FRIEND OR FOE FRIDAY!!

There was some question on whether I could find some foes in British Columbia since Canadians are so pleasant. Rest assured, I did. Best of luck!

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1) FRIENDS!  This two man cover band in Whistler rocked!! They crossed all genres and had everyone on their feet. I didn't get their names but they were full of talent. It was so satisfying to see two people that really enjoyed what they did and did it so well!  Keep on keeping on.



2) FOE! This guy was a dancing maniac and creeped out just about every guy and girl at the bar in Whistler. He pulled out lots of dance moves but unfortunately every one of them was super UN-sexy. I got in his sphere by the end of the night just to snap these photos.



3) NEITHER! This one is FAMILY.  And we all know family is deserving of an entirely separate category.  I love my dad and can't think of a better dad in the entire world.  We’ve traveled plenty of places together and will continue to travel throughout the years.  However, he was an exceptionally bad driver on this trip and did not win any popularity contests when driving from Whistler to Mt. Rainier NP.  He was completely unaware of other drivers on the road, including a poor UPS driver who had to drive his truck over the median strip into oncoming traffic in order to avoid hitting us.  There were lots of Canadians with broken UPS packages that day.  We finally had to stick him in the backseat and put him in charge of making sandwiches.  You can see he spilled a little mustard on his leg here but he did a superb job overall.  It's a good thing my love for my dad runs so deep because he was soon forgiven!  He’s going to be so embarrassed that I included him this week.



4) FRIENDS! The newlywedded Keans! Laura and Jason held a fantastic celebration overlooking Whistler where we danced all night long. My favorite part of the evening was when the pastor insisted that they say their own vows in the middle of the ceremony. These two were VERY surprised!  But they recovered well and didn’t miss a beat when expressing their undeniable love for one another.  It was pretty special to watch.

  

5) FOE! No one who wears this outfit is a friend of mine. I didn’t want to waste more than one picture on this guy who was spotted at Shannon Falls in Squamish, BC. I don't know anyone who hikes in this attire. Nice legs, though!  J



6) NEITHER! Psych- This one is also FAMILY.  My brother Glenn and I set out to hike 4.4 miles to get a nice lookout to Mt. Rainier. We found ourselves on a pretty icy path where we had to use rocks as axes. Glenn’s a great travel companion and I’m glad I got to meet up with my parents and him for the tail-end of my Canadian adventure.  Oh and he’s a great big brother too!

The road abroad....smells like garlic.

WHISTLER, BC CANADA
SQUAMISH, BC CANADA
VANCOUVER, BC CANADA
SEATTLE, WA USA

After a 6 hour car ride and a hotel check-in debacle, Brent and I were really excited to arrive in Whistler to celebrate the wedding between our friends Jason Kean and Laura Hoover!  It was the night before the ceremony so he met the boys in Keaner’s room while I headed to my parents’ room to meet the girls (and my dad).  It was great to see my parents after 3 weeks!  They were really funny as they over-served wine to Cyndi Goodjohn and Sarah Booth (Butts).  The scene was set for a great weekend!

Fake hikers- Sarah Booth (Butts), Cyndi, Booty, Kurt and Brent

             We met everyone for breakfast the following day and we all decided to take in the sights.  My parents and Glenn headed up the gondola to check out Whistler while Kurt, Cyndi, Butts, Booty, Brent, and I headed for a hike.  We got horribly lost though so we headed for lunch instead.  I confidently ordered a pizza with garlic cloves thinking I would just brush really hard after. Instead I had the worst smelling breath at the wedding and my parents reminded me throughout the entire night.  Thanks mom and dad.  You tried your best to find me gum but I actually needed a new mouth.   (Funny sidenote- The next day when they were eating garlic crackers they said, "Hmmm, these smell like Kerri's breath.")
             The Hoover/Keaner wedding rocked!  The weather was almost as gorgeous as the venue that overlooked beautiful Whistler.  The dj got off to a rough start by playing the wrong song during the father/mother dance but the bride rightfully set her straight.  She got her head out of her heiny and started mixing some really good dance music.  It was 3 solid hours of dance dance dance- fantastic!  The emcee (and groomsmen) for the night, Doug, did a bang up job on the mic.  He was a natural entertainer and had the crowd in stitches with all of his one-liners.

 

Mr. and Mrs. Kean

Dad, Mom, Glenn and me

Wayne-o showing Booty and Kurt how to boogie

The groom.

Second place- Nate Leslie!

Mom and Dad

               By the end of the night, Mark Wyse had proudly sweated through his dress shirt which was good enough for third place for the night.  Groomsman Nate Leslie was doing rock star kicks with nothing on top but his suspenders and tie.  He certainly earned second place!  And first place went to the beautiful bride who had mildly back-handed the dj for her mistake on the music, successfully pulled off two hot wedding dresses, endured some serious blisters in the name of love, and danced her newly wedded butt off!  Congratulations to Laura and Jason!  Thank you for including me in your special day.  J

              The next night we were blown away by a two man band at the Irish pub that got the entire party started.  They were so talented and it was so inspiring to watch them.  Very rarely do you get to see people REALLY enjoy what they do.  These guys were undoubtedly enjoying themselves and it spilled over into the crowd.  It was amongst this crowd that we were all captivated by the most obnoxious dancer we'd ever seen.  This 45+ guy could have shaken the salt and pepper out his own head if the band had played an encore.  Friends shouldn’t let their friends dance like that.  Ever.
               My parents, Glenn and I toured around the Olympic attractions in Whistler the next morning and then headed to Shannon Falls in Squamish to see the pretty waterfall.  Considering my father’s TERRIBLE, AWFUL, NO GOOD, VERY BAD driving, we were lucky to get to Grouse Mountain outside of Vancouver in the afternoon.  We took the gondola to the top to enjoy the lumberjack show and check out two grizzly bears.  I had never seen grizzlies!  They were AWESOME!  We had a beautiful view of Vancouver as well as an up-close look at the many paragliders and zipliners that were taking off around us.

Paragliders from Grouse Mtn

Lumberjack show

Dad and me hiking

Glenn and me at Shannon Falls

Aww such a cute Grizzly Bear

Grizzly!

Glenn and me practicing our bear back-scratching on my Dad

 

We caught a vivid Vancouver sunset with the newly wedded Keans as well as the Wysers and made a break for the US border around 11pm.  We were beat by the time we checked into a random hotel room in Everett, WA.  Morning came early (due to some heavy snoring by someone whose name rhymes with Pain) and we made our way for the Boeing plant.  Again my father made some awful decisions behind the wheel and almost killed a UPS driver.  The poor guy had to drive his big brown truck over the median strip of the highway into oncoming traffic!  There were definitely some UPS customers that received broken packages that day.  There was a lot of frustration coming from 3 out of 4 people in our car when we headed into the manufacturing plant at Boeing.  The Boeing facilities were remarkable- larger than 800 hockey rinks with over 1 million light bulbs.  If you don't learn in hockey terms, you can also think of it as being bigger than Disneyland (not World).  They even relied on over 1300 bikes to help the workers get around faster.  The jets were enormous in the hangers and watching the assembly line was really cool.  I’ll definitely be taking more notice to what carrier I’m flying on.  “If it’s not a Boeing, I’m not going.”

Sunset in Vancouver

When we returned to the car, no one had forgotten what my father had done so we let Ms. Peggles drive for the rest of the day.  She was our hero!  Everyone seemed to get along a lot better now that mom was driving.  She brought us all the way out to Mt. Rainier where we raced to hike some great trails in the Sunrise section of the park.  Glenn and I hiked 4.4 miles to get a nice view of the volcano’s peak and found ourselves on a steep, snowy path whose sign recommended ice picks.  We were in a hurry though so we ignored the advice and quickly followed the footprints left in the snow from the previous hikers who were undoubtedly wearing boots and not sneakers like us.  The view was worth it!  Mt. Rainier is climbed by only extremely serious hikers.  You’re either WITH a guide or ARE a guide.  Most people who do have the pleasure of climbing it are usually preparing themselves for bigger mountain in the Himalayas.  Since we were in sneakers, we thought we’d stick to the amateur section of the mountain.

Mount Rainier NP

Glenn hiking on the steep, snowy path

The stupid blog doesn't let me rotate pics.  Please rotate your head to the right.

Mom and me!

            We were pretty tight on time though so we jogged our way down the mountain to meet my parents.  They had enjoyed their own hike through the nature trail and now realized they were cutting it close if they wanted to make it back to Seattle for their flight that night.  So, in true Sanders fashion, we rushed our way around the remainder of the park and took in the beautiful sights while making limited stops. 


Mom, Dad and Mt. Rainier

Checking out Mt. Rainier

          
            I tried to sweet talk my way onto my parents’ flight home but Jet Blue wasn’t having it.  There was a miscommunication when we all booked our flights and I was stuck in Seattle alone overnight.  I said my goodbyes and checked into the airport hotel nearby.  The last four weeks in Canada were completely different than I had intended!  What a FANTASTIC trip!  I thought I would be on my own for most of it but it turned out MUCH better than planned.  As far as I’m concerned, I saw the best of Alberta and British Columbia!  And I’m not even talking about the sights.  The Booths, The Goodjohns, The second set of Goodjohns, The Keans, The Williams, The Potatos, The Gonzos, The Pugs’, The Rambos, The Steve-os,The Chads, The Gooses, The Stackers, The Vipers, The Sanders’…all of them made this trip FABULOUS.  Thank you Western Canada, you’re good stuff!

New foods/drinks I tried in Canada: Ketchup chips, Kokanee beer, Brownie Caramel Blizzard from DQ, Halibut, Greek yogurt sauce for salmon, whole garlic cloves (never again)

Royally far from warm weather! My week in Prince George...

PRINCE GEORGE, BC
KELOWNA, BC

                    We hit the two-laned highway heading for Prince George the next morning and Brent’s road rage allowed us to make great time. We made a much-anticipated stop at Dairy Queen in Lake Williams for a shameless blizzard feast! DQs are everywhere in this country. Point for Canada! Only Brent would know exactly how many there are between Kelowna and Prince George. ..but I would guess no less than 15.
                   The 7 hour road trip came to an end when the signs for Prince George greeted us and I took my first gander at the town everyone had warned me about. Scott Rowan said I was making a huge mistake in leaving Kelowna for ‘PG’. His brother, Chris, said I would be the only person from NYC to ever visit PG. Brent’s friends sarcastically boasted that PG would be better than anything I saw while on my world trip. I had my expectations set low for this surprisingly sizeable town of 80k, which was great because they were immediately surpassed. There were beautiful public parks that were inviting of a picnic, a modern University with warnings of moose crossings and some immaculate soccer fields that gave me quite the adrenaline rush! It wasn’t long after we dumped our bags in his apartment that he was invaded with guests. I got to meet his dad and sister who live in the same apartment complex before we drove 2 miles down the road to see his mom. He was clearly missed over the past few weeks!


Home Sweet Home in PG

I really just went with the flow for the next 6 days in PG, which was great because it meant I didn't have to plan anything. I knew I'd have some heavy planning ahead in Europe so it was nice to just sit shotgun while Brent made all the decisions. Here are some highlights from PG:



Sunset on Lake Culculz

---Brent's cozy cabin on Lake Cluculz! The cold weather was a bust for any water activities but it was really fun to ride the quad through the woods, eat some Angus burgers and sit around the campfire with his parents. Brent's dad showed me how easy it was to burn plastic over the campfire. I was cringing just thinking about the damage to the ozone layer but figured they don't get much sun up here anyways. Haha. He was such a nice guy that I was able to look the other way. Plus he taught me how to eat sunflower seeds and gave me GREAT pointers for street fighting.


--Lunch at his friend Goose's restaurant called The Twisted Cork. Definitely a classy decor if you ever find yourself in need of some fine dining in PG. Nice work, Goose.
--Suffering from terrible pains in my chest due to the supposed poor air quality in PG. The air from the saw and pulp mills usually affect first-time visitors and I was no exception. It seemed like a great excuse for my poor running performance so I’m sticking with it.
-- Dinner with the whole Williams family! Brent's mom made a lovely meal complete with a moose pie dessert that would certainly justify any return trip I would make to PG in the future! When we left for the evening, his mom gave me some woolen mittens she had knitted herself! She was so talented with sewing, knitting...and making moose pies. I was truly touched. She was an absolute sweetheart and made me feel so comfortable. They all did! Oh and his mom, dad and sister all had nicknames too- A-hoy, Mitty, and Woop. Thank you to the entire Williams family for a great time!
--I was able to help Brent’s dad in setting up his new computer and transferring his old files. I turned into a super IT dork pretty quickly but it felt good to be useful! I had been taking it pretty easy so it was good to keep my mind sharp. His dad treated me to some Chinese for lunch. How did he know the perfect form of payment for my services??


Bud Camp with Brent and Stacker

--Lunch with Rambo. I started talking about my job at UBS. They were so intrigued by my daily responsibilities and I was surprised how little I had talked about them since I left my job 6 months ago. It was a completely different world to them….as theirs was to me. I had no idea what the ins and outs were for Brent as an insurance broker or for Rambo as a car dealership owner. They were convinced that I could give them stock tips and make them millions- silly boys.--Impressing PGers with my Boston accent. We met Brent’s friend, Stacker, who’s a rep for Budweiser and was hosting ‘Bud Camp’ at Shooters downtown. The Bud Light Limes were ‘flowing like wine’ and I had a really fun time meeting more of Brent’s friends, all of whom wanted to hear me recite lines from Good Will Hunting.



          We headed back to HOT Kelowna where Brent's friend, Donna, hosted us for a few days. She had an excellent two bedroom apartment in an apartment complex consisting of 6 different buildings surrounded by a pool and beach volleyball court. Here are some highlights from my time there:





Ladies of Kelowna, it's my pleasure to introduce Mr. Chris Rowan

--Drinks with Kelowna’s newest and most eligible bachelor, Chris Rowan. I had met Chris once in NYC when he came to visit his brother (and my good friend), Scott. We had some drinks by the water and enjoyed the hot Kelowna weather. 






Brent hoolahooping in Peachland

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Visiting a nearby town called Peachland. Trust me, it’s as lovely as it sounds! We met up with Stacker who was on vacation with his family and they hosted a wonderful bbq.
--Falling asleep on the nearby beaches of Kelowna. It's tough going to the beach alone though. I had to ask some random mom to watch my purse while I went in the water.
--Organizing a beach volleyball game within Donna's apartment building! I felt like a kid again just walking up to strangers my age and asking, “Will you play with me?” I was disappointed to get shot down by every girl I asked though. I had recruited 7 guys so we had plenty of people but I wanted some girls to play too! Regardless, we had a REALLY fun time! I’m really liking beach volleyball in Canada!

Potatoes feed the soul.

VANCOUVER, BC 
SQUAMISH, BC
KELOWNA, BC
VERNON, BC
KAMLOOPS, BC

            A sweetheart of a Canadian gave me her window seat on the flight from Calgary to Vancouver so that I could see the beautiful city west of the Rocky Mountains that hosted the most recent Olympic games.  Geez, Canadians are so nice!  I bought a train ticket from the airport into the city but no one ever checked my ticket.  When I met my friend, Laura Hoover, for breakfast at a Vancouver café, I had to ask her about it.  She told me the subway systems were based on the honor system here.  Ha, silly Canadians.  If they tried that system in NYC, they’d post revenue of about $18/month.   
         I had a great breakfast with Laura who is the soon-to-be wife of my brother’s good friend Jason Kean, aka Keaner, aka Ner, aka Nerskis, aka Stain.  I got to know Jason and Laura really well when I was in NYC and they lived in Hoboken, NJ.  They went on a world trip a few years ago when they both quit their jobs and Ner whisked her away to his native land of British Columbia.  Being a fellow traveler, Laura knew exactly what I needed and offered it outright.  Within minutes, she volunteered to store my backpack in her office, gave me her Iphone for navigating around the city, and her unlimited subway pass to get me around for free.  What a gal!
          Forty-five pounds lighter, I set out to explore the sea wall along the city which was lined with commemorative plaques highlighting important historical events that have shaped the city.  They also had a featured exhibit that showcased some of the most tragic stories I’d ever heard and the courageous people that endured them.  My face was all salty with tears until I saw the site of the Olympic torch.  This next line might hurt the feelings of some Canadian readers so please look away.  The Olympic torch was recently lit again when the Vancouver Cannucks thought they were going to win the Stanley Cup.  What a sad day when that torch was overshadowed by the much larger flames that burned in the streets when the Bruins won game 7.  The Cannuck fans took their frustrations out on this great city and I think there was still some embarrassment left in the air.  That being said, I didn't sport any Bruins garb- too soon. 
                I explored luscious Stanley Park and its impressive Rose Gardens before meeting up with Lindsey Miller on the Sea Bus.  So this is just the beginning of a long list of people and nicknames that you may or not follow.  Brent Williams (my brother Glenn’s college friend that I met at Glenn’s  wedding and wrote about during my Stampede adventure) invited me to a wedding in Squamish for his childhood friend, Viper.  Yes, Viper.  I met a slew of Brent’s friends and each one of them had a first name, last name, nickname and deviation of the nickname (that came about after they had drank a few beers).  So I met up with Lindsey in Vancouver so that her husband, Rambo, could pick us up in North Vancouver and drive us one hour north to the wedding.  Thank you to Rambo and Lindsey for the lift!
                The next morning, Brent, Codette and I decided to get a little sweat on before the wedding celebration.  We hiked ‘The Chief’ of Squamish, which proved to be an intermediate trail with nice lookouts over the milky blue waters lining the Canadian coast.  Brent stressed how lucky I was to see such beautiful weather in both Vancouver and Squamish since it is almost always overcast and dreary.  I think they need to recount those votes on best city to live in 2010.  Vancouver looks wonderful in the sunshine but weather should definitely be a heavy factor in a city’s livability.
                 The wedding was different than other weddings I had attended but everyone assured me that it was ‘so Viper.’  There wasn’t much organization to the day at all but it didn’t seem to matter.  In the end, two people who love each other were able to express it in front of their family and friends and everyone ate, drank, laughed and danced.  The entire wedding scene has been overpriced and overdone- the 2 kegs, deer sausage, and moose meat gave this wedding some real character and I had a great time dancing along to the dj's terrible playlist. 
                 We headed 5 hours east toward the Okanagan lake region.  It was a spectacular ride through hills and mountains lined with pine trees until it abruptly became arid and desert-like.  I’ve never seen what true logging looked like until I drove through the many towns leading to Kelowna.  So sad and bare...but I do like paper and lumber so I guess that's part of it.  Suddenly, all sense of responsibility flew out the window as we ascended into one of the top summer hot spots of British Columbia.  The rich, blue water was scattered with yachts and racing boats galore.  They just seemed to be teasing anyone unfortunate enough to be left on land on a day as nice as this one.   We checked into the apartment/extended stay hotel above Brent’s work and hit the boardwalk for a nice stroll after having dinner at a popular restaurant along the water.
             Brent put  in a solid day's work and was ready to start the 7 hour drive back to his hometown of Prince George.  We made a quick stop in Vernon, which is the hometown of my good friend, Scott Rowan (shout out- whoop whoop!) before we took a detour through Kamloops where Brent’s friend Potato lived.  We decided to break up the trip and stay with him and his wife overnight.  Potato (who got his nickname as a kid because he looked like Mr. Potato Head as a kid) was a friend of Brent’s from Prince George who was recently injured on the job as a mill worker.  Two days after his honeymoon, a 1.5 ton piece of machinery was dropped on his foot, crushing a bunch of bones and fracturing his other leg.  He could use some cheering up…and some beer.  So we brought over plenty of Kokanee and listened to Potato’s outlook on life and politics.  Amongst his proficient use of that four-lettered F word, he had great knowledge and opinions since his injury had allowed him to catch up on a lot of CNN.  A recent newlywed with a kid on the way, you’d think this guy would have been down and out about his recent misfortune.  Not a chance!  He was by the far the funniest person I met in Canada!  No offense to all the other funny people I met but Potato was a highlight of my trip and deserves to be recognized.  His wife Nicole was really cool and they were so hospitable not just in letting us stay, but for ordering me cheese pizza.  Only children eat cheese pizza in Canada so it was a VERY nice gesture on their part to subject themselves to the pizza boy’s ridicule for ordering plain cheese.  J



Rose Gardens of Stanley Park

Olympic torch in Vancouver



Balls of flowers in Kelowna

Here we go with the nicknames:  Wellsy, Mountee, Steve-o, Viper, Rib, Rambo, Gonzo, Pugs

Rib and Codette probably dancing to 'Rhythm is a Dancer'

Christie and Viper get married

Sorry!  No pictures of the Potato are currently available.  Imagine something like this though:

FRIEND OR FOE FRIDAY!!

Wahoo!  The long-awaited segment has finally arrived!  Take your best shot at these friends and foes from our neighbors up north.  It should be noted that, despite what Americans think, none of these Canadians live in igloos….or so they said.


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1) FRIENDS!  Brent and Sarah Booth are family.  It may have started as a friendship between Brent and Glenn at Union College but it has certainly evolved into a family affair.  Brent and Sarah lived at 15 Central with us before spending a couple years in the back bay of Boston.  Now they have a humble abode in the NW quadrant of Calgary called Tuscany.  They would make great Sanders if we were able to legally adopt them.  They really know how to show their guests a stampede-tastic time!

2)  FRIENDS!  My dad’s cousin, Keith, gave me the hot tip that these two campers were going to be in Calgary at the same time I was.  Defying all traveling odds (no cell phones and limited internet), we were able to meet up at Banff National Park where they invited me to their campground and shared their fresh catch of the day with me.  Heinz had worked with Keith at the US Air Force Base in California until January when he retired.  His wife and he sold their house, bought an RV and have plans to tour around the US and Canada for the next year.  They had such a refreshing outlook on life…and really know how to sautee some salmon!

3) FRIENDS!  So there I was riding along the banks of the Bow River in Calgary when this 65 year old biker sped up on my left side and asked if I was wearing a biking helmet or climbing helmet.  I had borrowed the helmet from a friend so I didn’t know for sure…but the fact that I was getting beaked by a 65 year old told me that I must look ridiculous.  It turned out he was a self-proclaimed tour guide of the Calgary area and told me everything we passed along our 15 miles together.  I followed him down to Prince’s Island in downtown Calgary where we listened to some nice tunes by his friend John.  They both gave me some great tips for my trip through Canada and Europe.

 4) FRIENDS!  These boys were hanging in a pub in Banff complaining about the women in their native country of Switzerland.  They respected the extroverted Western women they had met in Canada while working in Ontario over the past 4 months.  They were both farming engineers who thought Canada offered beautiful mountain scenery comparable to Switzerland plus a much more active lifestyle.  It sounded like they had outgrown the happenings of their small town back home.  They were really surprised with how much I knew about their country- they had never met anyone who knew anything about Switzerland.  Perhaps I’m becoming more cultured? 

5) FRIENDS-  I was in Calgary for just a week but that was enough time to join a volleyball team.  Brent and Sarah had signed up for rec beach volleyball and I was able to tag along on opening night.  I had SO much fun!  They had legit sand, legit v balls, and legit tunes rocking out while we whooped our competition and won 4 out of 5 games.  Pictured here are “Green”, Henry and Sarah.  Green was about 6’4” with a heart too big for spiking inferior opponents.  Henry yearned to be in the 1986 volleyball scene from Top Gun.  He had more skill than Maverick and Ice Man combined and, as this picture indicates, more personality as well.  Sarah Butts/Booth was an absolute dominator.  She played doubles beach volleyball in high school and served as the intimidator around the net.  She’s also an excellent nurse who looked after my infected hangnail both on and off the court.

6)  FOE!  Ok that’s a snap judgement on my part.  I didn’t really get a chance to know this cute little black bear cub that stopped traffic throughout Banff National Park.  It was my first bear sighting and perhaps I had set my expectations too high.  Like any greedy American traveler I couldn’t just be satisfied with seeing a bear.  I wanted to perhaps pat him, go salmon fishing and feel what it means to receive a good old bear hug.  So maybe this little guy didn’t do anything wrong but I wouldn’t consider us friends just from this one interaction.

So within one week in Alberta, I couldn’t find one human foe!  Perhaps they are in British Columbia- I’m going to check there next.