Day 10: Hope to Home

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We drove out of Hope at 9am - a civilized hour in my humble opinion, as compared to a few of the very early starts on the prairies. The toughest part of getting ready turned out to be kitty cat. She just would not be coaxed into her carrier anymore. In the end, we had to angle the carrier so that the opening was steep enough that she could not easily climb out before we quickly closed the cage door on her. Then off into the car. Once in the car and driving, she would not come out of the carrier at all. I think she was trying to punish us for this incessant driving lifestyle.

As we drove past Chilliwack (photo 1), I was instantly transported to the late 1970's and their hits, Never the Same, Fly at Night, and Arms of Mary. Halcyon.

Here is a photo of the landscape (photo 2). In the deep distance, a few barns seem unremarkable to the uninitiated. However, to those who have toiled in the mushroom industry, these are unmistakable. Not halcyon. No, not at all. The antithesis of halcyon. Depths. Nadir. Convulsive. In short, anti-halcyon.

Speeding past, we arrived at a beautiful view of Burnaby (photo 3) on the outskirts of Vancouver. Continuing on into the city, we had to slow down for this entertaining and tiny ice cream truck (photo 4). Well, truck is an overstatement. Vehicle for sure, but it's not even big enough to be a van, though it has that shape. I passed it just so Gerry could photograph its width (photo 5). Tiny!

At the ferry dock, here are two photos of the scenery (photos 6 and 7). You really have to come here to believe how nice things are.

On board the ferry, it was surprisingly windy. I tried to hold the camera steady for this video. It's only 12 seconds long, so it won't bore you to tears, but it does show how strong the wind can be, despite the absence of white caps (video "Buffeted" on Youtube, once it gets processed:

. I had to publish this entry before the video uploaded.)

Here is Nanaimo approaching us (photo 8) and the car on board (photo 9). Check out those bugs on the grille. Those are Saskatchewan's single greatest contribution to Canada's gross domestic product: locusts!

And so dear readers, thanks for being part of this adventure. Our journey ends, only to start another. I will be back with more tales of our new life on the left coast.

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