Strange Brew: Day 3- July 11, 2007
Victoria, BC to Vancouver, BC
This morning we got up at 8 a.m., took showers and packed up our stuff. We headed downtown to Habit, the Stumptown knock-off, for coffee, chai and pastries. We hung out there for a bit, then took Old Saanich Rd. to Sidney, BC to catch the ferry to Vancouver, BC.
We had originally planned to go to Nanaimo, BC but the Victoria scooterists recommended this instead and I am really glad we listened to them! This ferry leaves every hour, so if you are late for one, you're just early for the next one. The cool think about the BC Ferries is they let motorcycles and scooters on and off first. This particular ferry was awesome! It was called "The Spirit of BC" and it was like a mini cruise ship. We found a nice spot on the south side of the ferry and sat down for the ride. We met a girl named Jillian, from Michigan, and I spent most of the trip talking to her. She was moving to Seattle, but had visited Portland looking for work. She has spent the past few years living and working in Toronto, ON with Free The Children, a non-profit. The ferry route took us through some of the smaller islands and such. It was so scenic and breathtaking. I kind of wished it had been longer so we could have enjoyed the nice breeze off the ocean.
We arrived in Tsawwassen, BC and immediately hit Hwy. 17. This highway then merged into Hwy. 99 and our battle with rush hour traffic began just around Richmond, BC. In addition to the excruciating heat (it was about 40 degrees Celsius/100 degrees Fahrenheit), we also had a crazy, horrible crosswind. Poor MJ didn't realize we were going to be going straight onto the highway so she didn't put her jacket on and was pelted with road debris the rest of the ride into Vancouver.
We arrived at the HI-Jericho Beach hostel around 3:30 p.m., checked in and chilled out. Shayne & MJ took showers and I took a nap. We then rode out to North Vancouver to meet up with the Vancouver scooterists at the Rusty Gull Pub. Our ride took us across the Burrard Bridge, through downtown and Stanley Park before heading over the Lion's Gate Bridge. It was very scenic. We arrived around 8 p.m. and proceeded to introduce ourselves and go inside for some food, drink and conversation. They were a hoot! Rocket aka Roy showed up a bit late and we caught up on things. I rode the Scooter Cannonball Run with Rocket last year. He is one of my scooter brothers. The guys we met were wonderful and loads of fun to talk to. I especially liked the banter between Rocket and Jimmy about the differences between a Vespa and a Lambretta. I don't quite remember the analogy but it involved a crack whore and a woman with a big booty. Quite funny!
After that we headed to downtown looking for a karaoke bar. We had no luck but we did find that Vancouver drivers are crazy! We were almost hit at least once, I almost was hit with a bottle thrown by some idiot on the street and another guy pulled out in front of us. Good times!
This morning we got up at 8 a.m., took showers and packed up our stuff. We headed downtown to Habit, the Stumptown knock-off, for coffee, chai and pastries. We hung out there for a bit, then took Old Saanich Rd. to Sidney, BC to catch the ferry to Vancouver, BC.
We had originally planned to go to Nanaimo, BC but the Victoria scooterists recommended this instead and I am really glad we listened to them! This ferry leaves every hour, so if you are late for one, you're just early for the next one. The cool think about the BC Ferries is they let motorcycles and scooters on and off first. This particular ferry was awesome! It was called "The Spirit of BC" and it was like a mini cruise ship. We found a nice spot on the south side of the ferry and sat down for the ride. We met a girl named Jillian, from Michigan, and I spent most of the trip talking to her. She was moving to Seattle, but had visited Portland looking for work. She has spent the past few years living and working in Toronto, ON with Free The Children, a non-profit. The ferry route took us through some of the smaller islands and such. It was so scenic and breathtaking. I kind of wished it had been longer so we could have enjoyed the nice breeze off the ocean.
We arrived in Tsawwassen, BC and immediately hit Hwy. 17. This highway then merged into Hwy. 99 and our battle with rush hour traffic began just around Richmond, BC. In addition to the excruciating heat (it was about 40 degrees Celsius/100 degrees Fahrenheit), we also had a crazy, horrible crosswind. Poor MJ didn't realize we were going to be going straight onto the highway so she didn't put her jacket on and was pelted with road debris the rest of the ride into Vancouver.
We arrived at the HI-Jericho Beach hostel around 3:30 p.m., checked in and chilled out. Shayne & MJ took showers and I took a nap. We then rode out to North Vancouver to meet up with the Vancouver scooterists at the Rusty Gull Pub. Our ride took us across the Burrard Bridge, through downtown and Stanley Park before heading over the Lion's Gate Bridge. It was very scenic. We arrived around 8 p.m. and proceeded to introduce ourselves and go inside for some food, drink and conversation. They were a hoot! Rocket aka Roy showed up a bit late and we caught up on things. I rode the Scooter Cannonball Run with Rocket last year. He is one of my scooter brothers. The guys we met were wonderful and loads of fun to talk to. I especially liked the banter between Rocket and Jimmy about the differences between a Vespa and a Lambretta. I don't quite remember the analogy but it involved a crack whore and a woman with a big booty. Quite funny!
After that we headed to downtown looking for a karaoke bar. We had no luck but we did find that Vancouver drivers are crazy! We were almost hit at least once, I almost was hit with a bottle thrown by some idiot on the street and another guy pulled out in front of us. Good times!