Day 16: We arrived in Port Hardy and were given unofficial guidance to follo
w the train tracks into town. so we did. it was much prettier to walk by the water, then through the main roads in town. Eagles are like pigeons here... FLOCKS of them everywhere. We then hung out at Breaker's Pub watching wildlife out the window and catching up on correspondence until we had to head back to catch our ferry to QCC.Day 17: The boat was rocking like a freaking rocking horse all
night! it was rocking so hard that it forced the bathroom door open. i didn't sleep a wink :| When we got to the Island we were given official guidance that hitching from place to place was safe. so we hitched a ride from queen charlotte city to the haida gwaii museum in skidegate. and then hitched back... wandered the beaches of queen charlotte city till evening, then had dinner at howler's. all the ferry's were delayed due to bad weather. so we missed the 11pm ferry and ended up staying on the island another extra day.Day 18
: This is one of the most memorable days for me, since it was the most unexpected. Because our ferry wasn't leaving until 8:30pm, we had no choice but to enjoy ourselves! and enjoy ourselves we did. It wasn't raining!! and what's more, it was clear skies almost all day! we rented a car and drove to the north tip o
f Queen Charlotte's North Island! (on really clear days you can see Alaska from there!) We drove through Tlell, Port Clements, Masset, Old Masset and made it all the way to Agate beach! filled our pockets with Agates and other pretty things... then headed back down for dinner and to eventually catch the ferry. Day's 18/19 blur into eachother since we didn't sleep on the ferry much that night (watched two movies instead) because it was bringing us into Prince Rupert at 3am!! at the station we watched cartoons and napped on uncomfortable plastic chairs until the train arrived for 8am.
Day 19: train from Prince Rupert to Prince George. pretty uneventful. mostly just hung out with PGgirl and JohnnyBoy. got to hang out in the first class car for a bit too. preeeeeeeetttttty. saw some wildlife. spent an overnight in Prince George.Day 20: the usual pretty stuff, flora, fauna. etc. ended up in Just Another Small Place Earning Revenue. Saw a random heard of Elk Grazing beside the Petro Canad
a station... just hanging out, in town. chillin, relaxin, grabbing a bite to eat. you know. the usual.
Day 21: did the whole Jasper super tour! checked out Whislter's mountain, athabasca glacier, pyramid lake, spirit island, medicine lake, maligne lake, and maligne canyon. the day wouldn't be complete without being chased off the road by Bighorn Sheep!Day 22: 30 degrees in Jasper today! they
RARELY get this kind of warm weather... souvenir shopping and wandering while we wait for our LAST train ride of our trip... bitter sweet moments... on the train had ravioli and maple salmon with wine for dinner... :)D
ay 23: arrived in vancouver! took the aquabus to grenville island and wandered about. drove through chinatown, wandered through Gas town. had sushi for lunch.... and dinner... :) checked into our hostel (which is a converted nunnery) then heade
d over to Kitsilano beach to watch the sunset with BigTop and Pilot... it was mostly covered by clouds (of course) but was still pretty. then we headed out to some pubs (Wolf & Hound; Copper Tank; The New Bohemian; Elwoods) yes... that was in one night. it was a gooooooooooood night. ended too early...Day 24: woke up still drunk. it was raining. but we have to make the most of our last few hours in vancity. we drove through stanley park. Lucy took some pics. i recuperated in the car (since i'd already been through stanley park before). went to Earl's for lunch. then off to the airport to catch our flight home. and watch the last sunset on our vacation from the plane.
Days 16-24 Highlights: silly children; us: "what do you do?" him: "I'm an alcoholic... see" (as he points to his liquor store bag); QCC beaches - mostly Agate beach; "In America, our trains MOVE" - lady from Atlanta; "wolf-elk"; Pam's Legs.
