Day three found my host, Anonymous Padre driving me and two other guests north into the Canadian wilderness. Our plan was to drive north to Whistler and take in the sights of the countryside. I must admit the winding highway hugging the cliffs over the bay afforded one spectacular view after another, and in many ways, this area of the country reminds me of Northern California. The forests, the cliffs and the active outdoor lifestyle many residents here enjoy are a bittersweet reminder of what I left behind when I decided to move to Chicago.

We got halfway to Whistler and stopped for lunch at a roadside café (actually it was a Canadian chain similar to Denny’s) where I had a hamburger (cooked well-done, by law) and fries with gravy. Yes that’s right, gravy. Rich beef gravy slathered over the fries. I must admit, I may have fallen in love with this concept, and will do all I can to import it back to the US and urge it to grow and prosper.

After lunch, we headed back to Vancouver instead of continuing on to Whistler. We stopped in a park on the north side of the city called Cypress Bowl affording amazing views of the entire Vancouver area. (again, pictures to follow).

Arriving back in the city, we took “quiet time” for about an hour before heading out for martinis. Now, I’ve always been partial to Chopin Vodka, the last truly great potato(e) vodka, but I tried a brand I’d never heard of and it gave Chopin a run for its money and may have unseated the reigning leader. After 3 of these little beauties we headed off to dinner at a stylish joint called “Lift” where I was somewhat ignored by Anonymous Padre and his love interest the Pagan Diamond Dealer. A C$85.00 crab cake later, I excused myself to hit the loo and returned to an impassioned declaration about a dramatic situation involving Anonymous Padre and the Pagan Diamond Dealer. I listened to his speech with a blank face and replied, “I leave on Tuesday, I really don’t care” and shortly later informed Anonymous Padre that I felt like a third wheel and I was ready to leave.

This was a huge step for me since I’ve never in my life told someone that I was feeling left out or that I was uncomfortable. It was a quiet and awkward walk back to the apartment where we had a “come-to-Jesus” talk and resolved some major issues faced this weekend. We talked until 2:30 when The Guest Boys returned from their night on the town and calling it a night.

This morning I’m off to do a little shopping.