Wednesday, June 03, 2009

SA vacation 2009 - first post

First post of my South Africa vacation 2009 travelogue. A summary of the last few days in brief.

Sunday 05/31 - We left home remarkably early, getting it all together by around 11 AM. A hearty breakfast at the Horsebrass followed, and then good ole I5 North. A hard slog of a drive, and we made it to Port Townsend by mid afternoon.

Monday 06/01 - A wonderful visit with Kirsten's family, including Friday the puppy. A nice relaxing time. Too full of my usual travel worry to sleep too well.

Tuesday 06/02 - Up at the crack of bloody dawn. Or even before - 04:45. Our destination is the Mt. Vernon Amtrak station, where we will catch the train to Vancouver.
The first part of the trip is a ferry to Whidbey Island, which I love. I find ferries such fun. Made the rest of the trip smoothly, and the train ride to Vancouver was just fine.
After being grilled by Canadian customs for quite a while (I know you were just doing your job, chief, but you were a bit of a wanker), we were met by my old friend Paul. He is remarkably looking the same as he was in High School - aged well. We checked into our hotel near the airport and then had a great day, mostly eating, drinking and chatting.

Wednesday 06/03 - Relaxed at he hotel room, not really having time to go into the city before checkout time. Security (ugh) and now relaxing with a couple of beers (for me - other drinks for Kirsten and Adam). Flight in about three hours. Cheers.

A few shots of me at YVR:


4 comments:

  1. Nice to know you all made it through Customs without strip-searches. We will keep following your posts.

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  2. Glad to see you are on your way and probably there by now. Keep in touch, Bill

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  3. Keep them posts coming. I can't wait to see where your jouney takes you, my hippy friend. I hope you find whatever it is you're looking for.

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  4. L.: That far without hassles anyway! I'll let Kirsten tell you about the horrible passport losing experience.

    B&C: Be expecting photos soon! It was a hard slog getting here, but relaxing by the waves is getting me nice and relaxed.

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