Biding Our Time in Bellingham, Washington

After getting our broken awning stowed and secured with duck tape, we left Castle Rock, Washington and drove north to Mount Vernon for repair. After a false start at the local Camping World, techs at Poulsbo RV in Mount Vernon  removed the awning apparatus and the insurance claim was begun.

Unfortunately, our Mount Vernon campground was fully booked and we had to leave after just two nights. Knowing the insurance claim and new awning order would take weeks, we decided to continue north to the Bellingham area where we hope to have more pleasant temperatures than the high 80s we had since we were in Eugene, Oregon.

The first few days in Bellingham were filled with angst over the repair schedule and we argued about how to handle the whole situation. I suppose we were feeling the pressure of having been forced to leave the area without a clear understanding about how the schedule will work out. Repairs while traveling can be a nightmare.

But Bellingham turned out to be a good base of operation for awhile. Early on, we had two days of mist and rain but they were followed by many days of sunshine and mild summer temperatures. With lots of our favorite retailers nearby, we took advantage of some summer sales. We do, after all, wear the same seasonal clothes year 'round.

Just 30 miles from the US/Canadian border, we've come to look upon Bellingham as a "little Canadian metropolis" as shopping is plentiful here and there are as many British Columbia license plates as Washington state ones.  We've seen dozens of Canadian license plated cars  filled to the brim with goods on their way back across the border.  I read a that prices in Bellingham are higher than the national average for that reason but I  never noticed anything being overpriced. One store clerk said 75% of the area sales are to international buyers.  Someone else said the Bellingham airport served more international than domestic flights. As we shopped, I heard as many foreign languages as English.

As it turns out, the insurance company requires an adjusters evaluation on both the broken awning and the coach so days turn into weeks before the replacement parts can even be ordered.  At this writing, we're into our second full week in Bellingham. 

U.S. Homecoming -- The Hard Way

It doesn't take long for us to get homesick for the United States.  Don't get me wrong, I love Canada. It's my father's homeland, I still have relatives here and I'm proud of all that.  But the day after we visited Whistler we decided to come home.

Despite the ferrys, border crossings and island hopping, we've remained within a small area, geographically, ever since Port Townsend.  At Squamish, we're barely a half day from the US Border at Blaine, Washington.  That's where we'll celebrate our "homecoming" today.

The return ride south on the Sea To Sky Highway was almost as awesome going south as it had been going north.  It might have been even better because it was easier for me to hold my camera out the window for photographs.

Metro Vancouver was different though.  Oh! What traffic!  Road construction... signs everywhere. Bridges being built, resurfacing and narrow lanes. But we did it.  Here are some of the traffic photos.


This has to be the worlds skinniest car.  I swear it couldn't have been more than 3' wide.

The city from the bridge

Vancouver's elevated train

Nice suspension bridge being built.

Aside from the harrowing drive, he ride was uneventful.... Until we got within two miles of the border.  Electronic signs warned the wait through this border crossing might be as much as an hour.  Fine -- we'll eat lunch while we wait.

And finally, after the anticipated hour (give or take), we reached the border station.

We're about 25 cars away here.

Wayne and I are law abiders. . Anything we're supposed to do we do and the same goes for things we aren't suppose to do.  We are pretty truthful too -- especially when crossing the border.

Last year when we came through this same Blaine, Washington border crossing into Canada, we were held up for a random search and I thought it was a pretty stupid choice on the Canadian Border Patrol's part to select us.  After all, with all the electronics available it's easy to check us out without a search.  But that was then -- this is now.

As we approached the drive-through US Customs window, signs warned that we should "declare" everything.  Now what does that really mean?  Our turn came to pull 64 foot of rolling residence through the narrow lane.  "Did we buy anything?  Yes. Two T-shirts, less than $30 value combined."
"Are we bringing any produce into the United States?  Yes. Two bunches of leaf lettuce."  "Anything else? Yes, a sweet potato."  I guess that did it. We were sent into a crowded parking lot I was sure we'd never get out of without taking out a few cars.  A US Border Patrol guy opened the RV door and told us to leave all cell phones aboard and vacate the coach.  We were also instructed to "leave the key in the ignition".  When Wayne reached for his cash, the officer asked how much money he had!  Geepers, is nothing sacred? 

The officer pointed to a bank of concrete kennels and told me to "put the dogs in the kennels."  Horrors.  I asked if I could just hold the dogs? No. Can I just walk them?  He replied, "Lady, we have working dogs here who would kill your dogs.  Put them in the kennels."  No smiles.  Ouch, that was rough. I placed Lexie and Ozzie into one of the enormous concrete kennels and went with Wayne into the building to see "the Agricultural officer" who turned out to be a pretty nice guy.  I completed a form that asked a bunch of questions and I signed it. The officer told us to stay inside the building while he went into our coach.  What can one say or do at that point?

Ten minutes later the nicer officer returned with two California navel oranges I had bought in Oregon. They still had the stickers on them.  He also had a single sweet potato.  My vegetables and fruit had been confiscated. I don't know why. The Canadian leaf lettuce remained in the coach. Again, I don't know why.

This whole border crossing episode from Canada into the United States took two to two and a half hours. We were beat exhausted and found a campground within twenty miles to recover for a day or two.  Annoying as it was, this is, apparently, the price we continue to pay for freedom.

Whistler

Skwikw is the Native word for Whistler. I know because they put it on the highway sign, which shows the distance metric.

Now will somebody just convert all those metric signs for me?

From Squamish today we visited Whistler, British Columbia. It's only about 25 miles.  I gave in and changed the setting on Lady GaGa to the metric system so we would know if we were breaking the speed limit. For the life of me, I can't get into metric and sure hope the United States doesn't change into in during my lifetime.

About Whistler: It's an award-winning destination for some two million people annually,  mostly for the winter sports of alpine skiing and snowboarding.  In summer, tourists hone their mountain biking skills here.  It's one of those places that has ritzy hotels and activity driven shops all jammed together in a small parcel of land that is immaculately landscaped and discourages automobile traffic. Ski magazines vote it a top destination in all of North America regularly. 

We parked in an underground parking lot, loaded the pups into their stroller and made our way to find lunch.  Lunch was not an easy task with a couple of pooches.  In the end it was sandwiches from Subway eaten on a bus stop bench. Afterward we strolled around the shopping areas until I sensed Wayne was fed-up with it.  I did manage to find a Whistler T-shirt on sale.  You'll see it later, I'm sure.

Ozzie will not pay attention in this picture because he's concerned with the dog to our left. That's why he's in my arms instead of in his stroller.   Hey! Real manly dogs ride in pink strollers!

Okay Pop, we're ready for our close-up now.

It's a little like being at Disney World. 
There are very few places to sit.  I think they want you to sit in the restaurants... and order food.

Not into winter sports, I know Whistler only because it hosted several 2010 Winter Olympic events.  The Olympic Park area was more interesting to me than the small cramped shopping, restaurant and hotel laden town, though it was all nice for a day long visit.

Trivia Now...

Whistler hosted, for the first time in Olympic history, four Nordic disciplines at one venue.
Whistler hosted 30% of the Olympic medal events.
The only use of artificial snow (snow making equipment) was used at the ski jump landing hill.

(All this I learned from a sign)

We had to pay $10 Canadian to enter Olympic Park. That's probably about $50 US (ha).

Behave around bears the way you would behave when meeting the Queen.

Bear Viewing Etiquette a.k.a. what to do after you see a bear and poop your pants.

Yes, that real bear do-do.

We walked up to the ski jump landing area. Beside us is a picture of how it looked in winter 2010.
Those little buildings at the top are real far away.  No, ski jumping is not on my bucket list of things to do.

This picture was taken looking across from where we were in the previous picture.

Our gang with Ilanaaq the Inukasuk

About Ilanaaq the Inukasuk:
It's a stack of rocks, assembled to look like a human figure -- a symbol of hope and friendship.  To express appreciation to Canada's aboriginal people, the Olympic committee gave a name to it's Inukasuk that would show gratitude and friendship.  That word is Ilanaaq. 

Introducing..... roller skiing!
This is how Olympic hopefuls practice in summer.

Did I mention there are bear warnings here?

So at the end of the afternoon, hot, tired and sweaty, we returned to our campground at Squamish. Along the way, we stopped for another few good views.  The sun was not right for photography this time of day, but these pictures seemed worth sharing.

So now we can all say we've been to the Olympics. Hope you had a good time. We did.



Sea To Sky Highway

The north/south highway along the westernmost banks of British Columbia mainland is known as the Sea To Sky Highway and it is a glorious ride.  Upon debarking the Queen of Cowichan ferry we took this route to Squamish where we'll spend a few days exploring this part of BC.

Horseshoe Bay, near Lions Bay.
Just can't beat this view, eh?

This is beautiful but wild territory as evidenced
 by the many "bear beware" signs along the highway.

At every stop we see brochures and posters advising visitors as to the proper behavior for bear encounters.

One of the tips is not to turn and run.  Right.
Another tip is not to make a loud noise at the bear.  Like a scream?



The slideshow below contains some pictures taken as we drove along the Sea-To-Sky Highway. The waterway is all part of Horseshoe Bay. Anvil Island is the large island in some of the pictures.

Facts about this area:

• Ice once covered this area and glaciers gouged out the dramatic scenery that surrounds and inspires us. As the glacial ice receded, people came and aboriginal society existed on the salmon, cedar and shellfish here.
• By 1858 European fortune seekers came here for the Cariboo gold rush -- taking the land for mining, timber extraction and agriculture.
• In 1914 construction of a railroad began and 42 years later, that railroad would connect Squamish to Vancouver.
• The most dramatic happening here was the completion of the Seaview Highway in 1958 affording visitors a relative easy visit to this once remote place.
• These days, the stunning mountains, blue water and outdoor adventure bring people to this area. It is a land where the ocean meets the mountains and is world renowned for rock climbing, mountain biking and windsurfing. 

We reached Eagle Vista Campground in Squamish by mid-afternoon and settled into our campsite. The sun is warm but the campground has some really big and tall pine trees that provide a nice shade.

There is a great granite monolith near here and we have a clear view of it. It's known as Stawamus Chief and it towers impressively over the city of Squamish.

Stawamus Chief still has snow. 

Another mountaintop, very near Stawamus Chief, became enveloped in huge clouds of smoke on two different days while we were here.  It was reported that a wild fire was being extinguished.

Taken from our coach door. That's Stawamus Chief on the right.
The wildfire appears to be on the far side of the peak of the mountain to the left.

The city of Squamish, British Columbia sits directly beneath another gargantuan rock mountain. I'm not certain, but I think this might be Mount Garibaldi.  The day we toured the city, I took a few pictures.

Downtown Squamish

That is Stawamus Chief in the background.
Notice the city banners to the right -- eagles and bears.

These are the wild blackberries that finally did me in.  There's a long row of bushes growing within 2 feet of the coach.  I've been seeing blackberries since we were in Oregon in mid June. Someone told me they are a "nuisance" plant here.
Unable to resist, I picked a quart and ate half of them while washing them.  Now if I could only bake.

So that's what we saw in and on the way to Squamish.  We'll take a day trip to Whistler tomorrow.

Queen of Cowichan - Ferry To The Mainland

The day came to leave Vancouver Island and this time we would not give in to the temptation to save a few dollars.  Car and coach combined, we measure a whopping 64 feet in length ringing up a $340 ferry expense trip from Nanaimo to Vancouver. It saved the cost of divorce however.

We arrived at Departure Bay about an hour before sailing time and enjoyed a nice lunch in the coach while we waited in line.

Once we loaded the ferry with Lexie and Ozzie safely secured in their window seats on board the coach, we went topside to enjoy the sunshine, cool air and scenery. I returned to the coach to check on them twice and they seemed comfortable and unafraid.  That was good as I feared the worst.

Since we took quite a few photos during the 90 minute crossing to Horseshoe Bay, I've added them as a slideshow in case you don't want to scroll through a bunch of water pictures.




Our plan today upon disembarking the ferry is to travel the "Sea To Sky" highway north to Squamish, British Columbia from where we'll take a day trip into Whistler, British Columbia.  We arrived right on time and departed the Queen of Cowichan without incident.

Glad you joined us for the ferry crossing.  Hope you enjoyed it.



Nanaimo and More of Vancouver Island

From Victoria and the Saanich Peninsula, we drove north on Vancouver Island to Nanaimo which is directly across the Strait of Georgia from Vancouver (the city on the mainland of British Columbia). 

Geographically, Nanaimo juts out with waterfront on three sides.  When we're finished with our tour of Vancouver (the island), we'll depart from Nanaimo's Departure Bay via BC Ferries, sailing east to Horseshoe Bay, just north of Vancouver (the city).

The campground here at Nanaimo is named Jinglepot. Every time I see or hear the name, I get an earworm of the Christmas song "Jinglebell Rock" and it's driven me mad!  Reviews of the campground mentioned the flowers as an attraction but we were quite surprised at the sheer volume of blooms.  The park itself is not fancy or elaborate, just a basic campground, owned by a Korean couple, who evidently have green thumbs. 









The weather has become quite warm. So warm and sunny, in fact, that we are forced to use air conditioning in the afternoons.  Mostly, though, that is because the afternoon sun beats in on the coach's windshield. In the shade, one can stay comfortable.

One of the days we're here, we explored Nanaimo, a town formed by Hudson's Bay Company in the mid 1800's.  Coal was mined here and exported to California and Pacific Rim markets.  Here are the highlights:

Nanaimo's protected harbor at Bastion Square

Construction of the Bastion began in 1853 by Hudson's Bay Company
 as a fortress to protect townspeople and workers from attack.

The anchor here is a real one, recovered from a sunken ship near Nanaimo. 
Somehow, I managed to delete the picture I had taken of the exact detail and information.

Another day we drove north of Nanaimo to Parksville and then Qualicum Beach, both nice areas that boast miles of safe sand beaches and some of the best swimming in the province.

Snow capped mountains are a common sight here.

One of the many beaches somewhere between Parksville and Qualicum Beach.

We missed a pancake breakfast and an ocean mile swim.  Gee... that's too bad.
I'm sure Wayne would have won that swim race.

From here I wanted to take Highway 4 across Vancouver Island to Alberni Valley to see the rugged Pacific Rim.  With the car's fuel tank getting low, we ended up driving over 12 miles to the nearest gas station and then we were too far from Highway 4 to go back.  We probably missed the best of the island.

Happy to have you along with us for the trips along Vancouver Island.

Saanich: Sidney and Butchart Gardens

With the tour of Victoria behind us, our next area of exploration would be the coastal town of Sidney and a visit to world famous Butchart Gardens.

This day, the sky was brilliant blue and the temperature was near perfect.  Sidney did not disappoint us.  It's a typical tourist town though .. complete with waterfront.  This is how it looked...

This diver is carved from red cedar.

I met a nice, older man here and after some intense conversation, I was nearly ready to throw Wayne over for him.  He and I picked flowers together. Unlike Wayne, this quiet gentleman let me rant on and on about anything and everything. Anyone who knows me knows I am a big talker.  My new man friend let me talk without interruption.  I think I was falling in love.

It took some doing, but Wayne did manage to pull me away from my new man friend. I let him keep the flowers we picked. He looks sad in the picture here. I'd just told him that I'd have to leave.

Next stop was for lunch and we were still looking for some good fish and chips. This time we'll avoid the tourist area and opt instead for a hole-in-the-wall local looking place called Fish on 5th. 

We ate outside on the patio.
The car was parked directly in front of us on the street so we could keep an eye on Lexie and Ozzie.

Mine is a tiny piece of halibut with a dollop of cole slaw

Wayne's is a bit larger piece of salmon.

Now this food was real, real good but once again... much too expensive.  Everything in Canada is expensive. I saw a beach side food stand that charged $8 for hamburger, $9 for cheeseburger. That's some expensive burger. 

After lunch we scooted on up to Swartz Bay, the northernmost point and then started south again on the opposite side of the small parcel of land. 

Before we knew it, we were at the world famous Butchart Gardens. 

Now I like plants, blooming and otherwise, and would have liked seeing Butchart Gardens.  At the gate, we were welcomed and asked to hand over $75 Canadian. In US dollars, with the credit card fees added that's going to be closer to $100.  I just can't see paying $100 to drag Wayne around a flower garden.  Just can't see it.  We left Butchart Gardens and I hope we won't regret not going in as it's doubtful we'll ever go back to the island.

Hope you're not too disappointed about the gardens thing.  Just couldn't pay that fee. I'm so cheap.

Hatley Castle

I got all excited when Lady GaGa (the gps) found a castle for us to visit in Victoria!  Even more excited when I found we could drive right onto the castle grounds with relative ease!

Hatley Castle is part of Hatley Park and Royal Roads University and isn't a real castle at all -- at least not as I think of a castle.  This one was completed in 1908, long after the days of real castles, knights in armor and damsels in distress. Still Hatley Castle is photo-worthy and deserves mentioned on our blog.

The front and main entry of the Hatley Castle

James Dunsmuir had Hatley Castle built, complete with beautiful gardens and surroundings, using local stone. His common statement to the builders (reportedly) was "Money doesn't matter, just build what I want."

This side of Hatley Castle side looks out onto Esquimalt Lagoon.

The building is just 200 feet long and 86 feet wide; the turret is a mere 82 feet high so it's relatively small as castles go.  A stone wall surrounds the estate. At one time several miles of road interlaced the estate grounds and hundreds of men were employed to work the gardens.

A newer Royal Roads University building shares the view of this garden.

From 1941 until 1943 Hatley Castle served as dormitory and mess hall for cadets and staff officers at Royal Roads Military College. Now however, Hatley Castle serves only as an administrative building for Royal Roads University. It houses the President, Vice-President, Manager of Finance and Facilities and other administrative staff.

Whatever was lacking in excitement at Hatley Castle was compensated in fun on the grounds by our two rascals.  Click Dog Play to see a short video of Lexie and Ozzie -- mostly Ozzie, rolling in the grass.

Glad you could share our visit to the grounds of Hatley Castle.