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The Man-Plan!
I have loads of photos to upload of my adventures since being in Golden, BC, but they may be a while, and might have to actually wait until I get back to the UK.
Until then, I’m getting close to the end of my stay in Golden, and have a little bit of time to go travelling before I have to catch my plane back to the homeland. So to that end me and Sam (who will be joining me on some of the journey) have come up with a little travel itinerary, starting at Golden and with me ending up in Toronto, AKA the ‘Man-Plan’.
I’ve added a couple of maps as well for those who like pictures.
THE MAN-PLAN
The journey begins with us leaving Golden on the 14th April for Lake Louise, in Jasper National Park. We’ll spend 3 days in Jasper, taking in some of the natural beauty, outdoor activities and hopefully wildlife (I still haven’t seen a bear yet!) that the biggest of the Canadian Rockies Parks has to offer.
We’ll then leave Jasper for Vancouver on the 17th April, travelling overnight on apparently one of the most beautiful coach journeys in the world. Arriving at Vancouver; the city which is ringed by the Pacific ocean and snow-capped coast mountains, we’ll spend 5 days sampling a tiny bit of what the city has to offer, before heading off again over a stretch of water to Vancouver Island, to visit the capital of British Columbia: Victoria.
We’ll then spend 3 days in Victoria, described as a “small, sedate city with quaint English air, leafy old town, delightful old-fashioned shopping streets and exquisite harbour”. Apparently as well it’s got a cracking museum!
Travelling across waters known for whale-spotting, we’ll briefly make our way out of Canada and travel to the American city of Seattle. I’ll see what the Yanks have to offer and if they can match up to the experience the Canadians have given me so far. 5 days in Seattle, exploring the sights and the aquarium, and then I’ll make my triumphant return to Canada, and more specifically back to Toronto on the 30th April.
Spending 4 nights back where I first started my journey nearly 11 months previously seems a fitting way to also end it. So I’ll return to Toronto, perhaps push the boat out and enjoy a few fizzy drinks and milkshakes in the evening with some friends, before I say “Goodbye”, or rather “See you soon” to my North American adventure, and “Hello again” to the homeland. After flying overnight I’ll arrive back to a hero’s welcome in Heathrow in the early morning of the 6th May.
Well… that’s the plan anyway.
Hello Golden!
My trip to Golden involved various forms of transportation; planes, trains, buses, coaches, taxis and a fair amount of walking got me from Toronto, to Calgary and then eventually to Golden. I quickly found out that I was the last person to arrive in my hotel (which is more like uni halls of residence than a hotel) and that some people had been living there already for 2 weeks!
My orientation followed the next morning, as well as the Christmas parade and a screening of a film about snowboarding, which I don’t think I fully comprehended yet, but hopefully by the end of the season I’ll be able to appreciate it more completely.
My halls are directly above one of the three bars in Golden (just like in HIMYM… unfortunately it’s not called McClaren’s…) making it very easy for us to nip down and grab a quick pint! Golden itself is a picturesque little town of about 10,000 people, there aren’t very many shops and only one bank, but has everything really that you need there. A complete contrast to my experience in Toronto! The resort itself is awesome so far, as I’m writing this we still haven’t opened to the public and are still in training, so it’s been pretty quiet in terms of work.
I have taken a few quick pictures around town, but there’ll definitely be more to come relating to the mountain I work at, especially the views from the Eagle eye restaurant at the top. Anyway, until next time… enjoy!
What IS Kaluuja? 