Remember my aunty Karen who's place we stayed at in both Bolivia and Nicaragua? Well she's married to Lorne a Canadian who generously offered to put out the word that we would be coming to his old home town of Merritt, BC. This was met with many warm welcoming emails and in the end it worked out that we would stay with Lorne’s brother Ron and his lovely wife Shelly. This was perfect for us as Ron the oldest of Lorne’s four brothers ran the family contracting business to which our replacement 4x4 linkage had been sent. First thing the next morning Will was up early and headed into the workshop with Ron and his son Adam. A few hours later, after a bit of grunting and lots of dust in his eyes from laying underneath the dirty Dodge in the workshop, I received a txt message from Will telling me that he had had success and we were now back in 4x4 action!
That evening Adam had invited us to a party in nearby Kamloops that he and his partner Rebecca were going to. It sounded good to us so Will ducked down to the workshop to pick up Adam and then after showers and dinner we would all head over to Kamloops in the Dodge. This was when I got another message from Will.… As he was backing out of the car park at the workshop the Dodge came to an abrupt stop. They boys got out and confirmed they hadn’t hit or run over anything and thats when they realised that both front wheels were pointing outwards in opposite directions. Not Good! They discovered that the right tie rod had failed and there would be no more driving until this was replaced. At the parts store just before closing they found a new tie rod but there was no time to replace it that evening and besides it was a chilly -8 outside.
Adam and Will came home with Ron and while we were happy to stay in Merritt it was decided that we would take one of Ron’s work trucks to Kamloops for the party. Poor Ron was stressing out with things happening at work and us to worry about all while packing to leave with Shelly for Hawaii the very next day. Later that evening we all cruised over to Kamloops and had a really good night at the party especially after discovering Adam was a dab hand on the guitar as were a few of the other guys so we all had a big singalong jam session.
On Saturday the 15th of February we left Adam and Rebecca at their home in Kamloops and drove back to Merritt to fix the dodgy Dodge. Luckily it had happened at the workshop; in fact it really couldn’t have been more convenient if we’d planned it, what with all the tools we would need right there! We had the Dodge fixed up in no time then returned to Ron and Shelly’s empty home. It was nice to just relax for the afternoon inside their nice warm house.
On Saturday the 15th of February we left Adam and Rebecca at their home in Kamloops and drove back to Merritt to fix the dodgy Dodge. Luckily it had happened at the workshop; in fact it really couldn’t have been more convenient if we’d planned it, what with all the tools we would need right there! We had the Dodge fixed up in no time then returned to Ron and Shelly’s empty home. It was nice to just relax for the afternoon inside their nice warm house.
The following day was all action as we packed the Dodge for our ski trip up to Sun Peaks Ski Resort. We would be staying in a ski in ski out condo with our ‘mature friends’ Brad and Julie (that we first met back in Guatemala) and their family. The only thing was we couldn't bring Scout so we had arranged for him to stay with Lorne’s neice Katie and her husband Dave. They had two other dogs and a good back yard for him to roam and chase mice in. With Scout settled in and the car packed we hit the road. Did I mention that Ron had GIVEN yes given me a practically brand new set of skis that Shelly no longer used as Ron had accidentally brought her a new pair two years in a row. I was stoked and Will also picked up some good condition ski boots from kijiji so we were all set. We arrived in Sun Peaks that evening and it gave us warm fuzssies all over to see our friends Brad and Julie again. We had been emailing back and forwards for what seemed like months since our first meeting in Antigua. They told us not to bring any food and maybe we should have listened as the place was packed with enough food to last the whole winter. Ok maybe not quite that much there were after all about twelve people staying each night. It was great to meet all Brad and Julie’s children and other family. We heard later that their children were a little shocked to discover that their parents friends were actually the same age as them. Hence why we now refer to them as our ‘mature’ friends! This night was also the first night that we ever tried pulled pork made but their son Jordan and his wife Allison it was absolutely delicious and will be the reason we buy a crock pot when we get home. We’ve craved it constantly from then on.
On Monday the 17th we woke up early to light snow floating down in grey skies. We gobbled down some brekie, hashed together some sammies and chucked on our ski gear before hitting the slopes. Will and I did a few warm up runs on the Morrissey Express then the rest of the crew joined us for a few more. Not Julie though she was fed up with skiing from the day before. We suggested this may have something to do with her 30? year old rear entry ski boots. But who was I to judge my skiing wasn't going very well either and my feet were killing me. Maybe it had something to do with the $35 pair of boots I had brought… dam it.
I’m not exactly sure of the order of the next few events but these are the ones I remember:
- Jordan and Allison brought amazing smelling cinnamon buns while we ate our sloppy sandwich at the on mountain cafe.
- I lost Will for half the day and worried he’d fallen into a tree well and couldn't get out.
- Jordan and Alison were awesome skiers that showed us some choice fresh pow runs off Juniper Ridge.
- Brad likes green runs but is actually a very tidy skier.
- Jordan ‘saved Wills life’ when he crashed and then landed hanging over a bank attached to a tree by only by one ski that he couldn't reach to unclip himself out of.
- Every single member of the Emond family is a fantastic cook.
- The hot tub is the best thing ever invented.
- I hate watching curling even when its the Winter Olympics.
- New Zealand still cant win any medals at the Winter Olympics.
- I had to hire boots on the last day as the ones I brought were so bad.
- The only day we didn't ski was the best ski day that week with fresh snow and blue skies :(
- I lost Will again so played in the terrain park.
- Going home for lunch resulted in nicer sandwiches thanks to Julie but getting going again was difficult.
- Girls are better than boys at board games.
- In New Zealand they are called ski fields but in Canada they are ski hills.
On Friday morning despite Brad dangling ski passes in our faces we left Sun Peaks figuring we better go and get Scout. Besides we would see the Emond’s again soon enough at their home in Grande Prairie. On the way back to Merritt we quickly stopped in at a consignment store in Kamloops and I traded my ski boots for some different ones. I thought they couldn't get much worse than the current ones but a week later I would discover they were just as bad if not worse and someone had even cut half the inner plastic out to make them more flexible. Finally back in Merritt we picked up Scout from Dave and Katie’s place and heard about all the fun times he’d been having from Dave. Afterwards we returned to Shelly and Ron’s still empty house for a quite night in.
The following day we woke to a different landscape changed by a blanket of snow, Scout thought it was great fun but taking the Dodge out on my own to the supermarket proved a bit harrowing. I was braking but I certainly wasn't stopping! I had to use the horn to let everyone else at the intersection know I was coming through and this is with 4x4….
Adam and Rebecca with their daughter Freya came over for dinner that evening and together we had Salmon and salad. Turns out Adam was a pretty good cook as well. Over dinner Adam explained that Ron would be coming back from Hawaii a week early due to things going on at the business. He would be flying in the next morning and they asked if we could we pick him up from Kamloops airport. Will had done his fair share of chores while I relaxed so I offered to go to get Ron alone.
Adam and Rebecca with their daughter Freya came over for dinner that evening and together we had Salmon and salad. Turns out Adam was a pretty good cook as well. Over dinner Adam explained that Ron would be coming back from Hawaii a week early due to things going on at the business. He would be flying in the next morning and they asked if we could we pick him up from Kamloops airport. Will had done his fair share of chores while I relaxed so I offered to go to get Ron alone.
Leaving sleeping beauty behind the next morning I put Ron’s Chevy Silverado into four wheel drive and made the snowy 40 minute trip to pick him up. We then returned straight away so Ron could head into work. Will and I were hopping to go snowmobiling with Lorne’s son Duncan in the next few days but he managed to break his sled while we were in Sun Peaks. So with that idea no more we decided it was time to get moving and save Ron one more thing to worry about. Thank-you for having us Ron and Shelly and the Emond family!
Rochelle & Will
Rochelle & Will