Out of the house at noon, out of Swanda’s place after watering the plants at 12:30, and off to the border we go.
Odd thing at the border — the Nexus line was actually LONGER than the standard lines, though it was only a ten minute wait (with no way to get out of the Nexus line once you are in it. The hitchhiker (Jack Daniels) was safely sitting in the front seat. Sort of odd that the crossing guard asked more questions than usual.
Traffic in the city was oddly heavy, maybe the holiday shopping season with everyone taking their cars rather than the bus?
A stop at Safeway for groceries, no need to stop for wine as Solus+ is bringing both a red and a white.
Here is a shot of the view from the condo:
I finally figured out how to force the flash on in “Happy Heart” simple mode — it only took twenty minutes reading through the manual on-line.
By 7 or so both of the boys were here, the pupu platter was out, and cocktails in hand.
Dinner at 8ish with a marinated pork tenderloin, a chunk of backed squash, a large salad. The plan was for a baguette, but I had left them on the roof of my car in the garage downstairs and when I returned they were gone. The funny thing is that a little after 9 the phone rang, it was the front desk asking if I’d happened to leave a couple of baguettes on my car roof. Too bad we were done with dinner at that point.
The rest of the evening was spent in conversations over kilt design, I brought up some WILD fabric for a kilt and Epick is a kilt-maker.
A lazy holiday morning for the boys in the condo. Up at nine, bloody marys and breakfast at 10ish, followed by reading and a nap, and more reading and lounging about.
Tonight’s dinner guests are Solus (a priest) and Epick (a kilt-maker).
And what’s on the menu after a huge poopoo plater? Veal chops, a large salad, some black olive bread, and copious quantities of both red and white wine. Can’t legally bring the extra back home if we want our entire duty free allowance.
Today’s pictures aren’t from this evening as I totally spaced taking any, but are me and Epick at camp in May:
And here is an older shot of Solus and I — he wasn’t in priest drag this time.
A little bit of Delhi Belly this morning. Shellfish? My lamb? No reports from Epick about distress. Maybe it was the late night sausage.
Once again my quest to find “thrifting” spots in Vancouver is not accomplished, though I now do have one place to check out on Granville and Davie (courtesy of Epick). Maybe next time, and only a couple of blocks from the condo.
Out of the unit at eleven, at the border a little after noon for a $15 liter of Plymouth Gin, no line at the border, next stop Mount Vernon for groceries, thrifting for wine glasses for the shop, gas.
My favorite is that where I purchased the three champagne glasses and the two wine glasses, no paper to wrap them in, so they gave me a Fred Meyer six bottle holder. Maybe we should put a “thophy case” in the shop of other shop’s bags.
Returned home to restart the printer, it seems MoonSong was feeding it paper and clearing jams while he cleaned on Wednesday. That was a nice welcome home.
And then there was the “artist reception, wine tasting” a couple of stores down from the shop that was from 5-7, then 6-8, then 6-9. I signed up when it was 6-8pm. As it turned out, it was more of a drunken art party where we supplied the wine but we got great goodwill from the neighborhood. In the end I was out of there at 7:30 as NO customers were coming to purchase wine.
Home to restart the printer (again), have a drink, and work on dinner.
Cole Slaw (I’m in a winter cabbage frame of mind) and cornmeal-breaded pan-fried tilapia.
MoonSong came to clean at 9 or so, which got me out of bed and starting to pack to today’s adventure. When I left at 10:30 or so, he was still cleaning and dusting and whatever.
First stop is at the apartment to pick up a couple of pairs of custom shoes I ordered. Well, I THOUGHT it was two pairs, apparently I ordered another pair from Vans that I’d forgotten about. The Vans are on the left, and the two on the right are Converse:
You can’t really see from the photograph, but the pair in the center are a very shiny gold patent leather. A what the hell is “patent leather” anyway? Click Here For The Answer.
It was a slow trip up the coast. A stop for gas and thrifting in Mount Vernon, a stop for lunch in Blaine, a stop at duty free for whiskey (and free playing cards with 13 different stories about Jack Daniels on them), wine shop for red/white, Safeway for appetizers and other dinner stuff meaning an arrival at 3pm at the condo – only to be informed that Shaw Cable was installing new digital TV boxes in each of the units meaning no early checkins.
Luckily, twenty minutes later they got the “All Clear” for my floor – the top floor of the WorldMark units – 24. Nice unit that has more room in the dining room.
Waiting for me at the door of the condo were Epick and his boyfriend (who I have the hots for) – my arrival at the unit was delayed by going to the basement parking lot to get luggage and groceries.
Boyfriend hung for a couple of hours before heading home to pack for a weekend move – Epick stayed late into the night helping me take care of that Jack Daniels – I made a little latenight dinner of lamb chops after he left, but still had to make a midnight Tim Hortons run. That won’t be good for my weight numbers!
The plan was to visit Jameson (and fiancée) in San Luis Obispo this week on the Amtrak Coast Starlight. This is what the overnight journey should have looked like:
But I got this note at 6:50am Monday morning for my 9:45am departure:
We wanted to let you know that train #11, the Coast Starlight, from Seattle, Washington – Train Station on Monday, February 25th, has been CANCELLED due to a service disruption. Unfortunately, we don’t have other transportation available.
Well, that’s helpful. Sorry. Shit out of luck.
Made some coffee, swore a little that I was up when I didn’t need to be, and called the Service Interruption line which is smaller time waiting on hold. Got booked on the Tuesday train. One less day in San Luis Obispo, but still worth it….
Until the 10:51am, which said the same as the above, but changing Monday’s date to Tuesday.
It wasn’t until the next day that the reason finally started to show up on the web:
Yep, the train was stuck in the snow and running out of food (and I bet the holding tanks were filling up!)
With California out of the picture, and having already planned to be gone this week, it was “alternatives” time…Victoria? Vancouver? Orcas Island? Turns out Vancouver was the place that had three nights available that wouldn’t cost me an arm and a leg (there was a little budget since I’d be getting the train points back, got refunded for the return plane ticket, didn’t need a rental car). New trip looked like this:
It’s basically a three-hour drive. On a rare sunny day in the winter. Still didn’t take the convertible – WAY too cold.
Over the border, I’d hoped to get a dog at the dog stand just past immigration – but, sadly, they weren’t there. Must be a summer thing. Had to stop at a Kosher Deli instead:
Where I got the Rueben – sadly, not as good as when I was here last…
But I did pick up a couple of things in the Deli section:
This is the WorldMark at The Canadian.
And the view isn’t bad…
And it’s a two-bedroom, two-bath….
With a deck!
Picked up a few things for dinner on the way in…
My buddy Epick is came to dinner tonight – and I gifted him some fabric (he made my kilt):
The dinner was steamed Salt Spring Island mussels in a curry lemongrass coconut broth, strip steaks, and salad. Yum.
Next night’s dinner was with Marzi featuring seared Ahi Tuna steaks, salad, bread.
Not that there isn’t good food in Vancouver…like the JapaDog stand a couple of blocks from the condo….
Didn’t eat here either, but thought it was an interesting concept:
DID eat at Relish because they offer a discount to WorldMark owners (15% off food).
I had the Marinated Ahi Tacos – because, while the Rueben was on the menu, it was nowhere to be found, and according to the waitress, hasn’t been around for a while.
While they were good, and a $4 Highball is a rarity in Vancouver, the food wasn’t as good as I’d remembered – I’m sensing a Vancouver trend.
The final day found Epick over again for dinner (remains of the coconut sauce with chicken thighs and sugar peas), and a load of laundry (there was an ensuite washer/dryer).
Still life with tennis shoe, followed by a complete drying:
Got out of the condo around 11:30 – a little later than I’d planned, and then there was the burger stop in Mount Vernon:
Meant I was a little later into town than I’d have liked, meaning I got stuck in traffic for 30 minutes. Sigh.
I had fun, but still wish I’d been able to go to California. Now when I go down in April, it going to be a crush of people for the wedding.
Spent the morning babysitting the printer and packing for the trip to Vancouver.
Left the house a little before noon, hit the apartment to drop off Swanda’s car, and pick up the mail and drop off 3 dead toner cartridges (good thing I got more at UW last week) and then to the shop to drop off a 6×6 dishwasher rack to hold our champagne glasses, and then onto the highway with the top down all the way to CanadaLand.
So rare for an early February, reasonably warm and very sunny. Having pulled the temperature at Breitenbush Hot Springs for next week, I’m guessing no snow on the ground.
No line at the border, but it was past 3 when I hit the outskirts of the city, meaning northbound was down to one lane under the river (reversible lanes). I’ll remember that for the next time. Grabbed groceries at Safeway and was checked in with cocktail in hand at 4:20.
BamBam and Hummingbird for dinner tonight. Totally spaced getting a picture. Oh well.
After the PuPu platter, it was a Sunday Roast on Tuesday. Seasoned pork blade roast over a bed of potatoes and onions with a salad. Only a little of the pork left when all was said and done.
Nice to be back in Vancouver and seeing the boys who are just back from a month in Yelapa (just down the coast from Puerto Vallarta).
Helene for lunch tomorrow, Epick for dinner, and Marmot for drinks after.
Up late this morning, breakfast at 11, off to lunch with Helene at 1:30 on Granville Island at a little place called Edible Canada.
Helene had the rice flour tempura battered fish and chips deep fried in duck fat. I went for the roasted baby beet salad and a cup of the lobster stock based seafood chowder that was heavy on the Thai influence with coconut milk and curry.
Looks (and was) damn yummy, as was the Clover Honey Old Fashioned with an inch wide peel of orange (in place of a slice) and a whiskey marinated Bing cherry instead of the standard died red cherry.
Tonight’s dinner was with Epick the KiltMaker. After the PuPu platter it was time for the Kilt Fitting.
It’s a subtle pattern, and unfortunately the picture just reminds me that I need to lose more wait.
Marmot (yet another Episcopal priest) joined us after dinner for a glass or two of wine, and to show off his new “hair piece”:
Another late night in the city playing with the boys.
Mount Baker (big mountain) and possibly Glacier Peak (the small right hand one).
And we actually have a deck! In all the times I’ve stayed here I’ve never had one of the units (6 total) with a deck. Handy for CaddyDaddy since he smokes.
After breakfast went for a walking tour of a couple of thrift shops, then off to a Thai lunch with Helene and Rich at Khai Thai a handful of blocks away.
Walking back we ran into Epick who was coming out from his job at the Law Courts and spent most of the afternoon hanging out.
Helene stayed until her concert, GreyShard showed up, Stich showed up, and generally we sat around and noshed the evening away.
Or maybe I should call it “My Day In Pictures” since Swanda informed me that I was not to bitch about having to get up early to make the train. It was my decision to take the train, rather than the bus at a more civilized time. That said, from the pictures, you’ll know why I took the train:
Actually nicer than the Talgo coach seats – two feet of leg room between you and the seat in front of you, foot rest, leg rest and two outlets. I didn’t check for wi-fi.
A couple of 737s headed to Renton for final assemble (they start out in Wichita).
The view from my seat.
For better or worse (better because I slept through it), we were stopped for an hour and a half in Mount Vernon due to the freight train ahead of us needing to split apart their train to remove a freight car with a bearing that was overheating.
Met Hummingbird at the train station and we headed towards The Canadian.
My room is on the 22nd floor on this side of the building, the corner closest to this view.
My room wasn’t ready, but Helene was on her way to meet for lunch. Off to Davie street we go, and the gay Fountainhead restaurant and bar. After last night’s sauerkraut, what I really needed was a big old Caesar salad. Club for Hummingbird, quesadilla for Helene. Wine for me, cider for Hummingbird, Stella Artois for Helene.
After lunch it was back to the condo to meet up with Epick, who can’t come to dinner (oddly enough, no one can so I’m solo), but does have a couple of hours to hang out and catch up.
That also give you a nice shot of what the 2-bedroom condo looks like.
Went to the IGA for some prepared food for my dinner, and a little snack for breakfast and settled in for a quiet night in the sky. The mostly full moon was out again, but the shots weren’t as good as the first night, so that shot doesn’t get included today.
For the last shot of the day, a little slightly cropped self-portrait:
Up and out of the house one time at 9:15 for a 10:15 BoltBus to Vancouver – the cost for the two of us to get to Vancouver… $13. Not bad.
CaddyDaddy and I on the BoltBus getting ready for the 3 hour trip to Vancouver.
Got to the condo at 1:30 or so, and of course the room wasn’t ready so it was drop the bags and go out to lunch and do the grocery shopping for dinner. Hummingbird met up with us at the restaurant and wentshopping with us. Room still not ready upon our return, and Hummingbird wasn’t feeling the best so he picked up his presents and package in the game room at The Canadian.
At 3:30 the condo was ready and Epick and Aaron were waiting for usat the door when we got to the 22nd floor. Apparently they were right behind me coming into the lobby as I was leaving.
So they showed up early, Helene showed up late, Solus+ showed up late, dinner was ready at 7 which by that time it was just three of us for dinner, Solus+ left, Helene returned and I woke up at 2am on the couch.
Out of the unit a little after 11 to catch the 1pm ferry to Tawassan. Everything was going fine until suddenly the road was blocked by police and the detour was long, crowded and inconvenient – NOT what you want when you are trying to make a ferry. Instead of the ½ hour or so drive, it turned into an hour. And we know how I like to be early for things.
This is a lovely shot from the ferry:
Might have been better to go up to the sun deck and take this picture, but since I’d left my jacket at the condo, it would have been damn chilly.
Got to the Vancouver condo a little before four after a little last minute shopping at Safeway for salad and such. They were running a bit behind so it was almost 4 by the time I was in the unit.
Solus+, Marmot, Epick, and Tom for dinner tonight. Pork loins over a bed of potatoes, a nice salad, after the appetizer course… sounds like a broken record. And speaking of records we might have set a new one. Irish whiskey killed, bourbon killed, two bottles of wine killed… not a drop left in the house.
And Solus+ used the spare bedroom for the night and think he was happy to not have to head back to the suburbs.
Got to the condo around 10AM – and check-in as at 4PM.Been there, done that. Left my name and number at the desk, went down the hall to the lounge, gathered a couple of pillows and took a 3-hour nap.
The nap done, it was off to find some lunch…and a coupon from WorldMark to make it cheaper. The choice? Relish, a European Gastropub just around the corner. The deal? 15% off food.
Got there to find the house wine, a Naked Shiraz on offer for $4 a glass, VERY cheap by Canadian standards and not a bad glass pour. I paired it with the Duck Confit tacos ($11) for a wonderful little lunch:
That put me back at the WorldMark around 2PM – room still not ready, so it’s off to the IGA Marketplace with a 10% off coupon to get the rest of the stuff we need for dinner.
Tonight’s dinner guests are Solus+ and Helene. The dinner menu is:
Fish that Helene is bringing
Sourdough bread
Caesar salad
Red and White wine
Croatian cookies for dessert
But before that can happen, I have to get checked in, which turns out to be around 2:30 – after declining to have them fix a broken light in the kitchen. I think I can suffer.
Helene arrived around 5, Solus+ around six…alas, none of the dinner picture turned out…might have been the wine…
A late night, and a late morning of sleeping in…did a 3-egg fish scramble with cheese for my breakfast this morning, before settling into getting caught up on the blog… and by 3 it was time for another run to Relish for their oyster happy hour from 3-6PM with oysters at a “buck-a-shuck” – paired nicely with a Beefeater slightly dirty martini in honor of Pucci:
I ended up having a dozen of those “buck-a-shucks”.
Back to the IGA for a little more fish – Helene brought more than enough, but not quite enough for two meals – more salad and a little more for the pupu platter that BamBam always devours….
Croatian chocolate cookies on the left, sliced up heirloom sweet peppers that were on sale at the IGA for .99 a pound.
The boys (Hummingbird and BamBam) got there a little after 6, and with no word from Epick since I emailed him yesterday, finally a text response that he wasn’t coming….would have been nice to know, might not have bought more fish.
But a good dinner it was:
With leftovers for the boys to take home.
Their big news is that they finally, after seven years, have settled with the insurance company over their house fire. The money is in the bank, and they’ve found a place that they want to put an offer on in the city, in a neighborhood that I really like (as does Helene), so I’m wishing them the best of luck.
Another relaxing morning capped with another 3-egg omelet (no fish this time – sent it home with the boys for the cats). Checked out a little after 10:30AM, waited a few minutes trying to flag down a cab and finally just decided to save the $10+ and walk back down the hill to the cruise terminal – at least it wasn’t raining!
This is one of my favorite oddities on Hornby – it’s actually the bottom floor of what is now the Vancouver Art Gallery, but obviously in the past it was a police station…
Showing up at 11am seems to be the thing to do…unless you are on the Holland America boat that isn’t boarding until 1PM since they had a little norovirus outbreak. The downside of the Vancouver Cruise Terminal is that everyone, no matter how many boats are in dock, are all shoved through the same security line….meaning to Elite Line. At least past security – where they always notice my bottle of wine and direct me to the registration table – which I’ve started ignoring since no one seems to notice – there were dedicated lines for Preferred Passengers.
And a waiting area with coffee and pastries — too bad my Cruise Card is still showing Platinum (Silver) rather than Elite (Black) …I hate to start my cruise by bitching someone out, but I want my free mini-bar setup and I’ve got shirts that need laundered and starched.
You never know when you book several weeks out what the weather is going to be like. This time I lucked out.
This trip started because of KPop – Korean Pop music which I know nothing about, but the 13-year-old daughter of a friend is nuts about it. During a random conversation at the shop, it was mentioned that the 19th was said daughter’s birthday, and that she’d already gotten her birthday present in advance (a different KPop concert), but her actual birthday her favorite band was playing in Vancouver. As a surprise in case the parents relented, I booked a two-bedroom at the WorldMark Vancouver that just happened to be available.
In the end, they couldn’t make the date work, and rather than cancel the room, I decided to keep it for myself and string it along with a couple of other nights – and this was the result:
I already had the Camlin booked for this year’s scholarship reading party (part two), so after work it was setting up the nibbles for the readers (Salamander, Roxy, Courtney, Mr. Whippet, Jonathan and Rodney). Here is what the results were:
And all of us hard at work!
It wouldn’t be a post of mine without a couple of shots of the rest of the two-bedroom unit…
The morning found me up early – off to an 8:30am “Owner ReEducation” presentation that “promised” to me an “information” session rather than a “don’t you want to get to the next level” hard sell. I agreed to an hour (for a $100 AMEX card), which was taken up with the information part, leaving no time for the hard sell since I had a ferry to catch to get to the next WorldMark…
Yes, that would be my ferry – and below, arriving at Bainbridge Island – I love the Olympics in the background of both these photos:
It was a good thing that I made a reservation on the Coho Ferry – I didn’t get to the terminal until a little after 1pm for a 2pm sailing because the rarely opened Hood Canal Bridge was OPEN, delaying my about half an hour. As you can see, I’m at the end of the line:
They even managed to get all the standby cars on!
And me looking grim with the mountains in the background…
Goodbye United States…
Hello Canada! Victoria, British Columbia to be precise.
Got all checked in – here is the view:
Since Courtney liked the video in a previous post I put a video here of the inside of the unit:
So far, I’ve had two-bedroom units, and no one to share them with – tonight, none of my Victoria peeps have the time to hang and have dinner. Sigh. I did get to see Royce since he is a checker at the Thrifty grocery store where I shop. Came back with a steak and a salad (and a view):
Another day, another ferry ride. Had a reservation for this one as well, but it was only 25% full (MUCH larger boat). But the reservation did get me onto the boat before those without. A nice perk:
And it was a beautiful day for a ferry ride:
A slight hiccup checking in at the WorldMark Vancouver – I’d forgotten to change the name on the reservation – it was still in Courtney’s name – luckily as the owner, it was OK once they found the correct paperwork.
Out of the unit at noon – US bound. Stopped at Duty Free – 10% off because of my Nexus Card, plus the 25% off because of the exchange rate – it’s like they like paying me to drink!
Got to the condo around 2pm – room wasn’t ready, but they weren’t full so they moved me to a unit that was clean – which was 308:
Not bad views:
That would be the sun going down over Birch Bay – I was here two weeks ago and we stayed with a MUCH better view (and it was available, but do I REALLY need 3-bedrooms and a hot tub just for me?)
Had a late lunch next door at The Shores – yes, a Rueben. Not the best but pretty good, didn’t realize it came with fries, would have ordered a side salad – because, yes, I ate all the fries:
What I couldn’t believe was a BRAND NEW BBQ on the deck – never used!
No company tonight – though it was on the agenda. Luckily I’m fine with flying solo.
The Canadian border opened to U.S. residents on August 9th – albeit with conditions:
Must be fully vaccinated
Must have Negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours of entering Canada
That said, Canadians are prevented from driving into the US until at least September 21st.
I’ve been fully vaccinated since the end of March, bring on the booster shot – I want to get this thing whipped so I can go back to barely-restricted travel!
Looks promising….
NEXUS lanes aren’t open but there aren’t many cars….but other drivers seem to be less prepared with the right documents than I am.
Half an hour later, I’m through the border, but feeling “weepy” – it’s been two years since I’ve been to CanadaLand.
So nice to be back at the WorldMark at The Canadian:
Oddly, this is the view from the 2nd Bedroom (bathroom in the hall) rather than the Master Bedroom, which is en-suite:
Unit #2302 – WorldMark has a half dozen of the middle floors of the building.
In all my excitement about being back in CanadaLand, didn’t get a pic of first night’s food – which was a couple of pork loins over a bed of potatoes, salad, red wine, bubbles, and much, much, whiskey. But I did get a shot of Solus+ and Tantalus:
Tuesday night was a “me” night, which started with Happy Hour nibbles next door at Relish. Started with prime ribs sliders, and a double highball:
BUT, that didn’t turn out to be enough food, so I ordered the Poutine:
Which turned out to be TOO MUCH food.
Wednesday afternoon snack was a trip to JapaDog, which used to be more convenient when it was across the street from the closest grocery store – now, they are in a store front:
I had the #3 –
OROSHI
Freshly grated radish with a special soya sauce. East meets West.
Dinner guests, Epick and Jase, showed up at five for a salmon dinner – which I remembered to take pictures of!
As you can see, there is no dining room in this unit – but at least they provide TV Trays.
Thursday dinner was a repeat of Solus+ and Tantalus….
Butternut Squash Ravioli, salad, lamb chops – as you can see, didn’t get a photo when the plate was pretty:
Friday morning, I was out of the condo before 10 (sadly, pretending it’s COVID related, WorldMark has moved checkout from noon to 10am.
Fortunately, Duty Free was open on the way south, but as you can see, there aren’t any people to shop:
YES, that is a 4.5 liter bottle for $110 Canadian – sadly, it would have put me WAY over my booze limit coming back into the US.
The NEXUS lane was even open, with no one in front of me, or in the other lanes. They flagged my car over for x-ray inspection – which I chalk up to being bored and wanting to keep the training standards intact. It was a 5-minute delay with a look under the bonnet and in the truck, and a welcome home.
Stopped in Mount Vernon to hit a favorite low-end thrift shop that supports the Humane Society and found a glass for my airline memorabilia collector friend.
And just because I’m travel paranoid (and I wanted to check out how the process worked), I swung by a drive-thru COVID-19 testing center:
Oddly, these were previously Emissions Testing Centers run by the state – great reuse considering they were already striped, open-air facilities.
Had the results in 12 hours – NEGATIVE as expected, but I’m getting ready for my first overseas trip in early September.
Oh, how I missed CanadaLand.
Upon my return I booked 3-nights in December and realized that I had October reservations for 3-nights, and two 3-4 nighters in Victoria for January 2022.
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