Big Drive

Alarm went off quite early as we wanted to try and get away by 7ish as the driving time alone today was about 6 hours without stops. Loaded the car a little more easily by switching the suitcases round. Sam checked out while I was loading but when I came back into the lobby the helpful guy on reception was explaining that highway 99 around Lillooet was closed because of the fires so we should head to Kamloops as planned then head south on highway 5 to Hope then through Vancouver and up highway 99 to Whistler. This was a faster road in parts but longer and slower around Vancouver. Had no choice though and the driving time was now at least another hour more.

We didn't have breakfast, intending to have it when we found a place to stop. Salmon Arm was one potential about an hour away. But we weren't really hungry and Tash was asleep when we got there so we carried on. After Salmon Arm we were out of the main mountains and we continued to Kamloops. Was interesting to see that out of the National Park there was much more roadside advertising and unattractive buildings. Sam googled breakfast places and we headed to the best rated one Hello Toast. Today was a bank holiday so the town was quiet but this was open, but very busy with a wait for a table. A cafe a couple of doors down was less busy so we went in there. It was very good - I had a croissant with ham, cheese and egg patty in it with fried potatoes. Was excellent. Filter coffee was good again, though no refills offered, probably for the best given the long drive. The shop also sold some great looking donuts so we bought three, but ended up with 6 as it was buy 4 get 2 free. My vanilla dip was excellent.

Back on the road the sat nav seemed to be wrong saying drive straight for 460 km. turned out it was right as highway 1 ran into highway 5 then 1 again then 99 without turning. Though some help with lanes around Vancouver would have been useful. The smoke around Kamloops was very thick, maybe 200m visibility when driving, ok but not good. We could smell the smoke there too.

Highway 1 led onto highway 5 and became three lane in parts with 120km/h limit. Scenery was typical of any motorway anywhere, especially with the smoke obscuring further views. We hit traffic at a few points from about 70km outside Vancouver. We decided to stop again and pulled off just past Chilliwack. Filled up with petrol again and we ate at a burger place that was very like 5 guys in its selections etc called MooYah. Took a while for the food to come, think they were lightly staffed due to holiday that day but also very busy for similar reasons. Tash and I had milkshakes that were thickest I'd ever had, basically ice cream in a cup!

On the move again and continued to hit patches of traffic. Vancouver was fine - went over a toll bridge not sure whether we have to pay it or Avis do and recharge it. I've subsequently paid it on the TreO website so will see what Avis do (nothing as it turned out) . Driving through Vancouver was quite easy, various inside lanes went off as exits, but they were well signposted in advance so could move across. We hit highway 99, which is known as the Sea to Sky highway and supposed to be a spectacular drive. This was hindered by the smoke. I had read that Shannon Falls near Squamish was worth a stop and as we weren't expecting to drive this way on this road., we called in. Parking lot was very busy again. I dropped off Sam to go to the loo and kids and I circled a few times then saw someone leaving and took their space. The falls were a short walk through the trees and quite spectacular and also provided some good scrambling across rocks and fallen trees. On the way back to the path I almost fell over, my foot was wet from the water and slipped back a couple of inches meaning I couldn't step forward like I had intended. Managed to grip on by fingertips to the edg of the path to avoid falling over.

Stopped for about 40 minutes or so then carried on with about 40 minutes to go. Hotel was close to the highway in Whistler and we got vheckwd in fine. Had to pay for parking for the first time. I went and parked the car and got a bit lost getting back out of the car park, but got to the room eventually. We went for dinner at 21 Steps recommended by the receptionist. Was tasty food - had the pasta as a change from burgers and steaks. Shops were all open late, we were all tired though from the trip so headed to bed. Zip lining in the morning.Read more