I’m starting to pack my bags to Canada, along with the dog beds. These two schnauzer sisters will cross the border for the first time and on the deck of a ferry boat. It’s about a four-hour drive to Port Angeles and we’ll need to get there by 8:30 p.m. to get in line to board. It means my wife will have to leave work early so we can get “On the road again” as Willie might sing. There’s nothing like a family road trip – the stuff of Chevy Chase comedies.  

I am now officially TSA-Pre-check approved, although it won’t be beneficial on this particular trip. There is no expedited means of getting to the front of the line of the boat-dock like there is with an airport. The good news is there may be some fireworks to entertain us, but hopefully far enough away as to not get the dogs in an uproar. They hate the Fourth of July noise, so a quieter Canada will be just the ticket. We’ll visit Butchart Gardens and have an “Outstanding” meal on the shore with a table laid-out for several hundred. Our five-day visit to the “Great North” should be unforgettable, as we continue to explore the sights that surround our Portland home.

In the five years we’ve lived here, we’ve been fortunate to see Crater Lake, Bend, the Gorge, and explored the Oregon Coastline from the California border to Astoria. We’ve been to Seattle by train multiple times, and floated on both the Willamette & Columbia Rivers.  I’ve also gone fishing, kayaking, and whale watching off the Pacific Ocean coast. The first glimpse of our new home state was along Highway 84 driving in from Idaho on our route from Austin, Texas. We’ve covered a lot of beautiful Pacific Northwest ground as part of our move here. 

As I think about travel, I once again refer to the 1000 Places To See Before You Die calendar. As I close out the month of June, they show enticing pictures of Northern Ireland, Switzerland, Sweden, Vietnam, Quebec, Guatemala, Mount Fuji, Denmark, and Northern Italy that have yet to be personally experienced. Only Paris and the Massachusetts Cape are crossed-off my list of sights seen in life. Once again, I’m reminded of how unworldly I actually am. I can’t see these unobserved sights from the comforts of home, so it’s time to get back on the road again.