Aylmer Express "MoHo" Extravaganza 2006

We are leaving Canada today and not returning again until our trip is over, in some three and a half months from now. Somehow I think that, subconsciously, I was not mentally prepared for this break as I, for some unknown reason, jumped onto the highway going west rather than east to toward the border. Once we got turned around we found ourselves with an opportunity to sample another Vancouver traffic jam. Luckily we were able to swing over into the HOV (high occupancy vehicle) lane which was moving a little more quickly. But then I started thinking about the HOV rules. It says that you need to have at least 2 people in your vehicle. Now in our case we had 4 people in our vehicle so that seemed as if we qualified as HOV pretty clearly. However, then I started thinking about the vehicle we were pulling, which just happened to have zero people in it. Was that allowed? Come to think of it, a car traveling down the highway with no people in it must qualify as the antithesis of what HOV is all about. But it would have to be the ultimate in LOV, eh? Maybe I have hit upon something that is even more blatantly wasteful, and perhaps even more noticeable, than driving a Hummer? Once the word gets out, Hummer drivers everywhere will be scrambling to get tow car attachments so that they can drag around an empty car as well. Maybe a Jaguar or BMW. Wait a second, you could probably waste more natural resources than that and still be cool. Maybe they will start towing Escalades? Perhaps transport trucks will become the next fashion statement? They are mean looking machines, right? But I digress. Now where were we … oh yes, HOV lanes. So, after a little more thought I figured that with 4 people in total, we were AVERAGING 2 people per vehicle so that pretty much has us acting in the spirit, if not the letter, of the law, no?
We made it through Vancouver without any incidents with the local police and we found ourselves approaching the border. You know, I just don’t think my biorhythms were very high today. It starts off with me having to choose between two lanes which were both backed up about the same amount. Of course, I notice after a while that the other lane is moving more quickly. But with a 48-foot vehicle, you can’t just quickly swing into the faster lane. So there I sat wondering why our lane was so slow. That is, until I reached the point where they were letting all the people visiting the duty-free store to enter OUR lane. Nice, very nice. Then, when I finally approach the border crossing I am presented with three separate lanes to choose from. The one on the far right becomes available first but Chantal suggests waiting for one of the other two. I hesitated for a little while and then my impatience got the best of me and I progressed toward the far right lane. As I got closer I realized that I would need to make a fairly sharp left turn to line up with the border crossing booth. And then as I got even closer I realized that there was a border crossing official waving at me to stop. He told me that I was not going to make it between the two big concrete posts without scraping my motor home. I got out and looked and it seemed to me like I may be able to do it. You see, with the car hooked on the back I am not at liberty to back up so I would much prefer to try to make it through if at all possible as the alternative, backing up, would mean that I would have to un-hook the car … in the border crossing line-up! The border official just said, “It’s your motorhome …” so I jumped back in and got Chantal to direct me. I watched the mirror as the left side of the MoHo creeped closer and closer to the concrete post. Chantal had a rather pained and concerned look on her face as she slowly waved me forward, wheels heavily turned to the left. Then, as I could see less than two centimeters (1 inch) of space between the MoHo and the concrete post and more turning required, I finally succumbed to the reality that the border crossing official was right and I was sliding even further into a rather embarrassing contretemps. So I jumped out and started the process of un-hooking the Matrix while the people who have been waiting about 40 minutes to cross the border watched me, the guy who was blocking one of the lanes, waste even more of their time. Once the car was off, we got the MoHo lined up easily and got processed. Of course, as happened at our previous crossing into the US, we had to pull over to the side so they can check for beef (mad cow), chicken (bird flu), and fruit (???). I was prepared for the fridge to get raided by the border guys. What I was not expecting was the “rubber glove” treatment that the poor MoHo was subjected to this time around. We suspect that they must have been looking for drugs the way they went through every under-floor compartment and even took apart the dinette seats to search there as well. I probably should have expected this based on the funny looks on faces of the border officials when I told them I had 6-months off with no income. However, after all that, we finally made it into the good old US of A and we were now seriously on our way to our friends' place, Tracy and Tony’s in Seattle (Kirkland actually). Things were going well until we hit some traffic around Everett, Washington. We were kind of hungry at this point so we thought that we would be better off eating than waiting in traffic so we punched “Pizza Hut” into the GPS and the next thing we knew we are off the highway at the next exit and having dinner. You’ve gotta love the GPS.
When we finally showed up at Tracy and Tony’s place we find out that their street is on about a 45 degree angle downward. This is not the ideal situation when you are driving a MoHo with a car on the back. Good thing we just had the brakes fixed! The other issue is that we needed to unhook the car and that is something that you try to avoid doing on a hill, especially a steep hill. However, as you already know, I can’t back up so … I had no choice but to unhook the car on this hill, which made for some interesting entertainment for the neighbours I'm sure. We met Tracy and Tony’s two wonderful children, Erica who is 9, and Carter, who is 3. Carter is a real character. After a quick hello I was off to the rear of the MoHo to try to get the car unhooked. Carter was observing my actions for a minute or so while trying to unhook the car when this 3-year-old, who barely knows me, approaches me again and says, “Do you need a hand?” Very observant child. We got the car unhooked successfully and the MoHo slotted away in their backyard, which was another 45-degree angle drive down there. But once I got a chance to look at their absolutely magnificent home, which has a panoramic view of Lake Washington, the mountains, and the city of Seattle, I understood the need for the rather steep inclines to their place. You don’t get views like that on the prairies. And one of the highlights of their new home is located in their backyard. It is called: Tony’s garage. Tony is a car lover too so we spent the rest of the evening checking out a few decades worth of some very interesting German cars that populated this dream garage. As if the cars weren’t enough, this garage was also outfitted with a killer stereo system and even a full-sized fridge filled with cold beer. Very nicely done, Tony.



(Here is a photo of their home from the water. Look for the distinctive orangish-beige coloured place in the top right corner. The part you can see is the top floor which is curved with windows all around to provide a panoramic view over Lake Washington. ALSO NOTE: All the other scenic photos above were taken from Tracy and Tony's place!)

Today’s word:

contretemps \KAHN-truh-tahn\, noun;plural contretemps \-tahnz\:
An inopportune or embarrassing situation or event; a hitch.