2011 begins

On Wednesday, Dec. 29 I woke up at 6:14a.m. and got right out of bed.  I had everything ready, so in half an hour was loading the car, taking a last look at the forsythia in bloom outside  my window and then giving Barbara and Terry a last hug.  It was still dark at 7 when I drove off.  The temperature was 1c.  and the roads dry.  I was in line for the 8a.m. ferry by 7:40; the ticket was only
$39.50, a B.C. Ferries Christmas special.  The crossing was the roughest I've ever had.  I spent a bit of time with coffee and a toasted sandwich at the computer station, but then I was tempted outside by the wind and the excitement generated by about 200 high school students who were also on the boat.  The wind was wild and the waves rocked the ferry to such an extent that the captain came on the mic. and told everyone that the top decks were closed and if they wanted to walk, they should hold on to the rails.

Vancouver roads were dry at first, but by Surrey there was heavy snow weighing down the trees and the dirty slush on the streets sprayed on to the windshield.  I was glad I had filled the washer fluid bottle in Victoria.  I blame the blurry windshield, but I'm sure my own wandering mind contributed to the fact that I got lost again, this time in Langley.  Again, as in my approach to Calgary, I was helped by a young east Indian man and his buddy.  Their instructions were clear, but I managed to mess them up and got lost again.  This time I stopped at a used car place, got more directions, followed them, concentrated like mad and popped out on to Highway 1 heading east.  I glanced at the car clock; it was 11:11, the lucky time that only comes twice a day.  I then saw a sign for Hope and realized that I had only gone 17km in almost an hour.  Perhaps I should get a Tom Tom as Jay keeps telling me, but by not having one I have learned about myself.   I'm as frustratingly distracted a navigator as Jim used to say I was and I used to insist I wasn't.   I've also met and been helped by some kind strangers.  by now the sun was shining, the road dry again and I was headed for Hope.  All went well until I was stopped in a long double line on the Coquihalla because of an accident.  It took almost an hour before I crawled by two wrecks, one still burning, and shot out the other side at 115km and hour.  The speed limit on the Coquehalla is 110 and everybody exceeds it, which may account for the accidents.  I had passed the burned out hull of a pickup on my way to Victoria as well.  But the road was dry all the way to about 60km from Kelowna.  That is the highest point of the whole trip, and it's always foggy or windy or something inclement.  This time it was blowing snow and the car thermometer read -12.  Needless to say, traffic slowed down.  Some people seemed to go as excessively slowly now as they had gone fast before.  It took time, but eventually  the road started to drop down to Lake Okanagan.  It became dry, and the temperature quickly rose to -1c. I settled back into life with Bert and Peg, activating my new Mastercard, going through mail Mela had forwarded, finding out I owed the Federal Government about $1300.00 in reassessed taxes, paying it and preparing to go to Mexico on Jan. 3, tomorrow.

On New Year's Eve, I talked on Skype to the gang at Dave and Connie's.  What a lot has changed since Jim and I were with them a year ago.  Sometimes I find it overwhelmingly sad, but life is a powerful force and it does move on, sometimes even laughing.  It was very thoughtful of Caroline and Albert to take their computer to the Martin's and call me.  It was  wonderful to see everyone's face, even if they were slightly warped at times on the computer screen, and to be able to wish them all a Happy New Year.  I went out to dinner later with Jim's dad and Carol and Bert and Peg.  We went back to Jules and Carol's for a drink and sweets and then Bert, Peg and I had a final drink at home and retired before midnight, a quiet eve, but good.

I got up at 6 this morning to talk with Jay on Skype.  He looked good, still in the black toque he was wearing when I last talked to him but this time with a new shirt that his girlfriend had brought him back from her Christmas at home in the Philippines.  His holiday skiing, hot springing and eating fish and seafood, raw and cooked, sounded like exotic fun.  Korea continues peaceful and cold.  I read the world temperature section in the 'Globe' yesterday; it was colder in Seoul than Kelowna.  I also finished a book on Korea by Simon Winchester.  He writes well and really likes Korea, so now I'm even more convinced than I was before that one day while Jay is there, I will visit.  For now, I will continue to pack and prepare to catch the plane for Vancouver tomorrow at 7:15a.m.  Bert and Peg have kindly offered to drive me to the Kelowna airport at around 5:40a.m.  If there are any winter worms around, we should catch them.

Happy 2011 to all.