Issaquah, Washington
Woke this morning to a temp of 44 degrees F. and……wait for it…….rain. There was a Starbuck located directly behind where we were parked and we had excellent wi-fi internet connection from them. Since we rarely go into a Starbuck, we had no idea how busy they are! Of course, it is a Saturday morning, so lots of folks out and about but the line extended the length of the place.
Left Issaquah, Wa. mid-morning and headed toward the Canadian International Border in Sumas, Wa. On the way, stopped at a rest stop north of Everett, Wa. for lunch, to rest, to use the RV dump site, add fresh water and start setting up our Spot Satellite GPS Messenger. We’ve found that most of the rest areas in Washington have a free RV dump site, nice.
Spot Satellite GPS Messenger–
When Derek (a wonderful friend of ours) heard we were going to Alaska, he sent us a Spot Satellite GPS Messenger to us to use while we are in the middle of nowhere. It kind of looks like a big wrist watch. Thanks Derek. Right now, in the rest stop before we cross the border, we’re trying to activate the device so if we need it, it will be available. This “find me spot” sends our location and a pre-selected message to our friend that is routine. One button says we are OK, one button requests help, and one button goes to and alerts emergency responders to our GPS location. Of course, our daughter K said that if a grizzly is after us, no emergency responder will make it to us in time. She strongly advised us not to hike in Alaska. Says the emergency responders will only find a grizzly with a Spot Satellite GPS Messenger in his stomach and no other evidence of us. She’s not trying to make us nervous is she? Naw, probably just being cautious. So, the bottom line is, we hope we will not need that emergency responder button but would be nice to know it is available. It’s the weekend now so we’ll finish the signing up for the Spot Me somewhere in British Columbia.
Lazy Daze Motor Home–
Because Lazy Daze Motor homes are manufactured one at a time by a small, family run manufacturer that does not use dealers, there are only a few made each year. So, when someone sees a Lazy Daze, it is distinct looking and a rare sighting the further away from Southern California you are.
Yesterday, while in line to get gas, the man getting gas in front of us was staring at us. He didn’t say anything at the time but left the gas pump, drove around and parked to talk to Jerry about the motor home. Turns out, this was a former “proud owner of a Lazy Daze” and said he loved his Lazy Daze. He encouraged us to enjoy every minute of our travels, telling us we were lucky. Well, we never take for granted our good fortune to be traveling and we do know this time in our lives will be short so we try to enjoy every minute. It helps that we have a Lazy Daze motor home as it is so well-built we just don’t usually have trouble with it. This trip will be fairly rugged so it will be a test of the Lazy Daze and maybe us, that’s for sure.
Crossing the Border into Canada–
Will post our experience with the border crossing tomorrow when we find an internet connection somewhere along the way.
