June 5, 2021 Gail’s Big Adventure

Gail stood at the side of the road and stared at the border crossing. It marked the beginning of her next adventure.  She was on Highway 97 and the road south was blocked to her. The USA – Canada border has remained closed for over the last year, so north was the only road open to the retired widower. 

At eighty-one, many people her age would be settling down in a care home or some other retirement facility. Not Gail. She was way too young to stop and settle down. She had traveling to do and adventures to live. 

After her husband passed just prior to covid she really had no desire to sit still for long. Her family was back in Ontario, thousands of Kilometres away – just where she liked them. Over the years she lived on the Sunshine coast and she would drive across Canada to Ontario almost annually. Road trips were no big deal.

This road trip would be something unique.

Only eighteen months ago she had been planning a much grander adventure. She was going to Europe. She had everything booked, it would have been over two months of a great adventure.  Ireland, England, and then on to Spain and Portugal. It was an amazing trip all laid out. Her late husband would have been proud.

But now he was gone and so was her epic trip to Europe. 

For the last year, she had settled down and lived in her son-in-law’s basement in Kelowna. When Dr. Bonny Henri said she could only travel in her health unit Gail looked at a map. 

Highway 97 was all within the interior health unit. She decided that she would explore Beautiful British Columba and start at the US border and head north. All the way to the Yukon. Amazingly the distance was almost half as far as driving across the country; a trip she had done last in 2019. A trip she was sure would be an excellent adventure. She had her Subaru Sport Trac and her tent that wrapped across the back of it. She was rigged and ready.

With a laugh, she jumped back in her car and started off to her first campsite. This was not going to be a rushed trip. Gail wanted to experience her province. The plan was to stay a few days all along the route and if she liked a spot she would stay awhile longer. 

In the back of her mind, she wasn’t sure if she might just turn right at Prince George and head across the country. Or would she stay the course and go to The Yukon… would she stop there?

That decision could wait.

Gail drove to the Nk’Mip Campground and set up her first campsite of the trip. It was on the water and the weather was amazing. With temperatures hovering around thirty celsius she relaxed at her site and soaked in the view of the gleaming water of Osoyoos Lake. 

The retired widower loved to travel and she loved to meet new people. First, it was the nice couple in the motorhome with the kitty cat. 

Next, it was the young couple that pulled in in the big Camper and truck. He was kind of loud and very friendly. She was quiet but seemed nice. Gail felt lucky to have met such nice neighbors in the campground. If only her son-law would relax and understand. People that camp are good people looking to help and make friends. Her son-in-law thought she was taking a huge risk camping by herself. Gail knew better. 

The young fifty-some-year-old couple in the camper introduced themselves. Vic and K-dee also had cats with them. Gail chuckled to herself, first one kitty-cat camping, now two more. She never realized people brought their cats camping, she thought only dogs were the ones that liked to camp.

This adventure was already starting out in a good way.

Gail relaxed and sat in her tent that was attached to the rear of her SUV. She looked at a few videos on youtube and wrote an email to her sister back in Ontario. She was from a large family and they all seemed to live to a ripe old age. Her mom lived to a hundred and her grandma lived well into her nineties. So at eighty-one, she felt pretty young still.

“Hello, Gail?”

Her neighbour’s voice broke her concentration on the computer and she looked outside the tent.

“I don’t mean to bother you but we have an extra chair at our table in the Cantina and there is live music. You are welcome to join us.” Vic looked into her tent and briefly glimpsed her spirit.

“That would be nice.” Gail found herself replying, “I will come and join you, just let me get changed and I will be there soon.” She found herself getting a little excited. A live band?! She hadn’t heard live music in over a year. And here it was at a campground in Osoyoos. What a great way to start her trip.

Vic left her with a smile and she started to get herself ready. She felt a bit nervous, even anxious. Who were these people she just met? They seemed very nice but… her son-in-law’s voice jumbled in her brain. She dismissed it just as fast. Now, where was her purse?

Where indeed was her purse, she thought she left it beside her seat. Now her mind was playing tricks on her. Less hurry, more searching… damn where was that purse. I hope no one took it… but she was camping, no one steals at a campground… or do they?

Just when she was bout to give up and quit – there it was! She had left it beside her seat and the darned thing fell down and disappeared. At that moment, Gail felt every one of her eighty-one years. 

But now her purse was found and she could go to see the band.

She walked onto the patio of the Spirit Beach Cantina and spotted Vic and K-dee sitting right upfront.

What great seats.

She tentatively walked up and was warmly welcomed by the group at the table. Vic sat on his stool and beamed a grin at her. Right away she felt welcomed by this group of strangers. Just then the music cranked back on and she felt the rhythm pierce her soul. 

She laughed and smiled as Vic danced on his chair. It was nothing like anything she had seen before. He vibrated and spun, he moved with the music and his excitement infected everyone around them. 

It was a fantastic night on the waterfront. What an awesome way to start her epic adventure. 

Gail felt the music lift her soul and her spirit. She watched her new friends be swept away by the power of the beat. In the end, she grew tired from the energy of it all and wished the group of revelers a good night 

The next day Gail awoke, relaxed and refreshed. she prepared herself mentally for the coming journey. If the rest of her trip were half as good as the start, she would have a trip for the ages. Not necessarily for the aged. 

She felt like a nineteen-year-old kid fresh out of school in her mind. Too bad her body felt about sixty – in either case, she knew how lucky she was to be living the dream.

The next day, Gail packed the last of her belongings into her Subaru. She was excited for the next part of her trip. Shuswap Lake called to her on the map. She was invigorated by the last couple of days meeting people and watching live music. It was the start of a most excellent adventure. A journey that helped Gail forget about the last year isolating because of a microscopic enemy. 

Vic and K-dee smiled and waved goodbye, the people in the motorhome with the kitty also wished her the best of trips. 

This would be a road trip for the ages as her new friends bid her goodbye. 

Gail felt deep contentment as she sat in the driver’s seat and turned the key. It was a fresh beginning and so far it had started out in a very good way.