There is an old ditty that says, “Whistle while you work.” The sun was not yet up, the bus was empty, and I was heading out on the beautiful #3 route, which I now have memorized. I’d actually gotten a good night’s sleep for once, and I was feeling pretty good. Next thing you know, I’m whistling a tune and thinking how lucky I am to be here in God’s country. I think I’m finally getting into the groove here in Whistler.
Motorhome parked in our bus bay beside Green Lake
Sunday, I was on the 3 and 4 route in the morning. I love this #3 Emerald Estates route, as it goes the furthest north and has a 10 minute layover up there. If you have no one on board, you can park right on Green Lake and take in the scenery. This in fact happened early in the morning when I saw another bus pulled over at the bus stop in the pull off area right beside the rock face and the frozen lake, so I pulled in behind him. As they do here in BC, there is no idling for more than 3 minutes, so I just shut down right away. There was a motor home pulled over in our bus bay, and soon a dog started barking inside. The owner came out and luckily was in a good mood. He was looking for the Native Museum to deliver wood carvings. I pulled out my GPS and gave him directions.
Whistler Transit Bus Stop Paddle. Used at night to get noticed by the bus driver
The next run on the 3 was also interesting. I pulled over a bit further up and noticed a metal paddle hanging from a chain on the post. There was reflective tape on the paddle and a note said to hold it out in front of the bus so you will be noticed in the dark. Ingenious!
Terrance Kosikar, a very friendly customer who works as a medic on the ski hill
While I was taking a photo of this, a fellow walked up who wanted on the bus. He offered to take my picture beside the post. When we got under way we struck up a great conversation. It turns out he was a medic on his way to the ski slope for duty. I told him I was a “tourist driver” from Ontario and that I would be putting that photo in my blog. One thing led to another and Terrance offered to give me free tickets to the Victory Celebration on Feb. 22nd which is a medal awards ceremony. He gets several tickets as part of his job, and wanted to share. I gave him my card and he gave me his email address. I’ll be picking up the cards in a couple of days. Sometimes Customer Service Excellence has its rewards.
House decorated in the Olympic Spirit
Another interesting thing I witnessed was Kite Skiing on Green Lake. I couldn’t snap a picture, but it sure looked like fun. They have a small parachute that pulls them along the ice on skis. But I’m wondering how safe the ice is now that it hasn’t gone below freezing since we’ve been here.
On my split I had lunch at the White Spot Restaurant. On the way there I sent some Tweets of me beside the Inukshuk. See http://twitter.com/caw4304. Then I walked over to the Gondola Exchange and I did my first #1 Creekside Express. This is a nice run south down the Sea to Sky Highway and back again to the Ski hill. A lot of skiers ride this route to get to Creek side Ski area. About half our riders are now Olympic volunteers in their blue outfits.
Next I did the 77 Staff Housing run. This run is almost like a ski lift in that you drive several switchbacks right up the mountain to the apartment buildings for the Fairmont hotel staff. Almost all the workers are from Australia. They come here for cheap $10/day accommodations and a free season’s pass to the ski slopes.
Nice bus shelters up here in Whistler. Bear proof garbage cans at every stop
Then it was time to commute back to Squamish again. While the scenery is beautiful, the hour-plus trip each way is starting to wear thin. After a hurried supper, I was picked up by a gentleman from the Squamish Baptist Church. Steve Huebner had intended to come along, but he was still on the way back from Whistler. The service was just what the doctor ordered with several hymns and a great report from a mission’s trip to Peru. While I like singing choruses from an overhead, there is just something about the old hymns that warms my soul. Getting out to church was just the break I needed.
I’m actually blogging this on Monday as with doing the laundry and everything, there was just no time on Sunday. I talked to Debbie Elliott and she called my blog “John’s blog,” because I had way more posts than the other 17 members of Team GRT. So I guess I fail at inspiring others to blog, but what can I do? We all have the same access to this blog, so maybe some of us just need more encouragement from back home.
The Peak to Peak gondola, 1400 feet above the mountain
So, I’m now five days into my seven-day stretch. Reto and I have Thursday and Friday off and are planning to go for a ride on the Peak to Peak gondola. It actually runs between the peaks of two mountains. It is the longest of its type in the world, and is 1400 feet above the ground. Two of the cars have a glass bottom. Maybe Friday we will try the zip line ride. As they told us, do things you can only do in Whistler.