Due West: B.C. Pit Stop

I flew in to YVR late Monday night but luckily had arranged for VIP transportation courtesy of Mr. Dave Moriarty, an old pal from elementary school. He had reserved his "in-demand" couch for a couple of days during my stay in town. He shares a two bedroom apartment with his best friend Jon from high school just south of downtown so it was perfect territory for planting my big awkward feet.

Just to give a little background on Dave: we met in grade 1 after I moved back from England with the Davis clan. Seeing as how I had a British schoolboy accent at that time and Dave had Irish blood, it seemed to be a very unusual courtship as there were no fists, pint glasses, or slanderous remarks pertaining to religion thrown back-and-forth. Then again, we were only in grade 1 so we obviously had more important things to worry about like who would be picked to play on the winning ball hockey team, who would have the most money to buy a loot bag from the Harvest around the corner, and who would be the first to have their parents buy them a Power Rangers action figure (I'm not sure how true that last one was as none of us EVER watched the Power Rangers after school at 5pm on YTV...cough).

We pulled in at Dave's round 9pm so I unfortunatey had missed Tom Brady's miraculous comeback against the Bills earlier that night (Sam, I could smell your fear). Instead, we decided to settle up with a pizza pie in front of a laughable ballet show known as the Chargers vs. Raiders. I forgot the score.

Since Dave and Jon had both started school at UBC (or so they claim), I thought I'd use at least one day to catch up with Mr. Steven "The Axe Tickler" Mann & Mr. Justin "Riff Rapist" Penney to rekindle old hearts & thoughts (kudos to Mr. Vedder) of what was once a glorious university cover band - Rosebud. It had been at least 2 1/2 years since I'd last seen them, and as luck would have it I somehow managed to pick a day they were rehearsing with their new 3-piece band "Philociraptor." Sorry if I misspelt that boys...

Before entering the studio in Yaletown, I met Steve for a few pints to catch-up and grab a some tips on his travels through SE Asia a couple of years back. For the most part, this is what I got: 1) If it's moving, don't eat it 2) If it's not moving, don't sleep with it. I know...sick. Though those tips are a complete false representation on Steve and his character as I just pulled them out of my ass, he did have some good advice on Laos & Cambodia which was much appreciated. We then proceeded to take refuge from the west coast rain in the drums section of Tom Lee music on Granville. I jammed on some electronic skins. Steve played some mad shakers & spoons. People gawked. It was amazing. Don't throw out my drums just yet Mom!

The studio they had started rehersals in was basically a storage basement that had been converted into multiple studio spaces in a complex in Yaletown. I couldn't remember the last time I enetred a building through a back-alley. As for the inside, picture the perfect setting for a horror movie, add a soundboard, two guitars, a set of drums, and less rehersal space than the basement of Camp Juicy and there you have it.

Later on in the week I hitched the Tsawassen ferry out to Vancouver Island for a visit with Aunt Janne & Uncle Glyn. They live in a small town just north of Victoria called Sidney. Janne met me off the ferry and basically passed me over to Glyn, who had promised me a fly-fishing lesson on Elk Lake - a lofty invitation from someone with over 40 years of fly-fishing under his belt. Luke, eat your heart out...

We went through some basics, many of which I can't remember word-for-word but the main point is that I experienced my first successful fly-cast. I'm now hooked...BOOYAH.
The highlight came near the end of the lesson when Glyn reeled in a beefy Perch weighing in at less than a gram. It wasn't much, but it was still amazing to witness a successful catch. The next day, Janne and I took a walk around town before sending me back on my way to the mainland. Thanks again for the hospitality guys!

Once I touched back down in the city, I hopped a bus to UBC to meet Dave, some of his rugby buddies, and cousin Bren who I also hadn't seen in a while. Laughs, jolts, grunts, and cigars were exchanged throughout most of the night but all-in-all it was a great way to cap off my B.C. pit stop.

Next up, I was bound for a red-eye flight to Taipei via Hong Kong to Bangkok. Something like 18 hours total. I can already feel the burn...

Next up:
Bangkok & the Monk blessing experience

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