Countryside
Staying at Loni & Erik’s country home brought back memories of the movie Dr. Zhivago (must have been the architecture of the house). They had chickens and lambs but most interesting two barn owls. Loni told us the story about a businessman in the area who made his money by buying & selling pellets (the regurgitated stuff that looks like poo).
Forest Campground
Fun in the forest for the boys whilst Mama & Papa catch up on maintenance jobs . How long does it actually take to know where everything is in our 14 bags?
Birch Bay – got there!
Long day after filling out immigration forms x 6 at US border. Met Loni & Erik (our hosts to be!) at fab location on Birch Bay whilst looking for campground.
Chinese Party at US border
As we approached the US border, the smell of barbeque cooking drew our attention to some activity in the park. The Chinese Association of White Rock Surrey were having a party and they welcomed us with great enthusiasm & brought us a BBQ feast & candies for the boys. We gave them our Canadian flags – better than us attempting Karaoke. 🙂
Helpful Cyclist
After 50km came the first flat tire along with a friendly fellow cyclist, who on hearing our story spontaneously invited us to camp in his backyard – thanks Doug!
Busy Highway
Somehow we lost track of the cycle path and ended up on the 6 lane highway over The Alex Fraser Bridge – good job it was rush hour so everything was jammed! Had just decided to lift all our stuff over the barrier to the cycle path when a police car stopped. We were ready with a string of excuses but he just asked “need a helping hand?”
Waterproof
After today we’ve learnt exactly what’s completely waterproof & what is just showerproof & why Vancouver is so beautifully green!
Puddle splashing & spotting racoons and a water otter were tops for the kids.
Biking Vancouver
In Vancouver (WOW! Aquarium at the airport!) all our luggage (77kg + bikes & trailers) reappeared in good nick. The children were delighted to see what weird & wonderful things turned up in the outsize luggage area: all kinds of sporting equipment, musical instruments & even a meowing cat – all good entertainment while we assembled all our equipment for “riding mode”.
The 15km ride to downtown city was fine but a bit tough at 4am (home time!) after being up all night. Cycle lanes are a little bit different here – let’s say you ride more with the traffic but at least they exist!
The children have adapted really well to the time difference – it’s the parents who have suffered the jet lag! 1st day – assembling provisions down town, riding around Stanley Park and playing in the playground.
“Let‘s travel the world together”
After four years of dreaming, one year of preparing and a marathon of injections we’re finally on our way to catch the first plane.