Washington

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A Wenatchee Detour

Donna, another friend, and I headed into Washington state today. The purpose of the trip was so that Donna could have her defective Verizon phone replaced while it was still on warranty, something which was going to expire in a couple of days. Verizon had told her that Omak had the nearest store. We figured we’d pop in at the Princes grocery store in Oroville then go to Omak, do the Verizon store, grab some Mexican food at Tequila’s, and finish the day at Walmart. I drove because my car was quicker to empty than was Donna’s truck. 🙂

Slight change of plan at the Verizon store, which is located in the Ace Hardware. They are just a distributor and it was necessary to go to a proper Verizon store. The nearest ones were Spokane or Wenatchee. I’d seen a road sign for the latter, so I confirmed that it was just a hundred miles away. We’d already come this far, it made no sense to let the warranty on Donna’s phone expire! So, we came out of the store and told our other friend that she could either spend the afternoon at Walmart or join us on an impromptu road trip. The decision was easy to make!

Unfortunately, Tequila’s was closed, so we decided to push on and stop at the first promising location for lunch.

The drive to Wenatchee was just gorgeous and easy. Our stomachs were a rumbling trio when we got to Pateros, so we pulled into the strip mall and decided to try out the little bakery there. We had nice turkey and cranberry sandwiches (Thanksgiving, remember!).

Coming into Wenatchee was a bit stressful because we didn’t really have directions and I’d left the GPS behind. We got off the highway, crossed a bridge, and headed into downtown, which made the whole day worthwhile. Downtown Wenatchee is stuck in the 1950s! Nearly all the store signs are those old signs they had back then. It was a most amazing time warp! The road through downtown led to the shopping district where we recognized the landmarks we were told to look for. We’d gone a little out of our way, but not actually done a detour. I definitely want to go back and do a photo tour of town!

It was late afternoon when Donna’s phone issues were satisfactorily resolved, so we agreed to shoot straight back to Omak, do Walmart, then grab dinner at the Mexican place in Oroville if it was open. We stopped again in Pateros for gas and then pushed on. It was getting late, so we didn’t dally at Walmart, but I will be going back there with fabric samples ASAP since I found there something for the rig I’ve been looking for since I started planning the decorating phase….

Thankfully, the restaurant in Oroville, Trino‘s, was open! Between the chips with cold slaw, the gigantic burritos, and the deep fried tortilla cheese cake bites with ice cream (not my idea!), we pretty much rolled out of there! I may not have to eat for a week. 🙂

Getting back into Canada was reasonably painless and then it was a hop, skip, and a jump to home. What a great day!

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Travels Without Miranda, #9: Ogunquit, Maine

I like traveling solo. There are no compromises to make and you get all the alone time you want.

But I discovered during a long weekend in Ogunquit, Maine, that there are advantages to traveling with a like-minded friend. You can make memories together, share in the driving, and help each other if one gets hurt. Our weekend might have required some compromising over pizza toppings and restaurants, but I still got to run on the beach and read on the b&b porch by myself, and we can both laugh at our shared memories of getting soaked a few hours upon arrival. And let’s not forget the calamari, one those moments for which ‘you just had to be there.’

Ogunquit, ‘beautiful place by the sea’, is a picture-perfect resort town. The beach is endless, the seafood fresh, and the shops quaint. It was my first time in twelve years breathing in sea air and I reveled in it.

downtown Ogunquit

downtown Ogunquit

The weekend didn’t go entirely as planned as the friend who had invited me ended up spraining her ankle and lost an afternoon to recuperation. Once I’d done all the first aid I could, I took off in her car to do some antiquing.

The next day we went for a drive to the Cape Elizabeth lighthouse, just west of Portland. I could not believe the view around the cape, all black rock and turquoise ocean and wispy cloud sky, contrasting with the concrete remains of the Fort Williams battlement and the emerald green grounds.

Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse

Cape Elizabeth Lighthouse

That evening, we walked Ogunquit’s Marginal Way, a paved mile-long seaside walkway, from the neighbourhood of Perkin’s Cove to downtown.

Walkers on Marginal Way

Walkers on Marginal Way

On our way home the next day, we stopped for dinner at a chain restaurant my friend had been to and loved called ‘Weathervanes.’ Then followed the funniest moment of the whole trip. The calamari I’d ordered were… strange. Oh, they were yummy–very sweet and not rubbery at all. But they weren’t the rings that I was accustomed to eating in Ottawa. Instead, it looked like I had a plate of… legs. I picked one up near the bottom of the plate and found myself holding a small whole battered squid. It was the most revolting thing I’d ever seen in my life. According to my friend, my expression reflected this thought. But it was her next expression that will remain engraved in my head forever, when I shrugged off the disgust, yanked a couple of legs from the squid, and happily ate them. An hour later, she still couldn’t get over the fact that I’d eaten it! I’m still laughing as I write this… and drooling. Yup, I definitely like squid. And I don’t eat beef?!

I think my friend enjoyed sharing this town and area she loves so much while I enjoyed being able to tag along.

It can be nice to travel with friends, something I rediscovered when another friend suggested we go to Seattle for a day.

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Journey to the birthplace of Starbucks

Seattle rises out of the fog like an impressionistic painting, a gleaming beacon of civilization after a hundred miles of lush green mountains.

It was last night, in a fit of genius fueled by exhaustion, that my friend and I decided to go to Seattle today. She had put ‘go to Washington state’ on her list of things to do on this trip and when we realised that Seattle was barely two hours away, we decided to do something a tad more exciting than just going to Blaine for lunch.

We had an easy crossing into the States at Pacific Highway (the crossing we can see from my living room) and an easy enough drive to Seattle in pouring rain, arriving just shy of noon.  I’d had an idea of what we could do this afternoon, but my friend had seen the Seattle Aquarium as we came in and had her heart set on it, so our very loose plans changed.

I was famished (not news, lol!), so the first order of business was to drive around the general vicinity of the aquarium and look for food. We ended up at the Old Spaghetti Factory, where we both had a very satisfactory meal (I highly recommend the chicken penne).

Parking for the aquarium was the next order of the day and it was found quickly. Such a thing is ludicrously high in Seattle. We paid 14USD for 3 hours of parking, in addition to entrance to the aquarium.

While I had found the Vancouver aquarium to be quite disappointing, the Seattle aquarium was anything but! It has a touch pool, sea mammals, and interesting exhibits. My friend’s joy at the experience was palpable and her enthusiasm contagious. She fell in love with an anemone, while an octopus won my heart.

Rain poured down in sheets all afternoon, covering Puget Sound with a heavy grey mist. Neither one of us felt like driving home in damp clothes, so we didn’t explore the area around the aquarium. It was almost four by the time we got out of there and I knew the drive home would be difficult, so, satisfied and happy, we headed north without exploring Seattle further.

Approaching Bellingham, I suggested we stop and have dinner. Border wait times were already at the 20 minute mark and would only increase. I was also exhausted and achy from white knuckled driving seeing as there was enough rain that the car aquaplaned a few times. In the time it took to eat a fantastic meal at Applebee’s, the sky cleared. We drove the rest of the way home in beautiful sunshine and blue sky.

I didn’t realise that we needed to exit to get to the Pacific border crossing, so we wound up at Peace Arch. This was great seeing as the wait approached 40 minutes; my friend was able to see the Peace Arch and we enjoyed watching the sun set over the ocean. I did find the wait very difficult as I drive a standard and it’s a steady climb from the US to Canadian customs. I put on the hand brake a few times, but traffic was too steady to bring much relief. Crossing back into Canada was a non-event (note to my friend: whispering that the customs guy is really cute, even if he is, is distracting 🙂 ).

Pictures are on the Seattle page.

Each day has topped the previous, so we’re eager to see what wonders will mark our last full day together tomorrow.

As a side note, interstate 5, which connects Blaine and Seattle, WA, goes from the WA/BC border all the way down to the California/Mexican border. I have driven it from the Mexican border all the way to San Francisco and now from Blaine to Seattle. I just need to drive it from Seattle to San Francisco at some point! 🙂

(I never thought I would one day drive HOME from Seattle in two hours!)

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Adventures In No Man’s Land

Here is the daytime view at my new park. Yes, I need to wash my windows. The roads were sandy yesterday! 🙂

daytime view at PB

Walking down Zero Avenue, I was treated to this sight:

Spelling Fail

Spelling Fail

*ggl*

Then this little guy stopped his wanderings long enough to pose for a couple of shots!

deer1

deer2

Notice the water of salty persuasion in the background… 🙂

Getting closer to the water:

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Zero Avenue ends at Peace Arch Park, a sort of no man’s land that straddles the 49th parallel, existing between the American and Canadian customs. I don’t know if Americans can do this, but I was able to take a stroll down Zero Avenue in Surrey right into the park without requiring any sort of identification. I was told I could walk to White Rock through the park, but I couldn’t find a legitimate way to get out of there other than the way I came in or actually going through Canadian customs, so I didn’t pursue the issue and will ask for further clarification.

A not-so-excellent adventure on a US military base in California taught me to be very careful about taking pictures anywhere near US government installations (no, I did NOT try to take pictures of a military base!), so I was very cautious about taking out the camera at the park. I did sneak a couple of pics:

I'm in the United States!

I’m in the United States!

Otherside of the monument... and I'm in Canada!

Other side of the monument… and I’m in Canada!

More ocean, a lineup to get into the US, and a glimpse of Peace Arch Park

More ocean, a lineup to get into the US, and a glimpse of Peace Arch Park

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The Peach Arch

Coming home, I passed a couple out for a stroll:

Mr. and Mrs. Mallard out enjoying the weather

Mr. and Mrs. Mallard out enjoying the weather

When I checked the forecast last night, they were calling for rain today and the rest of the week, but it’s been sunny so far. What a reprieve!

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OkanOgan

The US border being just 25 minutes away, I decided to add a state to my list and go to Washington for half a day, the main purpose for the trip being a chance to fill my toad for about 15$ less than I can in Canada. Since I feel that you should always have something to declare upon reentry (looks less suspicious, even if you just spent 20$), I checked to see if there might be a Walmart Super Center nearby. There was! It’s in Omak, about an hour and a half away.

I had no problems entering the United States. When asked when I was going home, I replied truthfully that I will be leaving Oliver in a week. For the first time, I was asked to pop open my trunk, but that was the only delay before entering my 26th state!

The scenery on the drive to Omak down the US 97 was breathtaking!

I had lunch at Tequila’s in Omak, which promised ‘authentic’ Mexican fare. I have no idea if it was authentic, but it sure was good! My Spanish accent must be as good as my profs said it is since after ordering my ‘burrito a la crema’ (chicken cooked in sour cream and wrapped in a tortilla), the server only addressed me in Spanish! What a nice way to get a change of scenery while staying close to home!

Crossing the border back into Canada was a non-event. I declared the 30 bucks worth of stuff I’d bought at Walmart (including a huge quantity of RV-friendly toilet paper, something I have not being able to find here), and did not have to pay any customs on my purchases.

On the way back, I intended to stop off at the Canada Desert Centre, but it closes early, so I’ll need to try again. I did get a shot of Canada’s desert! 🙂