Archive for August, 2013

All Aboard! Whistle, Whistle!

Saturday, August 31st, 2013

Once again Paul has talked me into getting up as the sun rises and hurry off to another amazing day in British Columbia.  It rained all day Thursday and Friday was not really a sunshiny day but this morning things are looking very promising.  The sky is clear and the sun is starting to peak over the horizon, It’s 5:30 AM!!!!  We are heading back into Vancouver which requires us to stop at the border patrol and offer up our passports as well as explaining that yet again we are going to go into Canada and spend some more money!  We breeze through, I think he was still asleep.  With a quick stop at Starbucks where for $4.04 CAD I can get my grande nonfat latte except I only have USD so I get to pay $4.21!  Our dollar is worth more but all the stores charge extra.

Arriving at the Train station in North Vancouver by 7:15 am was a breeze as everyone is still asleep! me included!  We get checked in and here comes our Whistler Rocky Mountain Train that will  be taking us on a 3 1/2 hour excursion to Whistler Mtn. Village.

 

Whistler Train

 

All Aboard!!!

All Aboard!!!

Yep, they even blew the whistle and the conductor yelled “All Aboard”  We are on car #2 with David as our guide, meal server and friend for the next 3 1/2 hours.  He also will be our guide, server, etc.  on the 3 1/2 return trip this afternoon.

Very spacious

Very spacious

Traveling by train is definitely move relaxing than  by Air.  The seats are much larger, the seat in front of me can recline and I can still see my lap!  And, the best part is when David is pushing the food and beverage cart down the isle, I can still get to the restroom!  Just in case you are wondering the food was pretty good!

The views on our trip were amazing and David was full of information about what we were seeing and the towns we were passing through.

Whister views2

Whistler views

 

Thats our train on the left and the river on the right!

Thats our train on the left and the river on the right!

Passing through at least 9 tunnels and across the river several times

Passing through at least 9 tunnels and across the river several times

Waterfalls

Waterfalls

Chasms

Chasms

Lakes

Lakes

We arrived in Whistler Village just before lunch.  This village is a very busy place.  In the winter it is a skiers paradise and in the summer they transform the mountain into a summer retreat.  You can stroll the village, shopping and dining or you can opt for the many activities they offer.  There is a gondola ride from Whistler Mtn. to Blackcomb Mtn, a Zipline course and the face of Whistler has been transformed into a mountain bike course.

We watched!

We watched!

We decided to just relax during our 3 hour stay in Whistler where we had a mini lunch of a canadian concoction that was french fries and cheese curds covered in gravy!  Interesting!

We boarded our train at 3:30 for the journey back to Vancouver with David our cabin server and enjoyed yet another awesome afternoon.

Whistler Lake

Whistler Lake

Almost back.

Almost back.

We returned to the station about 7:30 and headed home.  Traffic was not nearly as nice for our return!

An amazing day and an amazing end to our time in Vancouver. We will be heading east tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back to British Columbia

Friday, August 30th, 2013

We are just jumping back and forth.  We spent the day in Vancouver, BC doing some auto touring about the city.  We had lunch near Queen Elizabeth Park where Denise tried her first Vietnamese Pho Soup!  Not bad.  I still like there sub sandwiches more.  From lunch as we were traveling towards Stanley Park  I saw this giant Purple building with the words CHOCOLATE SHOP on the sign!  Got to stop.  Paul quickly made a right turn into a neighborhood and we circled around until we found it again.

Just like Charlie!

Just like Charlie!

It was the Purdy Chocolate company and all they had was a gift shop where you could purchase any of their products.  I was hoping for a tour but we did get to taste some really good dark chocolate and of course we had to buy some!

Ok, now we really need that walk!  We made it to Stanley Park where you can walk along the seawall and through the park for miles.  We probably only walked about 3 miles but it felt good to be out just walking.  We watched lots of sea planes taking off and landing in the bay.  Stanley Park is like parks in other big cities, a tiny oasis amongst the cement.

Vancouver Skyline, looking across from the Park

Vancouver Skyline, looking across from the Park

Taking a break in the forest

Taking a break in the forest

Totem Poles, I love the bottom of this one!

Totem Poles, I love the bottom of this one!

Lots of walking, a picnic dinner with dessert and we are on our way back to the USA for the rest of the holiday weekend.

 

 

 

They named it after us!

Friday, August 30th, 2013

Point Roberts, WA being of the same name we thought this is going to be fun.  Well, it is interesting!  The town is a very small island with 4 parks, a bit of hiking, a large marina, 4 gas stations, a couple of gift shops, a golf course, hardware store and a market!  We went to all of them trying to find a t-shirt for Paul!  None here, he got a hat.  We had to go through customs to get here and the only question they asked was “where are you going?”  Really!  There is only 1 RV park, we are driving this huge RV into a town that is only 5 sq. miles and no way to get off without coming back through customs!

We took a tour that took all of an hour.  We did drive along the US/Canada border.

Obelisk of the border

Obelisk of the border

That's it!

That’s it!

There are lots of places where Canadian residents have gates out their back and have nice gardens, patio’s, firepits all on US soil!  I guess they are not that worried about protecting this border.

We are feeling pretty happy now!

Monday, August 26th, 2013

We have left the island and still have a bit of money to spare seeing as though Paul had calculated the BC Ferry to Vancouver was going to cost us close to $400 CAD and when we checked in this morning we were only charged $290 CAD.  With the exchange rate we just saved over $125!  Whahooo.  We bought ourselves breakfast at the Ferry building! Yumm.

We climbed the hill to get out of beachcomber and as we were hooking the car up we had some well wishers.

So cute, but mom hurried them away from the big bad RV!

So cute, but mom hurried them away from the big bad RV!

We made it to the ferry terminal just before the 8 am ferry left but because we had a 9 am reservation that we paid $15 US for they said we had to wait till the 9 to use our deposit!  So we checked in and made our way to the cafe to spend some of our savings on a coffee and donut.  About 8:30 they called for us to board our ferry.

All parked and cozy in the hull of a ship

All parked and cozy in the hull of a ship

The ferry is huge.  We were at the front of the boat but because we couldn’t see anything we went upstairs and enjoyed the ride to Vancouver.

Passing in the channel

Passing in the channel

Paul was very interested as to why they had …….

Tanks?

Depth charges?

We made it to Vancouver and disembarked.  Our next stop is back in the USA at Point Roberts, WA!  A funny little town of 5 sq. miles surrounded by water and the only land contact is British Columbia!

 

 

Never saw a gardener!

Saturday, August 24th, 2013

Butchart Gardens is a must see while on Vancouver Island.  It is located about 20 minutes from the village of Victoria so a car or public transportation is necessary.  If you have any interest in gardening you do not want to miss this one.  A bit pricey however we chose to go on Saturday as they put on an amazing fireworks display in the evening.  We have been to lots of fireworks displays and this one is definitely one of the better ones.  They have an huge ground display with moving fireworks.  There was one point where they had two lines of dancing teacups crossing the lagoon to music, all with fireworks.  Very cool.  The only bummer was there was no wind and some of the displays were hidden by all the smoke.

I can not describe the gardens except with some of the pictures I took – The pictures do not even begin to show the beauty here.

Sunken Garden

Sunken Garden

Japanese Lily Pond

Japanese Lily Pond

Glass House

Glass House

Rose Garden

Rose Garden

In the Rose Garden there are 250 varieties and over 2500 plants.

Interesting borders

Interesting borders

Begonia's are everywhere

Begonia’s are everywhere

Sunken Garden upclose!

Sunken Garden upclose!

Sturgeon Waterfall -  Paul's favorite in the Gardens

Sturgeon Waterfall – Paul’s favorite in the Gardens

Even the trash cans are flowerbeds!!!

Even the trash cans are flowerbeds!!!

Beautiful colors

Beautiful colors

Beautiful combinations

Beautiful combinations

and more colors!

and more colors!

They have a boat ride in the harbor for an additional charge - We walked down for a bit of a sunset colors on the water.

They have a boat ride in the harbor for an additional charge – We walked down for a bit of a sunset colors on the water.

I was looking everywhere for that pile of clippings, a wilted bloom, something to prove this was a real garden!  We took a break from the gardens and listened to Tropic Mayhem for about an hour.  Interesting, we are in British Columbia and their opening song is Surfin’ USA!  They were lots of fun and played mostly Beach Boys Music which I enjoyed.

Tropic Mayhem

Tropic Mayhem

We spent about 4 hours in the gardens which Paul would have been bored crazy if it were not for the fireworks.  I will give in on the Tea Party but not on getting to see someones vision for amazing floral displays.

Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful

Saturday, August 24th, 2013

Made it through customs without losing any food or alcohol items and Duke didn’t bark at the customs man when he entered our RV!  We are parked this week right on the water across from the San Juan Islands and the first two days the weather was perfect.  Victoria is about 10 miles away and we took the ocean view route into town.  Very fancy neighborhoods and the views of the bay are amazing.

We decided to park near Fishermans Wharf and take the water taxi to the downtown area to the Empress Hotel.  The flowers are blooming, and the air is so clear here.  Fishermans Wharf is a bit different than home.  It is a small village of permanently parked house boats and a couple of fish stands with one Mexican Restaurant that is also floating.

 

Lots of cute little floating homes

Lots of cute little floating homes

FishermansWharf Victoria1

This one has it’s very own singing princess

FishermansWharf Victoria2 FishermansWharf Victoria3

  The wharf was crowded so we found the water taxi and for $5.00 each we got a ride across the inlet to the area called downtown.  This is where the Empress Hotel is located.  Last time I was here when you entered the harbor all you could see was the Empress Hotel, now there are lots of beautiful hotels and buildings so the Empress doesn’t look as grand to me.

The Empress Hotel, Victoria BC

The Empress Hotel, Victoria BC

Afternoon Tea is a big draw to the Empress and everyone told me we needed to do that.  But at $59.95 CAD plus CAD taxes each I put a lot of thought into the idea of sitting in a beautiful dining room sipping tea with our pinkies out from a tiny tea cup and eating little sandwiches, pinwheels and scones with Paul, and decided that our money was better spent on an ice cream in the gardens!

$5.00 and he got a little Canadian flag on top!

$5.00 and he got a little Canadian flag on top!

A view of the hotel from the gardens

A view of the hotel from the gardens

Beautiful flowers and a dolphin sculpture from the hedges

Beautiful flowers and a dolphin sculpture from the hedges

The gardens are beautiful and we did get to walk through the Tea Lobby and through some of the hotel areas.  Here is a interesting note:

  • Nearly 100,000 guests are served tea annually with an estimated 500,000 cups of tea.

That is a lot of $59.95’s for a tradition that was started by a Duchess that was a bit tired in the afternoon and needed a pick-me-up!

We are not really very traditional people so I don’t think I really missed something that I will be sad about.  We had a nice walk along the harbor and enjoyed some views of the Parliment building. The giant Sequoia that was planted in the 1800’s is pretty cool,  It looks like more than one tree.  Not as tall as we are use to but definitely a Sequoia and really large around.

Parliment

The official Christmas Tree of BC

The official Christmas Tree of BC

Back to our RV spot on the water.  Beachcomber RV is a very quaint park with only about 30 sites and most are summer permanent sites.  Each site is pretty narrow but we all have a little beach haven set apart from the others.  Many of the summer residents collect driftwood and use it for fences to stake out their area.  We had a fire with several couples one evening and learned more about being Canadian.  They do know how to have a good time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last stop before Vancouver Island, BC Canada

Tuesday, August 20th, 2013

Ay!  We are off to Canada for about 4 weeks and I won’t have any cell service and very limited Internet, What will I do?

Picture for today:

 

That's genius!

That’s genius!

Our last stop is in Anacortes, WA for an overnight near the ferry building and restocking the cupboards cause Paul says we can’t afford both fuel and food while in Canada.  Hmm, maybe we will lose weight?

Our home on wheels is located where the black arrow is.

Our home on wheels is located where the black arrow is.

That’s home for tonight.  We visited this vista park for some very nice sunset views.

Looking East to Mt. Baker

Looking East to Mt. Baker

The weather has been spectacular while we have been in northwest Washington.  70’s during the day and 60 at night with very few clouds and no wind.

Be posting when I can.

 

Free Camping

Monday, August 19th, 2013

Found this great place to park the RV for the weekend.  We have plenty of water, electric and WiFi as well as great meals, a campfire each night where we roasted sausages over the open fire and had s’mores.  The place is very private in a beautiful grove of cedar and pine trees, a paved pad and hardly any rules!  We are parked at Roy & Teresa’s home near Stanwood, WA.  Roy and Teresa are friends from our Square Dancing days.  They retired here a few years ago and now we get to visit.

Almost perfect!

Almost perfect!

Paul has been busy learning about Roy’s passion, metal yard art using recycled items.  He makes some really interesting animals out of pieces of metal and then sells them in a local gallery as well as different craft shows around Washington.  He also makes simple things like hot dog forks from golf clubs and used forks.

Paul makes us a fork

Paul makes us a fork

welding just because

welding just because

 

On his knees?

On his knees?

Roy makes really amazing dragon flies from ordinary stuff and frogs, dogs, chickens, ants, flying pigs,….  But this is my favorite!

Meet Bender and Marilyn

Meet Bender and Marilyn

If you ever make it to Stanwood, stop in the Art Guilds Gallery and check Roys things out!

 

 

 

They are not all perfect

Thursday, August 15th, 2013

I seem to get asked often “Is it really always that perfect?”  Of course it is!  Thursday for example was another one of those perfect days!  We woke up to rain which I love to hear hitting our roof.  Listening to the sound of rain on the roof is an amazing sound however RV’s and water don’t really mix and the moisture can be a problem if you are not careful.  I keep the windows open when we are in these damp climates so that things air out but then there is the issue with Duke needing to go out.

You have to find a raincoat and real shoes, leash him up and venture into mother nature.  That part is fun cause I actually enjoy walking in the rain, but then when you come back you have this dog that is pretty wet himself (Duke doesn’t have a raincoat!). He has learned that when it is raining or muddy outside he has to stand patiently while we attempt to dry him off.  Did I mention yesterday we had to bath him because he decided to swim in the sound and smelled like dead fish, I think he may also have rolled in some!  Once we get Duke pretty dry we have to let him inside the RV; he isn’t really dry so he proceeds to spread his nice wet dog smell all over the RV.  Washington is beautiful but it is really damp, so chances of this all drying out is pretty slim considering we are camped in a nice dense forest.  And then there is the towel from drying him that has to hang inside because it is raining!   That just adds more moisture to the inside of the RV.

Did I mention we are camped in a really small State Park?  State Parks tend to not have any utilities and this one does not.  Normally that is ok with us, we can go most of the day in camping mode and run the generator only to charge batteries but that means we would have to run the generator exhaust right into our neighbors whose picnic table is only about 2 feet from our exhaust pipe – that wouldn’t be very neighborly.  When we have no electric hookups we may as well be in a tent except for the lights, warm bed, running water!  I can’t dry my hair, watch TV, keep my Ipad charged, etc.

So right after I attempted to dry Duke, I came inside and I have nothing to do because I forgot to charge my Ipad the last time the generator was running, I had already taken a warm shower so I had to sit in my recliner and watch the Washington Drizzle!

Puget Sound

Puget Sound

Enjoying some sunshine after the rain

Enjoying some sunshine after the rain

As with most days there is usually something to write about that is positive.  The rain finally subsided and I was able to get out and take a short walk.

We are in Washington now!

Wednesday, August 14th, 2013

We are moving at a pretty fast pace so that we can get to Edmonton, Alberta Canada and back before the winter starts!  We spent Tuesday and Wednesday at the Saltwater SP on Puget Sound.  A very tiny park with not the most private sites but our neighbors are a very cute family of 4, mom, dad, a 4 yr old and an almost 2 year old who live in the van, cargo trailer and a pop up tent!  Full time as far as we can tell.  The sell leather items to the cruise ship tourists.  Watching them prepare meals on the picnic table and then it rained this morning makes me feel way too spoiled!  The look happy so I don’t feel too bad watching them from my  RV that is toasty warm and dry.

Last night we were invited to some old friends, back from preschool days for Amy, to a Salmon dinner at their place in Covington, WA.  Geri & Brian had caught the salmon out on the coast a few weeks ago.  It was wonderful.  We had a great evening catching up and their son Trevor stopped by for dinner.  That was a treat.  Thanks Geri for having us, you will definitely see us again!

And just for you Geri, I will write about some of the weird, creepy things we see along the way, just as soon as one happens!