May 27, 2015. A Day at the Mercedes Dealership.

 

May 27, 2015.  The title to this page pretty much describes the day.  We arrived at the dealership at 8:45 this morning and left at 3:30 this afternoon.  I spent time handling email, talking to the office and buying a new camera online.  Just before noon, the service manager suggested we go to a nearby diner for lunch. We were preparing to do that when another customer, one long of tooth, wearing overalls and sporting a farmers' co-op cap, said, "Don't go there.  Go to Earl's Cafe.  It is closer and the food is top notch.  We eat there all the time."

"Oh, is that right?  So, what does Earl serve?" I asked.

"Why, they have everything there.  You name it, Earl has it.  I like the Caesar salad.  One of those fills me up the rest of the day."

"Well, thanks," I said.  "We give Earl a try."

So, spurning the recommendation of the service manager, we set off in search of Earl's.  It was described as "just down the street" between Wendy's and Tim Horton's.  Across a Mitsubishi car lot, through a busy intersection, down an asphalt sidewalk, we trekked.  We found Wendy's and Tim Horton's but Earl wasn't in between them.  A little further away was Earl's.  We noticed the parking lot was not exactly jammed with cars.  We also noticed the front door was propped open with a two-by-four.  Earl wasn't serving anything today.  Earl was closed for remodeling.  I am not sure what the old-timer meant when he said they "eat there all the time".   It appeared that Earl had been shut down for a lot of the recent time.

So, we ate at Wendy's.

After T-Harvey was repaired - we hope - we stopped by the grocery store near the campground.  A shot of the conveyor belt may suggest to you that we are enjoying ourselves.  Overeating is one of the few vices I have left.  I sure do hate to give that one up; especially on a road trip.

We say goodbye to the Living Forest Oceanside Campground in the morning.  It has been our home for the last eight days.  On to the United States tomorrow. We'll catch the 7:45 ferry and meet up with Barb for a mid-morning brunch. We aren't sure where we'll spend tomorrow night.  We do know that we will explore the Pacific Coast in northern Oregon and we will do that soon.  I'll know more tomorrow night.

So, goodbye Nanaimo and goodbye Vancouver Island.  Hello USA.