Archive for October, 2009
Posted on October 13, 2009 by jason
The ferry from Nanaimo to the mainland was yet another nice and scenic ride. They even have a playground and pretty decent food onboard as well. Instead of heading straight to Vancouver, we made arrangements to Couchsurf in Squamish. Squamish is one of those ‘undiscovered’ towns that majors in outdoor recreation: climbing, mountain biking, rafting, hiking, fishing, etc. A town that’s obviously undergoing some growing pains, as it’s half-way to Whistler and the recent Sea-to-Sky highway improvements for the Olympics make it a thrilling hour commute to Vancouver (think CA Hwy 1.) The sunsets around here have been amazing – but don’t take your eyes off the road.
We pulled into Kiva’s place and he was a very welcoming and interesting guy. Hosting fellow travelers seems to be a serious interest, as there were two other folks there and one more arriving in the morning. One British chap was riding his bike around the world. He was 18 months into his trip and he was nearly finished – just a brisk bike ride across North America remaining. His favorite routes were through Kazakhstan and Laos. According to him, Vietnam was ‘too touristy.’
The other guest was making her way to California. She coincidentally worked for a bike touring company and was headed down for a reunion of sorts. The German guy that arrived in the morning was headed to Chile next. Nice folks – the world is full of them.
After crashing at Kivas, we checked out Squamish briefly and then headed for Vancouver proper.
We decided to stay downtown and proceeded to check out the sights and diverse dining. Japadog was delicious. A hot dog with seaweed tastes way better than it sounds. The first bite just tastes like bratwurst, the second like an Alaskan Roll (must be the Japanese mayo), the rest like a weird mix of the two that’s oddly delicious.
Exercising your taste buds is one of the main things to enjoy in Vancouver. Random Indian food – worked well for us. Sushi a few blocks away – yum! Italian – just as good as anywhere. Dim sum… yes indeed – if only we can find you everywhere else in the world. Poutine? Tastes way better than it looks.
It wasn’t all about eating. Bode loved the Science museum. He liked riding the water taxi over to Granville Island, but the market, brewery, and ‘kids only’ thing was otherwise pretty forgettable. Stanley Park was nice, but it was cold and there were no other kids around. We had been moving around a bit recently, so we planned on being here a few days so everyone could have some down-time and lounge around. We’re not going to see it all, so we may as well relax and save some stuff for next time.
Posted on October 10, 2009 by angela
After a few days of lounging, playing football, soccer and rugby (thanks high school rugby team on a surf trip!) on the beach we decided to go. I was hoping we would never have to leave this campsite, but there is so much more of Canada we’d like to see before the cold drives us south. So, after two nights in Tofino, we headed east across the island to take the ferry to the city of Vancouver. Tofino is really out of the way – in a good way. I think the Volkswagen bus ratio may rival Portland, but I’ve heard it’s only right in Tofino. We’ll see.
But first, a stop at the Ucluelet mini-aquarium. All the sea creatures were caught within 3 kilometers of the building. It’s a non-profit aquarium with plenty of touch tanks and cool things to look at.
Here’s the really unique part: at the end of the season they release everything back into the ocean. What an amazing concept.
On October 18th they will host a release party and all these little guys go back to sea with the public’s help. Bring your rubber boots and a bucket. Wish we could be there.
Posted on October 9, 2009 by angela
We woke up and decided to head to Salt Springs Island, but then almost immediately turned around and went to Tofino – four hours across the island. It was a good time to go, as the weather was perfect.
The drive was long and winding, but we managed to find a few diversions along the way. Kennedy Lake is huge and looked spectacular but there doesn’t appear to be any way to get to it by car. Totally Pristine. We did manage to find a few places to pull over and scramble over boulders and explore some rivers. Bode decided it was time to graduate to the DSLR – those point and shoots are for kids. As long as Jason and I can now have proof that we are sometimes in the same place at the same time.
Closer to our destination, we pulled over at Long Beach and found a great spot with tons and tons of… surfers? The waves were perfectly formed – it all makes sense now.
Bode immediately found a 6 year old friend who had been boogie-boarding that morning. His dad said the water was about 8° C, and they lasted only 20 minutes with a 4 mm wetsuit. I didn’t need to bother converting that – I wasn’t going in. Everyone had serious wetsuits, but several had dry-suits. Under their dry suits? Wet suits. I wasn’t surfing. The waves looked so perfect that Jason talked a bit like he might go tomorrow, but I know better.
And I thought it was too cold to surf in SF. These people are hard-core. I heard that the swells on to the north are the largest in the world, and that there are pro surfers coming later this month for a major competition – the first ever “Cold Water Classic.”
We got into Tofino late in the afternoon and checked it out. Well, mostly we checked out the playground in the center of town (great zip-line!) It is a really cool little surfer town. Except for the frigid water and chilly evenings, it kind of feels like Mexico. On the way into town, there are surfboards tied to trees with signs that say something like “Bob’s surf shack” and an arrow pointing down a dirt road. We even managed to find a taco truck. The town consists of a few restaurants and stores, 10 tour companies, 10 surf shops and 3 glass blowers (required in these kinds of towns for some reason.)
Our campsite was incredible. Right on the beach. Weather- we’re totally lucking out, it was still perfect and supposed to stay that way for the rest of the week. The Germans at the site next to us passed over some cooked oysters and I even tried one (are you proud, Mom?). Not too bad actually, but I still wouldn’t order them at a restaurant.
Bode and I left Jason to make camp and dinner while we goofed off for a couple hours on the beach. Bode was down to his last pair of dry pants (too many beach stops this afternoon) so was wearing his skivvies. He does usually wear them. The temperature is dropping with the sun and he is still running around in the surf and petting every dog that comes by. The sunset was amazing. Once the sun went down, the nights got pretty chilly. I’m not a great cold weather camper.
Campsite game time came and it was Bode’s turn at our new favorite game – Name That Tune. What does he hum? The Kinks‘ “You Really Got Me”. I can be with that kid all day every day and he still surprises me. Later he asks… “Do The Kinks have other rockin’ songs?” Yes. Yes they do.
So with all this great weather and scenery, we planned on staying awhile.
Posted on October 8, 2009 by angela
Or… The Storia Victoria.
The 8:20 ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria, B.C. requires that you get in line and park your car at 7am. We’re not morning people, so this was a challenge. There is nothing like having to get up really early to ensure you don’t sleep well. We bundled up, got some coffee and sat in the van for an hour and half in the ferry parking lot. No firewood allowed into Canada, so we added ours to the workers’ truckload of it. I’m sure that the workers take the truck to the other side of town and sell it to the Olympic NP campers.
Finally, they started loading. Oops, the car won’t start. Jason mentioned he’d read not to wait for the ferry with the radio on, that it would drain your battery. Now we know that is true. We must have a short or some other electrical issue too, as the radio shouldn’t drain the battery in an hour. One more thing for the list. Luckily, the nice folks working there had a portable battery jumper thing. Must happen all the time. Still, we got the eye rolls… dumb Californians in their hippie van.
A fairly quick trip across the straight with no whales spotted.
We had made the decision to head to Canada late the night before. We originally thought we were going to go to Seattle (which we will probably still do), but our hot springs friend said it was a better ferry/customs experience from Port Angeles than from Seattle and he was right. Customs was a breeze, though they did question our van making it up from California.
We realized after about 10 minutes in BC that we were not quite prepared to be in another country. Our GPS did not have Canadian maps loaded on it (shouldn’t “North American Edition” include Canada too?), we had no money and couldn’t find an actual bank, and our cell phones weren’t working. Oh well.
Anyway, the night before we had gotten a comment from Anne-Marie in Victoria asking if we were headed her way. Why yes we were…
She works for the Legislature at the Parliament building – the beautiful building in all photos of Victoria. We were to meet her there for tea. That’s right, we get off the boat, get a special tour of the most gorgeous building in Victoria, and have tea in the private legislature dining room. Nice way to get introduced to a new country! They do this for everyone, eh?
Anne-Marie is planning an extended trip with her teenagers next year. Her plans sound incredible: India, Cambodia, Italy, and a bike-barge trip that sounds awesome. I want to go!
After tea, we walked around Victoria some more, hit their Chinatown and got some dim sum. In true tourist-town style, there were buskers everywhere, currency exchange counters, and multiple ice cream shops on every block. We got back in the van and did the scenic drive around the town before heading up the eastern coast of the island. We were still unsure of our plans once we hit Nanaimo: either ferry to Vancouver or go across the island to Tofino.
Before dark, we were all exhausted so we stopped at a motel “with sea view” and called it a night. We went to bed thinking Vancouver, but in the morning we had a suggestion to see Salt Springs Island. That’s pretty much how the trip is going – a daily decision on where we are headed that changes hourly until we get somewhere.
Posted on October 7, 2009 by angela
The next day it was rainy, and time once again for our new favorite rainy day activity. There is a hot spring on the tip of the Olympic peninsula. Sol Duc Hot Springs is more resorty and the complete opposite of Bagby Springs. This time Bode specifically requested that the next hot tub not be an old tree trunk. Man, it’s hard to please a 4 year old, but this request was easy to accommodate.
He also wants a robot that does whatever he asks him to…for example get us a soy hot chocolate or a speed racer toy. But that is another story.
The pools were nice. There were 4 in all, but one was too cold and one was too hot. We were impressed to see that the lifeguard on duty also had the responsibility of taking regular samples and running assays from each of the pools. Checking for sulfur (and ?) content, I suppose. It was a bit odd that he put on gloves and used tongs to take water samples from the pools we were soaking in.
As usual, we met some nice folks and as usual, one guy had a Westfalia in the 70′s and stories to tell. He also gave us some great suggestions on where to go on Vancouver Island. His daughter runs an all-girl surf school in Tofino. Canadian surf town, eh?
We cruised around the Olympic peninsula and it is truly beautiful. Lake Crescent is stunning. The rainforest here is supposedly one of the wettest places on Earth and we can verify that it’s wet. More photos than story today, as this was a pretty lazy day.
Posted on October 6, 2009 by angela
28 in a 20. Really. This has got to be the lamest speeding ticket EVER.
Maybe it was the blue plates. Strict enforcement is what he said. The rest of us call it a speed trap. $189. Somebody has to pay for those new police cruisers in Quilcene.
We joked about driving a VW bus across the U.S. We might break down, but at least we wouldn’t get a speeding ticket, we said. Once again, we were wrong.
Along the east coast of the Olympic peninsula, we found a perfectly good seaside town at Hoodsport. The forecast called for lightening storm, but so far the Seattle forecasts have been wrong every day. Wrong enough that Bode has asked why those guys can’t get it right. Anyway, we circled around the town, and found a cheap motel on the waterfront with great views.
Outside the locked office was a converted rotary phone. Lifting the receiver called the owners, who were not located on the property. Not to worry, the room is unlocked, and has the registration form in it. They’ll be down later to collect the money.
After the anxiousness of trying to put some miles behind us, this sleepy little town reminds me we’re on vacation. We can slow down a little, and considered staying 2 nights.
While Jason mostly drives, I’m the DJ, navigator, and chef. I’m now gazelle-like jumping over the firewood between the front seats, steering past the edge of the fridge and handing Bode a snack or toy. When we leave, this action is in reverse, starting at the sliding door, throwing the kid in the car seat, jumping over the stuff on the floor to unlock the driver’s door and let Jason in. His door doesn’t unlock from the outside (most of the time), but in the perfect yin and yang of Red Beard, my passenger door won’t lock from the inside, and I usually have trouble shutting it without 3 or so full force slams. More stuff on the to-do list.
There were 2 restaurants from which to choose dinner. We missed the turn for Mexican, so pub grub it was. We sat down and a woman came over and informed us she’d be our waitress, bartender and cook. She said that all the food was great, but then I noticed the kitchen was behind the bar. I heard both the electric can opener and microwave soon after we ordered. She was right, the food was delicious. But the best part? In a game of Name That Tune, Bode correctly identified Green Day’s “Do You Know the Enemy”. I’m one proud mama.
Bode and I headed to the pier the next morning when I saw a seal playing around near the beach. At low tide we saw giant red jellyfish (or jelly-like creatures) on the beach, huge starfish, sea anemones and crabs. Near the steps were huge piles of oyster and crab shells, where guests were encouraged to throw their shells after cooking. I think it was off season, as we seemed to be the only motel guests. The motel was fully equipped with diving gear, and I can see why this would be a great scuba spot. Not for me though. Before the trip I happily sold our cold water diving gear on Craigslist. I’ve decided that I will never dive in cold water again.
No storm ever came through and the the weather was clear. We decided to drive to Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park. It was thrilling for Jason and I, nearly a mile above sea level looking at glacier covered mountains. The van drove like a champ the whole way. Bode slept through it. That’s okay though, it would have spurred on another slew of volcano questions and I enjoyed the peace.
It’s definitely getting colder and Jason’s starting to reconsider his footwear options. We can literally see Canada and flip-flops only go so far.
Posted on October 5, 2009 by jason
From Rainier, we headed closer to the coast. We heard good things about Gig Harbor, so decided to take a stab at it. Sorry for more bad puns. Are there good puns?
It’s the typical small waterfront town. Marinas. Fishing boats. Whale art. Yacht clubs. Angela and I both took on the persona of Judge Smails for the afternoon, sans hat. Mmm? Mmmm? Mmmmm?
It was a decent stop for lunch and a trip to the playground, but it otherwise wasn’t really happening. We headed for Kopachuck State Park, which was only a few miles away, and made camp for the night. It was getting wet fast, so we spent the evening in the bus playing games and listening to the raindrops plink on the roof. Bode is starting to get pretty good at checkers – noticeably better each time we play. While his finger is lingering on his piece, considering whether or not to finish his move, you can actually see the gears turning in his head. I don’t know what age kids start using money to make things more interesting, but he’s fortunately not there yet.
Later that night, we did manage to find a few leaks in the bus – one right above Angela’s head while she was sleeping. Add waterproofing the rear luggage rack mounts to the list. Again, it got pretty cold outside but we stayed warm and mostly dry in the Westy.
It cleared up a a little bit in the morning, but we heard there was going to be a major storm passing through with lighting and the works. We took off around the southern tip and up the other side of the Hood Canal and Annas Bay to do some exploring on the Olympic Peninsula before things get really ugly.
An unexpected highlight of the day was stopping at a coffee shop on the way. They had a huge (like 3 ft x 3 ft) anatomy book in their book pile. 300 pages. Awesome illustrations. Bode and I browsed for almost an hour. He had a million questions and I actually had to start reading the thing to get the correct answers. I had a pretty good high school anatomy class (thanks, Ms. Blaire!) but that was an obviously long time ago.
Anyway, this completely random event was the highlight of my day. Without putting too much thought into it, I figure that this trip (and the bus particularly) is just one big Random Event Generator. Despite the traveling, many of the things that have happened so far could have happened right at home – but they just wouldn’t. Introduce a completely new environment with time to linger and your world and thought process changes quite a bit.
If you’re reading this you probably already appreciate the stimulus of traveling and being somewhere unfamiliar, even if it’s just a new coffee shop. The added bonus for me this time is sharing every day with my son and having the time to entertain his interests, pique his curiosity and teach him as much as I can. Even if I have to read up on the spleen.
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »
