Guigon Travels

We started our day being served breakfast by my aunt and uncle before heading out to visit my cousin Roseanne and her beau, Tim. It was, unfortunately, a too short visit but I am so glad we were able to do it before leaving for Victoria.

The GPS did not fail us and not only were we able to get to the ferry terminal early, we were able to get Booster Juice for lunch on the way, and got on the ferry an hour earlier than our reservation. And while we were waiting in line at the terminal I also managed to snag a Munzee — bonus!

Aside from learning of the unfortunate and sudden loss of an acquaintance from home, the ferry ride was lovely and uneventful. That hour and a half flew right by.

We’re staying at The Embassy Inn; once again Tripadvisor did not fail me. The hotel is right off the harbour and barely a block away from the ferry terminal Mom and I will be taking Monday to Port Angeles. The rooms are clean, comfortable, and have a small accessible balcony.

We strolled down Government Street and back up Wharf Street, stopped at The Docks for a late supper, watched the last half of Tallulah’s street performance, found the vehicle entrance for Monday’s ferry, ate some fudge and chocolate covered coconut, and are now winding down to go to sleep for the last time next to my daughter. Tomorrow she moves into her dorm room.

Wildlife sightings: yeah, right…

Three Generations

Waiting for the Ferry

Still Waiting for the Ferry

And we’re off…

Mayne Island…I think

Almost there

Next to Parliament Building

Parliament Building

We were a smidgen slower getting up this morning than we planned, yet still managed to make it to the university more or less on time. Jessica was warned that registration was open from 8:00 am to, I forget, 5:00 or 6:00 or something, but that the busiest time was from 8:30 to 10:30 am. We figured arriving for 10:30 would probably be good then. We also figured our logic would probably be flawed because everyone got the same message that Jessica did; we were correct on that second assessment. It took Jess 40 minutes to get through registration and then another 10 or 15 to get her picture taken for her student ID. Then we had to maneuver through the throngs of people to find her apartment, only to learn we were parked too far away and could park a lot closer. We moved the car and managed to snag a spot pretty much right outside her apartment…except that there were no elevators and we had to shlep everything up three flights of stairs anyway. It took three trips and partially emptying her trunk. And this was before shopping for various household necessities and groceries. It took until 8:00 pm, but we got it done and got Jessica settled in. We left her to find her friend Ally and hopefully make an appearance at the building welcome party downstairs.

During the day we did meet her roommates and a couple of their parents. They all seem nice, two hailing from Whistler and one from Abbotsford. All three of them are psychology majors to Jessica’s math major. Interesting combination. Not sure if I should feel secure in Jessica’s well being or concerned for her sanity. Hehe. I’m sure they’ll all be just fine.

I wish Dan could have been there today, and not just so he could have helped with the luggage or just so he could spend more time with his daughter. I would have loved to see the neighbour boys’ faces if it had been Dan who answered the door instead of me when they came to invite the girls to the building welcome party. That would have been fun :).

Connected with Rick and Claudette today and we’re hoping to get some type of visit with them tomorrow before Mom and I leave. Also spoke briefly with my brother; don’t worry, Brother, I’m fine, but ask me again tomorrow!

Wildlife sightings: nothing but teenagers (excuse me: young adults)

Our last day with Jessica I treated her and Mom to tea at The Empress. It was an elegant affair where we partook of three different teas (we could have tried five), five different finger sandwiches, scones with jam and clotted cream, and five different dainty desserts. We ate off of the Royal China and tried to do so with as correct a posture as possible. It was all very good, and the service was excellent, and the live piano player was lovely.

I had picked up some of the Queen’s tea for Dan before lunch, and then they gave us more as ‘gifts’ after the meal. So Dan’s getting a lot of tea. Good thing he really likes that particular type of tea.

We followed tea time with a stroll, stopping at The Bay Centre before meeting up with three-quarters of the James clan. As a group we strolled some more, discovered where we parked our car, visited the Fort Street market, bought some books, exchanged new contact information, and then parted ways. I’m sure Jessica will see the Jameses throughout the year — they’ve temporarily relocated to Victoria this year as well.

We returned Jessica to the university and said our farewells. The tears came from my mother; Jessica and I held it together just fine. She’s an intelligent, responsible, resourceful young lady, and I couldn’t be more proud of her. She is going to do just fine. But I’ll still miss her terribly…

Mom and I stopped at The Soda Shoppe for a loaded hot dog and a drink before getting in line at the Coho ferry. The trip itself was uneventful. The ship was a little more industrial in nature than the BC Ferries ships, a little less luxurious, but still perfectly fine. While waiting in line at the dock a young family with two boys noticed my polar bear plate. They had never seen one before and had to check the front of the car to confirm it was our official plate. It took some doing to get it across to the boys just how far north we came from: “The Northwest Territories…Go straight north from here to get to Yukon, then go east…Way further north than North Dakota…Think the Arctic Circle.” That’s when the confused eyes got wide. The mom suggested they should look at a map when they get a chance. When we went through US customs in Port Angeles the officer asked where we were coming from and what we did for a living. When I answered him honestly he smiled and said I reminded him of that movie with Sandra Bullock where she goes to Alaska and there’s this one guy who seems to do just about everything in the community; I do see the similarity :).

We checked in at the Super 8, which had really good reviews. It is a nice, comfortable, and clean room, and the staff is really responsive. The only negative is our non-smoking room smelled like it had been smoked in. We complained, they apologized and brought us an air filter (no other double rooms were available to move us to), and they said we would get a discount on the room for the inconvenience. Nothing else they could have done, really. I just hope it’s not bad enough to trigger Mom’s allergies. We really wanted to make sure we weren’t dinged the $150 penalty for smoking in a non-smoking room.

Wildlife sightings: Rick James.

Tea at The Empress

Cute Chocolate Tea Cup Custard

Hideous Sweater

WWF

Jessica in her room

Indulgence

The day started out typically and then it was a little bit of a roller coaster. Mom and I went for breakfast at Chestnut Cottage in Port Angeles. Once again, Tripadvisor did not let us down. It was a lovely little place with absolutely fantastic food, service, and prices. The pastry that was included with my crab omelet was fresh made in house and was just bursting with mixed berries. Mom’s apple walnut french toast was huge; she ended up taking all day to eat it in the car.

Once on the road we followed the GPS’s instructions and took Highway 104 south; we didn’t even get to Hood Canal Bridge when traffic came to a standstill. That’s when we saw the sign telling us to tune into an AM station for traffic reports, which subsequently warned us of the opening of Hood Canal Bridge taking place that morning and to expect delays of up to an hour. We decided to turn around, ignore the GPS, and take Highway 101 south instead. The GPS didn’t like that and kept trying to turn us around or get us to use inexplicable back roads, often implying we were not already on Highway 101 when it was blatantly clear from the road signage that we were in fact on Highway 101 southbound. This route did end up taking a little more time than originally planned for, but it was the unexplained stalling of traffic outside and going past Olympia that was annoying. Then getting around Tacoma to make required stops at Walmart and Home Depot got a little ridiculous, too, but at least we were successful at finding two-thirds of the items we were looking for.

After leaving Tacoma the driving got much better. We didn’t have any real trouble getting to Snoqualmie Falls, which were absolutely gorgeous, even in the rain. Would be nice to go back there and explore a bit more. We continued on, though, to North Bend and had supper at Twedes Diner. The significance of this diner will likely be lost on most of you, but this is the diner used in Twin Peaks which is famous for its coffee and cherry pie. We did not partake of the coffee, but I did partake of the cherry pie. Honestly, it was no better or worse than any other cherry pie I’ve ever had, but it was still fun to do. Of course, the funniest part of our visit was the giggling my mom started when she unintentionally referred to the model trains lining the walls as Choo-Choo trains. I think you have to be a Lafrance to understand.

As it was later in the day than expected, we drove non stop the rest of the way to Spokane. Aside from the occasional downpour, one short stretch of construction, a really gusty section of road, and tumbleweeds from apparently out of nowhere, the drive was quite pleasant. We even got to drive under one of the most brilliant rainbows I’ve ever seen.

We arrived at our hotel about 9:45 pm. We stayed at The Davenport Hotel and my mom thought I must have won the lottery or something when she saw the lavishness. Burst that bubble pretty quick when I told her how inexpensive it actually was. Still not sure she believes me, but I can prove it when we check out tomorrow.

Wildlife sightings: one flock of small ornithoids. Does road kill count? I saw a dead rabbit on the side of the road…

Chestnut Cottage

Mixed Berry Streudel

Bushwhacker

Snoqualmie Falls

Mom and her choo-choo train

Twedes Diner

Driving Under the Rainbow

Our Beds for the Night

Today started with excellent check out service at the Davenport, a yummy raspberry Danish from Starbucks, and friendly, helpful service from a gas station attendant. Things went stressfully downhill from there until we got to Montana. When we left Spokane it started raining…and raining harder…and raining harder. Driving up and down the mountains of Spokane and through Idaho would have been fun on dry pavement; on wet, pooling roads it’s somewhat less so. But we got through it and took a much needed break in Missoula, Montana.

Before anyone asks, no, I did not see Hank Green anywhere, damn it! And yes, I was looking. I guess he didn’t feel like venturing to Walmart, Buffalo Wild Wings, or Lucky Lil’s Casino to meet me. It’s okay. I understand. I’m sure my family will be greatly disappointed, though.

Lucky Lil’s did turn out to be lucky for me, though. I put $20 into a poker machine expecting nothing in return and left with $329. Yes, Noltings, you read me right — I actually won at some form of poker. It’s a bloody miracle. And just to prove I am not a gambling addict, I won the entire amount on one bet and did not continue playing.

We left Lucky Lil’s, had some fun confusing the Australian-voiced GPS as we made random turns and missed instructions trying to find our way back to the I-90, got some gas and finally headed out. We had a paper map as backup (thank you, Auntie Lillian!) and planned to take the I-90 south then Highway 12 east to Helena, then Highway 15 north to Great Falls as that looked like the most efficient route. Our Australian-voiced GPS kept insisting we take the more direct route through the mountains. We heeded Uncle Al’s warnings not to take the mountain road because it would add three hours to our trip. We stubbornly ignored the increasingly persistent GPS instructions to turn around, for the love of God, turn around, and kept going south on the I-90 until we realized we could shut her up by programming the trip to Great Falls via Helena. Happy sigh, that did the trick.

The rest of the trip was absolutely pleasant driving through truly exceptional scenery on 97 percent dry roads at a legal 120 kph. Montana is hands down the most gorgeous and relaxing state I have seen yet.

We got to Great Falls at about 8:30 pm, but when we got to our hotel — the Staybridge — we were told they had overbooked the hotel and moved our reservation to the Holiday Inn, that they would be paying for the room, and they provided us with a one-night complementary certificate to use on a future stay with Staybridge. Okay. I’ll take it. I was looking forward to staying at the Staybridge because of the really good reviews on Tripadvisor, but their level of compensation to us under the circumstances still left me with a good feeling for them. I would have been happy with them ensuring we had a good, clean room to stay in somewhere as long as they paid any difference in price and/or got us a decent discount; instead we got a good, clean room in a decent hotel at no cost to us. Awesome! And we finally arrived early enough to take a dip in the pool. All in all I’d say this was a good day.

Wildlife sightings: a hawk, finally!

Woke up cranky today. My own fault though; I drank a bottle of Coca-Cola about an hour before going to bed and then couldn’t get to sleep for nearly another two hours. Sorry, Mom. Breakfast helped marginally, and by mid-day I was feeling better.

We drove on Highway 15 northbound, going through customs at Coutts, Alberta. That went relatively quickly: where are you from, how long have you been in the US, what’s the value of any purchases your transporting, $15? One-five? Do you have any tobacco or alcohol, okay, have a nice day.

Plugged along to Lethbridge, enjoying the distant view of the snow capped mountains, and decided to get a Booster Juice for lunch. Of course, that took longer than it should have again. You know, that consistent thing we’ve been doing messing with the Australian-voiced GPS’s plans for us.

Kept on plugging, passed my brother in High Prairie, picked up an early birthday ice cream cake for my nephew, and met my sister-in-law in Okotoks, where we stayed the night. My brother made an excellent meal of BBQ chicken and corn-on-the-cob, then we went for a drive around Okotoks. We picked up two geocaches and got a brief tour of their workplaces before heading home for the cake and a short dip in the hot tub. My nephew entertained us with his first experience inhaling helium from his birthday balloons. He couldn’t stop laughing long enough to say his chosen line before the helium would wear off. This was followed with a discussion about the dangers of repeated helium abuse…

Wildlife sightings: another hawk and various (and occasionally stinky) road kill…we haven’t established yet whether road kill can be counted as wildlife, have we?

Spent the morning with my brother, having breakfast at Ricki’s, talking, and getting a little drive around Okotoks. It’s really a lovely city, and the view of the mountains is breathtaking. Also managed to grab an unplanned geocache where we got the picture of the mountains.

Got on the road around Noon and decided to surprise my mother-in-law with a short visit. Caught her still in her pyjamas, hehehe. But she was glad to see us and I was glad to get the visit in.

Got back on the road around 1:00 pm, ready to cruise our way into Edmonton. The general traffic was astoundingly ridiculous and just as we seemed to be getting past the slowest contingent everybody came to a relative stand still. Nobody was able to pass anybody in either lane. It took nearly half an hour of painstaking progress to discover the cause: there was a police car at the head of the pack keeping everybody in check. Nobody wanted to pass him. When he finally turned off the highway traffic patterns on the QEII returned to blissful normalcy.

Upon arriving in Edmonton we met Andy for supper at Red Lobster. He was happy to see us, mostly to see Mom. Mom was happy to see him too. They’re so cute. They both ordered fish fillets, which looked really good and were really large portions. My biscuits (one of which was eaten on Dan’s behalf) were as good as ever, and the Caesar salad and seafood chowder were excellent. Unfortunately the lobster, scallops, and shrimp were not cooked through. So disappointed! That’s never happened to me before. They did reverse the charge for my entire meal, though, and were very apologetic. Meh.

Ended the night watching Draft Day with Mom and Andy. Surprisingly good movie! I was really entertained. And the number of notable actors that appeared was fun to recognize without checking Imdb.

Wildlife sightings: …

Okotoks View

My Brother

My Family

My Mother-in-Law

Got off to a rocky start today. After saying goodbye to Mom and Andy I stopped to get gas and wash the windshield. When I pulled the wipers up out of the way, the driver’s side wiper fell off. I didn’t even touch the blade, just the arm, and the bloody thing fell off. Now, I’m particularly annoyed about this because I have had ongoing issues with that particular blade for at least two years now. They kept putting a 26″ blade on, as per specs, which is too long; it kept catching on the passenger side blade, eventually snapping the latch. In Whitecourt this trip I finally had Canadian Tire both recommend a 24″ blade and install it for me. There was no way I was going to drive through the mountains with predictions of rain without being able to rely on my blade staying on. It did last nine days, not falling off until now. I went to Canadian Tire in Edmonton, explained the situation, and produced my receipt. They shook their heads at the Whitecourt parts person’s apparent ignorance, provided me with the correct replacement 24″ blade, installed it, and I was on my way again.

Unfortunately, this resulted in delaying my scheduled departure by an hour and I still had not grabbed breakfast yet. I remained utterly annoyed until Highway 37 saved me. This was a very nice gift of the Australian-voiced GPS after I ignored its initial instructions and chose to go through St. Albert before cutting across to the highway to Whitecourt. Once it recalculated, it directed me to take Highway 37 instead of 28 and by that point I figured why not. My mood improved dramatically as I drove that stretch of highway — it was beautiful, dare I say serene. Next time we drive south we are taking that road again.

The rest of the drive was relatively uneventful — picked up a geocache in Whitecourt and another in Manning. Then I got to about an hour or so from High Level and the sky got grey, then I hit this wall of fog that immediately reduced visibility to maybe a couple-few hundred feet. The next several kilometres should have taken 10 minutes, instead took closer to 20. No mishaps, though, no wildlife (still), and the rest of the way was rainy but visible.

Got some BPs for supper, checked in to the Best Western (which is great, BTW), and I am writing this blog on my iPad while I sit in the hot tub. It’s all very nice, but I can’t wait to get home tomorrow.

Wildlife sightings: As mentioned, nil…again…except road kill.

Whitecourt

Manning