It was May 31, 2011, that we flew from San Francisco to San Jose, CR, via Dallas. We left Vancouver, B.C., on May 27th, riding the rails on Amtrak's Cascades and Coast Starlight trains. This is a train trip well worth doing.
Our cat Genny was shipped from her vet, Cats at Home, in Cloverdale, B.C., flying from Vancouver to Houston, TX, where she overnighted in feline luxury, and completed her voyage the next morning, flying to San Jose, then being met there and delivered to Veteinarios Asociados in Santa Ana, where she boarded until we picked her up once we finished our business in San Jose and moved to Atenas. Many, many thanks to Angela and her wonderful crew at World Pet Travel for taking such good care of Genny. And thank you wonderful people at Cats at Home for preparing Genny for her trip. Also thanks to the staff at Veteinarios Asociados for caring for Genny after her arrival. She has adapted and settled into her new home and country very well.
What do we think of our new home? It is everything we thought it would be - Costa Rica is a beautiful country - and we have barely scratched the surface. We found a lovely home to live in for the next year; we explored San Jose for a week and it's such an interesting city, very historic. We are learning our way around on the buses - cheap transportation and a great way to meet the locals and do what they do. We are enjoying the town of Atenas, meeting our great neighbors, eating at the sodas, trying to speak Spanish, the weather is amazing, so is the bird, plant and animal life .......
To sum up, we are very happy with our decision to try a new life in Costa Rica.
Oh yes, a big thank you to all the expats who have helped us on this journey - you know who you are and we won't forget you.
Showing posts with label 604 Vancouver Storage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 604 Vancouver Storage. Show all posts
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
Day One of Our New Life
Friday, May 27th - here we are in Seattle at the www.hotelmaxseattle.com, a very nice place to stay. We had dinner in their restaurant www.redfinsushi.com - great food, service and martinis.
Enjoyed the Amtrak Cascades from Vancouver to Seattle this morning. We stayed overnight in Vancouver on Thursday so we could get to the train station at the early hour of 5:00 a.m. Our good friend Jon Churchill was kind enough to come over on the ferry from Victoria to Vancouver to drive us and all our baggage from our house in Cloverdale, to the hotel in Vancouver, and then to the train station. It was very generous of him to offer to help us and we had a great evening together noshing and yakking. Thank you once more, Jon.
Speaking of baggage, we realized our two biggest suitcases were just too big and too heavy, even unpacked. So this afternoon, we went baggage shopping and bought two smaller versions which are much lighter and yet still hold the same amount of clothing as the big ones. The hotel very kindly disposed of our old luggage pieces.
Jon gave us a good idea to keep track of luggage - number each piece and do a count before leaving your hotel, or picking them up at the carousel. We have way more bags than we normally would and I'm finding it hard to find stuff I need.
Here are some photos from our nosh and dinner with Jon, a few views from the Cascades train, and Seattle. It was raining in Vancouver when we left but Seattle was sunny and warm with a good breeze.
Lance and Jon
View from our Vancouver hotel - North Shore mountains.
Leaving for the train station - 5:00 a.m.
VIA and Amtrak train station.
Approaching White Rock, B.C., where we cleared Customs into the U.S.A.
View from our Seattle hotel.
A beautiful day in the Emerald City.
After the policeman's horse had his shoes repaired, he wanted something from Pamela's Fine Foods.
Enjoyed the Amtrak Cascades from Vancouver to Seattle this morning. We stayed overnight in Vancouver on Thursday so we could get to the train station at the early hour of 5:00 a.m. Our good friend Jon Churchill was kind enough to come over on the ferry from Victoria to Vancouver to drive us and all our baggage from our house in Cloverdale, to the hotel in Vancouver, and then to the train station. It was very generous of him to offer to help us and we had a great evening together noshing and yakking. Thank you once more, Jon.
Speaking of baggage, we realized our two biggest suitcases were just too big and too heavy, even unpacked. So this afternoon, we went baggage shopping and bought two smaller versions which are much lighter and yet still hold the same amount of clothing as the big ones. The hotel very kindly disposed of our old luggage pieces.
Jon gave us a good idea to keep track of luggage - number each piece and do a count before leaving your hotel, or picking them up at the carousel. We have way more bags than we normally would and I'm finding it hard to find stuff I need.
Here are some photos from our nosh and dinner with Jon, a few views from the Cascades train, and Seattle. It was raining in Vancouver when we left but Seattle was sunny and warm with a good breeze.
Lance and Jon
View from our Vancouver hotel - North Shore mountains.
Leaving for the train station - 5:00 a.m.
VIA and Amtrak train station.
Approaching White Rock, B.C., where we cleared Customs into the U.S.A.
View from our Seattle hotel.
A beautiful day in the Emerald City.
After the policeman's horse had his shoes repaired, he wanted something from Pamela's Fine Foods.Thursday, May 26, 2011
Day One - Zero Day Tomorrow
Or maybe today is really "zero" day - after all, we are out of our house and staying at a hotel in Vancouver, ready to get up at 0400 tomorrow and board the Amtrak Cascades.
Assuming they let our luggage board, that is. I think everything is overweight and I can't find anything, seems a mess to me.
We're staying at the Howard Johnston on Kingsway and 12th 'cause it's close to the train station. We have a fabulous view of the north shore mountains. Some snow on the peaks and I think there is still skiing on Grouse Mountain.
I'll try and post the pictures I took today once we get to Seattle tomorrow and have a bit more time.
Genny went to her vet for boarding this morning. She has known something was up for the last two days. I believe her travel day is May 31st, Vancouver to Houston. She overnights there at a pet hotel, then onward to San Jose the next morning. Smooth flights, Genny, and we'll see you soon.
Assuming they let our luggage board, that is. I think everything is overweight and I can't find anything, seems a mess to me.
We're staying at the Howard Johnston on Kingsway and 12th 'cause it's close to the train station. We have a fabulous view of the north shore mountains. Some snow on the peaks and I think there is still skiing on Grouse Mountain.
I'll try and post the pictures I took today once we get to Seattle tomorrow and have a bit more time.
Genny went to her vet for boarding this morning. She has known something was up for the last two days. I believe her travel day is May 31st, Vancouver to Houston. She overnights there at a pet hotel, then onward to San Jose the next morning. Smooth flights, Genny, and we'll see you soon.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Nine Days To Go - Part II
604 Vancouver Storage arrived not long after the shredding truck left. Our storage bin was carried inside a moving truck, which was backed up to our garage and the loading began.
Thank goodness for Juan - there were a couple of very heavy items that we could never have managed to get up the ramp and into the bin. Juan is from Mexico and has only positive things to say about Costa Rica. He has some friends who live there. He says the Ticos are so nice and I've heard that time and again.
Once again, everything moved pretty fast and without any problems. Our bin will be stored at a facility in Richmond, B.C., until we want to ship it. The next time we see our stuff will be in Costa Rica.
Juan - is he a hunk or what?
Almost finished.
Adios 114.
Thank goodness for Juan - there were a couple of very heavy items that we could never have managed to get up the ramp and into the bin. Juan is from Mexico and has only positive things to say about Costa Rica. He has some friends who live there. He says the Ticos are so nice and I've heard that time and again.
Once again, everything moved pretty fast and without any problems. Our bin will be stored at a facility in Richmond, B.C., until we want to ship it. The next time we see our stuff will be in Costa Rica.
Lance
Juan - is he a hunk or what? 
Almost finished.
Adios 114.Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Check List
Done:
- Amtrak Cascades reservations made
- Hotel in Seattle reservations made
- Amtrak Coast Starlight reservations made
- Hotel in San Francisco reservations made
- Flight reservations San Francisco to San Jose, Costa Rica, made
- Our house has new tenants
- Only a couple more plastic bins to fill up - once I put the few cooking utensils that I want to keep in storage, guess we'll be heating frozen food in the microwave. Oh wait, the microwave is going into storage too. Well, there's still the oven and restaurants.
- Genny's travel to be finalized.
- Need a hotel in Vancouver for a couple of nights.
- Need a rental car for a couple of days.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Storage Problem Solved
Well, after all the excitement of Tuffy going to his new home (I still think of him as a "her"), we had to put our minds to another pressing problem - that being "where to store the items we aren't taking with us until we are ready to have them shipped"?
I found the perfect solution by following the link on an ad that kept popping up on Facebook:
604 Storage Inc.
Not only do they deliver a large storage container to our very door, they will help us load it, then take the whole thing away and store it for us in Richmond, B.C.
There's more! When we're ready to have it shipped to Costa Rica, the whole container can be shipped! In fact, there was already one other customer in the warehouse who is doing the same thing as we are. We won't have to trek back to Vancouver from Costa Rica in a year or whenever to deal with this. Whatever shipping company we decide to use will just pick it up.
And more! Their prices are excellent. The container is being dropped off on May 18th. Yikes, I need more storage bins .....
I found the perfect solution by following the link on an ad that kept popping up on Facebook:
604 Storage Inc.
Not only do they deliver a large storage container to our very door, they will help us load it, then take the whole thing away and store it for us in Richmond, B.C.
There's more! When we're ready to have it shipped to Costa Rica, the whole container can be shipped! In fact, there was already one other customer in the warehouse who is doing the same thing as we are. We won't have to trek back to Vancouver from Costa Rica in a year or whenever to deal with this. Whatever shipping company we decide to use will just pick it up.
And more! Their prices are excellent. The container is being dropped off on May 18th. Yikes, I need more storage bins .....
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