What a journey this road trip has been. From the endless rocks, trees and beautiful lakes of Northern Ontario, to the not so thrilling transition to Manitoba, to the unbelievably flat plains of Saskatewan, to the dry, uneventful Alberta badlands, to the always epic Rocky Mountains and the new Port Mann Bridge leading to Vancouver! Andrew expertly packed into our little Civic the following: 7 Rubbermaids, our 2 packs, a cooler, snowboard, all hockey gear, a microwave, another backpack and 2 more Rubbermaids worth of random stuff stuck in all possible cracks. He's got a gift.
Our first stop was with Tim and Danielle in Red Lake, ON - the most north Andrew and I have ever been in Canada! Great times on the boat, tennis, playing games - and so good to see my old friend Danielle. We even went to the museum. Love them!
Then a long drive to Bienfait, SK for a visit with Jonathan and Annette! Rich conversation, uncountable games (I won my first Settlers!), a walk and a hike, church, and... an Eve of Destruction. We went to a demolition derby, where the goal was to rig up some sort of a trailer to your vehicle, and whoever was left on the figure 8 track at the end with the longest piece of trailer left on their still driving vehicle won. PURE HICK! And hilariously entertaining. Jon taught me how to make homemade bread and we had homemade peanut butter and banana ice cream. Great times!
We had a short but rewarding pit stop at Briercrest in Caronport - my first time on campus! It was so, so wonderful to see Toni, and then surprise! - Meg Carr and Heidi too! Wonderful camp girls!
Calgary with Ryan, Andrew's long time friend and room mate obviously included good food and good brews! We went to a pub that serves beverages from Ryan's brewery, and indulged in the best pub food I've ever had - sweet curry wings, and pizza with bacon and maple syrup on it. Amazing. Great to catch up with Ryan after both him and Andrew left Vancouver a year and a half ago.
This is where we noticed that our car mileage dropped from about 450km/tank to just over 300km/tank. Boo. Andrew [not so patiently] waited at Canadian Tire for two hours to get the engine light code read, to find out that our oxygen sensor was kaputs, and then he fixed it in 15 minutes.
From Calgary we drove up to Olds to spend time with family! Uncle Jeff, Aunt Sheri, Deandra and Caitlyn gave us a true Alberta experience - living waaaay out on the country, in a log house (although they graciously hooked up the power to their camper for us!)... riding bikes on range roads and riding bareback on their horses. It was a GREAT 2 days! Our cousins are nine and eleven and we had fun wrestling, cuddling, doing makeovers and playing Headbandz. Good fun :)
After quick stopping and Lake Louise, we booted it then to Kelowna to spend a spontaneous night with Bec, my first Qwanoes buddy from way back! Good times catching up over coffee and pancakes.
Driving through the mountains were amazing... as always. God sure shows his awesome character though his art. A Master Artist. My favourite part was on the Coquihala from Kelowna to Hope! - had never driven that portion and the mountains are breathtaking.
And now... we're in Vancouver.
It is so good to be... home. Back.
It's like a dream or a memory that has become a reality again. The ocean is still stunning, the neighbourhoods fascinating, and the pizza is still cheap and delicious. London Drugs still has everything you could ever need, it's still easy to J-walk on Commercial Dr., and it's ever-cloudy and comfortable! I keep telling Andrew that it's a good thing that we're only here for 4 days or else I'm going to want to stay here! We love this city.
We hiked The Chief in Squamish today to get a little warmed up for Everest Base Camp, but mostly to continue breaking my boots in. No blisters in the regular spots, but a new random one on the top of my foot?! What the hey. Ah well, I'm wrapping my head around having sore feet for our trek.
We are staying with our good friends Mark and Hillary in Vancouver in their homey apartment where there is lots of conversation, good food, music and games. Andrew stopped at Larry's Sports today to talk about working again for them when we get back, and it looks like he will be working full time there again come December!
Tomorrow we are going to our beloved church, Reality Vancouver for lots of reconnecting and reunions, especially with many of the youth from East Van!
We fly out Tuesday morning! Whoo hoo!
Much love all!
