Crossed the border at Abbotsford. In doing so we traded quiet rural Washington for suburban Vancouver. There we wandered a Costco in search of many small things. Costco though is the worst place to go in search of small things. So really it was me patiently waiting for all the tastings to be prepared while Corey searched out clothes. At checkout we managed to not once, but twice cut-off the same person in line. Each time we lived up to specific stereotypes; we apologized but kept our place in line while she assured us that it was absolutely fine us jumping in front of her. She, Jennifer, was sporting a very cool retro Pearl Jam hat which made me a bit homesick (was thinking of Eddie Vedder singing Take Me Out to The Ballgame at Wrigley). Turns out Jennifer is as cool as her cap (ALL CAPS) and we ended up talking about kids, college and how awesome the 90s were. It was a good welcome back to our second favorite country.

Afterwards we made our way to the ferry terminal at Horseshoe Bay. It’s a beautiful drive. But it was at that time that all the rain promised to us in the North Cascades was finally delivered. The cityscape was a faint grey outline and traffic crawled. At Horseshoe Bay we learned a few things about ourselves but more importantly about our car. Namely that with the cargo box our car stands seven foot two inches which is the perfect height for an NBA center. But it is a bit tall for BC Ferries standards which means I should have booked an oversized berth. And being the busy season, this booking was not available for the time we wanted (4:20). In fact there was only one such booking left for the entire day. It was at 8:20. And the rain was coming down hard. Meanwhile our comfortable Airbnb, with a washer, dryer, full kitchen and comfortable bed, stood waiting, a lonely refuge across the straight.

Eventually the rain stopped, I got a haircut and we had a tasty early dinner at Trolls. We even found a spot on the 6:20 ferry and it was a smooth sail over to Nainamo. The next day local guide, second cousin to Corey, and good friend David Jones took us on the iconic Sea to See hike in Ladysmith (a hike named by David about an hour ago). The route involves an epic climb from David’s house to Heart Lake which is only possible with the assistance of a dedicated golden retriever. This climb is followed by a sharp descent to the local brewery before the final drop to ice-cream at Transfer Beach. It is not for the faint of heart.

Life so far is good on the island. About to head off for another walk in the woods and then celebrate the 4th at a barbecue. We are so far yet so close to home.