Thursday, July 1, 2010

Sun/Mon/Tues June 27-29, 2010 Downtime

Sunday morning we drug ourselves out of the sodden campsite, returned the boards and wetsuits, and limped off to Nanaimo on the east coast. We were a mess. Or at least I was. Good to get to Nanaimo. Tofino was awesome for many reasons (which do not include the insane prices of all goods and services and the general rudeness of clerks and service personnel - completely out of character for the Canada I had experienced so far). But it is good to get back to dry conditions and see the sun. Overnight at the Painted Turtle Guesthouse again. Ferry out of Nanaimo to Van tomorrow.

Monday and we make the noon ferry from Departure Bay in Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay in Vancouver. Drive over the Lion's Gate Bridge into Van in all its bustling glory. I drop Fran and Jess at the downtown hostel - it's hard to leave them. It's amazing how quickly you can become attached to someone. They are funny, smart, charming, resourceful, patient people that I am lucky to have spent time with. Kids - thanks for the lovely memento gifts. I've bout worn out the Canadian music CD already. I'll never forget the time I spent with you. I drive east out of Van in the worst traffic snarl I've ever seen (put Houston's I-10 to shame) which is appropriate to my mood. I'm headed for Kelowna and the Okanagan Valley where I hear the sun shines most of the time. I'm gonna need that.

Tuesday is spent collecting myself and doing all sorts of housekeeping chores. I actually found a laundromat that would let me put my wet muddy tent into a washing machine! And it didn't take nearly as many loonies as I'd expected to vacuum the Tofino sand out of the car. Also, located a Staples that would print out some documents that I need to read through to prepare for a teleconference tomorrow morning. Thanks to Melissa at the counter there for making the process painless and getting the docs to me in record time. At day's end I feel like I've reorganized myself and can start vacationing again.

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