I am currently sitting at a beautiful lightly coloured wood bar in front of a wall of windows overlooking the intersection of Davie and Denman with the ocean spanning off into the distance. I must say that this Starbucks is in the perfect location... So many busy Vancouverites to watch go about their daily business, so many tourists stopping with their map to look around with a wrinkled forehead because they can't find the Sky Train. I must say, I've never seen so many cars, and so little parking spaces, but I guess that's why I've also never seen so many cyclists. This place is so diverse, it's bright, it's beautiful.
I can see forever from our downtown condo. Huge windows light up the white walls with an unexpected glow that makes me feel like I'm living in a dream. In all honesty... I think I am. After I take a moment to slide my big black glasses up my nose, I wake up to a light breezy morning, sunshine pouring all over me and a view of everything I've ever wanted to take the time to soak in. Trees, big beautiful buildings, mountains, and last but certainly not least, I have a perfect view of English Bay. Every kind of boat floating atop pacific waters that I've only ever dreamed of being able to experience.
It's been quite the time getting here having driven across 9 states and 2 provinces, attending a wedding and experiencing some of the most beautiful scenery that both Canada and the States has to offer. Sleeping in the car every night on an air mattress shoved into the back of Previs' Mazda 3 makes my current white Vancouver dream bed a cloud in heaven, but there's many great things to say about road tripping thus far...
Lake Louise has been my favourite place outside of Vancouver. I'll always remember the breezy view of the lake and a big ol' glacier staring me in the face whenever I find myself eating Ruffles chips with Helluvah good french onion dip. They go hand in hand in my mind now and will forever be one of my fondest memories. We hiked along side the lake to a beautiful tea house where we ate a can of Campbell's Chunky soup, cold, from the can; While we look out onto a vast array of mountains with their streams, and waterfalls making the scenery come alive with bright sparking glacier water. Bliss.
We summited Mt. Fairview after a long steep hike that was more than worth it in the end. A few incredible pictures had to be taken, and another much needed can of Chunky soup had to enter my empty stomach. The weather at the top of a mountain is quite different than at the bottom, and it was pretty amazing to slowly experience that change on the way up as the air got cooler and cooler.
I had the opportunity to experience Banff as my friend Jes showed me around the streets. I must say, Banff and it's locals is a wonderland of late nights, booze and prolonged youth. The dwellers call it "Banffieland" as an assimilation to "Neverland"... where you don't have to grow up. From my experience, truer words have never been spoken.
A large tattooed bartender currently sitting somewhere in his early 30's asked me where I was from and what I was doing here. After the usual explanation he asked me how I liked Alberta, I told him how I was falling in love with the mountains. "When are you going home" he asked. "Early Septemberish." I replied....... With a perplexed look on his face he said one word that has stuck with me, "Why?". At first, all of the million things I felt I needed to do back in Ontario rushed through my head: hug my mom, get a job, pay off my debt, move out, maybe paint my toenails and pet my cat. Then the thought occurred to me... if I take away all the things I FEEL like I need to do, things that are "holding" me in one specific location.... the world is actually quite open to me. I could really just go anywhere. That was a freeing moment for my mind. The world is my playground and I plan on treating it as such. I'll figure the rest out someday.
Cochrane Alberta was the next stop for an absolutely beautiful wedding that Previs had the privilege of being a part of, I made some new friends, had some good chats and a couple glasses of wine before leaving to find another random parking lot to sleep in.
Whistler held for us, a shocking and horrible surprise that not only cost us not a butt load of cash but also presented the most traumatizing experience of my life. Let me tell you about it.
Previs and I spent a lovely day walking around Whistler and loving the little tourist town, we grabbed some much needed local brews and chatted away for the evening to retire to Hotel Mazda (which is what I like to call our comfy little car bed) at around 1am I wake up in a state of panic and shock to the sound of a man smashing in the back window of Previs' side. I don't recall whether I was able to let out the horrifying screams that were creating a throbbing ache in my chest but either way my panic was enough to wake Previs. By the time we were able to understand that we were both completely covered in glass, our attacker had already jumped in his car and peeled out of the parking lot. Next thing we know there's a 28 year old man with an excessive amount of head hair, who was also sleeping in parking lot 3, ripping away the rest of the glass to see if we were ok. Everything happened so fast but the biggest sense of urgency for me was to free the shard of glass that had found it's home lodged within my ear canal. The cops were called by another parking lot dweller, and by the end of the madness we were left with a huge injustice done to us, no help from anyone, and a car full of glass. With a simple window missing, our home and all its possessions were now at risk to the cruel world. We wiped away what glass we could and fell back to sleep in our shattered Hotel Mazda, holding each other tighter than ever with glass lodged in our hair, clothes and feet.
I awoke the next morning in another panic because a strange man that resembled Glen from The Ringer stood at our broken window to hand us a warning slip for sleeping in a parking lot over night and to let us know that we had a broken window (thanks Glen.... I didn't notice that someone smashed it in while we were sleeping... and I especially didn't notice that we are having a conversation through said window...) We cleaned ourselves up as best we could and headed to Vancouver where we would spend $700 to restore Hotel Mazda to it's almost original state (minus the tint).
A few things have happened to make my past few days a little less enjoyable. A hike up Grouse mountain left me with a ridiculously fast heart rate, breathing like a woman in labour, spaghetti legs, the deep aching feeling of failure and the realization that I'm more out of shape than I thought. Previs was fine....
I also had a bird plant the largest poop on my head from hundreds of feet above me while happily walking around Kitsilano.... what are the odds? I also had the misfortune of having my phone fall out of my pocket leaving the screen in a state of disarray, and leaving me with the inability to contact, well, anyone. Previs and I have come to a point where we now share absolutely everything, even his phone.
Today is my last day here and despite a spell of really bad luck, I never want to leave, I feel like I've only begun to experience this place. I'm starting to learn the streets, the feelings, the sights sounds and smells and I haven't even begun to learn the people.
I'm about to leave this coffee shop to hit the warm streets, guitar in hand, and hopefully some new encounters will come my way. I'm so excited for the rest of this day to commence, and I'm also excited for what's to come as we head down the west coast! At the very least we'll have cheaper gas and less tax once we cross back over the border. As we close this mini chapter of our Canadian adventure, Vancouver has shown me one major thing that will sit with me for quite some time;
I HAVE to come back.
- Rachel
