17 July 2011
Well, We Made It To Minnesots
17/07/11 19:37
Well, we made it to Minnesota. The drive went well. Friday morning we left the house at four am eager to put miles behind us. By four thirty we were parked at the BCFerries dock waiting. We caught the five thirty ferry and by seven thirty we were on the mainland. Therein lies the trouble with living on an island. Everything is fine until you want to go somewhere else. After three and a half hours on the road we had made about forty miles. This put a crimp in our progress for the day
.
When we got to the ferry dock we were in line behind a bus. It was noticeable for, other than being a bus, being painted with wild pink and orange swirls. I'm guessing this wasn't a regular Greyhound. We really noticed the bus while we were waiting to buy our ferry ticket. While most cars and trucks completed their transactions in less than a minute, we waited for over five for the bus. Not really sure what the issue was, maybe they had to pass the hat to cover the fare. Whatever the reason, after they finished we paid and drove to the queue to wait for boarding. Half an hour later they started loading. Per usual trucks load first on the lower deck. All of a sudden everything came to a screeching halt, literally, When the same bus tried to board the ferry took the ramp to the upper deck. They had to flag them down and get them to back down the ramp and go the right way, delaying the rest of us. We finally got on board and the boat set off.
A couple of hours later, after after we got a good nap in the car, the boat docked on the mainland. As we disembarked Marsha said "I sure hope we don't end up behind that bus". When we got back on the road Marsha looked in the mirror and discovered that the bus was immediately behind us. We had a good chuckle over that. It was even funnier a couple of minutes later when she checked the mirror and there was nobody in sight. The road was arrow straight for a couple of kilometres and we couldn't see anyone at all. We don't know what they did, but that bus had struck again. Somehow it had blocked both lanes from the terminal. So for the rest of the trip any time we saw a traffic jam we figured it was that bus striking again.
We ran down to the US border and hoped for a quick crossing. Then just as we got close to the front of the line suddenly all the lanes closed. the guards stopped everyone, blocked the lanes with orange cones, and then they all ran to a lane about two over from the one we were in. Soon a young guy came out of a van with his hands in the air. He was cuffed and marched off into the bowels of the building, then a guard drove his van away and the rest of the guards returned to their booths and the lanes reopened. When we got to the front of the line Marsha handed the guard our passports and then said "looks like you had a bit of excitement". "yeah," said the guard, "do YOU have any fruit?" which I took as a bit of an extreme reaction.
Because of all of the excitement in the morning we only made it as far as Missoula, Montana. The next day we pushed hard and got through Montana, Wyoming, and nearly all the way through South Dakota to end up at Chamberlin, about a 900 mile day. Say what you want about the Prius but it is a great car for long road trips. The Honda's we owned were good but we had to stop about every two hours for gas. With the Prius we can make five or six without stopping.
The gas tank isn't the fluid that normally makes us think of stopping..
So we're in Minnesota spending time visiting people, seeing things and trying to relax. We know that waiting for us when we get home is a house that needs to be moved and cats that will hold a grudge. Monday we set off for home. Maybe we can do a thousand mile day. Wish us luck.
Written on our iPad. Wheeeeee!
Doug & Marsha
For this trip I've been using the camera from the iPod. Touch. Now this isn't the best camera in the world. It can't do full colour photos, just pencil sketches.
.
When we got to the ferry dock we were in line behind a bus. It was noticeable for, other than being a bus, being painted with wild pink and orange swirls. I'm guessing this wasn't a regular Greyhound. We really noticed the bus while we were waiting to buy our ferry ticket. While most cars and trucks completed their transactions in less than a minute, we waited for over five for the bus. Not really sure what the issue was, maybe they had to pass the hat to cover the fare. Whatever the reason, after they finished we paid and drove to the queue to wait for boarding. Half an hour later they started loading. Per usual trucks load first on the lower deck. All of a sudden everything came to a screeching halt, literally, When the same bus tried to board the ferry took the ramp to the upper deck. They had to flag them down and get them to back down the ramp and go the right way, delaying the rest of us. We finally got on board and the boat set off.
A couple of hours later, after after we got a good nap in the car, the boat docked on the mainland. As we disembarked Marsha said "I sure hope we don't end up behind that bus". When we got back on the road Marsha looked in the mirror and discovered that the bus was immediately behind us. We had a good chuckle over that. It was even funnier a couple of minutes later when she checked the mirror and there was nobody in sight. The road was arrow straight for a couple of kilometres and we couldn't see anyone at all. We don't know what they did, but that bus had struck again. Somehow it had blocked both lanes from the terminal. So for the rest of the trip any time we saw a traffic jam we figured it was that bus striking again.
We ran down to the US border and hoped for a quick crossing. Then just as we got close to the front of the line suddenly all the lanes closed. the guards stopped everyone, blocked the lanes with orange cones, and then they all ran to a lane about two over from the one we were in. Soon a young guy came out of a van with his hands in the air. He was cuffed and marched off into the bowels of the building, then a guard drove his van away and the rest of the guards returned to their booths and the lanes reopened. When we got to the front of the line Marsha handed the guard our passports and then said "looks like you had a bit of excitement". "yeah," said the guard, "do YOU have any fruit?" which I took as a bit of an extreme reaction.
Because of all of the excitement in the morning we only made it as far as Missoula, Montana. The next day we pushed hard and got through Montana, Wyoming, and nearly all the way through South Dakota to end up at Chamberlin, about a 900 mile day. Say what you want about the Prius but it is a great car for long road trips. The Honda's we owned were good but we had to stop about every two hours for gas. With the Prius we can make five or six without stopping.
The gas tank isn't the fluid that normally makes us think of stopping..
So we're in Minnesota spending time visiting people, seeing things and trying to relax. We know that waiting for us when we get home is a house that needs to be moved and cats that will hold a grudge. Monday we set off for home. Maybe we can do a thousand mile day. Wish us luck.
Written on our iPad. Wheeeeee!
Doug & Marsha
For this trip I've been using the camera from the iPod. Touch. Now this isn't the best camera in the world. It can't do full colour photos, just pencil sketches.