Hellooo Wan-da

If you have seen "A Fish Called Wanda" you will get the meaning of the title. There we were, minding our own business in Sitka, when the urge struck us both to find a Volkswagen Westfalia and bring it back to Alaska. Some would call it cabin fever, or a tool to attend to our wanderlust. Whatever the cause, we found one in Santa Cruz, California that appeared to be just the right one. After talking to the owner Joshua, we were convinced and caught the next flying bag of bolts to San Francisco. We met Josh in Santa Cruz, did the deed, and headed back up to Prince Rupert, BC, (1800 miles) to catch the ferry back to Sitka. Madness? Perhaps.

We walked around Santa Cruz, where they filmed "The Lost Boys" but no vampires were spotted. Pity.

 I believe its twin sister is in San Diego at Belmont Park.

 Must be hideous in the summer!

 No vampires lurking under the bridge.

 The camellias were in bloom!

Working hard on my flat white at the coffee roasters, Verve.

The roaster is housed in an old cannery.

Oh yeah!

After picking up the westy, now named Wanda, we tootled out of town and stayed at Half Moon Bay the first night.

 It was a night of biblical proportions as regarding the weather. I expected Noah to come sailing by in his ark. The wind was howling, the rain hammering down, and the thunder and lightning crashing most of the night. What a night to experience our first outing! Happy to report that no leaks were reported the next day. This picture was taken the next morning, everything freshly scrubbed from the night's downpour. So glad not to have to wrestle with a soggy tent.

Pelicans at Half Moon Bay.

Unbeknownst to us, Greta had made birthday reservations for Jamie in San Francisco a few months back. So we met him in San Francisco for a birthday surprise lunch. The clam chowder was excellent!

View from the cliffs outside Trinidad, CA.

A path to the cliff in Trinidad.

After Trinidad, we stayed in Sunset Bay Park, by Coos Bay, Oregon.

 At first we thought these were rocks in the sand, but upon closer inspection, we found that they were huge tree trunks. The shore was about 200 feet behind me. The erosion in this bay is amazing!

The rock uplifted at the cliff's edge.

 Erosion wears it down.

Last remnants of the previous rock edge.

Kirsty found her first silver dollars ever in Cannon Beach, Oregon!

 Plenty of slugs about!

Who can pass by Tillamook and not visit the creamery??!! Tasted the cheeses ( a couple of times) and may have had a scoop of ice cream as well.

We stayed at Nehalem Bay, north of Tillamook in a yurt for a change.

 Very cool staying in a yurt!

 What a gorgeous place!

We had breakfast with Jamie at the Sunflour Cafe in Seattle. I had French Toast (orange infused bread) with peaches and berries. It could have choked a horse.

We snuck across the border to Canada and stayed in Hope, BC.

 Very nice!

Kirsty looking for gold in Hope.

McLeese Lake in BC. Wanda wasn't too sure about the 20 degree temperature at night. Her bones were creaking as we left in the morning, but she was fine after she heated up a bit.

Back in Sitka! It was a fun journey, learning to move things ten times around the van. It must be a law of nature that when you move something to another spot, you will need to next get whatever you placed the object in front of. And so on.

Peace my friends!