Rocky Mountains - Start of the trip

On monday we picked up our RV for the trip around the Rocky Mountains. The rental company is actually located in Langdale, a ferry ride away from Horseshoe Bay in North Vancouver. They paid for a taxi to pick us up from the hotel and they also paid for the ferry. Upon arrival on the other side they greeted us and were there with our RV ready to go. After the usual intro to the RV we then turned around and got in line for the next ferry back to North Vancouver, as that's the only way back.

The ride back is always free, and the ferry took about 35 mins to bring us back to the other side. Our destination for the day was a town called Hope, only about 3 hours away. After being in the RV for a day we found a few things that either don't quite work the way they should or could be better, but I guess that's to be expected when the RV isn't brand new. This one I reckon is 2-3 years old, it has over 100000km on the clock. I think the biggest difference is that this one does not have a generator on board. That means that without a power hookup, the powerpoints inside don't work. Only the lights will stay on. For us technophiles that means no gadgets, no blog updates, no internet.

During our stay in Salmon Arms, which was our second stop following Hope, we actually had a power outage at the campground following some rain. So it was a game of cards and using the laptops until the batteries went out. Thankfully after a couple of hours the power came back, just as we prepared to go to bed early :)

That particular campground had the best bathroom/showers I have seen so far in any US or Canadian campground. Super clean, everything looks new, the showers are big and the toilets are roomy and actually flush properly. They even provided us with an ethernet cable because we were located right between two wireless access points so the reception was very spotty. The cable just hooked up from the outside point, through our window to my laptop, which I then set up as a wireless hotspot so Simone could connect.

Today we drove on to a small town called Golden, the campground I picked is actually located about 20 mins outside Golden. On our way we stopped at the Northern Lights Wolf Center (note: website is VERY average), we saw the sign on the side of the road and thought it might be interesting to check out. It was $12 per person to get in. They have 9 wolves there and a lot of displays with information about wolves in general and also the local issues they face. They also have 30 min talks throughout the day for the visitors that trickle in.

The information presented was actually quite good and the displays offered suggested solutions to the problems as well, instead of just listing the problems and pointing the finger. The people working there are clearly very passionate about the subject, however they can come across as being your stereotypical hippie/lefty with some of the comments we heard. I believe that with some training input in terms of how to deal with the public during the presentations, they can get their point across much better. Simone has more on the subject on her blog. It certainly opens your eyes in terms of what the wolf situation is like in Canada and it aint the rosy picture you might have in your head from tourism commercials etc. Canada it seems has a long way to go in terms of wildlife management and conservation.

Tomorrow we drive on to Jasper, where we will hang around for a few days to explore.

Photo of our lunch for today at Legendz Diner in Golden, which was very tasty. This was taken with my phone btw, came out really nice! I had a poutine with a mushroom/bacon/cheese burger and a caesar salad. The gravy on the poutine was yummy. Unfortunately they didn't use proper cheese curds, but rather a mixture of two cheeses. Was still tasty though and even Simone had some (she didn't like the first poutine I got).

Zombie Apocalypse and Food (not brains)

During our extended stay in Vancouver we went into the city numerous times. One day, we came across a horde of zombies! Turns out it was the annual zombie walk.

Some of the make-up was amazing!

Some "law enforcement" officers with not so standard weaponry were helping to keep the zombies at bay.

There were real police officers too.

Zombies of all ages.

Children on a thick chain so they can't run away - I like it.

One of our outings to Earl's Restaurant. We tried the tuna poke nachos, with a side serve of maple soy glaze. Very yummy.

My steak, garlic mash and veggies. This photo is actually the steak I had to send back because it came medium-well done, when I ordered medium-rare. Our waitress was quick to take it back and informed us that they would comp me the main meal. This is something you don't usually see at home - they would either just say sorry, maybe give you a discount on your meal. But giving you the main for free would not usually happen, so I was surprised. That and getting you refills of your soft drink free - something I'd like to see at home as well.

One day we went to a food truck festival, where trucks from all over the city congregate on a large parking lot and you get to see all the different trucks and food in one place. We got there early so we saw them setting up.

My first serve was some perogies, filled with salmon, topped with caramelized onion and a dill sauce.

Simone got hers from the Guanaco truck.

It was filling up after 12pm.

My second serve were the porkbelly bites and the risotto balls, with a berry virgin sangria drink from the Street Meet truck. My god the pork belly was amazing. In fact all the food was really good, but that to me was the highlight.

One day we went to Lynn Canyon to check out the suspension bridge and to go for a little hike. Some birds behind the bus stop having a good feed.

One of the Japadog trucks, I could not resist anymore and had to try one. It was very good but could have been a bit bigger for the price. The sausage was outstanding.

The dim sum truck! Sadly closed when we walked past it on the waterfront.

Our breakfast at the Wallflower Diner close to home. I had breakfast poutine with two poached eggs. Simone had the "Benny", basically eggs benedict.

Another outing at Earl's, I had the crab and prawn pasta.

Our friend Morgan had this delicious desert.

Today, on the first official day of the con, I went out on a search for a good place to have lunch at. I was quite hungry so I looked for "all you can eat" on Google maps. Now usually what I would have expected are the usual results, so either Indian buffet or some sort of Sizzler style salad bar affair, or maybe an Italian all the carbs you can eat buffet.

The closest place to my location turned out to be a Japanese place - Shabusen Yakiniku House. The reviews were good, so I thought I'd check it out. It was 1.30pm and when I walked in I saw there was a waiting line and the place closes at 2.30pm. So I asked the guy next to me whether it was worth waiting - and he just nodded and said "yep". So I put my name down and after only a few minutes wait I was seated.

Now: back home when you go for all you can eat sushi, it means you're at a sushi train and you pick whatever plates you like. Usually during the all you can eat time, the chefs will put mainly cheaper stuff on the train. Things like chicken roll, egg nigiri etc. At this place it was very different.

I was sitting at the sushi bar where the chefs prepared the sushi and sashimi. There also heaps of tables but they were all occupied. You get a small menu which you fill out with your order. Photo below. You can order and reorder as many times as you want and there is no time limit, except for the lunch closing time of course. And to avoid people going nuts with their orders, anything you can't eat you have to pay for.

My first order was conservative, I didn't know what everything was and I didn't know how big the portions were etc. So I ordered things like salmon sashimi, tuna sashimi, terriyaki chicken, alaska roll, chicken roll, spicy tofu and veg spring roll. I totally forgot to take a photo of my first order! It took about 5 mins for my first order to trickle in, everything was made to order. The rolls were freshly rolled, the chicken freshly cooked and you can watch the preparation. Watching the chef in front of me slicing the sashimi was fascinating, the speed of the slicing, the preparation of the fish fillets, and the accuracy were impressive. Slicing a whole fillet really fast and getting perfect 1cm thick slices...wow.

Below are some photos of my second order. The quality of the food was amazing. Below you can see the teriyaki chicken roll, alaska roll, tuna sashimi and the spicy tofu cubes as well as a teriyaki chicken in the last photo. The salmon sashimi was very nice but oh my god, the tuna sashimi was amazing! The tuna was served slightly chilled and was literally melting in your mouth, no chewing required. I cannot stress enough how good this food was, no wonder the place was absolutely packed.

And the price for this all you can eat affair: $13.50. No, this is not a typo. Thirteen dollars and fifty cents. And on weekends they do the korean BBQ in the all you can eat as well. Blows my mind.

Oh Canada....hanging out in Vancouver

Just a little bit of catching up to do before we get to Canada. On our second last day in Homer, Alaska we went to the local Farmer's Market, which was a small but interesting and quite charming affair. They had locals play some music, and much to our astonishment the band was comprised of all teenage boys (with some adults mixed in later). My theory was that at least they get to hit something :)

It was quite enjoyable to listen to and take in, and I enjoyed a serve of cod and chips with the show. Video below.

 Fog bank on our way back to from a walk.

Driving out of Homer, a pickup with a sofa and dog on the back.

The next day was basically just going back to Anchorage, cleaning the RV, dropping it off the following morning and then going to the airport to fly to Vancouver via Seattle. We arrived in Vancouver around 10pm on monday night.

Instead of hotels or motels, due to our length of stay here we had arranged to basically rent an appartment for 10 days before we move into the hotel where the convention is held. This works out a lot cheaper, we pay about $50 per night and we are sharing a house with locals Jeff and Nicole, their daughter, Finlay the dog and Lily the cat. The house is separated into two individual apartments, we have the one upstairs. We have a separate entrance which we can lock and we have bedroom, bathroom, lounge, kitchen and Lily. I just call her kitteh.

Kitteh has decided that I'm her bestest fwuent and she follows me around everywhere. She's very friendly and playful, and it seems she has learned that it's not cool to wake uncle Tim up at 6 in the morning by jumping onto him in the bed (Disclaimer: no animals were hurt when this first happened). Interestingly enough my allergies seem to be pretty much non-existant...I still take precautions though.

One late afternoon we went to Red Robin, and we enjoyed a delicious meal. The burger I had was really flavourful, we both were very happy with our choices. I had a mushroom burger with a side of Mac & Cheese.

 Dinner at Earl's in Yaletown. I just had two appetizers, the chicken wings and the baby calamari. Simone had the baked brie and chicken sandwich with apple slices. All very nice food and as an added bonus for me the waitresses were all very easy on the eye :)

The other day we did a long walk starting in Stanley Park. We walked through the rainforest part and then along the shore back to the mainland. Altogether I think Simone worked out we walked over 10km. The weather here is actual summer weather, so the temps are in the high 20s low 30s. But the sun here doesn't burn as harsh as it does back home, that's for sure. I guess having an ozone layer over your head does some good.

Granville Markets from the bridge.

Ok so in Canada they have something they call poutine. It's a dish originating in Quebec and basically the original is fries with gravy and cheese curds. They of course have all sorts of different variations but it's a popular dish, you can even get this at your local Burger King. So today whilst googling some eateries I came across Fritz European Fry House. They do fries with all kinds of sauces. And of course poutine. So I had to try it.

The small poutine. The gravy is served very hot so it actually starts melting the cheese curds. I have to say after tasting this, I'm a fan. This is the kind of food you have when you're craving something fatty and satisfying. Apparently this place is THE stop late nights when people leave the bars and clubs and want something quick to eat before falling into bed.

Jumbo serve of fries with Dutch Mayo (frittesauce). None of this ketchup business. Though they also have curry ketchup on the menu, which I guess you could use if you wanted pommes rot-weiss.

Simone had lunch from one of the food trucks she learned about on Twitter - Guanaco. She did her best to pronounce the name of the dish she wanted, and thankfully the server knew what she meant :)
This truck is quite popular and highly rated on sites like Urbanspoon. Simone had the Revueltas pork pupusa & yuca frita.

I bought this drawing from a homeless man for $6. At least he wasn't just begging like so many others here in Vancouver, and when he said that a meal would cost him $6 when I asked how much he wanted for it, I believed him.