After our morning rituals in our now-favorite camp spot, we eased back into civilization with a stop for lunch items at Chelan’s local Safeway. We took advantage of the cell service, and I got to call my parents on their anniversary!
I jumped behind the wheel for the next several hours and took us through the irrigated Columbia River Valley (looks a lot like home!), quaint little foothill towns (Toby said they were so cute he wanted to puke – I thought they were fantastic!), and finally back into the North Cascades! One of the great ironies of our journey: to get to Canada from our northern most point on our recent backpack trip we had to
1) hike 15 miles south,
2) sail 35 miles south
3) drive 20 miles south
4) drive 30 miles east
5) drive 70 miles north, and then
6) head west back into the Cascades.
Full circle, basically. I have been the grateful recipient of many incredible mountain vistas, but the North Cascades take the cake. I think it’s as close to New Zealand (think Lord of the Rings) as one can get in North America. Soaring, jagged peak after soaring, jagged peak for miles and miles and miles. If you ever get a chance to drive Washington’s Highway 20, don’t pass it up!
Of course there was intermittent pounding rain (it wouldn’t be Washington or spring without it!), but we took advantage of a dry spell to throw down the tailgate and make lunch.
At our last U.S. gas stop, I succumbed to the attached McDonalds and sucked down and ice cream cone. Yay! Then we were off for the border. As my luck would have it, we were of course asked to pull to the holding area and step inside while our vehicle was searched and we were questioned. Toby, Nathan, and Chhimi managed to cross the border in the same strange vehicle combo, late at night, with a mish-mash of passports including one Bhutanese with no problems. But throw “always-gets-stopped-at-customs-every-single-freaking-time” woman in the mix, and there is gonna be trouble! (sorry!!!!). Of course there was nothing for them to “find,” so we were off and made it to Nathan’s dad’s house mid-evening! Laundry and dinner were in order. We made 11p.m. plans with Nathan’s sister and cousin in from out of town. I took a nap so I could rally, but they ended up cancelling the plans and I didn’t wake up again until the early morning!
Given our time spent at high elevation, my morning Vancouver runs were especially glorious. Not only is the city covered in beautiful vegetation, but my hemoglobin levels were sky high. I felt like I could run forever! (Except, of course, the inevitable end of each journey – Nathan’s dad lives at the top of a very steep hill. We’ll be walking this one. Always.)
Our first full day in Vancouver (“North Van” actually) was spent dealing with life logistics (laundry, email, budgeting, journaling, etc.). Then we took various forms of public transport (Sea Ferry across the harbor and Sky Train to one end of the city) to the “Bike Free Day” celebration. The highlight, for me, was being on the Sky Train right after the Brazil/Ghana (I think) game let out. A million Brazilians and Brazil fans flooded the streets. We got on a sky train car with a bunch of them who were shouting and chanting and singing homage to their team. It was great! Highlights of the “Bike Free Day,” since I’m not much of a vendor visitor, were all people watching: dancers in costume, people on roller skates, people dancing on a couch, a tall, shirtless, hot-bodied, mini-dreads-to-his-chin African man picking up a middle-aged white woman and dancing with her wrapped around his waist (more than once!)… wow! We ended the evening with a fantastic Father’s Day Dinner back at the house joined by Nathan’s sister Megan who met up with us at the previous celebrations. Ahh… friends, family, good food, and wine!
Day Two: we attacked the Vancouver sight-seeing possibilities with plans to have dinner with mom that night and sail on day three. We had a quick stop at the bank where Toby had to salivate over the Mountain Equipment Co-op across the street (Canada’s REI), while Nathan and I found out the US dollar is extremely weak. Then it was off to a quaint, hot new grocery store on the side of town famous for its sidewalk heroin users. Finally we made it to gas town, where Nathan says the loggers used to “get gassed” back in the day. The official Gas Town website says it’s named after Gassy Jack, a tall-tale slinger who opened up the first saloon on the otherwise deserted stretch next to the mill. The charming cobblestone streets and historic buildings are now the backdrop for many large cultural events, including the upcoming International Jazz Festival!
Afterwards we drove past Chinatown’s remaining street, stopped to check out the shreds remaining of the Olympic Village near the science museum, and ended up at Granville Island – my favorite destination for the day. We watched a glassblower for awhile (I really want to learn to do this!), visited the vibrant market where Nathan and Toby indulged in smoked salmon and sausages, walked around the docks checking out sail boats, and then visited the Kid’s Market and played with all the toys! From that fun, we retired to Nate’s mom’s house in “West Van” – a cute little high rise called the Lion’s Gate. We had a cheese freakout in the form of appetizers: we got so full on feta, brie, and this amazing middle-eastern eggplant concoction that we couldn’t even imagine eating dinner without going on a walk first.
A few blocks down the street is the famed Vancouver sea wall walking path. People come from all over the city for their evening stroll. It was pleasantly populated and we enjoyed both the people watching and the view as the sun sank toward the horizon. We were marveling at how the time slipped away when we realized it was the solstice! So, with the sun still well above the horizon at 9:30 p.m., we headed back to make Thai curry. Toby fixed it up, while Nathan chatted on the phone and I agonized over my next travel plans. Not that we needed more food, but we ate Toby’s wonderful curry anyway, then we went ahead and had dessert. Then Esther (Nathan’s delightful mother) brought out the chocolates – the delicious death kiss! The highlight of the evening was getting to know Esther. She is a truly incredible woman, so interesting, warm, sweet… wish she was my aunt so I’d get to see her at family reunions every few years!
Day Three was more my style (not that I don’t love exploring cities). We took the boat to an inlet known as Indian Arm and got it all set up (quite the process stepping the mast, getting all the lines attached, putting the motor on, attaching the rudder, dropping the keel, etc.). Then we loaded more people than should probably fit on such a small boat – the three musketeers (Toby, Nathan, Jema), plus Taras, Melanie, and Esther. As the wind puffed off and on, I worked on finishing 1984 (There are several classics I’ve yet to read). We finally made it to the Twin Islands – a marine park that was fun to explore. I hiked all the way around the main island, and then watched a testosterone war between Nathan and Taras thinly disguised as “Nathan learns to do a back flip off the dock.” Silly boys!
Back on shore, we de-rigged and then headed to a quaint inlet town for some famous Gelato (like ice cream, but better and healthier). It was to-die-for, and the people watching at the marina was great!
From there we gathered up items for a BBQ at Esther’s, collected my things for my morning journey, and headed back to West Van to spend my last Canadian evening barbecuing on the shore. Thanks to the long, long days we were on the beach until past ten enjoying our chicken, salad, etc. Then we drove up to an overlook with Taras to see the city lights and play with his new camera concocting all sorts of silly shots. Of course we were late to bed and early to rise (me at least). I was thankful to say goodbyes through the haze of sleepiness before Esther drove me to the train station. Toby and Nathan are like brothers to me, and there is a pretty solid chance this is the last we’ll really see of each other, save weddings and the occasional visit each decade. *sniffle* I’ll miss you guys!
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