22 March

Today I awoke for the last morning in the US. I had everything packed so it was just the computer equipment and toiletries and I was off (after a nibble, otherwise known as a isle breakfast (the smallest continent you can have).
I headed off to Seattle, refuelled the car and arrived at the depot in the Seattle Hilton not long after 9. However, by the time I had gone through everything, it was 9:30 before I got to the car and nearly 9:45 by the time I worked out how to adjust everything so I could sit comfortably. One piece of advice I should give myself is NEVER pick up a rental in a hotel multi-story car park because you cannot see the existing damage. The first time you see it is when you look at the car in the afternoon sunlight and see the dents in the door which you know weren’t done while you had it (because you haven’t been near anything) but which were not quoted on a damage report with the vehicle. Some other companies have sent someone out with the renter to look over the vehicle and sign to accept either current damage or lack of damage.
Now of course the first problem was to find the fuel filler (the picture on the dash has an arrow indicating the side) and then to fill the car. The antipollution nozzles (DON’T TOP UP) can cut out anywhere from three litres in up to the forty-odd litres the car actually took – and you can’t see when it is full!
The second thing was being a two-door compact, it was small inside. I now realise how good the Europeans are at making a small car big on the inside. The Barina is smaller than the Cobalt ouside, but has infinitely more (well, twice) the amount of space inside. With its spoiler, the rear view is similar to peering through a letter slot. Not much good for seeing what is behind. And the boot – my suitcase nearly filled it, and if I had put the backpack in as well, there would have been no room for even a plastic bag.
But enough – I got to the border at noon and waited in a car line until 12:25. Quick questions, then I had to get a passport stamp and I was off. They left the US entry Visa in, because if the weather is fine in New England, I will pop over the border and have a look there on my way from Toronto to Montreal. The Canadian Border official assured me they just had a large snow dump!
Once over the border things hotted up. Speed signs, which I thought were a maximum, apparently meant the minimum speed to travel here. In an 80 zone, sitting on 95 I felt like I was parked in the emergency lane. I eventually found the railway station and sat in a parking bay (9 to 8 every DAY, including public holidays, and I had no Canadian coins) while debating what to do. I rushed inside, got a voucher for my voucher to exchange for a ticket tomorrow (are the Canadians going to do to vouchers what the Americans did to queues?) and found out when and where to leave my luggage (from 7 tomorrow morning). Then it was to the hotel, where I found out NO PARKING (except by valet, at CAD$25 a pop). I got my key and headed off to Vancouver Island.
I had not figured on half of the mainlanders wanting to go over for their Easter. As I arrived at the terminal, the next ferry (which would have got me to Butchart Gardens in plenty of time to look over it and take some photos) was fully booked and the next one was two hours later (or nearly three hours from then). I took an alternative ferry, but it landed me so far away that I still did not get to the gardens until after admissions finished. Then, because the ferry had been so booked out earlier, I went to reserve a place on the return ferry and missed the reservation deadline (not mentioned anywhere) by ten seconds. I headed off to make sure I didn’t miss it (great way to spend a first night in Canada – stranded on Vancouver Island and having to find somewhere to stay while paying for a room I wasn’t using). On the way the overhead info sign said – already 10% booked, and I was still twenty minutes away. When I got there, guess what? I was the ONLY car there.
Havign now become accustomed to ferry travel, I just locked the car, went over to the café, got something to drink and then got something to read. Then on the announcement I headed back and was nearly LAST onto the ferry.
The trip back was not quite as interesting as it was dark – I couldn’t gaze at the rugged splendour of the snow-covered peaks, so I wrote a little and tried to get some rest.
Back on the mainland, the Canadian Grand Prix was in progress (or so it seemed, trying to keep up with the traffic) but it was still 11:30 by the time I got to the hotel. Valet knocks off at 11, so I had to park the car myself.
After that wonderful experience, I got into the hotel, got things ready, did some computer work (but it’s late now, so the quality may diminish (from low to very low, eh!) but the quantity can still be there (never mind the quality, notice the amount).
Tomorrow I have to return the car by 9:30 so I can’t really sleep in, and I can’t anyway. I’ll see how the train goes to relax me a little more. I will be there by 4:30 after spending the day walking parts of Vancouver city – so be prepared for odd photos of quirky bits in a city I’ve never seen and not even natives may recognise from what I take.
Regular computer postings will most likely cease until at least Wednesday when I am in Toronto – delays and problems excepted, but as I have already booked the room, you can rest assured some gum will appear in the works.