Monday Nora went with me shopping for more essentials for my trip. There was probably a great photo op at this one store we went to but it was kind of scary. It's an army surplus store and they have really good prices, but there's a real 'survivalist' kind of atmosphere (mannequins riding bombs hanging from the ceilings, gun toting mannequins dressed like ninja's, etc.), you get the picture... Anyway, I was afraid what they'd do to me if I took out my camera.

After that we went to Costco and got what Nora calls, "the lunch that keeps on giving". But boy, those hot dogs are GOOD! Cheap too!

The search for the illusive birth certificate is over. I thought I had a copy in my safe deposit box but when I looked on Tuesday, I didn't find anything. I called Mom and she couldn't find it anywhere at home but said she'd check her safe deposit box the next day. Well, thankfully, Mom found the original copy she had received when I was only a few weeks old in her safe deposit box. Whew! That was VERY close. That could have been a MAJOR showstopper! When I get back from my trip, I'm going to apply to get a passport.

Last minute packing for my trip--using the table to get organized--lists, etc. See you when I get back!!!

Well here I go--this is the later flight to Vancouver. My journey really begins albeit with a delay of a few hours. In Canada, they are bilingual (English/French) so all the announcements pertaining to safety, etc., are in english and french. The english is a recording by a woman and the french translation is by a man. Kind of reminds me of the Olympics. Since the flight is about 1.5 hours, they serve beverages and Dad's Oatmeal cookies (which I stash away for future eating).

I arrived in Vancouver, BC, cleared customs and began my quest for a way to get to Quesnel as soon as possible. First a stop at the information booth to enquire about bus service to Quesnel. There is a bus departing for Quesnel at 8am the next morning or one departing at ~8:30pm that evening. The advice from the young man there convinced me I needed to forget any ideas about spending the night in Vancouver. Too much going on he said, and no hotel vacancies to speak of. So how can I get to the Greyhound Bus Depot I ask? A shuttle bus can take you directly to the station I am told for a mere $13. I buy my ticket and head for the shuttle. I am totally trusting the shuttle drivers to get me to my destination. It is a beautiful evening and the streets are crazy busy and very narrow as we drive through some pretty trendy neighborhoods. And I thought the buses did a good job on Hawthorne!

~7:40pm: So I get to the bus station and purchase a one-way ticket to Quesnel departing Vancouver at 8:30pm for $107.54 CDN. According to the person that I spoke with on the phone while still at PDX, these tickets can only be purchased at the bus station. Luckily, there are enough seats available. Luckily there is a McDonald's in the station and I get something to eat (I haven't eaten since breakfast). I guess they don't have $1 value menu items in Canada. ~8:30pm: My night-time cross country Canadian adventure is about to begin.

This is the clock I watched all morning as the hours ticked slowly by. The gals at the Quesnel station were very nice and were as accomodating as possible during the hours I waited to be picked up (7:15am - 12pm). Once I knew when I was going to be picked up, I was able to go get something to eat. They've got a cute cafe/coffee house nearby that reminds me a lot of Papaccino's.

Merlin picks me up at 12pm noon, just as the gals are about to close for the day and kick me out. We pick up Cheryl at a nearby store and drive to Wells (about 1 hour away and basically the only way to the Bowron Lakes).

We got into Wells at about 2pm so first thing I do is check in to the hotel. All I want to do is get out of my stinky, sweaty clothes and take a shower. Regulating the water temp was a challenge but I finally get it stabilized. I get in and am all soaped up when the water turns scalding hot. I have to get out of the shower to turn it off-Yikes! I finally finish my shower and feel refreshed but tired. I opened the window over the bed and there is a gentle breeze blowing. There is no TV or phone so I set the alarm (to test it for tomorrow morning) for 3:45pm as we have a group meeting at 4pm. As I'm laying there trying to doze off, I hear this noise that sounds like a really bad radio. It can't be a radio though as we are far out of range of any station so I look out the window and see a guy standing there--right across the street with an electric guitar and an amp strapped to his back, dare I say--singing/humming--and playing in the most awful way. I was about to yell something to him to move along but he moved on his own. I was then able to doze off for a little while and woke up with the alarm at 3:45pm (it worked!) feeling good.