the BEST TRIP EVER
in the time that has elapsed since my last post, i found a job (my old one at the market) and worked hard at it and lost all joie de vivre because of it.
but that's not the point. the point is that monday bright and early (although it felt like the wee-est of hours to me) i flew back into toronto from the west coast. and when i'm done my master's, i'm lighting out for there again and not coming back.
here's a brief run-down of all i did, sans commentary on how it all made me FEEL - because it all made me feel wonderful. this was first time i'd ever taken a non-itineraried big trip (i.e. free of parents, choirs, conferences...) and it was liberating ("i paid for this all myself! and i can do whatever i want!") and terrifying ("uh...we don't have a place to stay tonight...and we don't have a means of transportation to get to where we want to be tomorrow...and i actually have no idea where the fuck we are now.") and simply awesome.
day 1: flew into vancouver bright and early, discovered my plane was full of people on their way to a convention of chinese jehovah's witnesses in richmond, endured attempted conversion, gained three hours of daylight (yes!) and made my way to the hostel and set up camp there. walked down davie street, walked down to sunset beach park and ate pizza, figured out how to work the video camera, returned to hostel the long way to nap, went to meet ian (whose flight was later in the day) and had sandwiches for dinner, walked down to the beach again, followed the path into stanley park and walked around until it got dark and buggy, then walked back to the hostel through the downtown which puts toronto to shame. went to bed.
day 2: woke up ridiculously early thanks to jet-lag, packed, ate, checked out and walked to georgia and burrard to catch the 7:30 horseshoe bay express, got on the ferry to nanaimo and rode outside at the bow the whole way, arrived (very windblown) in nanaimo, missed the tofino bus, waited around and ate some bar food at some dockside bar (our packs were too heavy to go very far) and then sat on the dock in the blistering heat until it was time to catch the bus. caught the bus, and drove into the gorgeous island interior, stopping at sproat lake to cool our feet. got dropped off at the tofino-ucluelet junction and caught another bus into ucluelet. arrived at the beautiful hostel in time to see a deer pick its way through the garden. dropped off our stuff and walked to the dock in ucluelet in the hope that some fisherman might sell us fresh fish. no luck, but it was beautiful, and we saw a sea lion! got some groceries and camping supplies and made our way home. cooked, ate, passed out.
day 3: woke up bright and slightly less early, but still pretty good. packed, ate, checked out and waited by the side of the road for a kind driver. hitched a ride to the tofino-ucluelet junction with jesse, the blond surfer dude from fort macmurray and his huge dog, lady, who sat on my lap the whole way. got dropped off at the junction and realised we couldn't get a campsite from the park information centre there, so hitched a ride with thomas and family (swiss vacationers) into pacific rim national park reserve. they were very kind, and even shared some fish they had caught the day before with us, as they had "too much". we got into the park, and the lady took pity on us because we were on foot and promised us a campsite even though it was officially "full". we dumped our stuff at the campground office and went exploring while we waited for cancellations. walked to a lookout point and first saw the pacific ocean. it was awesome in the literal sense. walked through rainforest to get down to the beach. climbed on huge craggy rocks and saw anemones and starfish in tidal pools. went back, got our campsite, set up camp and went back to the beach. (i should mention that during our stay in the park we lived almost entirely off of beef jerky, flourless bread, sunflower seeds and dried fruit. it was fun because of monotony.) lay on the beach. got burned. went into the frigid water - too cold to swim. you just wade in gingerly and let the waves have their way with you. returned to beach in time to see two bald eagles land further down. dried off, and climbed more rocks - with shoes this time! returned to campsite to fetch halibut. tried to cook halibut on a wet plank on the beach with neither utensils nor seasonings. while it was cooking, saw a rock that was covered with sea lions. burned the halibut, and in trying to save it, put it in the sand. he says it was just the smoke, but i think ian wept. went back to campsite to beg the use of a camper stove. borrowed one from mark and marcel, who also gave us some lime, salt and pepper. cooked up remaining fish (lingcod) and ate it with bread and sunflower seeds and dried fruit. went down to the beach to watch the sunset from the rocks and the tide come crashing in. it was incredible. went to bed.
day 4: woke up after sleeping on hard ground covered with pebbles. heard neighbours chasing bear off their campsite. had some jerky and bread, walked out to the highway to find a hiking trail through rainforest. thought we were lost (it was far and the sun was hot) so we stopped to consult a map. perhaps fifty metres down, a mother bear and her cub crossed the road. glad we stopped. kept going, found trail, hiked through rainforest. it was all boardwalk, and just past the salmon-spawning stream we saw wet tracks on the boardwalk going the same way we were. they were so wet, the water was still in little pools inside the paw-print. they were cougar tracks. finished trail (nervously) and walked back to park. went back to beach. watched a documentary on sea-life in the area. went to bed.
day 5: woke up, packed up, ate breakfast, had one last look at the REAL pacific ocean, walked out of the park and hitched a ride with phil (a cable company owner from tofino/victoria) back to the junction. waited at junction until finally we were picked up by matt (a surfer from montreal who visited the pacific rim, fell in love with it, bought a house and stayed) who also eventually picked up lauren, who had hitchhiked across the country from ontario and, like matt, stayed in ucluelet. it turns out she was from a small town in ontario on georgian bay. i glanced at ian, half expecting her to say she was from penetanguishene or elmvale or something, but she was from owen sound. were dropped off downtown, walked to a pub that sold showers. used the facilities, and went to stow our packs somewhere deserted. ran into stephanie, a swiss girl who was on the tofino bus with us. she told us the hostel wasn't full. decided to stay at the hostel that night instead of squatting in the church's backyard. bought some trinkets, got some cold beverages, finished our trail mix by the water (eagles!) and went to pick up our stuff/buy dinner ingredients/go to the hostel. arrived at hostel and cooked the BEST DINNER EVER: fresh local salmon with garlic, green onions and butter, garlic mashed potatoes, sauteed mushrooms and red pepper. keep in mind that we had been living on jerky and sunflower seeds. went out for a drink only to discover that everything in ucluelet was closed. finally found a pizza place and drank there. went to bed.
day 6: woke up, bought some groceries, walked back to hostel to pick up our stuff/check out. on the way encountered a family of deer gambolling on someone's lawn. the two fauns looked just like bambi. one of them bounded right up to us - it saw us and charged, stopping not five feet away. it was magical. checked out of hostel and hitched a ride to the junction with leo (grizzled old tugboat operator - looks like a chain-cigarette-smoking version of fidel castro). at the junction saw two hitchhikers leo had dropped off earlier that day. walked down the highway to find next (unoccupied) shoulder. on the way, a black bear came out of the trees and crossed the road not even twenty metres away. it was maybe half an hour to the next shoulder, which was overhung with berried bushes. i held out sign for nanaimo and thumb, while ian sharpened a stick to fend off bears and cougars. were eventually picked up by denny and bea (dutch tourists who were going all the way to nanaimo) who were very kind and even dropped us off right at the ferry terminal. took ferry to vancouver (rode at the stern this time) and made our way to ian's parents' hotel (they were in town briefly on vacation too). went out for dinner (sushi) and walked around a little bit. separated from his parents and drank mochaccinos on the beach. seals kept coming in really close and poking their heads out of the water. went back to hotel, and to bed.
day 7: woke up, went to stanley park, looked for crabs under the rocks by the seawall - the most fun ever. skipped starfish, filmed herons (so close!) and held a really big crab by the pincer (it only had one). held lots of little crabs (one of which crawled into my hair and disappeared. i mean it, we never saw it again.) and stole a freshly smashed scallop from a crow. gave it back after poking the rubbery insides. walked down hastings street from posh to depressing as hell. found our way out via chinatown, and eventually back to the hotel. ian wanted to try a few basses, so we stopped in a really big music store along the way. went out for dinner with his parents (greek) and then went down to english bay beach to watch the italian team present their fireworks. got bubble-tea (ugh). spit tapioca balls through straw. spit cherry stones also. watched fireworks. they were incredible - cheesy music, but AMAZING fireworks. returned to hotel, went to bed.
day 8: woke up early, packed, got a ride to hostel (in sketchville) from ian's parents (who were leaving that morning for victoria). unpacked, walked to false creek and took aquabus to granville island. walked around, salivated in the market (too poor to buy anything except ice cream) and ate (packed, leftovers) lunch while listening to street musicians. took aquabus away. walked to aquarium. went through aquarium. it was incredible. fell in love with dolphins. walked back to hostel, changed into nice clothes and went looking for restaurant (our "fancy dinner"). nothing affordable served crab. walked for hours and hours. eventually settled on italian restaurant in yaletown. had good dinner. took cab back to hostel. went to park outside train station where we smoked a cigar while homeless people curled up on benches. felt a little guilty. felt a little giddy. went to bed.
day 9: woke up with foul taste in mouth (tobacco + seafood). debated what to do. checked out of hostel and went to chinatown. had terrible dim sum. i'm chinese, so i can be picky. took greyhound to hope. found campsite in hope - lovely, sheltered, right on the fraser river. pitched tent, got mediocre wings for "dinner" and walked along the trans-canada highway looking for a lake that was reputedly beautiful, and reputedly just out of town. an hour and a half along the highway later, decided to turn back. enjoyed walking DOWN the mountains, rather than up. ate cherries on a little rock/peninsula and spit the pits into the fraser. returned to campsite. went to subway, since wings were inadequate. went to bed.
day 10: woke up too late, struck camp, got groceries for breakfast, checked out, realised ian had no place to stay the following night, threw ourselves upon the mercy and charity of aaron all the way in toronto (who came through marvellously, along with his brother). tried to hitch a ride to kelowna. were informed by kind women that we were on the wrong highway. walked to right highway. stood around for two bloody freezing hours while it started to rain and we were buffeted by mountain winds. gave up and walked to greyhound station. discovered that the greyhound would only get us there in the nick of time for shad's show. decided to try hitching again. finally, were picked up by matthias (a german construction supervisor from tsawassen) who drove us to merritt along the gorgeous coquihalla highway. dropped us off in merritt. tried to hitch a ride in the middle of the fucking desert. were picked up by jesse (bookending the hitch-hiking experience), the corpulent member of the shuswap nation who happened to be a born again christian. was harangued by jesse for my non-belief. listened to ian pretend to be more pious than he actually is. changed the subject. were dropped off in west bank, just outside kelowna and took the public bus into the city. met up with shad, went swimming in lake okanagan, pitched tent in festival organizer's backyard, went to festival to discover state of woeful disorganization. talked to environmentalist at booth ("it's not easy to be an environmentalist in kelowna." "yeah, isn't this stockwell day's stomping ground?") went for dinner. wanted a slice of pizza, but couldn't find it anywhere downtown. you have to be rich if you want to eat in this city. it's full of rich old people and mining/logging company brats. finally settled on indian restaurant. returned to festival in time to hear the beginning of shad's set. ian jumped up on stage and joined in "just in time" according to shad, who was wonderful, as usual. hung out at festival. heard josh martinez's set - which was awesome. went home early due to extreme cold. kelowna is a cock-eyed place. it's full of frat boys and their blond whores (like western), logging and mining execs, no pizza places along the main strip, and the climate is either blistering heat or bone-chilling cold. you'd have to put on two inches of blubber and take off most of your clothes to live there. which, in fact, seems to be what people do.
day 11: woke up, went for breakfast at a lovely little diner, had blessed BACON, eavesdropped on ranting man who single-handedly redeemed kelowna (i guess not all white canadians are raving zionists) by criticizing israel's rape of lebanon. walked back home upon discovering that the greyhound might not get me into vancouver in time to catch my flight and unsure of whether shad had, in fact, arranged a ride for us. he had, so we went for coffee downtown, and walked along the beach. across the lake we saw the the beginnings of a forest fire. it was crazy. there were massive amounts of smoke coming from this group of trees, and planes kept coming in and bombing them with red stuff (agent orange). fortunately, they managed to put it out. checked out some used bookstores and managed to get cheap, cheap copies of two of the alexandria quartet. returned home, struck camp, took our stuff to festival to meet dude who was giving us a ride. he didn't show up. an hour and a half later, assumed i'd miss my flight. got REALLY bitchy (can you blame me?) but then he showed up. so ian, shad, john and i rode out of town back along the coquihalla to vancouver. i got to the airport about an hour before my flight - perfect! ian continued on to find aaron's place...it was a sad farewell. checked in, read harper's article on peak oil in gift shop, got subway, boarded plane at approximately midnight, sniffled a little bit, passed out. woke up over lake superior due to crazy turbulence. we were flying through a mass of thunderstorms. i could see the lightning from within the cloud. it was crazy. it was also frightening - at times it felt like roller-coaster ride. not what you want to feel in an airplane. finally arrived in smoggy, depressing toronto at what felt like 4:15 a.m. to me.
day 12?: took subway home, soaked in bathtub for a long time, passed out, caught greyhound to london which took bloody forever, got home, and felt sad.
ian's still out there (he had another show) - he comes home tomorrow. i can't wait to see him - it will lend some reality to this awesome experience. i've been in a trance since i got on that plane. i really really really want to go back. forever. i don't understand how anyone could leave that to come live in southern ontario.
but that's not the point. the point is that monday bright and early (although it felt like the wee-est of hours to me) i flew back into toronto from the west coast. and when i'm done my master's, i'm lighting out for there again and not coming back.
here's a brief run-down of all i did, sans commentary on how it all made me FEEL - because it all made me feel wonderful. this was first time i'd ever taken a non-itineraried big trip (i.e. free of parents, choirs, conferences...) and it was liberating ("i paid for this all myself! and i can do whatever i want!") and terrifying ("uh...we don't have a place to stay tonight...and we don't have a means of transportation to get to where we want to be tomorrow...and i actually have no idea where the fuck we are now.") and simply awesome.
day 1: flew into vancouver bright and early, discovered my plane was full of people on their way to a convention of chinese jehovah's witnesses in richmond, endured attempted conversion, gained three hours of daylight (yes!) and made my way to the hostel and set up camp there. walked down davie street, walked down to sunset beach park and ate pizza, figured out how to work the video camera, returned to hostel the long way to nap, went to meet ian (whose flight was later in the day) and had sandwiches for dinner, walked down to the beach again, followed the path into stanley park and walked around until it got dark and buggy, then walked back to the hostel through the downtown which puts toronto to shame. went to bed.
day 2: woke up ridiculously early thanks to jet-lag, packed, ate, checked out and walked to georgia and burrard to catch the 7:30 horseshoe bay express, got on the ferry to nanaimo and rode outside at the bow the whole way, arrived (very windblown) in nanaimo, missed the tofino bus, waited around and ate some bar food at some dockside bar (our packs were too heavy to go very far) and then sat on the dock in the blistering heat until it was time to catch the bus. caught the bus, and drove into the gorgeous island interior, stopping at sproat lake to cool our feet. got dropped off at the tofino-ucluelet junction and caught another bus into ucluelet. arrived at the beautiful hostel in time to see a deer pick its way through the garden. dropped off our stuff and walked to the dock in ucluelet in the hope that some fisherman might sell us fresh fish. no luck, but it was beautiful, and we saw a sea lion! got some groceries and camping supplies and made our way home. cooked, ate, passed out.
day 3: woke up bright and slightly less early, but still pretty good. packed, ate, checked out and waited by the side of the road for a kind driver. hitched a ride to the tofino-ucluelet junction with jesse, the blond surfer dude from fort macmurray and his huge dog, lady, who sat on my lap the whole way. got dropped off at the junction and realised we couldn't get a campsite from the park information centre there, so hitched a ride with thomas and family (swiss vacationers) into pacific rim national park reserve. they were very kind, and even shared some fish they had caught the day before with us, as they had "too much". we got into the park, and the lady took pity on us because we were on foot and promised us a campsite even though it was officially "full". we dumped our stuff at the campground office and went exploring while we waited for cancellations. walked to a lookout point and first saw the pacific ocean. it was awesome in the literal sense. walked through rainforest to get down to the beach. climbed on huge craggy rocks and saw anemones and starfish in tidal pools. went back, got our campsite, set up camp and went back to the beach. (i should mention that during our stay in the park we lived almost entirely off of beef jerky, flourless bread, sunflower seeds and dried fruit. it was fun because of monotony.) lay on the beach. got burned. went into the frigid water - too cold to swim. you just wade in gingerly and let the waves have their way with you. returned to beach in time to see two bald eagles land further down. dried off, and climbed more rocks - with shoes this time! returned to campsite to fetch halibut. tried to cook halibut on a wet plank on the beach with neither utensils nor seasonings. while it was cooking, saw a rock that was covered with sea lions. burned the halibut, and in trying to save it, put it in the sand. he says it was just the smoke, but i think ian wept. went back to campsite to beg the use of a camper stove. borrowed one from mark and marcel, who also gave us some lime, salt and pepper. cooked up remaining fish (lingcod) and ate it with bread and sunflower seeds and dried fruit. went down to the beach to watch the sunset from the rocks and the tide come crashing in. it was incredible. went to bed.
day 4: woke up after sleeping on hard ground covered with pebbles. heard neighbours chasing bear off their campsite. had some jerky and bread, walked out to the highway to find a hiking trail through rainforest. thought we were lost (it was far and the sun was hot) so we stopped to consult a map. perhaps fifty metres down, a mother bear and her cub crossed the road. glad we stopped. kept going, found trail, hiked through rainforest. it was all boardwalk, and just past the salmon-spawning stream we saw wet tracks on the boardwalk going the same way we were. they were so wet, the water was still in little pools inside the paw-print. they were cougar tracks. finished trail (nervously) and walked back to park. went back to beach. watched a documentary on sea-life in the area. went to bed.
day 5: woke up, packed up, ate breakfast, had one last look at the REAL pacific ocean, walked out of the park and hitched a ride with phil (a cable company owner from tofino/victoria) back to the junction. waited at junction until finally we were picked up by matt (a surfer from montreal who visited the pacific rim, fell in love with it, bought a house and stayed) who also eventually picked up lauren, who had hitchhiked across the country from ontario and, like matt, stayed in ucluelet. it turns out she was from a small town in ontario on georgian bay. i glanced at ian, half expecting her to say she was from penetanguishene or elmvale or something, but she was from owen sound. were dropped off downtown, walked to a pub that sold showers. used the facilities, and went to stow our packs somewhere deserted. ran into stephanie, a swiss girl who was on the tofino bus with us. she told us the hostel wasn't full. decided to stay at the hostel that night instead of squatting in the church's backyard. bought some trinkets, got some cold beverages, finished our trail mix by the water (eagles!) and went to pick up our stuff/buy dinner ingredients/go to the hostel. arrived at hostel and cooked the BEST DINNER EVER: fresh local salmon with garlic, green onions and butter, garlic mashed potatoes, sauteed mushrooms and red pepper. keep in mind that we had been living on jerky and sunflower seeds. went out for a drink only to discover that everything in ucluelet was closed. finally found a pizza place and drank there. went to bed.
day 6: woke up, bought some groceries, walked back to hostel to pick up our stuff/check out. on the way encountered a family of deer gambolling on someone's lawn. the two fauns looked just like bambi. one of them bounded right up to us - it saw us and charged, stopping not five feet away. it was magical. checked out of hostel and hitched a ride to the junction with leo (grizzled old tugboat operator - looks like a chain-cigarette-smoking version of fidel castro). at the junction saw two hitchhikers leo had dropped off earlier that day. walked down the highway to find next (unoccupied) shoulder. on the way, a black bear came out of the trees and crossed the road not even twenty metres away. it was maybe half an hour to the next shoulder, which was overhung with berried bushes. i held out sign for nanaimo and thumb, while ian sharpened a stick to fend off bears and cougars. were eventually picked up by denny and bea (dutch tourists who were going all the way to nanaimo) who were very kind and even dropped us off right at the ferry terminal. took ferry to vancouver (rode at the stern this time) and made our way to ian's parents' hotel (they were in town briefly on vacation too). went out for dinner (sushi) and walked around a little bit. separated from his parents and drank mochaccinos on the beach. seals kept coming in really close and poking their heads out of the water. went back to hotel, and to bed.
day 7: woke up, went to stanley park, looked for crabs under the rocks by the seawall - the most fun ever. skipped starfish, filmed herons (so close!) and held a really big crab by the pincer (it only had one). held lots of little crabs (one of which crawled into my hair and disappeared. i mean it, we never saw it again.) and stole a freshly smashed scallop from a crow. gave it back after poking the rubbery insides. walked down hastings street from posh to depressing as hell. found our way out via chinatown, and eventually back to the hotel. ian wanted to try a few basses, so we stopped in a really big music store along the way. went out for dinner with his parents (greek) and then went down to english bay beach to watch the italian team present their fireworks. got bubble-tea (ugh). spit tapioca balls through straw. spit cherry stones also. watched fireworks. they were incredible - cheesy music, but AMAZING fireworks. returned to hotel, went to bed.
day 8: woke up early, packed, got a ride to hostel (in sketchville) from ian's parents (who were leaving that morning for victoria). unpacked, walked to false creek and took aquabus to granville island. walked around, salivated in the market (too poor to buy anything except ice cream) and ate (packed, leftovers) lunch while listening to street musicians. took aquabus away. walked to aquarium. went through aquarium. it was incredible. fell in love with dolphins. walked back to hostel, changed into nice clothes and went looking for restaurant (our "fancy dinner"). nothing affordable served crab. walked for hours and hours. eventually settled on italian restaurant in yaletown. had good dinner. took cab back to hostel. went to park outside train station where we smoked a cigar while homeless people curled up on benches. felt a little guilty. felt a little giddy. went to bed.
day 9: woke up with foul taste in mouth (tobacco + seafood). debated what to do. checked out of hostel and went to chinatown. had terrible dim sum. i'm chinese, so i can be picky. took greyhound to hope. found campsite in hope - lovely, sheltered, right on the fraser river. pitched tent, got mediocre wings for "dinner" and walked along the trans-canada highway looking for a lake that was reputedly beautiful, and reputedly just out of town. an hour and a half along the highway later, decided to turn back. enjoyed walking DOWN the mountains, rather than up. ate cherries on a little rock/peninsula and spit the pits into the fraser. returned to campsite. went to subway, since wings were inadequate. went to bed.
day 10: woke up too late, struck camp, got groceries for breakfast, checked out, realised ian had no place to stay the following night, threw ourselves upon the mercy and charity of aaron all the way in toronto (who came through marvellously, along with his brother). tried to hitch a ride to kelowna. were informed by kind women that we were on the wrong highway. walked to right highway. stood around for two bloody freezing hours while it started to rain and we were buffeted by mountain winds. gave up and walked to greyhound station. discovered that the greyhound would only get us there in the nick of time for shad's show. decided to try hitching again. finally, were picked up by matthias (a german construction supervisor from tsawassen) who drove us to merritt along the gorgeous coquihalla highway. dropped us off in merritt. tried to hitch a ride in the middle of the fucking desert. were picked up by jesse (bookending the hitch-hiking experience), the corpulent member of the shuswap nation who happened to be a born again christian. was harangued by jesse for my non-belief. listened to ian pretend to be more pious than he actually is. changed the subject. were dropped off in west bank, just outside kelowna and took the public bus into the city. met up with shad, went swimming in lake okanagan, pitched tent in festival organizer's backyard, went to festival to discover state of woeful disorganization. talked to environmentalist at booth ("it's not easy to be an environmentalist in kelowna." "yeah, isn't this stockwell day's stomping ground?") went for dinner. wanted a slice of pizza, but couldn't find it anywhere downtown. you have to be rich if you want to eat in this city. it's full of rich old people and mining/logging company brats. finally settled on indian restaurant. returned to festival in time to hear the beginning of shad's set. ian jumped up on stage and joined in "just in time" according to shad, who was wonderful, as usual. hung out at festival. heard josh martinez's set - which was awesome. went home early due to extreme cold. kelowna is a cock-eyed place. it's full of frat boys and their blond whores (like western), logging and mining execs, no pizza places along the main strip, and the climate is either blistering heat or bone-chilling cold. you'd have to put on two inches of blubber and take off most of your clothes to live there. which, in fact, seems to be what people do.
day 11: woke up, went for breakfast at a lovely little diner, had blessed BACON, eavesdropped on ranting man who single-handedly redeemed kelowna (i guess not all white canadians are raving zionists) by criticizing israel's rape of lebanon. walked back home upon discovering that the greyhound might not get me into vancouver in time to catch my flight and unsure of whether shad had, in fact, arranged a ride for us. he had, so we went for coffee downtown, and walked along the beach. across the lake we saw the the beginnings of a forest fire. it was crazy. there were massive amounts of smoke coming from this group of trees, and planes kept coming in and bombing them with red stuff (agent orange). fortunately, they managed to put it out. checked out some used bookstores and managed to get cheap, cheap copies of two of the alexandria quartet. returned home, struck camp, took our stuff to festival to meet dude who was giving us a ride. he didn't show up. an hour and a half later, assumed i'd miss my flight. got REALLY bitchy (can you blame me?) but then he showed up. so ian, shad, john and i rode out of town back along the coquihalla to vancouver. i got to the airport about an hour before my flight - perfect! ian continued on to find aaron's place...it was a sad farewell. checked in, read harper's article on peak oil in gift shop, got subway, boarded plane at approximately midnight, sniffled a little bit, passed out. woke up over lake superior due to crazy turbulence. we were flying through a mass of thunderstorms. i could see the lightning from within the cloud. it was crazy. it was also frightening - at times it felt like roller-coaster ride. not what you want to feel in an airplane. finally arrived in smoggy, depressing toronto at what felt like 4:15 a.m. to me.
day 12?: took subway home, soaked in bathtub for a long time, passed out, caught greyhound to london which took bloody forever, got home, and felt sad.
ian's still out there (he had another show) - he comes home tomorrow. i can't wait to see him - it will lend some reality to this awesome experience. i've been in a trance since i got on that plane. i really really really want to go back. forever. i don't understand how anyone could leave that to come live in southern ontario.