So, my tale of woe:
On Monday, May 19, I was to fly to Kelowna BC to meet my buddy and guitarist Marc Seal to do some shows in British Columbia. It seemed simple enough; some quick flights and we're there.
Oh, but such was not the case.
We met up in Seattle, where Marc had changed his flight from there to the same as mine. All seemed well. We'd get there at the same time, thereby alleviating the need for me to go back to the airport in Kelowna to pick him up. It was the perfect plan.
I think it was John Steinbeck who said something about "The best laid plans...", but I digress.
We were mortified when the guy at the counter announced that our flight out of Seattle was not delayed (because that wouldn't have inconvenienced us enough), but cancelled, due to radar failure in Kelowna. They didn't know when repairs would be made, so they started the wholesale cancellation of flights in and out of Kelowna.
Now, ordinarily, I wouldn't panic. But we had to be in Kelowna Tuesday afternoon. The only flight they could guarantee us a seat on was the one which departed Seattle at 4:40pm on Tuesday. This would not do. It was a painful realization to arrive at, but it was inevitable and unavoidable: We would have to drive.
Now, the problem with driving is that I would be renting the car in Seattle, but wouldn't be bringing it back. Ergo, I needed to find a car that they didn't want coming back to Seattle. I finally found a BC-tagged mini-van ('cause that's how I roll) at the Avis counter. We loaded our luggage and hit the road at around 5:00pm on Monday.
Marc was kinda' bummin'. Had he not changed his original flight to mine, he may well have been able to fly out that evening. But, he did change his flight, so into the mini-van he went. Marc was sad.
Well, only until he turned on the radio.
Seems that some car rental companies are now equipping their vehicles with satellite radio as a standard option. Marc was happy. Keep the talent happy. He gleefully tuned both up and down, finding all kinds of things you'd never find on your standard FM dial.
"Oh", exclaimed Marc, "This changes everything".
We settled on a comedy channel which, quite frankly, almost had me driving off the road a number of times from laughing so hard. It kept us laughing right up until we hit the Canadian border.
I've crossed the US/Mexico border more times than I can count, but have only driven across the US/Canadian border twice. Each time, it was painless and fast. Not so this time. No, not so this time at all. You see, we were driving into Canada on the Canadian holiday "Victoria Day". This was the last day of their long weekend. As a result, we sat in a long line of traffic, at Peace Arch Park, waiting to cross. Marc was getting a bit perturbed at those who saw fit to drive around traffic and get back into line closer to the border.
"I have a system of justness", said Marc. "And this is unjust".
After about an hour and a half, we made it across the border, and began making our way towards Kelowna at, finally, a decent speed.
Before Monday night, if I was going to offer advice to someone about anything, it might be along the lines of "Never eat anything bigger than your head". After Monday night, though, it would likely be "Don't drive from Seattle to Kelowna in a mini-van, along unfamiliar roads, at night, in the rain". While we suffered no catastrophic delays, it was a long drive, and I was making it after having only two and a half hours sleep the night before. Thankfully, an unrequited recipe for disaster.
We finally arrived in Kelowna around 1:00am. All things considered, things went well. We'd stopped for a bite to eat which added to the time, but we were in relatively good shape when we got to our hotel in Kelowna.
Our stay in Kelowna was uneventful overall; we had a good show and met up with some members of the Canadian band Cold Driven. These guys are some hard-touring musicians who've put everything they have into what they're doing. I wish them luck!
On Wednesday, we made the drive from Kelowna down to Vancouver. This is usually a pretty boring drive; some nice scenery, but little else. This time, though, as we hit the summit of the Coquihalla Highway, it started to snow.
A lot.
Now, bear in mind that this is the latter half of May. The very idea of snow falling in May is alien to someone from southern California. But, hey, there it was. Marc was shooting video and photos, completely amazed at what he was seeing. The snow was sticking to the trees but, thankfully, not to the road. My "drivin' in the snow" chops ain't exactly what they used to be.
We arrived at our hotel in Vancouver around 2:30 on Wednesday afternoon. We settled in, and then made our way over to the venue for the show. After the show, I had what was probably the best Filet Mignon I've ever had at The Granville Room. After dinner and a few local brews, we made our way back to our hotel.
Okay, now we start getting to the point where I have photos.
Thursday morning, we had to catch the ferry from Vancouver to Victoria BC. I've made this crossing many times, and the weather can be sketchy. This time, though, it was nice enough.
Early on, we didn't think we were going to make the 11:00am ferry. We were still having breakfast at our hotel at 10:00am. The drive to the terminal is a good 25 minutes, and Tue ferries tend to be a bit crowded. Maybe, given the wait we had at the Canadian border on Monday evening, the Travel Gods opted to smile upon us. We made the ferry with about ten minutes to spare.
We left the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal at 11:00am sharp, beginning our trek to Victoria BC:
Ferries run almost non-stop in both directions, and it's not unusual to pass ferries going to or from Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, or any one of the many smaller islands along the way:
We had clouds, but no rain, which made for an enjoyable trip:
The scenery during this crossing is pretty amazing. Houses are built along cliffs, and there's an endless array of small craft navigating the waterways:
Once in Victoria (which is one of my favorite cities in the world, by the way), we found our way to the Garrick's Head Pub. I first visited this pub back in 1982 while in the Navy. I make it a point, now, to visit for lunch or supper every time I visit Victoria. The pub's been here, under the same name, since 1867. They've got a great staff, great pub fare (including a burger that'll be among the best you've ever had), and great locally brewed ales.
On Friday, May 23, we had the entire day ahead of us, as our flight wasn't scheduled to leave Victoria until 5:50pm. Accordingly, we decided to do some "touristy" stuff while we had some time.
Our first stop was Butchart Gardens. If you're into flowers, this is the place for you. It was first created in 1904, and has been continually added to. The park is 55 acres, and encompasses a mind-numbing selection of flowers and other fauna. One of the most distinct features of the park is the Sunken Garden:
The Butchart Gardens are a photographer's dream. Every time I turned around, I found something else that I just had to shoot. Some examples:
What we didn't expect to find was an outlet to a previously unknown to us area called Butchart Cove. It offered some very nice photo-ops, as well:
After Butchart Gardens, we made our way down to Victoria and over to Craigdarroch Castle. Craigdarroch, completed in 1890, is a 39-room castle that, now, is nestled in a residential community. Three and four bedroom homes surround this 4-1/2 story stone mountain of a home:
Marc Seal puts the "roch" in "Criagdarroch":
Your truly on the steps of Craigdarroch Castle:
After visiting Craigdarroch, we went down to the Inner Harbor of Victoria for some lunch before heading out to the airport to wrap up this trip. We finally got out of Victoria on Friday night, after more flight delays and more than a bit or anxiety. After a week on the road, both Marc and I were more than ready to get home...
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