December 16, 2013

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Our journey begins for this five continent mega trip. It was snowing a few days before. But today, we left Vancouver on a beautiful morning. We are going to pick-up a car rental in Bellingham , Washington, USA.

We all have our frontiers to push and Bert had chosen to drive to San Francisco, California instead of flying. With seventeen (17) hours of driving ahead of us, and 948 miles / 1,526 kilometers, we have two days to kill before we board our ship. I'm trying to make sense of it, and I argued a lot with him about it saying, "Are you kidding?' to "You are crazy", when he first brought out the subject. But I realized that ti's the season for cancellation and since we are using airline passes, we're better off driving than flying. Also, since we get touched, squeezed and abused (verbally) prior to boarding Detention Airlines that charges for everything from checked and unchecked luggage to pillows and blankets, then I agree that we really need a break from the not so friendly skies.

My daughter Charelle, and son-in-law Al, is going to drive us over the border. To commemorate the occasion, we stop by Tim Horton's Coffee and have our last Canadian fix.

Ready? Set? Let's go!!!

Three big suitcases on the trunk, a duffel bag, 5 Nikon cameras, 2 computers, a GPS, I tablet, 1 Kindle reader, assorted footwear and clothes. A few minutes later and we're driving towards the border.

The next hour went by quickly. Taking the road has always been a sense of escape and comfort for both of us. We've taken many long road trips together . My most memorable road trip was when we picked picked up our Mercedes Benz in the factory in Germany in 1998. For four months, we drove all over Europe and then shipped our car from Bremerhaven, Germany to to Halifax, Nova Scotia. We flew to Boston, USA while waiting for the car to arrive and after it came and was cleared by the Canadian Customs, we drove it across Canada for more than two months. That was my initiation for long driving. We met and visited with friends and relatives and enjoyed so many National Parks along the way.

We've also driven thrice across USA from Vancouver to Key West and back. One time, we had to turn around quickly because Bert was called by Airbus for some consulting job in South Korea. Nothing compared to that. I was in crutches from a ski accident and cannot drive and he was driving an average of 900 km a day! We got back in Vancouver in exactly ten days with barely enough time to pick-up his air ticket and suitcase. There were also other spontaneous road adventures such as from Vancouver to California and back, eight times. We also had endless driving along the breath taking Highway 101, particularly our favorite along the Oregon coast. Traveling from one small town to another, you see trees grow dense with green, views of mountain peaks and every so often there are deer, elks, eagles and sometimes even black bear. Looking at the vastness of the Pacific Ocean on a blue sky, it's just out of sight!

The road is always full of pinch- me moments and of course, farms, field, and small towns provide plenty of diversions worth stopping for especially if you have a weak bladder. The trip he wants to take now? Amid a beautiful sunny day, dark, and the passing blur of other vehicles. Certainly, there is a pressure to race to the Bay!

Comments

Bon Voyage on your new adventure! I loved reading about the beginning of your trip and look forward to every day's new blog! From dmarek, on Dec 18, 2013 at 04:54 p. m.

Hi, I wish both of you a great adventure and a fantastic Christmas and New Year, which I'm sure you will have. Take care of yourselves and come back in one piece. See you in May or thereabouts. Your blog is great and looking forward to reading some more. From Nina, on Dec 18, 2013 at 09:04 p. m.

Hi Tita! I can't wait to read more of your adventures. I can only dream of doing the things you do and going to places you go as neither of us are drivers :( I've always liked long road trips, but alas, my partner declared he will never drive, and neither can I. So I shall live vicariously through you and your adventures! :) Good luck and have a Merry Christmas! From Althea, on Dec 19, 2013 at 12:30 a. m.

Happy Trip to all of you!! God Bless Always!!! Waiting for your update on your Journey... From Jacqui Cero - Cañete, on Dec 19, 2013 at 01:47 a. m.

What a delightful blog! Journalist are superb writers, are they not? Just had my routine colonoscopy done today, hooray! Its prep is better than 10th years ago. Praying a safe and smooth worldwide voyage for you and Bert! From Kim Landhuis, on Dec 19, 2013 at 10:38 p. m.

It’s truly is a trip of a lifetime. Can't wait to read about your adventures....and to see you in Cayman! From Monette, on Jan 1, 2014 at 01:18 a. m.

That is Awesome!!! A 150 day cruise sounds fantastic. We have just discovered the joys of cruising. Our longest cruise so far has only been 14 days. To go on a 150 day cruise and see many countries would be fantastic. How do you beat this trip? I guess this cruise will give you a sampling of a bunch of countries and then you can choose which to return to and see more of? We are currently in Costa Rica. I haven't had a chance to read all of your blog yet. I bet your cruise will include Costa Rica at some point. I just read the blog on Bora Bora and it was great. We are also from Canada - Ontario though. Please feel free to add us on your favorites so that we can keep track of each others adventures.

Pura Vida.. :) From Ellie Gilmer, on Feb 12, 2014 at 01:29 a. m.

Goodbye Snow And Rain, Hello Dampness

“Inspire & Inform”