Home » Canada » The Canadian tour begins...in Beautiful British Columbia

Having returned to Vancouver so many times over the last few years, I was excited to be arriving out of character. I wasn't rolling a suitcase behind me through the gates at the beautiful Vancouver airport, nor was I jumping off of a seaplane from the Island. The train transport was a great ending to my American journey as I had watched an Oscar winning movie and filed my nails to perfection, whilst viewing familiar ground through the window. I was the first off the train from Seattle, wearing my Indiana Jones hat and hoisting my life pack onto my back. The customs official questioned me on why I wasn't using my Canadian passport (awful picture) and began flipping through the pages looking for an available corner for the final stamp. The final stamp! Although the travels are not over, my UK passport has been filled to the max. I'm back in Canada, as a Canadian, though still sounding like a Brit.

The Canadian tour begins...in Beautiful British Columbia

Coffeecat
2006-08-12 14:29:15

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As they always say in Vancouver, one day of sun makes up for 10 days of rain.

I went to see a show from a featured traveller/ writer from the Vancouver Sun. Modern Gonzo (www.moderngonzo.com), aka Robin Esrock, showed off his photos from his 24 country tour. It was interesting to see a different perspective of familiar towns around the world, but it did stir my itchy feet to get on the road more quickly. I won the door prize which was a great distraction to my travelling thoughts! Like many others, I approached Robin at the end of the show for some tips on working in the travel writing industry but settled on a future meeting as the night was approaching the end of the pub drinking hours!

So back to the social scene in Vancouver! I pigged out on some great greek food (no more sushi for a couple of days!!) with Sara downtown. Catching up with gal pals from the past is always a laugh, especially when their lives are moving in inspirational directions. This meeting lead to another reunion with my friend Kiersten. Every time we opened our mouths another memory was sparked and we were hysterically giggling as we had done as teenagers. We encouraged the memories with the box of notes I've hidden in mom's basement for the last 15 years.

"Who's this guy that you've put in hearts over and over?"

"Who cares about that, do you remember our drunken snowboarding trip down to Baker?" (we weren't really drinking mom, it was all an act!)

Having lived abroad for so many years, I suppose I have missed out on the chance to continue some friendships over the years. But then when we eventually re-unite, I feel as though I have a parental pride seeing the lives they have established. Of course, some friends can go in different directions and we lose touch, that's life. But I'm excited to be picking up with Walking around on the North shore, looking up to these peaks made ...