Have No Fear

Hi friends,

Sorry about the lack of blog posts since we've been in British Columbia. Don't worry though, I will eventually take the time to write about our trip- probably before the end of the week. Stay tuned!

Can't Believe We're Here

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010.

As you can probably imagine, we've been unbelievably busy over the past week!

Staying an hour away from downtown causes us to plan our days a little more than we would like, but the scenery in Mission makes it all worth the trouble. The energy in Downtown Vancouver is like none other- imagine Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa and times that by 100... everyday of the week! It's hard not to be consumed by what's going on around you, causing you to completely lose track of time; first thing you know you're parking the car at 10am, the next, you're checking the time and it's almost midnight! 

Speaking of parking, whoever hyped up the fact that there would be 'no parking downtown' or 'all the streets would be closed' etc, did a marvelous job keeping the general public from bringing their vehicles into the city centre. We were pleased to find minimal traffic during our attempt to drive into the downtown core and immediately found parking in an underground garage right outside where the Olympic Flame is located at only $20/day. Mind you, I believe that this was part of a successful campaign launched towards keeping greenhouse gas emissions minimized during the games- which was one of John Furlong's priorities of his mandate! 

For those of you who don't know, John Furlong is the CEO of the Vancouver2010 Organizing Committee. He has been under much scrutiny over the past few days regarding matters that I believe are out of his hands- take the weather for instance. I mean after all, It's not John's fault that Vancouver is having record high temperatures for the month of February. I say hats off to Mr. Furlong as he has been dealing well with all the criticisms, much that have come from south of the border I might add. 

John proved yesterday on an interview with CTV's Brian Williams that all the proper procedures and measures are being taken to resolve the issues at hand- after all, besides a few delays, all the events have been completed thus far. 

Now enough with my political analysis of the games and on to some more invigorating firsthand accounts of the excitement. Taylor, Dennis, Leanne, and I may not have been at the Moguls venue when Alexandre Bilodeau won Canada's first gold medal on home soil, but we were definitely at the next best place- Robson Square in Downtown Vancouver, packed with thousands of screaming fans. We arrived early and were able to watch the whole event standing front row! You could feel the energy seeping into your veins as the Canadians took turns tearing down the course. Vincent Marquis, one of the earlier Canadian competitors, sat in first place for a while and was amazing to watch as he egged on the crowd, generating mass cheers from all the supporters- congrats to him on his 4th place finish and also to Pierre-Alexandre Rousseau who finished 5th. 

Anyway, there is much more I'd love to tell you about- and will (including our night in West Vancouver), however I have to get ready to head back into the city. Don't fret, I will continue to post until you truly feel like you were here!

Much love,

Brian Stever

Leanne's Second Blog Post!

There hasn't been much to talk about from my end lately other than a few arguments here and there. Taylor has developed a cold over the past few days which isn't a big deal, besides the fact that he spits flem out the window quite often which likes to spray in the back seat. Dennis and I now know how to prepare for this by ducking down when Taylor rolls down his window. 

Also, a few days ago Dennis and I, in the backseat, thought it would be a great opportunity to test out the emergency blankets as it was quite cold outside. We opened what we all like to call the tinfoil blanket and then proceeded to snuggle up thinking we were doing nothing wrong. Everything was fine until Brian noticed Taylor gripping onto the steering wheel for dear life. Apparently the emergency blanket was making a lot of noise and distracting Taylor as he was driving. Another thing to add to his frustration was that it was the middle of the day, and the sun was reflecting off the shiny blanket into the entire car. Dennis and I were unaware of this as we were having too much fun playing with the tinfoil!

We arrived at Big White late Wednesday night, and the guys and I had a great time on the hill Thursday morning. Dennis, Brian, and I were snowboarding, and Taylor was skiing. Big White is a much bigger hill than the hills we have back home, so we took pictures and enjoyed the great weather. We were getting everything together and ready to go when I noticed something different about the car. I asked Dennis if he knew that the wipers were ripped off and he giggled and said no. I immediately knew he was lying, so I asked him what happened. "They didn't work anyway," he said. "So I kicked them off with my boot." As everyone else is laughing, I'm thinking wow, that was stupid. We've been having really good weather, so I soon got over it and we were on our way. The drive was going well until it started to get darker, and then started to rain. As large trucks were passing by, spitting rocks and dirt on our windshield, Taylor was getting more and more distracted. Dennis and I were in the backseat sweating to death, so we asked Taylor to turn down the heat, and he turned it to low. Dennis informed Taylor that he didn't turn it all the way off and there was still hot air coming out. Taylor then started yelling "OH REALLY DENNIS, THERE'S STILL AIR COMING OUT?" as he was feeling the vents. Brian told Taylor that even though Dennis was being an asshole, to calm down and stop yelling. We pulled over to avoid the wet weather in search of a place to stay, but realized we were far from any lodging. Thankfully after twenty minutes of contemplating, the rain died down. We were back on the road and arrived in Mission, BC within the hour. That concludes the driving portion of our journey, but I'll be sure to create a little more drama for another good laugh.

A Place Called Mission, BC

Friday, February 12th, 2010!!!!

For the sake of keeping you updated on the Olympic games, I am going to summarize our last few days!

Banff was one of the most beautiful towns we visited on our entire journey, in fact it was hard enough getting Dennis to leave. We were worried the fun-loving staff at Quiksilver were going to offer him a job and then we'd be down one member for the last leg of our trip!

After spending an hour or so taking pictures and hanging out with the Quiksilver Banff Team we finally got back on the road and embraced ourselves for our epic encounter with the Rocky Mountains.

It's hard to describe the feeling that consumes you when traveling through the mountains, but I gave it a shot as we drove on... here's what I came up with:

'Everyone in the car was silent and it felt as though everything was in slow motion. The fresh snowfall lightly blanketed the millions of pine trees and a large heard of elk could be seen standing stiffly, silently on a frozen pond. The sheer size of the mountains was incomprehensible without a firsthand account. If there was ever a time in my life I felt so small and insignificant, than this was it.'

It's times like these that I wish I could write as well as my favorite author, John Steinbeck, or others alike. If you haven't had the opportunity to see the Rocky Mountains, then all of us would recommend visiting them at some point in your lives.

After what felt like a short drive in comparison to the seemingly endless highways we had trekked along our journey, we finally arrived in the peaceful and tranquil mountaintop community at Big White Ski Resort. Now I'm sure it's not always so quiet, but showing up on a Tuesday night probably had something to do with that. Anyway, we pulled into the driveway of a very nice condo/apartment and we happy to see our friend Megan. She introduced us to her hilarious and awesome Australian roommates who lived downstairs and we sat around talking until late in the night.

The next morning we woke up early as we had planned to hit the slopes. Megan hooked us up and we got to ride the hill for free- which was absolutely unreal!!!! We spent the better half of the day shredding and we took a lot of pictures- hopefully Dennis will post them soon!

In the late afternoon we packed up the car and continued west to Mission, BC.

Earlier in the day Dennis and I tore the windshield wipers off the car as they were pretty much garbage. Ironically, we were lucky enough to not need them until we tore them off...

After passing through Kelowna we saw a sign that read, 'High Mountain Pass, Sudden Weather Changes- Be Prepared.' It had been nice all day and we thought it impossible for the weather to take a sudden turn as the sign had cautioned us. Almost instantaneously our opinions changed as a mixture of rain and snow clashed against our windshield, needless to say it was a slow drive the rest of the way. After contemplating pulling over and staying put for the night, a slow moving vehicle in front of us managed to guide us to our destination like a guardian angel.

We finally reached Mission, British Columbia, our base camp for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

Everyday has felt like Christmas morning and I am so so soooo thankful to share this experience with some of my best friends!

Onwards To Calgary

Thursday, February 11th, 2010.

The drive from Winnipeg to Calgary was surprisingly beautiful. Saskatchewan offered a magnificent sunset that made the blowing snow look like silk as it flowed over the asphalt. The white fields appeared cloudlike and omitted a heavenly aura on our late evening travels.

After the sun went down Taylor and I watched a movie that our new friend Liz purchased for us while we were in Winnipeg. The movie, titled ‘One Week,’ told the story of a man’s journey from Toronto to Vancouver after being diagnosed with cancer. We were able to relate to much of the story as at points we were able to look out the window and see the exact spots shown on the screen. We agreed that ‘One Week’ was arguably the most inspiring movie we have ever seen and would definitely recommend it!

We arrived in Bragg Creek (just outside of Calgary) late Monday night and were extremely excited to be greeted by our friends Anna and Cam. After telling stories for a few hours Cam headed home and Anna went to bed, as she had to be at work very early in the morning.

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The next day I awoke much before the sun and very parched. I walked upstairs to get a drink and that’s when I met Anna’s dad- a very enthusiastic and jolly Dutchman who immediately made me feel at home with his gigantic smile.  We talked for a few minutes before I headed back downstairs to wake Taylor to get an early start on the day.

Dennis and Leanne soon joined us as we sat around the kitchen table drinking coffee. Before Anna left for work she gave us a bag of homemade cookies (that were amazingly tasty) and, on top of that, her dad gave us money to fill the tank.

We left Anna’s with a childlike enthusiasm towards the day. The sun was rising in front of us, and behind, the snow-capped mountaintops could be seen in the distance.  The anticipation to begin our journey through the massive Rocky Mountains seemed unbearable, but first we had to fill our bellies.

We drove into Calgary and picked up our friend Rachelle before heading to a place called Nellie’s, where we also met our friends Kevin, Graham, and Brendan (FOWLERRRR!!!, inside joke…), whom are all paddlers at the Calgary Canoe Club. We sat and enjoyed a delicious and hearty meal while discussing the trip in its entirety.

After breakfast we dropped Rachelle off and headed to Crossrion Mills Mall where the Quiksilver Calgary Factory Store is located.

We arrived 45 minutes later at one of the biggest malls I’ve ever seen. Not knowing where exactly to find the Quiksilver store, we parked at the nearest entrance and began our search inside. While walking through the food court we over heard some girls talking. ‘Hey aren’t those the guys from MuchMusic!?’ It felt pretty awesome to be recognized, but more importantly it was gratifying to know that more and more people were learning of our support for Canadian Olympic athletes!

After a few minutes of walking we found the store where we met two great guys; Adrian and Ahmed! Once again, thanks to Karen, they knew we were coming. We showed them our blog and our car and took lots of pictures! They hooked us up with some more gear and let us write our blog address on the huge chalkboard behind the sales desk. While outside in the parking lot we met a girl named Blair Marie, you can find out all about our encounter with her on her super cool blog, found here- http://blairmariephotography.blogspot.com/

Check out her February 9^thpost!

We departed Crossiron Mills mall and began our journey towards the mountains. For Taylor and I it was a chance to revisit one of the most spectacular sights the world has come to know. For Dennis and Leanne, the experience was a new one, and it was exciting and wonderful to see the amazement spread across their faces as the giant mountains came into full view. Although Taylor and I had been there before, we could not for one second take for granted what we were witnessing. You might even say one could live in the mountains their entire lifetime and not lose appreciation for the sheer beauty they are so privileged to see every single day.  This was our drive through the Rockies as we passed through Banff and headed to Vancouver, this was our western Canada experience on our cross country adventure!

**More to come on Banff, Big White, and our arrival here in Mission after today’s adventures!!!

New Post On It's Way!!

Hey there sports fans!

The new blog post detailing the last few days will be up later today!! Also, Leanne's second post is on it's way, so be sure to check that out too!!

Much love,

Fancouver2010

A Long, Busy, And Unreal Weekend

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010.

After the gas drama in Wawa, Taylor and I settled in for a long night of driving. Upon leaving we noticed a large road sign advising motorists of 'Night Danger'. For a split second I dismissed the Moose warning as I had never seen a wild one in my entire life. The hazard instantaneously became real when all of a sudden I saw two beady eyes and a large shadowy figure looming on the side of the road! Although I didn't sleep much during the day it was hard to feel tired while being the self-proclaimed moose spotter. Lucky for Leanne, Dennis, and Taylor, I was very good at my job and we managed to keep the hitchhiking moose at bay.

Through the night Taylor and I made numerous coffee stops and as the caffeine invaded our bodies we felt wide awake. We shared deep conversations about life, opinions on worldly matters, and were able to really emotionally open up to each other- as only two people can when experiencing this adventure like we have together. 

Time seemed to fly by as the conversation infected us and before we knew it we were only 100k from Thunder Bay. That's when we passed a sign announcing that the section of the highway we were about to travel was dedicated to Terry Fox. It stirred some emotions within and it caused me to write this:

'An hour outside of Thunder Bay I gained a new appreciation for something that to me has lost it's meaning over the years. Ever since I can remember we celebrated the Terry Fox Run in school. We learned the tragic story of Terry's diagnosis and his passion to make a difference in our world. However, as the years passed it sort of became routine and in turn I found that I became ignorant to size of Terry's accomplishment. That was until this morning- at 6am we entered the Terry Fox Highway of Courage. To drive across Canada and see how far he actually made it was such an emotional and humbling experience for me. He dedicated his life to raise cancer awareness and to make a difference in our world. Who would've thought that driving on a highway could be so enlightening? I'm very grateful to have shared this with my close friends and to have this new perspective on the Terry Fox Run.' 

We then stopped to visit the Terry Fox Memorial Look-off, which provides a great view of Thunder Bay. It was early in the morning and still dark out so we took the liberty in driving the Sable right up to the monument. We then had a brief, but memorable photoshoot before continuing on our way.

A few hours later Dennis was behind the wheel and Taylor and I tried to catch up on some must needed sleep. After only an hour of shuteye I awoke to the car shaking. There was no immediate panic visible in the front seat so I checked the GPS to find out how fast we were going. It made me angry to see Dennis was driving 130km/h as we agreed to take it easy on the car and to drive safe- oh and might I add the speed limit was only 90. I told him to slow down and probably called him a few names before trying to go back to sleep. Literally (and I mean literally), a minute and a half later Dennis said 'F#!k.' 

An Ontario Provincial Police car passing on the other side of the road made an immediate u-turn and began following us. They didn't turn on their sirens right away so we thought maybe they didn't actually clock us or maybe, just maybe, they thought are car was super cool and wanted a better look? After being tailed for a few minutes the wishful thinking became nothing but and the OPP pulled us over. We shared a laugh with the female police officer and she gave us a little bit of a break on the ticket but in the end Dennis still ended up with a $130 fine.

A few hours later we all let out a great sigh of relief as we crossed the border into Manitoba. With the dreaded Northern Ontario trek behind us our spirits were once again rekindled. I phoned ahead to our friend Dave Anderson to let him know we were getting close. Dave told me that we might have to kill some time as he was picking up Switzerland's Olympic women's hockey team. They arrived in Winnipeg to acclimate for Olympic preparation and Dave had the pleasure of chauffeuring them around for a couple hours before we arrived.  

Now to paint you a better picture of our weekend I'll give you a little bit of background on Dennis and I's relationship with Dave. Before our stop over in Winnipeg we simply knew him through our sport- Dave was a senior member of the National team and we knew more of him then he probably did of us. We had the luxury of going to breakfast with him a few times in the past as friends of friends. So as you can imagine it came of a bit of a surprise to hear from him after announcing our initial cross-country itinerary. Dave offered to put us up while we were in Winnipeg and we were much obliged!

Upon our arrival we grabbed some lunch and finally headed to Dave's. We turned onto a narrow street and began looking for his house. Dennis asked me for the house number and I responded with '256.' We found the house and parked in a nearby parking lot. As we approached the house we discovered a different side of Dave we were unaware of. A motorcycle built from scratch acted as a lawn ornament and a pirate flag hung from the upstairs window. We had a chuckle and thought it must've been a joke. Dennis knocked on the door and two kids came running down the hall. A short slender man with long hair approached the door to find the four of us standing there with our luggage.

'Is Dave home?' Dennis asked. 

The kids were yelling simultaneously in the background,

'Daddy, Daddy, let them in!'

Clearly we had the wrong address. I checked my email on my phone and soon realized we were supposed to be at 265, not 256. A short walk down the street later and we arrived at the right house. 

Dave introduced us to his girlfriend Liz and we all quickly got along. We settled in and took the liberty in having warm showers and put on clean clothes before heading over to the Winnipeg Quiksilver location. Avid readers of our blog, Dave and Liz (more so Liz) knew all about our Quiksilver connection from Toronto. Dave was excited to hear about this as he's good friends with Bob Rohmann, a Quiksilver rep near Cocoa Beach, Florida. Bob, who was inducted into the East Coast Surfing hall of fame last month, has always been great to the paddlers who train down south for a few months each year. Dennis and I have actually had the pleasure of meeting Bob and his lovely wife Tess and visiting their house a few times in the past. So in knowing Bob and Tess, Dave was naturally excited to take us over to the store for a little meet and greet session. 

When we arrived at the store we were stoked to find out that Karen from the Toronto location had advised them we'd be stopping by! Although they were busy, they still made time to hook us up with some sick promo gear. We left our car at Dave's so we promised to stop by the next day for a little photoshoot. The manager, Lisa was awesome but unfortunately told us that she wouldn't be around the following day. It was awesome meeting her and we greatly appreciate everything she did for us!

After leaving the mall we made a necessary pit stop at the thrift store in attempt to find a pair of black track pants to replace the ones Taylor lost in Toronto. We had little luck in finding a pair as nice as the ones Taylor lost, however we did score a few good items. I picked up a pair of UV protective sunglasses with lime green frames and sporty lenses- only 59 cents, which Dave spotted me. Taylor found a pair of metallic green track pants and although they're awesome, they'll still never be as good as the old ones. 

We then left the thrift store and headed to the liquor store, where Dave picked up a bottle of Crown Royal. Until then I had no idea where Crown Royal was distilled, nor had I ever really tried it! Dave may well be one of the biggest advocates for the province of Manitoba and seeing as Crown Royal is distilled in Gimli, Manitoba then it only makes sense for it to be Dave's drink of choice. 

After completing our errands we returned to the Anderson residence and settled in for a nice home cooked dinner, courtesy of Liz! Dave poured a few rye and gingers and I think we all discovered our new drink of choice.

Unfortunately Liz had to head off to work, but we were able to enjoy the wonderful meal before a night out on the town. Dave decided he would be the designated driver for the night so that we could go to a handful of places and get the full Winnipeg experience. 

On the way to the first bar we picked up one of Liz's friends, Emily. The 6 of us then drove to the Cambridge hotel to sit and have a beer. Dennis, Taylor, and I were excited to find the Cambridge had the same feel as the Mic Mac Tavern from our home town in Dartmouth. It was nice to feel so at home from more than halfway across the country. Dave told us old paddling stories and facts about Winnipeg and Manitoba. We shared a lot of laughs and had a lot of fun.

Soon after we headed to the outskirts of town to visit the St.Norbert Hotel pub where our friend Megan Hunter was working. Originally we planned on being in Winnipeg on Friday, which was in fact Megan's birthday! Due to our troubles in Ontario we ended up missing out on her birthday celebrations, but we were happy enough to see her Saturday night.

After visiting Megan's bar we ventured over to Luxalune, where Liz worked. Now I won't bore you with all the details, after all, you're probably getting tired of reading about our night out and frankly, I'm getting tired writing about it! 

So after Luxalune we all felt pretty tired, but Dave still had a few places he wanted to show us. I grabbed a large coffee at a nearby 7/11, but Dennis and Leanne couldn't handle their fatigue. We dropped them off before finishing off our night at 'Toad in the Hole.'

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The next morning I awoke to Dave shaking me. It was 6:30am and seemed like an unreasonable time to wake up after a night out. Once I gathered myself, I soon remembered that we had planned to go ice fishing!  What better way to experience Canada then to go fishing in the middle of winter? We scrambled to get our bearings straight and were out the door within the half hour. 

Megan joined us, driving her van along with Liz, Dennis, Leanne, and Taylor. I had the opportunity to drive with Dave in his awesome truck as we travelled north to Selkirk, Manitoba! We drove through the city en route and I had the pleasure of getting the Winnipeg tour first hand from Dave. In fact, even after we were outside the city, he still knew tons about the surrounding areas. We passed through the 'Portage and Main' intersection, which is known as the 'coldest' and 'windiest' street corner in Canada. Dave shared with me facts about the 1919 General Strike that took place there, as well as facts about the buildings and architecture. It was a very educational experience for me, not to mention that I am a huge history fan as well, which made it that much more interesting!

After eventually arriving at the river the rest of the crew hopped out of the van and into the back of the truck. We drove onto the ice and headed through the village of fishing shacks towards a less crowded spot. Once we arrived, Dave realized he forgot his key to the shack!! Luckily his Dad lived nearby in Selkirk so it didn't take long to get a replacement key. 

Before we knew it Dave had his auger roaring and was drilling through the 3ft thick ice. He drilled 6 holes and then taught us how to bait our lines. The best part about the shack was that it came fully equipped with a wood stove, which was almost unbearably hot if you were seated too close. 

At first it seemed we were all getting bites, but couldn't master the technique to snag the fish. Then all of a sudden Dennis got one! He reeled in a small fish no more than 10 inches. I later learned from Dave that the type of fish Dennis caught was called a Sauger.

As we fished Dave took turns teaching Dennis, Taylor, and I how to use the auger! It was such a great experience, one I'm sure we will all remember for the rest of our lives- and one that is truly Canadian. 

After a few hours of fishing and missing out on the 'morning bite' we decided to grab breakfast at one of Dave's favorite spots in Selkirk. The breakfast we ate at Brad's Bistro completely lived up to the hype. We indulged in the usual eggs, toast, and hashbrowns, but also had the chance to try kubasa and- believe it or not- rye bread for myself. Kubasa and rye bread were both very tasty and at the rate of liking new things I tried in Winnipeg it's definitely opened my eyes to trying new things more often.

Upon leaving Brad's Bistro we stopped by the 'Selkirk Catfish' to take a few pictures before heading back to Winnipeg! 

When we arrived back at Dave's we all settled in for a well deserved nap after a long morning of ice fishing. 

In the afternoon we headed back to Quiksilver to hang out with the cute sales associates and to have a little photoshoot. It was a lot of fun and we look forward to visiting the Calgary store tomorrow.. however we have been reassured by the Winnipeg girls that we will not have as much fun there as we did with them!

In the evening we returned to Dave's for the usual Sunday night fish fry. It was nice to relax and talk about the events of the past week while indulging in the fresh fish that Dave caught the week earlier! 

Our stay in Winnipeg was an all round spectacular time; from the great food we ate, to the amazing people we met, this trip has already been worth it's while!