Home for Now

We made it home finally. Missed the 3:10, so it was an extra 1 1/2 hours of entertaining the kids. Thankfully Departure Bay now has a playground. Also watching the jellyfish and ferries come and go helps.

After a few laps of the boat and then battling the wind on the top deck (Z loves the wind), it was time to decide on something to eat. While waiting in line for a small H&P pizza that had been sitting in the heat rack for some time (should suffice for now), announcement: "Pod of whales spotted on the left side of the ship." Very cool! A little ways off, but you could see the dorsal fins and the tails smacking the water.

Last bit of entertaining in the ancient playroom and then it was off to the van.

Nice to be home. Great trip all around!

G&G's

A full day of of touring Nanaimo and then to the water park at Tranfer Beach. The kids loved it there. We saw seastars and crabs in the tide pools and threw rocks in the water - Z was the lead on that one.

Walked down the dock and saw lots of people trying to catch crabs - a couple of successes.

Home for lunch, a nap and then to the WP. Played in the sand and K loved the WP. Running through ever bit of water possible. Z - not so much. A little more braver than last time. Maybe next year?

Whitespot for dinner - we ate way too much! The blueberry pie definitely put us over. Yummy though!

Travel day

It was a long day of travel on Tuesday. 12 hours in fact. After the last buffet at the hotel (I actually had a light breakfast of yogurt and fruit - couldn't do the American b-fast again), we were on the road. Thank goodness we bought the bins for cheap, they came in handy to pack all the purchases.

A last stop at Janzen Beach for returns and another $80 at Target (for good measure). Off to the Olympic peninsula - Port Angeles.

It was a long stretch through the 101, scenic and windy. Got to PA by 2:45pm and were 5th on standby for the Coho. We had to cross our fingers as we hadn't really talked about option B if we didn't make the 5:15 ferry. We did.

A little wavy navy for the first 20, but then it was smooth sailing. Take out pizza for dinner and then another 30 mins at the border.
Grandma's by 8:40pm. We were tired!

Portland Day 2

Children's Museum in the morning. It was the best $7 (per person) spent. We could have spent another 2 hours there. Lots to do and great for both K & Z (D too).
K made a cool house (Z wasn't allowed in because she was too young).

Rode the street car and then the MAX. What a great system! Too bad Vancouver can't follow suit. I don't get it? Free too! (at least for parts)

Went to Cascade Station had Panda Express for lunch, then hit a few stores. Jamba Juice - yum! Then to LC to see the ice rink (K needed to see it). Last bit of shopping for W. Then back in the pool.

To top it off, the Hotel was having a free soup and salad night. Free dinner! Lots of bread to dip into our soup and to make it even better, free beer and wine (at least a glass of each - don't want to wear out our welcome). Total spent on food today was $18. (clothes and other purchases - that's a different matter)

Bath, TV and maybe some sort of packing. One little run out to Oregon City for a cheap camping purchase.

Portland Day 1

Great day! Had a great feed at the breakfast buffet. Nothing like all you can eat biscuits and gravy. Ah the American way. Looking forward to tomorrows feast.

Target, then Woodburn. Kids were great while mommy was off on her own. Z took a little spill (actually a big one) at the Tree. Just a few scrapes, but okay. K got his first pair of soccer boots. Ready for the Fall season.

Costco for lunch. Love Costco shopping - wine and gadgets that aren't in Canada. Oh yeah, no tax!

Swimming at the Hotel, while mommy was on her own at Lloyd Centre.

Now we are ready for a feast of Costco chicken, corn and cheese bagel. Also some $5.49 Pinot Noir Sangria made in the place.