Vacations

Hello everyone. I talked to some of you who are following this blog yesterday but for those of you who I didn’t here’s a quick update on my hostel adventure yesterday. When I got to Seattle I made my way to the hostel which was across downtown. I wanted to catch a bus that went there but I just missed it so I started walking. It took me awhile but I made it there okay, about 1.2 miles later. When I got up to my room I knew within moments I would have a problem. Now I knew using hostels would be an adventure and I still think I picked “good” hostels but I just knew I wouldn’t enjoy my time there for two nights. There was a pungent smell when I walked into the room. Not really bad or disgusting but more like a really bad perfume or cologne. There were four beds, two bunks, in a room smaller than most small dorm rooms I’ve seen and the only other space available was for out lockers. No sink or anything. I sat on my bed and could feel the bars beneath me. The window was right next to my bed, which if you know me you know I can’t sleep with light, I opened it up and it was a really gross looking AC unit taking up my whole view. There was also very little noise suppression from the outdoors. I knew this would not be a good nights sleep.

I immediately locked my stuff in a locker, pulled out the ipad, and went to work finding a cheap hotel. I figured any hotel with a room of my own and a crappy bed had to be better than this. At least I would have my own room and a shower available. I launched the trip advisor app and searched for what people said about hotels so I knew which to try to avoid. Then I launched the Priceline app and started my bidding. Two hours later I had found a hotel down by the airport. They had accepted my price of $40 so after tax I was only spending about $20 more than the hostel. The only caveat was that it was for Saturday night only. Priceline makes you change all sorts of factors to keep bidding so I did so as well as changed my email address multiple times. I then tried to find a different hotel for one night but didn’t have any luck and price line wasn’t letting me do any more changes. So I decided to ride it out and try to be positive and make it work. After the ballgame I came back to the hotel and headed up to my room. The minute I stepped in there I knew I had to leave. I wouldn’t be able to sleep and I didn’t care about my $25 at that point, they had already refunded me for Saturday night after I told them I’d be staying somewhere else. I called a couple of other hotels nearby and was ready to pay a pretty penny. I decided to call my Saturday hotel though and see if I could swing something with them. They gave me a room at their most “discounted rate”, which obviously isn’t because price line accepted my $42 offer but who cares, and I got a room for $75 plus tax. That sounded sweet to me when everyone else was asking at least $150. The bonus was that Trip Advisor had many good reviews about this place. I went up grabbed my bags, checked out the same night I had checked in to the hostel which confused them a bit, and hopped on the train which had a station right by the hostel. From the airport it was a four block walk. This seemed longer than four blocks though because I had my luggage and it was midnight now. The area seemed safe though and they had big sidewalks off the rode and I walked along a row of other hotels, much like in Bloomington, MN.

The minute I got in my room I was very happy. I was able to shower, the room was nice, I had a comfortable bed, it was quiet, and they told me there was breakfast. I watched some ESPN for a bit which was really weird because the only tv up till now I’d seen had been in the airports and in bars/restaurants with no sound. To be honest I didn’t really like the tv too much because I’ve been enjoying my vacation and quiet time so much. That’s a good thing though. The only drawback was that wifi is not free. The good thing was that a 2 day pass which takes me up till I check out on Sunday only cost me $10 which is cheap for hotels that do charge for that stuff. I slept till 9 this morning and was really tired when I got up. That’s good because that’s when I know I slept well and would feel better as soon as I showered, which I did. I went out to get breakfast as soon as I was up and was very happy. It was the first breakfast I’ve had all trip so that was good but it also had waffles! Granny and Grandpa you would have loved it and it reminded me of our weekly breakfasts during the last couple summers.

Yesterdays Twins game was super fun. The stadium here is gorgeous. I still think I like Target Field better but I see why this one gets such high marks from fans, writers, and players. This has been one of the highest rated ballparks since it was built and is still at the top of most writers lists but now is either just above or below Target Field. My seats were awesome! 10 rows behind Scotty Ulger and the Twins dugout. We had numerous foul balls in our area. One of them I might have been on tv for but I don’t know for sure. The folks next to me were super nice and we talked most of the game. This was also nice because as you can probably imagine I haven’t been doing much talking. They were originally from the Iron Range but moved out to Salem, OR long ago. They raised their kids baseball fans and the one that was there that night definitely was. We had a good time commenting on the game together. The gals right behind me were from Hastings originally but now live in St. Paul and Lilydale. If any college friends read this you know that they of course know Greg Kvamme, seems everyone from there does.

I would like to take partial responsibility for Scott Baker pitching as well as he did. This was the fourth straight Twins game I’ve been to when he’s pitched. Every single one of the previous ones he’d get a lead early and then give it back. Now when he was done warming up in the bullpen he, Drew Butera, and Rick Anderson were walking to the dugout and passed right in front of me. For some reason I yelled out “Hey Scott when you get the lead, don’t give it back to them!” I felt super bad right away when he looked over towards me. I don’t know if he knew who it was but I was super worried I got it in his head and if he would’ve had a bad game I would’ve felt really bad. Oh well the fan in me came out. It got better late in the game when the older guy in front of me, who was drunk and on a date, started telling his girlfriend in the 8th inning that with the bases loaded and Adam Moore up to bat that this guy would hit a grand slam. Well a little background, Moore is a rookie and is expected to be good someday but he’s batting under .200 with 3 homers on the year, and we brought in Matt Guerrier. So I leaned over to the Twins fans next to me and told them this guy doesn’t have a chance. The moment he swung the bat he looked foolish so I yelled “Way to swing like a rookie.” Us Twins fans were quite happy and this started a fun, lighthearted back and forth the the older guy in front of us. The only bad thing was that my camera died, remember I couldn’t charge it the night before, so I only got a couple of pics of the stadium.

I had dinner last night in the Belltown neighborhood which is quite nice. There are lots of shops and restaurants in the area. The good part was it was out of the main busy downtown area so I thought it’d be cheaper. I took the waitresses recommendation of spicy chicken tacos over the special that brought me in the door which was fish tacos. They were amazing and totally filled me up. She was also nice enough to give me the late night special price for them as that’s the only time they’re supposed to be on the menu. For that and a drink it only cost me $10 plus tip. Best deal I’ve head so far this trip food wise. I also checked out Pike Place Market and saw the fish being thrown. By my calculations I walked all over downtown, back forth, and back again and racked up about 4.5 miles throughout the day in Seattle plus the walk from that morning in Vancouver.

Right now I’m about to head back to the downtown area. I may see if I can snag a cheap ticket to the game with a good seat. If I can then I’ll go and walk around downtown later. If I don’t get a ticket then I’ll go hang out at the piers, grab a Starbucks, do some shopping, and whatever else I can find down there. But I will be relaxed one way or another.

For the upcoming legs of my trip I cancelled my hostel stay in Victoria after my experience at the one here. It may well be a nice hostel, I won’t know that but I wanted to get a decent nights sleep while I’m there and enjoy my time there as well. So I used Priceline to get some more really really cheap hotel rates which ended up being in the same hotel chain as the one I’m at now. I did this prior to the ballgame yesterday. During the game the woman next to me overheard me telling the story of the hostel to dad. She recommended I check out Airbnb.com. It’s a home rental service and she swears by it. Prior to this trip I had checked out VRBO.com and HomeAway.com both which are similar but prices were still more than I wanted to pay so I wasn’t sure about it. When I got to the hotel I logged on to airbnb.com and found some really good deals. I am pondering using this to book my future stays during this trip. One thing I did notice though is that the hostel in Nanaimo, BC has listed some of their private rooms on airbnb.com because they are so nice. I’ve heard nothing but great things about that hostel so I’ll probably stick with it but maybe I’ll extend my stay on the island or find a place in Vancouver using it.

Well that was a lot of writing and I’m sure a lot of reading for you so I should stop and go find a Twins ticket. Have a good day. Peace.

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.

Yesterday’s hike was amazing and I want to make sure to tell you about it. I started the day with that amazing blueberry crepe and a mocha. Then I went up a gondola and a chairlift to the top of Whistler Mountain. I had no problem with the gondola even though it was high and a long ride. The chairlift was another story though. I was the only one on my chair which was both good and bad. Bad because I was alone and nobody was there to distract me. Good because I had room to put my bag down on the chair and hang on for dear life. There was one point where the chair goes up a pretty steep incline over a cliff, pretty intense for me.

Once I was at the peak I got off the lift and just looked all around. It was absolutely beautiful. I spent a good half hour or so just looking out at the surrounding mountains. Next thing I decided to do was the longest, most intense of the hikes on either mountain, the High Note Trail. My hiking in all was about 7 miles and had a lot of climbs and descents. The total elevation change throughout the hike I think was about 1,000 feet. The trail took me around the backside of Whistler mountain with amazing views everywhere I went. The trail at times had some pretty steep drop-offs so I had to stay aware at all times. There was even a spot where they had to put in a platform to walk on because the crevasse would have been too difficult to navigate. There was also a spot where you had to use ropes to pull yourself up between some large boulders because you couldn’t get a good grip or step.

There were several cool mountain streams I walked through and some snow too. The most beautiful part though had to be Cheakamus Lake. It is the lake you see in the pictures, the big one, and was a bright aqua blue. One really annoying thing on the hike though were some of the insects, meaning flies. They have these black flies and some sort of bee that would seemingly appear out of nowhere. They kept landing on me and pestering me throughout the hike but nothing too bad to make me want to get away. They seemed at their worst if you would stop so I mostly kept going. I stopped and took in the views many many times but kept a pretty good pace while I was moving. About 2/3rds the way through the hike I came around a corner and saw a couple taking pictures. As I walked towards them I heard this high pitch shriek or whistle. I was really confused and kept watching them thinking maybe something was wrong and they turned and pointed almost right at me. I turned around to see what was making the noise but couldn’t see anything. I was looking for something too big because the couple told me to look to the side and there was the very large prairie dog looking thing staring straight at me. When I say large though I mean LARGE. This thing was much bigger than any other prairie dog I’d seen. Even bigger than the fattest raccoon I have seen. I couldn’t have passed with more than seven feet of him which is why he screamed at me I guess and was so wary of me. The couple said it was some kind of marmot. I’ll have to look it up.

By the time the hike was over, about three hours, my feet were getting quite tired. It wasn’t so much my feet as it was the blisters that were forming on the bottoms. You see I forgot my hiking socks that morning and remembered after I was on the gondola. So I had on my Keen’s, which are usually great hiking shoes, but didn’t have my blister preventing hiking socks. With all of the movement, ups, downs, and side to side it did a number on my feet. In fact I just examined my shoes a little bit ago and I am going to have to make a warranty claim I think. This is my third pair and each has lasted at least a year of constant wear and even abuse. This one has a spot that’s coming apart and it’s only five days old. My knees were also quite sore by the end of the hike. There was a lot of going down the mountain and suddenly hitting rocks and I already don’t have the best knees so they took a beating. I came to look forward to when I had to climb up the mountain, which in fact I had to do for the final half hour which was nice. As soon as I got to the chalet, which was down the mountain from the peak and by the gondola, bonus was I didn’t have to ride the chairlift again, I went and bought hiking socks, tightened my shoes, and my feet were happy for it.

I also went and hit up the chalet cafe. I honestly think that just the food on this trip my just bankrupt me. It’s like one person can’t find anything of substance and something to drink for under $15-20. I am absolutely not kidding either. My half sandwich, half caesar salad, an orange, an apple, and juice cost me $17! It is worse in Whistler because it’s a resort town but even Boston’s Pizza was spendy, about $20 for a solo pizza and a drink, and Vancouver is pricier than the Cities though I can find fast food there. As I continue on now I just may have to find some grocery stores and prepare food at the hostels if I can. Traveling with any food is going to be difficult though because of the added weight, bulk, and crossing the border three more times, which you have to declare if you’re bringing meats, fruits, or veggies into each country.

I almost forgot to tell you about the Peak to Peak gondola. It is the longest unsupported stretch of gondola in the world at over 2 miles (if I remember correctly.) It was really really cool and I felt safe the whole time because the gondola car was big and sturdy, the cables were thick, and the supporting structures were massive on each mountain. It was really thrilling to be up so high between two mountains. Most of my pictures from this did not turn out so well thought because of the glare from the plexiglass and because there were a lot of us in there so I couldn’t push through people to put the camera right next to the glass. We did see one really cool thing while we were up there, a bear sliding down the mountain on snow. I’ve seen that on the Discovery channel but not with my own eyes. Over on Blackcomb mountain I mostly just strolled around and took in the views. I didn’t really have time to head out on another hike even though I was feeling up to it after eating, resting, and getting socks.

I took the Greyhound back to Vancouver this morning. The bus was packed so I had a seatmate this time. She was quite loud and annoying with her friend who found a seat behind her so I put my headphones on and found the time to watch a movie on my iPad. I had my luggage underneath the seat and my backpack under/between my legs so I pretty much didn’t move for three hours. By the end I was in desperate need of moving around. When I got off the bus I quickly found a city bus to my hostel and didn’t have to walk too much at all. I did stop at a Starbucks though to recharge with an iced tea. When I was there a guy who was working on a film set in the park outside the Starbucks and between the Starbucks and transportation terminal came in. I overheard him telling the workers they could be on the lookout for some explosions and lots of gunfire for a scene they were about to do in the next little while. It sounded like fun but I wanted to get going.

This hostel is not quite as nice as the last one but it will do. It is pretty big and there are a lot more people here. Tonight I think I’m just gonna chill out. I might go to a park and Granville Island but I bought a bus pass so I won’t have to walk too much. Tomorrow first thing in the morning I catch a bus to Seattle so I better get used to sitting, I am so glad I got that bike ride and hike in. Hopefully I’ll get to update you tomorrow but again you never know. I want to upload my pictures from the hike to Flickr but there’s no good way I’ve found yet to do so from the iPad in a bulk upload way. That’s one drawback of the iPad but so far this thing has been great and I’m happy I brought it and only it. Talk to you later. Peace.

Ok I just tried to post this and the app crashed, losing all of my writing. I’m a little ticked right now as I have a bus to catch in 9 minutes. So here goes a brief update. Yesterday I biked a ton. From the hostel to the village, around the village, and then most of the way back using the scenic route. I stopped at a lake for a quick swim to cool off, very refreshing. I didn’t quite make it back to the hostel because I was shaking from being so hungry. I decided to stop at Boston Pizza which is a franchise we also have in MN. This one was more of a small town bar though. I also did some shopping and got a good deal on a shirt that proved very helpful today. This morning I had an amazing blueberry crepe. Very tasty.

Anyway , I gotta run. Give you an update later.