We're Baaaaack!

Saturday evening we crossed the border and came home! By "home," I mean the lower 48. And, as Jackie Gleason used to say, "How sweet it is!" The closer we got to the border, the more anxious we were to get back to America as we know it. I had even thrown my back out the day before and Ian suggested we stay put at the campground in Canada 'til it was better, but there was no way I was going to delay our trip south. So, once we were on the road and found a grocery store, Ian bought me one of those heating bands and I loaded up on Alleve, switched between laying on the back seat and sitting up with pillows supporting my back, Ian drove as fast as he could, and we eventually made it to the border. The last few hours of British Columbia, though, were probably the most beautiful. The Fraser River weaved its way along the road in a deep ravine with railroad tracks on the mountain on the other side. The tracks, as well as us, ran through several tunnels of varying lengths. It was truly a beautiful way to end our time in Canada.

So, here we are in Ferndale, Washington, about 80 miles north of Seattle. Originally, we wanted to be near Everett, as we would be visiting with one of Scot's friends there. Unfortunately, once we crossed the border and I started calling RV parks in that area for a site that night, we found they were all booked up! When about the third one told me that, I asked what was going on. The woman said, "Summer!" I thought it was already over and we'd missed it, but she said no, it didn't end 'til the 21st. We eventually found a campground in Ferndale, 75 miles north of Everett, and it just happened to be a Coast-to-Coast, so that fitted us just fine. So, we've been just laying low, relaxing, re-grouping, healing my back, cleaning the Montana and truck of its many layers of Canadian dirt and road construction materials, etc. We did visit Scot's friends last night and had a wonderful evening. Such nice, down-to-earth people, and a magnificent meal. Kittie enjoys cooking and gave me some good recipies and suggestions on some good cookbooks she picked up at Costco. We're hoping today will be another sunny one so we can jump in the pool here. We're actually wearing shorts, Capris and t-shirts for the first time this summer. Once we were back in the lower 48, I was so excited to see K-Mart, Caesar's Pizza, a real strip mall. The next night Ian and I decided we want pizza, so we went looking for one and ended up at a Mexican restaurant. Pizza can wait. It was wonderful having so many choices again!

So, we're here 'til Thursday, then we'll head to Portland to spend the weekend with friends we were stationed with in Montana, years before Scot was born. One of the greatest things about this lifestyle is being able to meet up again with friends that we've kept in touch with, but haven't been able to see in a long time. From there, it's finally to Scot's place where we will set up for a while. It will be fun to spend time with him and Holly and get to know Cadence and Cameron all over again.

There are still some great things we did and saw in Alaska that I haven't writen about yet, so will get to them. Seward, Fairbanks, Anchorage for starters. As soon as I tire of relaxing!