#29 Mar 2014 Home Again!

March 12th after the upgrade at Henderson’s and a good nights sleep we were on the road again. Ralph felt more relaxed and comfortable with the handling and steering of the RV.

We drove through Portland OR in the rain and finally caught a glimpse of Mount Hood.

We stopped in Silverton, east of Salem OR for the night. Spring was well on the way with daffodils and magnolias bursting with color.

A beautiful sunset highlighted the magnolias and the moon rising.

We decided to stay in Silverton and relax before getting back to Surrey and starting our “to do” list. We checked out additional water filters for the RV at Camping World and Wal-Mart. We have been told by several people to go to Camping World for information but check Wal-Mart for prices. We have been pleasantly surprised by the scope of camping gear in Wal-Mart and yes the same filter was considerably less expensive.

Our last US stop was in Mount Vernon WA. We entered the details for Mount Vernon RV Park into the GPS and wiggled our way into town. The directions puzzled Ralph because he had been to this park in November and it was out in the forest next to a casino. There are two parks with the same name within 10 miles! Does that make any sense? Not to us. We found the correct one down the highway and setup after dark in the rain.

In the morning we had a good breakfast at the casino and filled the gas tank in the RV. We will have to face Canadian prices in the near future.

Sunday, March 16th we crossed the border quickly and effortlessly and headed for Peace Arch RV Park in South Surrey. We spent the next week re-connecting with family and friends, adjusting to cool, wet weather, activating our cell phone, etc.

Vancouver hosted the TED conference March 17th to 22nd. The conference featured world-class speakers who think outside the box and look to the future. This 30th anniversary event was held in Vancouver, the first time outside of California. Speakers ranged from

Chris Hadfield, astronaut

to Edward Snowdon, whistleblower (via telelink)

to Larry Page, CEO of Google

to Avi Reichental, 3D printer

The conference cost $75,000 for the week but many speeches are available on the TED website – free is much more affordable.

An interactive community artwork named “Unnumbered Sparks” was a special show during the conference. This net was suspended near the convention centre and illuminated from below. Using their smartphones, viewers were able to request the circles and squiggles, etc. on the exhibit. Many people were fascinated by the display with cameras and smartphones clicking furiously as the view shifted.