May 2007

Ahhh...our Alaska Trip has officially begun! Yippee!
1st stop - Seattle to visit Blair Barcellos. We ended up w/2 bonus surprises.
On Saturday we met Lee Coffee & his daughter Carrie (who also lives in Seattle) @ Ku Thai in the Ballard district of Seattle. Great food & company. Lee just happened to be visiting Carrie for the weekend, sent us an email & wah lah we hooked up for dinner!

We met Blair & our nephew Ryan for cocktails @ the waterfront. Watched the big cruise ships depart for Alaska! Blair took us to the Space Needle & we popped into to see her darling studio apartment just a few blocks from the Needle. Her building has a top floor patio w/spectacular views of the city! We finished off the evening @ Oceania restuarant. Blair & Vicky had a craving for oysters. It was raining, but we were in great company!!
Blair came out to our campsite & spent the night w/us on Tuesday. Jim made dinner - Seared Ahi & we all watched American Idol. Blake Lewis (from Seattle) is our favorite!! Very nice to just hang w/BB!

Great drive from Lac la Hache to Prince George. 2 bears (mama & cub) crossed the hwy in front of us. Jim had to hit the brakes! Soon after that we saw a big Moose along the hwy. BC is loaded w/lakes, rivers and abundant wildlife! Had some problems with coach starting, so we got a late start. Ended up being a loose fuse. Jim is getting to know this coach inside & out! Hard to beat out beautiful campsite on the lake...

WOW-WHAT AN AMAZING ROUTE! Hwy 99 from Whistler to Lac La Hache (97) The glacier filled mountains of the Lillooet Range w/rivers roaring next to the highway. We saw 3 bears & one beautiful OWL sitting in the tree as we drove by. The had sharp turns , steep grades & averaged about 25 mph. Our coach handled great! Took us much longer than expected, but it was well worth it!

Our drive to Whistler was spectacular! At the border crossing we had to leave the coach while the guard did her inspection (looking for firearms) Didn't even ask about the dog's health certificates???
We drove thru Vancuver, BC without stopping. Anxious to get to Whistler before dark. We'll catch Vancuver in September. Whistler is everything & more than we expected. From rugged mountain bike trails to perfectly paved trails meandering along the river. Whistler Village is charming w/plenty of restuarants & shops. Our campground, Riverside Rv Resort has reported bears walking thru the campground! We did see 2 bears mid mountain. Jim & Abbey went on a long mt.bike ride while Vicky & Dazy walked along the river. We used our 2 way radios to communicate & met up in the Village. Dazy was worn out, so Vicky had to carry her back to camp.