My Itineray for the Pacific Northwest!

On the great advise of Ethan Allan S. Al has laid out the plans for a fantastic vacation. All I have to do is live it, and make it happen. So for all you fellow travelers out there. Here is the plan.

I arrive in Vancouver on June 6. Drive south into the U.S.A. I drive to Bellingham, then take the ferry into the Jan Juan islands, and spend the day.

Sun June 7- Drive to Anacortes. Threw Whidbey Island. Then take the ferry to Milkuleto, then drive to Seattle. When arriving in Seatle take the ferry to Bainbridge Island, and enjoy dinner at Cafe Nola. Spend the night on Bainbridge Island.

Monday June 8- Check out Bremerton and drive south (scenic beach) to Olympia, stay in Olympia.

Tuesday June 9- Drive to Mt. St. Helens, then to the coast, then Astoria, then to Seaside, then to Oresham, stay in Gresham. Or stay in Seaside, Oregon overnight.

Wednesday June 10- Drive scenic highway (Hwy 84) along the Columbia River. Beautiful scenic points to enjoy. Stay in Gresham.

Thursday June 11- Drive the Mt. Hood Loop scenic drive. Stay in Gresham.

Friday June 12- Drive back to Seattle. Chance to visit the islands again, or enjoy Seattle.

Saturday June 13- Drive back to Vancouver. Spend the day in Vancouver, and enjoy the sights. Fly back to Toronto and reality. My return flight is 11 PM.

Well there you have it. That is the game plan. I thank Ethan Allan S. for his valuable input. I look very forward to the adventure.

The posted picture is of the Columbia river gorge from the Washington State side. I hope my pictures turn out as good.

Please fly me West, "Jet"

Yes it almost time for me to hit the road again. The excitement is starting to build. Like all of my trips. I can feel the adrenal glad starting to do it's job. This feeling never gets old. To me, this is the essences of life. It's what makes life special. This is what all children have in them. That gives them the ability to have fun, and enjoy themselves. Never loose this as long as you live.

The idea or the songline for this trip began with the inspiration of two great friends. They are Ethan Allan S, and his lovely better half, Christine E. They both traveled to the Pacific Northwest last March. They both had an amazing trip. They both came back recommending this destination to me. Al's thoughts were. "That he can't believe that I haven't been yet. Also he knows that I will love my visit to the Pacific Northwest".

I will quote one of my favorite lines. From one of my favorite movies. The movie is "The Odessa File", it starred actor John Voight. Early in this movie John Voight's character Peter Miller talks about fate working in mysterious ways. That's controls the destiny of history.

Last year I was suppose to fly on West Jet. For my June summer vacation. The destination was Nova Scotia. This one week trip never happened because of fate. I somehow misplaced my wallet the night before I was suppose to fly to Halifax. With no wallet and no driving license. I was forced to cancel the trip. West jet which has excellent customer service, unlike Air Canada. West Jet gave me a 1 year credit for 90% of the fare. The next morning with my wallet found. I quickly loaded my car and bolted for Vermont and the Green Mountains. What a great time I had. If I hadn't misplaced my wallet I wouldn't have gone to Vermont last summer. Also I would not be leaving for Vancouver on June 6th.

The definition of what a songline is. Jimmy Buffett refers to this as and idea that becomes reality. They are only created and seen
by dreamers. So keep you dreams alive, and they may become true.

The first two pictures on this post is from my flight to Vancouver, on June 6, 2009. So thank you West Jet, you did fly me west!

The Search For The Lost Photos!

This is a good story that has to be told. That occurred during my holiday in Europe, 2009. I have always enjoyed to take pictures during my journeys. Trying hard to preserve the memories from the experience.

I was visiting with Steve C. during the second day of my time spent in the U.K. Steve had offered to take me on an outing outside of London. To visit his mother's home, which is located in the village of "King's Clear". We had just arrived in the village, and as usual I started to snap some photos. Then out of nowhere the worse, happened! The SD card inserted in my digital camera failed. My digital camera started to give me an error message. "To reformat the SD card. This could not be. Because I had taken over 200 pictures on this card. It was lucky for me. That I was using more then one SD card on this trip.

My camera also gave me the sad information. That there were no photos taken on the SD card, and again asking me to reformat. Lucky for me I was visiting with Steve C. at the time this happened. I was upset because it now looked probable, that I was going to loose 0ver 200 pictures from my trip. I was going to loose pictures from; Amsterdam, The Hague, and some pictures from London.

Steve told me right away not to reformat the SD card. To give the card to him. He thought that it was possible that the data on the SD card could still be salvaged. Therefore saving my lost pictures. I now started to hope. That the pictures could be saved.

I am really a moderate when it comes to how much modern technology has improved the quality of our lives. However I am a big fan of digital technology. The digital camera has advanced very much in the last 5 or six years. Also the cost to buy them has gone down. You are not stuck with the expense and nuisance of buying and loading film in a conventional camera. The fact is. If you make a bad mistake using a film camera. Then there is a good chance that your pictures and your memories will be lost forever.

This posting has a happy ending. A few weeks after I returned home. I received the good news from Steve. That most of the pictures from the failed SD card had been salvaged. He had the saved photos transferred onto a CD rom. He had given the CD to his brother Colin. To bring back to Canada for me. My lost photos were found and returned to me. Thanks very much to Steve C. I am now able to present them to you.