We started off with a drive through the Rockies, stopping to visit some friends in Shuswap Lake. The drive was nice, except for several construction zones, idiot drivers, and accidents caused by the same idiot drivers. At the lake we BBQ'd, and spent some time on the water.
First time paddle boarding! It was fun, and I didn't even fall in.
My friend Paul has much better balance.
We had a good time, even though it was smoky. From there we continued on to Vancouver, which included driving out of the Rockies during a massive rain storm, which was a little tense...
We explored Granville Island, and Kelly made a friend.
Fun street art.
Outside time! We went for a hike.
Kelly's BFF, and also my cousin Meghan. She gave us a place to stay, thanks!
Loved the trees!
And also Meghan's cat, Thycho.
After Vancouver we drove down to Seattle and poked around. Our first stop was a big aviation museum. Lots of displays, and interactive activities.
An SR-71 cockpit.
Kelly in attack mode!
Spitfire!
Corsair!
Thunderbolt!
Lightning!
Oh look, a Concorde. Unlike the TARDIS, this one is smaller on the inside (Doctor Who joke)
And Air Force One. This one flew JFK around.
Nice touch.
The gift shop had some nice things.
That night we visited Pike Place Market, though we got there after everything was closed. No crowds!
The original Starbucks.
The Market is a very neat place. Would love to visit it again, when it is alive.
Love this sign. Made me think of Nathan and Jocelyn.
Seattle was just for one night, and after we escaped (the states have really bad road signs!) we made our way down to Portland.
We stayed at a hotel that was built into an old elementary school. It was a wonderful place. The rooms were old classrooms. It also had a pool, a restaurant, a brewery, a movie theatre, and five bars!
In Portland beer is everywhere, so this was a great way to start our visit!
Then we did some exploring around our neigbourhood. There was a bad drought, but some areas managed to keep things green.
Only in Portland...
This is that movie theatre I mentioned,
Complete with awesome chalkboard art!
We actually saw Labyrinth, instead of Mad Max. Also with beer.
On a later day we made a visit to Purringtons Cat Cafe. Basically you can have food and drinks, while visiting cats! Unfortunately we got there around nap time, so most of the felines were pretty subdued...
Back at our hotel, Kelly contributed to the chalkboard art that can be found around the place. Alas, we have to vote for silly humans instead...
Classic old school.
With Sculptures!
And these guys!
One of the five bars!
After Portland, we started heading north again, and came the Cave B Inn and Winery, in Washington.
All the features of this place are nicely placed around the property, mixed in with the vineyards. It makes it a joy to wander around.
We stayed in a yurt!
But, before bed we had ourselves a fancy dinner.
Really nice food, with really nice wine, on the patio.
This was our mealtime view!
In the morning we went for a hike in the Gorge!
This was an old homestead before the Gorge was flooded.
There are some big cliffs in that valley (Can you see me?).
And one little waterfall.
After a nice breakfast we said goodbye to the yurts (and the spiders living in the yurts, which thankfully we didn't discover until we were packing our bags to leave).
There was a lot of smoke, as well as some active fires as we drove north back into BC.
Once we made it to BC, we stopped in to visit Cathy and Bill, and the horses too!
Hey.
Hey.
Hey.
Hey.
Oh God, too close!
They are actually gentle giants!
Norman!
Kelly just keeps making new friends.
Especially when she has apples!
Sage and Norman.
That is the brief version of our recent adventures. We have many more photos, and tales to tell, but those may have to wait for another day.
Now we must prepare for winter, and try to enjoy fall as much as we can.
Cheers,
Kelly and David
