We’ve come to the end of another Food Network trip. It’s hard to believe that two weeks have passed – it seems like only yesterday we left and the days all blend into one. It also seemed like we were gone forever and I got all giggly when I saw my hubby turning into the Timmies in Nanaimo. And, for the third year in a row, he had a single red rose for me.

I started the day around 6:30 when I got news that one of my best friends gave birth to a beautiful baby boy, Tristan, 7 lbs, 7.5 oz @ 5:52 this morning. I plan to give her a “hard” time and say that she could’ve waited a few more hours ’til I got back ;-).

My mum got up around seven and we headed down to the lobby for juice and coffee, then we grabbed our bags, checked out and headed to Timmies for breakfast and a better coffee (our first Timmies coffee in two weeks) and headed to the ferry. We got to the terminal with time to spare, and I wandered around the terminal for a bit before boarding the ferry. We got a spot up near the front in the open area, so we decided to just stay in the car…the dismal weather made going upstairs seem moot. We played trivia and then segued into movies we thought the other should watch, and two hours later we were back on the Island. We stopped to fill up the tank, at a ridiculous price, and headed to Timmies.

As we were turning left, I saw F coming from the other direction, turning right, and we arrived at almost the same time. We transferred my things to my car…man I had a lot of stuff…then we grabbed an end-of-trip pic (we forgot to take a before-the-trip pic) and went our separate ways.

I called my dad to let him know that mum was on her way and headed home ourselves. I got home just after my daughter arrived home from school and I got the typical response that one would expect from a 16 year-old after her mother had been gone two weeks – Hi Mum. I got a bit better greeting from Baboy, the cat – he came over, sat down and basically said – Feed me and maybe I’ll cuddle you later.

I spent the rest of the afternoon organizing and then took a nap for a couple of hours. I woke up, ate a simple home cooked meal à la F, and now I’m ready for bed again.

I will post when I have my pictures uploaded.

Talk to you all soon and thank you for sharing my journey with me.

L

Day 15 – Richmond, BC to Vancouver Island, BC

Our third annual Food Network trip has come to an end. After a quick breakfast at the hotel we will be heading to the ferry terminal (with a stop off at Timmie’s). Taking the 10:15 ferry, we will arrive on the Island a couple of hours later and then my mum and I will go our separate way. I will head south (with hubby being my chauffeur) and mum will head north.

It will be great to be back home with F and K, and I will spend the next little while sucking up to Baboy, my cat, who will, of course, give me attitude.

I will still post some of my pictures and thoughts from my trip, though it will probably take me at least a day to get some normalcy back into my routine.

Talk to you soon.

L

Today was our last day in the States. We awoke early – too early in my opinion (5:45) – so I went back to sleep for another hour. At around seven, we went down for a bite to eat in the breakfast room in the hotel and then loaded up the car. We grabbed some gas, and a much better coffee than the hotel offered, then got on the I-5 northbound.

The weather, as expected, was miserable and rainy, and we fought the spray from vehicles most of the way up to Mount Vernon. We got off in Mount Vernon and did our last-minute shop at Wal-Mart. When we got back out of the store, the rain, that had been only a drizzle when we went into the store, was coming down quite hard. As I really didn’t feel like getting the raincoat out for my camera, I decided to forego taking pictures of the I-5 bridge over the Skagit River. As we left Mount Vernon, crossing over the river on Riverside Drive, we looked over at the old bridge which was still in the river. It was surreal seeing a bridge that, only two weeks ago, we had crossed when we headed south.

We continued on up to the border and, after a 25 minute wait, made it through with no incident. We then headed to Richmond for lunch at Pho Hoa, which is an awesome Vietnamese restaurant even though it is a chain. My mum and I both had a fried spring roll (Cha Gio) to start and I had chicken pho (pho ga) while my mum had steak and meatball pho (pho tai, chin nam). I also satisfied my craving hfor a hot Vietnamese coffee.

After lunch we headed across the street to Lansdowne Centre to kill some time before we checked in at the hotel. We grabbed some Asian supplies, that we can’t easily find on the Island, and I grabbed myself a Hong Kong-style milk tea at MY Coffee. If you ever have a chance to get one, grab one – they’re very good. I also visited Anna’s Cake House to grab a slice of tiramisu cheesecake and mango cheesecake – the mango cheesecake is to die for. Chinese cheesecake is not like normal cheesecake that you may be used to – it’s lighter, melt-in-your-mouth goodness. My husband got me hooked on these Asian treats/drinks over a decade ago when we lived in Toronto – unfortunately they are not as easily found on Vancouver Island.

By the time we were done at the mall it was time to check in. We drove back across the street – I organized today to all be within one large city block – and went up to the room to relax for a couple of hours. Just before six we headed over to dinner at Cactus Club Café. We walked over by cutting across the mall parking lot, as it seemed easier than driving (I also didn’t want to lose our good parking spot at the hotel). Although this wasn’t a true Food Network restaurant, Chef Rob Feenie, who had a show on Food Network, is the Food Concept Architect for the chain. I had the duck clubhouse with yam fries and my mum had the Rocket Salad. I can’t speak for my mum’s salad as I don’t eat ‘weeds’, but my sandwich, as always, was magnificent.

We then walked back to the hotel, quite full, and relaxed for the rest of the evening at the hotel. It’s nice knowing that we are back ‘home’, even though we still have to cross the Straits to the Island. Tonight is the last night I will have to sleep with my laptop bag and purse next to me on the bed – tomorrow I will be able to cuddle hubby in my own bed…I can’t wait.

Talk to you all soon.

L

Day 14 – Seattle, WA to Richmond, BC

After a quick bite to eat at the hotel, we are heading north, back to Canada. We are still not sure what detour we plan to take to get around the bridge collapse in Mount Vernon, but we are hoping that it will not add too much time or distance to our trip.

Once we reach Canada, we intend to head to Pho Hoa for lunch and then plan on doing some ‘Asian’ shopping at Lansdowne Centre before checking into the hotel. Dinner plans are still up in the air for now.

Talk to you all soon.

L

We awoke quite early this morning and headed to Jimmy’s Down the Street. My mum had a biscuit and a bowl of fruit and I had the chicken fried steak skillet. I can’t believe how good, and huge, it was. I ate about a third of it before I had to pack it to go. Driving over to Spokane and Coeur d’Alene was definitely worth the trip – both places were beyond awesome.

We then jumped on the I-90 and started the progression westward – enjoying the sun and puffy clouds. After several rainy days we were beyond happy to see blue skies – and I just love puffy clouds.

The traffic was actually quite light for Memorial Day weekend, and we made great time heading out of Idaho, past Spokane and onto SR-281, SR-28 and then onto US-2. We drove through more of the awesome countryside that we saw yesterday – and it got even better. Although I tried to get a few pictures, I am not a big fan of stopping on the side of a busy road, and was restricted to a couple of the rest areas. By the time we got to Wenatchee, we were entering the mountains and the topography changed again.

We stopped at a park in Leavenworth for a picnic lunch of leftovers, but left the town as soon as we could – the Memorial Day weekend crowds were just too much to handle. We both thought it was a cute little town, with a Bavarian feel, and plan on returning one year when it isn’t so busy.

We left Leavenworth and continued into the mountains of Wenatchee State Forest – glad that the majority of traffic was going the other way. The road followed Wenatchee River and then Skinney Creek – both of which had quite rapid waters – and then we headed up towards Stevens Pass. It was then that I noticed the snow banks on the sides of the road – definitely not what I expected when I put my flip-flops on this morning. Once we started heading downhill, the snow disappeared, thankfully.

We continued along US-2 until we reached Seattle and made a stop at Burlington Coat Factory before checking into the hotel. Instead of going to Goldberg’s Deli as originally planned, we ate our remaining leftovers in front of the television. As much as we have enjoyed this trip, I think we are both tired and looking forward to going home.

I will let you all go now as I organize our receipts and purchases for our border crossing tomorrow.

Talk to you all soon,

L