I wonder if British Columbia is still smoky?

[Hairnet600]

gargantuan man worries about gargantuan breakfast

 

[Arsey]

I thought the Goose never flew…..
Visited it when it was or maybe still is in Long Beach CA

It’s in Oregon now

 

[MikeO]

14th June 2026

I had a lazy day, sorting out stuff for my flight on Tuesday, and slowly digesting my gargantuan breakfast, like a python digesting an ox...

I wake early - which is just fine. I quickly ablute, then get dressed and finished packing my bags - I'm checked out and in the Audi by 07:30...

I stop at a Starbucks drive-through for a large white Americano, then let Hey, Audi navigate me north towards the ferry terminal at Swartz Bay...

The roads are quiet, and it's a cool morning, but forecast to be warm later - probably 28°C by 14:00...

I arrive at the terminal just before 08:00 - quite different from my last checking in experience...

In fact, I'm so early that the booth operator asks if, for a small extra charge, I'd like to board the 08:00 sailing, rather than my scheduled 09:00...

I'm in no hurry, so decline this offer and am given my ticket and instructions to wait in Lane One (as opposed to Lane 45 last time

)...

I switch off the car, and wander over to get a coffee refill...

I manage to resist the mini-donuts (sic)...

What the hell is liquid sugar?

Pretty soon we are directed to board...

...and told where to stop...

I don't think they're expecting a challenging crossing...

I meet Ken...

...who has owned his beautiful Moto-Guzzi 850 for over 20 years...

Isn't it about time you bought another bike, Catherine?

It's a beautiful morning, with the sea like a millpond, and just a few wispy clouds in the sky...

I use up some of my Canadian cash buying some stuff in the onboard gift shop...

...and get some air, walking around the sun deck...

Thus far, I've seen little evidence of the current FIFA World Cup tournament being hosted between the USA, Canada and Mexico, but there are some mascots on the wall near the café...

In no time, it seems, we are approaching the ferry terminal at Tsawwassen, with a regular flow of ferries coming in and out, as they connect to Vancouver Island, and the host of islands in the area...

The container port seems quiet - but then it is a Sunday...

The arc shaped barriers rise as we inch towards the dock...

...and - once we are stabilised, the ramp is lowered to allow us to drive off...

It is exactly on time - I drive off at 10:35...

I end up behind this Nissan Cube - with an interesting decal design and licence plate...

I pull over into a strip mall, and Google search for a breakfast café...

...and end up at the Story Café...

The front door of which is guarded by this ageing Austin Healey Sprite...

Initially, I'm told it will be a 20-minute wait for a table, so I step outside and watch the airliners land, and the monorail ply its trade. But after five minutes, Andrea calls out my name - she's managed to fit me in...

Google did well - this is a lovely little eatery, buzzing with chatter as people enjoy their Sunday morning...

I read the menu, and my eye is immediately drawn to...

...and so I order it, medium rare, with eggs over easy...

It was absolutely delicious

After settling up, I ask Hey, Audi to take me to the Best Western Plus, where I have a reservation tonight.

I arrive just after midday, and Jasmine tells me that - unfortunately - my room is not ready yet (no surprise - check-in is 16:00). She gives me a parking pass and points me at a table where I can write my journal up. There's also free coffee and water...

At about 13:30 she calls me to the front desk and checks me in...

More later...

 

[MikeO]

14th June 2026 (cont)

I spend the rest of the day rearranging my luggage, then decide to go and find something a little healthy to eat.

Hey, Audi is on the job, and directs me to a Safeway nearby, where I get a coffee from the embedded Starbucks, and find...

...pomelos! Yay! I buy four, and then negotiate my way down the escalator to the basement car park, with my trolley...

...meeting me at the bottom, after being transported by its own mini-escalator.

What an age to be alive.

I get back to the hotel and have a text exchange with Jorge, whom I'm meeting for breakfast tomorrow...

 

[MikeO]

15th June 2026

I sleep well. By a comedy of errors (not unconnected with my initial hotel booking for the final night being made without realising that Vancouver was a host city for the FIFA World Cup), I have to change hotels today - even though I'm already at the airport - don't ask...

I ablute, pack up and roll my bags down to the car - and get Hey, Audi to set course for the Wooden Spoon, some 30 minutes away...

It's a bright, pleasant Monday - my last full day in Canada...

I have an uneventful drive to White Rock...

Where I recognise a familiar vehicle in the car park...

It has been a couple of years since Jorge and I met up - too long...

Aster initially looks hopeful, then loses interest when she realises I'm not here to feed her bacon...

The Wooden Spoon is another great little café - buzzing with people enjoying their morning. It has a great menu, from which I choose...

...the Farmhouse Breakfast

The Wi-Fi password is "welovespooning", which probably tells you everything you need to know about the vibe of the place...

Jorge has a lead on a dog-friendly beach nearby (see what I did there?), so I follow his Disco through some very pleasant suburban areas before arriving at Blackie Spit Park...

...which is being guarded by a very dishevelled looking bald eagle...

Aster does important Aster stuff on the foreshore for a while...

There's various wildlife - or, to be strictly accurate, wild death - scattered over the muddy beach, from crabs to spiral shelled molluscs...

...plus whatever the fuck this is. Its lack of spine suggests it may be a politician...

We take an inland pathway - the cottonwood trees have covered the ground here...

If Jorge or I were concerned that we dote on our dogs too much, Jo-jo, being pushed around in a carriage (at the age of 16)...

...and Igor, eight years old, make us feel better. I can't help but feel both dogs would be much happier if they weren't so over-nourished...

Quick barn pic...

The sign at one of the schools we passed on the way here said that the last day of term was 19th June, but there are a lot of children (and school buses) here, so this must be part of some sort of run-down for term end...

Decorative drain cover...

This doesn't sound like fun...

We part ways at the car park. Jorge has a couple of hours of work to do at his hotel, so I drive back to the airport to check into my room at the Hampton Inn - we arrange to meet back up at about 18:00 for dinner at a Mexican restaurant which one of the wait staff at the Wooden Spoon recommended...

Hey, Audi guides me back, past this old gent at the roadside...

...any guesses for make/model/year?

I get back to Vancouver Airport in about 35 minutes and am soon efficiently checked into my beautiful 4th floor room...

I like the way the TV welcomes me as a Hilton Honors (sic) member...

I upload my pics and start the journal.

More later...

 

[MikeO]

15th June 2026 (Cont)

Having uploaded the journal, I get back in the car and get Hey, Audi to steer me to Zapoteca Mexican Grill in White Rock, some 30 minutes away. It's a beautiful evening, with a balmy breeze and very little cloud...

I pay for my parking, using the fourth different system I've encountered in British Columbia, then take the short walk down the coast road to the restaurant...

It's a lively, chatty place, with a hubbub of conversation that makes hearing each other challenging...

However, this doesn't stop us ordering...

Have a wild guess what I ordered...

They arrive - and are superb...

Jorge orders some enchiladas, with a mole negro sauce, which he offers me a taste of, and it is one of the most extraordinary flavours I can remember trying...

Once we are done eating, it's time to take Aster for a walk along the promenade (such as it is), and hear ourselves think...

...with ice cream, natch...

I have one scoop of pistachio, and one of pistachio, saffron and rosewater...

I can't recall what Jorge ordered...

We take Aster across the railway line, which runs along the coastline...

...where she finds lots of Aster stuff to do...

Every piece of municipal machinery seems to have been decorated...

Even the recycling bins are engraved with the town's motto - it's a pleasure to see someone thinking of the aesthetics of the area rather than concentrating wholly on expenditure...

I say my farewells to Jorge (and to Aster). I'll be heading home tomorrow, and he's going back to Gilead.

I hope it's not long before we meet again - he's a great friend...

I get Hey, Audi to set course for the Hampton Inn, and I'm in a reflective mood as she takes me there. As usual, this has been a great trip. As usual, the people I've met have been the best part of it.

I get back to the hotel around 21:00 - and check in online for my flight tomorrow evening. I type up this evening's journal entry and sip at a vat of decaff from the hotel reception area as I do so.

Tomorrow's flight isn't until 2100 - but I'll likely refuel the car and return it mid-afternoon, then set myself up in the terminal somewhere and kill time - they have excellent facilities, free Wi-Fi etc - what's not to like?

Good day...

 

[MikeO]

16th June 2026

I sleep very well, waking just before 06:00. It seems two weeks is the perfect timeframe for my body to fully adapt to being eight time zones away from home - and now it's time to go back...

My flight doesn't depart until 21:00 this evening, so I call the front desk and negotiate a late checkout at 13:00

I do my NYT word puzzles, and then have my final pomelo for breakfast. After showering and dressing, I once again assess what needs to be in my carry-on and what in my checked bag. Once I've decided, I take the checked bag down to the car and lock it in the boot, picking up a coffee from the front desk on the way back up to my room...

Just before 13:00, I do a last check of the room (spotting and retrieving an adapter plug I'd missed earlier

), wash out the travel mug, and wheel my bag along the corridor to the lift. I hand my key cards back to Joy, the receptionist, and thanked her for a good stay.

I put Avis Car Rental Returns manually into Hey, Audi, as she'd been unable to find it, and drive the seven or so klicks towards the airport terminal. I had a memory of the GPS guidance to the office being at odds with reality - and so it proves. However, following the excellent signage is easy.

I stop at the airport gas station...

...and fill Hey, Audi up with 38 litres of Regular at $2.06 per litre...

Which means it's been doing just over 30 mpg over the last 250 miles (25 mpg US), including all the urban driving on Vancouver Island, and the 'commuting' I did to White Rock yesterday...

For the stats geeks, I've done 2894 km (1798 miles) and it has averaged 40 mpg (33 mpg US), which, I think, is pretty impressive.

I drive into the car park, which has excellent signage, and I'm met by a rep who asks if there have been any issues with the car (there haven't), laughs when I say it was lovely, but it would be a nightmare when out of warranty, immediately emails me a final receipt and then double checks that I've not left anything behind...

I wheel my bags through the clean and well-signed car park to the nearby terminal building. They really have got the design of this place right...

There's artwork everywhere - rocks portrayed as luggage. Lest we forget we put a man on the moon before thinking to put wheels on a suitcase...

Huge example of First Nation artwork in the terminal...

I'm ridiculously early for my flight, but the agent doesn't turn a hair, my checked bag disappears into the mysterious nether world of baggage handling...

I'm only delayed by about five minutes by the security check...

These new scanners, looking comically like jet engines...

...are designed so you can leave everything in your bags (as opposed to having to take your laptop, iPad etc out). I empty my pockets, take off my belt, and am waved through.

Not so my carry-on bag, though. My SPF50 bottle is picked up by the scanner and I tell them to ditch it - I'll replace it when I get to the UK. LHR have stopped the practice of restricting liquids, which will explain why it passed on the way out. I'd thought this was an international policy change - evidently not.

My flight is slated for Gate D67 - which turns out to be miles away. In fact, I'm not sure that it's still in Canada...

I use up my last Canadian currency buying stuff in the duty-free - not in any of these designer shops, though...

Really? Acne?

Nice - time to get a coffee...

I set up here - destined to be my home for the next six hours or so. Free high-speed Wi-Fi, plenty of power sockets - all the comforts of home...

There's a display case nearby...

...with some hideous ceramic art on show...

I do some next-level man spreading on the desk, and start writing my journal...

More later...

 

[MikeO]

16th June 2026 (Cont)

There are TV screens showing World Cup games all over the place...

...so my usual tactic of asking some random person to watch my bags for me whilst I go to the loo isn't going to work. It's still hours until my flight, so I just pack everything up and wheel it over to the surgically clean bathroom...

I can't remember sitting down here...

Whilst I'm packed, I wander down to Gate 69 and grab another coffee. My inbound flight left LHR on time...

I set up at my gate again...

Whoever got the contract to put up the lighting here must have been as drunk as a skunk...

 

[MikeO]

16th June 2026 (Cont)

We are boarded on time and are airborne slightly ahead of schedule...

As usual, the flight is completely rammed, and I mentally thank past-Mike for buying me a World Traveller Plus seat...

I chat with my seat neighbour, Gary, who is a safety trainer on cruise liners - he started as a merchant marine deck officer and has been specialising in sea safety for about 10 years now. He's on his way home to Southampton for some well-needed leave - he's been working on various ships for eight weeks or so...

We're given a drink (it's apple juice, not a sample )...

...and a tiny bag of Penn State pretzels to keep us interested until dinner...

When I decide to try the Shahi Paneer - which was really good...

They then dim the cabin lights, and everyone tries to get some sleep.

I watch Charlie Wilson's War - an excellent Mike Nichols film, scripted by Aaron Sorkin - probably my favourite screenwriter...

Annoyingly, the twin-jack adapter Jorge had given me didn't fit the entertainment system in this 777

I managed to find a way to get the Bluetooth dongle thing I'd had Amazon deliver to Jorge to work. I think the proprietary connection is likely to stop people walking off with the noise-cancelling headsets they issue. Bloody annoying if you want to use your own kit though...

I actually manage to sleep for a couple of hours - a new experience for me on an aircraft...

About an hour before top of descent into LHR, we were brought an unappetising-looking, but surprisingly tasty, bacon and egg roll...

We land about 10 minutes early, but then wait for at least this long for a gate to become available. I text Adrian, who's ensconced in a Café Nero in the arrivals lounge.

I'm through the automatic immigration barrier almost without breaking stride, then wheel my cabin bag over to baggage reclaim.

Where I get my checked bag over an hour later...

I wheel my trolley through Customs and meet up with Adrian, and we make our way to his car. I pay the (£20! ) parking charge, and we drive out onto a very congested M25 to head towards home, some two and a half hours away...

I text Vikki, my housekeeper, to say I'll be picking up Harry around 20:00...

You see some strange sights on the road (I'll save you Googling - it's a Europa XS motor-glider)...

At Mildenhall, we stop for an inordinately expensive (but delicious) burger and messy fries at Five Guys, before arriving at my house at about 19:30. I give my effusive thanks to Adrian - we're going to meet up and go to our favourite American Diner - Benny's on Saturday, with his son Eliot...

The house is exceptional - my kitchen worktops are perfect, the fencing is newly painted, and Vikki has fitted fresh bedding and aired the place out.

I dump stuff from my luggage all over the place, then start the Škoda, drive to Vikki's house and pick Harry up. To say he was happy would be an exercise in huge understatement - for a dog without a tail, he gives an impression of having two...

I thank Vikki, then drive Harry home, where he investigates the house and garden and seems to approve. I take him for a walk around the block, then - determined to avoid falling asleep - start organising and rearranging stuff in the kitchen; sorting out laundry, and setting the timer so that it'll finish at around 08:00 tomorrow, eventually turning the light out just before midnight (god knows what body-clock time) and falling asleep immediately.

The alarm wakes me at 07:30 - I drag myself out of bed and into the shower. I have groceries being delivered between 08:00 and 09:00, then a haircut scheduled for 09:00.

I'm determined to keep busy and power through the jet-lag...

I book a visit to the recycling centre to dispose of the old kitchen worktops at 12:00, and load them into the car ready - then hang out the washing...

At 10:30, I take Harry to the dog park - after my lap, his favourite place in the world...

For 25 minutes he runs about with complete abandon, tiring himself out (and getting warm - it's about 22°C and quite humid), before we return home, where he supervises me taking the washing in from the line, then retires to his bed - strategically placed in the sun...

...but pretty soon it's too warm even for him, and he lies on the cool ceramic floor...

The bloody recycling centre charged me £4 to take the worktops, because it was "over 100 litres of DIY waste" - who the actual fuck measures worktops in litres?

It's not the money, it's the bloody silly bureaucracy...

Or maybe it's the jet-lag...

 

[LOLGEOFF]

Spooky or what? I was watching a music channel on the telly a couple of days ago and this came on and I immediately thought of you.... Not because it's extremely annoying but because it features something close to your heart.

 

[MikeO]

20th June 2026

Travelled the hour to Benny's Diner with my mate Adrian, and his son Eliot...

Still the best nachos I've eaten...

With a lemon meringue sundae to follow - a suitable end to the trip...

 

[leadfarmer]

Those nachos do look good