And then the dog peed on my leg

The Overnight Greyhound Experience was...well, all other Greyhound buses I'd taken were half-empty so I had the seat next to me for luggage, feet and for general relaxing/stretching purposes. Not only was the bus half an hour late, it being dusk in Banff the temperature had dropped considerably, but it was packed. So, the only option I had was an incredibly cramped space next to a complete stranger. Suffice to say, not much sleeping happened and all the reading lights got turned out at 9:30pm meaning reading wasn't an option either. So all I could so was stare into dark space, occasionally getting kicked accidentally by people on the way to the toilet, for about 6 hours until finally someone got off the bus and the very back seat was free.

I was utterly ecstatic about this as I could now lie horizontally and I no longer had to stick my legs into the aisle to be vaguely comfortable. What I discovered about the back seat was the lack of a reclining chair feature, this meant every time the driver applied the breaks I was flung forward into the chair in front. The driver (who had chastised me previously for apparently "waking up the entire bus" at a stop because the previous driver hadn't asked me for my ticket - I'd been on the bus for 7 hours by that point and, I hasten to add, he'd just turned on all the lights and announced the stop so I fail to see how it was my fault that people were awake) was driving like a loon so the flinging was a frequent feature of my so-called sleep. I arrived at Vancouver dazed but simply happy to be off that bus.

I was to meet a gent named Neale on Granville and Robson, and so the Vancouver adventure began. I spent a few hours wandering around the sea wall, then Neale drove me to Commercial Drive for lunch and introduced me to the dog, Q, who later showed his appreciation for my company by relieving himself on my leg in park. Finally Neale dropped me off at Jen's. That evening Jen and I ate veggie Chinese and drank Cools Light into the smaller hours, then she was off to do her 12 hour Paramedic shift!

The rest of my time in Vancouver was a blur of Juno awards parties, Vancouver fashion week, Juno gigs (most notably a Canadian band named Scatterheart), the aquarium, Stanley Park, chats with homeless guys ("I love rock and roll, prettiest girl I ever saw, see her on the movie screen...") sushi and drinking. I met some great people in Vancouver and I was shown a jolly fine time by all concerned.

Next stop: Victoria, Vancouver Island.