August 23/08 - Paladin Rides Again

Saturday Aug 23/08 - Day 1

We had ‘hoped’ to get away from Delta by 8:00 a.m. but as the saying goes about ‘the best laid plans’… I finished up about 2:00 a.m. Fri night and left Rod working on his ‘as builts’ that needed to be done before could get away. I vaguely recall that he crawled in about 3:00 and we were up shortly after 6:00. Rod had yet to get the payroll done so we could turn it in on our way through Langley.

Tobi, our little American Eskimo dog was looking pretty depressed. His tail that is normally curled up tightly over his back was all unwound and looking forlorn. “Hmmm” he’s thinking – “the bikes are out – ‘Mom & Dad’ keep packing out their stuff and not mine – there’s a strange guy here – this might not be good… “ I’m sure he and our friend Henry will find their own rhythm once we’re gone and it will just be a matter of time before Tobi works his magic and worms his way into Henry’s heart.

Got away just after 11:00 and rolled out of the cul-de-sac when I hear clackety-clack and see something fall onto the ground ALREADY! Pulling over I walk back to find my Serengeti sunglasses which have popped OUT of their hard shell case and – yep you know it – are face DOWN on the asphalt. OOPS!

I had to make a stop at our local bank and discovered I should have the paperwork with me re our U.S. cell phone coverage so back home we go. Yip, yip, yip… Tobi is overjoyed! They’re home – they’re home already!!! Well, that’s short-lived – we’re back on the road at 11:17 headed to WHERE??? Well – Rod has to stop at his office to drop off the “As Builts” and the payroll so the guys can get paid while we’re gone. Can’t think that was more important than our getting away in a timely fashion. J

We cruised by your shop Roland at 11:40 and gave a few toots on the horn. Paladin’s new flag is looking great and standing out proud. A not so short stop at Civil’s office and away by 12:17 p.m.

Rod had installed a new remote control for my iPod on Paladin’s handlebars which makes for “on the fly” music changes. My iPod is fully charged and with close to 10,000 songs means I won’t have to listen to the same song twice on the whole trip (unless I want to) :-)

I coasted into Chilliwack on reserve fuel at 1:00 p.m. as Tammy Wynette was demanding that women “Stand By Your Man” (must have been before women’s lib) – quite a dichotomy to Shania Twain demanding of her mate “Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under?” First we fuelled the ‘horses’ then it was our turn to re-fuel at Earl’s. For me, the summer berry chicken salad with fresh fat blackberries, blueberries and strawberries. SURPRISE when it arrived with the addition of my personal favourite – raspberries. Yumm! It just doesn’t get any better than this. Pulling out of Earl’s we see a strange sight – a young man dressed up as a … princess??? Full make up including a tiara and sporting a parasol. A number of buddies accompany him so I call out “is this your stag?” Grinning, he nodded and walked over to the bikes. His buddy offered me a felt sharpie and pulled up his shirt so I could ‘sign him’. We pulled away wishing him many years of wedded bliss. The super sweet Chilliwack ‘Peaches & Cream” corn is standing tall in the fields with numerous roadside offering it for sale. Crossing the summit of the Coquihalla and witnessing the devastation of the pine trees from the pine beetle makes my heart ache. I so love that wonderful smell of the pines in the mountains and wonder if any will remain. A wasteland of brown, dead trees from the little insect that gets between the inside of the bark and the tree in the sap line, unseen until a year later when the needles start to go brown and die. Our friend tells us the pine beetle is made possible by the forestry practices and the warming trend. There would need to be 2 solid weeks of -40 temperatures to eradicate this pest and we haven’t seen these temperatures even much farther north for a number of years.

We fuel in Merritt at 4:00 and chat with a number of other motorcyclists. There were signs on the pumps asking for patrons’ patience as they had very slow fuel flow. ‘No kidding” Rod says as it barely dribbles out “I could pee in a cup faster. Imagine trying to fill my truck?” 140 litres as opposed to 25 for both bikes.

A quick stop in Kamloops to call our friends Darren & Amanda to check directions to their place in Sorrento. It will be our first visit since they relocated from Vancouver 2 years ago and I am excited to see them and little Jack who was still just a baby when they left.

Just before Chase my nostrils are filled with the acrid smell of smoke and my eyes start to sting. To our left on the north side of the Thompson River is a little island in the river and it is on fire. A large black helicopter hovered above assessing the situation and a number of vehicles have pulled over to have a look.

We arrive at our host’s lovely post & beam home overlooking the enormous Shuswap Lake which is about 65 km in length. You can smell the fresh water and it conjures up images of summer sunshine, swimming, boating, beach fires and fun. A new addition and playmate to Jack is Cooper, a playful young lab/border collie mix. Jack, now 3½ is a little shy at first but eventually shows us his ‘fleet’ of vehicles from trikes to his first two wheeler with training wheels and wagons that he hooks up to and tows rocks around the property. He even has an inside trike that he roars around the house in. As do most kids of that age he has his own language that is quite indecipherable to most adults but it doesn’t seem to matter as long as you smile and make appropriate sounds of attempted understanding. Darren & Jack head out to pick up Amanda from work in Salmon Arm hospital where she has already put in a 12 hour shift as a nurse delivering babies which today included one of her neighbours. We share a great dinner, bottle of wine and lots of laughs. At 10:30 we’re about done in from our short night before and can longer try to politely cover our yawns – it’s time to turn in for the night. Here, with no ambient light from the city it is VERY dark but the stars are wonderful and Darren told us they sat on the grass and enjoyed the free show of a meteor shower last week. The light inside me that had grown very dim these past dark months has found an ember to rekindle on – Rod says it’s the first real smile in quite a long while – one that actually reaches my eyes. It’s a start.