The Adventure Continues

(...this blog continued from yesterday's installment)

It's Emilie now. Well, in response to those of you who did comment on the last blog; Laurene, I think the universe was playing an April Fool's joke on us, but unfortunately, we weren't playing a joke on all of you. Dad, when you hear the end of the story, you will realise that Hales Grove had no internet either.

Well, last you heard, AAA was sending a truck within 45 minutes. Two hours later, we were still waiting. Janet had told me about her niece's true character, quote "she thinks she's hot champagne in a glass, but she's really cold piss in a cup". She has also taken off her logger socks to chow me her cat wounds. It was a long two hours.

We were getting hungry, so we popped the top and made some dinner while we waited. We had somewhat resigned ourselves to the fact that we may be staying the night in the van. Janet had offered to put us up for the night, but I just couldn't do it. It has to be said that she was a very kind and giving woman, despite all of my odoriferous misgivings.

Finally, after another hour had passed, the tow truck finally arrived. Unfortunately, (yes it just gets better and better) AAA had not informed them that there were 4 people waiting to be picked up and that two of them were children, and they were therefore,not equipped to take all of us back to a town. We would have to wait the night. YIKES!!!

While we sat dejectedly waiting for any other news, we had some good news finally. Richard from the Redwood Towing Service came back. Yes, he came back! He had finally managed to get some radio reception from down at Jimbo's place and he had asked his wife Ginger to come with another car to pick us all up. Honestly, we had quite a bit of luck that night...with Jimbo and Janet being so kind to us and then Richard and Ginger being so wonderfully giving, we just felt cared for and safe. It was a good feeling.

We finally made it back to Garberville (big shout outs to Richard and Ginger) to spend the night at the Best Western. It was a great hotel, with free wine and cheese receptions every night from 5:30 to 7:00. We took advantage of that.
The next day, Richard and Ginger's mechanic took a look at our van and fixed it in an hour. It barely cost us any money, and we got to explore a nice little town in California that we otherwise would never have seen. Here's some of the interesting stuff going on in Garberville and area. One-They have a little food stand called NACHO MAMMAS that serves all organic and delicious Cali-Mex Food.
Two-There's a Reggae festival just north of there every year, which is supposed to be alot of fun!
Phew! What a crazy day!
It has to be said that we did experience some moments of panic, as well as some serious doubts about the longevity of this trip. Tink was pretty close to being sold. BUT...we are in San Francisco now and we made it without a hitch.
Some tips that we have learned about adventuring so far are; to be patient and calm throughout any type of ordeal, It really helps.
I have to say that Adam was truly incredible. He took everything in stride and really sorted everything out. Cheesy but true.
I have included some more pictures so that you can see that it truly did happen. There is also a little video of Naomi that I made while we were waiting in Garberville. Just so you can see how much she is growing.
More about San Fran and the great night we just had in our next blog.
Please keep your fingers crossed for us that Tink keeps on keepin' on!


The above picture shows Richard hooking up the van for a 30 mile tow. We all squeezed into the tow truck until we met up with Ginger.

This is one of Adam's favorite pictures so far. The gentleman in the middle is Jimbo and Walter is standing to the far right. Walter is Janet's nephew.

Maia the princess.

Love Emilie

Hales Grove Adventure

The adventure has really started now. After leaving Eureka on monday morning, we drove for a while and we picked up Larry. Larry was walking down the Highway with an empty gas tank. Larry had lost his money at the casinos and then had run out of gas trying to get home. We gave him a ride to the nearest town, which was 3 miles away, and drove him back to his truck. Larry said that we restored his faith in humanity.

We drove for a few hours and we were headed for hwy 101 along the California coast. What we didn't know was that we had to drive over a very steep and windy road. At the begining of the climb we picked up Janet. She was shopping in Leggett and needed a ride over the mountain to her house in Hales Grove. You won't find Hales Grove on the map because the population is only 8 people. We drove up the windy road at 10 km/hr and we had to stop 4 times as the engine was overheating. Climbing the hill took nearly 1 hour. Going down the hill went a lot better and as we were turning into Janet's the driveway the van jolted and a loud crack was heard. The van was not moving anymore and when we got out to look underneath we saw the large hunk of steel that was apparently the driveshaft, hanging unusually low.

Undaunted but somewhat shaken, we asked Janet if we could use her phone. She told us that there "ain't phone lines in Hales Grove", but she said that Jimbo (her neighbor) had a cellphone and if we could get back to the top of the hill, we might get some reception. After Janet put her groceries in her house, we walked over to Jimbo's house. Jimbo was very friendly and agreed to lend me his cellphone and give me a ride back to the top of the moutain (Elevetion was approx. 500 meters). When we arrived at the top of the mountain, Jimbo jumped out of the truck and told me that I should be able to get reception here. That is when I said, "I don't have a cellphone, don't you?". He replied, " I didn't bring my phone either", in a very matter of fact manner, and he quickly continued in nearly the same breath, "I guess we're going to Leggett".

Meanwhile, back at the van Janet had invited Emilie into her house to choose a pair of homemade beaded earings in thanks for the lift over the mountain. Janet took care of 10 cats and 2 dogs. Let it be said that the home had a certain odor. Emilie and the kids were surving Janet's unique brand of hospitality and was keeping a eye for Me

The only payphone in Leggett is in disrepair and the AAA associate asked me to phone back on a land line as my "cellphone coverage was very poor". I knew as soon as I began to explain to him where I was that there would be problems. The conversation went something like this,

"Where are you sir?"

"I am broke down in Hales Grove, California, I have two..."

"Where?"

"It's on mile marker 96.3 on Hwy 1, we were heading southbound."

"Is it close to anything?"

"I am calling from Leggett, its about 9 miles to the north of where we are."

"I see. Can I call you back at this number?"

"No, this is a payphone.."

"Really?!, you are very crackly, I can barely hear you!. What number can I call you back on?"

"You can't call me back. There are no phones in Hales Grove and cellphones don't work."

(I hear crackly laughter on the other end of the phone.)

"I have two children, there are four of us."

"Ok sir, I will send a truck to Hales Grove. It should be there in about 45 minutes. Try to keep an eye out for the tow truck."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Ok....?"

"Have a good day sir."

Well Jimbo and I zoomed back over the hill I quickly told Emilie the news.

To be continued....

Tink keeps up!

Pictures 1 and 2 are Hil and Phil enjoying Naomi.

Picture 3 is the whole family with Hilary, Phil and Rose.

Picture 4 is the three girls in the hollow of a giant tree. (It smelled green).

Picture 5 was taken in the van after lunch. Just a nice spontaneous shot of those three.

Well hello Everyone,

Thank you, thank you, thank you for your comments. We love them!!!! That many exclamation points means that it is especially true.

My task is to tell you of two things. One, our trip to Victoria and two our drive through the redwoods.

Our trip to Victoria was warm with friends and cold and rainy with weather. We did a bit of "veg"ing so that we would have maximum energy for our long drive through the states. Maia was extremely comfortable at Hil and Phil's place. She even snuggled up with Phil to read a couple of books one rainy afternoon.
Luckily, we also caught up with our good friend Rose. We stole a couple of her busy student hours to play at the park, eat soup and Ice-cream and to discuss the health benefits of nuts. Many of you may be pleasantly surprised to hear that I have become of fun of nuts of many varieties. Hummm, I guess I had to just go on a life changing trip in order to become a little less picky, that's all.
Sadly, we didn't prepare well enough in advance and we completely missed seeing my Cousin Matt and his girlfriend Shauna. We felt very silly when we found out that they were in Victoria and that we had no time to see them!
Other than that one disappointment, it was a relaxing and comfortable stay. Many and mucho thanks to our gracious and giving hosts.
The very next day, as Adam's last blog indicates, we drove our little van as far as we could go. The girls were great and we ended up having a 13 hour day, including the Coho ferry ride from Victoria to Port Angeles. We are desperate for warm weather so that we can make the best use of our CAMPER van.
So, last night we stayed in Grants Pass and this morning we drove a leisurely 6 hours, with an hour and a half stop to visit the giant redwoods. WOWEE ZOWEE is what first comes to mind, but there are a few other adjectives that could also describe their magnificence, like; awesome (in both the original and contemporary sense), fantastic, stupendous and of course humongous. Maia had a blast and so did Naomi. Naomi loved the wet air and the quiet I think. The roar of the van engine can get to be a little loud at times. As for Adam and I, well if you must know, we loved it as well.
Speaking of the girls, quick update...Maia is constantly amazing us with her increasing vocabulary. She's also becoming quite the climber and most recently, she has started to play with her sister. She keeps hoping that we are in Nicaragua, but she was pretty excited to be in California. She gave the sunshine state a round of applause and a couple of shout-outs!
Naomi is really loving her hands at the moment. Her face when she concentrates is hysterically funny. I am certain that you would all agree. Also, we think that a tooth may be erupting momentarily, so there is a degree of discomfort for her that isn't fun to hear.
Tonight, we are in Eureka. The coastal highway is dangerously beautiful....in a very real way. Luckily I was reminded by Adam on a regular basis to keep my eyes on the road. We are staying at a fancy hotel as a treat....it had a pool and a hot tub for Maia.
Love, love, love you all too much! Oh, yeah...the name Tink for the van is here to stay. She just seems to have a halo of pixie dust following her as we chug/fly down the road.
E

INTO AMERICA! (in the dark of night)

This morning we woke up in Grants Pass, Oregon. The sun is up and everything is looking very green. The weather is cool but getting warmer and we are heading for the Redwood forests this morning.

We took the ferry yesterday morning at 10:30 to port Angeles. We didn't have any problems at the border. We felt good and we drove until we couldn't drive anymore. We drove 800km down interstate 5. Maia and Naomi travelled great. We finally decided on a name for the van....Tinkerbell. Tink for short.

That is all. Check out is in 13 minutes.

Vancouver Horny Toad

Vancouver treated us very well and we were able to get a new stereo, visit our friend Molly and visit the aquarium.

While our van was at Performance Stereo getting upgraded, we took a bus to the aquarium.

The aquarium was a blast. Most of the pictures didn't turn out because the flash reflected of the glass but here we see a ornate horny toad posing beside Maia. She is asking me if it is real. We saw snakes and dolphins and turtles and sharks and we even got hit by a surprise hail storm. Many of the tourists were standing outside and watching in exclamation. I coundn't tell if the exclamation was from the thick slushy hail or from Maia who was on her hands and knees trying to eat it.



After the aquarium, we picked up our van from Performance Stereo. The new tunes sound great. With Robert Munsch blasting through the speakers, we headed to the set of "Supernatural". Our friend Molly Clayton is the assistant to the assistant director we got a tour of some equipment while everybody on set was having lunch. I got to sit in the "stand in's" chair. Apparently all he does is "stand in" the scene until the lighting is good enough for filming. I may have found my new calling.

Time and time again

Adam bought a watch, the day before we left Edmonton. It is quite the watch actually, it does our laundry and acts as a nanny when we need some time alone.

The concept of time started a train of thought that has followed us to our present location in Kelowna BC.

Last night, we stayed in Golden BC. Going through the Kicking horse pass was humbling, to say the least. The timelessness of the mountains reminded me of how young we are (something that is nice to feel at the grand old age of 32). Then, in the morning, Adam took a picture of our two girls, reminding me again of how fast time flies.

We unexpectedly made great time through the Rogers Pass, which is 1345 metres above sea level and arrived in Kelowna ahead of schedule. The beauty of this trip though, is that we don't really have to be anywhere on time.

Our van was really great and we have been having a wonderful time. One quote from Maia for the day...Maia told me "to be cute, ok?!"

Love to everyone who has sent their well wishes and made comments. They are the first thing we check when we stop for the day.

Make it so

The departure on March 21, 2008, started with an idea over a year ago. Although we knew that Edmonton was a temporary home for us, it was nonetheless difficult to say goodbye to our good friends. When we pulled away today and started the first leg of our journey, it was with exhilaration and sadness in our hearts.

We arrived in Calgary without any problems. The van ran well on its maiden voyage, Maia was excited about her new "house" and Naomi slept most of the way. There was a speed trap South of Red Deer and we managed to avoid detection. The van is quite laden with gear and somewhat underpowered. I wouldn't be surprised if the police hadn't even used the radar gun on us. We did pass our first vehicle that wasn't stopped...we all laughed at them heartily as we passed. It was quite momentous.

Tomorrow we are planning to travel through the mountains to Revelstoke. The travelling distance is 433 km with a 1300m tall bump between Golden and Revelstoke. This will be the first large climb for the Westy and we will be taking it slow with a close eye on the engine temperature. I feel like we should have to drive many days before being afforded the opportunity to witness the splendor of the Rockies and we plan to absorb what we can, going to the Banff hot springs.