Day 11 - Arrival in Van City

So I'll keep today's short as well, because it is mostly driving, and because it erased once already - but the driver in me feels the need to share. Today started much like yesterday - a delicious breakfast (the scone today was cranberry-cheddar) and some nice conversation. We would have liked to sit and savour the coffee and baked goods aroma, but we had a big day. Today we're heading to Van city. North Vamvouver to be precise, Deep Cove, to stay with Theresa's Aunt Holly and Uncle Larry.

The drive was not too long, but the route would be...interesting. We were headed through the coastal mountains, and these roads were infamous. Highway 1 through Banff, Lake Louise and all of those parks is dramatic because of the scenery, but the road itself is fairly tame. The roads we'd be taking today (the #97C Okanagan Connector and #5 Coquihalla Highway) are high alpine roads. They pose two primary challenges. First, they're steep - we regularly hit 6%, 8% even 14% grades. Not bad to climb in the dry summer weather, and fun to fly down (it's true that the driver in me was in conflict with the father in me). The second challenge, which would not be much of an issue today (we hope) is the weather. These high alpine roads can be inundated with snow and wind in a moments notice, turning this:

into this:

 in mere minutes. Like I said, we were fairly sure we wouldn't run into any problems on the sunny July morning. In the end the hills impressed, and the weather behaved. 

From there we were reunited with our old friend, the TransCanada #1. We snaked our way through the farming communities of Chikliwack and Abbotsford, past Whiterock and Surrey. All the while Gordon slept peacefully in his car seat. I thought he might sleep all the way to Vancouver, but he lowly opened his peepers in Burnaby and demanded food. We easily found a familiar pizza place and dined on our favourite pie.

If you haven't tried the spicy perogy pizza from Boston Pizza then you haven't lived. Ours, of course, came without bacon. 

From there we were just a hop and a skip from our destination on the North Shore. We followed the #1 across the Iron Workers Bridge (aka the Second Narrows Brodge), jumped on the Mt. Seymour Pkwy and found our way to Deep Cove. 

There is something special about staying with family and friends when on a road trip. For one, only they will allow you to commandeer their fridge, washing machine, back yard and living room. But the laughing you can get up to is truly second to none. The Watsons are among the world's  ost gracious and warm hosts. From the moment we charged through their door, crying infant in tow, they were offering us cold drinks, telling us to sit down, and cousin Paul (an early rising electrician) even gave up his bedroom! We are very lucky to have family such as this. Oh yeah, and Gord is gaga over their Yorkie Sophie, he feels pretty lucky too!

In any event, we enjoyed a relaxed dinner with the family and took and took an early lave to bed. It was a long day's drive after being stationary for two in a row and we wanted to make the most out of our tomorrow.

TOTAL FUEL FILL UPS:

DAILY WILDLIFE: Deer, Sophie the dog, more crows.