Apr 24, 2016
USA to Canada to Home….
Friday, April 15th was our last day in the USA. Just before the Canadian border we fueled up @ 2.159/gallon. We have done well at all our fuel stops Northbound. We are hoping to be able to plan a trip into Oregon/Washington state sometime this summer so we will be traveling on this tank for a while.
Carmeh is feeling much much better and obviously stronger. She used to simply jump up from her dog bed between our seats and up onto the dash. Of course we no longer want her to do that and so we placed the screen across her access point. So what did she do as we were heading into Canada but jump clear over the screen. What a dog! She does still have access to the dash but must pass over me to get there.
The border crossing took only 5 minutes but was peppered with questions…did we get work done on the car or the RV while away….did we have over 10K with us, I replied ” I wish ” and the border agent replied ” me too”….where had we been in Mexico, specifically and for how long…..how much alcohol did we have, reply was 2 X 750 ml bottles and a half open bottle of wine…..next question was how many other open bottles ie tequila. The deal breaker was what produce and fruit we had. Apples it turns out are illegal as we grow them in Canada, so I had to turn in 3 apples. However he allowed romaine, carrots, zucchini and tomatoes, apparently we are not able to grow these in Canada 🙄 It was the most thorough questioning we have ever had as we entered Canada ( well except for the time I came back from Hong Kong, before Colin was in my life ) but it was most respectful and polite.
Next stop was our annual RV checkup at Ed Walker Heavy Duty in Delta/Vancouver. They have been servicing our RV since 2001 and Colin prefers to keeps taking it there as they really do know and understand our unit. We did discuss possibly changing the service to mid summer so that we can travel home via different states and do some site seeing on the way back North. Plus we would take an extra trip during the summer with the point of having the RV serviced but also doing some other traveling either in Canada or the Pacific North West. We are going to make an effort to start taking some extra time off in our lives.
Carmeh is bored at Ed Walker’s. We are able to stay within the RV in the service and can come and go as we please. Not many facilities will allow that.
Our girls are so good and adapt to any situation.
Caeli at her best…resting on the dash in the service bay.
The big job on this particular service was to do a valve adjustment on the engine, the first one since we bought the RV back in 2001. The mechanic said it will improve our fuel mileage which we thought was already really good. We expect to get close to 12 miles to the gallon while towing, good stats for a big rig.
We also needed two new sealed engine batteries which we were expecting to change soon anyway. We might have gone another year but why chance a problem down the road.
At one point I took the car and drove into Ladner to stock up on our favorite tuna pot pies ( pre ordered ) and some fruit and veggies and a few bottles of vino. Because of the engine and the batteries ( they had to go get them ) the service was going to take longer so we had already decided to leave the RV where it was and head out for dinner. Fortunately we were able to drive the RV out of the shop where they continued the rest of the work. That made us happy as we had to remove the mattress so they could get under the bed to access the engine. I was most happy to be able to put the RV back together ourselves before leaving.
We were headed to Gramma Katie’s. Despite not stopping there last year the girls knew where we were about 3 blocks out and started to bay. Not sure who loves the other more.
Katie and Louie always make us a fresh halibut dinner. We are so very fortunate.
As always it was a fantastic visit. So sad that we only meet once a year now especially considering we used to live only a few homes apart.
It was difficult to tear ourselves away about 7:30PM but we needed to get back to the RV and hook up before dark and hit the road. We drove through the dark to the Hope Rest Area where we stopped for the night. It was cold at 10:30PM. Some quick showers and to bed we all went. It was only a 191 mile drive today but we did so very very much and were exhausted.
Fortunately because of an early spring and more than fabulous weather we were able to drive home via the Coquihalla Highway. The last four years we have had to travel via the Fraser Canyon which takes a few hours longer. It was a most enjoyable scenic drive.
Despite the long and winding road we turned into our park about noonish and yes the girls knew exactly where we were.
It wasn’t long before we were parked in front of our home and then the unloading began. By Monday afternoon we were ready to move the RV back into storage. We are only allowed to have it on the street for for days.
Since we have been home, the taxes have all been done 😀 I finished earlier this afternoon , the laundry is all caught up, the RV is about 80% cleaned and we have had a few medical appointments. Plus we have done shopping for new plant pots, new chaises for the patio, new umbrellas are on order, the patio has been cleaned yet again and so on and so on. We are practically ready to get back to work full time. The weather has been accommodating, sunny and warm for unloading and cool and overcast when we needed it. Locally we broke several heat records. The week ahead promises to be busy with three more medical appointments for me and then I think I can get back into a normal routine.
The most pressing concern is the rising lake. Because of the extreme heat at this time of year the snow pack is melting quickly. Since we have been home the lake has risen up three of our steps down to the beach. That is a lot in just a week. We aren’t concerned at this point, it has been higher in the past. We do remain vigilant.
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Great trip report. The pot pies sound delicious.
Welcome home. We’ve been up to our ears in yard work and appointments ourselves. The warm temps have been most welcome tohough, haven’t they.
Nice that you are home and settled in, good idea to take some time for yourselves this summer and travel a bit.
Welcome home. Looking forward to the next adventure…
Nice to hear from you and to know that everything is going smoothly.
Love the pics of the Caeli and Carmeh! 🙂
P.S. Love the pics of you ‘guys’ too! 🙂
Doggies are just too cute! Welcome home!!
Welcome home. Glad that your trip home went smoothly and that you are almost all caught up and can now relax a little.