Day 12: Sunshine Coast

Quote of the day:"Whenever I go over a bump, I think I'm going over a whale"

Haley, Estrella, and Christina with paddles

Estrella in her banana Kayak

Christina and Haley in the kayak

Outside of the Waldies' Home

Katherine and Mr.Waldie

Mr. Waldie's photo of KECH

Kitty(Kat) and Guinea Pig(Estrella)!

UFO(Haley) and Doggie(Xtina)!

Katherine and Christina next to the bridge and a fallen tree

When Haley crossed the river on a log

KECH next to a tiny waterfall

Bev and Estrella!

On our stump!

The morning began at 9 o’clock and after a light breakfast of granola and fruit Estrella, Christina and I were off the go on a two hour kayak excursion. Christina and I found ourselves in a brand new rented fiberglass double kayak while Estrella was in Bev’s single person kayak. After a quick lesson our fears of tipping over were relieved. Our kayak adventure quickly turned into a race Estrella’s boat was dubbed the banana as her boat was a bright yellow and she was also wearing a bright yellow life jacket. The cooperation between Christina and I in the double kayak was essential for us to get moving, at times it was difficult however the setting put all 3 of us in a giggly mood and after 2 hours and several collisions later we emerged from our trip untipped, with slightly tired arms, and smiling faces.

Bev had a prior lunch engagement with a couple of friends in the town of Gibsons which is a 25 minute drive from her home. We all loaded up in the Jeep to drop her off. As we pulled up to her friend’s home we realized this was no ordinary home. The property edged right up to the coast and the architecture of the house was something out of a magazine (looked a lot like the house in the movie The Proposal). The combination of an amazing ocean view, the seclusion of the property, and the beautiful looks of the home made us all agree that it would be the perfect vacation hideaway or place to retire. After a quick chat with Bev’s friends and quick tour we were off on our own to explore the town of Gibsons. Katherine was intrigued by Mr. Waldie's past as an art professor and had an engaging discussion with him.

We all walked around the main street about three times before finally deciding on a lunch spot called “The Waterfront”. The outside of the restaurant were all windows so we had an amazing view of the beach. The menu was fairly simple however we came across an item which was unfamiliar to us all: poutine. The waitress explained to us that it was French fries covered in gravy and cheese, we figured it to be the Canadian version of  In-n-out’s animal style fries. Being adventurous minded and rather hungry, I decided to order it. Overall lunch was hearty and one plus was that Christina ordered a veggie burger which she had been desperately craving since out departure from LA.

After lunch, while walking around the main street we looked at the trees on the sidewalk and noticed that they were absolutely covered, almost blanketed in ladybugs. After further investigation some locals carrying bags of ladybugs explained that they place the ladybugs on all the trees in order to get rid of the aphids: good bug eats bad bug, as they explained. Lavender was also abundantly growing and we all grabbed a few flowers to enjoy the scent: we entitled Americans thought it would be okay to snag a few bits of the plant.

We went back to pick up Bev from her lunch at the beautiful house and decided to go on a short hike to a waterfall. The foliage was abundant as always on the sunshine coast but this hike had a lot more water. And then there it was: the fallen log above the river. The log was just so perfectly placed, it was a makeshift bridge and my inner child took over and I leaped on to the log and crossed instead of crossing the actual man made bridge,despite worried concerns from the other girls. After hopping off the shakey log I realized I had fulfilled one of my dreams inspired by Mark Twain’s tales of Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. Our hike was short but was filled with beautiful scenery as always. Dinner was a heart taco feast followed by chocolate chip cookies. We are all looking forward to heading back to the States tomorrow!

Bests

• Christina found her stuff
• Not tipping the kayaks
• Hiking to the waterfall
• the Waldie's amazing home
• Having tea

Worsts

• Haley's poutine (better in theory)
• when Estrella tripped in the forest

Day 11: Sunshine Coast

Quote of the Day: "You need to die broke. The last check you write should be to the undertaker and it should bounce!"

Walking the trail

Yellow Berries

Estrella and Bev

KECH on a hike

          After falling asleep watching Sleepless in Seattle, we woke up at noon. Despite the late time of day, we began to discuss our mood (which was a bit UNDER the weather) and our options for the day.  With a small bowl of oatmeal and a cup of tea, we sat around the table hoping that we hadn’t caught any sickness from traveling or transitioning through severe weather changes. Katherine stayed back in the house during our planned activity so that she could relax and prevent any further illness. The rest of us (Bev, Christina, Haley, and I) loaded the car with the kayak supplies and the yellow kayak itself and took off to what we believed would be a day on the water. The first kayak rentals shop was closed for a short lunch break so in the meantime we took our own single-person kayak down the road for a quick spin. Our quick spin at the next nearest inlet ended with Haley’s calf far into the quick sand and resulted in her sandals breaking. Nevertheless, our experience at the inlet consisted of much more than sunken feet in the seaweed mud. Beverly, with her own personal kayaking skills, reminded (more like taught) us the fundamentals necessary to take on the kayaking challenge.  Each of us went out for a spin around the anchored boats and through the floating seaweed. After placing the kayak back on the car, we drove back to the house to pick up Katherine and my camera (which I felt empty without). We drove off to Provincial Park and looked for another kayak rental that could potentially rent us a two-person kayak for two hours rather than four hours. Seeing that the kayak owners were not yet available, we instead had a picnic lunch on the park grass by the ocean shore. Admiring the park’s variety of scenery (beach sands to green grass to forest trees) and the clearer sky, we sat around the table and shared in insightful conversation. I felt enlightened by Beverly’s knowledge and Katherine’s responses as Christina and I rested on the grass. They discussed everything from the current Spanish Revolution to nuclear arms. To Beverly’s surprise, the KECH girls were also well traveled. She was excited to learn about Haley’s Bolivian heritage, Christina’s roots to China, Katherine’s half- Korean background, and my Mexican ancestry. Bev admired our cultural awareness. Afterwards, we packed up our trash and left no crumbs behind (as Yosemite Institute had well engraved in Christina’s and my own mind).  We walked on the park trail and encountered a rushing and refreshing creek. In the midst of talking about the abundance of blackberries on the sunshine coast, Christina spotted an orange berry (apparently normal). 

            We returned to our car and back to home where we freshened up and finished cleaning our uncomfortably dirty car (between the dead bugs on the windshield and the fallen pretzels between the seats, dirty is an understatement to say the least). Dinner, once again, was awesomely well prepared and delicious. We learned more about each other’s past and hopes for the future around the dinner table and discussed our passion (and lack of interest) in books and movies. The rest of the night was relaxing. Our discussion about film motivated Katherine to record all the movies she has watched (upon Christina’s suggestion).While Katherine was absorbed on icheckmovie.com, Haley, Christina, Bev, and I finished Sleepless in Seattle and Up in the Air. Between discussing radiation related issues, the beauty of Bolivia, the difference between literature and nonfiction, and the option of VHS movies on Beverly’s organized list, the KECH girls learned about each other in a way we could have never replicated while in the bustle of a big city.

 Bests

• picnic on the coast
• forested hike
• newly clean car
• conversation at dinner
• watching Sleepless in Seattle

Worsts

• Haley breaking her sandals and getting tanned
•  not being able to Kayak today

Day 10. Vancouver to Sechelt/Sunshine Coast

Quote of the Day: "It's an ancient Chinese tradition..."

On the Ferry

On the Boat to the Sunshine Coast

Hidden Grove

Lunch during our Hike

Christina and Katherine on the Trail

Posing with a stump

Outside of Bev's Beautiful House

                With today as our halfway point, which is completely bitter-sweet, I am happy to say that we have safely arrived in the Sunshine Coast, a small peninsula just a ferry ride away from Vancouver.  So many nice things can be said about the Coast—the fact that we are actually staying in a home (shout-out to Bev!), eating real food, cleaning out our lovable, yet bug splattered Jeep. Sadly, we have had two causalities of our road-trip; Haley’s black sandal and my book have gone missing. I guess, it really is not that bad—we could have lost our passports, but it is still disappointing.

                We left Vancouver this morning earlier than planned. The ferry, a first for many of us, sailed across the beautiful bay. We searched for the Raven’s Cry Theater when we arrived and accidently drove passed it, but a quick consultation with the visitor’s center made it all better.  Bev took us up to her incredible house in the middle of the forest. The drive around the peninsula was so indescribably beautiful, in all of my travels I have never been to a place like this before. It sort of felt like the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland with the lush forests and our bumpy Jeep.

                We settled in, cleaned up the car, grabbed lunch, and hit the nearest hiking trail (aptly called “Hidden Grove” as we drove past the entrance without even noticing.) I personally love hiking (shocker) because of the chance I get to reflect upon myself. So far, our trip has been (at least for me) this constant hunt to find myself: what I want from life, what path I am supposed to choose.  The past few days have provided me with so many different types of people with so many different perspectives on life, it has been an inevitable search for something more. At this age, we girls are facing this sort of crossroads in our life. For me, the struggle between the practical Christina and the dreamer Christina has grown with each day. I feel pulled apart as I realize that my life is in my hands now. Conversations with random strangers have proven so insightful and enlightening, but part of it is probably because I never could overcome my own stubbornness to take my parents’ advice for what it was. On top of that, I am so completely thankful for the fact that I came here with these three other girls—as we grow together, I know that we now share this unusual bond. I don’t feel ready for college at all, but when I actually observe our interactions on this adventure and I see us complete the little tasks that I always watched my parents do (hide the valuables, leave a tip for the maid, take each other’s temperature, even decide when and where to eat) I know that we are prepared. I guess it is really hard to grasp the fact that we have grown up.

                Haha so enough of the heavy stuff. We got back from our hike and just took a break, it truly felt like a vacation. It felt so nice to not be on the move, to relax without a zillion worries bouncing around the back of my head. Dinner was absolutely delicious as we talked about the education system and our appreciation of travel. We ended the night with Bev and me singing “The Lonely Goatherd” from the Sound of Music and the VHS version of Sleepless in Seattle—perfection. The Sunshine Coast has been the perfect stop for us and we are so ready to see more tomorrow.

Best:

• Real food
• Hike/Forest
• Successfully checking out of the hotel
• Bev's singing
• Clean clothes
• Kat registering for her Georgetown classes!

Worst:

• Lost items
• Getting lost for the first time (GPS fail)
• Estrella couldn't stand on her favorite stump :(

Day 9: Vancouver

Quote of the Day: "It's all about the positive energy; I can feel your energy."

Being Silly in Stanley Park

Stanley Park

Vancouver Coast

Random Laughing Statues

Across the False Creek from the Granville Farmer's Market

The City

On the Vancouver Beach (Canada's Stonehenge?)

At UBC in Downtown

                Waking up this morning was a vision for me. I woke up in the bed, realizing I had fallen asleep between Haley and Estrella –which was random because I was supposed to be on the floor! I then moved to the sleeping bag next to Christina (who seemed far more comfortable on the floor-her arms reflected this ). It’s funny to think about how we’ve learned each other’s quirks and habits.

 My barking dog alarm awoke us later in the morning—we all felt tired from going to bed at 2AM the night before and from crying our hearts out. Next thing we knew, we were out the door on our way to Stanley Park, ready to observe more of Vancouver. As we entered Stanley Park, we were promptly serenaded by a man playing tennis. We wandered the park for an hour-which wasn’t too impressive. The renowned park was more like an extremely large version of Memorial Park with large trees. Next, we went through Stanley Park's statue garden and headed to Vancouver’s English Bay Beach. Vancouver is apparently one of the only places in the world where you can see snow-capped mountains and beaches. Yet as water droplets rained down bit by bit, we realized how amazing California’s weather really is! We’ve been spoiled with California’s beautiful, sunny, optimistic weather- it was hard not to compare Vancouver’s overcast beaches to the beaches of Malibu… We must have been in a mood or something because everything in Vancouver felt so “ehh” (Canadian pun) and similar to the bad parts of Los Angeles. Not to mention, Christina, Estrella, and I had an incident with bird poop. Meanwhile, I was getting fun texts from Canadians we had met along the way.

One important thing to mention is that we have bonded so much because of this trip! I think traveling makes you reflective about life in a way that’s difficult to do when you’re at home, cruising routinely through life’s obstacles and obligations. Traveling for me has been a lot more about growing as a person—thinking about the future and contemplating the past. With good friends and deep conversations, it becomes clearer what I want out of life. I stop to think about where I want to be in the future. Our lives as adults have just begun and this roadtrip has been an eye-opening experience. As we continue to have random encounters with Canadian natives, we realize how life can be for others and how it can be for us. My dreams and perceptions are expanding in way that’s perpetually been limited by living in the bubble of La Canada. Leaving home is refreshing, to say the least.

                After walking the beaches of Vancouver, we took a few photos across the False Creek from the Granville Farmer’s Market and then continued around the downtown area of the city. We even passed by UBC. We stopped for delicious Mongolian food for a late lunch and shopped around a little. The Mongolian BBQ was a large meal and kept us stuffed. Right after, we took a quick cat-nap at the room—I fell into a deep dream state due to her new-found love of Northface sleeping bags.

                By 6PM, Estrella, Christina, and I were ready to explore the Gastown. As we walked the 2 mile trek through the not-so-nice parts of town, we noticed the extreme urbanity of Vancouver’s downtown. In the Gastown, we encountered the old gas lamps of the past and entered multiple touristy shops—a store with first nation’s peoples (the Canadian term for Native Americans) masks and totem poles caught our attention. We sampled cookies made from maple syrup. Yummm...Walking around Vancouver for multiple blocks made us realize how much we loved Los Angeles (or at least how much I’ll miss LA going to D.C.). Did I mention that Canada is expensive?

By night, we were at the hotel’s den discussing our plans to come back to Banff (our favorite city!). We were in the hotel’s bar using the outlet when we met a native of Vancouver. She told us about her life as a part-time musician, about B.C.’s scene, and about how she admired the fact that we were blogging  about  our roadtrip. It’s amazing that we’re at the halfway point of this trip!

Bests

·         Nice walk around downtown

·         Mongolian BBQ

·         Text messages

·         Adventures in Gastown

·         Late night convos at the den

Worsts

·         Bird poop incident

·         Overcast weather

Day 8: Kamloops to Vancouver

Quote of the Day: "Don't cry, you are just 18. Be real. Go with the flow. Be smart"

                After a restful (an uneventful) night in Kamloops, and Estrella’s hour long conversation with the Canadians staying at our hotel, we began our journey towards Vancouver.  A few minutes into the trip we realized that we had missed the exit for Highway 1 and were instead on Highway 5. It was definitely a little shocking, and somewhat scary, but the GPS saved us (again) and we were able to have a quick drive over to the city of Hope.

                On our walk in Kamloops, we bumped into a couple from Riverside who recommended the Othello tunnels to us. Trusting the advice of complete strangers (so smart) we drove to the tunnels today. They were incredibly beautiful and as Katherine put it “MY FAVORITE PLACE ON EARTH.” These tunnels, which were pitch black, dripping water, and just a little bit sketchy, cut through the thick mountain side of the Rocky Mountains and their forests. After a few jokes about the name (“They are called the Othello tunnels because so many people were stabbed here, just like Othello”) we walked around and posed for quite a few photos. I know, so touristy but whatever. When we got back to the car I had a freak-out because there was this ticket on our windshield, but it ended up being a “car-safety evaluation” provided by the good people of Hope. Apparently, they are quite concerned about vehicle security there. However, the good news is that we passed with flying colors!  Yayyyy safety!

                We sat in Vancouver traffic for about an hour, drove through the shady Chinatown area (seriously freaking out about whether or not our hotel would be over a homeless shelter), and finally settled into our hotel. We have seriously become the biggest sneaks ever: carefully planning how we can hide two extra people in a tiny room (note: it’s all about the tote bags). Katherine and Estrella explored the neighborhood and quickly returned. Katherine, Estrella, and I then went out to dinner at a Mediterranean restaurant. We sat there for FOUR hours. I want you to stop and imagine this—a McDonald’s type of restaurant, fast food, take-out, and three girls crying. We got so deeply involved in conversation that we all broke down and began to loudly sob in the middle of this random restaurant. The guy who served us food apparently thought that it was funny/awkward (he came by once and dropped a pile of napkins on our table) so he called his friend who later approached us and asked why we were crying (thick Persian accent—“you ladies so young! No worries! What problems you could have?!”). I think that he was under the impression that we were older and easy to pick-up. However, that clearly was not the case and we sucked him into a deep conversation instead. I would call it the quintessential road trip experience: exactly the type of inspiration/advice we were looking for. We talked about life, his best advice, what types of people there are, our fears, our thoughts—everything. It was a perfect encounter and very enlightening (probably disappointing on his part once he realized that he was preaching to us about the beauty of life instead of picking up ladies). Haha he also bought us baklava which was very kind.

                We left the restaurant soon after because it had been trying to close a long time before. We walked through a random art gallery and then sat in another hotel’s lobby and continued to discuss life. We were randomly approached by this drunken man who first wanted money, then asked us all out to dinner, then pondered why he had to leave the hotel bar. I guess it was never too scary because the manager rapidly escorted him out. We returned to the hotel to plan the next day. Vancouver will be so much fun!

Best:

·         Mediterranean restaurant

·         Othello Tunnels

·         Passing car safety test

·         Nice guy with good exchange rates

Worst:

·         Parking

·         Drunk guy

·         Getting ripped off after buying green tea ice cream