On Tour

August 24 - The big day is 24 hours away after what seems months & months of preparation - letting the house, moving into Pauline's (Chris's mum) home, organising travel arrangements. So many wonderful send-offs from family & friends. Lots of telephone calls, messages, emails and texts. Thanks everyone. Out to dinner with Pauline, Hannah, Emma and Em's boyfriend, Jack, at Langland Brasserie. Lovely evening, with the tide right in and a full moon on the bay. Super food & company before emotional goodbyes. Lots of hugs & kisses & a few tears too.

August 25 - Our great friends Arwel & Joan drive us up the M4 to Heathrow - thanks both (the curry in Chutneys will be on us on our return, promise!). It's Terminal 5 for take-off. More good wishes texted. Feeling chilled but excited after dropping off bags for check-in. John takes one last look at Evening Post (sad, but true!) only to find Chris Clark quoted and pictured in Vox Pop. Nice picture, Chris (Can't keep a good man down). Fine flight into Vancouver, with spectacular views over Rockies. Arrive at approx 18.45 to temperature of early 70s. Malcolm & Anita greet Chris with beautiful bunch of roses (where were the ones for John?) Never mind, he'll settle for a beer later. Drove back to M & A's gorgeous home in North Vancouver a stone's throw from idyllic Deep Cove. Spent the evening catching up with all the news - ours and theirs - over a great pasta cooked by M and a couple of nice bottles of wine. Such a warm evening we sat on their balcony which overlooks their swimming pool and out across the bay to the inlet of Indian Arm. It doesn't get much better. Location a stunning one.

August 26 - Blowing away the cobwebs day walking along the West Vancouver shoreline at English Bay on the Pacific Ocean. Enjoyed lunch at restaurant where M & A's eldest daughter Sophie works, then back to M & A's home to laze around pool and hot tub. Malcolm takes John to meet his buddies at his golf club - the Seymour Golf & Country Club where George, M's 'best friend', introduces John as 'Malcolm's second best friend.' Day winds up with dinner at the Arms Reach bistro at Deep Cove and then movies in M's basement (it's like a cinema there). Boys being boys stay up till 3am drinking wine and watching Rod Stewart DVD. Some things just never change.

August 27 - Chris & Anita walk M & A's dog Bonnie in Cate's Park before lateish breakfast (John has had a lie-in) before hitting the road for tour of Vancouver. Head downtown and walk to see Olympic flame, then to waterfront and across to Stanley Park for photos looking across to Lions Gate bridge. Great lunch at Greek restaurant - delicious Mousakka - then to bustling Granville Island. Girls split up from boys - just temporary, honest. Girls go shopping in the market on the quay. Boys go for drinks on the deck at Bridges. Oganagan pear cider gets big thumbs-up from John, the sangria a big thumbs-down from Malcolm, so he switches to a beer and is soon grinning again. Back for a walk in the woods and a swim. Late dinner & more DVDs - this time of our 1997 holiday in Maine. Turned in for an early night - midnight!

August 28 - Malcolm's birthday. He's 21 with 27 years experience. Wake to sunshine again. All help to prepare for birthday bash. Mid-day and M opens presents from Sophie and youngest daughter Laura, Anita & ourselves accompanied by bottle of champagne and ice-cream birthday cake. Guests start to arrive 3pm onwards - last leave at around 2am. Great bunch of people, lots of laughs & tall tales. One of Malcolm's buddies, Adrian (don't know whether he's 'third, fourth or fifth best friend') has us in stitches with his stories of past adventures. Adrian you should have been a stand up comic. Billy Connolly eat your heart out! 3am and Malcolm falls asleep in hot tub. Yawn!!

August 29 - Lazy, lazy morning before a fabulous afternoon out of Deep Cove on George's cabin cruiser up Indian Arm. Felt like James Bond! George was 'Capt Pugwash' and the crew consisted of Malcolm, John, Chris, Adrian and his wife Janis. Janis and Chris lay on the sunbed up on deck at the front of the boat, while the boys did all the hard work in the cabin drinking beer and eating fried chicken! Fun trip with stunning scenery all the way up to Wigwam Inn - a place with a lot of history. Just sea, mountains and silence along the way, apart from the noise we were making of course. Couple of hours on the water before heading back into Deep Cove, viewing all the beautiful waterfront homes. Anita joins us on board later for more drinks after we dock. Huge thanks to skipper George and first mate Adrian. Stay thirsty, my friends.

August 30 - Early start for 'Sea to Sky' highway journey north to Whistler, centre-piece of the 2010 Winter Olympics. Clear stunning sunny day, so fabulous views of snow-capped peaks and blue-green sea all the way two hours north. Staying just outside the village with Brett and Lynn, good friends of M & A's. Lynn takes us, M & A into Whistler and we ride the Peak2Peak cable car between the two mountains Whistler and Blackcomb some 8,000 ft up, It's the longest cable car in the world between two mountains. Breath-taking vistas all around and we spot a black bear. Also head up to summit of Whistler in open ski chair - glad we took Brett's advice to wear a few extra layers - it's cold, cold up there. This part of ski lift steep & a bit scary, but views so amazing that it's well worth getting over those initial nerves. Chris admits to shutting her eyes briefly on the way back down as ski chair takeyou over a sheer drop with nothing but snow and ice a couple of hundred ft below. Returned to catch up with Brett & Lynn at their magnificent home overlooking a lovely lake brimfull of fresh trout. Chatted over drinks on their patio before dinner at The Rimrock. Outstanding does not even begin to cover this restaurant. It's reputation as one of the finest in North America is richly deserved. We are being spoilt rotten. Returned to spend a wonderful night's sleep overlooking the lake and forest, but did not catch a glimpse of 'Eddison' the eagle which often comes to take up residence in the woods at the back of Brett and Lynn's home. Thanks to Brett and Lynn for your hospitality. Wonderful couple and new friends who made us so welcome and so at home in their home.

August 31 - From a stunning day to a sopping & soggy one - the wettest day in Vancouver's history in 100 years. Just as well we did Whistler and Blackcomb the day before. How lucky was that! Spent a couple of hours looking around Whistler village, then visited the Olympic Park where they held the cross-country biathlon and ski-jumping events in 2010. Spectacular place. Brett helped built it, so we had our own personal tour guide (We forgot to tip him!). Sorry, Brett, Dinner on us in the UK. Back to Van with a stop in Squamish for pub lunch - Wild Salmon burger and yam fries, we kid you not. Rain does not relent, so it's a night in back in M's 'cinema' to watch The Hangover and Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Early night? Not a chance.