Day 13 – Al and Ray’s Excellent Adventure Continues: Now with More Canada
Today we left Seattle behind and headed north to the land of maple syrup, moose, and politeness—Vancouver!
Crossing the border was surprisingly smooth, though the customs officer asked us more questions than Ray ordering dinner. “Where are you going?” “How long are you staying?” “Do you have any fruit, firearms, alcohol, or tobacco?” We passed—barely.
Once in Vancouver, we hit the hot spots: Granville Island (awesome), Chinatown (spicy), something called “Happen” (we’re still not sure what happened), Robson Street (fancy shops we couldn’t afford), Stanley Park, Prospect Point, and the iconic Lions Gate Bridge. Basically, we were on a sightseeing rampage.
The only downside to arriving in Canada on July 1st? It was Canada Day, and apparently the entire country decided to party in the exact same spot we were trying to park.
Then things took a turn.
Ray went to the restroom while I went to find parking. Simple task, right? WRONG. Every single spot was taken. So I thought, “I’ll just loop around.” Famous last words. One wrong turn and suddenly I’m not just out of Stanley Park—I’m practically back in Seattle. I call Ray and say, “Hang tight, I’ll be there in 13 minutes.” Google lied. I got stuck in traffic so brutal it gave me New York City flashbacks. Honking, chaos, and possibly a guy yelling at his steering wheel in French.
I called my buddy Jason in a panic: “I lost Ray!”. We had so many laughs about the trip.
Eventually, I found my way back—and there he was, cool as a cucumber, casually enjoying an ice cream cone and chatting up two women from Pennsylvania like a pro. No stress. No fear. Just Ray, his cone, and his secret weapon: the Tilley hat. I swear, that thing has magical powers—it’s like a Canadian love potion. He didn't my need a wingman this time
Later we checked into our hotel and had a fantastic dinner. I ordered duck with peas, mushrooms, spaetzle, and what I thought were mushrooms… but may have been a culinary mystery. Ray played it safe with chicken and red cabbage—and honestly, both were excellent.
We're calling it an early night because tomorrow’s another big day—exploring more of Vancouver and heading east to the promising land of Hope, Canada. Yes, that’s a real place. And yes, we are definitely going to make a lot of inspirational jokes about it.
