Life in fast-forward -- the Pacific Coast, Portland and Seattle

Outside Portland, Oregon June 5, 2013

The problem with blogs is trying to keep up with them!

Life moves too quickly, the days morphing into weeks and then into months -- especially when one is on the road daily, changing towns and often states! How can you capture that movement in words and photos? Traveling everyday means tearing down camp; finding a new place up the road by searching the internet for the “best” (i.e. cheap, clean and natural) choice for camping, and then setting-up again. All this, on top of the normal daily activities that seem to occur in slow motion because of the modest amenities, leaves little time for absorbing experiences fully. Life on the road is sometimes more like a blur than anything else. We seem to adapt to the constant change rather than fully participating in it.

Experience has shown us that we are happier when we stay in one place for several days (which we did in most of the big National Parks – Arches, Bryce, Grand Canyon, etc). This allows us to get a real sense of each place and get out of the “Dory mobile” (as we affectionately call our van) and explore the places we are visiting more actively. Unfortunately we can’t always take the time to do this. We decided from the beginning not to make reservations in the campgrounds so we could have freedom to change our itinerary as we felt like, when we felt like. This has worked out remarkably well. Of course, most of the National Parks have been completely reserved for months and the park attendants look at us with astonishment when we inquire about a site for the night! But fortunately for us, other organizations such as the State Parks, County/city Parks, the Bureau of Land Management, and Forest Services have alternative first-come-first-serve campsites (which are really nice and often less expensive). Thanks to these options we haven’t been without a place to sleep on any single night. Things might be different in the middle of the summer when even these alternative campgrounds fill rapidly. On more than one occasion we have resorted to overflow camping at these alternative places, which is not great but by being onsite you walk around and find who is leaving the next morning and have first crack at a good site.

Recently, since we started up the Coast of the Pacific, the pace has picked up again. We have been on the road daily and although we take the opportunity to walk the beaches (they are soooo beautiful and expansive) and watch the sunsets, we only really do so superficially, regretfully. It is probably a good sign that we are regretful since it means that we should come back to this area another time, soon.

June 8, Vancouver, British Columbia.

We are back on Canadian soil. That is the longest I have ever left Canada, I think! We have had an amazing experience in the US (and people have been warm and kind for the most part), but it is nice to be “home”. It is especially nice that we are about to visit my family who I don’t get to see often enough since we live so far apart.

This weekend we are hanging out with my nephew Matt and his girlfriend, Elaine, in Vancouver. After that, we travel inland to the Okanagan Valley (Kelowna) to see my mom & dad. In one week from today, we will be in Banff to see my sister Denise, and Bruce, Karen and other friends. And as if that wasn’t a big enough treat, we are also staying in Calgary to see my niece Susan and her lovely family (Ray and my great-niece, Louisa and my great-nephew, James!). Calgary is also home to my niece, Caitlin, who we will get to see. A short side trip to Red Deer will bring us to my brother, Larry and his girlfriend, Vicki and hopefully my nephew Mark and his girlfriend, Alexis. Even if it is just for quick visits, I feel very fortunate and happy to see my loved ones!

I realize that I haven’t written about the places we travelled to recently. After the last entry, we left the National Parks and moved into Las Vegas – a transition that I made with trepidation since Las Vegas doesn’t appeal to me. I have always thought of it as an adult Disney Land, which forgive me for saying, it is! But it was interesting to walk endlessly and see all the glitz.

We went to two amazing Cirque du Soleil shows: Love (Beatles) and Kà. While staying in Las Vegas we were hosted by a Québecoise ex-pat, Marylène and her family. Marylène is a performer for the Cirque du Soleil in Kà, which made the experience of the show even more exciting and special for us. Marie-Andrée posted photos of us with some of the cast including Marylène, backstage on her previous post. Marylène generously took the time to show us the sets, costumes, etc.

The person who set us up to stay at Marylène’s, was her aunt, Sylvie, who is a colleague and friend of Marie-Andrée. Sylvie and her husband, Michel, have the same type of van as we do (a competitor version!) and they too were traveling in the Southwest.

It is a small world! We all camped at Marylène’s and Sylvie and Michel, who have been in Las Vegas on several occasions, generously toured us around the city, day and night. All this – great accommodations, great company and VIP treatment at Kà – made the whole experience unforgettable! I left Las Vegas happy.

After Las Vegas, we crossed over to California and headed back to the National Parks: Sequoia and Yosemite. We didn’t get any extensive hikes in but we were able to get an overall idea of the highlights of these parks before we ventured towards the Pacific Coast.

I must admit that I have been anxiously waiting to get to the ocean again! I love the water and although the desert experiences were very interesting, I could never live that far from water. There are lakes in the desert – Lake Powell and Lake Mead were two that we stayed at, but lakes that are human-created by damming rivers are not the same as natural lakes. They feel harsh and unyielding to me. They are beautiful in their own austere way.

Our first stop on the coast was Westport Beach, approximately 200 miles north of San Francisco. We decided to start high up the coast of California since Southern California felt too expensive (campgrounds are between $7-15 a night in the Southwest and minimally $20-50 a night on the coast!) and too crowded to attract us on this particular trip. Also, we had a holiday in San Francisco and the Napa and Sonoma a few years ago so we bypassed them this time.

On the first evening on the Pacific we took a bottle of wine and headed for the beach to watch the sunset. As we climbed a few rocks to find a spot protected from the wind, we came across two people sitting where we were heading. We knew these people! We had met them in Port Aransas, Texas when we had camped directly on the beach. They had stopped to talk to us because they are also traveling in a Safari Condo (the type of van conversion we have). The Safari Condo company is a relatively small one and the vast majority of owners of these vehicles are French Canadians, so when you see one, you are also see someone from “home” who is also probably French Canadian. There is a real camaraderie amongst owners. It was highly unlikely to meet up with the same people twice on such a long and expansive trip. The irony is we really didn’t “click” with them, despite having so many interests and recent experiences in common!

Up the coast we continued and our next stop was Patrick’s Point State Park – a foggy, rather rugged area of shoreline. Our campsite, although nice, had the disadvantages of the coastal climate (humid, cold and windy) without any views of the ocean.

We vowed to get a spot were we could really profit from the ocean and the next day we drove to Lincoln City, Oregon where we opted for a free overnight parking in a casino spot. It had a clear view of, and access to, the beach! Oh what a beautiful beach, too! The Pacific is too wild and too cold to swim or even kayak in this time of year but the guys on the Kite-boarders (very experienced and with full wetsuits) sure took full advantage of the ocean. I could have watched them for hours.

Casino “camping” is a lot like Wal-Mart “camping” and although it has really helped us out a few times, we would rather stay almost anywhere else if we have a choice. Most of the people at these places almost never come out of their vehicles. It is considered bad etiquette to put out chairs or tables in these places. We don’t have the luxury of much choice though and if we want to eat or have a coffee, we need to get out of the van a bit!

The people staying in parking lots are a mix of frugal, well-off retirees living in huge rigs, vacationers on a tight budget that requires the occasional free overnights to make their trip possible and people who are living in older, run down vehicles and are “full-timers” – sometimes homeless from poverty and sometimes due to eccentric personalities. At the casino in Lincoln City a van pulled up and parked too close to us. At first I was annoyed that they were so close and then I realized it was an older woman travelling by herself and being close might provide her a sense of security. I smile and greeted her when she later came out of her van. To my stupefaction I saw she had a traveling companion and that the companion was a Serval (medium sized, wild, African feline that looks like a leopard with a small head).

Apparently the ‘cat’ is her service animal (she had no visible handicaps) and she lives with him – his name is Rajah, meaning King, in Sansrit – in this tiny van which is not converted into a camper, just a regular, old van. She wanted me to see in. Rajah has most of the space for his litter “box” and bed as well as two large coolers (likely one for his food) and several small suitcases that she had neatly organized around the floor of the van. Her name is Carole and her state of ‘residence’ is Alaska but she travels full time and lives in the van. She had just been in California to see her son. Wow! She said Rajah is the best thing that ever happened to her. The sacrifices she makes for this feline are evident everywhere. Alaska, and most of the US, are not keen on her keeping a Serval as a pet so she is constantly on the move to avoid persecution. She dreams of buying a larger campervan where she can have a little kitchenette and a bed, but it is unlikely she will ever be able to afford one.

Since leaving the coast late last week, we have had several fun urban experiences. We visited Portland, Oregon for a few hours of walking and sightseeing.

On the same day that we visited Portland, we traveled onto Seattle where we stayed in a stranger’s driveway. I joined an internet group called ‘Boondockerswelcome.com’ which helps connect people who are traveling with people who are willing to host them in their driveway. We have only used the service twice so far. This latest time was primitive – just park and sleep – no outdoor space to use the Colman stove or put out a chair. Not much different from staying at a Wal-Mart (In Panama City our experience was much nicer – the woman opened her door to us and was very generous with her offers of showers, bathroom facilities, laundry, etc.). We took the bus into Seattle and visited the Pike Public Market and ate lots of yummy things, people-watched and then took a ferry to a nearby island, Bainbridge, just for the fun of being on a ferry.