the road abroad.: 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