Which lasted for maybe 20km until we met up with the other 50 million people feeling the same way and heading in the same direction. UGH.
Bumper to bumper highway traffic with the slow lane crawling along - no accident - just traffic - makes me crazy in a not-helpful-sweary sort of way. It's the utter helplessness of the situation. You feel sure the adjacent lane is going faster so you finally make the switch and smugly zoom exactly 3 car lengths ahead of the car you were behind .... for 5 minutes before they move on up the highway ahead of you. I was a little punchy by the time we got to Hope and more than ready to get over the pass to the cabin. Fortunately my spidey senses were on alert and I did not get caught in the massive police operation on the other side of the pass that netted more people and impounded more cars than I have ever seen.
Once through that I was all but claiming victory when we finally exited the vehicles at the Cabin.
Until we noticed the very low hanging wires from the cabin roof and followed them to a 50ft Fir tree resting on them.
Great!
Long story short we got hold of BC Hydro and they were dispatched from Chilliwack - on the long weekend - so they arrived 3 hours later and within an hour we were up and running.
We were there to pack up the cabin which is sold and transfers on Aug 30th. It has been our home away from home for 20 years. So many memories and stories. To pack it into boxes seemed so disrespectful somehow and yet it's sale was what we wanted and needed - our family having outgrown it. We told and re-told the stories of the items as we took them off the walls and out of the closets and we laughed and remembered. We played the Dead Dog Cafe one more time and laughed in all the usual places. It felt tender to be be held by the cabin one last time - to watch the sway of the giant trees and see the dappled sun rays through the forest. We cleaned up spider webs and mouse nests and let go of 20 years of cabin stuff occasionally smiling at the number of one item we amassed - like we could never remember if there was a good can opener so we might as well take another one up.
It was good and hard and happy/sad to go through the closets and cupboards. We donated some things, dumped others and brought home boxes for my parents to sort through when they return from their grand vacation abroad.
And as Lindsay and I closed the red cabin door and turned the key one last time we had a little cry. We said farewell to a good friend, who has been part of our story for so long...grateful and a little heart sore.
In between all of that Allan got in a lot of Masters work and a spot of fishing and Lindsay and I booted up to Kelowna (2.5 hours away) to visit our dear boy.
The drive was spectacular - I do so love this country - the wide open spaces, the mountains, the valleys, the trees, the lakes...... we drove a secondary road and was the only car for 55 km..... ahhh .. so good for my soul.
And SO very wonderful to see that tall, tanned boy. The long, hard hug was worth every mile traveled. His leaders told me how special they think he is, full of leadership and integrity and willing to work very hard. It was amazing to see the kids all cleaning the camp - David didn't leave until all his tasks were done.
It didn't take me two minutes to realise he had a nasty cold but I was more than surprised that minutes after ordering the burger he so badly wanted he literally collapsed in the restaurant. I ran next door to the drug store and we got some meds into him but he could not hold his head up. I googled medical clinics only to find they closed in a few minutes. We packed up his uneaten lunch and put him in the car, aircon on, and drove for an hour while he slept. He woke slightly perkier but we kept things low key and delivered him back to his dorm for some more rest and drove home feeling very anxious about him. Fortunately he saw a Dr today and is on meds for a sinus, throat and chest infection.
So glad I was there and happy to have seen him even under less than great circumstances - Lindsay did manage to squeeze in her first winery wine tasting and purchased her first bottle of wine from the lovely Quails Gate (Where I may have purchased a few more than that).
We drove home with Adele and the Dixie Chicks and the golden light of the day on the hills and mountain tops.
And today we decided to beat the traffic so we rose early, banished the remaining cobwebs and had an easy run home.
A great BC Day long weekend of highs and lows on the highway and in my heart.
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