June 21, part II: ferry from Anacortes WA to Sydney, Canada, on Vancouer Island
Goldstream Provincial Park. That was our destination on Vancouver Island. Caught the ferry... no problem. Two hours and 45 minutes later, we drove the FED off the ferry in Sydney (city on Vancouver Island in British Columbia) and had an encounter with Canada customs officials.
As we talked with the customs officers at the gate, everything was cool until we 'honestly' told them that we had 'apples' and 'wood' on the FED.
"Pull over there," said the man with a flak jacket.
So we did and I opened the back doors and showed him my small bundle of seasoned almond wood from the Central Valley of California.
"Parasites," he said, "can't have it contaminating Canada."
And the apples? They were from another country too. So... wood, apples, and a search of the FED's interior compartments allowed us to continue on our Pacific Northwest adventure.
Almond wood? I had hoped to burn it symbolically at Pacific Rim National Park. Apples? Tasty from New Zealand. Apples from Canada? We'll see...