Off to Vancouver

The day had arrived.

I had built up a lot of anxiety about driving to Vancouver. One must cross two high mountain roads between Kelowna and Vancouver. We normally don't do the drive between November and April as the roads can be treacherous and the conditions unpredictable.

Fortunately I had a regular week on my calendar with no travel--just lots of meetings and busy work. I told myself that I would watch the weather forecasts and go on the day that looked best. The house in Vancouver is empty so I could go anytime; I just needed to be there for training on Saturday morning.

On Monday night the forecasts for Tuesday predicted sunshine for the whole route. It was too good to pass up. Although I was working at home waiting for a courier (my Amex card had been compromised over the weekend and they were sending me a new card) I decided to "bug out" around noon. (I learned the military term "bug out" from M*A*S*H. I don't get to use it too often.)

I crammed the car with a month's worth of "stuff", said good-bye to Chip the dog, drove by Leena's work for one last kiss and hug, then hit the road. Fortunately I was going in the opposite direction from the Olympic Torch Relay. (It has more of British Columbia to see before it gets to Vancouver.)

The weather and roads could not have been better. The snow-covered trees at the summits were gorgeous. I arrived in Vancouver about 6:30 after stopping for an hour for a conference call on the way.

This is going to be a great home base. Just a ten minute walk to Starbucks and a bakery and right on a frequent bus route that connects to the SkyTrain (Vancouver's driverless transit system) that will take me to BC Place Stadium where I will be working.

Vancouver is looking ready. Even the small, local neighbourhood retail strip has Olympic banners on the lamp posts. The front of the city buses display messages like "Welcome the World" and "Go For the Gold" alternating with the route sign. Perhaps I'll try to go downtown tomorrow evening to practice my commute.

Of course I knew I was in Vancouver this morning because on my way to get my coffee I noticed that the sidewalk next to the house is covered in moss from the lovely damp climate and I saw spring crocuses coming up.