Muchacho Polaco

On Aug. 6th, Yunuen and I flew up to Seattle on our way to spend a week sailing with my uncle in British Columbia. My sister picked us up from the airport when we arrived and we were able to spend the night at her place in Woodinville before heading north. We had purchased train tickets to get to BC; but unfortunately the train was delayed Saturday morning so we decided to hop on a bus.

We arrived in Vancouver Saturday afternoon and took a cab to our hotel on Burrard Street downtown. We immediately went out in search for sustenance as we hadn’t eaten all day. We found a nice little sushi place and were surprised to find how much cheaper it was than in Tucson. Understandably the sea food is more readily available, but [1] it is Vancouver, and [2] a full meal was under $10.

We spent most of the day shopping on Robson. It was fun to see stores that I frequented in younger years. As has been customary on trips to certain cities, we stopped at Zara and I bought some shirts. Yun and I both love Zara.
We ended the night having dinner at a really nice Thai restaurant on Burrard called Sala Thai. It was by far the best Thai food we’ve ever had (at least, outside of Thailand).

We slept in on Sunday and then my uncle picked us up at our hotel around noon and we made our way back to his boat. He lives on his sailboat docked in False Creek, near Granville Market and in the heart of the city. After our tour of the marina, we began making preparations for our trip, which included a walk to the market to shop for some fresh food.
We departed False Creek on Monday and made our way to Georgia Strait where we would cross on our way to the Gulf Islands. It was neat cruising through the city by boat with some incredible views.

Traveling by sailboat is pretty slow, fortunately, neither one of us got sick. We had wrist bands and plenty of drugs just in case. It took us over five hours just to cross the strait. We then made our way through some islands and found a serene little cove to anchor for the night. It was nearly sunset when we arrived. We made steaks for dinner and had plenty of wine!

Sleeping on the boat is a different experience. And by different, I mean mostly uncomfortable. After time we did get used to it. In the morning we headed to Mayne Island where I spent many a summer at my grandparents home. We anchored in Cambell Bay for the evening, had a nice dinner, and then Yun and I went kayaking for a few hours.

We set out a crab trap upon our arrival and were mostly optimistic that we would have crab for dinner. That unfortunately didn’t happen. Instead,  we had turkey and vegetables on the grill. After dinner, Yun and I were relaxing at the back of the boat. It was completely dark when I spotted some lights off the bow under the water. The light was moving, which seemed odd. Dennis got out his spot light which was enough to light up the entire bay. This caused the light under water to go out. Shortly after the light was directly under the boat. It was quite bright and if it weren’t for Dennis’ explanation, Yun and I would have thought there was a mother ship somewhere overhead.

Apparently the light was caused by bioluminescent plankton that was being stirred up by schools of salmon. This is why the light appeared to be moving under water. It was an incredible experience and something we will likely never see again.

We came back to Vancouver on Thursday evening. Friday was spent touring more of Vancouver and I was able to show Yun some places from my youth – such as the drill hall on Beatty Street where I went every week as a cadet.

We returned to Seattle early Saturday morning by bus. Kim picked us up at the station and we spent the day with her and my nephews. My last remaining grandmother was there too and so we were able to spend time with her. We spent a good portion of the day touring local wineries and tasting various Columbia Valley wines.

Yun and I enjoyed this trip a great deal. It’s too bad we don’t get up to the NW as frequently as we would like to, but perhaps that will change in the years to come.