A Little Break from the Craziness

Well the planning is still coming along....slowly, but its happening. It feels like a scavenger hunt for paperwork! As it stands, the bank statements are signed, the cover letter to the consulate of France is written and an appointment at BCAA for extended medical is booked for tomorrow. We have also decided to sign the affidavit for the liability insurance because it seems as if Canada doesn't do that. I feel like we are making a dent in the paperwork finally and the visa application is within sight. The one uncomfortable thing about this entire visa application so far, is having to purchase such expensive tickets and insurances without actually knowing if you are going to be accepted. But thousands of people do it every year successfully so I am just going to hope for the best.

On a side note, this past weekend my fiance and I decided to take a trip for May long weekend. We travelled to Olympic National Park in Washington State. The drive down was around 7 hours after we missed the initial route, and consisted of mainly the Interstate 5 highway rather than the scenic Whidbey Island route. We stopped on our way in Port Angeles for groceries and arrived at Mora  campground around 4pm. The campground was incredibly beautiful with the old growth forest and a green dusting of moss covering everything. Cooking our pork chops under the rain forest canopy that night brought the serenity we were searching for.

The following morning we woke up bright and early to the chirping birds and an empty campsite. It appeared all of our fellow American campers were heading back home to get ready for Monday. We cooked up some bacon and eggs and headed out in search of some coffee. We drove into the nearby Native Reserve of La Push and found a little restaurant overlooking the harbour. We sipped on coffee and ate the most amazing fried bannock prepared fresh to order while watching the sea lions play outside. If you ever find yourself in Olympic National Park I highly recommend visiting Rivers Edge Restaurant for breakfast because its truly like watching the National Geographic Channel outside.

We spent the rest of the afternoon hiking through the rain forest to different beaches and visited the small town of Forks. The town consists of a few shops, cafes and grocery stores although I found the main source of tourism at the moment is Twilight. The town definitely has taken advantage of being  where the popular Twilight books took place. You will find random posters and references throughout the town of Bella, Edward and Jacob. I can just imagine how the locals feel having to drive by the Vampire Treaty line on their way to work everyday. Although I cannot blame a town for trying to bring in some extra tourism.

After Forks, we drove down to the river and did some fishing (you do not need a fishing license as long as you are within park limits) and managed to catch one very small fish. The river was calm and in the distance you could hear the sea lions on shore getting ready for the night. There is nothing more peaceful than standing at a river hearing only the trees rustle and the fly rod whipping lightly beside you. Especially since my fiances techniques have improved greatly over the past few months and there are less bursts of frustuartion from a tangled fly line. We spent the rest of the evening cooking up grilled steak and campfire banana boats under the rain.

Our drive home the following day was a highlight of the trip for me. We took the correct route home along the scenic Whidbey Island after first departing from Port Townsend on a small ferry. After just driving through the town I immediately knew I wanted to come back and explore. The towns harbour was beautiful with the colorful warehouses lining the shore with the back drop of houses perched on the hill.

Whidbey Island was scenic as well with the colonial style houses and buffalo dotted fields overlooking Puget Sound. It was the type of drive you would want to take an entire day to complete, stopping at every viewpoint to snap a picture. Sadly, we couldn't stop everywhere that day but we did manage to stop at Deception Pass and stretch our legs. The bridge was unbelievably high and I actually felt a flutter in my stomach when I walked along the pedestrian walkway. The incoming tide was so great that it actually created a current in the pass, demonstrating just how much force is behind the tide change.

We wrapped up our drive along the Interstate 5 and got across the border pretty quickly for a long weekend and were able to get home before 6pm. I had such a great weekend in Washington State and hope to be able to spend some time in Port Townsend and Whidbey Island again for a longer length of time. It was nice to get away and put the piles of To Do lists aside for the trip and just enjoy nature.