Leaving Canada

I Packed up my stuff, and drove to Vancouver with Maddie as co-pilot at the end of the day.  It was nice and quiet on the road and all I could think was, wow, the roads are so nice here!  They have nice white lines, big shoulders, no potholes and good signage.  It won't be like this in Mexico!  I cranked my psych trance tunes on my ipod and before I knew it I was getting french fries at McDonalds in Hope.  I let Maddie out for a walk and as always I was overwhelmed with that fabulous smell of pine trees, fresh mountain air and cedars.  There is something so fabulously Canadian about the smell of wet pine forest.  It makes my heart ache.  I inhaled big breaths of it, so I could store it away for later.  I am already starting to miss my country and I haven't left yet.  

Not much longer till I was downtown Vancouver where my dear sweet friend welcomed me.  Maddie and I got to be city girls for a few days and it was really very nice.  I hadn't ever really spend a lot of time in Vancouver, so it was really enjoyable and so close to every amenity.  Maddie got used to being urban and pooping on top of the grates around which cities jail their trees. One of the greatest pleasures I enjoyed was picking up her business in my plastic baggie and walking one block to toss it in the garbage in front of the provincial law courts. I fantasized about smearing it on some lawyers, but well, that was just a fun thought and made me smile! ha.

I got to see some beautiful waterfalls on a Sunday up near Squamish and soon I was off to visit Victoria for a bit and stay with another wonderful friend of many years.  It was awesome and I really got to see Victoria with fresh eyes.  It's a fabulous city.  In fact both Vancouver and Victoria were sunny and most of the time I was there and I was impressed with many aspects of these two cities.

So the journey to this point was very fun and relaxing and then I left the country on a ferry to Port Angeles, WA.  It was another lovely sunny day and I drove to Portland where I stayed with another friend who I hadn't seen in years and years.  He treated me royaly and showed me his city, of which he's very proud.  I was also impressed a lot with Portland.  So pretty.

The drive to Sacramento was long, but there I met my old buddy I'd met in Mexico who had come the hour from S.Francisco to grab dinner with me.  This traveling thing is alright, especially when you can visit with people you know and haven't seen in a while.  But I knew that this was the last stop where I would know anyone.  Next day would be Mojave, and then Tucson.  Then I'd be out of the USA.  It was Thanksgiving weekend and getting out of Sacremento was challenging.  The I-5 was backed up for an hour, and finally I got off it and took another road, through farms, but it was better than being parked on the interstate.  It all worked out in the end.

There was some spectacular and stunning scenery on my solo voyage to the south; but also several very rainy moments while driving in Arizona.  Like I'd never seen before.  Fine except when it's dark and there's construction with no lines or lights and the only thing I could see was the taillights of some one in front of me.  Wow, that was challenge and I felt like I was in a video game!  But I got to Tucson and it all turned out well.  The Motel 6 is an amazing chain of motels; all close to the highway, all take pets, and have internet access.  Couldn't complain for less than 40/night.  Maddie loves motel/hotels; she is so glad to get out of the van, for one, and then she knows we can relax, so she snuggles the bed, rubbing her nose along the covers and snorting and pawing.  I love that.