Tuesday, August 17, 2010
On the Road Again (finally) part #10
Leaving today for the east. Starting off slow....getting a drive to Nanaimo and then tomorrow I will catch the ferry to Horsehoe Bay and then a bus to Whistler. It won't be until Thursday that I start to hitchhike. Just need to say thanks to all of my friends who shared time with me and to say how sad I am to be leaving these fair islands
On the Road Again (intermission # 8) Camping on Lake Cowinchin
(I need to at this time mention the BC definition of beach. When the locals say a "beach" they are not referring to a nice soft sandy beach that feels nice on the soles of your feet - but rather to an area that is strewn with large rocks or in the case of this beach sharp stones designed to cause some not so little pain as you tip-toe from your blanket to the shore and beyond. In fact many folks wear some sort of foot wear even while swimming.) A beach therefore is any stretch of land that allows you access to the water no mater how challenging that access is.)
The actual campground is in the middle of a very old forest . Perhaps 80-90 years much of the timber had been harvested. One can still see some of the stumps that were left behind. Remembered pictures of 6-7 lumberjacks standing on the stumps flashed through my mind. My son and I both agreed that even with a chain saw, it would be a daunting and dangerous task to take down one of these trees. It is not surprising that logging is still one of the most dangerous occupations.There were as well a couple of the old ones still standing including a cedar that was hollow in the middle - it was so huge you could climb inside it. The top had been blown off but it still look to be surprisingly healthy. The undergrowth was generally comprised of large ferns giving the area a general feeling of some primordial forest.
It was a grand spot to spend a few days. The first morning my son called to me as I was drinking my cup of tea. He led me to a herd of elk just a few hundred feet from our camp site. There was an adult female and four or five younger ones, including a male whose antlers were just starting to bud. He looked so proud of himself! The Elk could not have been more than 20-30 feet away from us, happily nibbling on the ferns and the low lying leaves. They were clearly aware of us, at least the adult was, but they were in no rush to finish browsing the green treats that were available. I wish I had brought my camera. For an easterner it was a very unique moment although my son says such a sight is fairly common on the island. The Elk herd on the Island are protected and so have not learned to be afraid of very much. Of course their size may have something to do with their lack of fear as well. The mature female was as big as a medium size pony.
There is a total fire ban in the province which meant that no one could have a campfire. Which is a pity, it would have been so nice to sit around a fire, but then if we had done that we could not have seen the meteorite shower. We pent part of the first night on the beach looking for the meteorites as they dashed across the sky. Because of the forest behind us, we only could see half of the sky,but we did see a few rather amazing shooting stars with extra long tails that lit up the sky for a brief moment in time.
I think I prefer camping near the ocean if only because the beaches, while still rough and sometimes hard to walk on, are more interesting. However the ocean campgrounds are less accessible and would make camping with a stroller more challenging. But this campsite with its easy access to the water and a surprising amount of privacy was perfect for our small family. And less than an hour from home!
Tuesday, August 10, 2010
On the Road Again (intermission #7) Leaving Salt Spring Island
It is always difficult to leave the island for the last time. Which is rather strange in that other than Sally and a few other friends, I know very few people and I really don't know the island at all. There are whole sections of the island I have never been to, and there are at least three lakes that people swim in that I have never even seen never mind swim in. So why is SSI so close to my heart?
Sally is of course one of the reasons. The amazing variety of friends that gather around her, their stories and their drama that are openly shared as people drop in. Some of the people bring gifts of food, flowers or finds from the thrift shop, some just literally drop in to say hi, give/get a hug and then leave, while others come with all of their baggage (literally and figuratively) and stay and stay.
Somehow in spite of all of the chaos, Sally and I remain constant in our relationship. There are days when we hardly speak because she is so busy in the garden or with people dropping in.But there are also days when we spend much of the time after she is up and about (seldom before 12:00) together, shopping and visiting at the Saturday market, working/chatting in the garden or on occasion arguing about politics and whose perception of the world is the right one. When we are teasing each other, I call her "boss" and she calls me "the professor". We bicker about taste in dishes and where things get put away (Sally is very specific). After hearing one of our exchanges, one of her workers asked "are you sure you two aren't married?" People assume that Sally and I are old friends. But we are not. We are just good friends. So I will miss her and her garden
The picture above is of her little "pond" made out of a bathtub which has been surrounded by rocks and plants. One of my "jobs" when I am around is to keep the little ceramic frog (left side of pond) which acts as a pump working. The sound of the running water is quite delightful, but the plastic tube gets plugged, the frog gets turned around (and thereby pumps all of the water out of the pond) or sometimes it just stops working. I fix it.
This picture to the left is of my favourite plant. Sally plants vegetable amongst her flowers (or perhaps it is the other way around) and occasionally she loses things. While watering the garden one evening I noticed this plant amongst her pole beans. I think it is a Dahlia - very dark leaves - almost black with quite remarkable orange flowers.
I spend hours in the garden watering it. The garden consumes Sally's money and her worker's time - it drives many of us who live there slightly crazy as Sally fixates on it, in fact obsesses on it. It controls when we eat (if they are planting, weeding or dead heading and it is warm - there will be no food until sundown) and what else happens around the house. But those of us who work in the garden do so at least in part so that we can be part of Sally's life and passion. The garden is a gift to all who visit it.
The other reason I will miss the island is just the island itself. It is beautiful. I love the trees, the hills, the winding roads, the ferry terminals, the extraordinary gardens and of course the Arbutus trees. It is a remarkable and magical place.
Sally is of course one of the reasons. The amazing variety of friends that gather around her, their stories and their drama that are openly shared as people drop in. Some of the people bring gifts of food, flowers or finds from the thrift shop, some just literally drop in to say hi, give/get a hug and then leave, while others come with all of their baggage (literally and figuratively) and stay and stay.
Somehow in spite of all of the chaos, Sally and I remain constant in our relationship. There are days when we hardly speak because she is so busy in the garden or with people dropping in.But there are also days when we spend much of the time after she is up and about (seldom before 12:00) together, shopping and visiting at the Saturday market, working/chatting in the garden or on occasion arguing about politics and whose perception of the world is the right one. When we are teasing each other, I call her "boss" and she calls me "the professor". We bicker about taste in dishes and where things get put away (Sally is very specific). After hearing one of our exchanges, one of her workers asked "are you sure you two aren't married?" People assume that Sally and I are old friends. But we are not. We are just good friends. So I will miss her and her garden
The picture above is of her little "pond" made out of a bathtub which has been surrounded by rocks and plants. One of my "jobs" when I am around is to keep the little ceramic frog (left side of pond) which acts as a pump working. The sound of the running water is quite delightful, but the plastic tube gets plugged, the frog gets turned around (and thereby pumps all of the water out of the pond) or sometimes it just stops working. I fix it.This picture to the left is of my favourite plant. Sally plants vegetable amongst her flowers (or perhaps it is the other way around) and occasionally she loses things. While watering the garden one evening I noticed this plant amongst her pole beans. I think it is a Dahlia - very dark leaves - almost black with quite remarkable orange flowers.
I spend hours in the garden watering it. The garden consumes Sally's money and her worker's time - it drives many of us who live there slightly crazy as Sally fixates on it, in fact obsesses on it. It controls when we eat (if they are planting, weeding or dead heading and it is warm - there will be no food until sundown) and what else happens around the house. But those of us who work in the garden do so at least in part so that we can be part of Sally's life and passion. The garden is a gift to all who visit it.
The other reason I will miss the island is just the island itself. It is beautiful. I love the trees, the hills, the winding roads, the ferry terminals, the extraordinary gardens and of course the Arbutus trees. It is a remarkable and magical place.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
On the Road Again (intermission # 6) Hiroshima Day
Yesterday was August 6. That is a significant date for two reasons. One, it was Hiroshima Day - a day when some people remember the devastation of the first atomic bomb. A small handful of people on Salt Spring Island remembed.
Yesterday afternoon about 15 people gathered in the Peace Park in Ganges for a brief ceremony. The Raging Grannies were there ( although one was missing. She had been a Japanese prisoner of war, and remembers cheering when the prisoners heard about the destruction of Hiroshima. It is not surprising that she would find Hiroshima Day a bit conflicting) plus perhaps 10 other people. The Grannies sang a few songs and then we went around the circle saying why we were here. I didn't have much to say - except to note the ages of the people present. With the exception of one young man in his early 20s (who was with his grandmother), I think I was the youngest.
I suppose we can't expect younger people to remember the second world war - it was 65 years ago - with any sense of passion or anger. But surly we, those of us of my generation, should have/ could have done a better job of telling them why war was wrong. It seems to me that somehow while people may complain about the war in Afghanistan or Bosnia or where ever, we have accepted that wars will exist. The debate appears to be more frequently about whether or not the war is justified as opposed to the fact that war is wrong.
Wars in the world will only stop when we the people say so. We can stop war by not participating, by not paying taxes or by not electing governments who want to go to war. But that is only half of the solution. We must also insure that the conditions that allow/encourage war to exist, are eradicated. One of the people at yesterday's little get together said that Canada was spending 17 billion dollars on new jets. 17 billion dollars is about the same amount that it would take to feed and educate all of the people in developing countries. One has to wonder if feeding and educating folks would not do more to limit war than than buying a few jets.
On a secondary note the Peace Park was in part created to recognize the contributions that people with Japanese heritage made to the development of Salt Spring Island. The irony is of course that all of those families were taken off of the island and sent to the interior during WWII. Most never returned.
The second reason why August 6 is significant is that it is my brother's birthday. Which goes to show that even on a date infamous in history - good things can happen.
Yesterday afternoon about 15 people gathered in the Peace Park in Ganges for a brief ceremony. The Raging Grannies were there ( although one was missing. She had been a Japanese prisoner of war, and remembers cheering when the prisoners heard about the destruction of Hiroshima. It is not surprising that she would find Hiroshima Day a bit conflicting) plus perhaps 10 other people. The Grannies sang a few songs and then we went around the circle saying why we were here. I didn't have much to say - except to note the ages of the people present. With the exception of one young man in his early 20s (who was with his grandmother), I think I was the youngest.
I suppose we can't expect younger people to remember the second world war - it was 65 years ago - with any sense of passion or anger. But surly we, those of us of my generation, should have/ could have done a better job of telling them why war was wrong. It seems to me that somehow while people may complain about the war in Afghanistan or Bosnia or where ever, we have accepted that wars will exist. The debate appears to be more frequently about whether or not the war is justified as opposed to the fact that war is wrong.
Wars in the world will only stop when we the people say so. We can stop war by not participating, by not paying taxes or by not electing governments who want to go to war. But that is only half of the solution. We must also insure that the conditions that allow/encourage war to exist, are eradicated. One of the people at yesterday's little get together said that Canada was spending 17 billion dollars on new jets. 17 billion dollars is about the same amount that it would take to feed and educate all of the people in developing countries. One has to wonder if feeding and educating folks would not do more to limit war than than buying a few jets.
On a secondary note the Peace Park was in part created to recognize the contributions that people with Japanese heritage made to the development of Salt Spring Island. The irony is of course that all of those families were taken off of the island and sent to the interior during WWII. Most never returned.
The second reason why August 6 is significant is that it is my brother's birthday. Which goes to show that even on a date infamous in history - good things can happen.
Friday, August 6, 2010
On the Road Again (reading notes # 1)
When I travel I usually bring a book or two. Thoreau's writings are always in my bag. His short essays Civil Disobedience and Life without Principle are always worth another read. On other trips I have brought with me the writings of Emerson or Walt Whitman. For this trip I brought for the first time Jean-Jacques Rousseau's The Social Contract and Discourses. Rousseau, who was Swiss originally, wrote this body of work just over 250 years ago. I have heard about it, and read articles that discussed it for most of my adult life. I have even discussed it in class ( inappropriately as it turns out). What a wonderful book!! I suspect that I will be reading it again and again for some time in the future.
It is on occasion clear, and quite wonderful. Far more often it is complicated, dense and a bit of a hard slog to get through it. I find myself re-reading the same passages again and again- not too sure what he was trying to say. I wonder sometimes whether or not I have lost some of my reading skills that I nurtured so very carefully just a few years ago. At the very least I am out of practice reading something so intellectual challenging.
But what I have manage to read and hopefully to understand is absolutely brilliant. I had no idea that Rousseau was to much of socialist. Quite before his time. While he approached the distribution of wealth from a different perspective than did Marx - he gets to the same point.We should only have what we need. To own more than that is unequal and unsustainable. Or at least that is what I think he was saying.
More on this in the future.
It is on occasion clear, and quite wonderful. Far more often it is complicated, dense and a bit of a hard slog to get through it. I find myself re-reading the same passages again and again- not too sure what he was trying to say. I wonder sometimes whether or not I have lost some of my reading skills that I nurtured so very carefully just a few years ago. At the very least I am out of practice reading something so intellectual challenging.
But what I have manage to read and hopefully to understand is absolutely brilliant. I had no idea that Rousseau was to much of socialist. Quite before his time. While he approached the distribution of wealth from a different perspective than did Marx - he gets to the same point.We should only have what we need. To own more than that is unequal and unsustainable. Or at least that is what I think he was saying.
More on this in the future.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
On the Road Again (intermission #5)
Let me tell you about a 12 hour period in Sally's house......
Last night (Friday) in her house, there were 2 people who rent rooms from Sally (one of whom has a lovely quiet dog), Sally's sister visiting for 3-4 days, a young mom with her 15 month old son who is staying here for a few weeks, a man who had a knee operation and is on crutches, Sally, Sally's dog and cat and of course me. Next door, but still on the same property, there is a young family living who had 3 young children as well as a dog and a cat. The dog and cat wander through Sally's garden and house. Occasionally the children do as well. It sounds like the house would be in constant turmoil, and on occasion it is, but most of the time it is surprisingly peaceful. To achieve this partial serenity requires lots of work, almost constant dish washing, and people putting things away in the right place. Not everybody contributes equally and sometimes it feels as if my hands will be permanently wrinkled.
We had a nice meal together with lots of friendly chatting. The highlights of the conversation were Sally and her sister talking about their childhood in Toronto and the various houses they had lived in throughout their lives.
Once the dishes were done and the house sort of organized, Sally started to paint and and Sally's sister and I went out and picked some plums by flashlight. (Why we did it then is a long story in itself). The evening was pleasant and fun.
By 11:30 I and the other gentleman were bedded on the floor, Sally's sister and one of the tenants were sharing a bed, and the mom and young son were sleeping in the spare room (the one that I usually get). At some point after the house was in bed, Sally's son and three year granddaughter arrived from Vancouver on the last ferry. There were of course no beds left. So they shared Sally's bed (something that she loves).
Needless to say in the morning the house was in chaos. There were 2 strollers blocking the big door that lead to the ramp, Sally's power chair was being recharged in the living room, there were 2 little kids running/crawling around and people were lining up to use the one bathroom. Sally's sister wisely hid in the room she was using and Sally was slowly going through her morning routines with her worker.
I had planned on finishing the deck and ramp today, but there were far too many people needing to use the sliding glass doors that lead out onto the deck. The thought of trying to get folks to stay away from that part of the deck for 4 hours while the paint dries was just too much work to consider doing any painting. I suspect it will be Tuesday before I can get to it. It is Saturday - which means market day on Salt Spring. Sally and I, along with anyone else who wants to, will gather at the market and visit with old friends and meet new ones.
I wonder who will appear today?
Just another day at Sally's!!!
Last night (Friday) in her house, there were 2 people who rent rooms from Sally (one of whom has a lovely quiet dog), Sally's sister visiting for 3-4 days, a young mom with her 15 month old son who is staying here for a few weeks, a man who had a knee operation and is on crutches, Sally, Sally's dog and cat and of course me. Next door, but still on the same property, there is a young family living who had 3 young children as well as a dog and a cat. The dog and cat wander through Sally's garden and house. Occasionally the children do as well. It sounds like the house would be in constant turmoil, and on occasion it is, but most of the time it is surprisingly peaceful. To achieve this partial serenity requires lots of work, almost constant dish washing, and people putting things away in the right place. Not everybody contributes equally and sometimes it feels as if my hands will be permanently wrinkled.
We had a nice meal together with lots of friendly chatting. The highlights of the conversation were Sally and her sister talking about their childhood in Toronto and the various houses they had lived in throughout their lives.
Once the dishes were done and the house sort of organized, Sally started to paint and and Sally's sister and I went out and picked some plums by flashlight. (Why we did it then is a long story in itself). The evening was pleasant and fun.
By 11:30 I and the other gentleman were bedded on the floor, Sally's sister and one of the tenants were sharing a bed, and the mom and young son were sleeping in the spare room (the one that I usually get). At some point after the house was in bed, Sally's son and three year granddaughter arrived from Vancouver on the last ferry. There were of course no beds left. So they shared Sally's bed (something that she loves).
Needless to say in the morning the house was in chaos. There were 2 strollers blocking the big door that lead to the ramp, Sally's power chair was being recharged in the living room, there were 2 little kids running/crawling around and people were lining up to use the one bathroom. Sally's sister wisely hid in the room she was using and Sally was slowly going through her morning routines with her worker.
I had planned on finishing the deck and ramp today, but there were far too many people needing to use the sliding glass doors that lead out onto the deck. The thought of trying to get folks to stay away from that part of the deck for 4 hours while the paint dries was just too much work to consider doing any painting. I suspect it will be Tuesday before I can get to it. It is Saturday - which means market day on Salt Spring. Sally and I, along with anyone else who wants to, will gather at the market and visit with old friends and meet new ones.
I wonder who will appear today?
Just another day at Sally's!!!
Monday, July 19, 2010
On the Road Again (finally) # 9
As soon as Adonis drove away, I looked at where I had been dropped of. Or more specifically I started to look around for a place to sleep - something I always do when it gets later on in the afternoon. I realized that I was in a semi arid part of the world - pretty near a desert in fact with not a blade of grass to rest my weary head upon. Actually - I wasn't that tired - I certainly had not worked hard this day, and it was still early. Perhaps my luck would hold. My goal was to get to a small town where I could eat something and get a shower. I could have aimed higher.
There were not a lot of cars on the entrance ramp, but that meant that each car or truck had lots of time to see me and to make a decision to stop without endangering themselves or others. I was not there anymore than 30-40 minutes when a vehicle did stop. Buddy - yes that was his name on his driver's licence (or at least so he said) was a clean cut, athletic man in his mid 20s driving a late 1990s Toyota 4X4. While it theoretically had some evolutionary connection to my previous ride, the vehicle was quite different. For a start it was clean and looked well maintained. Secondly and most importantly I heard no stories of wheels falling off nor did the car sway violently. It was a nice change. The back of the car and the back seat were consumed by large outside public performance type speakers. Buddy was off to a field party! A friend had forgotten the speakers so he was in a mad rush to get them to the party on time.
He was an interesting young man in part because he was an rather unique combination of of being a free spirit and having a great work ethic. He had some sort of electronics training and had work on cruise ships for a few year as part of the maintenance crew. It sounded like an interesting life in part because he was required at times to work very hard at fixing things he wasn't trained to fix and therefore having to rely on his ability to read the manuals and his natural intelligence.He now worked for a local contractor/property owner in Kelona. He clearly worked hard and from the number of calls on his cell phone, was a well liked individual.
We had talked for about 15-20 minutes about stuff when I finally got around to asking him where he was going. I frequently don't bother to ask this question as it is somewhat irrelevant - as long as they are staying on the main road, I will go as far as they are going. Heck sometimes I even get off the main road if it looks like an interesting ride. His answer to my question as to where he was going was " to the Island". Now this was great news as it meant that I had a ride to the coast and very likely a ride to the ferry terminal. I asked where exactly he was going and he replied "Just north of Duncan". I have had some great rides in the past 10 or so years - met some interesting folks, seem parts of Canada that normally most travellers don't get to see and generally have been well taken care of by people along the way. But never have I had a ride that took me within a few miles of my end destination. I was pretty excited to say the least.
Buddy's plan was to get to Horseshoe Bay for the 7:00 P.M. ferry to Nanaimo and then drive south to the party. It sounded like a great plan to me. I am sure that Vancouver is a great place, but quite frankly I have never found it so. Getting though Vancouver both going west and east seems to take me far too long. It has a great bus system and their elevated train system (Skytrain) is really quite wonderful BUT the system is not designed to travel from one end of the city to another quickly. Getting through Vancouver both coming and going is one of my least favourite parts of my trip.
Buddy had done a lot of hitchhiking in BC and had some suggestions about how to avoid Vancouver. On the way back, I will try them out.
Buddy had some music playing on his radio/mp3 player. He apologized for not being able to turn on the radio. He had just bought the truck and while he had installed a new radio - the antenna was broken. His choice of music would not have been my first choice. It was some sort of techno/electronic music.(for what it is worth- I am not too sure if the words techno/electronic and music should ever be used in the same sentence.) However as we drove along and Buddy talked about his music and why he liked it, I developed a greater appreciation for it, at least as music to dance to. Our discussion of music carried on throughout our trip, not all of the time, but every once in a while I would pass comment on a piece that was interesting, or he would talk about a particular section that was, in his mind good.
There was a lot of traffic on the road along with some construction so it was slow going as we got close to the ferry terminal. As a consequence we missed the 7:00 ferry and had to wait for the 9:00. I am not sure why we were not allowed on the 7:00 ferry - it didn't leave until 7:30. We had a beer and a burger and hung around the little town of Horseshoe Bay, a town that I suspect only exists because of the marina and the terminal. I don't often get the chance to eat a real meal and relax with my drivers. It was nice to be able to do so.
Buddy slept in the car on the ferry ride, I tried to sleep in one of the lounges. The chairs were not made for slouching and so I could not get to sleep. I did however watch a soccer game along with 10-12 other passengers.
By the time that we arrived in Nanaimo it was getting late. Buddy's directions were a bit sketchy but he thought he knew where he was going. At Chermanus he pulled over and said that this was his road. We quickly shook hands and I piled out. It was a dark and lonely corner. Normally in other years I would have looked for a corner in the deserted parking lot to curl up into and waited out the night. While I was only 30 minutes from Devin's house - it was near midnight and getting a ride was not an option. However this year I had a secret weapon. A cell phone!!! A device that I have avoided owning for years - I have never seen the need for one. But this one time, and hopefully this one time only, it was useful to have. I called my son, they came and got me. By 12:30 I was in their house.
It was my fastest trip across Canada ever. I had gotten good rides with nice folks, I hadn't been stuck anywhere for too long a time and I had eaten semi-regularly along the way. A good trip. Except it had felt as if I am not acclimatized to the west, that the trip had happened so fast, that I had not made my gradual adjustment to time zones and attitudes. Still no complaints at all - it was great to be on the west coast.
p.s. Buddy came back 10 minutes later and realized that he had made the wrong turnoff. He had needed to go another 10 minutes south. He asked if I wanted a ride - told him no - my ride was on his way. Buddy could not have gotten to his field party until after 12:00. What a long drive to got to a party!
There were not a lot of cars on the entrance ramp, but that meant that each car or truck had lots of time to see me and to make a decision to stop without endangering themselves or others. I was not there anymore than 30-40 minutes when a vehicle did stop. Buddy - yes that was his name on his driver's licence (or at least so he said) was a clean cut, athletic man in his mid 20s driving a late 1990s Toyota 4X4. While it theoretically had some evolutionary connection to my previous ride, the vehicle was quite different. For a start it was clean and looked well maintained. Secondly and most importantly I heard no stories of wheels falling off nor did the car sway violently. It was a nice change. The back of the car and the back seat were consumed by large outside public performance type speakers. Buddy was off to a field party! A friend had forgotten the speakers so he was in a mad rush to get them to the party on time.
He was an interesting young man in part because he was an rather unique combination of of being a free spirit and having a great work ethic. He had some sort of electronics training and had work on cruise ships for a few year as part of the maintenance crew. It sounded like an interesting life in part because he was required at times to work very hard at fixing things he wasn't trained to fix and therefore having to rely on his ability to read the manuals and his natural intelligence.He now worked for a local contractor/property owner in Kelona. He clearly worked hard and from the number of calls on his cell phone, was a well liked individual.
We had talked for about 15-20 minutes about stuff when I finally got around to asking him where he was going. I frequently don't bother to ask this question as it is somewhat irrelevant - as long as they are staying on the main road, I will go as far as they are going. Heck sometimes I even get off the main road if it looks like an interesting ride. His answer to my question as to where he was going was " to the Island". Now this was great news as it meant that I had a ride to the coast and very likely a ride to the ferry terminal. I asked where exactly he was going and he replied "Just north of Duncan". I have had some great rides in the past 10 or so years - met some interesting folks, seem parts of Canada that normally most travellers don't get to see and generally have been well taken care of by people along the way. But never have I had a ride that took me within a few miles of my end destination. I was pretty excited to say the least.
Buddy's plan was to get to Horseshoe Bay for the 7:00 P.M. ferry to Nanaimo and then drive south to the party. It sounded like a great plan to me. I am sure that Vancouver is a great place, but quite frankly I have never found it so. Getting though Vancouver both going west and east seems to take me far too long. It has a great bus system and their elevated train system (Skytrain) is really quite wonderful BUT the system is not designed to travel from one end of the city to another quickly. Getting through Vancouver both coming and going is one of my least favourite parts of my trip.
Buddy had done a lot of hitchhiking in BC and had some suggestions about how to avoid Vancouver. On the way back, I will try them out.
Buddy had some music playing on his radio/mp3 player. He apologized for not being able to turn on the radio. He had just bought the truck and while he had installed a new radio - the antenna was broken. His choice of music would not have been my first choice. It was some sort of techno/electronic music.(for what it is worth- I am not too sure if the words techno/electronic and music should ever be used in the same sentence.) However as we drove along and Buddy talked about his music and why he liked it, I developed a greater appreciation for it, at least as music to dance to. Our discussion of music carried on throughout our trip, not all of the time, but every once in a while I would pass comment on a piece that was interesting, or he would talk about a particular section that was, in his mind good.
There was a lot of traffic on the road along with some construction so it was slow going as we got close to the ferry terminal. As a consequence we missed the 7:00 ferry and had to wait for the 9:00. I am not sure why we were not allowed on the 7:00 ferry - it didn't leave until 7:30. We had a beer and a burger and hung around the little town of Horseshoe Bay, a town that I suspect only exists because of the marina and the terminal. I don't often get the chance to eat a real meal and relax with my drivers. It was nice to be able to do so.
Buddy slept in the car on the ferry ride, I tried to sleep in one of the lounges. The chairs were not made for slouching and so I could not get to sleep. I did however watch a soccer game along with 10-12 other passengers.
By the time that we arrived in Nanaimo it was getting late. Buddy's directions were a bit sketchy but he thought he knew where he was going. At Chermanus he pulled over and said that this was his road. We quickly shook hands and I piled out. It was a dark and lonely corner. Normally in other years I would have looked for a corner in the deserted parking lot to curl up into and waited out the night. While I was only 30 minutes from Devin's house - it was near midnight and getting a ride was not an option. However this year I had a secret weapon. A cell phone!!! A device that I have avoided owning for years - I have never seen the need for one. But this one time, and hopefully this one time only, it was useful to have. I called my son, they came and got me. By 12:30 I was in their house.
It was my fastest trip across Canada ever. I had gotten good rides with nice folks, I hadn't been stuck anywhere for too long a time and I had eaten semi-regularly along the way. A good trip. Except it had felt as if I am not acclimatized to the west, that the trip had happened so fast, that I had not made my gradual adjustment to time zones and attitudes. Still no complaints at all - it was great to be on the west coast.
p.s. Buddy came back 10 minutes later and realized that he had made the wrong turnoff. He had needed to go another 10 minutes south. He asked if I wanted a ride - told him no - my ride was on his way. Buddy could not have gotten to his field party until after 12:00. What a long drive to got to a party!
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