O’ Canada, Where Art Thou?

Not much to mention today. I left Comox and headed up Vancouver Island to reach Port Hardy where I will catch the ferry up to Prince Rupert. I made a few stops along the way to take some pictures, but nothing too exciting. I got to Port Hardy and checked into a hotel that is kind of chump, but there are not many options here.

After spending a few days in Victoria, I headed north up Vancouver Island. My cousins from Oakland, California were vacationing across the Georgia Strait on the “Sunshine Coast”, approximately 2 hours north of Vancouver. So they took a ferry across and we met up for a day of mild hiking, exploring some small towns, and enjoying a meal at the oldest licensed pub in British Columbia.

Canadian nice gesture of the day: Before I met up with my cousins, I met a brother and sister vacationing when I was stopped in Qualicum Beach, BC. We got to talking and I explained I was on a 3 month trip across the country and before we went upon our day, the sister (Deborah) offered a place for me to crash when I come through Calgary. So nice! It set the tone for a great day.

After I dropped my cousins off at the ferry, I headed to Comox, where I was staying for the evening. Once I got in, I grabbed my tripod and walked down to the marina area and spent a few hours taking photographs of the beautiful sunset.

Ferries are a way of life for those who live in the Pacific Northwest and lower BC. But for someone like me, driving my car onto a hugnormous ferry was being like a kid in a candy store. I suppose its old news to the regular commuter, but I enjoyed it. Its about an hour and a half ferry ride to get from Vancouver to Victoria and I walked around the ship the whole time. And the ride was beautiful.

Victoria is the provincial capital of British Columbia and I would say it still has quite a British influence. The main government buildings are situated along a harbor, which makes for a beautiful and touristy scene.

I stayed with a friend I used to work with at The Grove Consultants International, Christina Merkeley, who has begun her own practice, Make Your Mark. Christina was a great host, showing me all over Victoria and introducing me to some other Canadian friends. That’s the kind of travel I enjoy, hanging out with some locals to get the real feel of a place.

I feel like I did not give Vancouver its due when I was here. It is a beautiful city and the weather was fantastic, there is definitely a good vibe here. But I was not quite myself for the first couple of days; still very tired from packing up my life and I still needed to do some work (update website, tie together some things that I didn’t have time to do before I left San Francisco, etc.)

On the first full day in Vancouver, do you know what I did? I went to the mall. Now those of you who know me know that I’m not much of a mall person in the US (although I was a mall-rat in high school); but I had to get a Canadian cell phone, and that brought me to a mall in residential Vancouver. Not excatly a top attraction. So it was stuff like this that was bogging me down a bit when I first arrived.

I explored the campus of University of British Columbia, which is beautiful and got some great architecture pictures. I explored the city, both the coastlines and the city centre. I lugged my huge photo backpack with 3 lenses all day around Central Vancouver on one of the hotest days they’ve had in a long time, and that built character (and nearly broke my back) and it certainly stunk up my clothes, but it was a good day. I went to Granville Island on my last day in Vancouver, which is a small island between the city centre and the rest of Vancouver. It is pretty touristy, but there is a great Market and the Emily Carr School of Design is there and has some neat looking buildings. Further back on the island are some great older buildings that I enjoyed taking pictures of.

Up to this point, I have not taken many pictures of people. I now remember how I am a bit afraid to approach strangers. I want so badly to be the outgoing traveler chap that can just go up to anyone and be all charming. But I realize that is not me, at least not right away. It is a mental struggle and something that I need to work on. In the meantime, I’m taking many urban landscapes and getting reaquainted with my camera, which is the most important thing.

I was exhausted yesterday so I convinced myself I was in no rush, so I “slept in”, ate breakfast, and took my time getting back on the road. It was a nice drive from Salem to the border, but nothing worth babbling about.

Before I took this trip, I kept thinking that I would use the driving time to reflect and record my deep thoughts, etc. But during this leg, I caught myself doing the opposite…..singing “Hungry Like the Wolf” along with the stereo at the top of my lungs. Yes, Duran Duran. I’m not ashamed to admit that I was a product of the 80’s.

I got to the border, which is called Peach Arch park….lots of greenery and trees, but the demarkation of the border is so small, I almost missed it. Its just a stone about 3 feet high saying “International Boundary”….not what I imagined. I got through border patrol without even having to show my proof of residency, and off I was to Vancouver.

I stayed at the University of British Columbia, which has a very nice campus. Its not close to the city centre (I should spell like the hosts), but it is right on the ocean with spectacular views. They open up some of the dorms in the summer as hostels and apartments. I chose the cheapest option, which was a single room in a dorm, only $25 Canadian. Hard to beat that. Sure you have the shared college bathrooms which weren’t exactly like the Holiday Inn Express. But I had my own room and was able to get internet access for a small fee.

It was great to get here. I’m uncertain of lots of things, but it was good to get here.

After all of the build up, the exhaustion of getting everything ready….the packing, the apartment, the contacts, the logistics….I was ready. At 9am this morning, I stepped across the street of my apartment with the car in the driveway facing me, and I snapped a picture. This was the beginning. I was so ready. I got in the car and started to drive and I have to admit that I was a bit emotional. Everything that has been consuming my life for the last few months all of a sudden was here. I was a bit overwhelmed and honestly was almost in tears. There I was kicking off a trip that is fulfilling a dream of becoming a Photographer…. and I can’t begin to say how thankful I am to be in this siuation and to have the backing of friends and family.

So I started to drive and headed toward the highway. Now, I have been so consumed with this trip that I really haven’t been paying attention to what is going on in San Francisco. So as I turned down Market street, I found out that there was a Marathon today. Interesting. Every detour I took ended in a fenced obstacle with a person with a bright orange vest waving me in a different direction. I was all keyed up to get this trip underway, and here I am not able to get out of the city. Pretty damn funny…..and after about 20-30 minutes, I did finally find the on-ramp to I-80.

And just when I was getting on the Bay Bridge, “Don’t Get Fooled Again” by The Who came on the stereo (one of the classic CDs that I came across and felt like I needed for some road tunes) and I almost lost it again. Not so much for the lyrics, but with that energized beginning to the song, I realized that I was truly free from all of the logistics that have been bogging me down and that I was actually doing this crazy trip and was super excited. A fitting start.

Of course I couldn’t keep that high going for the 9+ hours on the road, but it was a good road day: beautiful landscapes and uncertainty ahead.

Tap, tap, tap…..