O Canadia

There is some gorgeous scenery in this here British Columbia: jagged peaks; serene lakes; the majestic Fraser River.  We are currently enjoying the beauty of this land at the ever-so-primitive Cottonwood Meadows RV Country Club on the outskirts of the quaint little village of Chilliwack (population 81,000).  I managed to light the (propane) fire to boil some dried camp food (lemon pappardelle) and we sat down to a rustic (air-conditioned) meal.  I just enjoyed a vodka tonic ... but alas, sans ice.  Truly, we have left civilization.  I'm typing this on an old telegraph machine that's connected to Seattle via tin can and string, and not handy park-wide wifi.

So, we made it!  To Canada!  Only about two-thousand one hundred and fifty miles to go!  The motorhome is averaging about 7-8 miles per gallon, probably karmically canceling out our 10 years of Seattle recycling efforts.  Hooray for carbon neutrality!

John wanted me to make it very clear that in his errand running this morning, he did a lot more than just drop off two plants and make a stop at Goodwill.  I apologize for diminishing the veritable whirling dervishishness of his productivity.  Another shout out to Naomi for all her help in getting us out of our apartment!  And to everyone else who stopped by!  And here's to forfeiting our security deposit!  I've never done that before, and it's quite liberating.  Note to any responsible friends out there who might be peeved at our apparent lack of responsibility: we did not leave our apartment in a shambles.  We just didn't repaint the living room back from fired shrimp to rental white.  Our landlord was totally in the know about our plans, and pretty much agreed that with all the holes in the walls and wear and tear, they'd probably have to repaint (or redrywall) anyway, so my guilt is absolved.  Except when I think about someone having to scrape up 5 years' worth of cat-hair-spider-balls from the corners.  I feel a little bit guilty about that.  We vacuumed.  But you all didn't see the mammoth corner spider that Naomi and I found this morning.

Back to Canada.  The cats are still alive and contained inside the motorhome, therefore I count this first leg a success.  Zaida and Clancy are currently hiding behind the toilet and are ignoring the litter box we set up for them, but so far, no accidents, so I think they're just too stressed (and starving and dehydrated) to use it.  After a brief exploratory stint out of his cat carrier, Henry decided to return to the safety of his cocoon.  Actually, by now, Henry and Zaida are exploring again and are seeming less skittish.  I just accidentally released the flush lever of the toilet and it sprung back and hit Clancy in the face.  I think that's why he's not out here exploring.

The border crossing, in the grand scheme of things, was relatively uneventful.  But we didn't get an immediate pass.  There was no search, there was no threat of denial of entry, but we did have to go inside and talk to some guards about where we were from, where we were headed, vehicle ownership, and the difference between bear spray and mace.  Wait, what?  Mace?  I didn't know we had any on board, but there was a tiny can of it that came with the RV (those crazy Ukrainians!).  My biggest disappointment was that there wasn't a review or even a freaking mention of our precious and laboriously-prepared TRIP MANIFEST.

Krista, I want you to know that we couldn't wait and we opened up your care package.  It was truly a party in a box.  I only hope I can concoct something as awesome for you in the future (p.s. I might be recycling some of the things inside - do beernuts keep indefinitely?) ... we love you!

I bid you all goodbye/adieu.  I hope/espère that you/vous too/aussi can someday enjoy this beautiful, bilingual country/pays.  Vive le Canada!  Also, don't fuck with it.  Border guards can be intimidating no matter how courteously Canadian they seem.