The Spectacular and the ordeal - Across Canada

2010 04 09

Waking up Thursday morning, I looked outside and saw something that I didn’t think I was going to see again this year, SNOW and lots of it. I was not entirely sure what I was going to do during the day but I knew that I wanted to go out exploring.

It was around ten in the morning when I decided to wake up and finally get my day started. After messing around on my computer for an hour I finally thought it was time to get off the couch and do something productive. I had not had breakfast up to this point so I asked where the best place in Banff was to have breakfast. The person working at the front desk told me, Malissa’s.

Due to the large quantity of snow falling and I say large because each flake was huge, I decided I would go for breakfast before hiking. Looking like the abominable snowman arriving at the Malissa’s I was ready to eat.

The food was good but a little expensive for what I was getting. I ended up getting an omelet but in terms of expense, I was in Banff after all.

Once I was back at the hostel I got my gear together and said to myself, it was time for me to go exploring. The intended destination was to hike the trails along the Vermillion Lakes. In order to do this, first of all had to make my way to the start of the trail. Looking at a map of Banff and figuring out were the Vermillion Lakes were located, I decided to take one road, then another and come out into a clearing beside some train tracks. At the train tracks I meet up with a lady walking her dogs, asking her were I would have to go to make my way to the Vermillion Lakes, she pointed me down the train tracks. Like I have mentioned before, as a person who is interested by pretty much everything I was side tracked by another set of train tracks.

By this point, the snow had stopped and I was starting to see the mountains once again. As I headed down the train tracks two large mountains stood in front of me, one of them being Cascade Mountain. The landscape was covered in a layer of pure fresh snow. Every pine tree, every shrub was covered. I had also found a small brook/pond as I was walking that had a very thin layer of ice, making for the perfect winter scenery. The only thing missing was a little sunshine to give contrast (photographically speaking). A few moments later, there it was, the mountains majestically towering in front of me with clouds lingering around them, the sun was slightly making its way through the clouds and the landscape before me was a fresh pure winter wonderland, what more would I want. As amazing as this scenery was, I’m just going to say, it came with a price, a price I don’t mind paying.

After a good hour walking around the snow-covered landscape I decided to head down the original train tracks I was told to follow. As I was making my way back I came upon a group of deer wondering along.

Finally returning to the main set of tracks I was headed on my way to the Vermillion Lake trail. Half way there I looked at the sky and said to myself, “I think I might want to head back.”

About ten feet away from the hostel I saw the first snowflake come down and within ten minutes it was snowing like a blizzard. Unlike the snowflakes that were falling in the morning the snow that was falling now were a lot smaller and blowing completely sideways due to the wind.

The snow finally decided to stop by the time I made my way to the Greyhound station, which helped out. It wouldn’t have been a bad thing had it been snowing but it made the hike a lot more comfortable. The greyhound station is about half a kilometer away from the hostel; I decided it would be best to give myself half an hour to walk there. I ended getting to the station within 15 minutes.

Now the reason I said that photographing the snow covered scenery came with a price, comes from what happened next. The bus arrived on time in Banff and took us to Calgary, although once arriving in Calgary everything changed.

The scheduled had us departing from Calgary at midnight. When I received my luggage tag the person working at the front desk said, the bus I was intending on taking may not be leaving tonight due to weather conditions. Sure enough 11:30 pm comes around and an announcement goes over the PA, “All busses have been canceled for the night.” This left me and several other stranded at the station for the night. The next bus headed East was not scheduled to leave until noon the following day.

Trying to figure out what to do, I sat puzzled for about half an hour. Then I decided I would start taking some photos. Through my photography I meet up with a group of people who were all suppose to head to Edmonton, who all quickly became acquaintances. One of them was the most talkative, name Candy, she was very friendly and just enjoy chilling, had a very good perspective of the situation. As the night went on I started to meet up with more people and the station started to form this little community. As the little community evolved so did the interesting things that would end up happening that night.

There was this lady I meet who was from Mexico, living in Northern Canada for the past several years; at one point in the night (I think around 2 am) we were all standing around and she looked over at her bags. A gentleman was walking around looking at her bags she said, “I think that gentleman is stealing something.” So she snuck up behind the guy as he clearly leaned over picked up a box from her bag and put it in his jacket. (It was very clearly visible) Without even paying attention to her yelling at him that he had stolen her stuff he just wondered on out. Another guy, who had become part of this bus community, followed the guy outside and eventually “herded” the guy back in where security confronted him and the box was returned. STRANGE!

Well the night kept on getting stranger as well. Then around 4 am, more members in the bus community started conversing. I was wondering what was going on, so I asked Candy. She seemed to know what was going on because she had talked to pretty much everyone in the station by this point. She informed me the two guys that were just down a few benches from us just got out of prison and were looking at trying to start a fight. In the end nothing really happened, a few male jesters of dominance, a few visits by the security, wondering what was going on but nothing.

By this time it was around 4 am and I was starting to get tired. I tried sleeping across some chairs earlier but it wasn’t working. In the end I decided to take my sweaters, line them along the ground making an insulate layer and soft layer, then placed my sleeping bag over the sweaters. This ended up working and I feel asleep pretty quickly.

I managed to get a good four hours of sleep that night until the station started to get busier in the morning. Waking up it was time for breakfast and the restaurant had opened. When breakfast was done it was near departing time, thankfully everything went smoothly getting on the bus and it left on time.

(Just as another side note to the bus community, the section that I was in had about four elderly ladies who I spent a good portion of the night talking to. I have to say I was quite impressed that they sat at the station for 12 hours and then hopped on the bus, this is with practically no sleep.)

The bus ride went smoothly. In Canada greyhound has a very good stopping structure, always stopping for breakfast, lunch and supper. It is quite remarkable, I traveled for a day and half and we really didn’t stop for long periods of time, a lot of driving.

I have to say that I was exceptionally happy when I arrived here in Thunder Bay, not cause I was finally off the bus but because I could finally get a shower. After something like 55 hours traveling (this includes me hiking in Banff) I had not changed or had a shower, it was time!

Banff

2010 04 06
Greyhound is much less traveled here in Canada then it is in the United States. Jumping on the bus in Vancouver, one of Canada’s larger cities, the bus was only half full. This provided a very comfortable 15-hour drive, since I was able to have two seats to spread out and sleep on.
I ended up sleeping from midnight till around seven in the morning, about the time we arrived in Kelowna. This worked very well, as I slept in the dark and when it was time to wake up we were getting into the major mountain ranges. Two in the afternoon till we arrived in Banff, the scenery was spectacular, jagged white peaked mountains towered on either side of the bus.
Like every leg of traveling, I thoroughly enjoy arriving at my destination. After being on the bus for several hours, all you want to do is get a shower and change, this is exactly what I did when I arrived in Banff, along with washing my cloths.
Tuesday night was open mic night at The Beaver, a small pub/restaurant just next door to the SameSun Backpackers Lodge. Three hours later my cloths were finally washed, I was starting to get hungry and it was time to head to the pub.
I was unaware that the pub stopped serving food at 9pm but they still had some pizza remaining. With a pint in one hand and pizza in the other I was happy, it was really good pizza. A nice thin oven baked, thin crust with lots of flavour.
The music was good. There where not a whole lot of people at the pub, I would say around seven. The pub is really small, only about 25 feet by 20 feet but a nice atmosphere. The people working there are extremely chilled.
After three pints, one in the morning, talking to two guys from Australia and Europe it was time to head to bed.
Waking up early the next morning, the first thing on my agenda was to head down to the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, a place I worked at five years ago. When I arrived it was closed, they open at 10am. I hadn’t had breakfast at this point, walking around a little, I ended up going into a McDonalds and had my first McDonalds breakfast. I didn’t mind the McGriddle, the one thing that I would have to say about it though, is that the maple syrup is to strong.
Now that I had my breakfast, it was around 10:40 am, I decided to give it another try and head over to the museum. It brought back a lot of memories walking in. Standing there in the main hallway of the Museum, a gentleman walked by, then stopped, looked at me and said, “Corey,” it was Craig.
Right now they are busy at the museum setting up a new gallery. Craig told me to come back round 3 pm. I decided that I would head on down to the Bow Falls. About a year ago I was looking at my Banff photos and realized, out of all the places I had explored I had never seen the waterfall here in Banff.
It was a good small adventure, keeping close to the water’s edge I made my way towards the falls. Just before the falls the edge of the river funs out and it becomes cliff. I had to turn back then hike up and then over the cliff to get to the falls. What was most interesting about the falls was the riverbed just before it. The riverbed was made up of striated rocks, it was hard to believe that it was a riverbed, very hard to describe and I didn’t take a photo of it. It was cool!
Finally, I made it to the top of the cliff just above the falls. The falls themselves were, so, so but now I can say that I have seen them.
At 2 pm I thought it would be good to make my way back. It took me about an hour to walk back. Instead of just backtracking I made my way up to the road just beside the waterfall and followed it back into town.
Now back at the museum Craig went on break, we had a short little chat about what has happened over the last five years, then he had to go back to work.
For the rest of the day, I just came back had some supper, drank some beer and it was time for bed.
Thank you for reading,
Corey Lablans

Vancouver - Lighthouse and Stanley Park

2010 04 05
It was my last day in Vancouver and I don’t think it could of gone any better. The weather held consistent with my previous days and I was chilling with a friend from college.
It has been a year since I had last seen Emma, although we keep in touch on msn, it doesn’t compare to actually hanging out with the person.
I had explored some interesting places up to this point but Emma knew a few more spectacular ones.
She had gone to Vancouver Island for the weekend to spend time with her mom. The original plan was for her to come back Monday at 1pm and then we would hang out. She ended up getting the ferry the night before, so we switched up plans and got together earlier, this worked out well.
She picked me up from the hostel and we headed directly to the Lighthouse Park. Much like Lynn Canyon, the forest was spectacular to walk through as moss covered everything, layering the forest with a rich vibrant green blanket. The main difference was, that instead of having a nice pure aqua river to walk down to I had a nice open coastline to walk out to.
I love the coastline along Lighthouse Park; it is much like the coastline in Tadoussac, Quebec. There is no beach; the entire coast is lined with large bolder cliffs. The reason I say bolder cliffs is because they are not jagged cliffs but rounded. I love it because it gives the coastline character. Another reason I’m a big fan of that type of coastline is because it gives me a lot to explore. I can have fun jumping along the rocks and it creates the right conditions for tidal pools. Tidal pools are amazing cause they are small ecosystems to explore that present such unique aqua life, like a touch aquarium.
Emma informed me that starfish are quite common to find along the rocks in tidal pools. This sparked a desire for me to find one. She ended up finding them in a small crevice were the water was rushing in and out.
I tried to catch one, although there was a slight problem, the tide was a little high. I’ll just say that that water is freezing. No, I did not end up falling in, I did end up getting my leg briefly wet but it is still cold non-the-less when you put your arm in.
After a few attempts I came to the conclusion that I was not going to get the starfish out but I did notice the tide was going out. We ended up chilling there for about 20 minutes, I was determined to catch myself a starfish. In the end the tide was in fact moving outwards and I was able to catch myself a starfish.
Sadly the starfish that were there, were not the typical size that are found but it was still awesome. In the little crevice where they were located there were about 10 of them, several being just younglings as their colour was red/burgundy appose to their usual colour of bright purple.
Lighthouse Park was fun, now it was time to move onto something different. The bus that I was taking to leave Vancouver that night was departing at midnight. Based on my experience traveling within the states I figured I needed to go to the station early and pick up my ticket, this wasn’t the case. Within Canada, all you need to do is show up with your Discovery Pass and ID, and you can jump on the bus.
Finding this out, we headed onto our next adventure. Getting Emma’s dog we headed to Stanley Park just North of downtown Vancouver. It was a nice park, I had fun walking along the rocky beach flipping rocks and watching the hundreds of small crabs that would scatter everywhere.
It was time for supper when we left Stanley Park. Emma picked out a restaurant, The Green Basil Thai. The food was excellent but there was a lot of it.
By the end of supper the day was pretty much done for, other then watching a movie and chilling on our laptops it was time to embark upon the easterly return.

Thank you for reading,
Corey Lablans
www.coreylablans.com

Beautiful British Columbia - Vancouver

2010 04 03

Looking out the window with hesitation, I was unsure if the day was going to give me rain or if it would hold off. I had no clue what to do. That is one thing about going from city to city, unless you look on the computer before you get there, you are not quite sure what to do.

Since this was a new city and a new place for me to explore, I purchased an all day bus pass. What is great about an all day bus pass, if you use it properly, is that you can just jump on a bus and not care where it takes you.

I made my way downtown on the #4, the same bus that I took to the hostel the night before. Once downtown I jumped on another bus, having no clue where it was going, I ended up down at the water. At this point in time I thought it would be fun to try and make my way to North Vancouver and try to get to Seymour Mountain. Seymour Mountain is the furthest mountain East of the three mountains, Cypress, Grouse and then Seymour.

I had one issue, figuring out my way around the body of water breaking Vancouver from North Vancouver. Not knowing what bus would take me, I starting asking around. I found out that the city has something called a Sea Bus. The Sea Bus is quite interesting. It is part of the transit system here in Vancouver, taking you across the harbour from downtown Vancouver to North Vancouver.

Arriving in North Vancouver I started asking around what bus would take me to Seymour Mountain, I was directed onto the 238. While traveling on the bus I started talking to the bus driver, quickly finding out that there is no bus that would actually take me to the base of Seymour Mountain. With a little help from the bus driver I found out that public transit does go to the base of Grouse Mountain. With a quick hope off the bus, I then hoped onto the 228 taking me up to Grouse Mountain. That was a nice drive through the subdivision and up towards the mountain.

I had reached the mountain and my goal had been meet. Since I was there I decided to check out the cost of skiing because I needed to sort out what I was going to do the next day.

Walking around I had seen what I wanted to see and got the information that I wanted to get. Leaving Grouse Mountain I noticed a park, Capilano River Regional Park. I had to get off and walk around because it looked quite interesting.

A very lush looking green park with a small lake nestled amongst the mountains. The lake flows through a dam into the Capilano River, which has quite a few hiking tails. By this time in the day it was too late for me to go hiking but I still enjoyed the view.

I put the park in the back of my mind as a possibility of things to do for the following day. Another park that had caught my attention was Lynn Canyon Park, the park that I ended up choosing the following day to hike.

Much like my first day waking up in Vancouver I was hesitant on what was actually going to happen with the weather for the day. As I prepared myself for the day’s adventure I kept in mind that it could suddenly rain. Packing away three layers of cloths, drinks, food and a knife, I set out.

It took about an hour to get to Lynn Canyon leaving the hostel near Jericho Beach. As I made my way into the park I was amazed by how much the place had a rainforest look. The trees toward over everything, moss grew all over the trees and ferns layered the forest floor, it was sweet.

Before I made my way out hiking I was drawn in by the little café they had in the park. I hadn’t really eaten much, so I decided to sit down and order some fish and chips. The café had a nice relaxing feel, nestled amongst the forest and the food was good.

Once I had satisfied my stomach I headed into the forest. The first attraction you come upon when entering the park from the main entrance is a suspension bridge stretching across a waterfall in the forest.

In accordance to my personality, I really don’t enjoy sticking to the path. I knew that I wasn’t home, so I had to pay attention to where I was going, a little bit easier to get lost in the BC forests. This meant I couldn’t just trek into the forest, sadly. Heading along the path, I notice a small trail, what looked like an animal trail heading off into the forest towards the waterfall. It was a nice little path weaving me through the already dense, for being spring, forest. Still amazed by the immense size of the trees and the beauty of the hanging moss I made my way to the canyon/gorge edge, just down stream from the watefall. Following a small path that wound down a step slope I ended up at a small pebbly beach.

I have never seen such clear, pure looking water in my life then the water that was gliding through this river. It was impressive but very cold.

It was time to move after getting some nice photos of the area. Making my way up the other side of the incline it was a bit muddier then the way down but fun.

The next place I ended up exploring also presented spectacular scenery. Signs were posted everywhere cautioning people, extreme danger and frequently reminded people, that lives have been lost but what does that say to an adventurer “Come on in.”

Jumping a fence I wandered my way down alongside a cave/cliff that made my way to the riverside just downstream from Twin Falls. Once I was done taking some nice photos I decided it would be an amazing place to sit down, relax and have a snack. Very good choice I must say, the nice sound of the waterfall, the beauty of moss covered vegetation and stunning aqua water flowing by, why wouldn’t I.

After two amazing adventures down to the riverside, it was time to head on back to the entrance. Again sidetracked by a small trail wondering off into the forest I decided to follow it. It took me in about 200 meters into the forest; at this point in time I decided to just walk parallel to the main trail trekking my way through the forest. It was great, the amount of tropical looking scenery I saw this way was awesome.

Like many fun adventures that I have embarked upon, it was time to start heading back. A good solid four hours of hiking was good for that day and it was time to go back.

Two days without rain and good exploring, I was thrilled.

Thank you for reading,

Corey Lablans

www.coreylablans.com

1-613-217-4535

Vancouver - Making it to Hostel

2010 04 02

Vancouver, the furthest west I have been in Canada and an awesome place to be. Arriving here two days ago with blustering winds and heavy down pouring rain, I was unsure how the weather was going to hold out.

I was exceptionally thankful that the rain decided to subside when I arrived in Vancouver because I had to make my way to the hostel. Leaving the bus terminal I made my way across the street to the Sky Train. Once taking the Sky Train I was able to hope on to the #4, a bus that I road quite frequently throughout the days I was here.

The lack of rain really helped when I had to make my way from the bus drop off to the hostel. Because of the extreme wind that had occurred that evening, power lines were down on the street. The bus had to change routes, dropping me off about a kilometer away then it usually does.

It wasn’t a bad hike to the hostel, it could have been bad had it been raining or worse, the storm that hit was still going on.

Vancouver - Making it to Hostel

2010 04 02

Vancouver, the furthest west I have been in Canada and an awesome place to be. Arriving here two days ago with blustering winds and heavy down pouring rain, I was unsure how the weather was going to hold out.

I was exceptionally thankful that the rain decided to subside when I arrived in Vancouver because I had to make my way to the hostel. Leaving the bus terminal I made my way across the street to the Sky Train. Once taking the Sky Train I was able to hope on to the #4, a bus that I road quite frequently throughout the days I was here.

The lack of rain really helped when I had to make my way from the bus drop off to the hostel. Because of the extreme wind that had occurred that evening, power lines were down on the street. The bus had to change routes, dropping me off about a kilometer away then it usually does.

It wasn’t a bad hike to the hostel, it could have been bad had it been raining or worse, the storm that hit was still going on.

Greyhound 29 Hours to Vancouver

2010 04 01
As I have said many times up to this date, Monterey is a beautiful and relaxing place to visit. Although, after two eventful and memorable days it was time to say farewell.
My bus schedule had me departing from Salinas at 2:15pm. I had to make my way from Monterey back to Salinas. After a hardy breakfast I packed my bag and was ready to embark on my next adventure, Vancouver.
Out of five weeks of traveling, this was going to be my longest bus ride, 29 hours. Due to my previous experience traveling Greyhound I have now developed this paranoia of the bus possibly filling up.
This time everything went smoothly, I was a little weary cause it was a full bus, I did not want to be the one left behind again, especially with such a long trip ahead. For the next 14 hours I was always sitting beside someone.
Many wouldn’t like the idea of traveling on a full bus but that wasn’t what bothered me this time, what ended up being a little annoying was that the bus never stopped in a location where supper was purchasable. Each location was a five-minute stop, we finally arrived just outside of Oakland, California, where there would be a restaurant in the station but what you know, it was closed.
Finally, at about 11 am we stopped at a Flying J truck stop. I search all around the station trying to find something substantial to subside my hunger. After searching high and low I came across the deli sandwiches and there was a roast beef sandwich calling my name. (Later on once I arrived in Vancouver I realized I had an apple and a peach in my bag. Ha.)
Much like the first day of traveling (Thursday) we never had any time to stop for food, non-the-less go to the bathroom. I shouldn’t complain too much because at least I didn’t have any long layovers from Salinas, California to Vancouver but it would have been nice to stop at a McDonalds or something.
The bus remained full until Portland, Oregon where it started to thin out. For the first time during this excursion I was able to claim a front row seat on the bus going from Portland to Seattle. This portion of the trip was a nice change, the bus driver was good, I was sitting beside this nice lady and the scenery was quite spectacular.
(Just as a brief side - what was also nice about the Portland to Seattle trip was that I didn’t have to listen to family problems. For some reason my seat was next to or close to someone who just couldn’t sort life out. Some people just don’t’ think!)
Heading from Seattle to Vancouver the bus had a drastic reduction in passengers, a full bus to 1/3rd full. This leg of the journey wasn’t bad, two seats to myself and the boarding crossing was easy.
Sometimes I think the boarder is just ridiculous. Again coming back into Canada they asked me, what do I do for a living? And your job allowed you that amount of time off? Questions that are redundant after the fact. But you know you cannot crack wise jokes at the boarder and say something like, “No, I just left my job and said see you in four weeks!” without risking a long hassle. Oh well, go along with the flow.
All in all, the entire trip went well and I am back in Canada.

Thank you for reading.
Corey Lablans
www.coreylablans.com

Please feel free to comment.

Monterey - Amazing Day

Eight in the morning, that was my intended wake up time but like many attempts to wake up early, it failed.

I intended on waking up early so that I could walk down to the Fisherman’s Wharf to catch the 10 am Whale watching tour. Again like every other day, it was calling for rain in Monterey and I did not get much sleep the night before, so when eight o’clock came around I just rolled back over.

Nine o’clock came and I was ready to hit the streets of Monterey once again. I had noticed a sign on one of the restaurants when I first arrived in Monterey, advertising early breakfast specials. I decided to give it a try, so I headed over; got myself a nice breakfast at an amazing price and my day had begun.

At this point in time I thought it would be fun to explore all the interesting stores in the area. The idea of going whale watching was still rolling in my mind.

Another tour was scheduled to leave at 1:30pm. I decided it would be a good idea to weave my way through Monterey, slowly making my way to the Wharf.

As I mingled my way through Monterey I drifted in and out of some unique shops and places. One of these places was a small little beach between two hotels built on the oceanfront. Much like the cove the Harbour Seals were relaxing in this cove had rocks on both sides causing the waves to come crashing in. Some skin boarders were riding the waves, which presented the opportunity for some great photos. Keeping true to my personality, I got side tracked photographing the skin boarder and time slipped by. I realized if I wanted to try and make my way onto the whale watching tour I had to move on.

The Fisherman’s Wharf was my next destination, which is a really neat place. It is a structure (Wharf) sticking out into the water lined with restaurants and other various tourist trap area but neat non-the less.

I found my way to the end of the pier where all the whale watching tour groups were located. At this point-in-time the idea of going whale watching was still an undecided idea because just a week before I was whale watching of the coast of Balboa in LA.

I went into the tour company and asked what the conditions were like, as soon as I heard the word Orca come out of the guys mouth, I signed up. The morning group had spotted three orcas along the coast. There was no guarantee that they would be spotted again but that was good enough for me.

As soon as we set sail, the trip was already worth it to me. Leaving the wharf the photos that I was able to get of ships in the bay, seals and the sea otters was awesome but the best was still yet to come.

I have watched movies such as the Perfect Storm and shows like the Deadliest Catch, you see these large swells and rough conditions the fishermen head out into but you never truly understand something until you experience it. I have to say it was breath-taking being out in the ocean in a 100-foot boat with some swells reaching 20 feet high.

I was talking to another passenger on board who tried to book a tour with another company but the company had shut down business for the day because of the water conditions. It is spectacular when the boat goes up a swell at a 50 degree angle, comes down the other side and is confronted by yet another swell higher then the boat itself.

At this point in time I was more then thrilled just to experience the power of the ocean but then, in the distance the captain notice a spray. To the west of the boat along the shoreline we had meet up a pod of Orcas. For the next thirty minutes we followed along side, watching these majestically animals make their way in and out of the water. At one point four of them simultaneously came out of the water. The whales started moving further and further into the ocean.

The Orcas were swimming out of reach. Sadly it was time turn back but I had gained two unforgettable experiences.

In the end I am not sure what I was more impressed with, the spectacular display of the ocean’s power or the beauty and grace the Orcas displayed.

The day was going well, the weather kept clear and it didn’t rain. I didn’t think the day could get any better. I had it in my mind that I was going to go back to the restaurant that I had breakfast at and get a shrimp salad, although I had received a free appetizer coupon to a restaurant off Cannery Row, The Fish Hopper, Seafood and Steaks. I decided since it was on my way back towards the hostel I would check it out.

I arrived at the restaurant around 5 pm and they had these early bird specials. One special caught my attention, beef tenderloin with shrimp. All I can say was it was amazing, such rich flavours. There was beef tenderloin, shrimp in a nice butter sauce, a sweet potato, vegetables and papaya. The meal came with a Caesar salad and as an appetizer I had a marinated artichoke. What a way to end the day and it only cost $19.

To make the day seem even better I had made my way back to the hostel and a block from the hostel it started to sprinkle, as I walked my way in, it started to poor.

I don’t know were luck begins and ends but I enjoyed an amazing day.

Thank you for reading.

Corey Lablans

www.coreylablans.com

Monterey Beauty

2010 03 31

Eight in the morning, awake, had a light sleep, showered up and was ready to explore Monterey. Check in was not until 4 pm so I had the day to kill before I could get settled in at the hostel.
Heading out with advice about a good breakfast place I wondered on down towards the coast. I have to say the advice was a good one. I ate breakfast at First Awakening, a restaurant that specializes in making scratch pancakes, which were amazing.
A nice full stomach and a new place to explore, I embarked upon my journey for the day. Heading North West from the aquarium I made my way along the coast.
Walking along the pathway I noticed a group of people staring out at the water through a fence. Instinctively I was curious to what was going on. As I approached I noticed it was a little sandy bay with rocks on each side and nestled within the bay was over 100 Harbour seals.
This was a spectacular way to start off an amazing day. Like I said earlier on, the forecast was for rain the two days I was going to be in Monterey. Walking along the shoreline and looking out to the skies there was this appearance of possible rain but nothing came about, maybe a few drops.
As a photographer this undecided weather worked in my favour, as I never had to deal with rain but the clouds were still present giving me some added character.
As I moved my way down from the Harbour Seals I came to the main stretch of coastline. Many are aw struck by the fact that there is a section along the California coast that has no buildings. The buildings are held back a street away from the coastline leaving it to walkers, bikers and roller bladders. Much like down in Los Angeles, a path stretches the length of the coast but the shoreline isn’t the same. Instead of nice long sandy beach you have jagged rocks with the odd cove containing a sandy beach. Waves curl as they pass the jagged rocks moving inwards to the sandy bay, with slight aquamarine blue water. It was spectacular just sitting in various locations watching the waves pound the rocks, splashing in the air with such power but yet such relaxation. It is that feeling that you get when you are at the coast.
The waves rolling in were reaching heights of 10 feet. I found out that the waves were slightly larger then usual due to the full moon affecting the tide. For the remainder of the day I just walked around the coastline and back towards the hostel.
With a late night the day before and very little sleep, I was in bed by 10 pm ready to fall asleep.

Thank you for reading.
Corey Lablans
www.coreylablans.com

Salinas to Monterey - Early morning experience

2010 03 30

Rain and stormy weather, this was going to be the forecast for the next two days in Monterey, California. Holding true to the forecast I arrived in Salinas at 4:45 am (30 miles away from Monterey) and it was raining.
The rain was light and I only had two blocks to walk to the Monterey-Salinas Transit (MST), by the time I arrived I was just slightly damp. The temperature was a little cooler then that of Los Angeles but with a fleece sweeter on, it wasn’t bad.
With darkness all around and the rain coming down I was standing at a bus station not entirely sure were to go but I had a vague idea. Before heading to Salinas I did a little research to see how to get Monterey from Salinas.
At the station there was one guy, a Mexican guy, who helped me out and told me that the #20 would take me to Monterey, it arrived right on time, 5:05 am.
Arriving in Monterey, I then needed to find my way to the hostel. Like my usual self along this trip I don’t remember the address of the hostel, although I do remember certain structures near by, such as the Aquarium. I knew the hostel was two blocks up the street from the Aquarium. Wondering my way through Monterey I stopped into 7Eleven and asked for directions. The Monterey International Hostel happened to be just around the corner.
Like the issue of arriving to late, had I got on the bus the day before, I arrived to early. It was 6:30 am, I was standing outside, doors locked and nothing to do because I had all my bags, I propped my bag against the wall and sat down. A gentleman wondered to the door around 7 am to get the newspaper. At this time I wondered on in, took a sit on the couch and fell asleep, I was in Monterey.

Thank you for reading.
Corey Lablans
www.coreylablans.com

LA to Salinas

2010 03 29

Monterey, California - a place of beauty and stunning scenery. I initially planned on traveling to Las Vegas but was directed to Monterey, as someone told me I would love it. The journey to Monterey was and is amazing. This is my fourth week traveling via Greyhound across the United States. I have traveled over 90 hours, covering more then 4000 kilometers. My plan was to leave at 8:30pm from Aneheim on Sunday, although I didn’t factor in that the station would be closed.

I decided to call it a night and try the next day. The morning was successful as I made my way onto the 11:20am bus headed for Salinas arriving at 9pm. From the start, it was going to be a fun day, the hostel in Monterey (which I needed to get to from Salinas) closes for the night at 10pm. I would have to arrive in Salinas at 9pm, get a city bus and make my way to Monterey for 10pm, which is an hour away. I had everything lined up for me to arrive in Monterey on the Monday night.

Unfortunately, like many trips, a knot appeared in this plan. As I walked onto the bus I noticed the full seats. For a moment I just sat down in the middle of the isle thinking that it was possible to stay there, that wasn’t the case.

The bus driver asked all of us that were on the bus to get off. Once outside the bus he said, “ we have room for three people” and the family that was in front of us made their way.

Standing there speechless and not knowing what to do, me and two others made our way back into the station. At the front desk we just stood there, like helpless souls asking, “what do we do now.” The lifeless lady working at the front desk just blankly stared saying, “You’ll have to wait for the next bus.” It was something that I just didn’t want to hear.

The reality was, that Greyhound over booked the bus and I would have to wait in the LA station for seven hours until the next bus at 9:40 pm left for Salinas. It took me about two hours before I faced the fact that I was stuck. I then realized I had to make the best of the worst case scenario, this meant spending the next five hours on my computer editing the photos from LA.

In the end everything worked out. I edited most of my photos from LA and was able to get onto the 9:40 pm bus. Hindsight 20/20 I should have just taken the bus Sunday night at 8:30 pm without having a ticket but everything happens for a reason. It was an adventure and it was fun.

Tomorrow I will write a post about my experience in Monterey. It will involve photographs depicting my experience in Monterey.

Thank you for reading.

Corey Lablans

www.coreylablans.com