June 17, 2021

On June 15, 2021, the health authorities opened up our amazing province to travel. It was a great time for a road trip. So Krista and I decided a trip to Vancouver was in order. She wanted to go to Imagine Van Gogh and I had a small job to do. The sun was shining and the forecast was for warm weather, it was a great time to hit the road.

We packed our bags and loaded the car. I felt the excitement build as the morning began – until I found out our road to the coast was closed by a bad accident. My friend told me we would be delayed, the road was closed and we would probably need to go the long way. I didn’t want to drive the Hope – Princeton route if I could help it. 

So we waited.

Why drive an extra hour and a half to avoid an accident when we could keep busy at home. And with that our mini-vacation was delayed. 

Drivebc.com told us the delay would last until noon. I never thought to check that time until noon came. According to the website, they changed the time again at 9:17 to update the opening to 6:00 pm. If only I had looked sooner we probably would have left. As it was it took us until 2:00 pm to hit the road. Road trips always take us a long time to disembark on. I know others are more organized than we are… I wish I could figure out how they do it. 

Highway 3 from Princeton to Hope is a slow meandering roadway to the top of Allison Pass and back down to the gateway to the lower mainland. It was a scenic road traversing Manning Park for much of its way. When we were forced to go another way it was a chance to see a new part of the country, It would have been even better on my motorbike. 

I must be getting old because the chance to ride my bike was offered and I turned down my lovely wife. A ride would have been awesome. But so is comfort and a stereo… 

I felt the intense energy of Vancouver as we approached the big city, Traffic was mild as we turned off Hiway 1 and went to the 10 and into South Surrey where my wife’s friend lives. It felt great to get away from Kelowna. It felt refreshing to be in another city connecting with other lives. 

Krista’s friend welcomed us with open arms and we stayed in Kate’s basement suite for a couple of days. It felt so amazing to travel to see a fresh part of the world. I hope this is the beginning of a new normal that is much like the old normal.

Only better.