Four Months on the Road … tempus fugit

I’ve been shamed into finally posting something on the blog.  But it’s nice to know there are people checking back to see what we’re up to.  Plus there’s the fact that no self-respecting bored housewife whose only non-family responsibility is to write in this blog can go for more than a month without making at least one entry.  

But there’s a lot to catch up on.  I thought then when I last wrote in late October, we’d shortly be departing fair Seattle for our next destination, probably south along the coast to slowly make our way down to Northern Cali for Thanksgiving with Miles’ brother in the Bay Area.  But alas, our trailer troubles continued for another two weeks after that.  We sheltered in the comfort of Belinda’s lovely Seattle flat in Freemont, making daily calls to the dealer in Seattle who was awaiting approval for a long list of warranty items, most of which were cosmetic but one of which (the nasty little discovery that Airstream had installed one of the brakes on backwards) had to be fixed before we could go anywhere with the trailer.  In the meantime, we asked them to also work on installing the solar system we had been carting around for three months in the back of the truck.  

During our Seattle stay, we got into our first on the road groove, which of course is much easier to do from and brick and mortar structure.  It was also motivated by the fact that Miles needed as much time as possible to finish work on the software he planned to release in the coming weeks (and did – HOORAY FOR MILES! – about two weeks ago).  So, Kell and I headed out most days by noon to explore Seattle – everything from the Ballard Zoo to the Space Needle, from the Experience Music Project designed by Frank Gehry to one of those really lame sea and land amphibious cruises (of course that being the shlockiest thing we did, it was the highlight for Kell).  There were walks around Green Lake, a visit to the Chocolate Factory and of course, Halloween!  We also spent a fair amount of time just bumming around dowtown Fremont’s shops and the library – and I got to know the yoga studio there pretty well.

Of course, just as my muscles had stopped hurting so badly from getting back into yoga, the trailer work was complete and we were on our way.  By this time, it was so much later than expected, that we scrapped our plans to get to Cali by Thanksgiving, opting instead to go up to Vancouver and Victoria for awhile.  Poor Belinda, was the bestest friend one could hope for in a situation like this, never pushing us to leave or showing her frustration that we were still there … two weeks later!

Anyhoo, no sooner had we arrived at the dealer to pick up the trailer, we realized at least one major flaw in the workmanship.  The front skylight which had been getting water in between the two layer’s of plexiglass and which was supposed to be replaced, had not been replaced, but the rear one, which had not been leaking, was replaced.  OOPS!  Well, of course the dealer was going to have to order the new light, get approval, blah blah blah.  We took the trailer back from the dealer anyway, figuring that with our newly hatched plan to go up to Vancouver, we’d come back to Seattle on our way back down to get the skylight installed.  

So, off we went, with good brakes and leaking skylight, to the wild rainy Olympic Peninsula., the far westernmost part of the lower 48.  It was definitely worth the trip, with amazing virgin forests dotting the Olympic National Park interior and ringed by amazing beaches all around.  The rainforests were magical and misty just as you’d expect one to be, but slightly ominous and eerie too.  The only thing marring the park landscape was the fact that you had to drive through miles of national forest to get there, where you’re surrounded by evidence of the treachery we’ve practiced on the trees in these “national” resources.  The damning evidence ranged from mundane signs showing the dates of last harvesting, planting, thinning and next expected harvests, to the devastation of seeing denuded, steep slopes laid bare by heavy machinery and left to allow the eroding soil to take with it the scraps of trees and trunk left behind in the wake of logging’s brutality.  And of course, there was the constant flow of the huge logging trucks, laden with the day’s cargo of trees as wide as I am tall.  It was a scary, sad landscape, but eye-opening all the same.

We spent a fair amount of time on the Olympic Peninsula hiking around, but were also rained in much of the time.  One whole rainy afternoon was spent in an extremely well thought-out kids discovery room at the Park’s visitor’s center, where they had drawers full of activities to teach kids everything from identifying different types of animal skin and bones, to learning about the construction techniques of the local native tribe, the Mak-ah.  We followed that up with a visit to the reservation on Neah Bay, which sits on the very northwesternmost tip of the peninsula and contains Cape Flattery, an amazing lighthouse island just off the rugged tip of the peninsula.  We hiked up the trail to stand on this northwesternmost tip of the lower 48 and marvel at the ruggedness of the coastline and beauty of the more destructive effects of the waves crashing into huge rocky cliffs again and again, wearing them away little by little.  Each little viewing area was constructed by the Mak-ah of native cedars assembled in some traditional way – with signage reminding you of the shifting nature of the rocks beneath each overhang – not a very comforting thought as we stood on these platforms, but interesting nonetheless.

More momentous than the sights we took in on the Peninsula was the moment we had all awaited – Miles’ announcement to his colleagues that the software he had so diligently worked on for months was being released.  It was a labor of love, but we were all very proud that he was able to get it completed and have his first 1.0 release!  On his last day of work on it, I might as well have attached an I.V. tube to him for feeding and water.  He refused to budge from the bedroom as he swore he would not start another day without releasing the thing.  And then he did it, sending the announcement out just before we went out for our first hike together on the Peninsula.  

We headed out of Port Angeles a few days before Thanksgiving to try to see some of southwestern BC that we had missed earlier in our trip.  So, with an easy ferry ride over the Strait of Juan de Fuca into Victoria’s harbor, we were glad to arrive, once again, across the border.  My biggest border crossing concern was having Chester (yes, he too is now a member of our caravan), but all the customs officers were interested in was whether we had alcohol or firearms on board.

Despite our desires to see some of Victoria, we bypassed the City itself for the fair shores of Weir Beach.  We had heard it would be a spectacular campground and it was.  Our site was perched with hardly another RV in site, in a spot facing the cove-like beach and tide pools on one side and a freshwater pond behind us.  Rather than get out every day to explore local sites, we found ourselves reluctant to go anywhere, especially with the views of water all around us.  Instead, we spent the time working on some of the long-delayed trailer improvement projects – hardware changes, picture hanging, gadget installing.  We also bought an electric radiator that has greatly improved our heating situation (which was fine but a little bit deficient in our bedroom in the back).

Our last night at Weir beach was Thanksgiving – which we celebrated while the rest of Canada went on about its business, having already celebrated “Canadian Thanksgiving” the month before.  We cooked a small turkey in our oven, made all the fixings and felt truly thankful to have had the opportunity to be together and celebrate in this way.  We did miss home and I especially missed being at Jenn’s who was celebrating with my Dad and Jill et al., but it is still amazing to realize how special this time is for all of us and how lucky we are to have it.   Easy to lose sight of that when you run out of places to hide in your 240 square foot trailer!

After leaving Weir’s we had the unique pleasure of driving up the coast of Vancouver Island to another beach destination, Tofino.  We went because we heard it was a beautiful storm-watching spot but we had mostly good weather except of one day of rain.  We went for a few hikes along the Pacific Rim National Park which was incredible.  But park or no park, this part of the world is breathtaking.  It’s is the most striking combination of snow-capped mountains, emerald green glacier-fed lakes, and crescent beaches with long, never-ending sandbars at low tide.  It’s a big surfing destination starting right about when we arrived along with the winter swells.  Our first visit to the beach made it clear that going to the “end of the road” as they call it, was more than worthwhile.  While the water may be cold (all of the surfers were wearing 5:4 suits with hoodies, gloves and booties) the swells when setting up right are gentle but powerful, clean when the offshore wind hits and you get to surf towards beaches backed by towering snow covered mountains.  Tofino the town was very small and sweet, but not developed solely for tourists either.  The year round population is only 1700 but those are cool folks who figured out how to live in this wild place year round.  In addition to surfers, there were lots of native folks, divers, fly fishermen, kayakers and just quirky cool people who’ve found a way to make it work in this incredibly beautiful but isolated environment.  Alas, there were no storms while we were there, but no matter, the scenery was still breathtaking. So, you’ll have to excuse all the pictures, I couldn’t choose!

From there we traveled down to Vancouver and had two days to explore one of the North America’s most livable cities I think.  While you can see the influence of the coming Winter Olympics in the frenzied development that is taking place all over, you can see why it is such a vibrant city even without that.  It is surrounded by beautiful ocean bays and inlets, mountains as a backdrop to the towers of downtown, and as many outdoor activities as one could hope to find in a downtown.  Today we spent most of the day in Stanley park, a beautiful huge urban park that contained everything from a rowing club to a sculpture garden to a miniature railway.  We got to check out the Vancouver aquarium too.  

We were graciously invited in this evening to see the railway’s inaugural bright lights tour, a benefit that is run through Christmas.  The local fire departments pool resources and talent to decorate a 12 acrea stretch of old forest with as many lights as is possible and displays of all things Christmas.  Kell loved it and rather than being too over the top, it displayed the proper proportion of Christmas wonder and kitsch. 

Now, it’s finally off to Cali tomorrw we hope.  We only have a week to get down there before I fly back to Seattle for a teaching with Belinda’s teacher, Ponlop Rinpoche ,on the 7th, which I am very much looking forward to!