I’m back from vacation (in Seattle, will be in Montreal in two days). Some highlights:

• hitch-hiked 2500 kms around BC and did not get molested;
• went around Vancouver island (Victoria, Namaimo, Tofino, Bamfield),
• biked 100 kms on the Southern Gulf islands (Salt Spring and Galiano)
• hated beautiful-but-super-touristy Whistler
• spent two days on white sand beach off the Sunshine Coast on Savary island
• ate the most wonderful salmon pasta in Robert’s Creek, Sunshine Coast
• wine tasting on various orchards on bike around Kelowna (don’t drink and ride)
• saw my Rockie mountains in Banff, Lake Louise, Jasper
• rocked out with some hippies in a two day music festival in Dunster, 150 kms northeast of Jasper
• hiked 6777 feet in 6 hours in the Robson Valley, for one hell of a view of the Fraser river, the Rockies, and farmland

Some lessons learned:

• Hitch hiking is cheap and easy; plus it’s really funny to get picked standing next to a ‘No hitchhiking - Pickup is illegal sign’
• If you get stuck in a no name place hitch hiking. chances are you’ll end up in a really cool spot that no one has dared to explore
• Tourists suck; the less touristy the better the spot usually
• American hitchhiker girls are cool, street-smart and easy!
• even if a lake looks really secluded, you will get caught several times if you try to have sex on the beach
• Different people have different definitions have what is ‘normal’; a great thing someone asked me: “Haven’t you ever been dumpster diving?”

Back to work and no more personal posts for the next 4 months, I promise!