Liters and Meters and KPH Oh My!

If you have been following us, I suspect you are probably still trying to digest the trade we made, but let me just say we get happier every day. We have been completing little projects to personalize it which makes it really feel like home. Some new rugs, pictures on the walls, new towels and so on  We just could not be happier. 

So we are smaller now but in my twisted vision of reality I was led to ponder just how much space we were actually living in. What is our real footprint on the planet? 

To determine that I suggested the most accurate method of determining the actual volume of the RV would be to close all the windows and open the skylight. Climb onto the roof and fill the RV with water a gallon at a time until full. 

That would give us an exact measure including all the intricate nooks and crannies.

Unfortunately Cindy vetoed that approach 🤯 citing some lame concern about the warranty. So sticking to the principal of " happy wife, happy life 🥰", I decided to use measurements instead, but feel I have to add a disclaimer that the size referenced is approximate at best. 

Consider if you will that we are living in a total of  2112 cubic feet, or 1056 cubic feet each. (if you want that in cubic meters, I suggest Google).

But how to put that into proper perspective? Some quick research revealed that given this measurent we each have the space of 6.7 average commercial elevators.

That seems pretty doable.

Or how about 12.4 porta jons. That seems like a pretty expansive pool of the blue waters.

Perhaps what we might best be able.to visualize is that Cindy and I each get the equivalent interior space of 10.4 Volkswagen Beatles.

Considering all that has been done in the backseat of just one Beatle... But I digress. 

Suffice to say I feel like we have the space of a mansion

with only a 25' 8" footprint on the ground. How cool is that!

As for Canada we are really loving it... Except for the prices that is. I am just going to come out and say it, no Canadian should ever complain about the exchange rate when in the US. The cost of everyday goods here is far higher than the exchange rate difference, that is at least for food and fuel which are staples you purchase everyday. 

For example, we like chicken breasts on the grill. In the US we were paying about $6 for a package. Same approximate size package here is $10 plus. 

Fuel is cool in that diesel is quite a bit cheaper than gasoline, but still we are seeing an average of $1.39 a liter (that is a bit over $ 5.39 a gallon). Given the pic below from a news story on Canada fuel prices, I guess what we are sering is actually pretty good for Canada prices.

Another eye opener is that the speed limits here seem to be slower than the US on average, yet it also seems few adhere to them.

For example, most of the final 15 KM to the park we are in is 50 KPH (or about 31 mph). In TX this road would be 60 MPH at least.

Twice I have been doing between 55 and 60 KPH along this stretch and been honked at, and one time a guy gunned his car and did a burn out to get around me.  I thought perhaps I was in an area of MPH speed limits, but the signs clearly say "Maximum 50 KPH".

Obviously my experience here is limited, but it seems many or even most are in a hurry, and not happy when I do the posted speed. 

On the flip side we have met some incredibly friendly people and have been enjoying the BC fruit harvest. We are eating fresh blueberries, strawberries and cherries about as fast as we can get them, and all are from little roadside farm stands where we can see the people actually picking them in the fields. Incredible! The picture above is an strawberry desert Cindy made. Yum!

The weather has been mostly in the 70s during the day, but very sunny and quite warm. At night we sleep with the windows open and it gets into the 50s.  Nice!

But I have to say, given the temps, I am amazed to see the unheated pool full of people and the local Cultus Lake Water park full. Cindy and I are dressed in layers, with a coat most of time and feeling pretty wimpy. The locals are certainly a hardy bunch. 

We are having a great time and really enjoying BC. This is the Canada Day long weekend so we plan to lay low and stay away from the tourist areas. Next week we will be back on the trails around this beautiful area, trying to avoid becoming bear vittels 😬

Until the next installment, stay safe and thanks for reading!