FERRIES

Instead of driving all the way back to Tsawwassen which is just over the border in Canada we decided to catch the ferry to Vancouver Island from Anacortes which is halfway between Seattle and Vancouver.

The ferry left at 8:15am so we had to leave Seattle before six in the morning to ensure we were there in time to catch the ferry. Unfortunately for us it was a chilly foggy morning which wasn’t really conducive to travelling in an open top Jeep. We all froze on the trip especially the boys who were in the back and had little protection. The sun only poked its head through the fog as we reached the ferry terminal.

It was only a short line up and we didn’t have to wait long to board. The strange thing was that we boarded the ferry without clearing US Immigration and Customs. So they had a record of us entering the country but none of us leaving. I just hoped that this wouldn’t pose a problem the next time I entered the States.

The ferry was comfortable and sold a mean clam chowder which helped to warm us all up. The view was fabulous as the sun was now out in full force and the sea sparkled and the numerous islands that we passed shone.

The two hour trip to Sidney on Vancouver Island passed quickly and we were soon on our way off the ferry. We did pass through Canadian Immigration but it was just a cursory look at passports.

Our next goal was to find the ferry that would take us to Gabriola Island, our destination. Our GPS led us astray as we selected the quickest route which according to the GPS included another ferry crossing. It was a great idea in practice but not if the ferry isn’t due for another 45 minutes when you arrive. All we could do was back-track and rush for the terminal.

We just missed the ferry so we headed across the road from the ferry terminal to a small mall where we were able to watch the last 25 minutes of the world cup final. As we headed back to the Jeep I patted my pockets to find my wallet and soon came to the realization that I didn’t have it with me. I must have lost it when I made a purchase in a department store.

I rushed back to the store to find the cashier who served me missing. Then I spied her at the end of the store, hunched over writing. As I got closer I saw my wallet on the counter beside her. Relief! The cashier said that I must have dropped my wallet and a woman picked it up and handed it in. What a lucky fellow I am as the money was stuffed with not only Canadian dollars but Australian currency and Euro’s.

After a scolding from Tammie we boarded the ferry for the 20 minute trip to Gabriola Island. The island has a permanent population of 5,000, but this swells to 10,000 in the summer. We had book a cottage by the beach and were looking forward to a couple of days of exploration, swimming and kayaking.

HARRISON HOT SPRINGS

We have left the cold and snow of Ontario far behind us as we flew back to British Columbia early on Monday morning. There was a large crowd at Toronto airport and we were thankful that we had stayed at the airport the night before our flight.


My concerns about my bag being overweight were proved correct when the lady at the check in counter said that the bag was 10lbs overweight and would cost a baggage excess of $52. I knew exactly where that extra weight had come from as Tammie had loaded my bag down with four bottles of good wine.


So it was an easy decision for me to hand the bottles over to the check in lady who was happy to receive them and who then immediately declared that my bag was underweight. Funny that.


Our flight to Vancouver was packed with supporters of the Canadian Winter Olympic team. Many passengers were wearing Team Canada hockey shirts and Go Canada shirts and jackets and were off to the games.


There was a buzz around Vancouver airport and many Canadians were glued to big screen TV’s around the airport as Canadian television interviewed Canada’s first gold medal winner. As an Australian watching the Canadian Olympic broadcast the constant Go Canada and blatant parochialism is a little hard to handle. But when I think it through it is no different than the jingoistic Australian coverage.


After a two hour stopover in Vancouver we boarded a flight to Kelowna, a bare 34 minutes away. We had no sooner taken off when we landed.


We were no sooner home before we were in the car again, this time heading off through the snow and mist covered Rocky Mountains for Harrison Hot Springs our Olympic base for the next six days.


The resort has a number of thermal hot springs which look inviting and the lake where the resort is located looked beautiful even on a rainy day.


Our first Olympic event is on Thursday so Wednesday day will be a ‘chill’ day around the resort.

VANCOUVER OLYMPICS

The Vancouver Winter Olympic Games are less than 3 weeks away and you can feel a sense of excitement buildng up around British Columbia. You tend to hear more an ore people talking about the Games and whether they will attend, watch them on TV or just ignore them altogether.

The Olympic Torch relay makes its way through the Okanagan Valley on Monday 25th and Tuesday 26th of January. No doubt Highway 97 will be blocked for much of that time causing some traffic chaos. I have been invited to go along but I don't know if I will, as watching someone I don't know carry a symbolic torch doesn't really do a lot for me.

Attending Olympic events is a different story tand we have tickets for the Ladies Half-Pipe qualifications and final on the 18 February and the 2 Man Bobsled on 20 February. What makes the woman's snowboarding event even more attractive to me is that an Australian woman is the favourite.

The snowboarding event cost $150 and the Bobsled $75. I saw on a ticket sales website the other day that a single ticket to the snowboard event is being offered for $650. A bit steep.

What we weren't told when we purchased our tickets was the fact that you would also have to pay for transport to the Olympic venues as no private transport will allowed in the Games precinct. So we have to drive to and park at one of the 2-3 designated pick up points and get on a bus that will take us to the venue. You have to book a time and then pay. But as you go through the payment checkout you can only pay by Visa Card as they are an Olympic sponsor. What if you don't have a Visa Card?

The trip to the bobsled event at Whistler they state will take around 3 hours and costs $45. The trip to the snowboard event at Cypress Mountain will take approximately 45 minutes and that cost $21.50.

The booking website states that at the snowboard event you have to be prepared to walk 1600 metres to the event including stairs. It isn't as long a walk at Whistler but you have to catch shuttles and do some walking.

All up four tickets and transportation cost us $1200. An expensive couple of days.

But that's not all, you also have to have somewhere to stay. Hotels that usually charge say $100 or so are charging $300 - $600 or more. Upper echelon hotels are charging in excess of $800 a night. A couple of cruise ships will be berthed in Vancouver for the duration of the Games and they to are charging ridiculous prices for cabins. 

We booked prior to Christmas but still too late to get a decent price. We will be staying at a spa hotel at Harrison Springs which is aroud 140 odd kilometres from the bus we need to catch to the games. Who knows what the traffic will be like getting to the bus pick up point as I have been told there are already traffic restrictions in place for the Olympics. 

So the costs coupled with the travelling MAY make attending the Winter Olympics more of a chore than a joy.

Watch this space.

SILVER STAR

We spent the night in the town of Vernon with friends a highlight of which was soaking in an outdoor hot tub in the snow and interesting experience indeed.

Mid-morning Sunday saw us making a short 22 kilometre trip to the Silver Star Resort, which lies in the hills on the fringe of Vernon. On the way there snow continued to fall though it wasn't that cold at 0c. I had never been to a ski resort before so I wasn't sure what to expect. 

My first impression was how white and pristine everything was. The pine trees that cover most of the mountain were laden with snow which hung to the branches like dollops of whipped cream. Every now and again a branch could take no more and a tiny explosion of white fluff would ripple through the tree and onto the ground.

There was activity everywhere, people were coming and going, usually with ski's or a snowboard tucked under their arm. All of them were dressed for the cold outdoors with outfits and equipment that no doubt cost an awful lot of money, something that made me appreciate the sport of sunbathing on the beach where the only cost is usually factor 30+ suntan lotion.

Ski lifts made their way up the mountainside unconcerned whether they were occupied or not, parents pulled children along on ski's as groups of warmly wapped people stopped and regaled each other with their exploits on the slopes. A dog on a leash sniffed here a snow plough chugged past there. There was a lot going on. 

I felt somewhat as an imposter as I wasn't there to ski, I didn't have all the right gear and my two bug knee's won't permit such foolishness.  As a compromise I decided to try my hand at snow tubing. Sixteen bucks for two hours seems a far price to pay for some fun.

It is a simple sport. You select a tyre tube that has had a cover placed over it and proceed to the hook up point, you sit on your tube and a cable that's attached to the tube is hooked to a pulley system and you are serenely transported up the icy slope. Once at the top you pull your tube to the edge of one of three runs and prepare for lift off.

You are asked by one of the attendants whether you want to join your tube with that of your partner. You look into your partners eye's to determine if she is worthy and can you trust her? You make a decision that she can be trusted for now so you sit on your tube link legs and are asked by the attendant whether you want to be pushed or not and if so do you want a twist?

Never let it be said that I don't live on the edge, a twist it was. So with a push, shove and twist we are launched down the slope like an exocet missile.

What was it like? Well it was fun, no doubt about it but I suspected that the Silver Star tubing slopes weren't the most frightening in Canada. Actually it was a little sedate. I am told that there are some real doozies that are akin to riding a bucking bronc and I will have to seek those elsewhere at another time.

Nevertheless I really enjoyed it and I think I completed 7-8 runs.

Now I must tell you the thing that really stands out here at Silver Star is the number of young Aussie's who work here. Wherever I turned I bumped into an Australian or heard the Aussie twang. The three receptionists at the hotel were all Australian. The women who sold me the tube tickets were Australian as were every tube attendant bar one. I asked many of them how they liked it and each and every oe of them replied with a smile that they were having a real blast. What a great experience for a young person from the other side of the world to come and work in the Canadian ski fields. All I have to do now is to try and convince my kids to give it a go!

My first ski resort experience has been a good and positive one and somehow I don't think it will be my last such visit as there is a certain person with whom I have a few snowball scores to settle!

akmacca08@live.com.au

CANADIAN CRICKET

Over the past five days I have been avidly watching the progress of the Second Cricket Test, Australia v West Indies from Adelaide. A draw seemed a fair result. To someone not familiar with the noble game of cricket playing a game for five days, for six hours a day and then at the end of that time not getting a result would appear a little bizarre. But to those of us who grew up with the game, this is one of crickets attractions.

What other game can you have such quaint terminology as: leg before wicket, silly mid on, square leg, a maiden over or silly point.....well the list goes on and on.

To an Australian the dulcet tones of Richie Benaud signals summer as surely as cicada's blaring from a eucalyptus tree. For those who may not be aware, Richie is Australia's equivalent of Howard Cossell.

Thinking of cricket reminded me of a strange encounter I had about a month into my stay here in Canada.

I was driving into OK Falls and off in the distance I spied something that looked familiar. It couldn't be I thought to myself. No it couldn't be not here in OK Falls, British Columbia. I stopped the vehicle and said to my companion that that strip of green over yonder in the local park looks like a cricket pitch.

"A cricket what?" she answered with a vague look on her face.

"It looks like a cricket pitch. And look at either end there's a set of stumps!" Now she really thought I had lost it. Talk of crickets, stumps and pitches tends to do that with sweet Canadian gals.

I knew an explanation wouldn't suffice so I said lets drive to the park and have a look. She was only too happy to comply with the request of this weird Australian.

We pulled up at the park and to my amazement there were the two opening batsman going out to the pitch to take guard. One team were dressed in blue one-day garb and the other in yellow.

A cricket match was about to be played here in Okanagan Falls, population of around 1000. Go figure!

It turns out that the two teams were made up exclusively of expatriates from the sub-continent and a thriving competition is conducted in and around the Okanagan Valley.

So here I was sitting in my car watching a cricket match in OK Falls, trying to explain the convoluted rules to my companion, whilst just a short distance away a group of boys were playing an impromptu game of baseball.

Cricket being played was the last thing I expected to see here in rural Canada. Life is strange!