Vansterdam

Mom and Dad came to visit us! In Vancouver! In the snow! ON CHRISTMAS! AND...we did it in less than 500 square feet in a non-smoking building for five days with no incidents. That is either a testament of how awesome we are or how drunk we were. I would like to think it was both. Highlights included walking the Capilano suspension bridge , dining at HJU:Z on Christmas, taking Kyle to his first casino (collectively losing 20 dollars).    -------    ------- We didn't take pictures in the casino,  both because we didn't want to document our loser selves and it is illegal.

I'll tell you what, we have checklists going for everything right now... I would love to report that it is starting to feel like home here, but there is still so much to get done around here. Just so everyone is on the same page, we still haven't found a permanent apartment, we haven't even started researching how to get our stuff up here (or how long it will take), and if you know what a SIN is - you know more than me. Still, it is great to have the three of us under one roof again. And Bella even has a window to look out of - like she did in Marietta. A bonus is that Travelope is still making stops; here he is in Squamish and in Whistler.  

For you non-airport code folks, that's Coeur d'Alene, ID to Vancouver, BC! Ahhh, the last leg! We got on the road at 7:30am PST and arrived at our final destination at 5:00pm PST. H ooray!! To our surprise, we were able to get a photo op in Idaho... And while Bella slept soundly through this part of the trip, I did not.  In fact, it was a continuation from the previous white-knuckle night - we did figure out that part of the white knuckling was due to the fact that we were down to only one head light. With impromptu waterfalls from the rain spilling over the road, winding, slippery roads, and idiot drivers.  Previously, I thought that title belonged to Ohio drivers (although, Brandon would argue, it belonged to Utah drivers - trying to get to God faster), but I think we both could agree now that Seattle drivers own the title. They don't even use HOV lanes properly, instead of passing all the single drivers, the HOV lane continues down the highway at the...

For you non-airport code folks, that's Billings, MT to Coeur d'Alene, ID! We left Billings at 7:30am CST after defrosting the car, as it snowed overnight, and arrived in Billings at 5:30pm PST. While not quite a 12-hour day....IT....WAS....L-O-N-G!!!! Our first stop after leaving Billings was to visit Julie, my sister from another mister, in Bozeman. Because I was more focused on spending time with her, sipping on a turmeric steamer , and eating a green stuff sandwich , I completely forgot to snap a photo memento of the monumentous occasion - being her first friend/family to pass through Bozeman. In lieu of this, I will share this gem. I told you Julie, "mistakes have been made." Montana Obligatory photo op: Then things took a turn....a U-turn in fact. After leaving Butte, MT our oil lamp light came on. Damnit! We were only 20 miles out from the Butte Subaru dealership (and more than a hundred miles away from the Missoula one) so we turned around and w...

For you non-airport code folks, that's Mitchell, SD to Billings, MT! We left Mitchell at 7:30am CST after saying "Well that is a lot of corn!" to the Corn Palace and arrived, back on schedule , in Billings at 6:30pm MST. Another 12-hour day.  The Corn Palace was actually quite fascinating! This year's theme for the exterior murals (the only thing we wanted and actually saw) was South Dakota weather. Can you find the Travelope? Here you can see how the murals are made. After filling up at M&H - they still exist M om & H ad! - we were off again. We stopped at one of the most beautiful rest areas (I would argue) in North America while in South Dakota. I will note that these cool teepees are at each rest area in the state, which brings the grand total to 4. After this gem of a stop there was ::almost:: nothing for the duration of the state, well except for Wall Drug, so of course we stopped there too. Wyoming While we weren...

For you non-airport code folks, that's St. Louis to Mitchell, SD! We said "good bye" to St. Luis at 7:30am CST and arrive in Mitchell at 7:30pm CST. It seems like a 12-hour day is becoming our norm. "Why Mitchell, SD?" you may ask. Because it is home to the Corn Palace and we were tired. I would like to take the time, first and foremost, to celebrate Brandon's ability and tolerance for driving nearly the whole day today. HE IS A GOD, in my eyes. I know that I will pick up more of the driving tomorrow, but I still have to give mad props to him. We began the day by trying to visit the Missouri Welcome Center, as per our now established ritual, but were DENIED! You stink Missouri! (Well, actually, we would find out later that South Dakota truly stinks of cow manure, Iowa too.) Travelope, our travel buddy had a day of photo ops: bridges, dinosaurs, fake Oregons, and teepees, "Oh my!"    Us on the other hand, only had ...