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Bed count = 9
Surprise, surprise I am writing this next instalment from the comfort of yet another 'grey hound' bus…it would appear that I have more time than I thought today…trust me!We are currently on the Kelowna to Vancouver leg for a scheduled 5h ride this time…should be a nice relaxing ride…yeah right!The Lord sent us on this trip to experience as many random bus eventualities as humanly possible….why would today be any different?!
On a positive note we actually left our hostel on time this morning, although we didn't make it down in time for breakfast.One tip if you're planning to stay in a hostel….get up earlier for breakfast!There's clearly an unwritten rule somewhere that food fairies descend from the sky around 7am and if you dare to casually roll up at 9am (as we did!) you can expect nothing but a tub of butter and a few breadcrumbs to start your day.So in the face of this we switched tact and went into town to grab a quick bite, although the breakfast was still an unsavoury one - unfortunately Melissa burnt her hand on some piping hot breakfast pudding (although the glaring look suggested that I had somehow contributed to this hot little mishap!)Willing to take the blame for the sake of a quick exit we hailed a cab for the bus station where the usual sights awaited us. The token tramp was present, sleeping with his ticket in hand outside the doorway; however this was obviously an upmarket depot as one of the service assistants escorted him from the premises rather than seating him next to me.Also to our delight the bus turned up on time, looked relatively clean and even with seats to spare! The only slight worry was the 150 year old man making his way on-board….we got chatting to his travel companion, who told us he had recently suffered two heart attacks on his journey last week!You'd have thought that would have been a sign for him not to take this trip, but he seemed adamant that he had another few journeys in him!Another slightly disturbing pre-boarding discussion was detailed by a 70 year old lady sat opposite us, who apparently used to enjoy riding bare back on her father's stallion.I was already feeling a bit nauseous before this point and this didn't help!
So we set off and headed over the Okanagan Lake into the surrounding mountains.Going up our first hill, I was actually feeling quite relaxed for the first time and had scanned the bus to ensure that 'Wally' hadn't sneaked on this time!Our first climb out of Kelowna was a long and lengthy one, but the bus seemed to be making light work of it, until the bus driver pulled over to admire the scenery.It turned out however, that he wasn't taking in the sights, but rather struggling with engine transmission.After a few false starts and some engine groaning it was apparent we weren't going any further.That's right, only 30 minutes or so into our journey we had broken down…AGAIN!For the next hour the driver tried to get the bus going again and eventually with forceful splutter the engine fired up once again.We were soon back on the road, but at a mere snail's pace this time as the driver tried to nurse his sick vehicle to our next stop which was over 60 km away.This nursing was to last all of 5 minutes as we soon stopped again, but this time for an indefinite time period.We waited in the desert-like heat with eagles circling and bears watching.…ok I'm exaggerating this for good reading but we were certainly in a bit of a pickle.That was until another bus screeched to a halt beside us and a rather enthusiastic and animated driver jumped off.As far as I could make out, a Japanese tourist bus had pulled up and kindly agreed to take us onto the next point….a hugely generous proposition.Despite the language barrier, our bags were loaded successfully and we all walked the length of the aisle with lots of friendly faces laughing at our unfortunate predicament.It kind of reminded me of a scene out of a movie, but I'm not sure which one?!Anyhow, after a slightly uncomfortable 30 minute ride we were dropped off at another bus station in the middle of nowhere and told to wait and that's what we did!We were there another hour and we watched several tempers flare as a few passengers exploded due to the open ended situation.All we knew was that we had to wait, but we had no indication as to how long or indeed whether another bus would ever actually arrive. I am however pleased to report that the driver that we left in the sweltering desert heat, managed to somehow get another bus and drive to the depot, much to great appreciation from all those waiting.I should note however, that a few turncoats had already managed to get alternative transport arrangements and sneaked off in a hurry….traitors! This would be absolutely fine but the current mystery is how we have managed to substitute a baby onto the bus!He/she is not riding solo, as the parents are with it, but I'm not sure where it came from…maybe the baggage hold?What I do know is that it's a hyper active little monster and despite being no older than 1-2 years seems to be sporting a hideous 1960's mullet!It's clocked me a few times and has some kind of sixth sense to detect that I'm not in the mood to play hide and seek today.However that said, I'm not sure who is going to win the 'stare off' competition at the moment…I'm not giving up without a fight!Melissa, seems in surprisingly good spirits despite the shenanigans and is currently on 'moose watch'.We had a tip off during our wait that this is 'moose country' and we have a good chance to spot one on this bus leg.Unlike bears you won't find them up a tree, but rather on some of the open grasslands that form the scenery here!Unfortunately, so far it saddens me to report that there have been no moose sightings, although we did just have a false alarm with a farmer's cow!Onward to our next stop off destination and an equally silly named drop off point….Chilliwack! Canadian's seem to have a knack of creating rather silly names over here, proven by the fact that we have just passed 'skunk cabbage creek'! I'm pretty sure that would be quite a smelly combination, although not too dissimilar to the current odour on the bus……I think the mullet junior needs a nappy change!
After numerous stops at towns with ridiculous names we arrived in Vancouver a mere 3h behind schedule!The sun had long set, but the bright lights of the city were pretty impressive, especially the lights on the gondola line on the way up Grouse Mountain in the distance.As the bus pulled into the station we prepared ourselves for the worst, as it looked pretty deserted and our caution was well founded as the non-existent taxi's proved difficult to flag!However after a quick phone call, the landlord for our next rental property offered to pick us up from the station…what a star! After watching a local tramp try to sell a man's jacket that he had just stolen, we were much relieved to see the bright headlights flash and friendly voice signal us over.Before I go any further, I should explain about some of the properties that we have stayed in recently.Following a random discussion on our cycle tour back in Montreal, we had a generous tip-off on a website called 'vacation rental by owner (VRBO)'.In case you're not familiar with this, it is website where folk advertise second homes or properties for short term rental.The benefit of booking through something like this is that you can get some amazing places at cut price or at least the same charge as a B&B or hotel.We have used this to book the last three out of four properties and have mostly landed suites with a lounge, dining area, cooking facilities and large double bed.The locations have also been amazing and our property in Vancouver would prove to be the jewel in the crown.We would be stopping in the residential block of the Sheraton Wall Centre, which has an amazing location in the heart of the downtown area.We had been excited about arriving at the 'condo' since departing Banff, as the online photos looked amazing.What was a pleasant surprise was the fact that the suite far exceeded the photos!Furnished to an exceptionally high standard, amazing views, a 'super king' bed and hotel facilities (gym, sauna, swimming pool etc.) included.This was a far cry from the hostel room we had left the very same morning and Melissa was finding it hard to contain her excitement!The property is let by owners Shirley and Clint, who were exceptionally accommodating and after picking us up and dropping us to our room, provided us with some great tips on Vancouver.Long story short, we knew we were in paradise when we discovered a washing machine and tumble dryer in the suite….maybe my pants would survive this time?!We also had everything on our doorstep including an amazing supermarket set over two floors.After grabbing the essentials and taking a brief stroll we collapsed after a long day at the office!
As we woke the next day, the sun was blazing and looking at the weather forecast we decided to make the most of the good weather.We walked through downtown and purchased some 'trolley' tickets from the local tourist info centre.I have visited Vancouver once before, with only a day in the city and I had used this service before.It's not your typical supermarket 'trolley' as the name may imply (!), but rather a tram like bus that runs around the city, stopping at some of the focal points of interest.You can buy a daily ticket that allows you to 'hop on and off' at any of the stops and its great way to get around.We took this service straight over to one of my favourite places in the world, Stanley Park.Vancouver is actually a relatively small city by comparison to others and the downtown area is over a small peninsula, which you could walk across in half an hour.Stanley Park is a 1000 acre forest that lies at the end of this peninsula and to give it some scale it is about 5 miles all the way around making it quite a bit bigger than Central Park in New York.Unlike Central Park, it is right next to the sea and there is a 'sea wall' which runs the perimeter of the park.This is a haven for cyclists, roller bladers and rather camp men with small dogs!You could easily spend days there, but we just jumped off and enjoyed the sun for an hour or two whilst taking in postcard views of Vancouver city glistening in the sun.After jumping back on the trolley, we had to make some haste as Melissa had previously booked a 'MAC makeover' at one of the shopping malls!At this point you can probably tell that this is very much a 'flash packing' adventure rather than tents and back packs!! I didn't mind though, as I had time for a lazy coffee in town and then a short stroll back for a swim in the hotel pool!
After this we had time to get ready leisurely and get 'glammed up' as we were hitting the town that night!We had pre-arranged to meet some friends (Katie and Matt) for a meal and a few drinks, which we were actually quite excited about!I got so carried away that I wore my newly acquired bright pink (salmon?!) shirt following an impulse buy in Boston.There wouldn't have been any issue, until I was notified that we were staying in the heart of the main gay district of Vancouver!Not a problem whatsoever, but I was certainly attracting a few cheeky smiles from the neighbouring men folk, much to Melissa's amusement!After the entertaining walk downtown, we had a lovely meal in the 'Yaletown' area of Vancouver.Lots of trendy bars and restaurants which all seemed upmarket…..we liked it there!After the meal we decided to grab a drink, but the bars seemed to be overly packed - unless you were on the VIP guest list then you were not getting in or that's what we thought!After queuing briefly at what appeared to be a popular establishment, we were escorted to our seats!Despite having only drinks, we seemed to be seated in a prime location in the thick of it all….not that we were complaining!Melissa was also getting rather excited by the sight of a drink currently being compiled at the bar, part gin, part tonic and part candy floss!!Guess what was coming our way in 10 minutes!However when we ordered the drinks, the girls got a bit over excited and somehow managed to order a 'side' of floss!You'll see from the photos that there was far too much pink sugar fluff ordered….but somehow it was all devoured!I should say prior to this that we were given the real celebrity treatment as we were offered a complimentary gift for waiting more than 5 minutes for our drinks!We were expecting a free vodka shot or something similar, but what appeared surprised everyone….a plate of meat balls!Not just regular meatballs I may add, but some 'VIP meatballs' as the cocktail waitress proudly announced!It is a strange feeling when you get blindsided by a couple of meatballs in your face, but even more peculiar when they are 'very important' ones!Joking aside, whilst a little spicy they went down a treat…enough said!After this excitement everyone was getting a little tired, so we said farewell to our friends and decided to walk back by the popular 'Granville Street'.This street is totally pedestrianized on a Saturday night and I remember a night out in Cardiff once, where the streets were super busy and there were far too many random things going on for one to fully comprehend….this street reminded me of that!One comforting factor was the large police presence which seemed to be prohibiting any trouble and the atmosphere was actually quite relaxed.
So we returned to our supersized bed and had yet another comfortable night's sleep but when we woke the next day, we saw one of Vancouver's most frequent visitors…rain…and lots of it!That's right, living next to a heap of mountains and the sea, guarantees a good degree of relief rainfall and apparently Vancouver gets more than its fair share.We weren't deterred though as we had our amazing 'condo' to chill out in, with all the facilities that one could require for a lazy day in the rain!We even braved the weather later to get to the local wine merchant who delivered some expert advice on how we could part with our money quite rapidly!We did however get a cracking bottle of Pinot Noir and cooked a nice fish super, so all was pretty well in the Duckworth Condo that night!The next day continued like the previous one, although it probably rained even more!However, we weren't going to be scared off by a little scotch mist and headed down to catch the 'trolley' again.This was actually a great thing to do in the rain and the bus driver was really good value for money.We actually stayed on for about 2 hours and saw all the major sites in Vancouver, including Chinatown and Granville Island.We even hopped off in 'Gastown', which is not the same as Cabbagetown, but rather the old quarter of Vancouver!One of the famous people to come out of there is 'Gassy Jack', who apparently got his name from all the talking he did.Personally I don't believe that for a minute, as they sold plenty of root veg back then, so I'm convinced his unfortunate nickname may have been attributed to some flaky guts!Anyhow moving on, as with any public transport we get on these days there is a story associated with the journey!This one involves a group of Spanish tourists who 'hopped on' to scare us all by resembling characters from 'The Hills Have Eyes'!Despite their frightful look, they were also noisy and just downright rude.Even the bus driver got annoyed with them as they talked over him for the whole 2h.However, there was some justice done, as the impatient mother of the brood decided to swap seats for the tenth time, only to be greeted by a sharp hair pin bend in the road.Something had to give way and as the boggle-eyed madam rolled down the aisle it was no surprise that her demise was greeted by a few chuckles rather than a helping hand!
Ok to break things up a little, I am now completing this blog on a ferry rather than a bus!We are currently aboard a BC ferry that is sailing us over to Vancouver Island, so we can visit our friends Steve, Jules and recent arrival to the family, baby/toddler Eliana!The Island holds a special place in our heart, as it was a little beach in a far western fishing village called 'Tofino,' where I dropped to one knee and proposed to Melissa over two years ago.However that romantic novel can wait until next time which leaves me to close with a few final observations.Happy reading and good health to all!
·Is there really a need for so many 'drive through' establishments in Canada/US?Every shop and fast food outlet seems to have the option of staying in your car to order your food.However, it doesn't stop there, as drive through pharmacies seem to be all the rage over here too.No wonder there is an obesity crisis, when the overweight can gorge themselves from the comfort of their car, only to drive round the corner to pick up their 'weight loss' medication without even leaving their seat!Whatever next….drive through toilets?!
·If you want to make some money over here, set up some service stations that are actually on the roadside!The usual chain of events involves a token signpost proudly announcing 'Food/services' at the next exit.However that's where any form of meaningful directions stop!From that point on, a 4-way junction usually presents itself with absolutely no other signs whatsoever.If you're flying a light aircraft or 'Mystic Meg' you'll no doubt find your way to the nearest Hill Billy log shack camouflaged away in the forest ~5 km away from any civilisation.However for those mere mortals amongst us, just take your pick at the junction, cross your fingers and then shout obscenely at the Sat Nav system who also struggles to work out why all tourists are purposely sent to a hungry and empty end!
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