Canada Trip - The Second Half

It occurred to Riley that we entered Canada on July 1, Canada Day, and entered the USA on July 4, Independence Day.

After the suspension bridge, we spent some more time with Greg. He took us to Spanish Beach where his friends were doing a barbecue. DJ and I pumped up the inflatable kayak and we paddled around in the bay.  It got dark, and the kids were pooped, so we ate some frozen burgers I had in the RV fridge and called it a night.

The next day we started back for the US. The border crossing went fine even though I only had half our passports. We skipped Seattle and instead chose to stop in Rochester, Washington to spend the night. I saw a sign for a casino with RV parking. On the way to the casino, as we entered Indian land, we saw about 40 fireworks stands and people were lighting them off already.

The boys had been bugging me to buy fireworks. They bought some at the Columbia River stop on the way up and I let them light off three each in the fire pit on the river. They wanted more now that they saw the stands with the real fireworks. I asked around and it turns out that on Indian land anything goes. That's why they can sell and light off real fireworks whenever they want. In fact, that night, there was going to be a fireworks show at the Indian city center and all the attendees would be lighting off their own fireworks. I heard it can get crazy.

Against my better judgment, I pulled into the Indian city center area in my RV and the kids could already see people lighting off fireworks everywhere even though it wasn't dusk yet. The kids started getting excited. I poured a drink and went on the roof of the RV where I could watch all three of kids at once. I met a woman who comes there every year with her kids. She said it gets crazy but that's what makes it great. DJ and I met another group in the same parking lot who also come every year. He opened the back of his Scion and showed me what he says is $4,000 of fireworks.

DJ made a Youtube of some of the show on the ground. It did get crazy, but no one was hurt. DJ used the RV's fire extinguisher to put out a brush fire. Some of the people were doing stupid things, but it wasn't too bad.


Riley and Holden got to be part of the action once it calmed down a bit.

The next we drove all the way to Crescent City, California to see our friend and former housemate, Arielle. Unfortunely, she works graveyards at Home Depot so we spent the night in the Home Depot parking lot. I'm getting used to saving money on RV parks and just sleeping wherever we want. In the morning, Arielle took us to her favorite beach in Crescent City to see the tide pools, driftwood and baby jellyfish. Holden headed straight for the water, of course.

We drove all the way from Crescent City to Brea after that. We arrived Sunday, slept for a bit, and unloaded the RV. 

The trip ended up being a great success and a trip we will all remember forever. 

Canada Trip Thus Far

The concept of travelling North with a goal of reaching Canada eventually, but otherwise with no real itinerary, has (so far) worked out fine.

Our first night was in Pismo Beach. You should have seen the kids' faces when they first saw the dunes. It was dusk and the fine sand seemed to stretch on forever.

The next night we stayed in Mountain View at Uncle Paul and Aunt Shu's house. Paul made hamburgers and salmon burgers for dinner and the next morning Shu made waffles while Paul juiced home grown vegetables. The kids got to play with little Sage. It was great.

The third night we made it all the way to Ashland, Oregon where my Dad and Cindy had just arrived for a family reunion and wedding. We got to see all the people we haven't seen since the last reunion seven years ago. We spent the last day geocaching (a treasure hunt) with relatives. 

The fourth night we spent at Seven Feathers Casino RV Resort. I was hoping to get some poker in, but their poker room was being renovated. The kids always enjoy casinos so we took the free shuttle from the RV park to the casino and had dinner and ice cream while monitoring the Keno board for our ages. The RV Resort is beautiful and caters to people travelling through. The shuttle picks you up at your rv site and takes you wherever you want to go. The spotless showers were great and each bathroom has its own door and shower.

The fifth night we stayed at an RV Park on the Columbia River in Washington. 

They had a giant chess set and before they saw the river, DJ and Riley started up a grueling, long game that DJ eventually won. Holden however had no problem playing in the chilly Columbia. 

On the way to Canada we had to stop in Seattle to visit the very first Starbucks. 

The sixth night we made it to Canada and stayed in the only RV park in Vancouver. $70 a night! We got wise after that and parked in front of Greg Stewart's Yaletown condo. Greg Stewart is my Grammy and Leo award winning cousin who used to be a lot older than me but now we are both in our forties. His mum, Enola, is my mom's aunt. So that makes Enola my kids' Great Great Aunt. 

We enjoyed taking the Skytrain to the Waterfront in Vancouver to see the fireworks show celebrating Canada Day. On the way back, after midnight, we were supposed to change trains so I told the kids to get ready but I was too slow. Riley and Holden exited the train and left DJ and me behind. The doors closed and a security guard had one arm around each kid and  pantomimed to me that I should return at the next stop. That's what I did and it turned into a non-event. There goes my dad of the year award once again! 

We drove up to local Vancouver attraction which is a suspension bridge in the forest above Vancouver. Here I am making a face. Huong has been bugging me for a self portrait because I only post pictures of the kids. 

The suspension bridge moves a lot so you really get the strange feeling of being unsafe which makes it all worthwhile. Riley doesn't look happy here but she is.

The bridge can support two 747's, in case you were wondering. How they would get the airplanes in the middle of the forest, I don't know. But if they can, the ropes can hold them.

We didn't realize it right away, but DJ's shirt exactly matches the shirts worn by the workers at the suspension bridge. During our hikes around the various attractions DJ sometimes told visitors what to do just for fun. He even got a button somehow to make himself look official. 

That's all for now. Be sure to check out DJ and Riley's Instagram feeds for more interesting pictures.

DJ Instagram

Riley Instagram