Never before has one family driven so far and seen so little on the road from Calgary to Vancouver.
Yesterday, we made the trip to Victoria to begin our summer vacation. It was the typical early morning start, but the kids were excited to be on their way.
We had four bikes to take with us this year. Ian’s bike was strapped to the roof, and Miranda’s, Tammy’s and mine on the rear. The air quality in Calgary has been horrible due to forest fires in BC, and even through there was no cloud cover last night, there were no stars visible when we left. Just a blanket of smoke.
Even though we went through Banff and Yoho National Parks, we only saw the vaguest outlines of mountains.
The traffic was less, and the construction resulted in a few slowdowns but nothing more. We made great time, getting to Tsawwassen by 4:00. Figures, that this is the year that we made a BC Ferries reservation for the 7 pm. We were checking the status on the ferries throughout the day, and there were consistent two-sailing waits.
Given that, when we got to Tsawwassen, we elected to stop and have dinner and do a bit of beer shopping before making our way to the terminal. Tammy and I had been listening to The Incomparable episode Tastes Like College, wherein a panel was tasting a selection of brews, provided by a California microbrewery brewmaster. It is an entertaining episode, with lots of interesting information about how beer is made and how it changes the way beer tastes. So Tammy was on the hunt for a sour, a saison and a milk stout.
Our ferry ride was very nice. Ian was thilled, of course. We were on the Spirit of British Columbia, and got to see the Queen of New Westminster and the Coastal Inspiration leave their births.
Today was the day to prepare for the Tour de Victoria. It was a bunch of little things, but made for a busy morning. Tammy and I kicked it off by walking to Tim Hortons for coffee while everyone else was asleep. After breakfast, I went over the bikes and everybody test-rode their bikes. Then we all got in the car. Danny the barber wasn’t busy so I got a haircut while everyone else went for a short walk. Then we drove downtown and drove the outbound leg of Ian’s ride so that he could see it. Then it was going to Trek Bicycles for the checkin. It was busy there, but in 40 minutes we were all ready.
The numbers are on the jerseys and bikes. Time to relax and visualize tomorrow’s ride.
nice to see you all again.