Taco Bell walkthrough
Merville, British Columbia (Vancouver Island) > Bellingham, Washington
Woke up to the sound of goats on the farm and went for a short walk on the property; fired up the oven and warmed our beef roll and egg pastry we bought from Old Country Market the day before
Took a drive over to Quinsam Fish Hatchery; there weren’t any collections (we were hoping for early season pink salmon), but we walked through their education center and the nature trail that led to the river; Oslo was fascinated by the gardener snake that crossed our path and attempted to slither into the rain grate; we wished we were staying here into the late summer and early fall to fish during salmon season - the runs would be epic and bear sightings a cherry on top
We didn’t have enough time to hike around Nymph Falls or Elk Falls, but we did have enough time to browse at the local fishing and sporting goods store; then we headed back to camp to pack up where we were greeted by our hosts who were on their way to the beach
During our drive toward Swartz Bay, we finally received the email we’ve been patiently waiting for…Nicole, the photographer from Cox Bay Beach, sent us the photos of Oslo surfing
We stopped at the Horth Hills Park to stretch our legs and get Oslo nice and tired before the ferry ride
Our departure was 15 minutes delayed - we boarded, parked the truck and trailer and strapped on Oslo’s service vest before heading to the sun deck; today was probably the hottest and sunniest day we’ve had so far in Canada; during the voyage, the worked on the blog, finished a book, walked around the deck and admired the ocean and mountain views
We were planning to stay in the Tsawassen Walmart parking lot (we finally learned how to correctly pronoun Tsawaasen - the T is silent - thanks to the ferry broadcaster), but had the energy to get across the border and into Washington; we set up for the night in the Bellingham Costco parking lot and started pulling out food for dinner when a woman pulled up next to us and kicked us out… she told us we couldn’t stay without a handwritten note from the manager (ugh, ridiculous!); it was already 9:30 PM and we were hungry - our saving grace was the $15 Taco Bell gift card we’ve been saving for years after finding it in the spare tire compartment of Liz’s Jeep; because of the clearance limit, we parked and walked through the drive thru - it was several cars deep and there were others that pulled in behind us; we felt like we were breaking the rules, but the drive thru employee didn’t even flinch when he saw us walk up to his window, so it must be a regular occurrence; the food was great, including their featured crispy chicken tacos, which were essentially the same as McDonalds old crunch wraps… didn’t quite compare to Tacofino though; drove 20 minutes south to a rest stop and parked for the night
Campground: Bow Hill Rest Area Southbound
