Leaving full of HOPE

SUITCASE DIARIES
DAY 7
Tues Aug 6

Hope to Victoria via TCH to Tsawwassen ferry terminal to Swatrz Bay #17 Pat Bay Hwy, TCH into Victoria and we're home in James Bay.

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I went for a one hour snooze at 9:30 p.m. last night and work up at 7:30 this morning.With the pressure of long drives behind us I "crashed". Today is an easy day. 2 hours to the ferry from here, 90 min ferry ride and then we intend to find a place in Sidney for the night. (As you can see by the itinerary we decided to motor on.)

Brekkie today at the Kan Yon Restaurant in downtown Hope is a little slice of small town life. I can't help but over hear conversation between 3 local people, casually sitting a few seats apart from each other at the snack bar, talking about: stem cell "beef", service providers Shaw vs Telus, local festivals and accomplished children (a psychologist and a photographer amongst the bunch). Maybe they know each other; maybe they don't. It's a typical Chinese Canadian establishment that you find in many a small towns on the road providing very satisfying homey fare.

Complimentary fortune cookies accompany our bill, as he cracks open his cookie Rod says, "Let's see what is has to say to us about the rest of our trip." He's been hanging around me too long. "Listening, not imitation, is the highest form of flattery."

Grinning from ear to ear I nod my approval. "I couldn't agree with that more!"

And mine reads, "The less one has to do, the less time one finds to do it in". Providing a little nod to the relativity of time in my quest for a slower pace.

Goin' down the road I glance back in the rear view mirror at the snow capped mountains fading in the distance as we head off to the delta plains and the Tsawwassen Bay ferry to Swatrz Bay on Vancouver Island. I smile knowing that these mountains will be our playground for the next few years.

Feeling upbeat on this sun filled day I choose to skip music selections that are beginning to repeat on my i-pod as well as: Spanish instruction, most new age and instrumental selections. Tony Bennett and Elvis Costello chime in on Are You Havin' Any Fun? followed by Blue Rodeo's Til I Am Myself Again. I laugh waiting in line for the ferry as Bill Cosby spins a tale of a "typical" visit to The Dentist and am awed by the multi-talented, story teller extraordinaire, Shel Silverstein weaving tales of mischievous delight and singing his composition of Silvia's Mother. I mimic the vocal stylings of: Nat King Cole, Mel "the velvet fog" Tormé, Frank Sinatra and Kenny Rankin. I wail along with Janis, Melissa Etheridge and Amanda Marshall, sounding just like them in my mind's ear. The Canadian contingent that appears today are: The Boomers, Rufus Wainright, Prairie Oyster, Paul Langille, Ladybird Sideshow and Sarah McLaughlin.

The ferry is the most appropriate ending for our epic journey. I'm returning to the island, this time with my little family. It's been heart warming to see the U-haul in the centre of every image along the way knowing that Rod's there and he's on a long awaited adventure of his own. He says he can't take it all in yet; it feels surreal. There's been too much to do and more yet to be done. But me, I'm already home. As we sit one the deck we decide that the day is young so why not head down to our apartment and settle in with sleeping bags and padding for bedding tonight to get a jump on the movers who will arrive tomorrow afternoon.

While Rod catches some zzz's inside I walk the decks for some needed exercise, soaking in the sun, salt sea air and reacquainting myself with the islands we pass along the way. I really feel I'm returning home; the passion I feel for this part of the country stirs me.

On one of my passes a man on the foredeck points to a small school of dolphins passing through the channel. I and a few others are fortunate to witness their presence.

"I like your feathers," he says. I'm wearing the feather earrings Marisa gifted to me and of course there's the feathers in the tattoo on my arm. He opens his shirt collar to reveal a small feather pendant. I express my appreciation for the beauty of this land and tell him that, "I'm moving from southern Ontario where there is little respect for the land to this place and people that honour it."

His manner of speech, subject of conversation and perspective lend him the air of a native elder as he speaks of the need not only to respect the land but to replace criticism and judgment with prayer that our leaders may have wisdom and be supported in their work and do better by the energy we send them. He speaks of liking, not liking and indifference. How challenging, but necessary, it is to send to one and all alike, healing positive energy.

What is there to learn from this situation? Today the card - Kahuna/expert - asked me to consider this and here it is.

The call to return to our cars to prepare for departure ends our conversation and I wish him well. He says as he presses his hand to mine, "You are a healer and will bring the energy here to what you do." I had told him nothing about myself. Time will tell.

As we disembark from the ferry and head down the road to Victoria, a bald eagle flies overhead leading  the way.

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We gave away all of our plants and then found Prickly Penis left alone in the corner so we had to bring him with us.
He was a real trouper. We gave him breaks now and again to catch some rays.
Let's hope he finds Victoria to his liking.

Our little place is perfect and Paul, the super welcomes us and orients us to our new digs in James Bay. At 8 p.m. Rod and I enjoy the freshest Pacific Halibut fish and chip dinner down at the wharf only a hop, skip and jump from our new "home".

People are peeing everywhere

SUITCASE DIARIES
Day 6
Calgary Alberta to Hope B.C. on the #1 Trans Canada Hwy, the 5 from Kamloops and back on to TCH into Hope
Leaving at 9 a.m. arriving at 7p.m. (time change - back one hour) roughly 9 hours driving time

NOTE the post dates were off by one day as I was entering them after midnight - sorry for confusion. This post date is correct as I've set it myself and I reset the others.

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We headed out from Calgary for the lavender foothills in the distance at 9a.m. with the sun at our backs.

As the mountains get nearer and nearer my excitement grows.

The playful cloud formations of the prairies: farting fish, benevolent Buddha hand, flying duck chasing leaping puppy, fire breathing dragon have given way to mystical ethereal fingers drawing whispy cloud carpets over the Rockies and I am moved.

This range conceals what lies beyond and I'm filled with anticipation as we approach, then pass through this portal. Engulfed by the peaks we disappear from where we came.

Although my heart knows this place it's like I've never been here before; my eyes are so wide open. When I was here before I was half asleep in my body, my mind and soul and to the presence of everything around me. Maybe part of the difference is that this time I'm driving, I'm no longer a passenger. I think I was a passenger in my own life back then.

The backdrop of soaring strings, and soulful horns intensifies the emotions of my passionate, breaking heart; breaking from the beauty and power of such majesty. If there is a more beautiful place on this earth it is impossible for me to comprehend right now. New age and classical music pours out of my i-pod as I drive for hours through these parks: Banff National Park, Jasper National Park, Kootenay National Park, Glacier National Park, Yoho National Park.

I love that I can see Rod driving through all of this with me.

I suggest you google these parks and images for pics. I was too engaged to take photos. None could possibly do them justice

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Rod: "There are people peeing everywhere over here."

Note to anyone driving through the park system of the TCH from east to west. It takes about 6 hours so ...IF YOU HAVE THE SLIGHTEST INKLING TO PEE, DO IT AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY. You will be lulled into a false sense of security for the first 3 hours as there are many pit stops provided along the way but after that - ha!

This is the view from "the pee spot" which was so popular.
Of course, just down the road were indoor washrooms but bladders were bursting.

READERS' WARNING: the following contains information that readers of the more sensitive sex, when it comes to matters of personal feminine hygiene, may find yucky (Rawbear, this means you especially!). You may want to skip to the next *  *  *

I'd finally seen a sign for an information building about 5km down the road but Rod, who was driving ahead of me, turned into an area where he saw other desperate souls pulled over and I, sheep-like, followed. I made my way into a relatively secluded spot, squatted and peed with the force of a fire hose. Problem is I didn't use the Whiz Kit; result, massive splash back as the pee hit the dry ground and a lovely pool formed around my right foot (fortunately I had a full bottle of water with which to clean off). This is one more advantage of the pee kit as I discovered at the next pee spot. Having mastered the standing pee, I was delighted with the stream that sprayed well out of my way leaving my feet dry. I will admit it feels a little dicey at first but it's soooo liberating!

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Of note this day coming out of the i-pod other than the lovely pieces that graced my way through the Rockies:
Satori, Natalie Merchant - Equestrienne, Xavier Rudd, Julaka - night street, Janis Joplin, Melissa Manchester, Amanda Marshall, Simply Red,
Canadians of note today - Prairie Oyster, Serena Ryder

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With the long drives behind us and a leisurely night ahead, no need to arise early, Rod and I enjoy a meal a local pub's outside porch. Salmon on a croissant and a garden salad with a Corona with lime are my reward. "We are in our home province now," I say to Rod. It feels right and I'm conscious of the barrier the Rockies provide between B.C. and the rest of Canada - it is no wonder that B.C.'ers feel like a separate entity.

Rubber necking from Sudbury to the Soo

SUITCASE DIARIES

DAY 2

We drove from Sudbury, through the Soo (Sault Set Marie), and around the most breathtaking vistas of Lake Superior - hence the title of this post.

This is a 17 ft long truck.

A very moody looking view of the lake. Though the day was predominantly sunny
this picture hints at the power of this body of water

This info and what follows is posted on boards overlooking the lake.
Info from www.algomacountry.com

I couldn't write about this leg of my trip without including this tribute to the 29 men who died in the wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald on Nov 10, 1975 - written and performed by Canadian folk legend Gordon Lightfoot.


After this exhilarating day, I took a bath in our immaculately clean, Rod Waterman approved, room (this is high praise for their recent renovations) at the PARKWAY MOTEL in Wawa.

Me: "Hey Rod."
Rod: "Ya."
Me: "You should see this bathtub it's perfect."
Rod: "It's a real little one, right."
Me: "Ya."
Rod: "We'll have to get you one."
Me: "Great."
Rod: "In some places they call it a sink."

Yes, the road crazies have set in.

Yesterday we drove from Burlington to Sudbury via Trafalgar Rd, the 401 (over Toronto), the 400 (up through Barrie)  and 69 (through Parry Sound). Through the course of the day the incredible crush of cars on the faded grey asphalt jungle (over 6 lanes), aka the 401 westbound out of Toronto that reduces traffic to a virtual parking lot at 4:30 in the afternoon, gave way to the lush green forests, blue lakes and multicoloured rock outcroppings that make up the Canadian shield. As the geography of the shield took over I noticed that there are few billboards (in contrast to my childhood memories), no litter (hallelujah!) and where there was once graffiti, this need to say "I was here", has been replaced by the creation of hundreds of inuksuk sentries looking down upon us as we pass; it felt sacred.

This morning at 8:30 a.m., I set out on the #17 aka Trans Canada Highway, with my i-pod on shuffle and, as fate would have it, a selection of fine Canadian artists followed one after the other (some well known others creating labours of love in obscurity): Melissa McClelland, Wayne Krawchuk, Colin James, Luke Doucet, Michael Bublé, Joni Mitchell, Jack/Norm Clarke (my friend, Flo's hubby who serenaded Pam, Flo and I with song, folk and classical guitar selections as we gazed into fire pit flames), Harry Manx (Salt Spring Island resident and therefore honorary Canadian, if not Canadian born). What an amazing pool of talent we have. As I sing along I think Mom would have agreed with Henry Winkler's character in HERE COMES THE BOOM that "without music life would be a mistake".

In contrast to the rain, fog and poor visibility of the night before, today showered us with sun and benevolent weather.

Tomorrow, I'm told the drive will be long, very winding and not near as pretty. We may have to stop earlier than planned and as Rod's sourcing out alternatives to our planned stop he's threatening me with a motel with a super hero theme. God help me. I think I'll sleep in my car. Let's hope we can make the 10 hour trip as originally planned.