The trip to Vancouver would be more challenging: 28 hours on the bus. But our success with the 9 hours from Winnipeg to Regina gave us confidence, and we looked forward to the ride. Our bus went through to Calgary where we switched to a different bus. Bus drivers would ride to a certain point and then a new bus driver would take over. Every bus driver we had, from Winnipeg to Vancouver drove really well and was really nice, too. As soon as we hit British Columbia -- must have been when we had time to stretch our legs in Kelowna -- something switched, and for the better. I felt instantly better. The air was more agreeable to me. I could breathe easier and felt more at ease. We arrived in Vancouver and were fortunate to be greeted by our young cousin, Becka -- daughter to my first cousin, Sandra and her husband, Andy. We were going to be staying with my first cousin, Jerry, also brother to Sandra and uncle to Becka. We thought we would keep things simple for the time being and stay within this pocket of our family. We had not had much time in the last while to get to know these people very well and it was great to have an opportunity to see them a little. Jerry and Cathie's lives were incredibly busy with work as they prepared to go on their journey to Mexico, and complete their last bunches of work before departure. Jerry leaves tomorrow, the day after Hallowe'en. Cathie the day after that, on the Friday. We, too, plan to leave on Friday, and take a ferry to Vancouver Island. In the meantime, we're having a great time sharing some meals and walks with Becka and Jerry. Cathie has been busy commuting between here and Victoria, but it has been fun to see her in passing. Jerry and Cathie's apartment is right across from Granville Island. We took a little seabus there with Becka yesterday. That was fun! We saw the neatest little gallery of designs made out of wood. Very creative and out of the box! There is also a large organic market there called Spuds with far more reasonable prices for greens than Capers, which we enjoyed the day before. Becka's in the middle of moving apartments. She works for the Social Planning Council and has some interesting stories to tell about homelessness in Vancouver. She is lovely and the world depends upon her: she is young and idealistic. Jerry has always been one of the most interesting people around. Right now, he is semi-retired. He does work like a dog just like any other lawyer with the difference, though, that he walks to work and to his appointments -- his downtown home allows this to happen. Also, he currently travels about 20 weeks of the year. 10 alone, entirely according to his personal whim and 10 with his partner. He's feeling pretty happy about it, though he keeps promising himself that he will retire, 'next year'. He is quite an adventurer: widely travelled and widely read. He also keeps a broad circle of friends.
