Where is Jer?

Drop by and talk about anything you want. This is where all cheese-related discussions should go
User avatar
Jer
LRR Crew
Posts: 1738
Joined: 18 Mar 2004, 17:23
Location: Victoria
Contact:

Where is Jer?

Postby Jer » 24 Jul 2007, 15:13

I'm sure this is the question on everyones lips at the moment given that I am obviously not on the road trip, and am also not iv Victoria. At the moment, I am in a Blenz in downtown Vancouver . . . it's on West Georga and sortof near the library.

In a far more general sense, while the others are taking a crazy-assed and potentially-deadly trip down to Comicon--a fact that I find no end of amusement in, given that I'm the only crew member who really reads/buys comics--I will be spending my time taking a group of 24 Dutch tourists across BC and into the Rockies. I left yesterday morning, and this is the first time I've had internet access since . . . but I will try to post to this thread as I make it to wifi access points. Apparently the road trip blog is only for people on the "real" road trip. Thanks, jackasses.

Also, as it turns out, teh internets died pretty much precisely as I walked into this Blenz. After I offered some suggestions as to how she might fix the problem, the barrista invited me to come into the back room and fix it myself--which I did, and now here we are.

Today I had to give an impromptu tour of Vancouver for the above-mentioned Dutch, which was somewhat intimidating as I know positively jack all about the city, even if it is just a ferry ride away. I had to call the company I's working for to get a halfway competent list of sites and locales. The lack of interbutt in the hotel didn't really help at all either (apparently it's being serviced), as I couldn't just wikipedia stuff . . . oh well.

After the tour, I tried to drop by CBC radio (which is right across the street from my hotel) for an impromptu tour, but was rebuffed by security. In my mind, if I'm paying for the radio station with my tax dollars, I should be able to review its operations . . . but the (very friendly) security guard didn't agree with me. Actually, I guess I can see his point. If the same held true for hospitals, for example, the doctors might have a hard time concentrating.

Tomorrow we head out to Harrison Hot Springs, and I plan to spend most of the day waterborne. Our hotel there is called the 'Executive', so I'm hoping the room will be larger than the cubby I'm staying in now. While the clients got really nice rooms at the hotel, mine was pretty much just big enough for the bed. Also the sheets feel like 100% polyester, and I hate dry AC air, so these factors )when combined with the fucking biggest burger ever that I had for dinner at the Shark Club) combined to make sleep difficult. I ended up having to get dressed and head down to the hotel bar for Baileys and milk, which knocked me out like that.

Come to think of it, no matter where I'm staying, it'll probably be a hell of a lot nicer than anywhere the others are going to be . . . over the next few weeks . . . and on that note, here is a map of where I'm going to be for the next little while. Basically, it's Vancouver, Harrison, Vernon, Banff, Jasper, Clearwater, Victoria, and the back to Vancouver. If you're in any of those places, feel free to drop me a line, and maybe we can do coffee or something.

And on that note, I'm off! Cheers and beers, folks. I'll post back when I have something to say.
Image
Allen!
Uwe Boll Fanboy
Posts: 5190
Joined: 15 Mar 2004, 05:19
Location: Vaultcouver
Contact:

Postby Allen! » 24 Jul 2007, 16:04

Gimme a call sometime, Jer.
I vill PM you with ze nombre.
PSNid: Obee1
XboxLive: LastErrand
Undefeated Lord of Donuts
User avatar
Cake
Magically Delicious
Posts: 4995
Joined: 16 Jun 2007, 02:48
Location: Parker, CO

Postby Cake » 24 Jul 2007, 18:36

Come down to the Colorado Rocky Mountains, I'll show you a good time. No, not THAT kind of a good time. I'll take you around Rocky Mountain National Park; it's only 1.5 hours away.
Wil Wheaton says "Game over, Moonpie."
User avatar
Kathleen
LRR Crew
Posts: 2917
Joined: 12 Mar 2004, 19:43
First Video: Season 1 Halloween Special
Location: Vancougar
Contact:

Postby Kathleen » 24 Jul 2007, 19:18

Next time you're in, I'll show you how to give a good tour!!
HOLY SHIT GUYS! BEARS!
User avatar
Corax
Hangleyman
Posts: 1926
Joined: 04 Mar 2007, 14:46
Location: Minnesota
Contact:

Postby Corax » 24 Jul 2007, 19:45

5/5 for not making it a wall of text, and thx for the info
User avatar
tak197
Feito Com Fruta
Posts: 9010
Joined: 13 Mar 2007, 19:20
First Video: How To Talk Like A Pirate
Location: Stroudsburg, PA
Contact:

Postby tak197 » 24 Jul 2007, 19:52

RMNP is pretty sweet. Been to Alpine Welcome Center and Bear Lake.

As for Jer's trip, it sounds ok, except I have no clue why he's doing this.

The only one who isn't necessarily accounted for is Kathleen, but I am assuming she is just in Vancouver being her (ab)normal twisted self.

Baileys and milk/cream as a sleep aide? Hmmmmm...
Image
Image
Allen!
Uwe Boll Fanboy
Posts: 5190
Joined: 15 Mar 2004, 05:19
Location: Vaultcouver
Contact:

Postby Allen! » 25 Jul 2007, 09:07

tak197 wrote:As for Jer's trip, it sounds ok, except I have no clue why he's doing this.


Jer's doing the tour thing for his company, he told me(twenty minutes after I first posted).

And Kathleen lives here, Tak.
PSNid: Obee1
XboxLive: LastErrand
Undefeated Lord of Donuts
User avatar
Kathleen
LRR Crew
Posts: 2917
Joined: 12 Mar 2004, 19:43
First Video: Season 1 Halloween Special
Location: Vancougar
Contact:

Postby Kathleen » 25 Jul 2007, 09:15

I'm going to Comic Con, but I'm flying in for the weekend.
HOLY SHIT GUYS! BEARS!
User avatar
Cake
Magically Delicious
Posts: 4995
Joined: 16 Jun 2007, 02:48
Location: Parker, CO

Postby Cake » 25 Jul 2007, 10:05

Guess that's better than driving down with a bunch of guys in a hot, smelly, bus that breaks down, huh?
Wil Wheaton says "Game over, Moonpie."
User avatar
Kathleen
LRR Crew
Posts: 2917
Joined: 12 Mar 2004, 19:43
First Video: Season 1 Halloween Special
Location: Vancougar
Contact:

Postby Kathleen » 25 Jul 2007, 11:33

I wouldn't have minded, I just couldn't take 2 weeks off work at that time. Oh well.
HOLY SHIT GUYS! BEARS!
User avatar
tak197
Feito Com Fruta
Posts: 9010
Joined: 13 Mar 2007, 19:20
First Video: How To Talk Like A Pirate
Location: Stroudsburg, PA
Contact:

Postby tak197 » 25 Jul 2007, 18:07

Allen! wrote:
tak197 wrote:As for Jer's trip, it sounds ok, except I have no clue why he's doing this.


Jer's doing the tour thing for his company, he told me(twenty minutes after I first posted).

And Kathleen lives here, Tak.


As I SAID, she is just in Vancouver being her (ab)normal twisted self.

OR it can be read as "She is in Vancouver because that's where she fuckin lives."

Your choice.

Have a nice day. :)
Image
Image
User avatar
Jer
LRR Crew
Posts: 1738
Joined: 18 Mar 2004, 17:23
Location: Victoria
Contact:

Postby Jer » 25 Jul 2007, 21:49

Beware: more wordy than last time, as I have wireless access IN MY ROOM. Novel.

The last couple days seem to have been days of late meals.

After getting back to the hotel last night, I got to turn around almost immediately and leave again to take my little flock of Dutch out for dinner. This is not supposed to be a common occurrence by any means--for the most part they expect to be cut loose and left to roam whatever area they are in at their leisure, finding meals as appropriate. However, on this particular occasion, I thought it could be nice for us all to dine together-especially since we missed Gastown on my tour, and I had been looking for an excuse to get them over to the stem clock.

So, off we went to Gastown, and after an hour of roaming there, we headed-hungrily-to wait for our 7:15 reservation at the Old Spaghetti Factory (not the nicest place by any means, but where else does one take two dozen tourists to eat as a group? And wait we did, all twelve hungry adults, twelve hungry children, and two hungry guides of our number got to wait and wait and wait for over half an hour after our reservation before finally being seated.

Dinner was ok, and I ended up in a long and drawn out discussion with one of my clients about the intricacies of Canadian and Dutch politics, laced heavily on my side with west-coast bias, though I did warn her about this fact.

This morning, after breakfast at Moxie's (my Vancouver Hotel's restaurant), the group reassembles, and then we were back on the road en route for Harrison Hot Springs. However, while we left at 10:00 am on what was supposed to be a three-hour trip (a threee hou-er toour!) things didn't go quite as planned. We ended up stopping at a historic ranch about 20 minutes drive away from Harrison for photos and a bathroom break, but what started as a 5-15 minute pit-stop quickly turned into a 1.5 hour wait, as my 24 hungry Dutch discovered the restaurant and decided to eat . . . despite the fact that said restaurant was staffed by precisely three people and couldn't possibly keep up.

Some time later, we finally rolled into Harrison. Funnily enough, we are not staying at the resort with the actual Hot Springs, but at the Executive Hotel down the road. I think this upset some of the tourists, but hte upshot is that I actually have a nice room tonight! it's big and spacious with a queen-sized bed. Woot! Let's just hope that the sheets are not over-starched like the ones I had at the Sandman.

Beyond the distinct lack of Hot Springs, I have discovered a number of things about Harrison. Most revolve around it being a resort town built around a beautiful beach-front, and surrounded by nice scenery. I've been quizzing the locals about how many people actually live in the town over the summer, and it looks like not a lot.

I went for a swim at around 6:30, then sat around on the beach reading for a little while. I then returned to the hotel, and re-emerged at 9:30, hoping to sneak into the grounds of the paid-admission sand-sculpture contest and snap some pictures, and maybe get a nightcap. Sadly, this mission failed on two counts, both because I lack the ability to hold a camera steady enough for long-exposure shots, and because everything in this town apparently closes at 9:00 (!) on weekdays.

Crazy. At least the scenery's still nice at twilight.

Ok, time for bed. I have a long day of travel to Vernon ahead of me tomorrow . . . and then lots of shopping.

Word to my peeps, and such.

Allen, good to hear from you again at last!

Kathleen, next time I am in Vancouver, I will remember to bring your number along!
Image
User avatar
meisbored
Posts: 739
Joined: 03 Jun 2007, 21:42
First Video: Daylight Savings
Location: Victoria
Contact:

Postby meisbored » 25 Jul 2007, 22:02

As soon as I read "three hour trip" I immediately thought of "threee hou-er toour", before noticing that you had typed that right next to it xD
User avatar
tak197
Feito Com Fruta
Posts: 9010
Joined: 13 Mar 2007, 19:20
First Video: How To Talk Like A Pirate
Location: Stroudsburg, PA
Contact:

Postby tak197 » 25 Jul 2007, 22:57

In nicer hotels, it's probably starch. Not so in others.
Image
Image
User avatar
Brinson
Posts: 810
Joined: 20 Mar 2004, 13:21
Location: Victoria, BC
Contact:

Re: Where is Jer?

Postby Brinson » 26 Jul 2007, 07:29

Jer wrote:I'm sure this is the question on everyones lips at the moment given that I am obviously not on the road trip, and am also not iv Victoria. At the moment, I am in a Blenz in downtown Vancouver . . . it's on West Georga and sortof near the library.

In a far more general sense, while the others are taking a crazy-assed and potentially-deadly trip down to Comicon--a fact that I find no end of amusement in, given that I'm the only crew member who really reads/buys comics--I will be spending my time taking a group of 24 Dutch tourists across BC and into the Rockies. I left yesterday morning, and this is the first time I've had internet access since . . . but I will try to post to this thread as I make it to wifi access points. Apparently the road trip blog is only for people on the "real" road trip. Thanks, jackasses.

Also, as it turns out, teh internets died pretty much precisely as I walked into this Blenz. After I offered some suggestions as to how she might fix the problem, the barrista invited me to come into the back room and fix it myself--which I did, and now here we are.

Today I had to give an impromptu tour of Vancouver for the above-mentioned Dutch, which was somewhat intimidating as I know positively jack all about the city, even if it is just a ferry ride away. I had to call the company I's working for to get a halfway competent list of sites and locales. The lack of interbutt in the hotel didn't really help at all either (apparently it's being serviced), as I couldn't just wikipedia stuff . . . oh well.

After the tour, I tried to drop by CBC radio (which is right across the street from my hotel) for an impromptu tour, but was rebuffed by security. In my mind, if I'm paying for the radio station with my tax dollars, I should be able to review its operations . . . but the (very friendly) security guard didn't agree with me. Actually, I guess I can see his point. If the same held true for hospitals, for example, the doctors might have a hard time concentrating.

Tomorrow we head out to Harrison Hot Springs, and I plan to spend most of the day waterborne. Our hotel there is called the 'Executive', so I'm hoping the room will be larger than the cubby I'm staying in now. While the clients got really nice rooms at the hotel, mine was pretty much just big enough for the bed. Also the sheets feel like 100% polyester, and I hate dry AC air, so these factors )when combined with the fucking biggest burger ever that I had for dinner at the Shark Club) combined to make sleep difficult. I ended up having to get dressed and head down to the hotel bar for Baileys and milk, which knocked me out like that.

Come to think of it, no matter where I'm staying, it'll probably be a hell of a lot nicer than anywhere the others are going to be . . . over the next few weeks . . . and on that note, here is a map of where I'm going to be for the next little while. Basically, it's Vancouver, Harrison, Vernon, Banff, Jasper, Clearwater, Victoria, and the back to Vancouver. If you're in any of those places, feel free to drop me a line, and maybe we can do coffee or something.

And on that note, I'm off! Cheers and beers, folks. I'll post back when I have something to say.



Jer.... This post comes off as maybe just a little bitter. As far as I know, you had just as much opportunity to come on this trip as anyone else, there's no reason to make little jabs at us to patch your own jealousy. Since when is Comic-Con is just about comics? What kind of elitist attitude is that to have? Come on, man. There's plenty of stuff about movies and gaming to make it so much more than a bunch of dudes spewing off about how Green Arrow #11 changed the face of comics.
And how do you know that the people on this trip aren't staying somewhere nice? Even as I type this, I can turn to my left and get a gorgeous view of some rolling country side in San Diego.

Please, think before you type. Have a good trip, Jer. See you when we get back. Maybe you'll have cooled down a bit by then.
User avatar
tak197
Feito Com Fruta
Posts: 9010
Joined: 13 Mar 2007, 19:20
First Video: How To Talk Like A Pirate
Location: Stroudsburg, PA
Contact:

Postby tak197 » 26 Jul 2007, 12:50

Rolling countryside of San Diego, which I had to pay for....

Canadian Rockies, which I am getting paid for....

hmmmmmm, which would I choose?....

Having been to both California and the Rockies, I think it's a no brainer...

Money talks.
Image
Image
User avatar
Cake
Magically Delicious
Posts: 4995
Joined: 16 Jun 2007, 02:48
Location: Parker, CO

Postby Cake » 26 Jul 2007, 13:01

tak197 wrote:Rolling countryside of San Diego, which I had to pay for....

Canadian Rockies, which I am getting paid for....

hmmmmmm, which would I choose?....

Having been to both California and the Rockies, I think it's a no brainer...

Money talks.


I'd take a day in the mountains over Disneyland and Seaworld any day.
Wil Wheaton says "Game over, Moonpie."
User avatar
tak197
Feito Com Fruta
Posts: 9010
Joined: 13 Mar 2007, 19:20
First Video: How To Talk Like A Pirate
Location: Stroudsburg, PA
Contact:

Postby tak197 » 26 Jul 2007, 13:09

Cake wrote:I'd take a day in the mountains over Disneyland and Seaworld any day.


California Adventure in anaheim, pretty sweet, I must admit.

Alpine Visitor Center in RMNP, sooooooooo awesome. Especially if you go with people who never saw snow before in person.
Image
Image
User avatar
Kathleen
LRR Crew
Posts: 2917
Joined: 12 Mar 2004, 19:43
First Video: Season 1 Halloween Special
Location: Vancougar
Contact:

Postby Kathleen » 26 Jul 2007, 13:25

As someone who used to live up in them mountains, and has a really nice view of them (woo Vancouver!), I'm really excited to go to San Diego.

Also, all of us read comics in the crew. Some just more than others. I am really excited to see the SLG and Dumbrella booths, for example.

In conclusion, we are all giant nerds.
HOLY SHIT GUYS! BEARS!
User avatar
Jer
LRR Crew
Posts: 1738
Joined: 18 Mar 2004, 17:23
Location: Victoria
Contact:

Re: Where is Jer?

Postby Jer » 26 Jul 2007, 23:00

Brinson wrote:
Jer.... This post comes off as maybe just a little bitter. As far as I know, you had just as much opportunity to come on this trip as anyone else, there's no reason to make little jabs at us to patch your own jealousy. Since when is Comic-Con is just about comics? What kind of elitist attitude is that to have? Come on, man. There's plenty of stuff about movies and gaming to make it so much more than a bunch of dudes spewing off about how Green Arrow #11 changed the face of comics.
And how do you know that the people on this trip aren't staying somewhere nice? Even as I type this, I can turn to my left and get a gorgeous view of some rolling country side in San Diego.

Please, think before you type. Have a good trip, Jer. See you when we get back. Maybe you'll have cooled down a bit by then.


. . . Adam are you feeling ok?

I mean seriously . . . if you had told me to go have my ovaries scraped I would have LOL'd, but this post has me concerned.

No I'm not bitter. I'm happy to be paid to go on a happy bus trip with happy Dutch people, and if I'm bitter about anything, its that I wanted to blog my own progress, but was shut out of the crew blog until the rest of you get back . . . and hence I am posting here and calling you jackasses in the most affectionate possible way :P.

Enjoy your comics, nerds!
Image
User avatar
Jer
LRR Crew
Posts: 1738
Joined: 18 Mar 2004, 17:23
Location: Victoria
Contact:

Postby Jer » 26 Jul 2007, 23:33

Ok, as it's after midnight, and I need to be up at 7:00, this is going to be brief. However, as I will be on a houseboat for the next two nights on Merrel Lake ("Merrel?"), I figured I should post something before going dark ("Metal GEAR!?").

The day started off as a pretty slow driving day out of Harrison Hot Springs (my little slice of Mexico in the middle of BC), and towards Vernon . . . a little bit of . . . well, desert.

Things went fine enough through Mission, though the Coquihalla proved to be a slight problem for our bus. After approximately 30 seconds on the first steep hill, a light on the dash started blinking, and the bus began to slow down. We pulled aside, and sure enough, discovered that our bus's heat safety had kicked in, and we were temporarily stranded. Surprise number two was that our parking break (while it apparently still measures up to safety regulations (!) is apparently not strong enough to hold me, Art, the bus, our shit, and 24 Dutch, and was quite prepared to explore the highway backwards, at great velocity.

This sent me on a mission down the gravel-lined ravine on the side of the road in search of a good sized rock to lock our wheel--our own wheel blocks being held in a compartment requiring the bus key to open, and thereby unusable with the pedal-breaks operational. After walking along the top for a while, I was able to find a place with lots of exposed rocks for me to climb down, but it wasn't what I would cal an easy descent. It was about halfway down that I realized two facts. Firstly, that sandals do not work well for climbing down ravines, and secondly that I was using the only nearby nooks and crannies in an exposed sunny area for footholds IN THE MIDDLE OF RATTLE SNAKE COUNTRY.

After this, I proceeded more cautiously, but thankfully me fears were unfounded. I had soon hauled up a nice big frog rock, and we were soon on our way again.

We passed through Masset somewhat later, and stopped for lunch. It's cowboy country, and I only really mention it because it got me humming Corb Lund for the next 50 k or so. I got to see a real cowboy, with spurs . . . though a thoughtful dutch traveller asked why I was so free in my use of the word "cowboy" when I had just given them a lecture about not saying "indian" . . .

. . . I told them I figured cowbys were proud of the title, but I don't know if I was right.

Several more hours brought us along the Okanagen Lake, past Kelowna, and into Vernon, where we dropped our passengers off, checked in at the hotel, then zapped over to Superstore to shop.

I won't go into details about what goes into shopping for 26 people over six meals (or 156 meals in total), but let's just say that it's over fur hours and $800. By 8:40, I think Art and I were both happy to drag ourselves to the bar for a Kilkenny and Guiness respectively. I also had a burger, but it was not nearly as awe-inspiring as that one from the Shark Club on day 1.

And now here I am in my new hotel room, which is much nicer than the first one, but not nicer than the last one. I have just discovered, to my great delight, that Tally and I wil be staying in a very large room at the Hilton in Seattle when we're down there in August, so that trip is sounding better and better all the time.

I have also just done my laundry--due to time constraints--in my bathtub, but seeing as I've not really been wearing socks, it wasn't a huge deal. I suppose it can't be all fun-and-games on these work-related trips.

We'll see what the houseboats bring tomorrow.
Image
User avatar
James
LRR Crew
Posts: 3008
Joined: 20 Mar 2004, 13:14
Location: Victoria
Contact:

Postby James » 27 Jul 2007, 00:14

I thought Paul told you how to post on the blog?
User avatar
tak197
Feito Com Fruta
Posts: 9010
Joined: 13 Mar 2007, 19:20
First Video: How To Talk Like A Pirate
Location: Stroudsburg, PA
Contact:

Postby tak197 » 30 Jul 2007, 12:12

So has Jere escaped from the houseboat of doom yet? Are the Dutch again on the road with Jer and associates in tow?
Image
Image
User avatar
Jer
LRR Crew
Posts: 1738
Joined: 18 Mar 2004, 17:23
Location: Victoria
Contact:

Postby Jer » 30 Jul 2007, 14:51

Zed-Oh-Em-Gee, kids, it's been an intense couple of days. While it took me a while of blundering about Banff and buying small coffees, I eventually found a coffee shop that had interzoops, such that I can now spill my guts. It's called the Wild Flour bakery, and it still has maple lattes even though it's not the holidays . . . Here's to tourist destinations!

We left Harrison early in the morning on Friday for a hard drive to the houseboats on Sicamouse Lake, and even once we got there, it was a good couple hours of prep before we got onto the boat themselves. It was totally worth it, however, as houseboats are officially the best party location ever created. Basically, each boat held a large cabin complete with a kitchen, small table, two foldout beds, and the helm. Farther back were two cabins, one level with the main deck, and the other--a loft--flush with the upper deck. The upper deck was pretty large, at about 3m x 5m, with another helm available at the front.

The weather was ideal, and the scenery was beautiful, so I spent a good several hours over the course of the weekend finishing up Harry Potter, and just taking in the sights (and UV rays, apparently--oops!).

Things got a little tense after about five hours sail across the absolutely huge and wonderful lake, when Art and I began to make some dinner suggestions to the Dutch--based on the groceries we'd brought--and they were proven completely unaware that they were expected to do their own cooking.

Awkward.

Apparently, while their company, Djoser, specializes in collaborative group tours--that is, camping tours where the families involved get the 'full wilderness experience'--many of them had been on previous Djoser tours to third world countries where (for probably 15 cents a day) they had all their meals made for them, all their bags carried, all their tents set up on arrival on campsites, and so on.

How the hell Art and I were supposed to do all this, I'm not really sure, but seeing as none of this was mentioned in my job description as anything other than what I am ABSOLUTELY NOT EXPECTED TO DO, It wasn't like I was gonna cave and start being a pack horse for 24 people. Nope, not me. My back would probably break anyway.

Despite this small bit of tension around our first camp on the boats, however, things at the lake were pretty fantastic. We took a short hike up a trail where they got to see lots of wildlife, and one of the families, who hung back with me to tak pictures, got to see their first glimpse of Canada's wildlife--go garder snake!

Other animals spotted during this time were a large frog, which one of the girls managed to catch and show off before letting it swim away, and another snake, which I identified as a grass snake. Harmless snakes: 2, bears: 0.

I also spotted an eagle while we were sailing from beach to beach at one point, but the only other person on deck at the time was a kid who didn't speak English, and was probably confused by my mad gesticulating towards the large brown bird chasing the smaller white bird. Sad that nobody else spotted it, as eagles are apparently on the hot list of must-see animals in Canada (right behind bears, and above moose. Beavers, apparently, don't make the list at all . . .

We left the houseboats yesterday, though we got off to a somewhat later start than we were hoping. Another one of the tenants of these Djoser trips is the fact that people are ultimately allowed to do whatever they want to at each location, and can stay with the group, or not, at their discretion. In accordance with this, one of the families decided that we didn't need to get as early a start as we thought and dragged their heels into the boat docks about an hour behind schedule.

After this, we packed the bus, and I got to suffer through the ordeal of single-handedly re-packing all the still-fresh food from the boats (despite my requests for help, the Dutch were apparently too deep in conversation to assist). My only help came from one lady, who came up to me and told me that the now-three-night-old bread was unilaterally stale. I told her that I was pretty sure this was not the case, as I'd eaten some that morning but she told me I was wrong and threw it out--all nine unopened loaves.

Then it was on the road again for a long day of driving. We stopped in Revelstoke for a quick lunch and it was around this time that things began to go horribly, horribly wrong. Upon re-entering the bus after lunch, the same lady who had thrown out my bread asked when we were getting a new bus. Somewhat taken aback, I asked her where she got the idea that we were getting a new bus, nd she told me that we absolutely had get a new bus, as she had spent a lot of money on this trip, and the bus was not up to standard. She therewith ordered me to cal my people and simply have them send a new bus--something that Djoser had taken care of in Costa Rica quickly and efficiently.

Of course, as I've probably mentioned, this trip, which is marketed by Djoser in Holland, is subcontracted to a Canadian company called JAC travel, and then further subcontracted to Midnight Sun: the company I work for. Midnight Sun, as an operator, is responsible for providing guides and busses, and as I know a thing or two from working in their offices, I knew that there was really no way in hell that they were going to get another bus.

Worse still was the fact that not only did this lady have complaints, she also had been conferring with others on the trip and--apparently--had them on-side. After this, the complaints started piling up.

• The bus is too hot
• The bus is too old, and, were it a modern bus, would not overheat on hills, getting to destinations faster.
• We didn't spend the night at the Vancouver Aquarium (this was removed from the itinerary by JAC this year)
• They were promised two 15-person vans, not a bus
• They were promised a group of no more than 20
• Previous Dhoser guides basically babysat their kids on bus drives, devoting their full attention to them, painting faces and making BALLOON ANIMALS so that they wouldn't get bored/tired/bothersome to the parents. (Djoser opted not to send their own guide this year, which they have done in all previous years)
• They shouldn't have to cook/clean/arrange their own laundry/carry their own bags/set up tents, etc on a trip they paid $20 000 for.

Ultimately, while I can understand these concerns, there is pretty much shit-all I can do about them at this point. I don't have time to baby-sit their kids on us ride, and all of the rest of these concerns are really ones that Djoser and JAC need to take care of. Also, as far as I'm concerned, the bus is irrelevant when it comes to travel times--350k as the crow flies through Kicking Horse Pass is going to take all day any way you slice it, especially when one gets a late start.

Still, this didn't prevent the group from brow-beating me with these issues over the course of the day, and things got still worse (if that's possible) when the bus overheated on our way through Kicking Horse Pass, and another mom stood up and had a tantrum about how unacceptable this was for what was supposed to be an expensive vacation.

Sigh.

I did my best over the course of the day to make sure the group had a quality, and enlightening trip through the mountains, but in the tension of the moment, I was pretty uptight--read, close to tears of frustration--for most of the day.

We finally rolled into Banff around 8:15 local time, and left the women and children to get something to eat while I taught the men to set up camp. At this point, of course, the men discovered with great discontent that the brand-new four-person tents provided for them were not big enough for them to comfortably use. Deciding to pick our battles, Art and I opted sleep in the bus and give up our own tents to avoid conflict. When this was finally done, at 9:30 Alberta time, we masculine-types headed into town for a much deserved dinner--all except for Art and myself.

Because the women and children were done eating by the time we arrived back in town, Art got to ferry them back to the campsite while the men ate. Meanwhile, I got to go to Safeway and pick up (you guessed it) nine loaves of bread for breakfast today. While there and desperate for someone to talk to, I unloaded on the clerk at the checkout, who didn't have a lot to say, but was a good listener. It was quite therapeutic.

Finally, club sandwich in hand, it was time to head back to the campground, where I got to talk to Tally on the phone for a merciful, and also therapeutic, half-hour before heading to bed in the bus--not the most comfortable place to sleep, but better than I had expected. Mosquitos here are large.

This morning came early, and breakfast went well, with almost every family chipping in to help. One family--one of the ones totally opposed to doing their own work--seems to have gone somewhat maverick and decided not to do anything with the group, which is fine, I guess. They are really only ruing their own holiday.

With that one exception, the water seems to have settled somewhat, and most of the group seems committed to having a good time for the rest of their trip instead of moaning and whining. Art is taking the bus in to be looked at, which seems to have appeased that faction, and I just got back from a large shopping trip with one of my clients--who was really helpful in picking out food the Dutch would appreciate. On the way out, I had the same clerk as last night, who was happy to hear that I was having a much better day.

The group went on the Sulpher Mountain gondola while I was shopping, and will be spending the afternoon flouncing about town. I really wanted to hit the gondola ride myself, so it's a shame that I missed it, but better to have happy, well-fed clients, I suppose.

Arriving back at the camp, we made the unfortunate discovery that all of our coolers are still in the bus (in a garage), and we had nowhere to put our perishables, but the people at the park office were happy to throw them in their own fridge, so that was a bullet dodged.

After that, it was off to town to find a coffee shop, and that brings me to the here and now . . . or rather the hour and a half ago--time certainly flies while you're typing. At this point I'm off to buy myself a new tent for tonight, so we'll see how that goes. Tomorrow is an all-day drive to Jasper, with a stop for a glacier walk en route. These drives seem to be the crux of our issues with this group, so we'll see how tomorrow goes.

Wish me luck!
Image
User avatar
DontPanic
Posts: 569
Joined: 21 Sep 2006, 10:51
Location: California
Contact:

Postby DontPanic » 30 Jul 2007, 15:12

wow

Good luck Jer!
I am going to go watch a Image

Return to “General Discussion”



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 38 guests