Revelation 12:11: From east to west...

Wow, I can't believe we're finally in Canada, eh? It's been 11 days on the road, two weeks since we've been out of a real home, and too long since I've left my wonderful friends in Omaha. Tonight Jordan and I talked about what a blur these past days have been... that we've covered so much and visited so many places in just a short time. I'm not only writing this blog for all of you, but for our benefit of documenting these wonderful memories, too:)

I should start from the start, though. This morning we got up early and explored the famous Pike Place Market in Seattle. Since we didn't have to check out of the hotel until 12, that gave us time to visit and leave Layla in the hotel. We smelled some of the greatest smells ever at this market (quite a relief from what was mentioned in yesterday's post.. hehe). First, we bought an enormous cinnamon roll at a little bakery, then bought some coffee at the very First Starbucks Store, and walked around the fish markets. I guess if I had to describe this place I'd say it was a mix between artsy, throwback, and organic. We're talking huge beautiful bouquets for only $10, all the baked goods you can handle, and fresh berries that the merchants let you try for free!

Probably our most favorite part of the day was talking to the man that owned this neat little bookshop downstairs in the market. I wish I could figure out a way to describe him to truly give him credit for his unique and wonderful character. I was going through the store, naming all the titles of children's books I used to love as a kid (sidenote: Thanks for reading to me so much as a kid, Mom), and he would start reciting the words to every book I mentioned! He was making Jordan and I laugh so much. We did buy a couple books, one of which I'm going to send to my nephew James, so I can't mention its title until he gets it (Hint for Juls: Think digging a cellar in just one day, can he do it?). But the second book we bought was just too funny to pass up, considering yesterday's blog topic: Pass the Gas. Yes, a 1970s Japanese-originated "educational" book about farting. Of course we had to buy it.

After a wonderful time in the market, we had to take care of business and close our of our Bank of America account that we've waited over two years to do. We just needed to get to a city that had a BOA branch at it. Then we headed back to the hotel and packed up the Layla-doo to head to Vancouver.

Crossing the border was surprisingly easy, and quite a beautiful place. Our blood pressure did rise though as the customs guy asked us so many specific questions. Easy questions that we know the answers to, but for some reason, when you're being interrogated, you just go blank. We survived and made it through without a hitch and quickly changed our GPS settings to metric!

Tonight we ate at this neat little restaurant called The Sandbar that had a happy hour special of mussels and beer for only $10! It was a first mussel experience, and I gotta say, I don't feel any stronger (ha, bad joke, sorry couldn't help myself). But I did enjoy them! Then Jordan took me down to the beach to stick my feet in the Pacific for the very first time. Gotta say, it felt just as cold as the Atlantic in the Northeast!

These past 11 days have been really amazing, but we are desperately looking forward to a sense of normalcy again when we arrive in AK and get into our new house in a few weeks. You may not see much out of the blog for a few days, as we'll just be driving through Canada and camping most nights. I'll post when I can.... eh?