On Oct. 17th, we moved our rig and family up to Vancouver, British Columbia. I'd like to say we had a wonderful time, but I can't. We had some fun there but overall, it was not my favorite part of the trip! Several factors contributed to the less-than experience. Wrong time of year - too cold, cloudy, rainy most of our visit. Too expensive - from the RV park to the ferry to the food, and, of course, the gas!! The RV park (Pacific Border RV Park, technically in Surrey) itself - too cramped and they didn't want dogs relieving themselves inside the park at all so we had to walk them all the way to the entrance/exit before they could do their business (OK if you're parked right near the gate and it's sunny and warm out! But we ended up at the very back and got to do the walk in rain and freezing cold darkness way too often! The time or two when Ouray just couldn't hold it and peed on their pavement, I nearly cheered!). And it didn't help that we had a run-in with our way-too close neighbors upon parking (before they moved us to another site that could accommodate a longer stay). Parking a big rig in an unfamiliar and very tight space/park can be a stressful experience, and our neighbor (the wife) and a couple other bystanders formed a ridiculous and thoughtless peanut gallery, replete with loud parking critique comments and all. And when I (politely as I could muster at the time) told her to knock it off, she just got defensive. It amazed me, as I would've thought someone who was familiar with the parking logistics would be more sympathetic! But maybe her husband always does all the work by himself, and they looked to be seasonals so probably don't have to park that often. But still!! Actually, I think she was trying to be funny and "just kidding around," but the humor part wasn't working too well and was certainly lost on me (and Bill)!
And Complaint #552? A friend (who lived in Vancouver but was from Australia and we met in Nova Scotia!) we'd planned on meeting up with couldn't after all. Complaint #553: the reason for our extended stay in an RV park we would've rather not been in at all (even though it had the best reviews in the area...! Doesn't bode well for RVing in the Vancouver area!)? Car and RV trouble. Yup, more of the same. The first part was something that looked to Bill like a serious oil leak/issue on the RV. So we decided to stay put over the weekend when we didn't think the nearest Freightliner would be open anyways (as it turned out later, Bill was able to deal with the RV problem himself). But then a few days later, our truck developed a serious transmission problem, limiting us to 35mph or less! While that stole away our last day of potential fun, I am grateful that it didn't happen any sooner!
On the 18th, we had a sunny day and took advantage of it to drive up to Whistler, the big ski resort area I'd always heard of. It's a nice town with cute buildings.
But the drive up is what's so spectacular! The "Sea to Sky Highway" 99 winds its way up against the rugged mountainsides and around the fjord-like oceanfront. Here's an image of the sun setting on our way back. I was sorry not to get more images of this drive, but I was the driver, only had my p&s, and had a tired, back-hurting, getting more impatient to get home by the minute passenger! And, an example of the cost of things here? I just found on-line that they have a train ride that runs alongside the highway. A one-way ticket (includes transport to the train station and a 3 1/2 hr ride) is $135-235!! Compare this to an almost all-day, round-trip excursion on the cool Durango - Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in Colorado (also rugged mountains and incredible scenery) - $83 and up.
OK, just one more photo - to whet your appetite...!?! Looks more like a Chinese market, yeah?! Well, maybe they have a big Chinese population there! Chicken feet. Yum! Ever tried them? I have, and if you haven't? Don't!!!
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