Day 1: The Gypsy Wagon Rides Again

What a delight to be on the road again.  I busted the boys out of school at lunch time and we hit the happy highway.  We did not get too far though as we stopped at Wendy's in West Kelowna to have lunch with Micha (Papa) before really getting underway. 

Vancouver is experiencing heavy wind, rain and power outages.  The Okanagan is getting off lucky so far with just some heavy winds.  That made for a jiggly trip south as we drove head on into the blast.

One reason for choosing the route straight south, and crossing the border near Osoyoos, was to avoid the high mountain passes of the Coquihalla and to experience short lines at the border.  Well, we did good!  Not a car in sight.  The friendly agent USA customs agent suggested that we should consider a day at Universal Studios as he asked about what culinary delights might be lurking in my trailer. No lamb, no goat, we are good to go.  All we had to do was pull ahead allowing another agent to do a quick walk through - no fuss no muss. . . except for when Dominic came bouncing out of the back seat of the truck with an epic nose bleed.  Nice distraction technique, Domo!

Our first order of business in Omak was gas for Mr. Thirsty - the first fill-up of many.  At $2.04/ US gallon the pain is not so great.

Next, we pulled into Walmart where Dominic purchased a tub of Cheese Balls.  Last year he only got to take a picture of it.  He is currently figuring out how many he can eat each day to make it last the entire trip. He has suggested that he should sleep with the tub at the far end of his bunk in case Mama is feeling snacky.  "If you have one, Mama, you won't be able to resist!"  Ah, he is always looking out for me. Little does he know that I stashed a bag of those Costco chocolate-covered-acai-berry-chewy-candies of wonder in the drawer beside my bed.

We are now happily situated at the Stampede grounds RV park in Omak, Washington.  Power, water, and solid wifi.  What more could you want?

My frozen, pre-cooked home made hamburgers are already a success. 1 minute in the microwave and dinner is served.

We are 'in for the night' at the close of Day 1.

It's a good day for a road trip. 

Driving south along Lake Okanagan. 

Walmart is a source of wonder.   Hot dog slicer anyone?

Getting close to our classy digs at the Omak Stampede grounds.
Water, power, wifi and very limited highway noise. It's a keeper.

We went for a short walk in the fading light up on the dyke behind the campground.
Dominic excitedly told us about the Suicide Race where people race down the slope on horses.
How does he know these things?