Greetings, friends! I have returned! I touched down at Pearson at a little after 8pm on Monday night, and I must say that after 10 days of pretty much flawless weather, I was kind of disappointed to see how grey, wet, and relatively cool it was when we landed. If I ever have the chance, I'll have to be sure to tell the good people at Air Canada that it's not the best idea to remind the passengers where the emergency exits are when the plane is about to land. My dad and I looked at each other as the guy was explaining the different locations, and my mom kept asking me "What does this mean?? Why are they telling this to us??" The minor turbulence was a nice touch too.

But what am I doing telling the end of the story before the beginning? Well...it's a bit long, so I'll save the details for the website. All in all, it was a great trip, despite the things that I didn't get to do. I went to the Stampede but didn't see a rodeo. I went to Banff but didn't get to ski (not that I had the opportunity, but you know). I saw many a horse but never got to ride (and, surprisingly, saw more horses in BC than in Alberta). But no matter, it was still really fun.

Barkerville is way more interesting than I had imagined. Chinatown was more than just three shacks, and there were a lot of things to do and see there. Hanging out at the Lung Duck Tong (my aunt's restaurant) was always interesting, because I could see all the behind-the-scenes stuff, and listen to the customers talk about the food and the decor. Speaking of food...good eats! We ate almost all of our meals there, and even my brothers were happy eating Chinese food. The good news is that my aunt will most likely renew her contract next year, and so there will be a good chance that I can go and visit her there again, perhaps with other people in tow.

I can see why everyone who's ever been to Vancouver likes it there. Very laid-back city. Although, the traffic signals are a little challenging ("Flashing red?? What the hell does that mean??"). The best part of it was that my cousin Annie and her husband Michael did all the tour guiding for us, relieving me of that responsibility. We saw sights of the city that we probably never would have seen if I had relied on the CAA tourbook. And it was fun just hanging out with them and their kids.

I seriously can't wait to go back.

"Nobody on the road, nobody on the beach, I feel it in the air, the summer's out of reach"