The Accommodation cat's cradle

On the 23rd of Feb, I had to move on to my next destination. Fortunately, I didn't have to be anywhere during the day, but the unfortunate part was that my accommodation was quite far away, and I had an ice-hockey match to go to at 9pm in Vancouver.

On checkout from the bed-and breakfast, I packed up and brought my bags downstairs. I had a chat with Ron (I think that's his name), and he brought out the bill for the accommodation. I was a bit startled by this, because I thought I had payed the accommodation in advance. At least, I had tried to be paying all of the accommodation in advance from the UK so I didn't have to worry about it while I was here. I then poked around in my emails at the guest computer, and couldn't find any evidence of having asked them to take the payment early. I had given them my credit card number, though. They explained that it was taken to safeguard the booking, but that the payment isn't taken until afterwards when you are checking out. It was one cost I didn't really expect to have, especially one I didn't really want when I'd already lost my card.

I set out into a bustling city, with my wheeled bag that had a mind of its own. I eventually realised that the thing needed to be stood upright and pushed so all 4 wheels were in contact with the ground, otherwise it would bounce from wheel to wheel and eventually topple over. What a nuisance when you've got places to get to. The nightmare scenario that kept playing through my mind over and over again was that the wheels would be ripped from the bottom of the bag, and that I'd have to carry the thing alongside my already hefty backpack.

So my next destination was Stonehaven Bed and Breakfast in Deep Cove. I left the West End guest house around lunch time, and I walked to Waterfront Station. I decided to take the Seabus. I wasn't really sure what to expect from the seabus but I had seen pictures of it before. It literally is what it says - just a huge flat boat with rows of seats inside, and posts for people who are standing to hold onto. It pulls up into a dock that is just wide enough for the boat to fit in width-wise, and eventually it stops after bouncing off the inner wall a couple of times, oscillating to a stop against a huge rubber damper. When it has stopped, the doors into the boat are lined up perfectly with the doors in the station. The doors on the aft-side of the boat open first to let all of the people off the boat, then the fore doors open and we all pile inside. It's a nice ride across the inlet with views of the mountains, the vast shipping docks, the bridge and some other oddities like a huge pile of sulphur (presumably a waste by-product of some form of oil distillation process) waiting to be taken away.

On arrival at Lonsdale quay, you come off the boat and you are more or less inside the bus terminal. [For anyone who may be travelling and want to get to Deep Cove: the easiest way to get to Deep Cove is to take a 239 bus to Phibbs Exchange, and then take a 212 to Deep Cove, where the bus terminates before heading back in the opposite direction]. At the Quay, though, there are places to shop for touristy goods, get food and have a coffee. There's also fast food. It was a good place as far as bus-stationey areas go, and probably more so in summer when the place is busy.

The journey to Deep Cove was fairly painless, and when I got there it was as rainy as it was when I'd left the city. Deep Cove itself sits on a corner of the Indian Arm inlet, and looks to be the kind of place that is sleepy at this time of year, but probably bustling with Gin-Palace pilots out for a stroll on dry-land in summer. On this occassion, though, I wasn't getting anywhere looking around for Stonehaven B&B in the immediate vicinity, so I went into what turned out to be a childrens clothes shop to ask for help. The lady was really nice, and she looked up on google maps where I wanted to go. It turns out that I needed to be over 2km away up a steep-steep hill and down the other side. She rang a taxi, and I cursed myself for not printing out the page on the Stonehaven website that gave details of how to get their place. I spent 6 months planning, only to leave the most important information at home.

I went and stood for the taxi, and when it arrived the taxi driver was clearly sizing up the size of the fare he was going to make today: with my bags, I had "airport fare" written all over me. Given how far we were from YVR, I'd would have been rubbing my hands too. I put my bags into his boot, and I told him where I was going. He typed it into his GPS, and simultaneously wrote the word "loser" across his brow. "Do you know how far I drove to get here. And I'm just taking you two kilometers". I apologised to him, but I didn't really feel that sorry. He's going to break even on this trip - otherwise it's his fault for accepting the job. Maybe taxi firms should ask where people are travelling to?

Stonehaven is a beautiful house overlooking Indian Arm. Ted and Cheri were very friendly and welcoming, and Cheri even made me a Sandwich for dinner, obviously detecting that I'd had a hard trip. This was the first time that someone made me a meal on arrival, and the bonus is that they didn't charge me for it. I arrived around 4pm, which is when I'd planned to arrive there 6 months beforehand - not bad planning, if I do say so myself, after the slight hiccup in my arrival. The room was nice and fresh, everything modern and the bathroom was awesome, with black slate tiles everywhere and a great shower enclosure. The bed was high and comfy, and the room - although it couldn't be locked while you were out - did have a privacy lock for when you are inside. I think the likelihood of theft here is minimal, and I'd trust Ted and Cheri 100%, but you can never tell.

I sat and ate the sandwich in the common area for guests, which had a large flat screen TV upon which I watched the ice hockey (I think it was Canada and another team). The sandwich was toasted, with ham, cheese, tomatoes, and lettuce with some spread, and it was just what I needed. There were also the now-standard-but-always-welcome fresh baked cookies - chocolate chip - sitting on a metal platter by the fridge, which was full of beers and other drinks to have whenever I wanted to. All good stuff. There was also a coffee machine, but this wasn't warmed up and I didn't really have time to use it.

By 7pm, I was out of there. Now used to the journey on the busses and sea bus into the city, I actually found a bus that went straight into the city center without stopping from Deep Cove (but I can't remember the number). I learned on the return journey that to get to Stonehaven, I had to get off the bus at the junction of Deep Cove Road and Strathcona, and walk down Strathcona etc (again - sorry for giving in-universe information).

The Ice hockey was manic - they put you into a holding pen outside the stadium and underneath the skytrain tracks. We waited for about half an hour until eventually they opened the gates. On my way to get through security to join this line, I passed a badge salesman being attacked by some possibly drunken guy who was obviously jealous about some perceived interaction the badge seller had made towards what might have been the attackers girlfriend. It was a bit pathetic, and was the only sign of trouble I saw while in Vancouver for the whole time. A few punches were landed, then the police were there to break it up. The two guys were foreign, and maybe they knew eachother.

Anyway, the hockey game was a Mens match - Slovakia vs. Norway. A little known fact to at least myself is that a lot of the Slovak players play in the Canadian NHL, and there were various players names read out that were met with huge cheers - no idea what went on there.

The game got underway, and within 5 minutes a Slovakian player had been knocked unconscious on the ice. Play was stopped, and the medical team came onto the ice. They stretchered him away, they shovelled something off the ice, and then play resumed.

It quickly became apparent that Slovakia were the better side, although Norway made a valiant effort and the game closed out with Slovakia snatching victory 4-3. Except that I wasn't there to see it. 5 minutes before the end of play, the score was 3-3. I ducked out early to avoid the line-ups so that I could guarantee getting to the train and seabus without having to fight the crowds. It worked, because the station was empty, although I could hear waves of people following up behind me.

I had to hang around Lonsdale quay for 20 minutes waiting for a bus. It was strange how safe I felt in the bus-station, in-spite of the late hour and location. I got back to Stonehaven around close to 1am at night. I can't remember sleeping there, but when I woke up the next day I was getting one day closer to having nowhere to stay on the 25th....