A Few Quick Thoughts Or Travel Notes

Well after a few days I’ve become much more comfortable with traveling and everything it brings with it. I’m sure I’ll be mailing home a couple of things to lighten my load but I still have to decide what that will be. I’ve kinda been gathering some random thoughts or observations throughout the trip that I will share. They’re quick and I won’t really elaborate on them right now but I want to get “pen to paper” so to speak. Also, if you want to see more pictures from the hike click on the Flickr link to the right. I uploaded a bunch earlier, some twice unfortunately and not all of the pics I took, but they are some of my favorites for sure.

1. There are a ton of Brits, Aussies, and Kiwi’s (New Zealander’s) in the Vancouver and Whistler areas. I talked to one shop gal who said she only knows person from Whistler who works there. All of the other international workers make ends meet by squeezing into small apartments, seven people in a two bedroom apartment.

2. You can’t assume people will speak english here. Most do but for many it’s not their first language. Very refreshing actually.

3. Blenz Coffee is actually pretty good. I steered away because I din’t know it at first. Now I like it.

4. I’m not as crazy as I thought being a solo traveler. I’ve met many other solo travelers so it doesn’t seem as weird to me anymore.

5. When traveling alone you have no one to blame but yourself for your time, mistakes, or indecision. This has been good for me to deal with.

6. Public transportation is much easier than it seems at first.

7. To fit in with the locals you can do a few things: don’t carry too much with you, walk at a fairly brisk pace, act like you know what you’re doing even if you don’t, and act like you are supposed to be there. I’ve already been asked a few times by other visitors where to find things or how to get around.

8. Solo travelers in hostels can be a bit antisocial. That’s okay, I can be too. But I didn’t even get to talk to my first roommate and the one today so far was sleeping while I was in the room. The first one didn’t come in till after 2 am each night and wasn’t around at all the other times I was there.

9. So I missed out on the perfect Seattle trip. I knew this a couple weeks ago but I’m still bummed. I’m going to the Twins vs. Mariners game tomorrow, and the Vikes play the Seahawks on Saturday. Only problem is it’s in Minneapolis, dang it schedule work with me here.

10. With all this moving around there’s not much down time. At least there’s not as much down time as I’d like during a vacation. On the other hand I am seeing and enjoying a ton so it’s a good tradeoff.

11. The Toronto Blue Jays are a big deal in Canada. Seriously! I don’t get it. Yes they are a Canadian team, the only one now, but they aren’t good and haven’t been for awhile. Not only that but the Toronto Maple Leafs are a hated team throughout Canada by people not from Ontario but then everyone adopts their baseball team as their own. I absolutely cannot bring myself to like the Vancouver Canucks, as nice as this city is and the area around the stadium, so how can other fans adopt them? In fact, twice now I have seen the tv replay the Blue Jays games from that night right after the game ends. They have the entire Canadian market to themselves, I wonder how large their audience is? No wonder they are still able to keep a team in Toronto.

12. Canadian sports tv is terrible for recaps. TSN, the same company that runs ESPN, is okay but they have another station that’s pretty bad. I tried watching highlights two straight nights but couldn’t make out what the final outcome was. They’d replay important plays from the game and I could tell the announcer was talking about them but then they committed a critical error. They NEVER posted the final score and stats. Maybe I’m just brainwashed by ESPN and FSN but I couldn’t be sure of a final outcome.

13. I’ve never been a people watcher before, until now. Maybe it’s being in a foreign place with non-english speakers, maybe it’s my schooling, but I am finding people to be quite interesting to observe.

14. I miss Holly. Wish I could have brought her as she would have loved it. In Whistler there was actually an organization that has rescue dogs that need walking so you can go and walk a dog when you want. I was planning on it but my hike and subsequent time on the mountain prevented me from getting there in time.

15. Evidently mochas in Canada have foam. Nowhere else have i received a mocha with foam.