2016 Road Trip, part 8: The Voyage Home
Aug. 8th, 2016 11:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jamesqMostly, I drove. The vacation was winding down and I was anxious to get home, while at the same time not stress out trying to marathon home.
Osoyoos Adventures
My room at the Sunbeach Motel was an old school motel room. The sort that caters to travellers as well as long term stays. It had a kitchenette - includeing a two burner stove and a half-depth oven, which is something I've always assumed should exist, but never managed to find evidence of (and I looked). Everything was old and well worn (there was a sign above the stove saying that the knobs on the stove had just been replaced, but the paper was dated 2003!). The cupboards had a mix of thrift store dishes.
But here's the thing, despite it's age, everything was clean. The place didn't smell musty, there wasn't grime in the corners, and while the furniture was all well worn, it wasn't broken or lumpy. In fact, the recliner was comfy as hell and the mattress was fine. I really liked it. It was also well laid out for the square footage. Something I've been paying a lot of attention to since I've been looking at building a laneway house.
Based on the recommendation of the staff, I went to the Owl Pub and had a really good calzone and some beer. Along the way I was joined by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
spookiemonkie2, who was there visiting his folks with his kids. He managed to get an hour out for the pub.
Damned gazebos, disturbing my walk to the pub.
Also found this sign post. I love shit like this.
The next morning I explored a bit, discovering a small farmers' market and a garage sale.
My view walking back to my motel:
Driving away from Osoyoos, you come to this wonderful vista:
(yet more) Nelson Adventures
Less fun than last time because there was noothelianna. Also no KS (who was at Shambhala). :(
I ended up staying at a B&B that looked like Grandma's house (Grandma Agnew, because Grandma McGillis wasn't this fussy):
Still, they had a sense of humour:
I ended up going to a very nice movie theater and watching Suicide Squad. The place was packed (as to be expected for a small town theatre where the movies only show a few times before moving on).
Suicide Squad didn't precisely suck, but it was talent and opportunity wasted. The actors are all game, and do a great job. However, I think the best part of this movie ended up on the cutting room floor. There were hints of a good story there, but it was layered over by flashbacks and a needless Joker subplot. Seriously, the third trailer is more entertaining.
Found a great statue named 76 Trombones near one of Nelson's innumerable stairwells (seriously, this is one steep city).
The next morning I had a decision to make - cut the vacation short one day and power back to Calgary, or relax and take my time. I opted for the latter. This did mean I got a chance to go back to the park and take a picture of the waterfall, this time without a couple people blocking the view. Sort of. There was a couple smoking weed there, but they wandered off to be one with the forest a few minutes later.
Saint Eugene Mission Adventures
Checked in. Didn't soak in the pool because of an ongoing lightning storm. Had dinner. Storm went away. Soaked in the pool. Lost money gambling. Had a good night's sleep. Checked out. Took picture. Ta da!
Radium Adventures
Went to Radium Hot Springs on the drive home. Had a good long soak in a pool that had about the same number of people as the Banff Hot Springs would have... in a pool three times larger!
Here's the Fury Road-like chasm you have to drive through to get there:
Banff Adventures
Wandered up and down Banff avenue, like you do. Had a very meh supper at Park Distillery and Restaurant. Apparently they thought it was meh too, since I see that it got removed from the menu sometime between me eating it, and me writing this.
I drove the last hour home, unpacked the car, started my laundry and went to sleep in my own bed. Happy, and a little bit melancholy. Next day I didn't go to work - I just relaxed at home.
Osoyoos Adventures
My room at the Sunbeach Motel was an old school motel room. The sort that caters to travellers as well as long term stays. It had a kitchenette - includeing a two burner stove and a half-depth oven, which is something I've always assumed should exist, but never managed to find evidence of (and I looked). Everything was old and well worn (there was a sign above the stove saying that the knobs on the stove had just been replaced, but the paper was dated 2003!). The cupboards had a mix of thrift store dishes.
But here's the thing, despite it's age, everything was clean. The place didn't smell musty, there wasn't grime in the corners, and while the furniture was all well worn, it wasn't broken or lumpy. In fact, the recliner was comfy as hell and the mattress was fine. I really liked it. It was also well laid out for the square footage. Something I've been paying a lot of attention to since I've been looking at building a laneway house.
Based on the recommendation of the staff, I went to the Owl Pub and had a really good calzone and some beer. Along the way I was joined by
spookiemonkie2, who was there visiting his folks with his kids. He managed to get an hour out for the pub.Damned gazebos, disturbing my walk to the pub.
Also found this sign post. I love shit like this.
The next morning I explored a bit, discovering a small farmers' market and a garage sale.
My view walking back to my motel:
Driving away from Osoyoos, you come to this wonderful vista:
(yet more) Nelson Adventures
Less fun than last time because there was no
othelianna. Also no KS (who was at Shambhala). :(I ended up staying at a B&B that looked like Grandma's house (Grandma Agnew, because Grandma McGillis wasn't this fussy):
Still, they had a sense of humour:
I ended up going to a very nice movie theater and watching Suicide Squad. The place was packed (as to be expected for a small town theatre where the movies only show a few times before moving on).
Suicide Squad didn't precisely suck, but it was talent and opportunity wasted. The actors are all game, and do a great job. However, I think the best part of this movie ended up on the cutting room floor. There were hints of a good story there, but it was layered over by flashbacks and a needless Joker subplot. Seriously, the third trailer is more entertaining.
Found a great statue named 76 Trombones near one of Nelson's innumerable stairwells (seriously, this is one steep city).
The next morning I had a decision to make - cut the vacation short one day and power back to Calgary, or relax and take my time. I opted for the latter. This did mean I got a chance to go back to the park and take a picture of the waterfall, this time without a couple people blocking the view. Sort of. There was a couple smoking weed there, but they wandered off to be one with the forest a few minutes later.
Saint Eugene Mission Adventures
Checked in. Didn't soak in the pool because of an ongoing lightning storm. Had dinner. Storm went away. Soaked in the pool. Lost money gambling. Had a good night's sleep. Checked out. Took picture. Ta da!
Radium Adventures
Went to Radium Hot Springs on the drive home. Had a good long soak in a pool that had about the same number of people as the Banff Hot Springs would have... in a pool three times larger!
Here's the Fury Road-like chasm you have to drive through to get there:
Banff Adventures
Wandered up and down Banff avenue, like you do. Had a very meh supper at Park Distillery and Restaurant. Apparently they thought it was meh too, since I see that it got removed from the menu sometime between me eating it, and me writing this.
I drove the last hour home, unpacked the car, started my laundry and went to sleep in my own bed. Happy, and a little bit melancholy. Next day I didn't go to work - I just relaxed at home.
