Travel notches

I have a different take on traveling. I have a checklist way of thinking. To go for the sixth time to Disneyland or ClubMed, as some families do might be thouroughly enjoyable and relaxing a family vacation; but what can you check off? Can you add a stamp to your passport, actual or figurative? If I chose to bask in the sun sipping mixed drinks from coconut shells 4 out of ten vacations, and 3 other times, spend them at the same relative's house, I would not have as many travel checks as I do. And if I really was focused on relaxing as travel purpose, I would have even less.

Consider a trip taken several years ago across the Canadian border to Vancouver, Canada. It was completely spur of the moment. If I had planned it, I might never have gone, as surely such planning would have brought the eventual discovery that it was a 4 hour drive by car each way. It was a daytrip (night trip - to be more precise) that ended up being 8 hours of driving and about two hours actually spent at the destination. But I still have the quirky story to tell of having done it. And it was my checklist thinking that spurred me on.

One day while in my apartment, I got an itch to take a daytrip. So I went with the mood and hopped in the car along with a coworker who did not mind going along with this spontaneity; maybe because I was paying for the gas?

Technically, I had already been to Canada many years earlier, much farther north as a sidetrip east during an Alaskan trip, and also to French Canada as a toddler to young to remember. Canada is definately a big country, but I do hold country boundaries in consideration when traveling. Part of me considers it more worthy to travel to Luxembourg and Belgium as two separate countries than to travel to Newfoundland and Saskatchewan, as they are both in Canada. I chose to go anyways, contrary to my travel standards.

At any rate, the two of us hit the road to set out for Vancouver. The drive was made enjoyable enough with small talk about my travel experiences, our thoughts on co-workers, some jokes, and his filling me in on how a diabetic like himself could maintain his health while guzzling sodas and more unhealthy matter. Yet this pleasant talk did not prevent my bottom from falling asleep and inquiring "Aren't we there yet?" to which point he filled me in that he assumed that I knew it was a four hour distance from Seattle to Vancouver.

We passed the Bellingham, WA area around sunset, and passing a billboard that mentioned tulip farms, he related to me how this area, having a climate equivalent to Holland, was a tulip market and tourist area. So I added that factoid to my brain and felt the trip paying off already.

An hour later we crossed into Canada as the sky was solidyfying itself from purplish to black. I got in one last round of "Are we there yet?" as again I was surprised that it proved a good hour through desolate roads to reach the city. Suburbs quickly transitioned to city and the downtown sprung upon us.

We decided to eat first thing before any sightseeing. We quickly chose a decent looking Thai restaurant on a second level and parked the car and went up. The restaurant had a nice ambiance and we were seated by an Asian waitor. My friend was low on funds and ordered a bowl of soup while I ordered a dish of squid with peanuts, not being much better off in funds, but quite hungry.

As I started to dig in to my meal, it did not take many bitefuls for me to notice a lack of squid in my dish. I proceeded to pick around for the squid. It apparrently had been cleverly camouflaged on top of the dish. I could soon taste nothing but peanut. I had taken too many bitefuls to think of sending it back. I was still somewhat hungry and had plenty left on my plate. I felt it was a waste of money to let such quantity go to waste. So I proceeded to finish what was basicly an expensive plate of crunchy PeterPan.

I gave up before finishing the rest and we payed our portions and left. We were now set to see the town!

We got back in the car and pulled out. We proceeded down the main thoroughfares and took in the sights of tall condos of the downtown looming overhead. We drove over some bridges as he pointed out pretty girls walking by, and we continued along more thoroughfares, having no real idea of where to go, often passing spots we had driven past.

I noticed a differrence about the building style here. It didn't seem so much to do with architecture so much as having more color in the painted slats of wood on storefronts. It was a far cry from the old village look of Germany or England, but there was a definate look more European than just across the border, in the states.

I stored this factoid also, and turned to my passenger friend asking him if he agreed on getting back on the road for home. He did, and we set off for the return ride.

I had enjoyed a drive talking about co-workers, learned a couple factoids, could now say that I had experienced Vancouver and had a delightful restaurant mishap story to tell at cocktail parties. I even picked up a final interesting factoid, stopping to get gas. You can pay with American currency. I love factoids!