It's Monday, July 2, 2012, 12:20 PM PDT, and I'm in between countries on the water between Sidney, BC and Anacortes, WA. Not Christlike, but high and dry and humming along on a big ferry named CHELAN, the same one that took me in the other direction, from Friday Harbor to Sidney, last Wednesday. So it's a fond reunion of sorts.

Spent a very rewarding 5 days at ex-sister-in-law (Gloria's sister) Ro's lovely digs in Courtenay, BC, located up the east coast of Vancouver Island, about 3 hours from Victoria, which is at the southern tip of the big island.  She provided first class accommodations, wonderful mattress, a whole room for a study, and some lovely field trips to a seaside forest park and a fabulous localvore gourmet restaurant! Plus hours of mind-expanding, neuron-exploding conversation. When it comes to vigorous and relentless exploration of Big Ideas, I've met my match, and then some. Plus lots of “family” talk, given our mutual connections (though it'd been 35+ years since last contact), and (surprisingly!), her vivid recollections of a visit with my parents, Larry and Ros, back in the 70s! And last but not least, making the acquaintance of two gorgeous felines: Nellie (aka Rorshak Inkblot), and Puffin (aka Tiggerkat). Besides being sleek and black, Nellie is quite securely comfortable with newcomers, and we got along beautifully. Puffin is a young, recovering feral pussy cat, and is painfully shy. Hid under bureaus and behind doors the whole time I was there until the last two days, and only this morning did he actually allow me to touch him (having an irresistible treat in my hand helped a lot).

While there I decided I really needed a functional lap top to replace the ancient ones I'd brought with me: one that can actually play the videos I've taken en route! So I drove down to the closest major Mac store in Nanaimo, a charming town about 90 miles down the Island, major port for ferries to Vancouver across the bay. Bought me a MacBook Air, and love it!! It's not much bigger than an iPad, but has nice keyboard and a solid state hard drive, so the battery lasts about 7 hours! Am writing on it right now, although will have to wait until I disembark and find the first McDonald's (and wi-fi) before I can upload it to my blog. But after bringing it back to Ro's, spent many hours getting caught up on my video production work for my Portland friend, Holly's, making DVDs of the 3 sessions on Emily Dickinson (“Centre and Circumference”) she gave in Claremont before I left. Most important, I got the R&R I needed to recover from the 2K mile trip up the west coast, and prepare for the 2K mile trip across the continent: Eastward Ho!

I've decided to abandon my Grand Plan to drive across Canada, as tempting as it was. The road trip through Jasper and Banff National Parks in Alberta looked too good to miss, having come this far. But it turns out that motel costs in Canada are consistently more than twice what they are in the US for similar accommodations (I routinely get nice rooms at Motel 6 for under $50; they are more like $120 in Canada), and gas is about 30% more expensive. But even more daunting for me was the prospect of trying to “enjoy” the most scenic drive in Western Canada on the day after Canada Day (their Fourth of July is on the First!), the first day of Canada's true summer vacation, when the kids have just finished their school year and I imagine half the population of BC, Alberta and Manitoba will have the same idea of a great road trip. So....I'll figure out another time to see that magnificence, and just aim eastward when I get off the boat. General plan is to drive through the Washington State Cascades this afternoon (weather is completely overcast and rainy right now!), and end up at the Motel 6 (for $42), in Wenatchee, WA, not far from Grand Coulee Dam (where I will listen for Woody's anthem to the Optimistic Grandeur of the New Deal/WPA Recovery Programs echoing across the valley.) We'll see how well that went with 80 years' hindsight.

After that, I'll drive due east to Spokane, pick up I-90, take it across Idaho and Montana, then at Billings pick up I-94, across the High Midwest, through Garrison Keillor Country, then head through northern Wisconsin to Michigan's Upper Peninsula, which I've always wanted to see. Then will cross the international border again, across the Sault Ste. Marie bridge, into Ontario, and make a beeline to Montreal, then only five more hours to home. A much more pleasant short cut than revisiting the “lower midwest” which has seen enough of me, and the feeling is mutual. Figure I should be home by about July 15 or before, but we'll see how that goes.

Wish I'd had the time and energy to blog about the incredible land-, sea-, and forest-scapes of Northern California. But after I get home, I'll put the photos and videos together and post some links to them.

Thanks again for staying in touch. And how are things going for YOU??

Note added after passing through US customs: the guy in the uniform and dark glasses looked at my passport and driver's license, asked if I was driving back to New Hampshire;  I said "yep," then he peered into the car (my conestoga hybrid, loaded to the gills) and asked "Did you leave anything home?"  I had to ask him go repeat the question before I realized he was really cracking a joke!  I didn't think levity was allowed by DHS.  At least he waved me on, figuring he had better ways to spend the afternoon than searching through my car for contraband Metamucil.