Tag Archives: landscape

I’ve been a bad blogger but Vancouver hand me firm in her vixen grasp! It was too perfect, too lovley, and I couldn’t drag myself away from it to sit down and write aboute it ( exhaustion played a part in this too) but two days ago I left that fantastic city- and so I have finally found the time to share my travel splendours with you from Chicago!

So first- THE CON!

THE CON HAS COME- THE CON HAS GONE! it was a wirlwind of excitment and shrill fandom shrieks that could not be interupted by blogging or sleeping despite how much sleep was indeed needed. Goddam How do I start explaining salute to supernatural in Vancouver?

This had to be the most fangirlarific three (technically four) days of my life! And BOY was I glad that I bought gold tickets!

Having a gold pass made this con not only fantastic but EASY and QUICK! I was in the seconddoddamrow- my view could make paparazzi weep, and the icing (salt?) on this delightful supernatural themed cake?

Autographs and photos were done row by row-

Can I have a booyah? Or maybe 10- one for each free autograph included in the gold ticket.

The guests were just so fascinating and hilarious and plentiful- it seems cheap now to try and explain how much fun I had. I didn’t stop smiling, I didn’t stop laughing, i asked question upon question to writers, producers, location scouts and people working in special affects, I babbled with people from Japan and Germany and the fact we spoke different languages never even came up. How can I explain the vibe of this room to you? The vibe of this whole event? The 800 plus fans gathered together, the instant friends and allies made while waiting in lines to the vendors room or by leaning over an isle between panels. We were People from all over the world sharing the exact same glee, excitement and enthusiasm for a single thing and the room was electric with it.

I’m not doing the con justice. So I’m going to stop and move on, maybe ill find the words later but for now- CANADA!

so only nine days in to my trip, and the first thing that I leant (apart from the fact Canadians tip),was that people are awesome. People can be kind, they can be helpful, and they can be terribly terribly sweet. This was reinforced to me again and again.

My faith in humanity grew with every passing day.

From something as simple as being pointed in the right direction in the street, to the extravagant generosity of two perfect strangers, every moment of Canada was beautiful.

I had a sweet motel manager share her tea with me, my roommates ( whom I’d met online, last month, and never met in person) offer to look after and re-check my luggage as we changed hotels while I was off galavanting across the country on a locations tour, I’ve had taxi drivers turn off their meters as I ran into my motel room to stow away my iPad and collect my portfolios before turning it back on and taking us to the SFX gathering at a local pub, I’ve had another taxi driver write me a list of things I had to do and places I had to see while in Canada, I’ve had shop attendants be ridiculously patient with me as I figured out money and found the right coins.

And then I went to Stanley Park.

Let me set the scene.

The 28th was my last chance to do anything touristy while in Canada after the convention. I got up at 8, packed my bag, made a cup of tea with the motel manager and wandered off, a vague destination in mind with an even vaguer plot of how to get there. I had a 1 dollar off coupon for the aquarium.

It was as good a plan as any, and I love jellyfish. Win win.

I find the train, I enjoy the scenery, locals nod at me and remind me of the right stop, I get to Burrard and emerge from the underground tunnel system into the bustling city and the stunning weather.

Im in no rush, I peruse the maps, spot a family who look as befuddled as me by the different bus bays ( bus 19! – but where the hell do I catch bus 19 from? ) and offer them what lean knowledge I’ve figured out.

There’s an 8 year old girl who is adorable, we babble and the family and I join forces for our quest for the bus- we talk and talk and talk and make fun of each others accents- they’re from Nova Scotia, she’s traveling with her aunt and uncle because her parents are working in the police force and can’t join them today, we arrive at Stanley Park and her aunt takes me aside.

‘We’d love to buy your aquarium ticket’ she says and I’m floored- why? She nods to the girl who is bouncing around with her cousins and brother- ‘she was all frowns before you showed up’.

So we exchange cards and hugs and thankyous, and I end up exploring the aquarium for free.

The jellyfish are wonderful.

I watch the sealion show, I get front row seats at the penguin walk, and suddenly I’m in the splash zone of the beluga whale show. I lean over to my neighbour and her granddaughter and tell her how ‘I think we’re about to get wet’.

We start talking. She shares her raincoat with me and we avoid the sodden fate of the people surrounding us. She’s a kiwi, her granddaughter is the most angelic thing I’ve ever seen ( picture a blond Boo from monsters inc with more giggles and a broader smile) and she’s a local.

I ask her what else I should see in Stanley Park, and she asks if I have a car- I tell her how I’m playing the public transport game and she offers to drive me around- are you sure?!- all I’m doing today is looking after my granddaughter.

We go exploring- we talk and talk and talk and I snap photos- she asks if I’ve been to Mt Glouse and before I can admit I don’t know where it is she’s turning onto the freeway and taking me there.
She buys my ticket for the caboose up this STUNNING mountain- through cloud- past white wolves- we see the ‘teddy bears’ with her gradughter, we watch a lumberjack show, we watch a raptor show, I’m struck speechless from the view.

Speechless. Utterly speechless. I think I just kept gasping wow as we zipped up the side of this mountain- swaying back and forth as I run around the compartment- trying to see from every aspect- lakes emerging in the creases between mountains that were hidden just a moment before by clouds that cruise about below us. Gigabytes of photos are taken, I’ve never seen that type of greenery before- old forests. Such giant ancient trees- and then we’re at the top. ‘It’s a ski slope in winter’, she tells me as we walk by log cabbins, wild fucking lavender about our ankles. It dosnt look real- Vancouver’s CBD is tiny and blue and dull and toylike in the distance- the ocean spotted with tankers and cargo ships beyond it and it was magic.

We stayed there for hours, always taking, never a dull or awkward moment, we talked about careers and families and divorces and Australia and New Zealand and travel and pottery and I spluttered a thousand thankyous. She smiled and shook her head- admitting she welcomed the excuse from the divorce and meeting with her lawyers that she had the next day, and how she wanted to do this with her granddaughter anyway.

She finally lets me buy her a coffee and little well-behaved ‘Boo’ a blueberry muffin, and after snagging some postcards we zip back down the mountain and I’m down another gig of memory on my phone.

She drives me home, her daughters place not far from my motel, and I wish her all the luck in the world for her appointment with her lawyers today.

I’ve never meet someone so kind.

She made my Canada trip.

It’s all left me a little stunned, how surreal this trip has been, and now I’m currently in Chicago and the next leg of this marathon is underway.

But while getting to Chicago- it happened again.

Scene:

The flight attendant walks up and down the isle with tea and snacks; I grab my black tea, and she offered me chips or cookies. I ask if either is gluten free, neither are, and that’s that and I sit back and enjoy my tea with a ‘ all good, thank you anyway!’. An hour and a half later she does her second round- I happily collect my fresh cuppa tea and then she asks- ‘ gluten free right?’, and proceeds to dig through her cart and offer me a packet of popcorn chips that are usually only for purchase- ‘ sorry I couldn’t offer you a snack before’ she says before moving on.

I think its the little things (as much as the grand things) that have left me smiling like a loon ( or should i say a looney?) I can’t quite believe how kind people can be-

Im realising how very lucky I am to be on this trip

And now here I am a day into Chicago- staying with truly wonderful people- about to go to a baseball game in Detroit! This has been a fucking magical 12 days!

~Jess

P.s Last night my class graduated! I lay in bed- a mate texting me photo after photo of my class in their robes and hats- and experienced the event from Hester backwards and upside down. I watched clips of my friends throwing their caps into the air, and laughed over the fact one mate had to stand on a stool to be seen in the official photo. I was informed I had graduated with honours, and that I was ‘Student of the year’. Both of these were a touch of a suprise, and the second part I still don’t quiet believe and I had a photo of the certificate from my head lecturer!

So that happened?

Lets see what the rest of the month has up its sleeve!

P.P.S I couldn’t decide on one title so I used all four.

P.P.P. S It’s Father’s Day tomorrow and I just need to restate how much I adore my father and how I am the luckiest person alive to call him mine- this is a salute to the view from the gondola as I made my way up Mt Glouse and it was created using my gorgeous friends astounding Cintiq tablet for my Daddy Dearest who I cannot hug in person. Love ya Da!!!!!

So thank you and goodnight!