax alone) there is a shocking station to station variation. The biggest difference I saw was in Oregon where there was a 25 cent per gallon difference between stations across the street from one another. Typically however prices dropped as you got into a town or city and then climbed as you left. The game was to find the sweet spot right in the middle. Hitting or missing the sweet spot was generally signalled respectively by the armadillo over the walkie talkies by yahoos or damns.

As we approach Canada I am looking forward to getting predictably and uniformly screwed with gas tax while being able to use my good old Canadian chip pin VISA card at the pumps.

Lessons learned :

-just because you can send little cars to Mars doesn’t mean as a nation you know Jack about how to sell and pump gas.

-it shouldn’t be easier for someone with a mental disorder to buy a hand gun than it is for a tourist to buy gas. Just saying.

I feel better now.

Day 65 – June 7

We were on the road by 6:30 creeping out quietly so not to disturb our hosts. Our sunny skies of the previous days had been replaced with overcast and a few drops of rain which, however, was predicted to pass quickly. Downtown traffic was non existent at that hour so we sailed through to the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal in plenty of time for our 8:30 departure. The 90 minute crossing was quiet and as we approached Vancouver Island the skies began to clear. During the latter part of the trip we were entertained by a guy with a T shirt that read ‘Crazy Hips’ who was a hoola hoop performer. He stood out on the deck and had a half dozen hoops spinning on every appendage while balancing on one leg. He turned them into a sphere and then balanced that on his chin, all in the wind of the foredeck. He finished by constructing a hoop out of tubing that was at least 6 feet across out and then spun it around his waist while someone stood next to him. Soon the foredeck was full of hoola hoop wannabes trying their best to keep the hoops from sliding down. Very entertaining indeed.

‘Crazy Hips’

After disembarking at Nanaimo we had some vehicle maintenance to attend to, a side wall had been victim to a piece of angle iron earlier in the trip so we stopped at a tire shop and ended up buying 4 tires, ouch. The sidewalls on the original front tires were starting to crack due to UV exposure and our spare was shot. Considering that we were heading to some very isolated areas with rough roads, although a bit of a financial whack, it was good insurance.

A second shop at a fishing store where I replaced my salmon reel which, either never got packed or somehow vapourized, and bought a BC fishing license. Our next stop was at our friend Bev’s house. Bev is a old friend of ours, she and Diane went to elementary school together and we hadn’t seen her for a couple of years. We had a great visit highlighted with some bubbly and a visit from two of her beautiful daughters, Laura and Charlotte. As an extra bonus Laura had her less than one year old baby, Isabella with her, we didn’t know that Bev was a grandmother – all the more reason for the bubbly. The great thing about old friends is that even after years of separation you can settle into a conversation like you were just picking up from the day before. After a great afternoon of eating and reminiscing we headed to the outskirts of Nanaimo where we planned to stay for the night.

Friends get better with age

The first park we stopped at, Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park was full, understandable on a beautiful Friday night just outside of Nanaimo. We were told that the next park, just 20 minutes away, The Englishman River Provincial Park had lots of space so we headed there. Any park with the word river in it was fine by me. This park was a dry camping park but it was only for one night and as we had bought some groceries in Nanaimo we were fine. While Diane did her back exercises I hiked the river and found, at the bottom of a very steep and slippery trail, a lovely spot to fish the next morning.

Englishman River falls

In 65 days this was the first night that we were by ourselves. We both felt a strange mix of cosiness and loneliness. As we were both still full from Bev’s great spread of the afternoon, we had some bread and cheese, washed down with an extra extra bitter beer we had purchased in Oregon. We watched Pirates of the Caribbean on my computer, at least until the battery died, which on a day that had started at 6, came none too early, and so to bed.

As I started to write my section of this blog entry I realized the date was also our anniversary of oh so many years ago, 31 to be exact. I quickly announced my happy anniversary greetings with the expectation that I would catch her. Carla quickly produced a very nice card and a beautiful gift of 3 oz. of coffee from the Seattle Space Needle gift shop… very thoughtful, well at least more thoughtful l than my simple pronouncement accompanied but NO card and NO token coffee offering. Anyhow, we were unable to figure out what the appropriate gift was for 31 years of grinding love and suggested a coffee sampler was perfect.
Managed to make the morning ferry to Canada with little issue although for some reason, we had every wire, cable, burner, BBQ, wash pan, towel and RV leveler in use the evening prior to a required early start… not sure how that happened but it all came together as an early rise pre-empted the alarms set for 6:00LT. The trip to the ferry and the crossing were uneventful and the egg-muffin sandwiches sold on the ferry increased the Rolaids sales in a sort of one-two profit punch for the ferry company, good on em’. But as we headed north across the channel to Victoria, the views back towards the Washington Olympic Peninsula with the snow-capped mountains with fog enveloping the coast were awesome.

Looking back on the US of A

The whole plan for the day revolved around getting to surprise Casey and Alex (Casey’s beau) at the airport in Victoria. Alex knew we were coming but didn’t know that we would make the Casey arrival. And of course, surprising Casey is always fun. Casey was coming to Victoria to work at teaching sailing for the summer with Alex, at Royal Vic YC. I had trekked with Casey in Nepal in March/April but Carla had done without the offspring’s company since Christmas in NS way back in December. Carla was motivated! Meeting the other RTers in Grand Canyon on 1 May and Casey’s arrival in Victoria on 5 June were the only dates that we had fixed in our entire 46 (as of 5 June) day trip so far. But first, our driver’s side power window had started making a sound like ground metal when lowered, so off to a glass place to have it checked. We had been able to use the last of our Verizon wi-fi device signal to call ahead from the ferry and warn them of our arrival. Within 40 minutes they had it apart and discovered a weld had let go. While having coffee and tea they had repaired the weld and put it all back together, perfecto and less than 60$! Excellent advice on the where-to-go Diane, thanks.

Then off to the downtown information (Victoria is gorgeous, I used to live her eons ago when my mode of personal transport was a trike) bureaus then to the airport to surprise Casey and Alex (who was waiting for Casey). We lurked around trying to surprise him but he had noticed the fairly obvious PleasureWay RV with Novi plates parked in the smallish parking lot, damn! As we entered what we thought was the alternate door he was standing there waiting for us. We caught up with Alex before Casey arrived and then hid with the idea of coming up behind her but she soon spied us and with much high-pitched squealing and tears we were re-united (for the record, no squealing from Sean or tears, just man-mist)

Airport Greetings

We followed Alex & Casey back to his parent’s place in Oak Bay where we were to be parked for a day or so. Impossible to overstate the hospitality of Leila and Barry and the food, oh my God! Day 1 for dinner was beef tenderloin, asparagus, carrots, small spudlys and Yorkshire puddings with gravy and all paired with local NW US and Western Canada wines, fantastic. Leila’s Apple pie and ice cream, for those that had room, followed. Excellent again! A big sleep followed and no need for mobilizing the following morning was much appreciated after that mornings early start.

June 6: We think the troops were up earlyish at 10AM with Casey and Alex much later. Groceries for the pending camping trip with Casey & Alex followed lead by Leila with Carla. I took Kya, a very large dog that could have starred in the ‘Maple Kind’ YouTube videos, for a walk along the shore. Alex had to teach sailing and Casey had an orientation at the yacht club at 3PM so we followed and had a drink on the yacht club terrace. A very nice and friendly club in a beautiful setting, they will have a great summer together here no doubt. Then back to the house for a little rest then more food. Barry enjoys decompressing from his work by cooking snacks and appies when he gets home. By sitting nearby you are treated to blue-cheese spread… all homemade, crab cakes from scratch with fresh made tartar sauce from scratch, scallops and bacon, cheeses, smoked salmon , etc. etc. Wish we could stay for the summer but the RV butts would grow ever wider with this treatment. And did I say more wine washed it all down? On night two we treated to dinner at a nearby pub called the Snug in a waterfront hotel called the Oak Bay Beach Hotel that had just been renovated. Among many features it had a classic old Rolls Royce to pick up special guests from the airport such as Sting that was just in town for a recent concert. Dinner was stalled to allow Alex to join in after teaching evening adult sailing but there was less food in evidence as many were still stuffed from the earlier food splendor at the house. Most excellent!

June 7: we dragged ourselves away from the comfort and hospitality of Leila and Barry’s lovely home in Oak Bay and headed out. Casey and Alex had the family Volkswagen Camper Van and lead/followed us to the Capitol Iron store, a combo Canadian Tire, Binnacle, MEC/Coastal Mountain Sport kind of place with an excellent marine section and nautical clothing. Carla and Sean are now outfitted with slightly warmer gear and Sean is no longer required to wear his ever drooping Gap (from Bend Oregon) 11.32$ blue heavy sweater everywhere.

Was 11.32$ too much for this sweater?

Then we went onward northbound through stoplight after stoplight and lots of construction towards Nanaimo for lunch before heading west for Tofino for camping and surfing. A nice lunch in Nanaimo at a real fish and chip place on a barge in the harbour was fresh halibut and fries, not cheap, but very, very good. We arrived at Crystal Cove before 6PM and setup camp with both of us fitting on a single spot.

Two to a spot…

The campground RV area has great spots where the next site can be just 5 feet away but you can’t see them due to the dense foliage. And wi-fi and FREE firewood were provided. After spending as much as 12$ for 4 sticks in desert area this was a real treat. The campground is just before the village of Tofino and with water on both sides, the western boundary is all lovely beach. Kabobs on the grill, a nice fire and some perfect Goslings and ginger-beer (thanks Leila & Barry) to make dark & stormys topped off the end to a perfect day. Given the amount of food we have consumed in the past 72 hours I suggest we push the RV to the ferry at Port Hardy 

Happy Campers on the beach at Tofino

More Happy Campers

Day 64 – June 6

We awoke to another uncustomary sunny Vancouver morning. Diane retired to the beautiful garden that backs Erin’s apartment where she was soon joined by Alex’s aunt, Allison, who owns the house and lives on the upper floor. She is a retired school teacher and a very pleasant woman who served Diane with a morning coffee, toast and newspaper.

We had decided the night before to spend the morning cycling on the waterfront with Erin and Alex. After extracting the bikes from the rear of the beast and getting them road ready we were off, our own little helmeted armadillo. With Alex in the lead and Erin picking up the rear we plied our way through the less trafficked back streets down to the Kitsilano waterfront.

Vancouver is an awesome city for cycling with many dedicated cycling paths, some even separated from pedestrian paths. The waterfront is fully accessible and cycleable with spectacular views of the ocean, mountains and the high rise towers of downtown Vancouver. That access leads to a significant amount of cycle traffic both for recreation and commuting.

We stopped at a cafe along the way for a coffee and pastry and then locked up our bikes and walked around Granville Island where we looked into some of the many shops and explored the market, sort of a smaller version of Seattle’s Pike’s Market.

We also stopped in at the Granville Island Brewing Company tasting room where we sampled a number of their creations. Our favourite was the Imperial Ale, a nicely hopped but not overpowering beer.

Alex is a beer fanatic, certainly not reflected in his waistline, and loves to sample new brews so he was a great guide on what was hot and what was not. Alex gifted us with a couple bottles of this along with some of his favourite beer from Blue Bottom brewery for later in our trip. Nice gift.

Next we went to the Gallery where Erin and Alex work part time. A small gallery specializes in First Nations art and had everything from large wooden totem-like carvings to delicate earrings on display. The owner has a great eye for quality and design and all the works reflected that aesthetic.

We headed back home for a quick change of clothes and then courtesy of Allison we were dropped down on Main Street, an area full of interesting shops and restaurants that Erin and Alex thought we might enjoy. Alex wanted us to see one of his favourite antique stores, Baker’s Dozen. Talk about memory neuron flashes, for some reason that I cannot fathom, upon seeing the store I remembered that a woman I had gone to high school with, Heather Baker, ran a store in Vancouver that specialized in antique toys – could this be the store. I was disappointed to see that the woman behind the desk was not Heather but couldn’t resist asking if the store had been owned by Heather at one time. I was told that not only had Heather originally owned the store but that she still did. Unfortunately she had left early for the day but did call in before I left the store so I had a chance to touch base. Very neat and spooky at the same time, it is a small world.

On our way to supper we stopped at the Portland Brewing restaurant which was at the end of its craft brew competition week so again, with Alex’s assistance we got to try some unique craft brews that normally are not on tap. One of the joys of a great walking and transit city is that you don’t have to worry about driving home.

Our next stop was a favourite Indian restaurant of Erin’s,the more economical side of Vij’s right next door. Not only was the food great but you could buy frozen portions. Erin, who seems to have developed her mother’s sneaky habit of paying for the bill behind my back, had not only treated us to dinner but bought us some frozen portions to go along with Alex’s beers.

We returned home to do a bit of packing in preparation for a 6:00 start the following day as our ferry to Nanaimo left Horseshoe Bay, north of Vancouver at 8:30. It was the end of a really great day in a beautiful city that had put on its best possible weather performance for us. It was a real treat not only to slow down for a day but to spend some time with Erin and Alex as they planned our day. Somewhere along the line I missed when our little god daughter became a woman. It was great to meet her.

I was under directions from Dennis and Esther to do some early reconnaissance on Alex as they have not yet met him in person. Taking my job seriously, Erin is very special to us as well having seen her grow from a little belly bump to a beautiful woman, I watched him closely and at the end of the gave him an unqualified two thumbs up. Erin has done well and so has Alex.

Day 63 – June 5

Life is full of decisions. This morning at the sumptuous Days Inn courtesy breakfast it was Corn Flakes or Raisin Bran, tough start to the day. We are on the road to Van today. After 62 days in ‘merica we are ready for some familiar accents and attitude, although come to think of it, Vancouver, the cultural melting pot that it is, probably won’t feel much different than Seattle. We are looking forward to seeing Erin, whom we haven’t seen since Christmas.

This is the first we have been on the highway alone since day 2, and we are missing the walkie talkie chat either from the lead vehicle of the day for navigation, calls for pit stops or just general ‘look at that’ comments. To fill the void Diane and I tried talking to each other on the walkie talkies but had to a abandon that due to feedback, it just wasn’t the same.

We travelled on the quieter and slower #9 until we were north of the bridge failure across the Skagit River and then joined the traffic on the #5 north crossing the border uneventfully at Peace Arch Park at about 1:15. I turned on my phone for the first time in 60 days and had a quick Face Time conversation with Erin and notified the rest of the armadillo that we were all in the same country again, at least for a while.

Funny thing, crossing the border. The asphalt looks the same, the sky and trees look the same but still it feels different, even thousands of kilometres from our bricks and mortar home it still feels like home. We are so lucky. We have crossed another milestone in our trip.

My GPS got us to Erin’s address in Kitsilano with no problems, although on some of narrow streets with parking on both sides and construction trucks working the BRT ate up all of the available asphalt but Diane did a great job of threading her way through.

There was a good parking spot right on the side street right next to Erin’s basement apartment and by the time we were parked she was out to greet us. It was great to see her again after so many months. We spent some catching up and being shown around her new digs, very nice indeed, hardly a basement apartment as it is at grade and has full sized windows with lots of light. We had a couple of errands to run so we purchased a book of bus tickets and headed to Broadway. Diane was in need of a haircut, although she cuts my hair apparently she doesn’t trust me to return the favour, go figure, and I was in need of a camera cleaning.

Erin found a place where we were within walking distance of both so while Diane was being shorn Erin and I walked to the camera store, then to Future shop for a battery and to a cafe for some refreshments while we waited for Diane. It was getting close to supper time so after some discussion we headed towards a popular sushi restaurant. Erin had been texting with her boyfriend Alex who was going to join us there after work. Unfortunately for us the restaurant was closed on Wednesdays so with a quick change in theme and country we headed for Mexican food at Las Margaritas on W 4th Ave. Alex did a mid course correction and made it to the restaurant before us and had us on a waiting list for the outside patio.

Las Margaritas

The restaurant is very popular and we did well to get a spot outside. The weather was great, sunny and warm so the outside heaters proved unnecessary. After a great meal, washed down with local beer and a requisite margarita we headed to the water to watch a beautiful sunset along the sea wall. There was a group of about a dozen couples practicing their salsa dancing and bikes streamed by everywhere. It’s easy to see why Erin has become so attached to Vancouver.

On the 20 minute walk back to Erin’s we passed through great residential areas with beautifully landscaped properties. The roses are in bloom or past bloom, unmowed patches of grass were a foot tall and the trees were all in full bloom. Even after the rain forests of Oregon, Vancouver feels lush.

Once back at Erin’s apartment we sat up till late making plans for the next day.

We have arrived in the Yukon

For those wishing to follow our adventure go to

nomads2013.wordpress.com

Well, the last leg of the armadillo split off this morning saying “See you later” to Phil and Dianne. P and D or PhiDi as I like to call them moved on to the Seattle Arboretum, a must see on their list while Carla and I planned to retrace our steps a little as we head back to Port Angeles to catch the ferry to Victoria tomorrow. We are routing ourselves via the Bainbridge Ferry and Port Townsend. Port Townsend we visited a few days ago and so liked the place we thought we should return to finish off some unseen items like the antique nautical store and stained glass museum/store.

But first it was a delicious Days Inn breakfast (OK, not so much but sort of free) before hugs from our BRT folks (Jane and Ike are now well ahead in Alaska and July will be the next time we see them, but we hope to catch up with Phil and Diane again in a few days after they see Erin in Vancouver and then head over to Vancouver Island to catch up with us in Tofino).

But first, it was off to the Space Needle (big 500+ feet tower made famous for many reasons and always featured in the opening credits of the Fraser TV sitcom).

The Space Needle

And next door to the Space Needle is the excellent Chihuly art exhibit. Massive chandeliers, plants, pots, trees, etc. all made from colourful blown-glass that pushed the envelope of technology when first developed. The designer has installed these massive glass displays all over the world from the canals of Venice to the citadel in Jerusalem. The theme seems to be various floras but also native art influences. Truly remarkable!

Glass Flowers & Trees

Chihuly Glass Tree and the Needle

But first it was up the Space Needle for some fantastic views of Seattle, the many surrounding bays, harbours and inlets and in the distance, crystal clear vistas of the mountains that dominate the skyline.

Seattle Skyline with Mt. Ranier in the distance

Seattle Waterfront (nice city)

We left the Space Needle Park and headed back to the Pike Street Market, famous in Seattle for most of the past 100 years and made some purchases based on browsing the previous day. No doubt Phil will cover this in detail but suffice to say the choice in fresh everything was amazing. Huge floral bouquets that cost $70 at Janet’s Flowers in Dartmouth were 15$ here and just prior to closing at 5PM they dropped to 5$, not that much was left as Seattleites like their fresh flowers. One very large vendor was busy throwing fish about with much cheering from onlookers. One monger would shout something about the fish they were about to move, then the other several mongers in the same stall would sing back and then the fish, sometimes 15-20lb salmon went airborne, were caught adeptly and placed on a fresh pile of ice for the next buyer to consider. All street theater and quite fun to watch…

For Carla and I, it was a few purchases and then focusing on fresh seafood as we picked up smoked and peppered salmon, 4 very large sea scallops, a massive ‘fancy’ lobster tail and 2 cobs of excellent yellow corn. Our 95$ meal will be prepared when we eventually reach the Port Angeles area National Park later this evening. The motto, as we all know, is never shop when hungry.

We stayed at the KOA which had rated 2 of 5 on TripAdvisor, not encouraging but it turned out OK. A final fire with wine (had to get rid of some wine for the return to Canada), boiled corn and BBQ scallops and lobster worked great. We split the shell of the tail and filled it with butter as it cooked on top of tinfoil. A success!

That’s some lobstah!

Tomorrow, the return to Canada, haven’t spent much time these past several months. For Carla and I it marks the 47^th day of being in the states since we left. And Casey arrives in Victoria tomorrow to start work with her Alex teaching sailing at Royal Vic for the summer so all smiles here in the LRT 🙂

Day 62 – June 4

After our breakfast courtesy of Days Inn we had a quick au revoir with Sean and Carla as they headed to Victoria. Our plan for the day was a visit to the Washington State Arboretum and its included Japanse Garden. The property of the arboretum is owned by the City of Seattle but the trees are planted and maintained by Washington State University. Admission is free. However the Japanese Garden is maintained and operated by the city and there is a $6 entry fee.

We started at the Japanese Garden which was beautifully done. Seattle is a sister city to Kobe Japan and Kobe has contributed much to the design and construction of the garden. As we were there shortly after opening we pretty much had the gardens to ourselves, perfect for the contemplation that the setting urged. As we walked the paths through the garden, the large coy pond and the lovely Japanese Tea House slipped in and out of view. An array of various Japanese maples, pine trees and japanese lanterns adorned the paths. It was a lovely morning.

The Japanese Gardens

After the garden we stopped for a tea and coffee at the visitors centre and then walked the grounds of the Arboretum. Noted especially for its rhododendrons and azaleas the walk would have been spectacular one week earlier. Many of the blooming plants were just slightly beyond their prime but still provided ample photo opportunities.

We returned to our hotel to drop off the BRT before catching the bus to downtown. We wanted to seethe space needle and some of the other sights in the area. Now Seattle is a big city and in my experience, like most big cities, seems to have a disproportionate attraction for unique personalities. Some of these could be described as characters, some as eccentric and some as damaged, people who for one tragic reason or another don’t have all the wires in their personal switch board plugged in.

For some reason the 3:06 bus on route 358 seemed to be a collector for the latter category. Several of our co passengers carried out conversations with unseen companions, others entered into aggressive conversations with anyone who made eye contact, while others hid their eyes behind hoods and hats and some just twitched involuntarily in their seats. The whole sociology experiment was kept under control by a bus driver who shouted back instructions to shut up to anyone who broke her self imposed code of silence.

Thanks to one very helpful passenger who had befriended us at our bus stop we got off at the stop closest to the iconic Seattle space needle. Close to the needle was the EMP Museum. The Experience Music Project Museum was founded by Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen in 2000. The Frank Gehry designed building is a striking sculptural counterpoint to the adjacent needle.

Gehry’s EMP

Although seeing the needle was part of our plan our real goal was to visit the Chihuly Garden and Glass. To say that Dale Chihuly is a glass artist is like saying Da Vinci was a painter. Chihuly has taken the art of glass blowing far beyond anything that could have been imagined 40 years ago. His installations are breathtakingly beautiful in their unique combination of colour, shape and fragility. At the outdoor section of this gallery his work is paired with plants in a way that enhances the beauty of both. We have both long been fans of his work but this was the first time I had seen actual pieces. It was one of the highlights of our trip to date.

By the time we left the display we were ready for supper and based on recommendations from Dennis, Esther and Erin we headed for a pizza at Serious Pie, an unassuming small restaurant that would have been easy to walk by. Complete with a wood fired pizza oven and convivial staff the Serious Pie turned out two of the best pizzas we have had since Tuscany, simply fantastic. The cannoli desert was the perfect ending to the meal.

Walking off a very small portion of the calories consumed we returned to the hotel to do a laundry and post our ventures of the past two days. We are off to Vancouver and after over 60 days back to Canada tomorrow.

Day 61 – June 3

An unceremonious awakening at 5:30 A.M. thanks to some curious crow bent on inspecting the BRT’s rooftop paraphernalia. Luckily our installation seemed to be in order and the inspection ended quickly.

We were on the road 9:30 ish headed for the Clinton-Mukilteo ferry at the south of Whitbey Island, pretty much having had our fill of the excitement of ferry watching as a spectator sport. Although the skies were clear when we departed we soon drove into fog and clouds as we headed south, not a good sign. It is taking some time to get used to the volatility of coastal weather again, especially coastal weather next to mountains.

As we had been dry camping for several days and as Casey State Park did not have a dump station we had to make a side trip into the South Whidbey State Park to use their dumping facilities, one of Sean’s favourite parts of RVing.

We stopped at Freeland for a late breakfast for Sean and Carla. They were downsizing on provisions as they probably won’t be cooking as much during the next week on Vancouver Island while they are visiting with Casey.

Freeland

We made it to the ferry around 11:30. Although the ferry runs every 30 minutes even with our early arrival we were one of the last vehicles to board. Again it was a very pleasant crossing and we were soon making our way south on the I-5 to our motel. We decided that we wanted to be closer to downtown than a campground would allow so we booked two nights at a Days End north of central Seattle.

Once we registered for our rooms and had a quick change of clothes we joined Sean and Carla in their vehicle for the trip to downtown Seattle. Their vehicle, being smaller is much more big city downtown friendly. It was about a 20 minute drive in traffic to a public parking area close to the Pike’s Market. Pike’s Market is an amazing zoo of activity selling all manner of produce and product to all manner of people. From fish mongers, to flower merchants, to artists, musicians, and restaurants you could probably survive comfortably within the confines of the Market and never have to leave except to sleep.

There is no bad gelato

We walked out of the market to find the ‘gum wall’ a piece of dynamic public art made out of pieces of gum. It defies description and is constantly changing as new ‘artists’ add their personal touch, including, in some cases business cards pressed into the fresh ‘paint’ imagine my surprise when from some distance I spotting HRm logo business card and find the business card of one of HRM’s Councillors pressed into the piece. I later confirmed by e-mail that the card had only been left the day before, talk about a small world.

The ‘gum wall’

Does your chewing gum loose it flavour

After exploring an antique mall and Pike’s Market we walked the waterfront and paused for some refreshments under Seattle’s version of the London Eye, a 43 gondola Ferris wheel that provides spectacular views of Seattle’s waterfront. Later we stopped at The Crab Pot for a seafood dinner. As you might expect from the name this restaurant is known for its crab which is served steamed at your paper covered table by being unceremoniously dumped from a bucket onto the table top. Patrons are provided with a bib, a wooden board, and a mallet and basically told to have at it. In light of the smashing, bashing and flying crab body parts that ensued the bib should have been a tyvek body suit but we all left fully satisfied with an authentic west coast seafood meal.

We returned to our hotel to enjoy a bottle of Prosecco that we have been carrying for far to long to celebrate the last night that the mini armadillo will be together for a while. For those of you who have been waiting on tenter hooks for the blog address of the LRT here it is, and they have been busy posting so you have some catching up to do.

http://nomads2013.wordpress.com/