This is the first blog in a while.  So many things kept happening, that by the end of the day we were exhausted.  For a week or so we laid low as well, but here is a little update before I get into some of the bigger things.

We checked out Missoula, MT for a couple days.  We absolutely loved it there.  The beauty, laid back feel and the outdoor activities was up to par with other places we loved.  Kevin went mountain biking, some of the best downhill he has done on the road and I went running, all from the same parking lot in the mountains.  The food scene isn’t that big there but we did come across Caffe Dolce and they had the best cobb salad I have ever had. We also found our favorite grocery store in the area, The Good Food Store. It had a whole foods feel but chill.  My advice is to definitely buy the caramels at the cash registers. Addictive and oh so good.

After Missoula we went to a random location in Linfor, ID.  We again barely made it into and out of our boondocking spot.  After a couple scratches, the spare tire coming unhinged and bottoming out we made it to our intended sot, it was spectacular and right on the river. We let the dogs play and watched tubers go by every day.  It was also within a mile of the Trail of the Coeur d’Alene. A 70-mile trail that goes from Mullan, a mountain mining town near the Montana border, to Plummer, a prairie town near the Washington border.  We did about 30 total miles and the scenery was the comfort of the country.

Then we were on schedule to meet up with friends in Liberty Lake, WA near Coeur d’Alene.  Epic Detour, the McCoys and the Hogans were all there and it was a fun 5 days. SUPing, grilling, mountain biking, running, speed boating and we were able to watch the Iron Man in town which was a Kona qualifier. It is amazing how quickly we meet people and how close we become to some of them.  We have seen a lot of places that we wouldn’t have because of these new friends.

The five days were over fast and then it was time to get ready to go on Vacation!!  Even though we are living in an RV it is the same process as being in a house. Packing, laundry, cleaning, getting the dog stuff ready for the sitter, etc.  On August 28, 2016 we were ready to go and dropped the rig and our dogs at the sitter and headed to Seattle.

August 28, 2016

Today was the start of our Vancouver/Alaskan Cruise adventure.  We spent the day in Seattle before catching the train to Vancouver the next morning.  Of course, we went to the REI flagship store, which had a terrible parking lot but the store was seriously AH-MAZING!  We could have stayed there for hours but we were hungry and found some ramen.

We then dropped the truck and took an uber to Pikes Market to walk around. Moving like herded cattle from stall to stall we got to see the fish stands, flowers (I wanted to buy some so bad but we didn’t have anywhere to put them) and novelty shops.  As soon as we felt a little too claustrophobic we ventured to find ice cream.  You can walk everywhere in the city and we loved it since the traffic was insane, just as insane as LA traffic. Dinner was one of the sushi spots in town that was small and good, but wasn’t anything to write home about. Seattle had originally been on a place to look at to live, but after the hustle and bustle of the city and high cost of living, we have scratched it from our list.

August 29, 2016

We got up early to get to the train to take us to Vancouver. We were about 5 blocks away from the station and it was a refreshing walk.  We thought it would be busy with people, but it was actually really quiet. Starbucks kept us warm on the way there and we settled into our comfortable seats for our four hour ride to Vancouver.

I would definitely travel like this again to get to Vancouver. It was cheap at around $60/person.  When you fly you miss all the beautiful scenery and no car can take the route that we did which was right along the water the entire time. We were tired but didn’t want to fall asleep because we felt like we would miss something. Aside from the scenery you could be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of a bald eagle. The trip went fast and we were in Vancouver! Customs was unbelievably easy and you walk out right to the metro system for downtown. When buying a single ride metro ticket you are given two options, one is more expensive, so of course we bought the cheaper tickets to later realize it was for children! Oh well, next time.

Right across the street from our hotel was a sushi place.  Miku Sushi. Awesome. We haven’t had this good of sushi in a long time. (Pictures in Food & Libation)

We walked around the Gastown district.  There were tons of shops, coffee spots and restaurants.  You could really make a day of it.

The food scene in Vancouver is pretty good! We found a small Italian place for dinner called Lupo. I would go back here for their pasta and then an easy walk back to our hotel on the waterfront.

The two times we have been to Costa Rica we have met quite a few Canadians from Vancouver who split their time between Costa Rica and Vancouver. I can now tell why; I would definitely do the same thing if the real estate wasn’t the worst in North America.  Who would have thought?

Early night since we have a 12 hour tour the next day.