Canada - Things Are Just A Little "Different"

January 28, 2009 - I am back!!!!!!!!!! I apologize for the tardiness with my posts but I have been staying with my cousin Liane and her husband Pete and their two little boys Aden and Dylan. After spending the days out exploring Vancouver I found it more fun to mess around with the boys then sit down and blog. Now I am sitting in line at the Tsawwassen ferry port waiting to catch a boat to Vancouver Island to visit my grandma. The past few days has been filled with more than a few interesting stories. 5000 Miles of Freedom Tour learned its second life lesson and that is don't try and cross the border in a car full of stuff when no one in the car has a job or a permanent mailing address. The "first line of defense" border guard looked at Sarah and I like we were crazy when we explained to him why we were visiting Canada (to visit family). We were soon ushered into a parking port where we were told to go see the officers inside. After quickly checking in with officer "Bacon"(that is what I am calling him) he took my keys and searched my car without my permission (they don't need your permission once you have been detained). Bacon completely tossed my car, went through all of our stuff, searched my glove and even went through my GPS and made a call from my cell phone to American Communications my cable company. Once Bacon came back inside he called each one of us up separately and proceeded to ask us questions. His first question/statement to me was that I had not been honest with him regarding my reasons for coming to Canada and that if I told him anything but the truth I was committing a felony. At this point I was getting a little nervous because I had no idea what Bacon was talking about. He had found our storage unit's lease agreement that I keep in my glove and been convinced that since neither of us had jobs or mailing addresses in the US and recently moved all of our things into storage that we were now trying to move to Canada illegally. Once he presented this theory to me I pretty much laughed in his face and said I have no intention of living here in Canada. He asked a few more questions like how much money I have since I only had $1 in my wallet, yes he went through that as well. Sarah was next up with the interrogation. He pretty much did the same spiel with her that he did with me but when she was done he said that in his years of experience our story seemed rehearsed and "convenient". In the end Bacon let us through into Canada but he stapled a permission slip into our passports that stated we needed to leave the country by Saturday, which we were both fine with by this point.

Just a few more random thoughts before I move onto the pictures. Driving in Canada is different. The first and most confusing thing is the flashing green light. Once a traffic light turns green it begins to flash. We still haven't figured this one out. In the bars pints of beer are called flights and bloody mary's are called ceasers. Canada can at times feel more strange than traveling to some far off country because of the little differences. When you are here everything feels so similar but at the same time so different. The cars are exactly the same but the way in which people drive is just a little different. All the retail stores are the same (or close) but the things they sell are just a little different. The people all speak English but with a slightly different accent. So much of it is home but just when you begin to feel comfortable something pops up to remind you that you are in a different country.

Enough jabbering I know most of you are checking the blog to see pictures not here me go on about my inner observations. Below is our first view of the Pacific. Sarah and I got to Bellingham, WA about 3pm Sunday and had lunch at this little pull off. We decided here that we would push on through and drive up to Vancouver that night rather then stay in the states another night. Soon after we took this picture we broke 2000 miles driving on the trip.

Pete and Liane's house is in N. Vancouver. On our first night in town we went out for a few drinks down the road at their local pub the Rusty Gull. From N. Vancouver one has a pretty spectacular view of the city. We were staying 2 blocks up from the water.

I took this picture mainly for the Lehigh crew that always has made fun of my car. As you can see from the sign hanging on the wall my car is a "small car". To tell you the truth that status has come in handy more than once on this trip. Yes MWD I know my car needs to be washed, thanks for pointing that out.
On our first day in Vancouver Sarah and I went down to Granville Island to the local farmers/fish market. Right down on the point there is a concrete factory and I saw this truck and had to take a picture. The Mountains Hawks reign supreme even north of the border.

This is the building that the market is housed in. Unfortunately for us every Monday in January the market is closed. We ended up coming back on Tuesday so it was ok but it was frustrating when we were there. Although the market was closed we ended up having lunch right next door and the seafood was fantastic.

After the market we ventured into downtown Vancouver to walk around and see the city. Vancouver is a really nice city that is both manageable and clean. There are tons of little stores, restaurants, malls and museums to see downtown. The Hudson's Bay Company is the oldest retailer in North America and has a beautiful building right in the center of downtown Vancouver. Richard I thought you would like the picture.

We finished up our first day with climb up the Harbour Center which is Vancouver's own space needle. I took a bunch of different pictures from atop the observation deck but I liked this one the most. The white building in the foreground is the IMAX, Stanley Park point is to the left and N. Vancouver is in the background. The views were pretty clear that day and we could see all the way to Washington's Mt. Baker.

I will post some more pictures from inside the Granville Island Market later today. I should have some fantastic shots from Victoria to share over the next few days so keep checking for those. Hope all are well!