The "short" way home

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So, it's the end of August and we feel as if summer has finally arrived. Me being cooped up in an office for most of June and July and then we headed north - we hadn't been able to bask in the sunshine very much - until yesterday. BC's wine country was warm and sunny and we even managed a little beach and swimming time in Penticton. Okanagan was awesome and we would very much like to return. How can we resist a warm and sunny area of Canada. But alas, our time in the valley was far too short and after just one day we headed to the road to drive into the night to Spokane Washington.

We have decided to forgo the original plan of driving home through a new route in Canada - to see more of Canada - and go the path of least resistance with a few stops along the way in the U.S. - the planned stops are Yellowstone National Park and Chicago - not bad eh?

The best thing happened yesterday - we got into the U.S. hassle free although the customs guard made some crack about "how can you be a lawyer and not have 10thousand dollars cash on you, I don't believe it"...since we are scrapping various forms of credit to continue on this trip I almost lost it - but managed to keep my cool.

Then, after a great "U.S. style (read HUGE) pizza and salad" we were driving along around 10pm, minding our own business when we saw a lazer show in the middle of this small town in Washington. That's right a good ol' fashioned lazer show celebrating the greatness of america, the dam the town was built around and the mighty Columbia River!! It was fantasticly cheesy and we are glad we stopped. WE asked a local what this was all about, was there a fair or something in town. She said "honey, they do this for 40 min every night of the summer"... Hilarious. The show was complete with a soundtrack that was blasted through the entire town. Imagine the following in a deep male voice "The Columbia River - not the largest river in America, but surely the mightiest"..."The dam is a marvel of engineering"...and the final line "I am water, I am might, I am power".

After we were rolling along reminising about the lazer show we got pulled over by a Washington Cop. We have one headlight out and he was "worried" about us. He asked for our registration and I opened up the glove compartment to an avalanche of skittles, handcream and hairbrush... we finally found the registration and the nice officer let us off with a warning after 10 min of "checking Jesse's licence".

A fun time in Coulee Dam to be sure!

Now we are off to Yellowstone National Park, one last camping experience before we head back to the big city - and how can we resist seeing old faithful!

Hey Booboo, let me take a peek at your pic-a-nic basket.

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