Canada and a little USA 2012 - lucy3119
One month in the USA and Canada

Back in New York
New York, United States
I arrived in New York around midday on the 28th, got to the Hilton (Trek America's gateway hotel) and treated myself to a ludicrously expensive, nine-million-calorie bacon Sandwich. Mmm-mm. Met up with some of my tour group in the evening for drinks and discovered that, with three other teachers on the trip, it wouldn't be much of an escape from thinking about teaching after all!
The thirteen members of our group met up with our guide Kyle pretty early on the 29th and set out in our minivan for Finger Lakes. We took what Kyle advertised as a 'hike' (actually about a 2km walk) to a "Waterfall" (actually a trickle - usually it's a lot more dramatic) called Taughannock. Later on, we swam in one of the Finger Lakes until we found ourselves being ever so slightly tangled up in huge amounts of seaweed.
We finished up at a winery, tasting 8 wines for $3, eating lovely fudge and listening to live country music.
We put up our tents for the first time at our campsite for the night and cooked chilli, the first of many (very successful...) campfire dinners.
written by  lucy3119 on July 29, 2012 from New York, United States
from the travel blog: Canada and a little USA 2012

"Aren't Canadians friendly, eh?"
Niagara Falls, Canada
The minute we crossed the border we noticed something odd happening...people were becoming strangely cheerful, friendly and relaxed. We must be in Canada! Our border crossing experience, involving the most upbeat customs officials I have ever encountered, was a slight contrast to my US customs experience, which involved a hostile-looking woman impatiently barking "Fingers on the pad! Thumb! I said thumb!" at me while I dithered confusedly.
First stop in Canada? It HAD to be Niagara Falls! We took a stroll along the boardwalk, snacking on kosher hot dogs (tastes just like the normal kind.....) and trying to figure out why our hair kept going static, sticking straight up in their air every so often for no apparent reason. Of course, we then took a Maid of the Mist boat ride into the Falls, which was spectacular. One of our group had been given a tip-off that the lower deck was better than the upper deck as it gave you a more dramatic perspective of the size of the falls: most tourists headed straight for the top and ended up packed in like sardines, so down below we luxuriated in our freedom to stroll around and see the falls from different parts of the boat. The bottom deck was much, much dryer, too!
Kosher hotdog!
After heading to Toronto, we set up camp at the Indian Line campsite, my team cooked pasta for the rest of the group and we settled in for a night of s'mores (our guide Kyle taught us the "proper" way to make them), and beer/wine/other. On a trip to the washrooms, we encountered an old man with a guitar who, on discovering that we were English, serenaded us with his special rendition of the Spice Girls.
We got a little worried later on when two members of campsite staff, Phil and Caroline, approached us...we thought we were making too much noise. Turned out, their truck had broken down and they needed our help to push it to the main road. We invited them to join us and they promised to return once their truck had been rescued. True to their word, they returned a couple of hours later in time to teach us the game '21'. Aren't Canadians nice, eh?
written by  lucy3119 on July 30, 2012 from Niagara Falls, Canada
from the travel blog: Canada and a little USA 2012

Rainy, rainy Toronto
Toronto, Canada
Our abridged tour of Toronto began on an arty, alternative street of independent shops and street art everywhere you looked. Several of our group were offered weed. We settled for milkshakes.
We then headed for the CN Tower, a stark contrast considering it was packed with tourists and hour-long queues (although we did get to watch coverage of the Olympics - it was the gymnastics - while we waited). We were conned into buying more expensive tickets that included a trip to the very top level of the Tower, the Skydome, only to discover that you had to queue for a further two hours after the initial queues to get up there. We declined.
We took the standard glass floor photos and ventured outside onto the platform for aerial views of the city. We watched a storm approach ominously and experienced a strange effect in the elevator: it began to rain as we descended, but the rain looked just like snow floating gently in the air because it was keeping pace with us on its way down.
A thunderstorm hit and, not being prepared for torrential rain, we hung around the CN Tower for lunch. Eventually, we had to make a break for it and a small group of us ended up waterlogged and disillusioned in a nautical-themed pub by the harbour called Wallymagoo's, sipping delicious key-lime pie flavoured smoothies.
In the evening, once we'd dried off, we were taken to a hotel for dinner. It was nothing spectacular...until, that is, the evening's quiz was announced. Turned out we'd stumbled upon a Futurama convention involving a quiz dedicated to the cartoon and a viewing of three episodes. Four members of our group volunteered to represent us in the quiz (they scored 0.5 out of 30, in the end) while the rest of us escaped to a Mexican 'dive bar'. Most of the people there were probably on drugs, so of course we ordered milkshakes.
written by  lucy3119 on July 31, 2012 from Toronto, Canada
from the travel blog: Canada and a little USA 2012

Amazing Algonquin
Algonquin Park, Canada
On our way to Algonquin Provincial Park we stopped for lunch in a place called Barrie, outside a slightly dodgy-looking reptile centre. Near to the picnic benches was an enclosure. Inside that enclosure was a washing-up bowl. Inside that washing-up bowl was some water. And in that water was a tortoise, floating, face down and still. We were slighty concerned.
In an unexpected turn of events we were invited into the centre and introduced to some of the reptiles: we got to hold various snakes, lizards and tortoises, while a knowledgeable volunteer guide told us everything she knew about the creatures. We mentioned the tortoise floating in the bowl outside. She looked concerned and said she'd check it out.
We eventually made it to Algonquin and within minutes of arriving we spotted a crowd by the side of the road, pulled over and experienced our first Canadian animal encounter - a moose! We joined the other tourists crowding around the unconcerned animal, and were impressed by the size of it, expecially it's long, long legs! After this, we thought it would be funny, considering the size of our group, to form a crowd by the side of the road for no reason and see how many people stopped to see what all the fuss was about.
Moose!
After setting up camp in a great forested campsite we took a short but absolutely beautiful hike to Beaver Lake, which only exists thanks to a dam created by a couple of beavers once upon a time.
Beaver Lake
Beavers at Beaver Lake
We had to bear-proof our camp before bed, which meant locking away any traces of food or toiletries in the trailer of our van. Most of our group were too afraid of bears to go to the bathroom during the night. I, on the other hand, forgot about the threat of bears and strolled casually to the outhouses without a care in the world.
written by  lucy3119 on August 1, 2012 from Algonquin Park, Canada

Steve and the swimming squirrel
Algonquin Park, Canada
Today was the day of our canoeing expedition. Our enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide, Steve, took us out on one of the lakes in Algonquin for a few hours of paddling. We ended up in a beautiful and peaceful marshy area carpeted in water lilies. On the return journey Steve got ridiculously excited at the site of a swimming squirrel, something he'd never seen before in all his time as a canoe guide.
We also dropped into the park's visitor centre, complete with stuffed bears, creepy talking mannikins and a board for reporting animal sightings - according to it, a bear had been spotted in our campsite that morning. We suspected this may not have been a serious report, though, because the same person had also reported a "mosquito...on my arm".
Some of us finished the day with a 7km trek along the trail of an old railway line, followed by a BBQ and beer.
written by  lucy3119 on August 2, 2012 from Algonquin Park, Canada

Surprising Ottawa
Ottawa, Canada
I have to admit, I wasn't expecting much of Ottawa. As the capital city, I envisioned something like Toronto but bigger and greyer. Turns out we were all wrong: Ottawa has a much smaller population than Toronto and the city centre is beautiful. We arrived to the sound of live music, and everywhere we went, there was some kind of performance or cultural activity going on. While some of the group went shopping after our visit to parliament, Charlie, Ross and I wandered down to the canal and watched boats moving through the locks towards the main lake. We wandered through the cultural quarter of the city and discovered a quiet and very French courtyard where we relaxed for a while.
Parliament, Ottawa
written by  lucy3119 on August 3, 2012 from Ottawa, Canada

Dinner in the dark
Montreal, Canada
We arrived in Montreal late afternoon and checked into our hostel (a welcome change from camping on mats for a week!) With no time for sightseeing we headed to O. Noir, a restaurant where you eat in complete, pitch darkness with only the blind waiters to help guide you. It was one of the most bizarre and interesting experiences I've ever had. We all had a few moments of panic as we were led into the blackened room and sat down, but we soon adjusted as the food and wine arrived. Eating was bizarre: we had to use our fingers to feel around our plates and often lifted our Forks to our mouths to find that there wasn't actually anything on them. Ross even started chewing on his napkin at one point. We all ordered the mystery starter, and had to guess what it was based on the taste before our waiter revealed it afterwards. Definitely a memorable meal!
After the meal, somebody decided karaoke would be a good idea...we ended up at Pang Pang's, a true Chinese-style karaoke place with our own room. Such a hilarious night...
written by  lucy3119 on August 4, 2012 from Montreal, Canada

Pirates of Montreal
Montreal, Canada
Our day of sightseeing in Montreal. Most of the group went for some jet boating while Ross and I went to see what we could find around the harbour. We ended up stumbling upon an art exhibition of work by indigenous Canadians, as well as a pirate-themed restaurant that we thought looked like fun: we tipped off the rest of the group and we ended up booking a table for the evening.
Streets of old Montreal
We were hit by torrential rain but decided to carry on sightseeing regardless; luckily, the sun soon came out and we wandered the very French and atmospheric streets of Montreal, eating ice cream and watching a street performer climb a ladder made of knives while offending passers-by. We also tried maple lemonade served in classic American red plastic cups.
Maple lemonade
In the evening we returned to our pirate restaurant, which turned out to be a great find - not only was the food fantastic, we also had a pirate musician playing sea shanties and Irish folk music on the fiddle and banjo (with audience participation) and posed in the stocks with our pirate host.
Piratical entertainment
written by  lucy3119 on August 5, 2012 from Montreal, Canada

Everything's breakfast in Tennessee
Quebec, Canada
As we were packing up the van ready to head to Quebec, a man approached us, informed us that "everything's breakfast in Tennessee", and asked us if we were selling beer.
Back to camping again in Quebec after two comparatively luxurious nights in a hostel. We arrived late afternoon in time for a ghost tour of the old town lead by a Liverpudlian girl dressed as a Victorian man. The highlight of the tour was being allowed into the Notre Dame cathedral at night, sitting on the pews in the dark listening to ghostly tales. It was lovely seeing Quebec all lit up, particularly the Chateau Frontenac on the hill.
Chateau Frontenac
Ghost tour
written by  lucy3119 on August 6, 2012 from Quebec, Canada

When in France...
Quebec, Canada
Quebec is by far my favourite Canadian city. The old city is beautiful, atmospheric and cultural and, as usual, the locals were really friendly.
We began with a visit to the Citadelle to watch the changing of the guards, a 40-minute long process involving soldiers in English-style red uniforms, a marching band and a goat with golden horns.
We wandered around parliament, the Chateau Frontenac, and quirky streets complete with giant murals. On the search for some good poutine (a local dish of fries covered in gravy and cheese curds) we asked an off-duty local tour guide who led us to a restaurant apparently frequented by the locals. We weren't disappointed: despite not usually liking fries with cheese OR fries with gravy, I ate every bit of my delicious poutine.
Poutine
Charlie and I, separated from the group, stumbled upon a glassware shop where you could watch live glass blowing, and then settled down at a cafe in a beautiful courtyard opposite the cathedral. We made bets on how long it would be before we spotted another member of our group and, sure enough, Ross soon wandered by and joined us for a drink. We wandered around a bit more, stopping to watch street musicians and artists.
Not very nice, eh?
Earlier in the day Charlie, Amanda and I had visited the Morrin Centre, an ex-jail that now houses a beautiful library. There, we met a man who referred to himself as 'The Ben' and informed us that if we returned at 5pm, we could join a tour that would give us the chance to be prisoners: "we WILL treat you like prisoners". How could we refuse?
We arrived for our tour and were forced to line up outside, in handcuffs, before being led to the 'medical room', where we were examined and given a 'tonic'. We then proceeded to the cells.
Charlie and 'The Ben'
Me and 'The Ben'
After the tour, we thought "when in France..." and went for crepes at a great little creperie.
The torrential rain caught up with us again just as we were headed to a a free Cirque du Soleil performance under an underpass. After much deliberation we decided to stick it out and I'm glad we did: despite a completely bizarre and disturbing concept the performers themselves were amazing, with their gravity- and death-defying acrobatics.
written by  lucy3119 on August 7, 2012 from Quebec, Canada

To New England
Boston, United States
A day mostly of travelling back across the border to the USA, and onwards to Maine, New England. We stopped for lunch on the beautiful Banks of a River. We sat with our feet in the water for a while and then headed back up the Banks for lunch. Imagine our Surprise when we discovered that, within minutes of us moving, the water level had risen by about 4 or 5 feet, submerging the rocks we had been sitting on. With the help of a sign we figured out that the River was linked to a hydroelectric dam...but it was still a bizarre experience!
We arrived at our campsite in Acadia National Park and spent the evening around the campfire bonding over some beer, wine and card games.
written by  lucy3119 on August 8, 2012 from Boston, United States

Lobster special
Boston, United States
Despite a foggy start to the day we hit the beach, with only Katie, Katy and Lorna being brave enough to swim in the freezing Atlantic. They weren't out there for long before a crab attack drove them back to shore.
Later on, we headed to the campsite's pool to warm up, and decided to start practicing for the 2016 Olympics with a highly professional synchronised swimming routine that involved doing the YMCA.
While most of the group hung around the campsite in the afternoon, Charlie and I took the free shuttle bus into Bar Harbor, where we accidentally bought the largest and most delicious ice-creams known to man, and barely managed to eat half of them before admitting defeat.
American-sized ice-creams
We sat on a green overlooking the bay for a while before heading back to meet our group for a typical Maine dinner: lobster! Some members of our group bought lobster for the first time ("when in Maine...") but hadn't quite realised what they were in for: Lorna's disgusted face as she dissected her lobster was priceless!
That night, as we slept soundly in our tents, we were interrupted by a huge crash. Scared to investigate, imagining a bear prowling around our tents, we waited until morning to inspect the carnage: all our food had been eaten during the night by raccoons.
written by  lucy3119 on August 9, 2012 from Boston, United States

The Boston Detour
Boston, United States
A spur of the moment decision had us heading to Boston before returning to New York, our guide booking us into a hotel where we would be sneakily sleeping 5 in a 2-person room.
It was up to us to decide where to go once we arrived in the city, so Charlie, Amanda and I took the subway to Harvard University where we sat and soaked up the Ivy League atmosphere and battled with tour groups for a photo with John Harvard himself.
Harvard
Losing Amanda, Charlie and I sat outside on the street eating pizza and iced tea, before heading to Monument Park, hoping for great views over the city. Unfortunately, the torrential rain that had been following us around the US and Canada caught up with us again, and by the time we arrived at the park, the monument had been closed due to the weather. We stumbled upon Amanda again at this point and made our way back to our meeting place on the Ferry. As we waited for our guide to pick us up, a clock Tower nearby bizarrely started chiming 'God Save the Queen'.
For our final dinner of the trip we visited an all-American restaurant which served us portions big enough to feed four men rather than one: I swear I had at least half a turkey piled up on my plate. To recover from the meat sweats Charlie, Lewis and I wandered around the city, soaking up the pretty lights and live music.
American-sized portions in Boston!
written by  lucy3119 on August 10, 2012 from Boston, United States

To Canada...again!
Calgary, Canada
I arrived in Calgary at 11am and met up with Rylan, who took me to Nosehill Park for views of downtown Calgary, before we headed back to his House to meet his parents and various overexcited animals. We then headed to downtown itself, where Rylan very helpfully couldn't think of a thing to see or do there. So, we bought some ice cream and walked along the River which was, unlike the Thames in London, beautiful, clear and bright blue. That's one of the many things that Canada definitely doesn't have a shortage of: water.
On the way home, Rylan got fed up of me making fun of his terrible driving of the standard-drive car he'd borrowed (of course, most Canadian cars are automatics) so as we entered his quiet neighbourhood he made me take the dRiver's seat. At which point I executed the smoothest gear changes I have ever managed in my life and was happily rubbing it in his face until we unexpectedly came to a 90 degree bend in the road and almost died.
Downtown Calgary
Calgary from Nosehill park
For dinner, we barbequed some huge Calgary steaks and I got to catch up with Kira before Rylan and I headed off on our tour of the Rockies. As dinner ended, a thunderstorm of epic proportions hit Calgary. While the Canadians didn't seem particularly concerned by the lightning flashing relentlessly every second, I stood at the window like an English fool repeating "THIS IS INSANE!!" until gigantic hailstones began to fall from the sky.
Thunderstorm excitement wearing thin, we all watched Tim Minchin in what I like to call their 'home cinema' to finish off the day.
written by  lucy3119 on August 12, 2012 from Calgary, Canada

To the mountains!
Banff, Canada
With the truck packed with our camping equipment, we set off into the Mountains! First stop: Takakkaw Falls. These falls were a lot more spectacular than New York's Taughannock Falls...Rylan suggested we climb alongside the raging water and within seconds we were soaking wet. Lucky we had some super-attractive, bright yellow raincoats to wear!
Takakkaw Falls
We gradually dried off on the drive to Lake Louise. The bright blue, Crystal Clear Lake was beautiful, I admit, and I always knew it was going be touristy...but I wasn't quite prepared for the swarms of tourists in and around the lake. We decided not to linger there for long, heading off on our hike up to Lake Agnes Teahouse. Again, I was expecting the teahouse to be jammed to the rafters with tourists but we managed to grab a table with a lovely view of the lake and ordered delicious chai teas. We saw a 'staff wanted' ad on the wall and asked our server what it's like working there: during the week they stay in lodges near the isolated teahouse, which has no electricity, and must hike up and down the Mountain to bring in supplies/dispose of garbage. Sounds like one person's idea of heaven, another's idea of hell!
During the hike, I very nearly slipped off the edge of the Mountain - "ooh, that was close!", a passing stranger commented - and Rylan won the award for first injury of the trip when he fell flat on his face.
Our accommodation that night was...a cabin! Called Deltaform.
Lake Louise
written by  lucy3119 on August 13, 2012 from Banff, Canada

Kicking Horses down the river
Golden, Canada
A whole day of white water rafting! The day began with a drive to the upper canyon of the Kicking Horse River in real American-style yellow ex-schoolbuses, which was a huge novelty for me (not just seeing one, but RIDING in one?!?) and completely underwhelming for Rylan, who used to get one to school every day anyway.
We were eased into rafting on the calm upper canyon, and then stopped for a barbeque lunch. We then headed to the middle canyon, which flowed slightly faster with several runs of Class 3 and 4 white water along the way. During another break, we mentally prepared ourselves for the lower canyon, a stretch of mostly Class 4 rapids. It was hard work, and we had several man-overboards, but the highlight was a stretch of rapids that our guide assured us was "totally safe" for us to jump out of the raft and swim through. The only warning: "oh, by the way, your head will definitely be underwater...just ride with it".
After a freezing cold yellow schoolbus ride back to base in Golden, we headed to our campground at Canyon Hot Springs, between Glacier and Mount Revelstoke National Parks. We recovered from rafting with a visit to the hot springs, and then cooked sausages on skewers over the campfire.
written by  lucy3119 on August 14, 2012 from Golden, Canada

Meadows in the sky
Revelstoke, Canada
A day of 'easy' walks to recover from rafting the day before and to ease us in to our big hike the following day.
We started off at the Giant Cedars Boardwalk, which was quite mystical and awe-inspiring. Next, Skunk Cabbage Boardwalk, where we saw recent evidence of bears...but sadly (or luckily, depending on how you look at it) no bears themselves.
Next, we took a chance on Meadows in the Sky, which involved a long, winding drive up a Mountain and turned out to be one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. Despite being stalked for the first fifteen minutes of the walk by a horse fly that took a shine to (and a bite out of) my head, we made it to the summit for some absolutely stunning views of snow-capped peaks and bright blue rivers. Our Mountaintop meadow itself was also beautiful, covered in a carpet of brightly coloured wild flowers. The experience is impossible to describe or replicate through photos.
Meadows in the Sky
We finished off the day with the Loop Brook trail, which followed the route of an old railway line through the Forest. We accidentally started at the end of the trail instead of the start, managing to get ourselves lost for a while.
Back at the campsite, we cooked fajitas with rice-a-roni (flavoured instant rice, slightly crunchy, my new favourite lazy food) and made the most of the hot springs again.
written by  lucy3119 on August 15, 2012 from Revelstoke, Canada

Falling down a mountain
Revelstoke, Canada
Into Rogers Pass in Glacier National Park for our big hike up the Asulkan Valley trail. 8.5km struggling up a Mountain, 8.5km sliding back down again. The first stretch of the hike took us through shady trees strung with gigantic spider's webs, many of them suspended across the trail path, so obviously I made Rylan go first. The next stretch gave us great views of raging waterfalls and a treacherous walk across some late snow. The final stretch was torture. The way became ridiculously steep and exposed to the sun, and for a good few minutes I was concinved I was going to have some kind of organ failure. However, we made it to the top and sat and ate at one of the most epic lunch spots I will probably ever experience.
As if the uphill trek wasn't painful enough, on the way down I lost my footing and tumbled, head over heels, a good ten feet down the trail. Luckily, my legs took most of the impact...I still have the cuts and bruises to show for it.
After the hike, we headed to the town of Revelstoke where we limped around looking for jeans for our horseriding adventure two days away. We were intrigued by a restaurant advertising German-Indian cuisine, so we stopped in for deep-fried bratwurst wonton, korma and rose-flavoured milkshakes.
Another evening at the hot springs burned and then eased my Mountain-related injuries.
written by  lucy3119 on August 16, 2012 from Revelstoke, Canada

A "relaxing" day...
Sicamous, Canada
I was promised a relaxing day today after barely being able to walk thanks to falling down the Mountain the day before. So we packed up camp and headed off to Sicamous and the lakefront home of Lossie and Jan, Rylan's aunt and uncle. Jan had made sure he was here especially so he could take us out on his motor boat, so after lunch on the balcony we headed out onto the lake for a few hours of deep relaxation.
However, the relaxation didn't last as long as I'd hoped...before I knew it I was in the lake, at the end of a rope attached to the boat, humiliating myself on (or mostly off) a wakeboard. Followed by a battering on the inflatable tube as Jan tried his hardest to throw us off, driving into the wake of other passing boats.
Finished the evening with an incredible dinner from Lossie as we talked about Peru, Lossie's home country.
written by  lucy3119 on August 17, 2012 from Sicamous, Canada

You can lead a horse to water
Lumby, Canada
We were up at 6am for our day of horse riding in Lumby, BC. We arrived at the Silver Spurs Wilderness Ranch for 9am and spent some time getting the horses and ourselves kitted out (I got to steal our guide's son's new cowboy boots because my own shoes didn't have a big enough heel for the stirrups).
We then headed out on our 7 to 8 hour ride up a mountain to a lake and back again. At this point I discovered that, when Rylan originally booked our trek, even the guides themselves had tried to persuade him to opt for the 5 hour ride instead. He insisted. They gave in. I began to think this might be a bad idea.
Things were fine until lunch time. The horses were very familiar with the steep, uphill trail: all we had to do was lean forwards and leave the work to them. My horse, Diamond, preferred to canter up the steeper parts of the trail, which meant I spent most of the uphill stretch holding on for dear life.
We stopped for lunch at the summit, with a brown paper bag packed lunch and lovely views of the surrounding mountains. We then pressed on for our next stop: the lake. The thing was, our guides hadn't used this trail for a while (clearly, other visitors were more easily discouraged from booking the 8 hour ride than we were) so we ended up hacking our way through the forest. Soon, we were lost. Very, very lost. We had to dismount and lead our horses through the increasingly thick and wild undergrowth in the stifling heat. It was only by chance that, after a lot of false leads, we stumbled upon our original trail and were able to retrace our steps back to the main trail.
We eventually made it to the lake, which was beautiful, and we relaxed for a while before beginning the return journey. By this point, my battered legs were in all kinds of agony and my horse had decided it was going to try to consume every blade of grass in sight. This meant a battle of wills between me and Diamond - one that Diamond usually won.
The downhill journey was slightly terrifying, particularly considering Diamond's tendency to stumble even on flat ground. I spent the steep downhill ride leaning so far back in my saddle I was practically lying down.
Safely back at the ranch, we hobbled to the verandah of the ranch and drank the most delicious home-made iced tea with freshly-baked cookies.
When we'd recovered a little, we drove to Rylan's aunt Linden's house, our base for two nights. We arrived late evening.
written by  lucy3119 on August 18, 2012 from Lumby, Canada

Supposedly relaxing and "aren't Canadians nice, eh?" take two
Kelowna, Canada
Another supposedly "relaxing" day with an unexpected turn of events. The day began relaxing enough, with a lie-in followed by a tour of some of the Okanagan valley's wineries. We tasted and we bought, including the super sweet ice wine, a Canadian speciality. I like sweet wine, but ice wine is a whole new level of sweet. We stopped for a tapas lunch at the Little Straw winery, my personal favourite, with stunning views over the lush wine country.
On the way home, our day became a little less relaxing when Rylan casually drove into a ditch. Stuck, we managed to summon the owner of the driveway we'd got stuck on. He wasn't impressed: he'd just had his asphalt done. He wasn't able to help us as his tow cable was in his other truck; however, a family in a 4x4 took pity on us and pulled over, then generously offered to go home, pick up their tow rope, and come back. We felt absolutely terrible when, on their return, the weight of our truck snapped both of their ropes. Just as we were beginning to despair, a man across the road appeared at his door and offered us a chain. This was also a spectacular act of kindness considering that he was attached to a drip at the time. Luckily, the chain was enough to pull our truck out of the ditch, although the brand new asphalt hadn't fared too well. In a final act of kindness, the owner of the driveway, who had originally warned us that we'd have to pay for any damage to his new asphalt, told us not to worry about it after all.
Aren't Canadians nice, eh?
Our evening was much more relaxing: we lay by the pool in the garden overlooking Okanagan lake and the valley; we barbecued Chicken; we witnessed a beautiful sunset and lazed in the hottub. Perfect!
written by  lucy3119 on August 19, 2012 from Kelowna, Canada

Still alive...I think
Vernon, Canada
Today, w left the luxury of the House at Kelowna and headed to Ellison Provincial Park for another night of camping. On the way, we stopped at the Log Barn, a very corny shop selling food and gifts run by Mennonites. We picked up some beef jerky, fruit and taffy, posed with a stuffed black bear and watched goats cross 'Dave's goat walk', a walkway bizarrely suspended across the carpark.
We made it to Ellison and, after putting up the tent, we spent the afternoon and early evening at the beach.
Rylan told me about a rock that you could jump off into the lake, so we decided to give it a go. In the dark. Of course, we scouted out the route to The Rock beforehand, spotting a chipmunk behaving in a very odd way, jumping up and down, spinning and rolling around. Suspecting some form of chipmunk rabies, we made a hasty exit.
As darkness fell, we made our way back to The Rock with the aid of torches and, after making Rylan go first to prove that I wasn't, as I suspected, at risk of death, and then dithering for at least another 10 minutes, I jumped.
I'm still alive. I think.
written by  lucy3119 on August 20, 2012 from Vernon, Canada

"Welcome to the U.S.Eh!"
Vernon, Canada
We spent another morning on the beach at Ellison Provincial Park before packing up camp and setting out for Kaslo, and our B&B.
For some reason, we ended up taking a route that was twice as long as the one originally planned...although, admittedly, it was a beautiful route. We drove very close to the Canadian/USA border, experiencing ranches and frontier-style towns, complete with clapboard houses and saloons. We spotted a sign with the brilliant message, "Welcome to the U.S.Eh!" It's nice to know Canadians can make fun of themselves, not to mention their relations with the USA!
During the entire trip I'd been mentioning that I wished I had a cowboy hat (particularly for our epic horseback trek up a Mountain), but I wasn't expecting Rylan to pull up at a ranch selling riding gear and ask to see their selection of cowboy hats..!
Below: the cowboy hat plus other cheesy Canadian attire...
The hat
We got near to Kaslo much later than we'd anticipated but, because of the route we'd taken, we came across Ainsworth Hot Springs and decided to stop for some relaxation (you can never have too many hot springs!) and dinner. The hot springs themselves are reached by swimming inside a cave: it's ridiculously hot and stuffy inside, but there's also an icy cold plunge pool and an outdoor pool for some relief from the heat! Ainsworth Hot Springs are attached to a hotel, so we decided to eat in the hotel's restaurant. I had a fantastic creme brulee.
We arrived at our B&B around 10pm, the owners seeming a bit confused as to why we'd taken so long. Our B&B was a great place, remote, hand-built in wood and with only one guest room.
written by  lucy3119 on August 21, 2012 from Vernon, Canada

To Eldorado!
New Denver, Canada
On our way to Kimberley and our second B&B, we stopped at New Denver, a brilliant little town of colourful clapboard houses and stunning Mountain views, once known as Eldorado City in its mining days. We were searching for the Nikkei Internment Memorial Centre, where Japanese Canadians were interned during WW2, but a wrong turning unexpectedly took us to a scenic beach. When travelling, sometimes the best things are unplanned!
We eventually found the internment camp, which was interesting, particularly since I had studied the novels of Joy Kogawa, a Japanese Canadian interned during the war. We then headed back to New Denver's mainstreet for lunch - it was fun seeing how everybody seemed to know each other in such a small town!
We made it to our second B&B at a more reasonable time than the night before, and the welcoming proprietors recommended us some places to eat. We ended up at the Old Bauernhaus Restaurant, a log barn moved from Germany to Kimberley, serving traditional German food. Naturally, I had schnitzel and strudel.
Our room at the West Winds B&B was gorgeous, with a unique patchwork quilt covered in Canadian animals, from bears to moose. It took a lot of willpower not to smuggle it out of there in my bag the following morning.
written by  lucy3119 on August 22, 2012 from New Denver, Canada

The last breakfast
Calgary, Canada
Our last breakfast was one to remember: our hosts cooked us up bacon, eggs, pancakes, fresh muffins and pastries and, oddly, a flower. The other couple staying at the B&B promised us a 'Surprise' if we ate the flowers...sure enough, while the petals and stalk tasted like lettuce, the centre was peppery and HOT.
As I said, you can never have too many hot Springs, so on our way back to Calgary we stopped off at Whiteswan (also known as Lussier) hot Springs, quite a ways up a Mountain. Rylan was very secretive about them, so I wasn't quite expecting natural hot Spring pools located next to a cold running River surrounded by Mountains. Or the overwhelming sulphurous smell of rotten eggs.
Our penultimate stop on our route home involved a walk beside a bright blue River running through a canyon that grew deeper and deeper the closer we got to the falls at the top.
Finally, we stopped in Banff so that I could stock up on cheesy Canadian t-shirts. Banff really is a very touristy place - I'm not entirely sure why people visit the Rocky Mountains only to stay in Banff. Soon, it was time to leave the Mountains altogether and return to Calgary.
Back at the Alston's, we feasted on spicy goat curry, deer sausage, and our newly-acquired ice wine served in little chocolate cups. We ended my trip as we'd started, with a freak thunderstorm and a Tim Minchin DVD in the home cinema.
written by  lucy3119 on August 23, 2012 from Calgary, Canada