Day Eleven | Packing Challenge, DS: The Universal Language, PRIDE parade, a long nap and Final Evaluation

We usually travel light with two suitcases and one carry-on each. This trip was an exception. With ten days on the road, traveling nearly 3,000 miles, hiking many of them and covering temperatures from 45 to 87 degrees we needed to expand our normal gear. Last night Scott worked a miracle and packed us up; we threw away a huge bag of garbage (which included my loved -broken- tripod that gives me all those great group shots) ...

We hopped on a ferry and traveled to beautiful Victoria British Columbia. Almost immediately Annelies noticed a girl playing DS and she asked her to play together. The girl didn't speak a stitch of English yet Annelies and her spent the entire 2 1/2 hours playing together. DS: The Universal Language. I love that about my kids ... they are capable of making friends even overcoming language barriers.

We arrived in Victoria Canada, got another stamp in our passport books, and headed to our hotel. Victoria is a lovely harbor town and the weather was fabulous. As we walked along the shore we noticed a parade and quickly realized it was a PRIDE parade, which was fun to observe. Paradis bought some super cute converse shoes and I got (yet another) knitting project. Where we are going to pack those newly purchased items I have no idea!

Paradis and I checking out the map!

We went back to the hotel as Annelies wanted to swim and Paradis and Scott wanted to take a 30 minute nap. I am not kidding, but they both ended up sleeping FIVE hours! I'm not sure if it was the anti-nausea pills we all took for the boat ride, or shutting the curtains in our hotel room, or just simply it was our last day on the road, but it was a LONG 30 minutes! Annelies encouraged all of us to get out, take a walk and get a little something to eat so we did.

We enjoyed some mac-n-cheese (AV) with nachos and talked about our trip. We all agreed it was yet another successful vacation. We saw a ton of the USA, met some great people, and learned some interesting things about our country. SUCCESS! Tomorrow we will board a flight in Victoria, change planes in Seattle and head back to Minnesota.

Day eleven: 0 miles (2,775 total); $0 on gas ($457.80 total); $15.00 on souvenirs ($387.81 total); $0 tourist traps ($478.17 total); One state (Six total); Two Countries (Two total); 1 fight (1 total); 1 injury (1 total).