Saturday 31 August 2013

Of Cycling Comrades and Cousins...from the Okanagan to Gastown


As we drove down that stretch of Highway 1 for the 9th time in 4 days it almost felt like we were locals.  That being said, our familiarity with the drive didn’t stop us staring out of the windows in admiration of the beautiful scenery we were driving through. We were off to see a man we had a met during the very first 2 weeks of our whole world tour.  I say see a “man”, but really Larry felt more like a friend.  Cycling with people for that length of time through those conditions can create bonds that are quite special.
Goat's on a Gate at the Wheel
 
Our new ride.....we wish!




The first few hours of the drive rolled by as we negotiated our way back down to the turn off for the Okanagan Valley.  I had mentioned this place often to Julia and was curious to see how much of it I remembered from all those years ago when I had last been to Armstrong.  Pretty soon we were in the thick of it and the odd bits seemed to strike a chord.  I was recognizing various things – especially the Dairy Queen in Armstrong!
 
Brilliant idea using the river as a float...hundreds of people were on it with beer coolers and all sorts..


On the shores of the Okanagan Lake the countryside just blossomed into beautiful greens and yellows, the hills covered in trees and the lake all different shades of blues.  The skies were dotted with puffy clouds and this seemed to be a very different part of the world to the rest of British Columbia.  The valley is famous for its hot and perfect micro-climate for growing fruit and all around us the orchards and farms had little stalls on the side of the road selling their produce.



Mmmmm.....cherries!
We passed one great place on our left just after we had gone past Vernon I think.  Rather like a motorway service station, if you turned it into a themed, rural service station with dinosaurs and Western themes.  They advertised “everybody’s favourite walking goats”…..which seemed a mite strange.  Camera at the ready, we drove on by and saw the most bizarre thing…..goats walking up a gangplank that led to the top of the main entrance gate.  Here there were wheels that they could turn with their hooves, before they made their way back down the other side!  Salvador Dali would have had a field day on that one!


Muttering about how life in rural communities must get a little bit “particular” for those kinds of things to seem normal, we then drove past a creek on our right where people seemed to be doing much more sensible things.  There were hundreds of people enjoying the sunny Sunday afternoon, floating down a creek on inflatable rafts and tires, some with their cool boxes full of beer.  It looked like such a simple yet perfectly excellent way to spend a Summer’s day.
 
Larry and us at dinner

Eventually we pulled in to Larry’s driveway and there he was, stood at his door, looking almost exactly the same as we had left him in the lobby of the hotel in Saigon back in February.  Sure a little less tanned, but certainly a lot more hale.  The heat and food had taken its toll on some of us.  With a big smile and lots of bustling around as we decanted Burt’s load into our room he had set out for us, we invaded his home.
 
Thank you Larry!!!
The next 18 or so hours were bliss.  Sitting on his deck overlooking the lake in the setting sun, drinking bottle (after bottle) of white wine, reminiscing, talking of the future, chewing the cud and eating a great meal – it all seemed so perfectly relaxing.  For the pair of us slightly road weary travellers it was great to be able to just unwind and Larry’s hospitality asked nothing of us in return.  By the time it was time to go we were truly sorry we had had only one night with him – but such is life and as we’ll definitely be returning to British Columbia in the future, we’ll certainly be invading again and taking him up on his offer of a tour of the local wineries.


Breakfast with Larry that morning we left was so relaxing we realized we had left it a little late to be making our appointments in Vancouver.  We had to be there by 1pm to pick up the keys to our place we were staying in and then immediately drive over to Grenville Island to drop off Burt.  By the time we drove those winding (but stunning) roads through the southern part of the valley over to Vancouver we were well and truly late.


So when we arrived in Gastown, a little flustered and on edge to get things moving, it was a bit of a shock to the system.  We were certainly back in the gritty end of urban humanity here….wow!  The place we had booked via Airbnb was beautiful, full of charm and personality, really comfortable and with a well-stocked kitchen.  Unfortunately Gastown is home to almost every hobo, vagrant, junkie, drunkard, weirdo and nutter in British Columbia.  In fact the only people that didn’t seem to be one of that rather select group of people were Asians, tourists or both.


I've never looked slimmer!


Julia was a little less than impressed by the time we left Vancouver, especially having liked it so much when we first arrived a week earlier.




Typical Germans!  Always cheating ;o)


We unpacked Burt as quickly as possible and I left Julia with the father and uncle of the lady we were renting from, then drove to drop off Burt.  By the time I got back we were both wiped out so we rested up and went for a bite to eat a few blocks away.  My goodness that was a shock!  Our first impressions of Gastown were as nothing compared to the full on sensory assault we got as we walked the streets at sunset back from the sushi place we had found.


 Day two was …..well, not much to write about.  We stayed at home.  All day.  I went to the Chinese supermarket on the corner and discovered Julia’s kryptonite……a pack of dried cubes of gluten! 

Day three we wanted to go on a boat tour and see Vancouver from the sea.  Unfortunately we couldn’t decide on one and most seemed to insist you eat a more than likely over-priced buffet (probably where there profits come from).  So instead we went on a bike ride on a cycle path around Vancouver.  Our landlords allowed their guests the use of their two bikes, which was perfect.  Off we went and soon were cycling through downtown Vancouver.  Very different to Gastown…but then we came to the port area and some of the people wandering the promenade were proper nutters!  Very strange how our experience of this city seemed to feature so highly on the insane-o-scale.



Once we were out of the marina area though everything calmed down and we were amongst families taking their kids to the beach or similar couples taking advantage of the beautiful weather.  We stopped along the way to enjoy some cherries that Larry had given us at a beach then pushed on and back around the headland to home in dear old Gastown.


One for you Rudi....the joke that just keeps giving

Pineapple Island


That afternoon we were due to meet a cousin of mine, Melita.  It had been quite a few years since last we had seen each other and a lot had changed / happened in the meantime.  For a start, she had never met Julia and of course, as you would expect, Julia had never met her either!  It was lovely to see the two of them together though.  They clicked almost immediately and soon we were sitting in a bar by the marina, enjoying a cocktail and reminiscing about dad and talking about our travels.






Julia had obviously eaten a clown








The "my bum hurts" pose

Melita showed us other parts of Vancouver, stopping to see the university where her son, Sasha, studies.  Then it was off for a bite to eat with Sasha and Andre her husband.  Again, it was excellent to see them, especially as the last time I had seen Sasha was in Paris, when I was 18, he was a baby and I had hair!  Clearly even more has changed since the last time I saw him.
 
Melita and us on the beach

She grew!



Unfortunately we couldn’t stay long as we had to be up before the crack of dawn to catch an early flight to New York.  We were connecting in Chicago, a hateful airport and so it would be a long trip before we landed in LaGuardia Airport.  Melita drove us home and when we said our goodbyes it was lovely to see Julia so happy to have met her.



We had a couple of hours sleep, then we were up and at it again.  A quick bout in the kitchen, making some sandwiches for the long journey whilst facetiming with mum back in the UK, then into the cab which thankfully arrived on time.  Check-in at the airport went off without a hitch and before long we were sitting around waiting for the plane that was to take us to our next exciting destination.  New York……a city which was cool enough in and of itself. 

A photo for mum.....look at those roses

This time though, we had imported our own fun.  4 friends, 2 from London and 2 from Sydney, would be joining us in an apartment in Tribeca for 14 days of fun.  We couldn’t wait to see them all again.