That's A Wrap!: Beula's Homecoming.

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

START:  Wawa RV Resort, Wawa, ON - 10:45 a.m.

STOP:  HOME!!!!!!  Porcupine, ON - 3:40 p.m.

WEATHER:  Mostly overcast with a little drizzlin'.  Yanno, sad, gloomy, trip-over kinda weather.

Well, family and friends, this is it.  We've arrived at the end.  Our last morning as a buncha west coast bounders was upon us and after more of the same in terms of our morning routine, it was time to bid Wawa adieu and finally head for home.  Before we could do that though, Mom wanted to stop and check out one of the trading posts in town (& stock up on some more souvenir gifts that we were too lame to buy somewhere cool) but after some browsing and getting all gassed up and ready, we were finally, officially, homeward bound.

It was a pretty quiet drive for the most part, with all of us pretty exhausted from the events of the past 41 days and looking forward to being in our own beds, but we did manage to see some wildlife along the way, which jazzed things up a bit.  Dad spotted them all, being a black bear and two tall sandhill cranes standing in the long grass on the side of the road.  We didn't get a picture of either but WE SAW THEM, ALRIGHT?!  It deeply saddens me that there were no legitimate griz sightings on our adventure but Dad and I did see those two waddling brown lumps as we blew past a side road in Godknowswhere, so we may not have griz, but we have brown lumps, damn it.

We were officially welcomed back to Timmins around 3:15 p.m. and proceeded to drive through town like a bunch of noobs, 'oohing' and 'aahing' over every new paint or siding job in town as though we'd been gone for 10 years.  After a quick calculation, we discovered that we'd gone a total of (Mom:) "9,500 calories!  I mean kilometres."  I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that we consumed WELL over 9,500 calories (probably daily) on this trip.  But 9,500km - who knew Beuls had it in her?  We're all thankful that she did, though!

So finally, we pulled (no, not into the driveway) onto the lawn and were home once again.  As we all bounded up to the front door, we were greeted with this little scenario:

Dad:  "Do you have the keys?  I don't have them."

Mom:  "No, I don't have them.  I thought you had them."

Dad:  "Well, they're not here.  Are you sure you don't have them?"

Mom:  "I don't have them!"

Great, everybody back in the Bounder, we're boondockin' on the lawn tonight.  Of course, they were eventually tracked down and we were finally, actually, really, officially home - and I'm not gonna lie, suddenly having so much space to roam around in took a little getting used to!

Mom, in the kitchen:  "I can't remember what I usually do around here!"

Me:  "Real glasses!  Yaaaay!"

Mom:  "Yeah, and nothing falls on your head when you open the cupboard doors!"

Ahh, the simple things.  But that's all folks!  Beula's on the lawn and we're all getting ready to nestle into our respective beds.  It's been a memorable 42 days and 9,500km and we're glad we've been able to share every last minute of it all with whoever's been following our trek across this glorious country.  And to all of you, thank you for reading and commenting along the way.  All of your kind words has made writing every day something to look forward to and we enjoyed being able to use this blog to take you all with us.

To Mom and Dad, thank you for spending all of your money (KD and dumpster divin' tomorrow!) to make sure that this was a vacation we'll never forget.  We know how lucky we are to have been able to do this so don't think we don't know that we won the parent lottery with you two.  Love you.

To Mike, thank you for being hilarious you and giving me more than enough blog material every day - even if it was just a you-had-to-be-there moment for our own memories.  I don't think we would've lasted 42 days without that constant comic relief. Love you.

For one last hurrah, the fam and I are kind of curious to see who (or at least how many of you!) has been following along on our journey, so whether you've been an avid reader or just popped in to check up on us from time to time, leave a comment (even if it's just your name, or 'anonymous') to let us know!

Thanks again for coming along : )

Letting the good times roll to an end (for now!),

The Last Stop Along the Wawa-Way

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

START:  KOA Campground, Thunder Bay, ON - 10:30 a.m.

STOP:  Wawa RV Resort, Wawa, ON - 6:15 p.m.

WEATHER:  Overcast with the odd sunny break; brief downpour in Marathon; back to overcast

Well, the journey's winding to a close and the blog material is in short supply, but I will soldier on to the bitter end.  This morning was more of the usual:

Mom:  "Do I look like a big fat blob in these pants?"

Mike:  "Those are your Sally Struthers pants.  That's what Dad said, anyway."

Dad:  "Yeah right, I never said that!"

Mike: "YES YOU DID."

Dad:  "I never said anything about Mom's pants!"

Mike:  "YES YOU DID.  YOU WERE JOKING!"

Dad:  "You're dreamin'.  Why would I say that?  You're the one who's always talking about Sally Struthers!"

Hahaha, what even. Sorry, Sally.

After a quick stop at the beloved Shower of Sadness station to right some wrongs, we were on the road onnnnce again, headed for Wawa - our LAST stop before home!  Holay.  Who knows what 'home' even means at this point.  That wasn't before hitting multiple construction sites along the way, though, of course.  We were temped to pull out all the stops at one of them - set up the chairs, pull out the awning, take down the bikes, start BBQin' and flippin' flapjacks - but luckily Ms. Pajama Pants turned her sign from 'Stop' to 'Slow' before all hell broke loose.

The scenery started to pick up again once we neared Lake Superior, allowing us the chance to reminisce about our days of snappin' 82 pictures a minute while out west. We took a pit stop for some PB & honey sammiches and after a few more quiet and lazy hours of motorin', arrived at our camp site in Wawa.

The Last Supper consisted of a formal meal (all dressed in our Beula best) of KD 'N' HAWT DAWWWGS.  Don't judge.  We be campin'.

The evening's events did not work out in Paw's favour, as he promptly realized after he'd just finished showering that the Tank of Sadness was full and needed emptying - into the uncapped sewer pipes conveniently located at each site.  All together now:  Ewwwwwwwww.  While we all sat safely inside under Daddio's stern warning to keep all the windows closed, Mike thought it to be an excellent opportunity to quickly slide the window open, scream, "Ya got pwned!" at Dad and then slide it shut again.  Nothin' like the support of your family in these trying times.

It being our last night in Beula's quarters, you'd think we might've all sat around holding hands, looking at every single one of our 2000+ pictures and sharing our favourite memories but alas, it was just like any other night of TV, chattin', and relaxin'.  Mom and Dad contemplated the possibility of having to live in the Bounder full time now that our cozy little vacation bubble was on the verge of being popped, but Dad reassured Mom that they didn't have to worry about that until they were reduced to days of "KD and dumpster diving."  More fun times to come!

Well, tomorrow we hit the road and won't stop until we get home, after a total of 42 days of bounding across the country side.  That also means that this blog is coming to a hasty close so stay tuned for the next and final entry comin' atcha later today once we trade our home on wheels for the one firmly planted in the ground!

Letting the good times roll,

Home Soil!

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

START:  Welcome Stop Campground, Winnipeg, MB - 10:30 a.m.

STOP:  KOA Campground, Thunder Bay, ON - 8:45 p.m. (!!)

WEATHER:  Le poop.  Overcast all day.

Between the thunder storms (only I heard the thunder this time, so on behalf of the rest of the fam: suspicious) and skitter slapping, there wasn't a hell of a lot of time left over for sleep last night, so the record leaving time of the day before will fondly be remembered as a one-hit wonder.

Before heading out, we made a pit stop at the ol' sani-dump to empty out the grey water tank, since Mike's shower sent it over the edge and the tub remained half full of water while the sink drain was right to the brim.  So once that was done, we were back on the highway headin' east.  We almost hit the rhubarb because Dad had a sudden urge to go Go-Karting, but we cleared the lane end in the nick of time and were no worse for the wear.  We were all thoroughly bummed, however, to learn that Neil Young was putting on the second of two concerts in a row in Winnipeg that night, only having heard about it the night before.  The pleasant newswoman stated there were still some tickets left, but we knew they wouldn't last long after that since the first show had sold out in four minutes.  It would have balanced out the trip quite nicely but I GUESS we'll live.

At roughly 12:45 p.m. we crossed the border and found ourselves back in Ontario!  Now, either Beula was just happy to be home or thinks she all that because not long after crossing the border, she literally started tooting her own horn.  We were just driving along, with Dad's hands both clearly visible at opposite points on the steering wheel, when she would just start honkin'!  I took it upon myself to combine her spontaneous honks with some enthusiastic waving at whoever we happened to be passing at the time, which was fun for awhile but she started getting a little out of control with it so we had to pull over and disconnect the wire.  It was a good thing too because shortly after, we passed three cops on the side of the road who had pulled someone over and we didn't think repeatedly honking at them would have gone over too well.

We lost our third and final hour at around quarter to six, bringing us abruptly to quarter to seven and putting us back on par with home time.  I realize we haven't actually been losing hours of our lives on the way back, as Dad has pointed out, only giving back the ones we were so quick to accept on the way there.  But that's fine, we don't want your stupid hours anyway, Canada!

We blew right past Ignace, which held the only RV Park I could find on Google, since it was still pretty early and Dad wasn't quite ready to call it quits yet, and before we knew it, we had been driving for what felt like days and ended up making it all the way to Thunder Bay.  As you can see from the start and stop times above, it's the longest we've ever gone in a day, so we were all pretty exhausted by the time we finally got there (putting me in no mood to deal with an inquisitive child who stopped by on his bike while I was outside trying to guide Dad onto some blocks to level us out.  Kid:  "Are you guys leaving?"  Me:  "No, we just got here."  Kid:  "Oh, so you're setting up?"  Me:  "Yeah."  Kid:  "So you just got here?"  Me:  "YEAH!"  Kid continues to loiter and stare.)

Mom made us a dinner of mushroom soup and grilled cheese and we spent what was left of the night resting our weary, travellin' bones.

Me, reading about what the campground had to offer:  "They have a pool, a gazebo, an outdoor chess set, mini-putt, rent-a-cycle..."

Mike:  "Rent-a-psycho!?"

Me:  "Rent-a-CYCLE.  Yeah, you can just go and rent a psycho for the day."

According to Google (which I just keep running back to), we're 777km away from home now, but even though we managed to get roughly that far today, we'll most likely be splitting up the drive and spending the night in Wawa tomorrow - which means hoooooooome on Thursday!  It's hard to believe it's almost over already - and hard to believe we've been gone for 40 days at the same time.  Who goes on vacation for 40 days!?

Letting the good times roll,

P.S.  Shemp does not appear to be adjusting to his adoption very well and has suffered some hardships over the past few days.  Not only can he only hop backwards (and barely) unless tilted forward on his beak, but he also lost an eye somewhere along the way.  Hang in there, little Shemp.  We're almost home.

Keep Movin'; Nothin' To See Here.

Monday, July 26th, 2010

START:  Buffalo Lookout RV Park, Regina, SK - 9:20 a.m.

STOP:  Welcome Stop Campground, Winnipeg, MB - 5:30 p.m.

WEATHER:  Beautiful 'n' sunny; rain later in the evenin'.

Today isn't even really worth blogging about, but here goes.  I even resorted to using a picture from the sunset of the night before because we didn't encounter anything photo-worthy on today's journey - unless you fancy fields full o' mini-wheats.

We were up and at'em at record time today, hitting the road the earliest we ever have on the whole trip, which was a bonus because we lost yet another hour of our lives that we'll never get back and are now only ONE hour behind all o' y'all!  I don't know if it's because the trip is winding to a close and all the sights to be seen have been seen now that we're back on Hwy 1 but driving's become just another means to an end and the excitement has all but fizzled out the closer we get to home.  The climax of today's drive was the age old Gingerale vs. Dr. Pepper debate, with Mike being the only one in the Dr. Pepper corner:

Dad:  "Yeah, sure, have some more sugar."

Mike:  "It has the same amount as Gingerale so you can't say shit!"

Dad:  "Four more graaaams."

Mike:  "YOU CAN'T SAY SHIT."

Dad:  "FOUR MORE GRAMS!"

Mike:  "Whatever, it's excellent.  It's the nectar of the Gods."

Dad:  "Pfft, yeah right.  Satan, maybe."

And there you have it.  I literally got nothin' else for you today.  Hahaha

As usual, Google Maps led us astray in trying to hunt down our campsite for the night, but luckily we were on the ball last night and had made a reservation, so there was no fear of being turned away if we ever managed to find it.  It turned out to be on the opposite side of the highway and we had driven right by it in search of the location marked on GOOGLE but we didn't waste too much time before figuring it out.  Winnipeg is a SAUNA, feeling like 40 degrees today with the humidex, and with the suffocating swarms of mosquitoes afoot, trying to cram themselves down your throat at every turn, we didn't do too much exploring other than the 10 mile walk to the laundry room and back (which was it's own sauna inside a sauna and reeked of old death.)

It eventually started to pour, which happens to be quite deafening when pounding against Beula's roof, so after some more solid lounging time, we called it a night.

Tomorrow we'll be back in Ontaaario!  We're about 1,500km from home, so it'll be roughly three more days of driving before we roll into home sweet Porcupine.

Letting the good times roll,

Where There's Not A Lot Goiiiin' Onnnn ♪♫

Sunday, July 25th, 2010

START:  Ross Creek RV Park, Medicine Hat, AB - 10:30 a.m.

STOP:  Buffalo Lookout RV Park, Regina, SK - 6:30 p.m.

WEATHER:  Another hotttt 'n' sunny one.

Mom:  "Hon?"

Dad:  "Yeah?"

Mom:  "Can you go spray some WD-40 on the tracks?"

Dad:  "OKAY."

Aaaactually, though.  Awful.  I feel like the trains ran constantly all night long, but I know it was just the two back-to-back ones at five in the morning that lasted and screeched for what seemed like hours on end that gave me good mind to go throw my body across the tracks in surrender.  So, feeling well rested and spry as a bundle of spring chicks, we pulled the pin outta that hell hole and hit the road towards Saskatchewan.

We crossed the border into the Skatch at a time unknown to me, as I was apparently in the bathroom, but Medicine Hat is relatively close to the border so it wasn't too long after departure.  Roughly an hour and a half from Moose Jaw, it was time once again for me to get behind the wheel (for only the second time thus far this entire trip.  I never did graduate to mountain roads) and give Dad a chance to catch a little shut-eye before trucking on.

Dad pulls over to the side of the road.

Mike, from the back bedroom:  "What's going on?"

Mom:  "Steph's gonna drive for awhile."

Mike, in a high, singsong voice:  "We're all gonna diiiiiiiiiie."

Again, with that confidence.  Thanks, Mike - FEELIN' GOOD.  We, in fact, did not all die thankyouverymuch and aside from it being windier than the windy part of Japan, it was relatively smooth sailing all the way to Moose Jaw.  Dad took the reigns again from there and navigated us down Hwy 39 South in search of Rouleau, SK, where they filmed on location for the TV series Corner Gas.  Needless to say, there was not a hell of a lot to see along the way, as Dad so eloquently suggested:  "What a place to live.  God, just pull the pin and get it over with."  Not his cup of tea, you might say.  (FUN FACT:  We passed the road to Avonlea.  Literally, a road leading to a town called Avonlea.)

That big grain elevator above is the first thing you see pulling into Rouleau and showcases the name of the fictional town of Dog River where the series takes place. I gotta admit, the theme song for the show, where I pulled the title from, is frighteningly accurate.  There wasn't a hell of lot of anything going on in town, or anyone aside from shop owners and barely a handful of other tourists to be seen.  I don't know who watches or has seen Corner Gas - and I'll admit that I've never seen more than one or two episodes myself - but Dad, Mom, and Mike are fans and got a kick out of seeing some of the buildings from the show.  Most of the interior filming is done at the Canada/Saskatchewan Production Studios in Regina, but Rouleau is home to the basic Corner Gas gas station set, the surveillance bush (which we missed), Oscar and Emma's House, the Foo Mart, the Dog River Police Department, the Howler, the Dog River Bar and Hotel, and the Dog River Liqour Store.  The Police Department is now a small cafe and souvenir shop, so we stopped there to check things out and load up on some souvenirs before heading out towards Regina.

After a quick stop at Safeway to pick up some essentials and dinner items, we had every intention of tracking down the same RV park we had stayed at on our way through west, Kings Acres Campground, but arrived only to be told that the only sites they had left didn't possess the capabilities we needed to run the A/C and not die a hot and steamy death.  So after some more wheelin' and dealin' (and a few noob moves on Dad's part) to get back on the highway heading east, we snagged the last available site at Buffalo Lookout RV Park and called it a day.

After an episode or two of - what else - Corner Gas, it was lights out.  Tomorrow the plan is to hit the road a little earlier than usual since our destination is roughly 550km away and we lose yet another hour of precious life somewhere along the way.

Letting the good times roll,

Big Trucks, Vacation Pets, Rock Slides, & Windmills!

Saturday, July 24th, 2010

START:  Regency Park RV Resort, Cranbrook, BC - 11:30 a.m.

STOP:  Ross Creek RV Park, Medicine Hat, AB - 6:30 p.m.

WEATHER:  Hot, clear, and sunny all day!

It seems as though this vacation is starting to catch up with us.  Mom:  "We need to stop at a maternity store so I can get some new clothes."  Mike:  "I want some pregnancy pants!"  Me:  "Well, a lot of people would kill to be fat like you, Mom, so I wouldn't worry about it."  Really though, think of the crap you all eat whenever you hit the road for any considerable length of time... then multiple that  by 37 days.  The waistband situation is becoming tense.

Our first stop on the road today was in Sparwood, which boasted the world's largest truck (seen above) that was once used in the coal mines.  Weighing 260 tonnes, it was apparently delivered to Sparwood in pieces on eight flatbed trucks and was then assembled upon arrival.  How you assemble something that enormous or how someone ever even drove it at one time is beyond me but regardless, we're glad it was there to spice up what otherwise would've been just an ordinary pit stop for the Perrons.  After a lunch of instant regret from A&W, it was also in Sparwood that Mike and I finally acquired some vacation pets!  Click here to meet Felicia Cottontail and Shemp.  For a total of 30 cents, you too can have love and companionship for years to come.  Unfortunately, Shemp would later go hog wild, never to be the same again, and now only goes backwards unless you tip him forward on his beak.  Felicia's 15 cent technology is still going strong.

We finally crossed the border into Alberta around 2:30 p.m. and are now one province closer to hoooome.  Unfortunately, crossing the border also meant saying adios to the mountains and hello once again to the flat lands, which don't do much in the way of keeping poor Paw awake through hours and hours of driving.  Just before the prairies made a reappearance however, we drove through Alberta's Frank Slide - the historic site where in 1903 at four in the morning, 82 million tonnes of rock crashed down from Turtle Mountain, burying the town of Frank.  Since that is an impossibly large amount of rock to move, it's all still there with the highway running straight through it.  After that, we hit Pincher Creek, which is home to hundreds and hundreds of windmills all along the highway as far as the eye can see and then... nothing.  Seas of green.

After taking advantage of the tax-free gas prices in AB and filling Beula's tank all the way full for the first time, we landed at Ross Creek RV Park in Medicine Hat for the night, which proved itself to be the most dismal of all RV parks we've encountered thus far.  No washrooms, no showers, no picnic tables, no sewer connections (at our site, anyway), no laundry and TRAINS.  Trains blasting by with up to 120 cars, grinding steel against steel and practically within arm's reach - every hour.  Glorious.

We're back in mosquito territory now so we stayed within Beula's confines for the night, watching the one good channel we were able to get on the TV and just relaxing.

After soaking her feet in the sink basin (lined with a bag to protect any future dish washing from feet germs):

Mom:  "So we'll just use this water for the coffee machine then?  Come on, open it up and I'll pour it in!"  Barf.  Tres drole, Maman.

Mom:  "Oh well, at least all the train commotion makes for some blog material."

Mike:  "Not really.  'A train went by, heheheh.'

Looking at a particularly special picture of Pops:

Dad:  "I look like I should be on the street corner holding a can of pencils.  Five cents a pencil!"

Mom:  "There's a piece of salmon left in the fridge Mike, just throw it in the microwave."

Mike:  "The microwave doesn't work."

Mom:  "Yes it does, I just used it!"

Mike:  "Well, it doesn't work for me.  I tried to heat up nachos for like two minutes and they weren't even warm.  In other words, bullshit is afoot."

Well, we've traveled roughly 6,850km so far and have about 2,500km left to go!  Tomorrow we'll hit Saskatchewan and Mom's put her foot down and demanded that we take a small detour to Rouleau where they filmed Corner Gas.

Letting the good times roll,

The Blues Brothers Ride Again

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

START:  Pair-A-Dice RV Park, Creston, BC - 11:00 a.m.

STOP:  Regency Park RV Resort, Cranbrook, BC - 5:30 p.m.

WEATHER:  Hot n' sunny pretty much all day

The shower situation was less than desirable at ol' Pair-A-Dice this morning, as people were actually waiting in line to use them, so we resorted to our trusty mailbox once again in order to prepare for the day's festivities.  Mike discovered the special treat that is Ritz Crackers and peanut butter, using his very own petite jar of PB bestowed upon him by Aunt Sylvie in an attempt to accommodate his vegetarian needs.  Dad:  "Hey!  Don't be muckin' that right outta the jar!"  Mike:  "THIS IS MINE.  Aunt Sylvie gave it to me!"  Haha

Not long after pulling out of the park, we had to pull over to inspect the tranny fluid and attempt to resolve the busted A/C, as it was going to be another moist and clammy afternoon.  Unfortunately, it remained a mystery so we just left the generator running in order to use our 'home unit' in the meantime.  After that, we were back in business and on our way to Cranbrook in hopes of meeting up with Bob before he headed out for the weekend.  Just outside Cranbrook we began the sickening sequence of gradually losing hours of our lives and are now only two hours behind you folks back home.  Our first stop in town was a grocery run at Safeway, where Daddio also figured out how to rig the A/C!  Wooo!  Surprised?  You shouldn't be.  After that, we hit up Wal-Mart for some essentials and had a parking lot rendezvous with Bob!  He came and met us after work, since it's always easier for people to find us than it is for us to find them.  So after visiting for awhile, Bob took Dad over to check out an RV Park for us to camp out at for the night and discovered that it's run by Julian from the Trailer Park Boys. Honestly, it has to be the man's life-long dream to live his life based on the show because he executes it perfectly.  He strolled around chatting with the campers in his black pants and white wife beater, holding a tumbler of rum and coke (or something of the like.)  He was actually very nice and quite helpful, always checking to see how things were going and offering to help in any way he could.  I later regretted yelling out, "It looks scary!" as me and Mike went over to inspect the shower situation, not realizing that Mrs. Julian was situated at their camper right behind me.  Woops.  Hi there. Great place you've got here.

Bob went back home for awhile while we got set up and Mom cooked another delicious salmon dinner, and then came back to join us for the feast, pulling up in that little beauty you see up above.  He took Dad for a ride first (Bob:  "We look like the Blues Brothers!") and then Mom after dinner, pretty much securing a car identical to it as the next item on the wishlist.  Mom:  "Can we trade in Beula for one?  Or at least as a downpayment?"  Too soon, Mom.  Too soon.

We spent the rest of the night sitting around chatting, and we all got to hear some more stories of "the bad ol' days," as Paw puts it.  We were glad we got the chance to have a legitimate visit and not just a 20-minute meet and greet at Wal-Mart - and from what I've been hearing, we may be back sooner than later, Bob!  Both Mom and Dad really liked Cranbrook and wouldn't be entirely opposed to settin' up shop there.  Mom:  "I could drive around here!"

We didn't get very far today (only about 60 miles) but giving Dad some extra rest time from gas pedalin' and a visit with Bob made it all worth it.  It'll be back to business as usual tomorrow.

Letting the good times roll,

Up, Up, and Away

Thursday, July 22nd, 2010

START:  Island View RV Resort, Osoyoos, BC - 10:30 a.m.

STOP:  Pair-A-Dice RV Park, Creston, BC - 6:30 p.m.

WEATHER:  Overcast; rainy and warm for most of the day; some sunny breaks toward the end!

Well, if Beula didn't have buns o' steel before, she definitely does after today.  With all the mountain passes on our route, the majority of our travelling today seemed to be uphill and for what were pretty lengthy stretches of time each time.  But slow and steady wins the race and Dad pulled over every time it looked like she was getting too hot (which felt like every five minutes) to give her (& Mom) a break before continuing onward and upward.

We saw quite a few little deer (three?) on our journey today, and a moose, griz, big horn sheep, samsquanch and raven (Mom:  "It's Sheryl's sister, Raven Symone") if you count all the statues we passed while traveling through Regal Ridge, which of course you wouldn't, so we'll stick with the three deer.  We stopped in Grand Forks to load up on some Subway, where we found our third deer at the end of a side street just munchin' carefree on someone's front lawn and then realized the street was a dead end, so had to back up (Dad made sure to still stop at the stop sign, hahah) in order to turn around and park near the Subway.  We pulled up basically into the tree of someone's front yard, which harbored little weird, spiky, fruity, nutty fruit things, so Mike took it upon himself to just reach out the window and yank one off.

Mom:  "You can't just pick stuff off someone's tree!"

Mike:  "Well just one!"

Moral of the story is that we still have no idea what the hell it is and you shouldn't pick unknown foodstuffs off someone's tree and attempt to taste it.

We eventually made it to Trail, where Dad was going to drop off a resume, but that turned into basically just driving through town, only stopping to get gas, as le Paw felt he wasn't at the point where he needed to be applying for work four provinces away just yet.  Stopping to get gas proved to be an adventure in itself, as after attempting to start her up and drive away, the brake light was on and the brake pedal decided it was going to stay stuck to the floor.  So that was an unexpected treat, especially since the kindly gas gentleman just finished telling us that Kootenay Pass was coming up and will "get yer attention!"  After checking the brake fluid and seeing that it was still full and everything was in working order, we started driving to at least get out of the way of the gas pumps and then VOILA - light went off and brake was fine.  So "reassured" that it was probably just this, or probably just that, we set off in search of the final climb of the day, keeping in mind it probably wouldn't hurt to pull over every now and then on the way back down to give the ol' brakes a rest, too.

Finally, we arrived alive at Pair-A-Dice RV Park in Creston, which was a refreshing change in price from the night before (being only one dirt road loop of RVs and all) and settled in for the night.  The storm that we thought was chasing us the whole way there only manifested into a few drizzles and then gave us the wondrous sight you see above (minus the scrapyard below that I cropped out for your viewing pleasure.)

Tonight's main event was laundry-related, starring our $5 net laundry bag from Wal-Mart.  After waiting for the touched lovebirds (Dad:  "Well come on, you don't need to be draped all over each other doing laundry") to get their crap outta the dryer so we could put our stuff in, Mom came back to report that our laundry bag had been stolen, which sent Dad and Mike into a heroic rage on Mom's behalf.

Dad:  "Which trailer are they in?"

Mom:  "I don't know."

Dad:  "Maybe I should go take a walk, I might see them in the window.  Maybe they're admiring it."

Hahaha.  So after Dad and Mike crept around outside their trailer for 10 minutes and then came back to concoct various plans of revenge, Mom went off to get the last of the laundry ("I don't even wanna go out there now.  I feel like I'm gonna get mugged!") and came back with...  Can you guess?  THE LAUNDRY BAG!  Wooooopsie dooooodle.

Now feeling sufficiently loser-ish, we decided to call it a night.  Tomorrow we'll hopefully be able to meet up with the Smylies before they head out of town for the weekend and then we only have one more mountain pass standing in the way of our flat freedom.

Letting the good times roll,

Too Hot To Live

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

LOCATION:  Osoyoos, BC

WEATHER:  Hot.  So hot.

Pancakes for breakfast!  Mom tries to reach the pancake mix down from the cupboard - Mike:  "You need a bionic arm for your midget shenans."  Hahaha, poor Maw.  And after two enormous, bellowing sneezes, a plate of two pancakes appears from behind me - Dad:  "Do you want these?"  I don't know, do I?! Aaaand that's all the witty banter I have for you today!  After that, it got too hot out to even talk, never mind be funny about it so we spent the rest of the day slugging around, trying not to melt.

I spent most of the day at the beach and Mom joined me for a few hours, and the males (aside from a few bike/skate board rides) relaxed in the air conditioned comfort of ol' Beuls for the most part.

Tomorrow we need to roll outta here before it reaches 36 degrees and Beula calls it quits in a sweaty heap on the side of a winding mountain road.

Letting the good times roll,

Osoyasauce

Tuesday, July 20th, 2010

START:  Burnaby Cariboo RV Park, Burnaby, BC - 11 a.m.

STOP:  Island View RV Resort, Osoyoos, BC - 6 p.m.

WEATHER:  Mostly overcast and warrrrm.

Well, it's back to life on the road.  I may have spoken too soon about hoping Beuls was up to the challenge because she got off to a rocky start chugging up some never-ending hills not long after getting back on the highway!  But no need to fret, it only means a few more rest stops along the way to let her cool down before it's back to smooth sailing.  The drive was pretty uneventful for the most part, with everyone sacked out for most of the trip (minus poor Dad of course, who was forced to stay alert for the safety of us all), but we did hit rain after two weeks without a single drop and we were back on the hunt, scanning our surroundings for griz.

Mom:  "I don't know if I'd even wanna say it if I saw one.  You'd probably hit the ditch!"

Dad:  "YOU BETTER SAY IT!"

Haha, alas, still Griz-less.

After stopping at an antique crap store in Hedley and to scan the hills for mountain goats (which apparently are not goats at all but are antelopes - whaaaaaaaaaat?) in Keremeos, we hit up one of about a million fruit stands in town to load up on some fresh stuff, such as cherries, bloobs, peaches, and jam (& Drumsticks.  Yeah, that's right, fresh Drumsticks - Dad:  "Told ya they would have some!").  Eventually, we called it quits on travelling for the day and decided on Island View RV Resort in Osoyoos (the pronunciation of which has been a hot topic around here, hence the title) and while it's the most expensive one we've stayed at yet, it boasts some great views of the surrounding hills and has its own beach for guests and owners of the park (a view from which can be seen in the picture above).  After a few tense moments of backing into our site (Dad:  "Should I try to level it out some more?"  Me:  "We're here now and we haven't killed anyone so I think we should just stay put") we were good to go, eventually deciding to stay for two nights at least since it's supposed to be above 30 here every day this week.

We had an explosion of bloobs all over the floor when Dad knocked the container out of the fridge, so he and Mom had the unique experience of (Dad:) "picking blueberries INSIDE the Bounder" while Mike and I watched and took pictures of their misfortune like the helpful offspring we are.

Dad:  "I've been waiting 30 years to take this vacation."

Mike:  "Pfft, you haven't been waiting 30 years.  You could've gone any time."

Me:  "Yeah, like he could've just taken a month plus off work."

Mike:  "He could've quit."

Dad:  "YEAH, okay, then were would you be?"

Mike:  "In a mud hut."

While it'll probably be way too hot even for beach time tomorrow, that's the plan and then it'll be back on the road Thursday in search of the Smylies!

Letting the good times roll,

A Family Farewell

Monday, July 19th, 2010

LOCATION:  Vancouver, BC

WEATHER:  Overcast in the morning; clear and sunny for the rest of the day

Well, thank goodness for our evening visit from Mom's cousin Diane and her husband Derek or I would've had close to SQUAT to blog about today.  But I'll catch you up on our mundane Monday activities from the beginning anyway!  How about that!

Today was our last day with the rental car, so before turnin'er back in, Dad and I made a quick trip to the bank so I could get a new debit card to replace the one that flew from my pocket, never to be found again, on yesterday's bike ride.  After that, Dad hosed the car down to rid it of the multiple layers of pine tree droppage that accumulated while in the parking lot so as not to be charged even more (although after the fortune he paid anyway, who would've noticed!) for a spit shine by the rental company.

For din, we ordered some Papa John's pizza, which turned out to be (Mike:) "the best pizza I've ever had in my life," leaving him unsatisfied still after finishing off an entire small pizza to himself.

Dad:  "You ate YOUR whole pizza and now you're eyeballin' ours!  Eat what's on your shirt - that oughta finish you off."

After contemplating another hot tub attempt, Mom inspired the sickest evacuation plan yet.

Mom:  "I'll just go with a piece of toilet paper hanging out the bottom of my bathing suit."

Dad:  "And smear some peanut butter on it."

Mike:  "Then take a butter knife and smear it down the inside of your leg."

Something tells me we're going to have no friends left when we get back if I keep airing the inner workings of our family mentality in this fashion.

But there you have the grand events of our afternoon!  Oh, and a helpful tip from Mike.

Mike:  "I read that you're supposed to put flour on a burn after you ice it."

Steph:  "Too late for that."

Mike:  "Well, you'll probably do it again."

Thanks for the vote of confidence!  But it's true.

Around 7:30 p.m., Mom's cousin Diane and her husband Derek found their way to our home away from home and spent some time visiting and taking in the indescribable splendor that is Beula.  It was great to see them again, especially since the last time we were out this way and spent time at their home was roughly 12 years ago.  The night Princess Diana died was actually the same night they came to pick us up from the airport - one of those moments in time where you'll always remember where you were when it happened.  But we had a great visit and were glad they could make it out to see us on our last night in the city.  They left just after 10 p.m. and after that it was just more of the usual in terms of our nightly routine, and then off to bed!

Tomorrow we're back on the road after two weeks, beginning the long drive back home.  Here's hoping Beuls is still up to the challenge!

Letting the good times roll,

Sheryl Crow

Sunday, July 18th, 2010

LOCATION:  Vancouver, BC

WEATHER:  Clear and sunny all day.

As predicted, we took it easy and stuck around the RV Park today after all the island excitement of the past few days.  Not only that, but Dad's pulled hamstring hasn't gotten any better and leading the life of a tourist isn't exactly helping, so we figured we'd let him rest (as can be seen at dinner time last night by clicking here, haha - note the extra plate for stain prevention).

The day got off to something of a slow start as far as golden blog material is concerned.  We lazed around, Mom befriended a petit nine year-old girl in the washroom who watched her in awe the entire time she put on her make-up, and Dad and I went grocery shopping to stock up on the essentials, like doughnuts and waffles.

Dad:  "Uh oh, neighbours backin' in!"

Mike:  "Get out the shotgun!"

Mom:  "This guy just walked by in black silk pajamas talking on his cell phone."

Dad:  "Thanks, I hate him already."

Later in the day, I packed up my pockets with my cell phone and debit card and hopped on my bike to see where the wind (and my out of shape legs) would take me.  I discovered a stunned crow squatting in the grass on the side of the road, who didn't appear to be injured but wouldn't move no matter how close you got.  Mysterious.  Anywaaay, after about 20 minutes of having returned back at Beula, I discovered that m'pockets were EMPTY.  For the love of Cheez-Its.  So I hopped back on my bike, passed the weird crow, and (cue music of the heavens parting) found my phone laying face down and relatively unharmed on the side of the road.  No debit card to be found.  Mike returned with me awhile later for one last hunt for it to no avail, but discovered the crow (quickly named Sheryl Crow) that still hadn't moved from what would apparently come to be its deathbed.

Mike:  "I wanna go back and have that crow.  It could be our vacation pet."

Mom:  "You can't just HAVE a crow.  That's the last thing I'd want for a pet."

Mike:  "Why??  Crows are EXCELLENT.  We could nurse it back to health."

Mom:  "Yeah, I don't think so!"

Steph:  "What if that was you dying on the side of the road?"

Mike:  "Yeah, mom.  If a crow wanted to bring me home, his crow mom would say, 'Okay.'"  Hahaha.

The neighbours kept rollin' in all day long, most of them French, with Dad even matchmaking some friendships.  Dad:  "I told him, 'He's got the same license plate as you' then they started to *talking hand gestures* Jerry Jacque, Jerry Jacque."  Hahah.

The night ended with another failed attempt at hot tubbing for Mom and Mike (my hideous burn has robbed me of all aqua-fun) since it was jam packed as usual; so they returned and we passed the time coming up with ways that they could go back and clear it out:

• Start farting when the jets turn off.
• Pick your wedge furiously while walking toward hot tub.
• "But Mom, what about my lesions?"
• "What about my diarrhea?  YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED LAST TIME."
• Put a hot dog wiener/chicken leg in the rear of your suit and back down the stairs into the hot tub slowly.  Hahaha.  Sick.

Mom called it quits but Mike eventually went back and squeezed in amongst the masses for as long as he could bear it.  Tomorrow, while there was mention of Grouse Mountain, will probably just be another low-key day of relaxing, since it's Dad's gas pedal leg that's in a state of disrepair and this ship is rollin' out on Tuesday.  & there will hopefully be no more maimed animals to speak of.

Mom:  "I just loved that wee little dog I saw today."

Mike:  "Yeah, well, I loved Sheryl."

Letting the good times roll,

Island Living

Wednesday, July 14th, 2010 - Saturday, July 17th, 2010

START:  RV Park 11:30 a.m.  >>>  Nanaimo, BC 5:00 p.m.  >>>  Chemainus, BC 5:30 p.m.

STOP:  Victoria, BC 10:30 a.m.  >>>  Swartz Bay 12:00 p.m.  >>>  RV Park 3:30 p.m.

WEATHER:  Beautiful and sunny (although sometimes on the nippy side) the whole time!

She livvvvves.  Sometimes I just don't feel like doing my homework when I'm trying to vacation, OK?  It just seems easier to lump all the events of these mini-vacations within a vacation together, but you've all made it quite apparent that you don't share my views on that.

TODAY IS DAY 30!  Officially one month away from home.  While it sometimes feels like we've been gone foreeeever, other days it feels like we've just left.  Regardless, we've reached our most westerly destination and any travelling from this point on will be homeward bound.  But back to what you've missed.  We spent the last approximately three or so days touring Vancouver Island, so I'll start at the beginning.

We figured we'd catch the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo since it would only be about a half hour drive to Aunt Sylvie's after that, so we loaded up and got there in time for the 12:50 ferry but oh, ya don't say?  She was full.  The next one departed at 2:50 so we had a good chunk of time to kill and did so by grabbing some lunch at a restaurant in the village (the waitress didn't know how to count the number of cokes ordered and forgot about Dad's beer all together so after a little coaxing from Mike and I to accept the little gifts life has to offer and keep yer trap shut, he did. We are good people.) and sitting down by the water until it was boarding time.  The ferry was pretty ginormous and boasted some lovely scenery, taking about an hour and 40 minutes total to reach its destination.

We made it to Nanaimo around five o'clock and only half an hour later (& NO wrong turns) we pulled into the parking lot at Aunt Sylvie's.  It was great to see her - and be back at her apartment and in Chemainus since Mike was only five and I had just turned 12 on our last visit - and even with barely any notice (we're good like that) she had whipped up a delicious dinner for us of salmon loaf, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob.  We spent the rest of the night sitting around, relaxing and chatting (Mike went skateboarding and found himself down at the beach) and were spoiled with a motherload of books and things from Aunt Sylvie : )  Thank you for everything!

The next day, Dad, Mike and I decided to head out towards Victoria to see some sights and give Mom and Aunt Sylvie a chance to catch up together.  It was only about an hour drive from Chemainus to Victoria and Mike managed the whole way without one bonch (as he also did on the way to the ferry from the RV Park!  Bravo!).  With each "emergency only" pullout we passed on the road, Dad and Mike suggested we pull over to play a quick game of croquet, or frisbee across the highway, but we carried on, hahah.  We made it to Victoria and eventually snagged ourselves a hotel room and while Mike lamed out in the room, Dad and I went for stroll to check things out and do a little browsing.  As you can see above, it's a beautiful city with a million and one things to do and see and I could have set up shop and stayed forever if it had been up to me.  Mike favours Alberta landscapes over B.C. himself, but nevertheless.  After strolling through the downtown/inner harbour area, we knew Mom would enjoy it just as much as we did, so the next day Dad took off back to Aunt Sylvie's to pick her up and we booked one more night at the hotel.  In a nutshell, our Victoria highlights:

• Mike:  "Sweet!  There's a safe in the closet."
  Me:  "You just punch in a code and then you can store all yer valuables in there."
  Dad:  "Yeah right.  The maids have some kinda master code and it just pops open and then it's a free for all."
  We look to our left.  Smile at the maid in the hall.  Scurry into the elevator.
• Our wonderful waitress at The Sticky Wicket (where we lunched two days in a row), Glamorous Glenys, who should have been a Hogwarts professor.
• The London Wax Museum (unfortunately sans Mel Gibson).
• The inner harbour and all of its boats and yachts and people and shops and shows.
• All of the old-fashioned cars that were driving around the city in preparation for the big show they're having on Sunday - approx. 900 of them will be parked all around the harbour.  Needless to say, Dad was pretty miffed that our plans had us leaving a day too soon.

All in all, we had a great stay on the island (even after going on a hairy goose chase on our way to the ferry back trying to find the Butchart Gardens - or if you're Dad, the "Butt-Itch" Gardens - only to find out it's $30 a person.  Seeeeeeya.)  The ferry back to the mainland was a much more pleasant experience - with little to no wait time - and we made it back to the RV Park with no mishaps to report.

Home sweet home - ish!  We have our site until Tuesday and, as far as I'm aware, plan to take full advantage of it.  Tomorrow is bound to be a pretty lazy one, but I promise to never withhold the days of our lives from you again.

Letting the good times roll,

Programming Note

Blogging will resume as per the norm once we've vacated the island and have landed safely back on the mainland (Saturday!).

Until then....

Letting the good times roll,

Do You Like Seafood?

Tuesday, July 13th, 2010

LOCATION:  Vancouver, BC

WEATHER:  Overcast in the morning; then turned clear and sunny.

We started the day off right today; Mom made us a reeeeeal breakfast of taters, eggs, bacon and cheeeese toast.  This is obviously not what is depicted above - that'd be dinner.  But one meal at a time!

We decided to hold off on travelling to the island today and head over there tomorrow instead, so we figured we better actually go somewhere and do something today so as not to subject you all to the mind-numbing events that yesterday's blog held.

Once again, Mike opted out, so it was just Dad, Mom and I who ventured off to... GRANVILLE ISLAND!  After the recommendations by quite a few of our friends to go check it out, we figured why the hell not and set out with directions in hand.  It's always fun when you're relying solely on Google to get you to your destination and Dad asks if you can go this way or that instead and you have no freakin' clue because you have no idea where you are and "THAT'S ALL THAT GOOGLE SAYS!"  Dad:  "Just write it on a 2x4 and whack me with it."  But eventually, after Mom almost wretched her guts out at each stop light and Dad offered to duct tape her head to the head rest to lessen the motion, we arrived at (Dad:) "the freaking zoo" and found a place to park after touring the whole thing eight times.  It was a really cute little place with shops and restaurants and performers everywhere you looked.  Mom and Dad stocked up on some smoked salmon, shrimp, and lobster and we picked up some fresh corn on the cob and potatoes from the Public Market to comprise the gloriousness that is the dinner pictured above.

Before heading home, we stopped for some drinks and wings at Bridges, a restaurant overlooking the harbour (although Dad sneakily opted to eat the smoked salmon he'd purchased previously instead - Waitress:  "How is everything?"  Us:  "Great."  Waitress leaves.  Dad: "But this chicken sure looks a lot like salmon! Hehehehe.")  We were lucky enough to be seated one table away from the self-professed GREATEST WOMAN IN THE WORLD.  The level of her voice made tuning her out impossible, so we learnt all about how dynamic and motivated she is, and how all her friends think she's just so hilarious and "You've just got to hear this story about when I flew first class to Europe to go backpacking." Dad was ready to turn around and give her a piece of his mind, but I threatened to flee the scene, bulldozing over everything in my way to avoid it if he did, so he bit his tongue.  After finally making our way back during rush hour (and playing 'Spot the Cheater in the Carpool Lane' to pass the time) we returned to Mike and our humble abode and chowed down on all the delicious purchases of the day.

We spent the evening as per usual, with TV time and the like, and admiring the sleek machine that our new noobours pulled up in - an Airstream Excello 1000.  Google that shit.  Mike:  "I LOVE THAT!!!"  It is pretty sweet.  Not that we repeatedly tried to peek through their blinds to see inside or anything.

The night was particularly memorable for me as I burnt the crap out of my leg... ironing.  I have literally burnt myself every single time I've used the iron on this trip because I'm real swift that way, but last night was the Mother Mary of all burns so I have officially retired and will spend the rest of this trip wrinkled.  I had the petite ironing board set up on the bed and was sitting criss-cross applesauced behind it, ironing and watching TV until I moved half an inch without holding onto the iron and it fell off and landed on my leg. My own built in souvenir.  JEALOUS?

Tomorrow we head for the island and Aunt Sylvie!

Letting the good times roll,