West Coast 2007
Alright, here we go, on the road again, we're trying to keep things updated as we travel. Click on the pictures to expand them.
Day 0
We stayed at a hotel at Amsterdam Airport to avoid having to travel early in the morning, also the car could stay in the hotel parking lot for free during our travels.
Day 1
After 9 boring hours in the airplane we reached Chicago. Just enough time to stretch our legs and grab a Starbucks coffee before we were off again for Seattle. Another 4,5 hours later we finally reached our destination, tired but happy. We planned on picked up the rental car quickly only to find 372 people in front of us at the counter. We were too tired to care anymore. When it was finally our turn the lady behind the counter made the waiting worth wile by giving us a free upgrade and we checked out a nice 4 wheel drive Toyota Highlander. Plenty of space to stow all our stuff for the next 3 weeks. Off we went, but not too far, previous experience had taught us to find a hotel near the airport to relax and spend the first night.
Day 2
After a good sleep it was time to hit the road again, across the Canadian border to the ferry from Horse Shoe Bay to Langdale and onwards to Sechelt where we had booked a b&b for the night. Again a great night's sleep, probably because of the salty sea air. After a wonderful breakfast the next day we would push on to Vancouver Island.
1 - Mount Rainier, seen from our hotel, the only time we saw it actually, the remainder of our visit is was covered in clouds.
2 + 3 - passing the Canadian border, off to have a hoot!
4 - floatplane!!
5 - ferry to Langdale
6+7 - Sunset on the Sunshine Coast
1+2 - Sunset aan de Sunshine Coast
3 - Sunshine Coast my ass, it rained almost all day long
4 - sounds familiar, don't we have that in Holland too??
5 - haha, I've go my bear bell. The idea is that the bears hear you coming when you're hiking and can flee, however it is more likely that they'll know that dinner's on the way.
6 - ferry from Earls Cove to Saltery Bay
7 - what a terrible place to live.....................not!!
Dag 3
From Sechelt along the Sunshine Coast to the ferry from Earls Cove to Saltery Bay en after that from Powel River to Comox on Vancouver Island where Bruce and Cheryle were waiting for us at the harbor. Reunited after 4 years we all headed to their house in Campbell River, time for stories and a few drinks and later that evening, much later, we stumbled off to bed.
1 t/m 5 - on the ferry
6 - Bruce & Cheryle waiting for our arrival at Comox
7 - uhh.....sailboat
Day 4
After a good night's sleep and a hearty breakfast we were off to 'cruise the hood' down to the harbor to see the seals, some local shops and eateries and out of town to scout for a nice spot at Buttle Lake for Bruce and Cheryle to camp at in the upcoming weeks. Nature is abundant with wildlife and plants, and let's not forget the trees. Tyee is the operative word in this area, tyee is the Inuit name for Salmon. I don't really like my fish out of the water, rather enjoy it out of a pan, hahaha. In the evening we shopped for steak and they did not remain packed long before they ended up on the barbeque. Naturally the food was good, the drinks were too.
1 + 2 - harbor seal
3 - floatplane
4 - resort where Cheryle worked
5 - beachcombers
6 + 7 - Buttle Lake
1 - this one didn't run off
2 - I wonder what goes on in that man's brain
3 & 4 - hug a tree
5 - duck walk again, done that before, if you fall off you'll disappear for ever
6 - rainforest
7 - goats on the roof in Coombs
Day 5
What'd ya think? Got up at daybreak to go beachcombing at low tide. Of course, we don't do that at home so here was our chance. Climbing over rocks and struggling through sand looking for all kinds of sea creatures, crabs, sea stars, fish, eel, squid and jelly fish. Like trained beachcombers we spent a couple of hours stumbling around until the tide started coming in again. You would have never thought we did such thing did you? Afterward Cheryle made a batch of French toast and we spent yet another enjoyable peaceful day in Campbell River.
1 - deer everywhere
2 t/m 7- beach combers, looking for that treasure
Day 6
Another early riser, off to the south to Coombs, a quaint little tourist town, followed by a visit to a wildlife sanctuary where a lot of good work is being done helping wounded animals to heal and be set free in the wildernis again. Afterwards we visited Comox and the campsite where B&C spend a lot of time in summer. And we completed the day with a good meal at a restaurant not far from the base, the food was good and cheap, only downside was the wait but we're not complaining.
1 - the duck
2 - Yukon Gold
3 t/m 7- to point out to Europeans the larger sizes that North American supermarkets sell
Day 7
Yet another day of early rise and shine and a happy birthday Brucy breakfast we packed up to get to Telegraph Cove around noon, where we had booked a whale watching tour for the afternoon. The drive up there, a good 2 hours, was more than boring, all we saw were trees, trees, nothing but trees, more trees and at the end of the trip some more trees. Boy, were we ever glad to see water again. From Telegraph Cove we took a trip onto the ocean, well, nearly, to see if there were any whales around. Since they are wild animals and we were visiting them in their natural habitat one can not just simply expect them to come hurrying whenever they see the humans arriving in their metal floating device, you might get lucky and spot a few, some visitors return from the tour without having seen any. But I guess because we came all the way from across the globe (yeah right, like we were the first ones ever!) they decided to show themselves today. And in numbers that are rare, we saw over 50 whales of various kind, even our tourguide was so excited she was jumping up and down for joy on the front deck. There are 3 kinds of killer whales, the resident ones that, obviously, live there, then the transient ones, passing by on their way from Hawaii to Alaska, and also there is a 3rd kind of which very little is known because they are rarely observed close to land, hence their names, the offshores. Turns out that a pod of about 40-50 offshores were in the area and the waters around the boad were filled with them. The problem with these animals is that once you've spotted them and you point your camera............their gone again. But we still managed to get a few shots in. Ever for our captain it was only the 5th time in 12 years and over 2700 tours that he got to see the offshores. Truly a magnificent day, besides the humback and the killer whales we also saw dolphins, bald eagles, sea lions and seals. The tour which normally lasts about 3 hours took over 5 hours today and we had a blast, nobody can take this memory away from us for a long time. It also makes you feel so small, tiny and insignificant as a human when you get to experience nature this up close. Our heads filled with everything we had experienced that day we made our way back to town for a birthday dinner for Bruce. Happy and full we finally rolled into our beds at the end of the day.
click here for comments from the tour operator
4 - bye bye whales and other creatures, thank you for a great day!
5 & 6 - well he's a jolly good fella'.................. !!
7 - Ginger, the little brown dog
Day 8
We slept in today, had a leisurely breakfast, had a look at all our pictures from yesterday. Also today marked the end of our stay in Campbell River, time to move on. But first we headed for Victoria to have dinner and a walk around the old town. After checking into the hotel we drove downtown, where we witnessed an amazing story of Canadian politeness. You had to actually be there to fully understand it but I'll try to put it to words, it was hilarious. Cruising through downtown Victoria Bruce went around a guy on a bicycle who was balancing his bike, holding the handle bars with one hand and clutching a slice of pizza in a folded paper plate in the other hand. Bruce gave hem plenty space, remarking that you never know what they're going to do. After having past him he had to stop for a red light, the stop was followed by a 'thump', leaving Bruce with a puzzled expression on his face, wondering what had fallen over in the back of the truck. The three of us, Cee, Gee & me, however, had seen what had happened: the guy on the bike had wanted to cross lanes behind the truck to make a left turn, had it not that that truck had come to a suden halt for the traffic signal, which caused the guy to slam into the back of the truck and as he fell on his face he smeared the pizza along the side of the truck. Thus: Chevy 1 - biker dude with pizza 0. We were already cracking up over poor Brucy who still had not fully comprehended the situation and he actually got pissed off with us a little I think, but it was just too funny, when we got the icing on the cake: the bicycle dude got back on his feet and came to the window to apologize about things, he had not been able to stop before slamming into the truck. That of course made us almost wet ourselves. And poor Bruce, he's so damned polite and something like this happens to him, it's unfair actually, he'll probably never understand it to the full extent. We have been and will be cracking up over this one for years to come and he unfortunately will have to hear about is for years to come too. Sorry Bruce, but it was just too funny.
1 - Cheryle, Bruce, Gee, me & Ginger
2 - sunset in Victoria
4 - famous mountie................
Day 9
After saying goodbye it was time to catch a ferry again back to the mainland, bye bye Canada, bye bye Bruce & Cheryle, we had a great time, we'll miss you guys! Making our way south we stopped in Seattle and tried to find the Chinese store where we bought our instant coffee the last time we were there, that coffee is so good, it's Vietnamese and all you have to do is add water. This proved more difficult than we thought, we couldn't find the store. So we instructed our Annie to get us back to the I-5. Suddenly we were at a light and upon looking around a bit we found ourselves right in the middle of little Saigon, we parked our car in a hurry and asked a Vietnamese gentleman if there were any grocery stores around, he looked at us like we were stupid and pointed at the sign overhead, turns out we were in the grocery store parking lot. Laughter of course, 'want some bacon to go with that egg on your face?', but not long after we had scored a major amount of coffee which made the car more stable on the road. Finally we moved south to Vancouver, no, south is correct, I know what you're thinking, but it was Vancouver WA, just north of Portland where we had another hotel booked. We got there pretty on time and after dinner and drinks it was time to hit the sack again.
Day 10
Vroom vroom, rise and shine and off for a drive along the scenic Historic Columbia River Highway to Multnomah Falls for a few snapshots, then back to Portland for some shoppng at the REI and Columbia factory stores, located somewhere in town. Shopping is always fun, especially when you shop brand materials at a discount price. Having done that we stopped off at the Woodburn factory stores on I-5, they did not have much that interested us. Off to Roseburg where we had another nice hotel booked for the night.
4 t/m 5 - along the Historic Columbia River Highway to Multnomah Falls
6 - thrown back 50 years
7 - shoot, no whales, it's fresh water
Day 11
From Roseburg we (again) took a scenic route to Crate Lake, we were lucky the weather was wonderful and clear, last time we were in the area it was all clouded in. After the visit to Crater Lake we pushed on south, towards Medford to reunite with the cousins and their families, abeit only for a few days but relaxing days.
1 t/m 6 - Crater Lake
Day 12
A lazy day, relaxing around the house, playing with the dogs and cats. Also watched the 'water' scenario.
Day 13
Had to go and cross the California border, zipped down to Crescent City through the Redwoods National Park
1 - beachcombing, I know what to look for now!
2 & 3 - the lighthouse at Crescent City California
4 - we heard them from afar, sealions had taken refuge in the harbor
Day 14
Just bummin' around all day with Priscilla, a little shopping, a little eating, a little drinking, a little of a whole lot of things actually, great to be on vacation and taking it easy.
1 & 2 - sunset in the Trujillo valley
Day 15
Welllll, there's nog sales tax in Oregon so if you need to shop this is the place to do it. And we are masters of shopping, spent all day zippin' through town from left to right getting our hands on all kinds of things that we can't get in Europe, especially foodstuffs and spices. It might just be that they do sell it over here but we always run in and out of shops with just the items we need, when we're on holiday we have time to shop around. We also tried to meet with a breeder in the Medford area with our schedules did not match, maybe next time. In the evening Scott and Alison invited us to dinner which was very very good and plenty, good steaks and ribs at the Roadhouse.
1 - Hank & me, taking it easy
2 - life's a beach............
3 - the waterfall was completed just a few weeks ago, great feature!!
Day 16
On this beautiful Sunday morning we met Bob Anderson and his wife Pat, fellow wingers and great people. Besides that Bob is somewhat of an authority on the GL1200 Ltd as we own one. Always great to meet the persons behind the e-mails in the flesh, we missed them on our last visit because we couldn't get our schedules to match. This time we did, great people, hope to see them again on a next visit.
In the afternoon we were able to meet with breeders Chris & Glenda Jones and their Newfy Eepos from Klamath Falls, who were attending a meeting just north of Medford, wonderful people too to go through the trouble to have us meet them. By the way, we travelled more than 7000 miles to meet...........a Belgian Newfy, isn't that something. Oh, well, I got my Newfy fix that day. We'll try to visit them in Klamath Falls on a next occasion.
1 &3 - with Bob & Pat Anderson
4 & 5 - with Chris & Glenda Jones and Eepos
Day 17
Fairly early departure after saying goodbye to everyone, on the road again to Portland, a quick stop at Woodburn again, nothing there for us again and on we pushed to make our camp in Vancouver again, no, not Canada but the one just north of Portland, remember? We drove through Portland in the evening, it's a very pleasant town with lots of things to do it seems, we'll plan a longer visit there on a next occasion. The rest of the day was uneventful, just travelling, racing up I-5.
Day 18
Today lured us from Vancouver, no not the one in Canada, how many time do I have to explain this? to Port Angeles at the base of the Washinton Mountains and the Olympic National Park. We camped in a cheap but surprisingly clean and tidy motel in Port Angeles, drove up and down the mountain, too bad the weather was kind of crappy, a lot of clouds and rain. We'll have to drive down to the Alps I guess if we want to see mountains.
1 - Puget Sound
2 & 7 - Washington Mountains
Day 19
After breakfast we travelled back towards Tacoma where we checked into our hotel where we were to spend the last days of our holiday while in Seattle. In the evening we got to meet Karen Rupert, her husband and her dogs Benny and Darwin and we got to accompany her to her rally obedience class. It was a great evening, we met all the friendly people and their dogs, the instructor and the doctor, we also got some ideas we might be able to incorporate in the lessons at our own dogschool. A great evening, thank you very much!
2 & 3 - Karen with Benny & Darwin
4 - Marci with Lulu, de Samoyd
5 - Stacey with Jordyn
Day 20
After years of working in, around and with aircraft and sending them off to virtually every corner of the globe I've almost come full circle. A visit to the Boeing factory in Everett was on the program today to see how these birds are screwed and bolted together, very impressive. I'm thinking of going full circle and start flying one of these machines myself, but it would be choppers first, that's where my passion lies.
1 - lighthouse at Mukilteo
2 & 3 - Boeing factory
4 & 5 - Seattle Space Needle by night, from the other side of the bridge in Alki
6 - how do they do it?
7 - my personal favorite at this time, cool truck, Toyota's FJ Cruiser
Dag 21
Our last day in Seattle, some last minute shopping, snapshots and suitcases packed.
Dag 22
Here we go again, time to go home, get up and get on the move, everything went smooth at the airport, well, except for the fact that we had to repack 1 suitcase due to weight restrictions but we had anticipated that so it was done in a matter of minutes. I wonder how we manage to go home with 200lbs of stuff each and every time we visit. And we didn't even buy that much, well, we thought. After checking in we went back to the hotel for breakfast, after that we took our rental car back to its owners and made our way through security again, on our way home. The trip was uneventful and naturally much too long again, but what can you do.
Dag 23
After spending 13 hours on the road again we were right back where we started, at Amsterdam airport on Sunday morning at 9am, collected our own car from the hotel parking lot and made our way home. End of story, end of travels, end of vacation, the end, over, finished.................let's go to a new adventure which we hope to be calling puppy around Christmas, if not then I'll bet you we'll be back in the Florida Keys in Januari.
