Home Sweet Home

 6th Annual Tour, Food Network Tours  No Responses »
Sep 042016
 

Today we awoke at 5:45 – way earlier than my body wanted us to. We made coffee in our room and I started the annual pre-border cross repacking of the car. I am always amazed at the amount of things that we accumulate along our journey. This year we had 7 pairs of shoes, several bags worth of dry groceries, two coolatrons full of cheese and hot sauce, and a few bags of other sundries. After about thirty minutes, I was able to get the car packed in a way that would make it easy for Customs to go through our car should they decide to send us to secondary. It has happened before, so I just make the assumption that it will happen again.

Once we were packed, we headed to the Anacortes-Sidney ferry. This year we stayed only a few miles away from the terminal and ended up being the second car in line to board the ferry. Mum was also quite happy that she saved 50% off her fare as she is a senior – something that BC Ferries no longer offers. We waited an hour or so, then heard the ferry’s whistle blow as it emerged from the thick fog bank that hung just offshore. We boarded the ferry and were able to get a spot right at the front of the vessel.

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We decided to spend the ferry ride in the car since we had such a beautiful vantage point – it was also much warmer in the car than on the deck. Mum spent most of the time doing her cryptic crosswords and I read a novel that I have been trying to finish. When we docked in Friday Harbor, I ventured out to grab a picture and then hurried back to the warmth of the car.

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For the remaining hour of the ride, we chatted and watched on my Google Maps app as we got closer and closer to Canadian waters. We both know that we aren’t officially back in Canada until we go through customs, but there is something reassuring about knowing that we are almost home. About thirty minutes before we arrived in Sidney, we were finally able to see Sidney come into view.

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We docked right on schedule and waited for the walk-on passengers to disembark and then it was our turn. We made it through customs with very few questions and were officially in Canada. We drove down the Saanich Peninsula and back up over the Malahat to my house. While I was emptying my stuff from Mum’s car, she enjoyed a quick coffee and snack of crackers and cheese. After a quick call to my dad to let him know that Mum was about to leave and she was off. The end of another Food Network trip.

We had a great voyage this year, travelling almost 4,600 kilometres in sixteen days. We explored new locations and revisited old favourites – expanding our horizons along the way. It will be hard to wait almost a year before we can embark on our next adventure. Thank you for sharing our adventure and I will talk to you soon.

L

Arrived in Anacortes

 Food Network Tours  No Responses »
Sep 032016
 

Today was our last full day in the States. We had breakfast at the hotel before heading to Lacey for some last minute shopping. We went to Kohl’s and Mum and I both found some great deals on clothing before we grabbed some gas and jumped back onto the highway. We ran into traffic around Tacoma and again just north of Lynnwood. The traffic around Lynnwood finally abated as we passed the Seattle Outlet Mall in Marysville. We continued on until we reached Mount Vernon and did our final grocery shopping at Wal-Mart.

After our shopping, we headed to the Outback to have a late lunch/early supper. We started with a Bloomin’ Onion and I followed with a Bloomin’ Burger with veggies while Mum had the Alice Springs Chicken with fries. After eating, we headed to Anacortes and arrived at our hotel just before five.

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In the hours since then, we did some wiki-research and just chilled in front television. Tomorrow we are taking the early ferry back to the Island and our sixth annual trip will come to an end.

Thank you for reading and I will talk to you tomorrow, when I sum up our trip.

L

 

Arrived in Olympia

 6th Annual Tour, Food Network Tours  No Responses »
Sep 022016
 

Today I woke early and went across the street to grab coffee at the 7-Eleven. After coffee, we headed up I-5 to Albany to have breakfast at a restaurant that was suggested by a good friend of mine – Novak’s Hungarian Restaurant. We found a great parking spot and walked a short block to the restaurant. Mum had the Mama’s Favorite Crepes (ground walnut and apricot preserve filling, garnished with bittersweet chocolate) and I had the Blueberry Ricotta Crepe.

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After breakfast, we headed back up the I-5 towards Portland. We made very good time going through town and for the first time we went over the Hawthorne Bridge. We found a parking spot near New Seasons Market and walked a couple of blocks to the store. Mum was on the hunt for a particular brand of honey – Shippers & Growers – and was finally able to find it. Our next stop was Fire on the Mountain Wings. This was my need-to-stop place and, again, we lucked out and found parking. I waited in line and grabbed four 80z jars of El Jefé, 2 8oz jars of Raspberry Habanero and 1 8oz jar of Jamaican Jerk. I hope that’ll be enough to last me until next time I’m in Portland.

Once we were done with our last-minute Portland shopping we were back on the highway and heading northbound. Just as we were leaving Vancouver, Washington, it started raining. I know we can’t complain, but I would much prefer rain to happen when I’m not driving at 65 MPH. It rained on and off as we headed north, but the sun finally came out as we were approaching Kalama, WA. I had no sooner mentioned to Mum that the weather looked like it was getting better than we came around a corner and we could see a wall of rain. I have never seen such a division of weather before and it was quite disconcerting. It thankfully stopped with a few minutes, but it was insane while it lasted.

We stopped at the Centralia Outlet Mall to grab Nikes for my sister and pants for my Mum at Pendleton. We were able to find the particular shoes that my sister wanted but when we went to line up, we realized that there were over 100 people in line. For the amount that we were saving, it definitely wasn’t worth waiting in line and we gave it up as a bad job. We then headed over to Pendleton and I was able to find a sweater and Mum was able to find a “consolation prize” for my sister.

After shopping, we were only 30 minutes from the hotel and we were able to make it without any further weather issues. I did, however, miss my exit and had to backtrack. We checked into the hotel and decided to head to dinner before it got too busy at the restaurant.

We went to Fish Tale Brew Pub – for the third year in a row. We started with bar pickles (which turned out to be pickled vegetables and not at all what I expected). Mum had the Soup (Bacon Cheese Potato) and Fish Tale Salad and I had Fish Tacos with Soup. It was a huge bowl of soup and Mum couldn’t finish it – I had no problem helping her out.

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After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and Mum had a bath while I organized the car. I usually organize things on the day before we cross back into Canada, but decided to organize while the sun was still shining. I have organized in the rain before and it is no fun.

It’s hard to believe that we are almost done our trip – the last two weeks have just flown by. Tomorrow we are navigating through Seattle holiday traffic and staying in Anacortes.

Thank you for reading and I will talk to you soon.

L

Arrived in Eugene

 6th Annual Tour, Food Network Tours  No Responses »
Sep 012016
 

Today we woke early as we had a long day ahead of us. We got a quick bite at the hotel and then headed downtown to the hardware store. Mum needed to grab some Ball canning lids and she also lucked out and found the 7″ baking pans that she was looking for. We then jumped on Hwy 99W and headed out of town.

We spent most of the day driving…or should I say, I spent most of the day driving. 625 kilometres in total. We joined the I-5 at Red Bluffs and continued on until Weed. I had several requests from friends to stop here and grab souvenirs, so I obliged. I was also way past needing a pit stop so I was very glad to stop. I also found a store that carried State of Jefferson souvenirs and was able to kill two birds with one stone.

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We continued up the I-5 until Ashland, where we decided to stop for lunch. I decided to use my Waze app to direct me to Lithia Park, rather than just following the signs. For reasons beyond my comprehension, Waze decided to route me up a single-lane cow path that overlooked the park instead – I am just happy that I was able to turn around without tumbling over the side of the cliff. After navigating back down the “road”, we found the correct route to the park and found a great spot in the shade to eat lunch.

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We were able to get some pictures of the local wildlife – that seemed oblivious to our existence – as we left the park. We jumped back onto the Interstate and continued on the long drive north. About an hour outside of Eugene, the weather changed and it started to spit. This is the first rain that we have seen all trip – we really haven’t even seen clouds. I guess we can’t really complain. After five or ten minutes the spitting stopped, but the clouds remained.

We arrived in Eugene without further incident and drove straight to the hotel. We spent some time at the hotel doing some wiki-research and also trying to decide where to eat dinner. We noticed that there were a couple of new restaurants since we visited here last year and after finding out that one was a block from the hotel, we chose that one. Eugene Fish Market is a definite fish market – complete with the fishy smell. It is, however, remarkably affordable and delicious. Mum had Grilled Shrimp & Chips with Honey-Poppy Seed Coleslaw and Oriental Express Tartar Sauce (wasabi, soy & ginger). I had Grilled Cod & Chips with Cilantro-Lime Coleslaw and Ragin Cajun (spicy cajun, green onion & garlic) & Tijuana Terror (jalapeno, lime & cilantro) Tartar Sauces.

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On our way back to the hotel after dinner, we encountered an interesting man who was wearing ivy around his head like a wreath. Just as we were passing him, he looked at us and said “boo” – totally weird. We walked a few more feet and noticed that the road ahead was blocked off by police cars and as we rounded the corner, noticed the other street was also blocked off by police cars. We asked a person sitting next to the road if she knew what had happened but she was only able to tell us that she had heard an ambulance about a half hour earlier. We decided to walk down to where the police were and see if we could find out anything else. We asked another person closer to the scene if they knew what was going on and he said that there had been a shooting.

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We walked back to the hotel and I called Hubby to fill him in on our day. We then did some more wiki-research and I watched some TV while Mum turned in early. (I have since found out what happened and have provided the link here). Tomorrow we are going as far as Olympia. We plan on having breakfast at a restaurant recommended by a friend of mine. We will then be dropping by Portland to grab some honey from New Seasons Market and also some hot sauce from Fire on the Mountain Wings before hitting the outlet malls in Centralia.

Thank you for reading and I will talk to you soon.

L