Monday 23rd September
We were up around 6.30 a.m. and dealt with some e-mails and things in bed. It was raining outside, quite heavily. We had some coffee, took our time at getting ready and re-packed. We left after buying some jars of honey which were on offer on the counter in the kitchen. We left the C$10 for the owner. Rather than try to do anything in Vancouver or its surroundings in the rain, we decided to get on the road to Kamloops which would be our way stop on the route to Revelstoke where our overnight accommodation was located. Kamloops is about a 3 ½ hour drive from Vancouver.
It was slow leaving the city due to the construction in several places and we passed the port area and some residential parts. This seems like a city that we could well come back to and see much more as well as going to the adjacent Victoria where there are lovely gardens.
On the open road there were hills, mountains and woodland aplenty. Playing with the radio we found a Sirius XM Chanel called ‘The E Street Channel’ which was devoted to Bruce Springsteen whose 70th birthday it was today. The channel was playing the 100 best Bruce tracks and by the time we found them they were into the 20’s. Well, a Mustang, the open road and Bruce is a heady combination so we cranked up the sound and eventually, when the rain eased, we even put the top down and let the wind and Bruce blow together.
Our plans to stop for a more formal lunch were thus interrupted by the need to hear the final songs in the countdown which proved to be ‘Born to Run’ at No 2 and ‘Thunder Road’ as No 1, (I feel these positions should have been reversed!). To manage to stay in the car for these final songs we stopped at a drive-thru KFC and bought meals to eat in the car!! Still, it was the least we could do to celebrate the ‘Boss’s’ 70th birthday. After a quick bathroom break we decided to drive on the a small town called Sicamus where ice cream beckoned. This was a further 2 hours away. We got some gas as the Mustang is not the most fuel efficient car we could have rented!!
Bruce with the top down
We made it easily to Sicamous and soon found the D Dutchmen Ice Cream Dairy which is just adjacent to the farm where a large number of Holstein cows and their calves are housed. The dairy was founded by the Dewitt family over 40 years ago. There were many flavors of ice cream to choose from and the cones were of generous size. The ice cream is rich and delicious. They also sell milk, cream, pies and cheese made from this special A2 milk which has only one of the casein or milk protein and which is thus thought to be easier to digest. We bought a small bottle of milk to have with coffee in the morning. Across the street was a large fruit and vegetable stand with many, many local products, jams, vinegars, honey, maple syrup (of curse), drinks, lots of local fruits and vegetables and a huge range of chips and snacks. We stocked up on some peaches and chips for the road.
On the way to our final destination of the day we stopped at Craigellachie where the last spike of the trans-Canadian Railway was driven in to complete the line from coast to coast. There is a monument mostly to those who drove in the spike but also to those who worked on the railroad and in many cases gave their lives for it.
Then it was on for the short drive to Revelstoke. On the way it started to rain again and when we arrived at our AirBnB in a large block of apartments, we had to get out of the car in a downpour. The apartment is large, spacious and well appointed. It has a large sitting room with a dining area, large bedroom, big kitchen and nice bathroom.
We checked the news on the TV and then made our way to a nearby restaurant recommended by our AirBnB host, called Zala’s Pizza and Steak House. The friendly staff soon had us seated and we had a nice dinner. Then we drove back to the apartment and went to bed.
We had covered quite a distance on our first day in Western Canada and things had gone well
It was slow leaving the city due to the construction in several places and we passed the port area and some residential parts. This seems like a city that we could well come back to and see much more as well as going to the adjacent Victoria where there are lovely gardens.
On the open road there were hills, mountains and woodland aplenty. Playing with the radio we found a Sirius XM Chanel called ‘The E Street Channel’ which was devoted to Bruce Springsteen whose 70th birthday it was today. The channel was playing the 100 best Bruce tracks and by the time we found them they were into the 20’s. Well, a Mustang, the open road and Bruce is a heady combination so we cranked up the sound and eventually, when the rain eased, we even put the top down and let the wind and Bruce blow together.
 |
| The open Canadian road |
 |
| Our stop in Kamloops |
Our plans to stop for a more formal lunch were thus interrupted by the need to hear the final songs in the countdown which proved to be ‘Born to Run’ at No 2 and ‘Thunder Road’ as No 1, (I feel these positions should have been reversed!). To manage to stay in the car for these final songs we stopped at a drive-thru KFC and bought meals to eat in the car!! Still, it was the least we could do to celebrate the ‘Boss’s’ 70th birthday. After a quick bathroom break we decided to drive on the a small town called Sicamus where ice cream beckoned. This was a further 2 hours away. We got some gas as the Mustang is not the most fuel efficient car we could have rented!!
Bruce with the top down
We made it easily to Sicamous and soon found the D Dutchmen Ice Cream Dairy which is just adjacent to the farm where a large number of Holstein cows and their calves are housed. The dairy was founded by the Dewitt family over 40 years ago. There were many flavors of ice cream to choose from and the cones were of generous size. The ice cream is rich and delicious. They also sell milk, cream, pies and cheese made from this special A2 milk which has only one of the casein or milk protein and which is thus thought to be easier to digest. We bought a small bottle of milk to have with coffee in the morning. Across the street was a large fruit and vegetable stand with many, many local products, jams, vinegars, honey, maple syrup (of curse), drinks, lots of local fruits and vegetables and a huge range of chips and snacks. We stocked up on some peaches and chips for the road.
 |
| D Dutchman Dairy, Sicamus |
On the way to our final destination of the day we stopped at Craigellachie where the last spike of the trans-Canadian Railway was driven in to complete the line from coast to coast. There is a monument mostly to those who drove in the spike but also to those who worked on the railroad and in many cases gave their lives for it.
 |
| The site of the 'last spike on the Trans-Canada Railroad |
 |
| A fancy garbage can!! |
We checked the news on the TV and then made our way to a nearby restaurant recommended by our AirBnB host, called Zala’s Pizza and Steak House. The friendly staff soon had us seated and we had a nice dinner. Then we drove back to the apartment and went to bed.
We had covered quite a distance on our first day in Western Canada and things had gone well
Comments
Post a Comment