All Good Things Must Come to an End

And so they did. Fantastically and with enormous flair and grit.

We intended to leave at 11:00 and had no trouble at all in the pursuit of this goal. We had our free breakfast, enjoyed the final moment of luxury in our room, took some last pictures and headed downstairs to checkout.

The woman at the counter waived us over with a smile and took our outstretched room and mini-bar keys. With somewhat wide eyes, she merrily informed us that our "room fee and taxes [had] already been looked after" and that we were free to go. (This, of course, is because we purchased the room through hotels.com and it was a done deal before we walked in, but none-the-less, it was somewhat amusing to be treated as though we were some sort of mysterious VIPs who had our charges covered by an anonymous patron.)

Off to the car and back to the border crossing 50km east of Vancouver, because we had heard that it was a much better crossing. We laughed again at the sign welcoming us to Vancouver that says "Welcome to Vancouver: A Nuclear Weapons Free Zone." That is awesome, thanks for letting us know. In 40 minutes we were across and only slightly concerned about the time it would take to get from there to the airport in Seattle.

That is until we slammed on the breaks for the dead stopped traffic. Dead stopped. So stopped that people who had been there for sometime were already out of their cars, walking between the windows of other cars and making grand predictions and grim explanations as to why the entire southbound freeway was at a standstill. Oh, to have a Garmin. Had we had a Garmin, we could have pressed "Detour" and magically been whisked away to the perfect and hidden sub-universe just outside of the conscious realm of the average man, but we did not.

After sitting for almost an hour, I called the airport and spoke with four different people until I was able to book an alternate flight leaving tomorrow when dawn is thinking about what to have for breakfast. With great frustration and grim determination, we followed a line of traffic that had decided to go off the on ramp and struggle onto a back road that had no real clear direction or outlet. Alas, Garmin would have told me what we eventually figured out, which is that we could circumnavigate all the trouble, get back onto the freeway, and, in the process, enjoy the view and calm demeanor of a beautiful lake in Northern Washington all in the matter of minutes. Curse you, Garmin! I am ruined now for lack of directionality from the sky. It feels something like navigating by the stars, but instead using geosynchronous satellites with the vision of primitive gods and the power of a pantheon of brilliant circuitry and line of sight navigation. Detour indeed.

At this point we decided to try and find a hotel rather than sleeping it off at the airport. And that would bring us to the Days Inn, Sea-Tac. Ah. It smells slightly like an ill-vented closet. The bed is not so soft. The view not so grand. And, worst of all, it is not my home in San Diego, where I intended to be sleeping tonight. Perhaps we pushed our luck just a little too far this time. Here's hoping the alarm gets us onto the plane this time around.

Gotham Extravaganza

In an attempt to ensure our timely arrival into Seattle today, SPF and I decided to venture away from Sun Peaks and into Vancouver yesterday to cover the majority of the distance that we needed to traverse to leave Canada. Via hotels.com we found an affordable room in downtown Vancouver that would have been $350.oo a night, but we were able to get it for $170.00. Our luck did not stop there. Upon arrival, we were asked if the room that we booked with two double beds was really the room that we needed. Thinking that they just wanted the extra bed as Canada Day was fast approaching, we said "no" and they upgraded us to a Signature Club room on the top floor (23) with an included Continental breakfast and phenomenal view. This room normally books out at $430.00 a night. Booyah! So we went up to our suite and showered and changed for our one "nice dinner" where I wore my fancy burgandy dress and SPF wore his nice khakis and a button down shirt. (I know, swank, right?)

We ventured back downstairs, looking ravishing and, as it were, ravenous, and asked for a suggestion for a nice restaurant. After a few suggestions, the steak house Gotham was recommended and we eagerly pursued it as it was only a two block walk from the hotel and was already purported to be quite good. (All of the hotel staff seemed impressed that we were going there, and one of them told us how nice we looked and how much she liked my dress.) And so we walked to Gotham and were seated in the lounge (as we had missed the opportunity to book a table for the night) but the lounge was actually quite nice and still served the full menu, so no harm, no foul.

The jumbo shrimp cocktail that we got was phenomenal. I have had a lot of jumbo shrimp and have normally found them to be less tasty and appetizing than their less-than-jumbo cousins, but these were wonderful. Juicy, plump, and thoroughly tasty. De-veined and supplied with a nice horseradish cocktail sauce. For dinner I ordered the petit fillet and some garlic mashed potatoes, and SPF ordered the fillet (normal sized) and a house specialty called Gotham hashbrowns, which ended up being something similar to potato pancakes and were also quite good. The steak was phenomenal, and they didn't even give me any trouble for ordering it medium well. Sweet. It all went swimmingly well with the bottle of Liberty School Cabernet that the waitress would occasionally swoop in and grab to refill our glasses. For dessert I opted for the fresh berries with cream and SPF decided on the Chocolate Bourbon Torte. When the waitress brought them to us she commented on how amazing our selections were and how we should share, as the berries were fresh and tart and accented the creamy, rich torte to bring out the best of both worlds. She was so right. We ate each others desserts trading bite for bite and left the restaurant fat and happy. I highly recommend this restaurant to anyone in Vancouver.

Then it was back to the hotel for the most glorious bed and squishy but firm pillows that seemed to defy the possible. The room was equipped with an iPod player stereo, so I plugged in my favorites play list and we were soon jamming to Homunculus, Nick Drake, Toto, and Bedouin Soundclash. We watched a tiny bit of Hell Boy, discussed the finer points of the preview for Hell Boy 2, which we were both pleasantly surprised to find has been directed by the same director as Pan's Labyrinth, and then drifted off into a beautiful, pleasant sleep.

Ahhh, if only we had known.

The Irony of Generalizations

In the last few days I have blogged repeatedly about the many hazards of the golf course here at the Sun Peaks Resort. However, despite recent interactions with various wildlife on the course, actually playing the course today proved to be quite entertaining, and not as varied as I would have expected given the previous generalizations regarding the additional golf hazards provided by the mountains of Canada.

SPF and I went out and shot the first 9 holes of the course. It was his first time golfing. And yes, you guessed it, just like every other sport that he tries, he was inherently good. However, like my sister said to me when she tied my score the last time we golfed (also her first time) it was undoubtedly because I am a good teacher that my opponents/family and friends always beat me. Actually, to prevent the inherent competitive nastiness that I knew would ensue if SPF were to beat me at the pastime that I have spent the last year and a half learning, we played a scramble game. Best ball gets played, no matter whose it is. Sometimes it was mine, mostly on the drives it was him. No worries, we were cooperative, not competitive. His first drive was incredible, dwarfing my 100 yards or so with probably 170. Straight down the fairway. My short game was generally better. He would get us to the hole, and I would get us in. I did have one sweet drive though, a short hole with woods, creek, and a bridge between the tee and the green. No real fairway on this one, just a halo of taller grass around the green. The green was 126 yards from the tee and my drive was a perfectly straight 118, I'd say. It landed softly in the tall grass just outside the green. That is the only hole that we got par on. Other than that we did quite well on some holes, poorly on others. There was one hole, the sixth, that was a series of terraced and hilly increments upwards that placed the green probably 100 feet above the tee. It was a hell of a hole. When we reached double par, I picked up my ball and walked on to the next hole, instructing SPF to do the same. Yes, there were other golfers being held up at that point, but the hole seemed to have the same affect on everyone.

All in all we actually had a very nice time. The scenery couldn't be beat, and the holes were challenging but (with that one exception) not unreasonable. All in all a very nice day. We were tired at the end of 9 holes, and we both were getting new blisters (no gloves) so we drove the cart back to the lodge and got some crepes for lunch.

We had intended to go horse back riding, but it turns out that golf was less than half as expensive, with renting clubs, buying balls, and getting the cart. You have to get the cart. It makes everything more fun.

Tomorrow, off to Vancouver.

A Day at the Lake: Update

SPF adamantly is telling me that he was the "pilot" not the "row boy." Just thought I would clarify. Uhem.

A Day at the Lake

Yesterday was Lake Day. As much as we enjoyed our adventures in the wilderness with the foxes and the bears, we were thinking that trout might be more our speed for the day. So, we rented a canoe and paddled around the tiny McGillivry Lake for two and a half hours. It was actually tremendously relaxing. Well, for me at any rate. I was the "captain" and the "photographer" and SPF was pretty much my row boy. :)

Although we did explore two small islands in the middle of the lake. The first we named Adventure Island. It could be completely explored in about three minutes, but getting onto the lake was an exercise in balance, ingenuity, and the courage to face the possibility of falling into freezing Canadian waters. There wasn't a good place to pull the boat up onto shore, so we pulled up next to a fallen tree and I climbed onto the island via log bridge and tied the canoe to another stump on the land. It was then a matter of climbing over a bunch of other debris to get to the actual island, but it was worth it.

The second we named Wilderness Island. The main wildlife was mosquitoes, but our handy dandy insect repellent assured us a warm, buzzing welcome free from bites. Mostly free, at any rate. SPF fared worse that I, his neck looks like he is pox infected and contagious. But, he is not, I assure you. Merely nibbled a bit. This one we found more land to drag the boat up onto and again I tied us up (sailor's training, you know, I have some knots up my sleeve) and then we explored what we could reach. This island was much larger and we couldn't find paths around to the bulk of it because we were blocked at various turns by thick brush, trees, fallen trees, marsh land, and the occasional swarm of particularly oppressive mosquitoes. Ahhhhh, fun times. None-the-less, Wilderness Island was a great deal of fun. As was the lake.


We then came back to the lodge and played chess three times and he beat me every time. Again. I understand your frustrations, JQ. Although, truthfully, he says I was doing better every game. I thought I had him on the last one but made a really stupid move and lost my rook. After that I had two pawns and my king. I was really close, though. I had him on the ropes, until his pawn made it across and had a sex change/empowerment session and became a Queen. She was not nice.

Canadian Golf Hazard - Part 2

Admittedly this resort is not yet at peak golf season, but this is just getting ridiculous. These little fellows decided to come out and play on the 9th green at 10:30 this morning. They were quite playful with each other and didn't seem to mind the golf cart that went right past them. I don't know if the fidelity of this image is good enough, but check out the white fluff on the tail of the one on the right. Lovely black foxes.



The golf hazard here would be when the golfer decided to take his shot even though there were foxes on the green and when one of them saw his ball go by it thought that they were playing fetch. We are not sure if he ever got his ball back. Pretty sure the fox stole it as a memento. :)

Hiking with Bears

We started our hike this morning even though breakfast was provided with entertainment of the bear-walking-down-golf-course variety. Perhaps not the most intelligent thing we have done yet in Canada.

The first bear didn't cause me too much panic because he was pretty far away and we were down wind. That is, of course, until he saw us and was less than thrilled with our presence. So, we walked slowly in the opposite direction, avoiding direct eye contact, just like the brochure told us to, and he left us alone. We named him Rufus.


The second one was a bit more startling. Mostly because we didn't see him, and he didn't see us, until we crested a hill (which, by the way, would be the beginning of a pretty splendid black diamond) and there he was. Giant, arched back, bristling hairs, scrounging muzzle. Luckily we were still down wind and I forced SPF to walk down the mountain slowly while I walked backwards with camera ready to get at least one more great shot, should he see and dislike us. AQF's how to get a great shot while being mauled by a bear to death.

Tomorrow we are getting a canoe.

Canadian Golf Hazard

I apologize in advance for not having a picture to go along with this one, but it must be told, none-the-less.

First, a bit of context. Our resort is basically a ski lodge, though it has been cleverly allotted the dual purpose of being a golf course and golf resort in the off season. That being said, the course is steep, hilly, and in the woods (as it doubles as ski hills in the winter, which would be its primary purpose.)

So the course has its challenges. Our resort dining area overlooks the ninth hole of the course. It is serene, lovely, and looks impossible. You can see the tee from the tables, but not the flag, as it goes pretty much up from there. Only. So imagine trying to golf straight up. It is a 72 par 18 hole course, though, so it must be doable.

With one relatively big exception. Today as we were eating breakfast, after watching a woman whack the bananas out of her ball into a grove of tall pines, I happened to glance out of the window and see a grizzly strolling down the cart path. Not 20 yards from us sitting at the table. Didn't seem interested in the people who were all backing away hastily with cameras in hand. Didn't, actually, seem interested in the cars on the road that started slowing and snapping shots and driving away hurriedly as it approached the road. It actually walked between the building where we eat breakfast and the building where we sleep. BETWEEN. GRIZZLY!

I wonder what the shot penalty is for refusing to go to your ball because there is a Grizzly on your course?

So, we are going for a hike today. :)

CANADA!!!

So, SPF and I are now in CANADA! How awesome is that, eh? (To be fair, no one has said "eh" to us. . . yet.)

Favorite moments so far:
Canadian Customs Agent - "You be on your way, now."
Bridge Caution Sign - "Slippery When Frosty."

And then there was this . . .




Nice.