A lot of smiling faces gathered at the A & W in Columbia Place, which was the start of the good times.  We tore ourselves away from cheerful chatter to head up the old road, via Lac La Jeune to Logan Lake.  Not too surprised to see snow flurries as we arrive at Logan Lake.  John & Linda were waiting for us to hand out the tour packages. 

   Some were surprised to see a bear near the Highland Valley lookout!  They sure have moved a lot of dirt.

   Then is was down the hill to Ashcroft, after the first “push” for our old ’38 Buick. 

   In Ashcroft it was time for a  coffee break  and a cinnamon bun. John had told us at Logan that we had to find the most useless item we could for under $5.00..what a challenge!. So that gave us time to shop in Ashcroft.

    Lunch was at Cache Creek – poor old Cache Creek was looking pretty “ghostie” but the Jade Shop was still a welcoming spot to shop and it was soon time to head down the road, through the valley to Lillooet. 

    UNFORTUNATELY, a woodpecker hit our engine (knock, knock, knock) and it was game over for our ’38 just as we had turned on highway #7 to Lilliooet. Thanks to the Surline’s and McDonalds (they tried their best to get ‘er going) we limped back to Cache Creek to store the old girl and carried on to Lillooet with the Surline’s, in good old “Leaping Lena” – which had questionable brakes – part of the adventure, right? 

   After a  couple of drinks and lots of laughs in the Lillooet hotel room with everyone explaining their most useless gift, we were all in good spirits once again. Ken Hoshowski was the big winner.

     As it turn out the restaurant did not expect all us at once to stop in for breakfast. As the sign says “Breakfast All Day Fast Lunches” we maybe should have ordered lunch instead of breakfast.

   Then off to Whistler, down the windy pass, with a winding creek, lush foliage & trees, lots of colourful lupin and snow-capped mountains  - absolutely awesome along the Lillooet River.  Also there were sightings of deer, marmots, a bear and eagles. Soon we were in farm country & stopped at a small distillery for a tour.  There’s suspect that Dick got looped just sniffing the bottles!  Up, up, up to Whistler, through some more gorgeous countryside, and after cruising around the village (lost country bumpkins, or what?) we were settled in our cozy hotel.  Of course, everything is huge at Whistler!  It was soon time for dinner, and we were treated to a very upper crust meal at the Listel Hotel.  It was a great way to end the day – as we are of the age that 10:00 p.m. is doing well!  The next day everyone did their own thing – putt around the village, go for a drive, visit the Britain Mine museum, or seriously contemplate going straight up in the gondola.  Everyone met at the Spaghetti Factory for dinner – the spaghetti being so good it made them want to lick their plates (not mentioning any names – I guess it was because he was missing his Buick!). In the morning it was time to hit the road, so we said goodbye and everyone headed home.   

     Once again the weather was great, the company was superb and a big hand for the Rostons’ who really know how to put on a great driving tour. 

     Thanks from all of us. A joyful participant. 

     Joy Parkes