Lost our posteriors, got them back.

Day 4
Kelowna - Victoria 433.7 km
Accumulated distance: 1849 km
Max speed 154 kph
Moving average 94 kph
Overall average 53 kph
Moving Time: 4:36
Total time 8:12

We have a full day. (What a surpise.) We are heading to Abbotsford to have brunch with some friends, then we have to catch a ferry to Victoria to be there for the rehearsal dinner at 5.  We don't really know how tall an order this is going to be  until we get into the trip but we know enough to get an early start. We are targeting a 6:30 am departure and amazingly, we almost make it. In fact, we are pretty much ready to go on time and I shut off the computer and it says "UPON PAIN OF DEATH Do not shut off the computer. Installing update 4 of 115". Nan, of course, is oblivious to this so she is waiting outside by the bike, ready to go. It takes 15 minutes.

Despite the fact that it has been so hot, the forecast for the area has cooled considerably. We are in hot weather mode though, so we dress in the morning with shorts then reconsider before heading out. This is fortunate because Kelowna is only about 17 degrees and as we head out of town, the temperature drops. Precipitiously. Not far out of Kelowna we go over Brennan Pass (not sure if I have the name or spelling correctly but it is near the Brennan Mine site).  The elevation rises to about 1750 metres and the temperature falls inversley proportionaly so that at the pass, it is a mere 5 degrees and we are freezing our posteriors off. We have to stop to put on extra layers, heavy riding gloves and our heated vests and I turn on the heated hand grips on the bike.  It is literally 30 degrees colder than the prior day. On top of which, we are bee-lining it to Abbotsford, occasionally cruising at 150 somethings per hour (I happen to know the PO-lice are reading this blog) so the wind chill makes it feel like FOUR degrees.

We make Abbotsford and to our friends Gwen and Jim's place by 10:15. They have a nice brunch all prepared for us and COFFEE, which we are desperately craving. Plus, Nan still hasn't quite warmed up from her chill so once we have some coffee and eat, we are feeling much better. And loved, too. We know just how the day is going we are not going to make the 1:00 ferry but aren't stressed about it since we know we can still make the dinner catching the 2:00 ferry.

The ride to the ferry is uneventful but we are tired, dragging our posteriors which we had previously thought we had frozen entirely off. Apparently they are still there because they are now weighing us down. I spend the ferry ride trying to figure out how to use the BC Ferries wireless network so that I can log into work but I am not successful. I try to update the blog from my phone but again, the technology evades me and it really isn't working. It is sitll a nixe ride though and as we pass through Active Pass beside Galiano Island, we see Nan's dad's old place and it is a sentimental moment.

We are off the ferry by 3:30 and at Nan's sister Mary's place by 4:00. We have a half hour to clean up and be ready for the taxi which has been pre-booked; more than enough time to shower and for me to curl my hair.

We cab it to the Swann's Hotel in Victoria. I have not been there before or even heard of it for that matter but it is a really special place. It is in an old warehouse and the "penthouse" has been rented for the rehearsal dinner, which is really a cocktail party. "Penthouse" seems like a misnomer because the hotel is only three stories high but it is a stunning suite that is on two levels plus, access to a private roof top garden. The finish is all the original brick and wooden beams, though the floors are beautifully finished hardwood. The most amazing thing about the room though is that it is completely filled with Canadian art, ostensibly $3 million worth. The original developer had filled the entire hotel with Canadian art, much of it west coast Canadian art plus his personal residence and then bequethed them to the University of Victoria. Nan and I and several guests play a game of "if you could have any piece, which would you take?" FURTHER, as the sun is getting lower and lower to the horizon, the lighting in the room changes and much of the art takes on a different character. "My" piece (which is actually three together) goes from muted blues to sharper contrasts and the distinction is quite amazing. Sadly, the pieces are far too big to stick under my jacket and even though I imagine them to be "mine", the will never be.

Luckily for us, it is not a late evening. Or if it was for some, we were not part of it.