(+4 insets) (bigger is better!)

I've done some thinking about how I should approach my trip pictures and posts here on ipernity. I have so many things to talk about and countless pictures to go through that I'm going to have two parts of each post: Trip Talk and Today's Pictures. This way, if you only want to know about the pictures, you can scroll down to that part. And this way it won't matter if the main subject has absolutely nothing to do with the pictures…such as today! Now is the time to go get a cup of coffee or perhaps a bottle of wine? Let's get this party started!! :)

Trip Talk
Traveling to Vancouver Island and spending five weeks there was an amazing experience. Neither of us had been on such a long trip before and even the planning took many weeks. We had our share of problems, as can be expected.

Pumpkin Couldn’t Go On Our Trip!!!
One of the worst surprises was when—just a few days before we were set to leave—we discovered that we wouldn’t be able to bring our parrot with us. We were so upset that our first thought was to cancel the entire trip. However, at that point we couldn't afford NOT to go, as so many of our accommodations had been paid for already.

The good news was that the vet where we board her would be able to accommodate her while we were gone. Also, the fact is that Pumpkin has such a good time staying there that we refer to her boarding place as “Camp Chicken”. We worried if she’d be able to forgive us for leaving her for six weeks but we had nothing to fear. As we hoped, our weekly calls revealed that Pumpkin was having a blast and was loved by the staff as well. Steve and I had the hard part, which was managing our feelings. Pumpkin is like our child—can you imagine being separated from your little one with basically no warning—and for six WEEKS? It was really, really hard to deal with that, but what else could we do? Both of us missed her so deeply that we had to just shut down those thoughts. We purposely didn’t talk about her, though she was so often on our minds. The only thing that made our painful longing bearable was knowing that she was doing great and having full days of fun entertainment with lots of attention.

To tell you how much we wanted to see her, we TRIED to change our plans so we could get back sooner, but nothing was possible. The last five days of our trip revolved around Labor Day weekend and the non-existence of camping spots anywhere except for totally overpriced spots we couldn’t—wouldn’t—afford. As it was, Steve made reservations for those last five days months ago and even then, finding anything was next to impossible. We were good and truly stuck with our full itinerary, so we did our best to not think about her.Wretched.

We DID make one alteration to our plans though. Since the trailer is so big, we planned to drive home, drop off the trailer and then return to pick up Pumpkin. This would surely threaten to kill us as we’d be literally driving right past the town where she was staying…and the added time would be nearly two hours. UGH!! However, before we started driving that morning, I showed Steve how we could drive the truck and trailer around the block where there would be room for our rig while we picked up Biscuit (Pumpkin). At first he didn’t think it would be wise, but when we were nearly there, Steve changed his mind and we pulled off the freeway to pick up Pumpkin! It turned out to be an easy situation and there was even a place for us to parallel park just out front! PERFECT!!

When we stepped inside the office, not a minute had passed before we heard Pumpkin’s sweet whistling melodies from where she was housed. It was all we could do to keep from running into the back to get her! “CHICKEN!!!” I squealed in anticipation, bouncing up and down and beaming back at Steve. A few minutes later her cage was carried out to us and Steve and I were just coo-coo at the sight of her.

She not only remembered us, the sight of us made her equally excited and as Steve took her out of her cage and held her up to his face for a kiss, Pumpkin’s dear vocalizations were so sweet and full of undeniable joy and longing too. What an amazing reunion for all three of us. Stepping onto my offered finger, I held Pumpkin up to my face for a kiss and cooed at her while she made wonderful purring chirps and whistles that were so full of love…all three of us were just so happy to be a family again. All was well. Our family was once again complete.

And, I’m so pleased to report that Pumpkin never punished us with bad behavior to let us know how angry she’d been that we were gone for so long. You may be aware that companion animals will sometimes act up to let you know they were upset at a long parting. I certainly wouldn’t have blamed Pumpkin for lashing out at us but she never did. How blessed we are to have this angel of a bird in our lives!

Today's Pictures
My main picture is a pair of islands that Steve and I saw while on the ferry ride from Anacortes, Washington to Sidney, Vancouver Island. The ferry was HUGE! I mean…REALLY HUGE!!! There were many RVs and trucks loaded on as well as dozens of cars. Everyone drove onto the ferry in designated aisles demarcated by lines and workers directed each vehicle into position. It was just amazing to me that we drove our rig--nearly 60 feet long--onto a BOAT, which would carry us to an island in Canada! CRAZY!

The ride took over an hour and we were free to stay in our truck or walk around the ferry if we liked. We met a man with an adorable Boxer and spent time chatting with him while we showered the dog with affection…we sure do miss our Boxer, Zoey, and the lovely fawn-colored beauty was fun to see!

Inset 1: This was a view from Anacortes while we were waiting for the ferry.
Inset 2: After two days of driving, pulling into the ferry terminal was incredibly exciting for us!
Inset 3: Here's a view from the truck on the ferry!
Inset 4: I am including a picture of what the ferries look like as well as a map showing our route from Anacortes to Sidney.

We were both really worried about going through customs because we had so much food with us. However, I'd done my homework and even though many websites written by travelers to Canada have said you can't bring ANY food, I figured out that you merely have to let the agent know what you have when they ask. I did forget to toss the apples--fruit is a no-no--so Steve popped into the RV to retrieve them. Another agent peeked inside our trailer, using a stick to push the bedroom curtain aside, just to see that everything was normal looking. Steve offered to let him come in but the man declined and soon we were off and starting our adventure on Vancouver Island!!

Pam, would you agree that going through Customs is one of the worst hells on the planet?! Heh…it gets worse every time I go through, although our experience with land-based customs was nothing at all! I hope all is well with you, I'm sending my *BIG HUGS* your way!!

Explored on September 7, 2019. Highest placement, #3.