You keep what you kill

On our way from Mossyrock to Vancouver BC we experienced the great American dream, traffic jams galore.  Great to see all those eco conscious Seattle hipsters taking their suvs for a drive to shop two vegan gluten-free potatoes. Or something like that. So we we were royally pissed off by the time we had passed Everett. One of the longest jams was caused by people gawking at the accident that had happened on the other side of the road. Great. So we were angry and hungry and really needed a toilet break, too. We got off at Mt Vernont and stopped at the Calico Cupboard Old Town Cafe and Bakery . I was skeptical at first, it's hidden away in a parking lot at the end of the road. So not a good starting position for this cafe,  but what a pleasant surprise. Wonderful location. Friendly staff, good service. And excellent food. Our mood was instantly transformed from grumpy and wanting to kill American hipster suv Nazis to extremely happy and well fed (and wanting to kill American hip...

This was actually the first time I've entered the USA, aka God's own country, via car. And I cannot recommend it. In addition to having to pay for the bloody esta, which you always have to have of course, we had to pay 6usd processing fee each. Just another example of how they like to rip off visitors. But hey, it all goes to charity or at least pays another overweight security cowboy's salary. So we are of course glad to contribute to that. And you have to appreciate the effort they're making, all the guys in armored tactical vests carrying big guns, walking around with so much swagger. Guarding the extremely dangerous Canadian border at Vancouver. I totally see the point, I bet there are incursions by armed terrorists and drug dealers multiple times a day from such a dangerous and unstable place like Canada. If it wasn't for the boys in blue, the USA would have long been overrun by hordes of beady eyed Canadians.

Well, it turned out to be more than one rain day. More like three, from Friday to Saturday. I guess it was much needed and we made the best of it. We did lots of hikes through the, errrh, rainforest, around many pretty lakes and rivers. They also have a sweet little farmers' market going on Saturdays, where we sampled some strange but very delicious Chinese Canadian food, had extremely yummy smoothies and pastries and listened to the local musical talent. And we were eating, all the time. We had breakfast and "linner" at Crabapple, very recommendable, even though we don't have any tattoos. ☺ We also went to pepe & gringo, which is not a Mexican place but pretty much everything else, good food, great service, nice place, decent prices. The reisebegleitung is still raving about the ribs she had there. They also have some delicious home made smoky spicy sauce. Essence of India, also very nice and spicy. The watershed, great location, slow service, average food. But t...

🍁 the maple leaf. Canada day one. It's raining. Apparently they had a really hot summer until, well, I arrived. 😁 when we arrived yesterday evening our lovely airbnb hosts told us about the drought and that they were on water rationing. Well, I guess we don't have to worry about taking long showers any more now. But still, very nice up here. We had the most relaxing flight ever and are now probably spoiled for life. First class. Rocks. Have to admit that I could very much get used to this. But I'm afraid it's probably gonna remain a once in a lifetime experience. Still worthwhile. Now here's the confession: guess what I enjoyed most about it? It wasn't the concorde room lounge with fine dining etc. It wasn't the comfy seats / beds on the plane, the great service, the delicious food, the pralines, the nice video screen, the fact that we we're first at immigration and baggage claim. No, no, I'm a very bad person at heart so he...