Cars and final preparations:

When we first got married, Mrs Skoot had a Datsun 411 purchased new in 1967 . It took us everywhere, even north to Prince George and back and forth to the West coast to Kitimat and Terrace, BC . At that time she worked for the Attorney General's department based in Prince George. It ran so well that I ended up purchasing a new 1970 Datsun 510 which had a grill, sort of like this . . .



At that time I had a job where I had to visit customers in their homes and the company did not want me to have a sporty car so I had to trade in my '67 Mustang Convertible for this 4 door econobox . There was a show & shine hosted by the local 510 club so I had to go . I was hoping to see another car similar to the one we sold many years ago. This is the same colour as the one we had but ours was a 4 door sedan



When we were young one of the things you could do for entertainment was to just keep driving everywhere and that we did. We even drove our Datsun 510 to California for a vacation. We knew nothing about air-conditioning back in 1970 and when we reached Redding, CA it was 117F on the thermometer. We eventually reached Berkeley where we stayed with my Sister-in-law and drove into San Francisco every day to sightsee and walk about. So every day we rode back and forth on the Bay Bridge with the rush hour, up and down the steep hills of SF and drove many times down Lombard Street and all the time feathering the clutch and shifting gears.

We had great memories of that vehicle and thus it was nostalgic to talk to these current owners about their cars . We had a friend who had a Datson 1600 Fairlady sports car



The one on the left is a Datsun 2000. The 1600 is the one on the right . I have always admired these cars but there are few around now. I think rust has taken its toll and I would imagine that parts are a concern.

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Things seem to be winding down for the season. I found out that it was the last weekend of the Summernightmarket.com in Richmond, so we had to go. Heavy rain was forecast so we went early. I was looking for a backpack for my big adventure. We are leaving in 4 days and the one I had did not have enough padding for protecting my new Acer netbook. When we arrived we heard the sound of drums



So far so good but soon it started to sprinkle (ie = spitting rain) .



Customers started to huddle under the canopies and many vendors started to put plastic over their merchandise. I have found in previous years that the last weekend of the "market" is the best time to find deals as they would prefer to "cash out" rather than store their stuff until next season, which would be next May. There were discounts to be had; 3 T-shirts for $10. , or my new backpack for $18. (instead of $50.)

Soon it started to rain much harder so we decided to call it a night and head for home



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In less than 4 days we are leaving for Vacation and Jack "r" let the cat out of the bag on a recent comment. I was trying to keep you all in suspense. I have never before been "off the continent" , that is if you don't count Vancouver Island, or Hawai'i which technically is separated from the land mass of North America by water.

I also have a dislike for anything to do with needles, but I had to have a couple of shots for Hepatitis A&B. I hear there are sanitary issues with where we are going so it is better to be safe than sorry, and I suppose a needle now will spare much agony later if things don't go well. My arm is still hurting from the first shot and I get the second shot on Friday. A further booster shot will be administered in 6 months which will be effective for up to 20 years.

We were also recommended to take an oral vaccine Dukoral for intestinal problems and Cholera



This package must be kept refrigerated and it is activated by mixing the two parts in 150 ml of liquid and taken immediately. The second dose is taken one week later



The powder in the pouch is mixed in the 150 ml of water. The small vial has to be violently shaken, then added to the liquid and then you drink as soon as possible. This gives you 6 months of prevention. I have a sensitive stomach so purchasing this is a no brainer. You need a prescription from your Doctor and the pharmacy will ask you to hand over $75.



Sanitary conditions should not be taken for granted even in 5 star hotels and our Doctor told us to stay away from street vendors, or any beverages with ice or shaved ice. She (Doctor) also said to stay away from salads or anything that has been washed in their water and consider drinking canned pop instead of bottled water. It would appear that we are not going to be making healthy choices during the next couple of weeks.

Electricity is also a concern as in North America we have 110v 60 cycle power. There we will have to deal with 240v 50 cycle current. I checked all of my chargers and luckily they are worldwide voltage and will autodetect for the correct voltage. We merely require adapters and NOT converting transformers



In an effort to keep things simple I am not bringing my Camcorder, nor my electric shaver or sonicare toothbrush. I purchased battery powered models for this trip. I will use the video mode of my Lumix ZS3 or T2i as a compromise to travel as light as possible but I could not deal with my photos without a netbook to transfer files from my SD cards to portable Hard Drive. I am also bringing my portable DVD writer to backup to DVD. I am only bringing two lenses for my Canon T2i along with a small 270ex flash which also works with my Canon G10. I am also bringing my small Manfrotto tripod which will fit inside my backpack.

During my recent trip to Bend, OR I learned a few things about travelling light. I know I am going to run out of clean clothes but I am prepared to throw stuff away and purchase new, if necessary. In an effort to appear Canadian we are going to wear Canadian Flag pins, I also purchased some new T-shirts with Vancouver logos on them as well as my Haida T-shirt, which are only available on Haida Gwai'i.


(checking out my money belt)

We were told to purchase some local currency before we arrive as Credit Cards are only accepted in the larger stores. So the countdown has started and we are looking forward to cultural shock.

We do not speak the language, we do not know the value of money where we are going and probably would not be able to read the signs, unless they are in English. I do not know whether we will be able to access the Internet, but if I can you can be sure of a photo or two along the way.



In a few days we should be standing on the Great Wall of China . . . I'll be the one waving at you