I rented a car with a view to touring that region known as Southwestern Ontario.
Boston was fun. Getting there was a muddle (flight cancelled, stuck in Pittsburg airport for 7 hours with only beer and the travelling throughput as company). Touring the Berkshires (pronounced BERK-shires, damned Americans) with Ann Marie was great. More beautiful countryside and a helluvalota rain with some really exciting lightning. And a passenger that would scream to remind me when I was driving on the incorrect side of the road.
The area surrounding Edmonton is very very very very very very very very very flat. You fly over what appears to be hundreds of miles of absolutely sweet FA disected into neat squares, when suddenly a city appears out of nothing.
Across the Rockies by train. 23 hours. Wow. No, well beyond wow. Beautiful, imaculate scenery with a railway track slapped through the middle. I met some interesting people who had taken the train because they had to. One person had travelled all the way from Halifax (6 days). By the time we got to Vancouver, the cracks in her psyche were showing. Most entertaining.
I may be being a bit cruel here, but Vancouver is my second least favourite Canadian city (in case you are interested, Hull stands out as the absolute winner by miles). It has the largest homeless population I have seen in Canada, and this gives it something that I can only describe as an 'edge.' The place feels like it should be in the US. (I may only be noticing this because I've just finished reading 'God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater' by Kurt Vonnegut which deals with the wider issue of people that are superfluous to society)
From Vancouver, I took the ferry to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. From my travels, it appears to be the cheapest place to get petrol on the island, and it makes a good starting point. I had a near miss on an almost empty road near Sproat Lake when I forgot about driving on the right. Oops, clean underwear all round.
Victoria. Capital of British Columbia. Home of the Sticky Wicket Pub and good fish n chips. Picturesque, when (if) the clouds lift.
Continuing the Fraiser trail, the 4 1/2 hour ferry ride took me to Seattle for July 4th. Best fireworks I've seen since Columbia. The city looks very pretty from the sea, and has some picturesque areas. Unfortunately, Seattle smells like a urinal.
Vancouver Airport is the worst airport I have ever had the misfortune to experience. The excuse is a refit, but does that honestly mean that they don't require signs ? The route for departures was well posted right up until entering the building, where you find yourself in the middle of the arrival area. After a bit of searching around, you discover a sign resting against the elevators with 'Departures' and an arrow on it. The sign is on it's side, the arrow pointing obliquely at the floor. You are on the ground floor, there is no basement.
Well, I feel that it's time to break my silence.
Here are some ponderous musings on what I've done over the past few weeks...
I saw Niagara. I don't want to ruin the surprise for anyone, but it is in fact a big waterfall. A big waterfall surrounded by 70's concrete, carpeted with tourists reflecting the world in their camera lenses. I enjoyed the walk behind the Fools - sorry, Falls - and had a laugh with a bunch of American touristas there.
A drive from the falls to Niagara-on-the-Lake is well worth the effort - the scenery is fantastic - you'll see some of the most scared shrubs in the world, teetering on the edge of the Niagara Escarpment, and plenty of farm shops with very good cherries (amongst cups of coffee and other stuff) on sale. Oh, and the village itself ain't bad to look at.
A whole week with a car, careering across the road everytime I realised that in this country, they drive on the wrong (RIGHT) side of the road. Bloody foreigners !
Before you ask, yes - upon my return to Boston, I did get the ubiquitous tourist photo of the Cheers bar and a T-Shirt.
In the afternoon, Edmonton becomes a bizarre living ghost town. You know there are people about. Someone drives past every once in a while, and the fast food joints are populated - admittedly only by their staff, but I reason that they must be expecting something.
I also saw England's world cup hopes dashed (damn that referee) whilst staying there, which adds an extra black mark for no reason that anyone can fix.
GasTown is picturesque with it's steam clock and the Lamplighters Pub (a good place to watch footie, drink beer and eat interesting food) and the parks are beautiful.
I had a freaky moment in a bar called the Rose and Thorn (or something like that) - I met two people with whom I share the same birthday. I also had several (non-freaky) Molson Canadians.
Canada Day involved the three B's - Beer, Beach and Bar-B-Q. Smashing.
One good thing about Vancouver is that it is a great place to leave (except by air, see below) - there is so much to do outside the city that it makes it a good base to start things from. The drive north to Whistler has some amazing scenery, with lookouts along the route, and Whistler itself is situated in some stunning countryside.
Further west, Cathedral Grove was a beautiful piece of forest, 900 year old trees and all. I was pleased that I'd bought a raincoat in Port Alberni, as B.C.'s 'liquid sunshine' was in full effect.
You decide to check the elevators for clues. They have signs informing you that the building has three floors and that the elevator does not stop at the second one.
Since you feel as though you've checked the first floor to death, you step into the elevator, cross your fingers and press the button (you're already several minutes late for check in). Success ! And an information booth ! If only there had been signs for that, a lot of bother could've been saved.
There is an airport usage tax of $10 ($5 if you stay in B.C. - I was sent back to pay the other $5 after an administrative error). I requested that my $10 be earmarked for signs, but was informed by the lady at the desk that although she agreed with me, sadly such guarantees were impossible.
If you are going to use the airport, leave yourself PLENTY of time.
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