DAY 8--FRI 6/30/17 -- DRIVE DAY --& Calgary, Canada
Drive Stats: 260 miles (418km) MH, __ hours on the road
Temporary split from Grammy & Grampy--while we headed north to Canada, they headed west to Washington where they can visit friends, and then meet again in Vancouver.
Pulled off the road a dozen miles before the border to check email and burn the sparklers we accidentally forgot about when we unpacked the fireworks.
Border crossing ~2pm. She asked who was here, our purpose for visiting, how long we would be here, and if we had items such as firearms, alcohol, and firewood. Each of us had to go up to the driver window and say hi to the officer. We only had to stop to offload our firewood. Chris got the kids' passports stamped by special request, and the officer gave the girls souvenirs--they got flags, tattoos, and pins celebrating 150 years as a nation.
Stopped at a Co-Op Grocery store and Walmart. Had to insert $1 Canadian to unlock a cart at Walmart so we walked with 3 baskets...which didn't work very well, so Chris sought out how to get a basket and an employee unlocked one for him since we didn't have any Canadian $$ yet.
Nice Sam's Club campground--Bay River's Edge Campground. Kids played for a long time on the gorgeous playground and they made friends.
DAY 9--SAT 7/1/17 -- in Calgary, ALberta "Canada Day"
Drive Stats: 50mi/80km Jeep, 2.5mi/4km bikes, __ hours on the road
We drove to downtown Calgary, and rode our bikes around the city. We let Marissa out of trailer to ride her own bike for a bit at the park area, but she rode "hitched" through the city. Today was full of Canada Day celebrations. Prince's Island had a fair atmosphere. The girls collected over 20 flags and we decorated our bikes with some of them.
Calgary Tower was pretty scary with a glass floor that made the girls nervous, and I don't blame them--my gut told me it shouldn't be safe but my left brain knew it was okay.
We ran into some rain as we returned to camp at 3:30pm so we relaxed inside. Mommy is glad the kids are tired; late nights have meant less sleep and it is catching up with them!
DAY 10--SUN 7/2/17 -- Drive through Banff National Preserve to Golden
Drive Stats: 250 miles/402 km MH, __ hours on the road (not counting ~3.5 hrs in Banff, ~40 min of of sitting in visitor traffic in the Jeep)
Started our day with a nice family bike ride along a river path from our campground. Then it was a 2 hr drive to Banff. It was a very busy day here--I'm guessing because Canada parks are free in 2017 to celebrate Canada being 150 yrs old, and it is the holiday weekend. We walked .7 mi uphill to ride the Gondola to the peak, but the wait time for boarding was 2hrs, so we got ice cream and lunch instead and enjoyed the views from there.
We tried learning all the Canadian Territories/provinces by reading licence plates. We saw Maple trees--recognizable by the Maple leave shape from the Canada flag.
Swimming pool! Girls paid admission to the public pool across the street from camp with Canadian money. They got to spend an hour there before they closed. It was nice b/c it was hot there (87⁰). The girls made friends at the splash park after, while Chris cooked dinner. Piper met a girl who was going to go on a 3-week vacay to San Diego--what a coincidence! Addisyn & Piper got to jump off the diving board. Marissa practiced "swimming" to me from the steps and holding her breath. The depth markers were written in both feet and meters.
Drive Stats: 720 miles (1160 km) MH, 11.5 hours on the road
We left at 8am MST, kids still in bed. Addisyn on dinette/bed; Piper was awake but enjoyed the view from her bunk window; Marissa woke up while we were on the hwy.
We safely drove through several avalanche zones. Tunnels had a 4.4m height clearance--how tall is our MH? Lots of up-downs through and around the sides of mountains. This is a logging area--we saw several logging trucks and a lumber factory.
We arrived 6:30pm (+1hr time change)
Differences we've noticed in Canada:
-Many things are written in both English and French, many people are bilingual
-TV had English subtitles on a show, the TV anchors were alternating English/French
-Restrooms are called "Washrooms"
-People from Canada are called "Canadians" We are "Americans."
-They say "eh"
-Canadian paper money is see-through, and they have $1 and $2 coins--called Loonies & Toonies
-blinking green lights at signaled intersections
-short on/off ramps to hwy
-Tim Hortons restaurants, Co-Op Grocery
-Liquor/beer/wine not sold at regular stores
-Kilometers, km/h
-Petro / "Gas"
-British influences--"Prince's Island"
-Country lifestyle--ranches
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DAY 12--TUE 7/4/17 -- Vancouver, BC
Drive Stats: 12 miles/20 km
Our main adventure today was Capilano Suspension Bridge park. The bridge itself is 140m long and 70m above ground. There was a cliff walk and tree walk as well. Addisyn dropped her new binoculars and the staff was kind enough to fetch them from the tree branches.
Then we went to the waterfront and experienced the "Fly Over Canada" movie in 4D with our feet hanging so it felt like flying under the dome screen.
Chris and Karen had date night--we rode our bikes to mall/restaurant district next block over... It was odd to see Home Depot in a mall next door to Old Navy, with escalators in it--haha.
Happy Independence day America...from Canada!
DAY 13--WED 7/5/17 -- Vancouver, BC ****halfway through trip!****
Drive Stats: 0 miles/km by car (7mi / 11.5km by bicycle)
We thought about visiting Vancouver Island on this trip, but I'm glad we opted for a relax and
play day. We took a family bike ride over Lions Gate suspension bridge to Stanley Park.
Phew--I asked for a work-out and got one! I towed the bike trailer with Marissa holding
Daisy, a small cooler of drinks, the bike locks, and Marissa's bike strapped to the back.
(Any guesses on how much weight I pulled over a bridge tall enough to let a cruise ship under?)
We also officially decided that Addisyn is due for the next size bicycle, with gears, as she
struggled uphill with her long legs.
It felt good to get some laundry done in the morning while the laundry room was less crowded, and
I could relax and watch the kids play in the pool in the afternoon.
Piper exchanged addresses with her new friend Cloie (from Calgary) to be pen pals (1 yr younger)
Our map is looking good!
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