Programming note: I normally post vacation or travel entries on the day in question, but opted to just take notes and write them after the fact instead this time, so some details may be missing or totally made up for dramatic effect.
The last time Jeff and I went to Kamloops (in 2015), it was for his niece’s convocation (high school graduation). Despite it being June, it rained while we were there, and yet I still got a sunburn.
I did not get a sunburn this time.
This time we were heading there (actually further east to Chase) for her wedding at some quaint little ranch that is billed as a “wedding venue”.
A friend of Jeff’s provided us a gratis rental car, which was very nice. It was a BMW X2 and, as you might expect from a Beemer, was quite nice. The seats did not numb my butt, even on the long journey up the Coquihalla Highway.
We started out a bit later than intended, but would still arrive with plenty of daylight left.
Shortly after leaving, the grey sky turned even more sullen and showers started. We opted to stop for a late lunch in Chilliwack, where there is still a giant flag along Vedder Road. I had chicken strips at a Wendy’s and they were fine. We headed on past Chilliwack and began the ascent into the mountains. The rain picked up until it was coming down in sheets. This made for low visibility and a not-really-pleasant drive. It stressed me out.
Once we reached the Coquihalla Summit, the weather abruptly changed. This actually makes sense, because on our side it’s temperate rain forest, and on the other (Kamloops) side, it’s as close as you get to desert in BC. The mountains go from being covered in Evergreen to being covered in scrub and dotted with a few trees. There’s something about this forest minimalism I find aesthetically pleasing.
We got in and after a few minutes of the check-in clerk puzzling over our MoreRewards™ hotel voucher (we cashed in some points to get two nights free at the Best Western Premier, one of about 500 hotels on a stretch along Hugh Allen Drive. There is another hotel being constructed there even as I type this), we were given our key cards and went up to our room. Really, for the price (especially the free price), it was pretty decent.
But just like the hotel room I stayed at in Nashville 10 years ago, the office chair was broken, so in order to sit at the desk and not feel like a five-year-old trying to reach my laptop, I had to use one of the many pillows from one of the two beds to sit on. At least it was cushy.
By this time, I was feeling out of sorts from a combination of:
- Stress
- Right knee being a bother from the previous day’s run
- Left hand being weirdly achy as well (I think I slept on it funny or something–it’s fine now)
I curled up on the bed and dozed, until Jeff got hungry. We remained indecisive as to what or where to eat as our options began closing for the evening. We finally settled on getting something from a Triple O’s down the road. I had some garlic Parmesan fries. They were actually not bad. We crashed early. Or rather, I continued to crash.
It was a somewhat ignoble start to the trip. And I haven’t even talked about how the various maps apps (Apple Maps, Google Maps, the in-car navigation system) would give us sometimes confusing or nonsensical results. Both Apple and Google REALLY want you to do U-turns everywhere. U-turns are mostly illegal in Canada.
I only took a single shot on Day 1. Behold our hotel room, my sexy legs and a Swiss Chalet ad on the TV:
