the alaskan adventure: Mucha amare civis parvus-Day Nine: July 19 2011

“Clayton Clayton…. Wake up what’s that?” “I don’t know what are you talking about? They’re people walking by our tent”. “ Ok and? What are they doing? “ “Going to the bathroom”…. Well that’s how exciting the night and morning at Mount Rainier was. We left quite early and got on the road at six in the morning. We were in Seattle by 8 am to hit the world market. We caught the hustle and bustle, seeing fresh fish being thrown around and the starting stages of the farmers market. The world market was located on Pike street and 1912 Pike street was the location of the very first Starbucks. We both picked up a cup of Joe; well a cup of Joe and a fancier drink.

After taking in the atmosphere for a while we needed to find a wi-fi hotspot. Once again we googled (Ha Microsoft Word tells me Verb Confusion) McDonalds and the nearest one was just a couple blocks away. This McDonalds was ridiculous, equipped with a bouncer who guarded the front door like a pit-bull. The whole time we were there he was chasing away any trouble makers and vagrants. Even though it may sound a little uneasy we felt very comfortable in there, after we bought a 69 cent cookie to get the pit-bull off our watch so we could use their internet.

We were off the see the Seattle Space Needle, a major tourist attraction. The needle was built for the 1962 World’s Fair. It is 605 feet tall and bolted to the ground with 72 bolts 30 feet long. Also, it’s made to withstand 9.1 magnitude earthquakes and two-hundred mile an hour winds. The three elevators quickly rocket people up to the top and drop them gently to the bottom all day long. From the top of the needle the views’ are magnificent. You can see Puget Sound as far as your eyes will allow, you are eye level with the Seattle Skyline, and the height enables’ you to play an intense game of eye spy. We finally spotted the Roaring Glacier from the top of the Space Needle and we were very excited about that.

Lynden, Washington next stop. Pulling into town we decided to stop at Foxy Brown’s (No, not a strip club) to surprise Sherri (Mark’s sister). Sherri has a great little boutique in the middle of Lynden. We were really excited to see her…and a big thank you for the new pants! What a great time as we pulled further into Lynden. We found ourselves waiting in traffic on a beautiful country road. That’s when we realized we could actually throw a rock to Canada as we were stopped in the customs line (they live right on the border of Canada and the US). We decided to turn around and take a new route to our amazing host’s for the night: the Holleman family (Carri’s boyfriend , and our friend!,Mark’s Family). Mark set us up by through contacting his family and they spoiled us rotten. We immediately felt at home with warm hugs and welcoming smiles. Their beautiful home sits on the breathtaking country side of Lynden surrounded by berry farms, horse land, and views from all directions. As we got to visit with the Hollemans we realized how lucky were to be surrounded by such a great family. Mark’s nephews, Peyton (10) and Boyce (4) immediately made us feel at home and kept us laughing all night! They even sent us out with a couple of toys for the rest of trip (see picture below!) Sadie, Mark’s mom, made us a wonderful dinner (we miss home cookin!) of chicken enchiladas, rice, fruits & veggies, and chips and salsa—YUM! We ate dinner surrounded by the rest of the family (Mark’s sisters, their husbands & their kids). What a wonderful time! We now know why Mark is so awesome! He comes from an amazing group of people. After dinner, Matt, Mark’s brother in law, took us on a tour of his berry farm-the Curt Maberry Farm! What a treat (literally, we got to eat raspberries right off the farm!). The farm was started by Matt’s great grandfather and has stayed in the family ever since. Matt was a great tour guide as he took us through the processing department. We felt like serious VIP! It was really an amazing sight to see, something we both felt like we took for granted. Now whenever we pick up some raspberries in the store we will know how they got there. The tour was a great way to end such a wonderful day. As we woke up this morning Clayton took the Roaring Glacier to the Lynden Lube where Brett, Marks other brother in law, took a peek to make sure it was ready for the next ½ of the trip. We were grateful for him to take time to look at it and even more grateful that it is in good shape! Sadie made us a wonderful breakfast and we got to visit more with Peyton, Boyce, Rick, Sherri, Michelle & little Maryn. Before we headed out of town Rick and Sadie took us on a tour of Lynden-what a great place! We got to see where the rest of the family lives, where the boys go to school, and the shops that line the down town area. Sadie packed us with a wonderful lunch for the road (fresh raspberries!) before we headed to the border. They helped us pack our car back up and practice going over questions for the border…Rick has some seriously good advice! As we waved to the Holleman’s on our way out of town we felt like we were leaving family again. They are a superb bunch and we are so lucky to have them as friends! Thanks again for the wonderful stay!

The border crossing went really smooth. Luckily, the Hollemans live about ½ mile from a crossing with NO line! We pulled right in and immediately got quizzed by the border patrol. “Where are you from? Where are you going? How long will you be in Canada? Do you have more than $10,000 with you? What’s your purpose on coming through? Do you have somewhere to live in AK? Are you brining in any fruits or vegetables? How bout firearms?” were some of the questions they asked us…that part went smooth. They asked us to pull aside so Clayton could declare his bear defense weapons. We walked into the border patrol station and anxiously waited while the patrolmen searched through the Roaring Glacier. After about 15 minutes of waiting the search-man came back in, cleared us to go, we paid the fee for bringing in firearms and we were off! Easy as that. We were officially in Canada! We cruised down the roads and didn’t feel like we were really in a foreign country as a Best Western, McDonalds, Burger King, and Remax office lined the streets. Speed limits and gas prices are another story as we figure out what the conversion is. Since we are in a foreign country Clayton’s phone is officially on airplane mode which means we will not be able to receive calls or texts without paying at&t lots of money. However, we will be running into a lot of free wi-fi so you can reach us through email & the blog!

Thanks for following us and keeping us in your thoughts…Canada here we come.

Miles for the day: 311

Miles per gallon: 19ish

Lots of love in a litte town.