Waking up in Vancouver, we knew it was our last day of being worth 23% more than everybody else. We had a plan of action on our way out of Canada. Of highest priority, we were going to make sure to spend our remaining Canadian money on donuts instead of concerning ourselves with exchanging it for the pittance of American it was worth. First stop, I needed a few litres of petrol. Only a few because I was sick of paying over a dollar per litre.
We were about 14 or 15 kilometers (two exits) north of the border and I wasn’t sure if I’d make it without running out of gas. Especially if we had to sit in line to cross the border. At about exit number 9 I pulled off in an area that looked like a place people kept cabins. The gas was even pricier here and I couldn’t wait any more to get in to America. Unfortunately, Canadians had a different plan for us. Getting back on to southbound traffic was not possible. There was no entry ramp from the direction of the road we were heading. I had to go down the road further, turn around and approach it from a different angle. We were getting more fed up with Canada with each U-turn.
As much as we were ready to call it off with Canada, we still heard her siren’s song of Tim Horton’s. The next exit (about 6 kilometers out) had one and I pulled off in to yet another crowded Tim Horton’s for donuts. We ended up trying and buying any of the flavors we hadn’t had a chance with yet due to our limited time in Canada and abundant Canadian dollars. I highly recommend the sour cream glazed cake donut. This from a man who thinks of gross old Donettes when he thinks of cake donuts.
Damnit. This was the final straw! After winding our way past the old people who were eating their donuts on a plate with forks, we got back in the car hoping to head southbound. Again, with no warning, there was no sign of southbound re-entry. This time it couldn’t even be done with a U-turn. I ended up having to head northbound and catch the previous exit I was at and turn around there. Our only explanation for this goes along with our previous conceptions of the Canadians: they have such an inferiority complex with their country (a well-founded one) that they don’t feel it necessary to make it easy for you to leave. As exits got closer to the American border there were more opportunities to get off southbound but fewer to get back on.
Once across the border our plan was to head to Olympic National Park, west of Seattle. The quickest route involved one of the many ferries in Washington State. We headed down highway 5 and peeled off west toward the ferry. Once 20 miles away from Interstate 5, which heads straight to Seattle, we saw a sign recommending we call ahead for ferry reservations. I called the number provided, and this being a Friday, the kind lady pointed out that everyone had the same bright idea we had and the next available ferry would be in 12 hours or so. We immediately turned around and decided to visit Seattle first.
Jayne’s fondest memories of America while we were in Canada for several days was Chipotle. Our founding fathers would feel so proud. So our stop for lunch was in Edmonds, WA at the closest Chipotle to the Canadian border, then we checked in to our recently Hotwired hotel. It was really near the airport which was incredibly useless to us.
First thing we checked when we got in to our room was if Seattle still had a baseball team or if they went ahead and threw them in to the package deal with the Sonics. I keep meaning to go to Oklahoma City to catch Shawn Kemp in action.
Not only do they still have a team, they were playing in an hour. We gathered ourselves, got out our American dollars, sharpened our scorekeeping pencils and headed downtown. Both corporate-sponsored football stadium (I forget what it’s called) and Safeco Field were just south of downtown and both were impressive looking. We bought bleacher seats off of a scalper and went in just in time to see the first ground out. I frantically caught up on my 6-3s and my lineup and the drizzle started. Slowly and silently Safeco’s huge roof began to roll closed, starting from the outfield above us. It was really cool to see the game both outside and inside. The roof closing was so slow and creepy, it looked like the mothership was coming in to laserbeam President Pullman’s house.
After the game we walked back to our car which I managed to park right in town in a nice little restaurant district a short walk from the stadium. On the way there there was an industrial alleyway that had been turned in to a mini-Wrigleyville with sausage vendors and loading docks turned in to bars. Even with the rain it was a fun atmosphere. We got in the Forester and went back to the airport.
Because I am old and on vacation, I decided to watch the local news. To be fair I think Malcolm in the Middle was on before that. They broke in to let me know that highway 5 was closed through most of Seattle. This was the highway we just got off of. The reason being that some idiots were firing assault rifles in the university district across the highway and were now in a standoff with police. The local news had a heyday with it. They did nonstop coverage for a good hour and a half and I consumed every minute of it. The Wanda Sykes type reporter lady at the scene sassily reported that the highway closing was delaying those people who were “heading home from the game or just trying to go about their business.” I think if the cops gave her a flak jacket and a rifle she would have taken care of the suspects herself.
The next morning we decided to check out the Pike’s Place Market as well as the downtown area. At Pike’s Place we saw some of the usual: the fish throwing, super cheap large bouquets and lots of fresh fruit. They seemed to be pushing their plum-apricot freak hybrid, pluot. We also saw an old-time band that looked like they lived their music, a dude rotating slabs of delicious cheese, some Papyrus font and ate some crepes. Edenthaler and ham for me, goat cheese and spinach for Jayne. Just up the hill from the market was a map store. I promised Jayne all sorts of fresh fruit as long as we made time for the map store.
At the risk of sounding like an old guy grasping for some sort of hobby to define me, I dig maps. I especially like weird/different ones and I’d love to have a few to hang somewhere. A classic one that fits the category that I already have is this one of Napoleon’s army. It tracks both Napoleon’s march on a map as well as graphs the number of dudes he had with him at the time. You can get a sense of why he was so popular. I was looking for something in that arena. The map store had the Napoleon one and one that mapped but mostly graphed some Civil War numbers and dates. I tried to understand it but failed so I decided it shouldn’t really be a map to display. “Have you seen my map? I don’t understand it but I was just stretching for a conversation piece.”
Since we didn’t have a flight to catch, we Hotwired a new hotel north of the city in Edmonds. A favorite game for us on Hotwire is playing Holiday Inn Express Roulette. For the category and price we are willing to pay on Hotwire, we tend to be in the Holiday Inn Express category. It is definitely the perennial winner of the mid majors. So with a little reverse lookup, Jayne likes to play the odds on a hot breakfast and one of those fancy showerheads. When she wins, it normally results in a BINGO style freakout in the previous hotel room.
After a “BINGO!”, we were moving in to a cinnamon roll-smelling Holiday Inn Express. I’m not a marketing wizard but I imagine the appeal of Holiday Inn Express is we know what we’re getting. The only variable is how high they will be pumping the fake cinnamon roll smell. The one in Helena was on 11. Edmonds was just fine.
Another website this trip has been sponsored by is Yelp. We Yelped a used book store and some Cuban food. Jayne’s running low on books and so she needed a fillup. Our original plan was to check out a ton from the library and give them a tour of the US along with us. With 10 hour days in the passenger seat under Jayne’s belt, she had all of her library books read and we were only halfway done with our trip. The Half Price Books in the university district of Seattle was awesome. It was two solid levels of books and for under 20 bucks we had another eight books. That should last a week.
The Cuban restaurant we came across was also in the University district. It was La Casa Del Mojito. We both had steak based dishes and Jayne got her fill on avacado and I tamales. I’m sure our recommendation will drive tons of business to them. Regardless, we still bring it up. “Remember the steak at Del Mojito?”
The next morning we went to the ferry and lined up for the very next one available. We were justified in our decision to delay Olympic National Park when we saw how far down the highway the line could be formed for days like Friday.