We had an amazing journey getting to Vancouver. It started with a 5am wakeup call in Steamboat and we were all in the lobby at 5.30am for our pickup to the airport.
The Arctic freeze had hit Steamboat overnight and the shuttle bus luggage compartment door had frozen so it took the driver a while to come get us and put the luggage in. Conditions on the way to the airport where blizzardy and I have total admiration for these guys and their driving ability! Nobody does chains in Colorado - due to the regular snowy conditions they all have snow tyres and can do the runs at regular speeds (amazingly!)
We get to the airport and there are about 60-70 people standing in the queue and it isnt moving - the airport is small the flight takes 30 people so we surmise that there is a problem - yep no flights this morning and no indication of when there will be a flight due to the conditions!!! Looks like we're not going to make our 11.20 am connection from Denver to Vancouver.
Al and I see the Avis rental car lady arrive and decide to check out driving options. The Avis lady was amazing and sets us up with this big pickup truck, a navigator system and finds out what the road conditions will be along the way - we decide to drive. All the other Aussies wave us goodbye and wish us safe travels - cant decide if we are crazy or smart (or both).
There are a few pics showing our truck but nothing to really show how rotten the conditions were - Steamboat snow is powder and the finest snow I have every seen and it comes down fast - beautiful to walk in and horrible to see when driving!
Guess what - we had to drive back to Steamboat - it seems like that Indian curse works - you just cant leave the place. Anyway - Al did an amazing job, the truck was big, high and a warm ride and we were glad that after about an hour we finally hit some blue skies! Roads were icy in patches but the scenery was amazing and really glad we got to do the drive and have a little adventure on our way out - just like the old West days!
We made a later flight to Vancouver and caught up with a few of the Steamboat Aussies who all took buses and thought we were very brave driving on our own (sooks!)
What can I say about Vancouver - well it is a lovely city surrounded by water. Quite a different vibe to our Steamboat ski vibe but we have had a lot of fun. It is also regarded as one of the best skateboarding cities in the world and Jackson has been glad to make up for lost time (due to snow). He has skated everywhere and visited a lot of the skate shops to spend his cash on a new board, shoes and clothes. Even got to skate the new ramp at the ultra cool AntiSocial Skate shop (Rick McCrank's place for you skate dudes)
Vaughan has also had a ton of fun spending all his cash on the latest versions of battle games and his fave Stargate and Cowboy Be Bop movies. He loves to shop (for himself) but was over it by the time his money ran out. Vaughan is warning everyone that he will not leave his room, game console or TV for a few weeks due to all the new stuff he has acquired (going to be interesting seeing his is off to summer camp on Sunday!)
Well - that's about it! We did have a strange visitor when a very large seagull landed on the window sill of our hotel room yesterday. He didnt want to leave and was very friendly. Check the pics.
We are off to the airport in a few hours so this sojourn will be over (cant wait for the 14.5 hr flight back - groooooooooan). All good things come to an end and you just have to start planning the next one.
See you all soooooon
Jen, Al, Jackson and Vaughan
