USA Road Trip Day 16… Bellingham, WA to Madeira Park, B.C.

Today we are waiting with bated breath for our daughter Ella to arrive from North Vancouver as we need to switch the contents of the rental car to our car and return the vehicle to Bellingham WA airport. She arrives on schedule …..YEAH!! albeit with a lot of stuff in the car,…hmmm yours truly has a small caliption….as we have a car full of stuff, so room will be at a premium.

Anyways deliver the rental…..the Enterprise folk have zero interest as to car condition, amount of gas etc. BTW for anybody interested in a super car rental deal Enreprise and some others have a spring special >>> they need cars in the north as the snowbirds are gone and driving them back makes ecomic sense for the company and FOR US!!! All is good …..until I get back to the Holiday Inn and discover I left our Chromebook on the rear seat…race back to the airport…..whew!!! ….it is there…..Balance of the day spent in touristing in Fairhaven, nice town:

….and some shopping…

then, a “farewell” dinner & beverages…at Mi Mexico..

Well even Moosie was into the spirits…

Next morning the crew is a bit fuzzy, but the day is sunny and while the luggage etc. transfer is amusing for some…

…….yours truly is up to the task and creates some packing magic (nothing gets abandoned):

…. 45 minutes later everything is shipshape, we load up on “cheap” U.S. gas and head for home…..border security is straightforward and we are back in the “kinder gentler nation”..

We leave Ella in North Vancouver, grab some sushi and head for the ferry and the final hour of driving…Moosie is happy to be back in her natural environment…

The drive completed safely we are thankful that it went so well….overall we covered 4,771 miles ( 7,678 kms), taking roughly 60 hours. The car rental was USD 180 (yes that is correct, a deal in any currency), gas cost USD 420 and accommodations ended up averaging USD 118 per night. If Toyota wants my two bits about the Avalon, I would be happy to oblige.

The MOART “Mother of all Road Trips”, has been a great experience and we have seen a large swath of the USA (aka DSA “Divided States of America”) ……we are sad that this country, our neighbour, is going through this horrible, wrenching process…..it is clearly a country with many complex issues, which the Donald’s presidency has exposed in all its ugliness. The divisions are immense and the belief of so many in this man is hard to fathom, given his utter lack of any redeeming qualities….our own opinion is that this country must reach rock bottom in order to rediscover its roots ……a daunting task and not necessarily a given, but, hopefully the insanity will eventually pass, and they can get back to building a country/society which reflects that of other countries in the Western World…..otherwise, well let’s not go there.

Thanks to all for reading our blog, and, of course, your comments…..we are taking a break for a few months but invite you to join us in September, for our European odyssey….the first steps being a walk in the Yorkshire Dales, called the Lady Anne Way……