Some people love having choices, opportunities to consider options, and chances to revoke all previous decisions.  My husband and I find ourselves on different ends of the stick-to-the-plan versus the leave-everything-open continuum.  I realized this very early in our relationship when our plane to Ireland was delayed for 2 hours and Mike wanted to go to Germany instead (the plane to Munich being ready to take off).  We did not change our destination.  However, we only had reservations for one night, a rental car, and a book of vouchers for B&B’s anywhere in the Republic of Ireland—anywhere being the operative word.  Mostly that worked out okay and who wants to tour the Guinness factory anyway? 

Over the years I’ve become accustomed to Mike’s side of the continuum and we usually travel in our R-V without a definite plan or reservations way ahead of time.  TBH Mike usually books reservations the day we need them or maybe the day before. So I was impressed when Mike had booked our reservations for this trip ahead of time (from Redding) north to Vancouver and east to Calgary.  After that we were going to “play it by ear”—a phrase I’ve grown to hate.  Maybe 2 days before departure Mike asked me if I really wanted to start the trip in Canada.  The weather forecast was dismal and he thought we should take 80 to Maryland instead and do the trip in reverse—kind of.  I don’t shift gears easily and that is why we headed north.  After 29 years of marriage I didn’t freak out, just said no way and continued to pack.

Our first night near Vancouver we backed into a teeny space and parked our tow car across the campground in “tow car parking.” Then it started to rain. This went on in Vancouver and east to Kamloops where the skies cleared briefly.  It was a long drive, but the Canadian Rockies were incredible and I amused myself taking about 70 pictures.  Fiona, the little dog whose stubbornness exceeds ours, sat on my lap the entire way, ignoring the raised space we had created between the seats and her dog carseat nestled behind.  Fiona prefers looking out the window whether seated  or lying on the lap of whoever is riding shotgun. At all times, she is tethered to a leash that will prevent her from becoming an 11 lb (or 5 kilo) projectile should we get in an accident.  At all times the leash rubs against me and/or needs constant adjustment.

We camped in Chase, BC, a village near Kamloops with a population of 2300 and minimal resources for food unless you wanted to eat ice cream in the rain.  There’s something nice about being in a small, warm, and cozy space when it’s raining.  Something nice for about 2 days.  Then it becomes both tedious and strategic.  The rain is letting up, just a drizzle. Quick! Get Fiona outside for some exercise and whatever else she might be inspired to do.  Since Fiona instantly walked under our R-V (known as the Bee) she was in no hurry to get back in no matter how much the rain picked up. As it turns out, that warm, cozy space becomes oppressive when humidity (soaking wet humans) is added to the atmosphere. No great local food and sideman weather: thus began several consecutive days of creative dinners.  

There is a stove top in the Bee but merely boiling water sets off the shrill smoke detector.  So we depended on a microwave and toaster oven and the food I had packed.  For once I hadn’t made and frozen meals or packed the fridge with lunch meat, cheese, and chicken salad. Why? Because several trips in the many trailers and current motor home had taught me that it was inevitable that we would end up eating out and wasting food.  Not on this trip where the Arbees and DQ in Kamloops (40 miles away) were the only choices.  The first night I put together a charcuterie (and I use the term loosely) of olives, pimento cheese, cheddar squares, sliced fruit, and Wheat Thins. There were other meals—frozen macaroni and cheese with fruit salad, cheese and salsa quesadillas with strawberries, and tuna salad sandwiches with fruit salad. (I did pack a lot of fruit). Breakfasts were toasted bread or English muffins or bagels and fruit.  In Chase I was able to buy cream cheese, 8 hot dogs, 2 baking potatoes, and 12 hot dog buns (that was the small package). Around this time Mike came down with a cold and I’m not sure if it was because of poor nutrition. He did sleep through “dinner” one night and when he got up at midnight he fixed himself a stale cheese square in a hot dog bun, no condiments and a side of cherries.  I know about the cherries firsthand because Mike woke me up with a flashlight in my face because he had dropped a never to be found cherry. 

During this adventure I have been reminded of several of my shortcomings like not listening to Mike when he proposed a different trajectory.  (In my defense there was NO predicted rain for the days we were in Western Canada). Besides poor planning in the food department, I also learned about the disadvantages of being the person who organized everything inside the Bee.  But more on that in another episode of “Mike and Erin’s Not so Excellent Adventure.”