19 April, 2006 (Wednesday)
The roadtrip begins
Wednesday morning, our first day of our North American roadtrip. We breakfasted with Sean's parents, Sean's dad working through our route with things to see on the way. He also imparted some of his own experience, with some tips for neophyte campers, all "been there, done that" kinda stuff; see this, check out this park, keep away from this area, and under NO CIRCUMSTANCES leave your car here. I made plenty of mental notes.
We loaded up the Jeep with our traveling gear and camping supplies. I relinquished my Scratch FSs - taking more than one pair of skis to Whistler seems a bit excessive. Saying tearful goodbyes we trundled off into the sunrise.
The girls were waiting outside the Prestige Hotel when we drove past; we were only an hour late. The Jeep was running a bit low because of baggage, but we thought we should have enough room... until we saw the pile of luggage the girls expected us to fit in. Aiiya! There were ski bags and suitcases and backpacks and plastic bags of junk. I started thinking that maybe we should find ourselves a trailer.
Low rider
Somehow we managed to repack the car so that everything fit on, but by the time we finished cramming things in the Jeep was riding very low.
The back half was sagging over the rear wheels. Four ski bags were perched on the top racks, and the back luggage compartment was so full you couldn't make out even a glimmer of light. The girls were squeezed into the backseat, although it looked more of a subterranean cave. Make that a cushioned subterranean cave. (Picture: Sean and I check to see if the roof is still attached)
The drive from Kelowna to Vancouver normally takes around 6 hours. Driving along the highway at 70km/hr Sean, in the passengers seat, noticed that our ski bags were lifting, a good 30cm into the air. Closer examination suggested that the ski bags were lifting the racks with them. Major wind resistance. Not good. So after an hour and a half on the road we were forced to stop in a sleepy little industrial complex called Penticton. We hit up a body shop for advice and they suggested that, failing some major work, that we were best to invest in some straps to loop right around the vehicle. A few hours of tinkering later and we'd found some heavyweight straps and clamps (thank you Canadian Tire). Unfortunately attaching them meant that the girls had to wait whenever they wanted to get out of their cushioned grotto. Tough.
Sirens blaring
We were doing around 80km/hr along the highway when the siren started. It began as a muted 'woop, woop' and escalated to a high pitched siren. We all looked frantically in the mirrors for the police car that we were sure was going to pull us over for being overburdened. Then would come the rubber surgical gloves and handcuffs. I think Sean was quite excited.
Unfortunately there were no flashing lighted cars about. Could it be? I checked my car keys and pressed the auto button, the noise stopped. False emergency, it was the car alarm. Oops. (Picture: BC mountains, breath taking)
On to Vancouver
We drove up and down winding mountain roads. The views were breath-taking - snow covered mountain tops and tree filled valleys. We coasted along at a good pace and absorbed it all in. After a while we started naming some of the distant ridges - there was Mount Lauren and Sean's Peak, with accompanying innuendo. Emily and Lauren went snap happy. I kept on at the wheel.
It was another five hours before we found ourselves on Vancouver city-limits - well beyond the estimated 6 hours. It was getting dark and the traffic was thick. Somehow we missed the turn-off and rolled our way into North Vancouver.
The Jeep's engine was running hot and we were all tired. It was raining. Another half hour elapsed before we found overnight parking at the Holiday Inn. It was past 9 before we dragged our ski bags and accompanying luggage to the Samesun hostel, our refuge for the night. Inside there were some familiar faces - Big White was following us everywhere. We waved and then dumped our things in our room. Robson Street provided us with dinner, courtesy of the trendy Cactus Club. Sleep beckoned.
(Picture: Emily and Lauren get cosy on the back seat)
Wednesday morning, our first day of our North American roadtrip. We breakfasted with Sean's parents, Sean's dad working through our route with things to see on the way. He also imparted some of his own experience, with some tips for neophyte campers, all "been there, done that" kinda stuff; see this, check out this park, keep away from this area, and under NO CIRCUMSTANCES leave your car here. I made plenty of mental notes.
We loaded up the Jeep with our traveling gear and camping supplies. I relinquished my Scratch FSs - taking more than one pair of skis to Whistler seems a bit excessive. Saying tearful goodbyes we trundled off into the sunrise.
The girls were waiting outside the Prestige Hotel when we drove past; we were only an hour late. The Jeep was running a bit low because of baggage, but we thought we should have enough room... until we saw the pile of luggage the girls expected us to fit in. Aiiya! There were ski bags and suitcases and backpacks and plastic bags of junk. I started thinking that maybe we should find ourselves a trailer.
Low rider
Somehow we managed to repack the car so that everything fit on, but by the time we finished cramming things in the Jeep was riding very low.
The back half was sagging over the rear wheels. Four ski bags were perched on the top racks, and the back luggage compartment was so full you couldn't make out even a glimmer of light. The girls were squeezed into the backseat, although it looked more of a subterranean cave. Make that a cushioned subterranean cave. (Picture: Sean and I check to see if the roof is still attached)The drive from Kelowna to Vancouver normally takes around 6 hours. Driving along the highway at 70km/hr Sean, in the passengers seat, noticed that our ski bags were lifting, a good 30cm into the air. Closer examination suggested that the ski bags were lifting the racks with them. Major wind resistance. Not good. So after an hour and a half on the road we were forced to stop in a sleepy little industrial complex called Penticton. We hit up a body shop for advice and they suggested that, failing some major work, that we were best to invest in some straps to loop right around the vehicle. A few hours of tinkering later and we'd found some heavyweight straps and clamps (thank you Canadian Tire). Unfortunately attaching them meant that the girls had to wait whenever they wanted to get out of their cushioned grotto. Tough.
Sirens blaring
We were doing around 80km/hr along the highway when the siren started. It began as a muted 'woop, woop' and escalated to a high pitched siren. We all looked frantically in the mirrors for the police car that we were sure was going to pull us over for being overburdened. Then would come the rubber surgical gloves and handcuffs. I think Sean was quite excited.
Unfortunately there were no flashing lighted cars about. Could it be? I checked my car keys and pressed the auto button, the noise stopped. False emergency, it was the car alarm. Oops. (Picture: BC mountains, breath taking)On to Vancouver
We drove up and down winding mountain roads. The views were breath-taking - snow covered mountain tops and tree filled valleys. We coasted along at a good pace and absorbed it all in. After a while we started naming some of the distant ridges - there was Mount Lauren and Sean's Peak, with accompanying innuendo. Emily and Lauren went snap happy. I kept on at the wheel.
It was another five hours before we found ourselves on Vancouver city-limits - well beyond the estimated 6 hours. It was getting dark and the traffic was thick. Somehow we missed the turn-off and rolled our way into North Vancouver.
The Jeep's engine was running hot and we were all tired. It was raining. Another half hour elapsed before we found overnight parking at the Holiday Inn. It was past 9 before we dragged our ski bags and accompanying luggage to the Samesun hostel, our refuge for the night. Inside there were some familiar faces - Big White was following us everywhere. We waved and then dumped our things in our room. Robson Street provided us with dinner, courtesy of the trendy Cactus Club. Sleep beckoned.(Picture: Emily and Lauren get cosy on the back seat)
posted by the wastrel @ 1:22 AM
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