Green Light

George and I have reached the Nanaimo Ferry which will take us to Horseshoe Bay. We arrived here with a few hours to spare and are enjoying the beautiful setting. This particular ferry has a market building with a variety of eateries, kiosks selling "stuff", and seating that allows for perfect viewing of the ocean. Everyone is relaxed, enjoying the sun, and life is good.

The market has wifi and as I am basking in the sun I thought I would tie up some loose ends;
The mystery of the wand: Being on vacation with the same person day after day after day after day, conversation tends to get a bit stale. So George and I really leapt on the mystery of the wand.  I will share only my deductions.  I think Canadians are really clean people. They take a bath, drain the tub, then they turn the water back on, click the lever, and use the wand to wash off the dirty bath water. Mystery solved.
George and I are also learning some Canadian. For example, when I referred to the blisters on the bottom of my feet I said, "Blimey, they are as big as a loonie (the Canadian one dollar coin)!"
George, when asked what he would like to drink says, "I'll have a Canadian beer that tastes like Bud Lite."
The ferry ride to Horseshoe Bay was amazing. The ferry itself had two stores, two cafés, a quiet room, and a naturalist gave a talk on the sun deck.  The best part was the wonderful view. We sat in the bow and relaxed as the panoramic scene slowly floated by.
After disembarking from the ferry we took off for Whistler.  The ride was incredible. The highway, which was build in honor of the 2010 Olympics was artfully built with the ocean on one side and
forests on the other.  The road is great. The rhythm of the curves, the pristine condition of surrounding area, and the magnificent view of the Canadian Rockies.
We arrived in Whistler and were delighted to find our little hotel was located across the street from
 Whistler Village. The 2010 Winter Olympics were held in Whistler and the village is filled with family friendly parks, shops, and restaurants. We walked around looking for a place to have dinner later, when we stumbled upon the "best ice cream place" in Canada.  It was very busy and we were drawn in against our better judgment   They did not lie. The ice cream was awesome! As we were walking through the village we saw mountain bike riders who ride at death defying speeds down the ski trails. They are dirty and some are limping as they walk through the village.
When we were returning to our hotel we wanted to get pictures at the Olympic Rings. George took mine first. He then walked over for his picture. This young woman decides to go over too and lounges in one of the rings so her friend can take a picture. At this point I don't want to take the picture with her in it, but McGrumpy is telling me to hurry up. I am trying to signal to him that there is a person in the picture, but apparently McGrumpy didn't care. I told him I did not want a strange woman in the 5 rings with him- he did not see the problem.
We returned to the village for dinner. We sat outside and watched hundreds of people stroll by. In front of our restaurant there was a pavilion lit with green lights. People were attracted to this place
like moths to light. They might look at their clothes in the light, a lot of them danced, one dad posed like the Hulk and had his daughters take pictures, the possibilities were endless. In the green light everyone relaxed, laughed, played, and then moved on. We loved the show.

Tomorrow Kamloops