Once we had Holly with us we drove back up to Pemberton for a couple of days. We biked and swam and had good fun. And as I was getting out of one of the lakes I saw a snake swimming away just a meter or so from where I had been swimming. I'm glad I saw it after I was out rather than before!
After that we went to Whistler. Luke had heard of a stealth camping area so we stayed there for one night. Then, in the middle of the night, a van of drunken young dudes pulled up and stumbled into the woods to be drunk in nature--but not before one guy screeched on and on about needed a lighter for his 'cigga'. It was a bit hard to get back to sleep after that.
Crankworxs was still on in Whistler and it was Saturday so there was piles and piles of people there. Luke and Holly rode a famous trail called 'Comfortably Numb' while I booted about on the trails in town. I didn't have much fun (I don't like crowds) but I think I would have had less fun on their trail. They described it as climbing and more climbing without ever having much of a downhill payoff. They seemed confused that a trail could climb that much without really coming down at any point.
The next day was in Squamish. Luke and Holly coached me through some easier downhill trail, which was super helpful! We ended the day having great Thai food in Vancouver.
The last day of our Holly trip was spent in Vancouver. We rode up Grouse Mountain and had yummy pizza and coffee at the top as a treat for the climb. Luke and Holly continued to ride while I drove to Surrey to meet up with a friend from Mississauga who was working there for the week. I really dislike driving so it was a bit stressful driving in Vancouver...but I managed well enough.
Here's a photo of Luke and I on the climb up (curtesy of Holly--thanks Holly!!)
Not-so-flattering photo of me...but Luke looks good!
Next, we went back to Squamish to visit our friends Phil and Mary-Lin who recently moved there from Dundas ON. Luke and Phil rode some trails while ML and I went **paddle boarding**!!! It was so much fun! I learned that they make inflatable paddle boards and I came really close to getting one for myself (but then talked myself out of it by thinking about how, although we technically have room in the truck, it would be a pain to have to move it around all the time to get at stuff). Then they made us a fantastic dinner of made-from-scratch pizza. Happiness!
The following day we took the ferry from North Vancouver to Vancouver Island to visit our friends Nicole and Moises in Campbell River. We stayed for a week and did lots of swimming, some biking, and ate lots of fabulous homemade Mexican food.
On the Saturday there was another bike competition called The Bearclaw Invitational. I liked it better than Crankworx because you could get much closer to the action. Here's a couple of photos--the bikers were really impressive!
There's an annual chainsaw wood carving competition in Campbell River and Nicole took me to see this year's works. I didn't take any photos but the city buys some of them and places along the path that runs along the sea-side. This one was in front of a cafe:
"So many cookies, So little time"
And it's not really a good blog post without a silly photo of Luke, who continues to insist on looking ridiculous when having his photo taken.
After leaving Campbell River yesterday we spent an afternoon in Victoria wandering around downtown and walking the Sea Wall. We took the ferry across to Port Angeles in the Olympic Peninsula, where we are right now. It's been a rainy morning, but hopefully it'll clear up for some fun this afternoon!
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