Joel Perlish; USA/MEXICO/CANADA DOUBLE CROSS COUNTRY & THE TRANSCANADA HIGHWAY -- OR BUST - SUMMER 2008 by Joel Perlish

Joel Perlish; USA/MEXICO/CANADA DOUBLE CROSS COUNTRY & THE TRANSCANADA HIGHWAY -- OR BUST - SUMMER 2008 by Joel Perlish

July 28, 2008 - Monday - Day 28
USA/MEXICO/CANADA
DOUBLE CROSS COUNTRY
& THE TRANSCANADA HIGHWAY
-- OR BUST - SUMMER 2008
Miles Today - 0 - Total Miles - - 6371
Rest Day at Bainbridge Island, WA
(-staying at the home where Doug & Barb are house sitting
(WA)
- ANOTHER DAY IN ANOTHER PARADISE -

I awoke around 6:30am with light streaming in the window. Beside it was a forest of trees and below was a wide bay, and beyond was a mountain range rimming the horizon with clouds hugging the peaks. It was wondrous!
I lolled around awhile, typed a bit, dozed for a few minutes at a time, and then got in some serious typing.
I mentioned to Barb that I think this area has the cleanest and sweetest smelling air of any place I've been. Might just be the time I've arrived, but the breathing is sure great. I guess it's because the island seems nestled amongst millions of trees and near the water.
I began searching through my things readying for entry into Canada, and was horrified that I couldn't find an insurance paper and one other paper that may be needed. I learned that the insurance paper wasn't necessary to gain entry into the country, but if in an accident, and I didn't have it, I'd be hauled off to jail. Hmmmm….. I called the company and would have the document faxed to the nearby little city.
Doug and Barb and I drove to the town of Bainbridge and I headed for the FedEx office there, and eventually had the needed official insurance paper faxed over. My heart was in my stomach for a bit because there was some little bureaucratic confusion over whether it could be sent right away.
Doug picked up some stuff at the local hardware store and I bought another lightweight shirt at the nearby sport store. We then went to a wrap place and had delicious and large portioned wraps for lunch. Then to the supermarket where we got spaghetti, veggie meatballs, and some other fixings for dinner. Including some tofutti dessert pops called 'Marry Me' bars which are delectable ice cream type bars. I was delighted to see them in the store. They are my favorite dessert confection.
This whole area seems fit conscious and nutrition wise. In fact, there are very few overweight people to be seen here. The stores seem to reflect this by offering many items not found in smaller stores around home.
We returned to the house and I took about a 2 hour nap. When awake I went out onto the spacious deck overlooking the water, and with the blue sky above, and the mountains in the background, began in earnest finishing yesterday's journal notes. I ran out of time only somewhat satisfied with my writing or the coverage.
After a bike ride and run with Doug (the run which he took me along was over hill and down dale in a time frame three times as long as I usually go of late!) He noted at the end that, “Hills should count in dog years, each one counting more than one!”
It was one of the first days that I didn't shave in the morning. It was good taking the day off.
At one point today, it was sure a scene from 2008 - the three of us were sitting comfortably at the kitchen table, all at our laptops, but also chatting with each other. Barb and I were on Macs, Doug, because of frustration with his non-Mac, said, “Sometimes I just want to take this Dell laptop and toss it out into the bay.”
Dinner was around 8ish and was a superb spaghetti and soy meatball meal. Even Doug agreed the meatballs were good! We sat on the deck with the sunset as a grand



finale to a wonderful day.

We Skyped with Ellie for a bit and showed her, via the computer in real time, the scene that was before us.
I got all my laundry done, and everything organized ready for launching into Canada tomorrow.

Note 1: I just don't know how contact will be once I'm in Canada. So if you don't get a journal note edition for a day or so, don't worry.

Note 2: To view the many photos from today and the whole trip, you can visit
http://www.photostockplus.com/home.php?tmpl=45&user_id=42473&event=196141. Some folks have reported trouble with this link, but most find that it works. Sometimes it takes two tries… Also, you can check out the past day journal entries by going to joelperlish.com, and clicking on the appropriate trip down at the bottom on the left hand corner or just going to http://www.joelperlish.com/blog/blog.html.)