I crossed the border at Bellingham, Washington, which is right below Vancouver. Due to the current political climate between the US and Canada, I had a difficult time crossing the border. They were determined to catch me with something. They first accused me of drinking and driving, then of hiding guns and then hiding money over $10,000.

I declared everything I had currently in my RV. I also declared that I had shipped my guns back home before crossing the border. I knew the scent dogs would smell the presence guns and ammo, so I declared it at the border. I had some cash in my safe, but nothing close to $10k.

They turned the contents of my RV upside down! They kept approaching me accusing me of hiding something. I was sitting and they would loom over me. Maddie was picking up on my nervousness, and she was losing patience with the border patrol people. She started growling at them, and her hackles were all up. They might have given me grief for her except I declared her as a medical service dog.

I feared I wouldn’t be allowed to enter Canada. Thankfully, they finally admitted I wasn’t hiding any guns or ammo, I wasn’t drunk and I didn’t have more than $10K. I was so happy my RV park was only 35 minutes away. I was mentally exhausted. It took me almost four hours to cross the border!

I booked a full week at the RV park because my bestest friend Dia was flying in to stay with me and play tourist in Vancouver. Thankfully I crossed the border the day before she arrived. I half feared she would have to change her flight to Seattle!

But all went well and she was able to come spend time with me. We had so much fun together. It was great to see her. We text every day and I always let her know where I am every day, but I haven’t seen her since January. So it was so nice to have my wonderful friend with me for a several days.

Sadly, it rained almost the whole time she visited. We were determined to not let it keep us from exploring the city. So we ventured out every day armed with umbrellas and rain jackets.

Our first outing was to Granville Island. It is popular location for a large public market, artisan shops and waterfront venues. The weather was overcast but thankfully didn’t rain until we were ready to leave.

We had a lot of fun shopping in the little shops. Dia found several great gifts for her loved ones at home. I bought me several items too. I was really pleased to get a signed picture of a crow stylized in Native American art.

We had a wonderful seafood lunch. Dia got pan seared rockfish and I got a halibut filet. My all-time favorite fish is halibut. So I was thrilled to see it was in season.

After lunch, we decided to go to the market. We had heard it was a must visit. And I have to agree it was really fun to see all of the fresh produce, fish, flowers and bakery items.

I wanted to buy everything at the pastry booths! But I was strong and passed them all by.

Just before leaving, we passed this tiny little booth that was selling jewelry. There was a heart pendant that just totally caught my eye. When we stopped to ask about the jewelry, we learned the pendants are carved from actual Wooly Mammoth bones! How cool is that!?! Dia bought a beautiful pendant that had a hummingbird silhouette carved in the bone and then painted with flowers. And I just had to have that heart pendant with a tiny ruby on one side and a pearl on the other. Such unique jewelry to have as a keepsake of our vacation together.

We decided to take a tour of the harbor on a water taxi. Since we had ridden to Granville in an Uber, we weren’t tied to any one location. So we took the longest water taxi ride to get us closer to home. This was Maddie’s first time on a boat. She wasn’t very happy about it, but she did very well.

It was a fun little ride, and the views were great of all of the parks, high-rise buildings and unique venues.

Right after getting dropped off, the rain came down in earnest. So we quickly called us an Uber to head home. Maddie wasn’t happy about riding in a car. She’s used to the space in the RV. I also think she didn’t like seeing the scenery flying by. So I gave Dia my packages to hold so I could let Maddie lay across my lap. But Maddie decided she wanted to lay on Dia!

I guess the day was stressful for Maddie. Being in two car rides, a water taxi and a crowded public market wore her completely out. Poor thing!

The next day we went to White Rock which is known for the longest pier in Canada. We were told by some locals it was a great place to visit. Sadly, we didn’t find it a very fun place. There weren’t any cute shops and only a few places to eat. The only great thing was being at the coast and walking the pier and beach. We got there at low tide, so there was a lot of beach to walk along.

We decided to enjoy another seafood dinner while on the coast. Of course, I had to have halibut again but this time it was fried and delicious!

The last day of Dia’s visit was beautifully sunny!!!! Yay!

Dia planned our day – enjoy the seawall at Stanley Park and then walk to Gastown. This turned out to be a six-mile hike! We had Uber drop us off at the seawall. A perfect place to start our day. The seawall offered a beautiful view of the Vancouver Harbor.

While at the seawall, we visited the Totem Pole Park. There were many examples of the native artwork. We learned the natives would carve these poles and use them inside their buildings to hold up the ceiling. I never knew that!

We wanted to take a horse carriage ride to explore Stanley Park – which is a large island all dedicated to outdoor activities. But we were shocked to see it would cost $80 per person! We thought that was way too expensive. So, we started our walking tour to Gastown.

We finally made it to Gastown. What makes Gastown a place for tourists to visit? It has lots of upscale shops and varied dining options all within the Victorian Era section of Vancouver. But the highlight of the visit is to see the Gastown Steam Clock. It is one of only a few in the world that are still working.

It looked like we only had to wait 15 minutes to see it chime the three o’clock hour. While standing there, we noticed the time wasn’t really moving. So we decided to walk around the area and see the shops. Gastown is also known for its Victorian Era architecture and brick streets.

After walking around for at least 30 minutes, we made our way back to the clock. We got there just in time to hear it whistle the hour. I barely had time to quickly turn my phone on to video. I managed to capture the tail end of the song. Pretty cool!

We finished up our day at the Steamworks Bar and Grill. I had a local brew while Dia got a mojito.

I decided to visit the ladies’ room, and I just had to post a photo of the stall. I thought it was a larger handicap stall so Maddie would have room inside with me. But instead, I saw this. It’s not a mirror image, it’s actually two toilets with a short wall in between. Strange right?

We had a wonderful visit together! I was sad to see her leave. I won’t see her again until late fall.

Just before she left, Dia took a couple of casual photos of Maddie and me.

It was a wonderful first week in Canada!

Next post will be my drive from Vancouver to Dawson Creek BC.