I found out in the morning that one of the German girls had been thrown out because she brought somebody who was previously staying at the hostel back to the hostel. She was at another one down the road. It was my last day so I had to sort my shit out and put it in the locker. I had breakfast, had a shower, when I was all sorted I checked out. I hanged around the café for a bit, chatting to the German girl who had been thrown out. I quite liked her, she was a nice person and very good looking in an alternative sort of way. I stupidly forgot all her details, I was sure I added her on Facebook but when I went to have a look, it was clear I hadn't. Saleh appeared with Ian so I went off with them for a bit. I said goodbye to the German and went off. Saleh was so excited to show me this make shift hut he made on the beach out of logs and drift wood. It was a pretty cool house if you are a tramp. It has shelter from the elements and is pretty strong. Strong enough to jump up and down on. The only downside was, that it gets used by the crack heads and for people to shoot up heroin so there are pipes and needles on the floor. On the plus side there is a blanket and cushions. Time was ticking away, my flight was this evening and I had to get to the airport. My whole travelling adventure was coming to end. I spent the rest of the afternoon with Saleh, Ian had to sort something out. He wanted to get a trike and convert it into a mobile photography studio. His friend converted a trike into a mobile DJ booth and he wanted to go along with him to take photographs of club goers. On the way to the waterfront, we found a bike that would come in very handy. We waited around for the owner of it. Everybody knows everybody else round here. They all knew who the owner was. Is was parked outside a hostel for the homeless. When the owner came out she looked fucked. She was a reformed crack head who got really into working out and was very muscular and masculine. I don't know if Ian ever got the bike. Me and Saleh went to a bar to meet Ian, Saleh took his bike in but got told to remove it. He went outside for a smoke and I went out with the pint glass. We were sharing a pint, I couldn't be bothered to buy one. I had to get back to the hostel, get my things and go to the airport. My flight was in a few hours and I needed to get there and check in. Goodbye Saleh, Goodbye Ian, you both and Vancouver will be missed. I had such a bad time that ended in joy. I got my things, got on the sky line and went to the airport. I checked in, went to wait at the gate. Watched a film on my laptop, where some stupid old man tripped over my laptop cable. I don't know why he walked right where he did, but he did. I got tapped on the shoulder and it was the Danish girl from the hostel. She was on my flight to London to get an onwards flight back to Copenhagen. The flight was called. We boarded. She wasn't sitting any where near me so we said goodbye. Then got on the plane.

I went to a park called 'Crab Park' with Saleh. It had a great view of the mountains and the city skyline. It was a really relaxed park with a bandstand in the middle that I could tell saw a lot of use. We spent the days wondering the streets. They showed me some cool hidden parts of town. Even if it was just a street or a sign, it was always something interesting and worth seeing. I just chilled at the park all day, went wondering around and ended up back at the hostel to have some food. I met the boys in the bar downstairs along with another couple of guys who work in the café. This part of Vancouver is amazing, its full of young cool people all with similar interests in art, music, books, films everything you can think of. I met some other people from the hostel in the bar and we started drinking pitcher after pitcher. It wasn't long before we were all quite drunk. The bar closed so we all went up to the common area in the hostel to continue drinking there. The strange person I mention was there. He randomly came and sat next to us in the bar downstairs and followed us up to the common area. He just sat staring and not saying anything. We thought it was polite to ask how he was doing, his name etc.. I'll be fucked if I knew what he was saying. I had no idea what language he was talking. He was so quiet and mumbling and speaking gibberish. He was about as weird as they come, I didn't fell comfortable around him. He started talking and then wouldn't shut up. He claimed to be of Native American descent, then said he was half Danish half German. For him was a bad move as two of the girls with us were German and a girl and a guy were Danish. Who was this buffoon. Interfering in our fun. Get out of here you nut! Of course none of us said anything like that, we were too polite. He stayed there. The rest of them went to club, I went to bed.

When I got back to the hostel I stopped off via the liquor store to buy some beers. This time I didn't get PBR, I bought some Canadian beer that was cheaper, probably nicer, had an assortment of different beers and had a trucker cap in the box. I wasn't drinking to drown my sorrows now, I was just drinking. Judy was around and promised me the other day that she would make me some frogs legs. She started cooking them for me and her. Things got better already, not only was I free, dinner was being cooked for me and I had nicer beer. Jack and Chris had gone back today and the hostel felt a lot quieter. They made a big difference. In their place was this really strange guy who would just stare at people and sometimes say something really stupid and irrelevant. Through Judy, Jack had found himself a flat as he was due to start studying in Vancouver soon. The Flat Jack had found was with this guy called Ian. I met him through Jack the night before at a creperie. What I noticed that night was that littered around the streets are these sculptures, if that's what you call them, left over from when they hosted the Olympics. They were supposed to make it all look a little cooler but made it look tacky. One of them stood out, it was a car that looked solid, like it didn't have any doors or windows, was just the shape of the car filled in. Through Ian I met this really cool guy named Saleh. Ian was what I would say is a typical west coast surfer/skater. He had this really cool way to him. He was who he was and loved it. Saleh was doing something that sounded amazing. He was half Saudi Arabian, half Moroccan. He was living on the streets of Vancouver for the whole summer and was going to write a book about it. I told him of the journal I was writing, this book. We were chatting for ages about all sorts of things. I got on really well with Ian and Saleh. I spent the next few days with them.

I woke up extra early so I could make the most of the airport. I took my laptop this time so I could use the internet at the airport, if I needed to buy any tickets. I checked online for flights and found the cheapest was a British Airways flight for about £800, it was the same details as the one the lady had quoted me but was a lot cheaper online. I managed to find somebody from American Airlines. This English gentleman who had emigrated to Vancouver a long time ago and now had a very slight accent of his own. He explained exactly what I had, what I could do and what I should do. He was very sympathetic about my whole situation and wished me all the best. What a nice guy. I phoned home again and said that I was going to book the ticket online as I had no other option and it was the cheapest I could find. I tried to barter with British Airways directly, they said that it would always be cheaper online, they offered me a cheaper price than before but still too much. I booked the flight. I now had a huge weight off my shoulders and could actually enjoy the rest of my time in Vancouver. I had now spent two days moping around at the hostel, two days wondering around the airport and now I was free. Thinking about it, I must have been really suspicious spending two days at the airport and not actually doing much but using my laptop and occasionally speaking to some staff. I went back to the hostel and was in a much better mood. Even though in had no money left, I felt good that I had a plan and wouldn't have to worry about it any more.

I woke up early in the morning. Had breakfast before most people were even up, then went straight to the airport. The sky line ride to the airport was cool, you get a view of most of the city and then it seems to just disappear into the distance. Then you get to warehouses and then the airport appears. I don't think I have ever seen so many Chinese people than I did at the airport. I have seen more people in this short time, at the airport, than I have all the times I have been to the China towns in New York City and in London. I spent the whole afternoon the airport, I didn't get a single thing accomplished. I wanted to speak to a representative of American Airlines, they were closed. They were only open if there was a flight and there was no flight. I spoke to somebody from British Airways who I knew were an affiliated company of American Airlines and asked if I could use the vouchers on one of their flights. The lady explained that the voucher can only be used on either American Airline flights, or a code share flight. The code share flights are ones that other companies operate for American Airlines. Unfortunately for me, there were American Airlines flights to London from Vancouver so I couldn't use British Airways. She offered me a ticket but it was far too much money, it was over £1000. The American Airlines flights stopped off and Dallas so I definitely couldn't take them. I was at a loss. I didn't know what to do. I called my mother and father back in England to explain the situation, like always, rather than sympathising they were angry. I didn't care really, I hadn't done anything wrong and there wasn't anything I could do to resolve the situation. I went back to the hostel. It was now evening now. I ate some pasta, played some cards with the people in the common area, I had some beers there, then went out to town with Jack Chris and some other guys, it was their last night after all. This girls from New York had just arrived, she was sleeping in the bed under Chris. She had already started drinking vodka. She claimed she could handle her drink but I beg to differ. I noticed in the toilet after she had been in was full of sick. She had try to disguise this fact but I wasn't having any of it. I never said anything though, didn't want to offend her. Chris and myself were getting ready to go out for a bit and she started chatting to us. We stood around for a bit, then I heard the loudest fart noise ever. At first I thought it was Chris, he me, when we realised it was her, we tried to contain our laughter. It was clear we were both in hysterics inside, also very disgusted. She didn't know us, we didn't know her and she just did a massive fart. The sort that mates do together to try and outdo each other. It was so funny but so wrong at the same time.

Once again, in the morning I found myself in bed. There were half empty and empty cans of PBR all over the room. The recycling bin in the kitchen was overflowing with cans of PBR. There was PBR all over the place. I had to try and sort myself out again. I wasn't even going to consider it without eating something and have a cup of tea. I spent, or should I say wasted the whole day looking for possible flights back to England. Cancelling my previous flights and losing all the money, trying to get a refund but I couldn't even get a voucher. I tried to get a refund on the bus, no luck. I managed to cancel the hostel and only lost a small deposit. Still, all that money and time gone to waste. Even if I could go to the states now, I barely had enough money to do anything other than eat rice and drink tap water. I found some flights but wanted to see if I could use a voucher I had for an American Airlines flight I didn't take. I couldn't use it online and all of the American Airlines flights had a connection in the states, I wasn't allowed to do that. I toyed with the idea of Jack and Chris smuggling me back into California in there car when they went back in a couple of days. I don't know, I had no idea what to do and how to do it. I was lost in another country with no clue. Thank goodness I was somewhere that spoke English. It was getting late so I couldn't go out and do anything about it today. I looked online to see if American Airlines had any offices in Vancouver, they didn't, all they had was at the airport. I would have to go to the airport tomorrow. So far all I have done in Vancouver is worry about things during the day and get really pissed at night. What a life eh? I didn't get too drunk tonight. I went to the Cambie bar downstairs, had some poutine and quite a few beers. The poutine here was nicer than the one in Quebec City. Plus the portion was about five times the size, I couldn't finish it there was that much. I met some people from the hostel in the bar and stayed there until it closed then went to bed.

The only thing I could think about doing and wanted to do was get absolutely shit faced so that I had no grasp on reality any more. I finished off the beers I didn't drink the night before. Then ran out and quickly went to the shop before it closed at 18.00. I wasn't concerned about eating, like I said all I wanted to do was lose myself and escape from this awful reality. Again, I don't have a clue what happened really that night. All I can clearly remember was shot gunning most of my new twelve that night. To shotgun a beer, you pierce a hole in the bottom or side, put the hole to your mouth, get ready, open the ring pull and down it as quick as you can as it shoots into your mouth. The way Jack and Chris opened the cans was by pressing their thumb nail on the side and gently applying pressure, the cans are so weak they give and your thumb makes a clean hole in the side. I had a go like this but couldn't do it. Maybe it was because I had just recently cut my finger nails too short.

What a messy night and I can barely remember it, must have been good for that. If I made a fool of myself in any way I don't care as I didn't have a clue what I was doing. I had to get on with important things now. Unfortunately a lot of my time in Vancouver was spent trying to find out what was going on about my visa application. I got a phone card just so I could make some phone calls back home, to Mikes, anywhere. After I had some fried breakfast in the café and another cup of Chai, I retired to the common area. I checked my emails but hadn't received any word. I was getting really anxious about what was going on. I went and called Jim to see if he had received word. The good news was he had, but it wasn't good news. It was far from good news, it was about as bad as it could ever have been. I had been denied again. This now meant that current visa waiver I was using had become invalid. I was now no longer allowed to go into the states unless I have an interview at the US embassy in London, England. What a fucking nightmare. Its like Barbados but worse and not as bad at the same time. I tried to see if there was anything I could possibly do. When Jim said the reason why I had been denied I sort of pissed myself in laughter. It had been because in their opinion I didn't have strong enough ties to the UK. I didn't have a house, yeah right. I didn't have family, of course not. I didn't have a job, well, I lied about that one but there is no way they could ever know. I have an English bank account, a UK driving licence, well, provisional but still. I don't understand how I don't have strong enough ties to the UK, literally my life is in the UK, fucking stupid retards saying something like that. It doesn't matter that I had planned to meet somebody in the states the travel along the whole west coast. It didn't matter that I had a hostel booked, a bus booked, a return flight to England booked. It didn't matter that I had all these plans and couldn't do anything about them. I had spent all this money trying to get the visa, all this money on things in the states that I wouldn't get a chance to even do. Its not bad enough the fact that I got deported from Barbados, spent a big chunk of my budget getting back to England then flying out to Cuba and carrying on. I'm now no longer allowed into the states unless I get a visa and have interviews, and because I have been denied it will make the whole application process much harder. What a fucking joke. Why do I have such bad luck?

That night there was some zombie festival or something going on across the whole of Vancouver. All the bars and clubs had a zombie fancy dress theme. There was also a huge parade going on through the city centre. I have to say, that Vancouver had a massive fetish scene, also a huge S&M scene, sadomasochism. I was getting quite drunk at the hostel and I think we all started having shots of something, either tequila or vodka, I can't be sure. Most of us went out to this club, I have no idea where it was or what is was really like. All I could remember about it was that it was full of people in fancy dress and I wasn't so felt a bit of a fool. The dance floor was also properly sunk into the ground and the DJ booth was high up on the wall. I was really pissed, continued to drink. I don't know what was going on until I woke up the next morning in my bed.

I checked in, went up to my room and found my bed. A had a big single, nearly a double on the bottom bunk. It suited me nicely, I could easily stumble into bed after a night of heavy drinking. I put my valuable things in the locker, went into the common area and had a sit down on the sofa. Just as I was walking through the doors, a couple of American guys did too. It seemed as if I was following them as we all ended up in the same room. The room was actually quite strange though, it was like one big room with only a double bunk, and a bathroom in the corner. This is the bit that had the lockers in, then there was another room attached with no wall in between, this is the room that I was in. It was all one room but seemed to be divided into two. The American guys were on skateboards and went off for a bit. They came back with some food and started cooking up some soup in a pressure cooker. I was amazed at how quickly you can boil potatoes in a pressure cooker. It shortened the boiling time to only a few minute, the soup was completely made within half an hour of chopping up the vegetables and Kabinosi sausage. It smelt wonderful and put my plain old pasta with tomato sauce to shame. I couldn't be bothered to do anything proper so just cooked up some pasta. I had enquired about the cheapest shop to by alcohol from, and found out there were two shops opposite each other. One was expensive and the other was a little bit cheaper. I can't exactly say cheap because of this bloody minimum alcohol pricing in Canada. In the common area, there was this elder Australian lady, Judy. She was talking about some really random things she had seen and done. She told stories of all these adventures around the world. To be honest I was quite jealous of the life she had been describing. She seemed really interesting and had lived her life to the full. We all sat around chatting, her, Jack and Chris the American guys and myself. There were some others in there too. They joined in and we all started drinking. I had bought a twelve of PBR, simply because it is cheap even though most of the time it leads to the shits. A little while on this English guy emerged, he was in my room and had been asleep when I arrived. I think he had just woken up by this point. We were all hanging around and chatting.

Vancouver

To be honest the bus station was so far from the city centre and the coast that I could barely see anything of any interest. I spoke to some people on the bus and they told where I needed to go. I had to get the sky train to some place then get off and walk a little bit and I should come out near my hostel. I had booked a few nights in the Cambie hostel. It had great reviews and was the most recommended in Vancouver. It was in an area called Gastown which I had been told was the place to be, trendy bars. restaurants and clubs. I had to get there first. I got he sky train, went to the station I was told and then I hit a brick wall. I had completely forgotten the directions. I walked off in any way in the hope that it was the right direction. It was really early and nobody was about. The schedule said the bus would arrive at about 8.00am but it wasn't even 7.00am yet. I had a feeling I might be going the wrong way but had no real way of knowing. I walked down this street for a long time. All along the sides were bars, pubs and concert venues. It actually looked very much like Camden in London, England. I saw a hostel and decided to go in an ask. I was in the complete opposite end of town. I had to walk all the way I had just came, about half an hour of walking with my bags. Then go about the same distance still the other way. Bloody hell, I had to go so far and I was desperate for a shower. When I finally got to the hostel, it was far too early to check in, I would have to wait until 13/14.00. I asked them if I could drop off my bags and if possible I could use the shower. They obliged and I was given a temporary key, put my luggage in a locker, had my shower and then went back down. They gave me a voucher to have free breakfast in the adjacent café, so I did. They didn't have any Earl Grey tea which was what I was really craving, do I settled with a Chai tea, and a banana muffin. It was tasty and free and there were lots of people to chat to in the café. I had my laptop, plugged in and charging. Access to the internet, I would be fine until check in time.

A couple of hours later I could see the Rocky mountains on the horizon. We were getting nearer and nearer. The sun was setting so I was in a rush to get there so I could get a great photograph of the sun setting behind the mountains. Lucky for me we got there just in time. I didn't quite get the shots I wanted as I was only using the camera on my phone but I saw it. The memories I had of the great lakes have just been pushed back a bit and replaced by this, the Rocky Mountains. I was just staring and staring out of all the windows looking at the mountains. I had been in the Andes but I didn't go right through them like I was now. It eventually got too dark to see anything any more so I had a little nap. We were now in British Columbia, the last of the provinces on the trip. The next time I looked out the window, we were in these towns that all looked like ski lodges. We had arrived at this place called Banff. It is a small town in Banff national park. I have heard about this place as being a ski resort in the winter months. It was very cool, these log cabins everywhere and chalets. It wasn't even a stop on the list, just a get on/off stop. We were soon off. It was pitch black outside so I called it a night. In the morning I would be in Vancouver. I went to bed with a smile and it stayed on my face the whole night. I could see signs for Vancouver on the roads now, I knew we must have been very close. It was really cloudy though, I was only wearing shorts and was expecting sun. the bus did the last few stops and then it was Vancouver.

When I woke up, we had left the great lakes and were now into the prairies. I had no idea what to expect from them, all I had been told was that there is endless nothingness as far as the eye can see. It was beautiful in its own right, not as memorable as the mist on the great lakes, or the view from Machu Picchu but was still fantastic to look at. It reminded me so much of the English countryside, relatively flat with a patchwork of farms all over the place. The only major difference here was that the farms were huge, I'm sure a some of which were the size of some big towns in England. Imagine having to work on something so large. Again, if you see it on a map, it looks amazing, like a massive piece of soldiers camouflage. There seems to be every different shade of green you could ever dream of. The prairies were the big fat chunk in the middles, I don't think it will take as long to get through as the lakes and the rocky mountains, as its flat and the road is pretty straight the whole way. There isn't much I can say about them really, they were just big, pretty flat farms. Don't get me wrong, they are impressive in their own right but I have seen farms all around so its not that big a deal to me. We had quickly stopped off in a place called 'Swift Current' to have some food and drink. I got a teen combo burger at A&W, it was very tasty and was the first piece of food I had bought on the bus ride. I was already into my third province on this bus ride, I was about to pull into the fourth. I had started in Ontario, then went through Manitoba, then Saskatchewan and now I was entering Alberta. The first major stop in Alberta was the funniest name of all, 'Medicine Hat'. It had only taken two days to get this far. Apparently the biggest tepee in the world is in Medicine hat. I was kind of hoping we would drive past it so I could marvel at it, we didn't. This journey had been great to take my mind of the fact that I probably wouldn't be allowed back into the states, I hadn't thought about it once. I don't remember exactly where it happened but we left somebody behind. We were on one of the smaller stops near Calgary. Everybody got off the bus, to have a piss, take a shit, have a smoke, eat some food, whatever you do when you have about fifteen minutes to kill. This one older guy who was part of the group at the back of the bus. Nobody quite noticed he hadn't got back on yet. When we did, we saw his jacket still sitting on his seat. One of them went to the front, told the driver, we had only driven off about fifty metres down the road, we could easily have gone back or waited a little but the driver insisted on continuing. We left him behind. All we have of him now is his worn leather jacket. Calgary here were come, it was our last major stop on the route to Vancouver and the last stop in Alberta. It was all British Columbia from here on. I had made an acquaintance with somebody from Calgary, he said if I was ever about to get in contact with him. I wasn't stopping, just however long the bus was there for, then I would be off. For this reason I didn't bother getting in touch with him. Calgary didn't look too bad, I didn't know what it would be like. There were a few jazz clubs and lots of bars and restaurants. The stopover was only an hour so I didn't have any time to venture out and explore the city, plus I didn't want to be left behind. We left Calgary and in the morning I would be in Vancouver, it put a smile on my face knowing this.

When the bus rolled into Thunder Bay, the first of the weird names, I could see the lake just got even bigger. To put it into perspective, it had taken over twelve hours of near continuous driving to get from Sudbury to Thunder Bay. If you ever get the chance to look at the area around the great lakes on a map, do. It is unbelievable how many lakes there actually are. It looks like a blue speckled green blanket or something, with the odd massive lake. These smaller lakes continued all the way to Winnipeg. Another ten hours later. During the trip I had been chatting to some people on the bus, they had formed a sort of group near the back of the bus. I was on the edge of this group, I liked be near enough to get involved but far enough out to turn around and have a little nap here and there. When we got off in Winnipeg, we had the over four hour stop to take. What to do in this time. One thing is for sure, I really fancy a beer or three. The bus station is weirdly placed in the airport terminal. To get there, the bus had to drive around and through the airport. I noticed a couple of bars on the way through, there were some hotel bars and a sports bar. The sports bar was the nearest. The back of the bus group went to the bar too, we all met in there. It gave a chance to charge my laptop, check emails and the like and most importantly have some beer. A couple of beers down I joined in a few games of pool. Then as the beer kept coming, it was shortly followed up with tequila. I only had one shot but the other were having shot after shot. The time to get back on the bus was drawing near. We finished our game, and beer, then went back to the bus station. We had to be in the queue a bit earlier here as they had a very strict security protocol. Some time recently, a mad man went on this bus route from Winnipeg to Vancouver and along the journey they had slit somebody's throat. They smuggled a machete on the bus and for some unknown reason killed their neighbour. After hearing this, it jogged my memory of somebody in Montreal telling me this story. I didn't believe it, I thought they were taking the piss but apparently not, hence the heightened security. It was now 23.00 on the second day of the journey, thirty six hours in. We got back on the bus and sat in our seats. It was late, I was tired and went to sleep.

I love long journeys, especially ones over land where you have space to move around and occasionally can get off for some fresh air. If things gets boring I tend to just sleep. When I got my ticket from the ticket office, I checked it over. The ticket cost me a total of $188.32 for the cheapest Greyhound service. I was curious as to how many stops we would be having going such a long distance, so I looked at the itinerary. There were nineteen stops, not including the ones where it is simply for people to get on and/or off. The short layovers were of fifteen minutes, some of the longer ones stretched to over an hour and a half. The stopover in Winnipeg was for four hours and forty minutes. Very long indeed, don't know how I would be able to handle it after being on a bus for two days. Some of the place names made me laugh, there was a place called 'Thunder Bay' and another called 'Swift Current' and the best has to be a place called 'Medicine Hat'. I was very curious as to what these places would actually be like. The bus itself was actually a coach, not a bus. It was quite an old coach, not like the one I took in the states, it was looking doubtful that there would actually be power on it, let alone WiFi. The coach even had one of those massive trailers attached, there must have been a shed load of luggage to need one of those. I got on the bus, took my seat, away from the toilet enough as not to get a whiff of it every time the door opened. After all, I was going to be on this bus for three days and I didn't want the smell of piss and shit wafted all over me. We were off, bye bye Toronto, hello open road. It wasn't until a few hours when we were finally out of the city and suburbs and onto the open road. In those hours all I could see out of the windows were house, big buildings and the free way. There wasn't much going on so I watched a film on my laptop whilst it still had some battery life in it. Once my battery had run out, I had no choice but to read, listen to music and sleep. It was gradually getting darker as the sun started to set. In the distance I could see what looked like the beginnings of the great lakes. The ones I could see weren't great in any way, they were tiny but at least they were beautiful to look at. It was a sign that we were now heading right into the great lakes. Sudbury was the first main stop and it was where I could see the lakes beginning. Every way I looked out of the windows I could see lake after lake after lake, everywhere. On a map, the whole area surrounding Toronto is full of lakes, on the ground they can't be seen as easy. Once we headed out of Sudbury towards the next stops, I could see on my left a massive lake, I mean really big, so big that you can't see any edges apart from the one closest to you. It was a hell of a lot bigger than Lake Titicaca that I went to in Bolivia/Peru. The lake turned out to be Lake Superior, the largest lake in the world. That would explain why it looked so big, it was! It was getting to dark to see anything now, all I could see were the lights of oncoming cars every so often. I slept. When I woke up in the morning I had one of the best sights that I have ever seen. As the sun began to come up, all round was mist. There was this really dense fog floating up form the lakes, it was utterly breathtaking. It had very eerie yet sublimely beautiful feel to it. I will have this image of waking up in the mists of the great lakes forever. I didn't take any photographs for some reason, which was silly of me as I have no visual documentation of it. All I have are my memories permanently locked in the unbreakable safe of my mind, and what I can write about it. I would loved to have just stayed there all day watching the sun slowly dissipate the mist.

The next morning, I packed all my things. Bev had made me some sandwiches and a large packed lunch, hopefully to see me through till I arrived in Vancouver. There was quite a lot in it, it was in a big Coors cool bag. Kevin was due to get his laser eye surgery today and wasn't allowed to drive himself so Bev would drop him off, then take me to the bus station, then return to pick him up once he was all done. I bought Jim and Bev a book about how to grow all sorts of fruits and vegetables in an allotment plot. It was a hefty hardback book and I had to make sure that it had a section on growing asparagus, Jim wasn't too sure how to grow it and I thought it would be a nice gesture. I gave them a card with the book and said thank you as many times as possible. I was so grateful for them putting me up for so long. I had such a great time seeing them all again. I thanked Jim for trying to help me out with the visa application. I wrote all this in the card and said it to Bev. We drove Kevin to the clinic, waited until he was all signed in. we said goodbye to each other, I wished him all the luck with his music career and with the operation. Bev drove me to the bus station, it was in down town Toronto, Bev knew the location as she explained, having to bring the boys when they went to and from London, not England, Ontario. I was early but it was fine, its always better to be early than late. I was excited about this mammoth journey across nearly a whole continent. It is over 2000 miles, but that is as the crow flies, the real life route weaves in and out between the great lakes, the up, around and through the rocky mountains. So it would be much longer than that. I had a book to read, I had my lap top with films on it. I only hoped the bus had power points for me to plug it in otherwise I would only be able to watch one short film.

Mike went to bed as soon as we got back, he had work in the morning. We said our goodbyes, I told him he has to come to visit in England soon, then he went to bed. I just spent the last night in my routine then went to bed so I could get up early and pack my things.

After the fighting was over, the lights came on and it was time to leave. On our way to the station we took a detour via the Toronto FC stadium. They had a game, it was only a few minutes into the second half. We could see the score, it was 2-0 to Toronto FC, they play in the MLS, the major league soccer league, the US equivalent to the Barclays premier league. The stadium wasn't that full and as it was the second half we tried to get in. the security and stewards wouldn't let us in. we stood outside with a clear view of the big screen. We couldn't see the game live but we could watch it on the screen and here all the chants as if we were inside the stadium. The stadium looks like it has just been put together temporarily, almost like a giant piece of scaffolding that sways and creaks when the fans jump around. We left after about the eightieth minute to avoid the rush. Somehow we nearly got into a fight at the station waiting for the train. Some guy walked right to the end of the platform, took a piss and as he was walking back started staring at us then shouted something. Of course in our drunken states we shouted back and he looked as though he was about to flip then walked off. He was acting like his team had just lost, they hadn't, they had just won 2-0. What an arsehole. The train took us to the station by the bus stop that took us back to Markham. I was happy, I had a good night to celebrate my last night in Toronto. Thank you boys.

As soon as the knights came out, we let out the biggest of cheers. I even stood up and cheered. I could feel my voice started to go from all this cheering. I didn't mind in the slightest, it was all in the name of fun, and we were having bundles of it. The knights were all in there respective places in front of their loyal supports. Oh boy were we loyal, we were even heckling all the rival knights, the only one that matters was the blue knight. Go blue knight. The king was saying some crap, and his ass licking assistant guy was doing all the main speaking. The games had commenced. They started with riding the horse around, then charging at a target and striking the bulls eye with a spear. Then they all came out and charged towards a hoop to catch it on the end of their joust. The only knight to miss was the red night. Unlucky mate, you fool. Of course the blue knight made it look the best, when he succeed, we stood and gave an almighty cheer. The kings bum licker said some more, and called two knights out one at a time. Here it was, the moment I had been waiting for. The duel. The rival knights trotted around the arena. When they got to us we booed them and shouted insults. Then they took their places. They stared into each others eyes then charged. Crash! Bang! Wollop! One of the knights went down. Victory to the one still on his horse. When I went to the toilet earlier I had missed an integral part of the story, yeah right. The kings son had been kidnapped by the rival kingdoms army. The winner of the jousting tournament would be fighting to help free the prince. The blue knight had his turn. He came out with such grace and form, there was no way that he could every lose. He won of course, took his opponent down in the swiftest of blows, right into the shoulder. We cheered so long and so hard, just to make all the other supports fear for their knight. We weren't the only people in our area cheering and jeering, we managed to get the people seated in front of us to join in. The knights were dropping like birds diving to catch fish. All that mattered to us was that the blue knight was still in it. The second round was upon us. No blue knight yet, so boo's all round. The duels had gotten more intense, rather than the knight just falling and being out, they continued to battle on the floor. It went from a short and sweet single hitter, to a fall out sword fight. The blue knight was phenomenal, he swooped in and went right for the kill, his opponent blocked it. Boo, then he hit back, the blue knight was downed. Oh no, stab. He's gone. Our blue knight, down and out. We were banging our cups and shouting abuse at everybody. In the spirit of things, not generally being rude. How could such a great knight be beaten. The MC even commended us on how well we were cheering, all this and our knight didn't win. I was outraged. I didn't want to watch any more. I got so into cheering the blue knight that I gave up on the rest. It felt like watching Arsenal lose. All that came out of my tired and scratchy throat were Boo's and jeers, I was not pleased. Of course the prince was saved, he fought a great fight but I wasn't into it any more.

We were assigned to the blue knight and would sit in the blue area. I wanted yellow as it was my favourite colour, I don't really have one any more but it was yellow. Blue would do though, its better than green, at least. Once inside the main area, we could purchase our alcohol and buy souvenirs and have some pictures taken, whatever you do in a place like this. We had hit a roadblock with the alcohol. They no longer did the cheap refills, they explained they had literally changed a couple of weeks before. Mike and Kevin were adamant on having this cheap beer. They asked around, no luck and demanded to speak to the bar manager. After a few stern words then some polite words, the bar manager gave us an offer we couldn't refuse. She said she would give us a new glass, even though she was in no way responsible for the breakage, we got a new one. She also said we could have on beer for free. We thought that was fair enough, then she asked each of us what beer we wanted. We all got a free beer. I feel like a bit of an idiot because I maybe could have got a big glass and had s better souvenir than a crap plastic glass. It was free so I wasn't complaining. The beer went down so well, you can never fault free beer, even it tastes awful. We noticed that every time you order a beer, they give you a new plastic cup. Seems a bit silly to me. We had a couple of beers each, before we went into the arena. We were starting to amass a large collection of these plastic cups. We had four already and the evening had just begun. We had our photo taken while we were standing around, none of us would ever buy it. We asked the lady kindly if we could take a photo of our photo, she laughed and let us. I have this photo and it will always remind me of how great the night was. We were called into the arena, as we went in I could see how large it was. There was an auditorium type seating arrangement around this big sand covered area where the knights duel and the horses run around. There was bar in the main arena bit so we didn't have to keep going back and forth, plus you get bench service, I would say table but you are seated on these long benches. The only downside was that the toilet was all the way back in the other room about a two minute walk away, not what you want when you should be cheering on your knight. I had to take a piss so I decided to order a beer on the way back, I had ordered one off the waiter, it didn't matter, I would drink both. The waitresses are referred to as 'wenches', the male ones don't seem to have a name so we named ours 'mench', combining male and wench. He seemed to enjoy being called a mench, he said in all his time working there, he had never been referred to as a mench. He read us the menu. It was an onion soup and garlic bread for starter, quite a bit mug of soup. The main was half a baby dragon (chicken) some potatoes and sausages and maybe some other vegetables. The desert was a cake of sorts. I liked our mench, he really didn't care for his job, he was the only one we came across the didn't speak with the stupid medieval style accent. We managed to procure some more food, free of charge. They really liked us in here.

It was my last night in Toronto, I was either drowning my sorrows or celebrating, maybe both. We had booked three tickets to go to Medieval Times the night before, I was actually getting to go there. There was a game on the companies website, where if you manage to get the weeks top score, you get a free ticket, or free tickets to go to your local Medieval Times. We tried and tried for a couple of days but no such luck, we just couldn't get there. So we had our tickets now and we going to go this evening. My last night was going to end with the most joyous of laughter. Mike was working but would meet us near closer to the time. It was left for me and Kevin to take in the glasses. I wrapped them rather crudely in plastic bags, not that it would do anything, just a little less conspicuous. We trekked all the way, got a bus, got a train, then disaster struck. Somehow the glass Kevin was carrying shattered. He claimed he didn't do anything but I couldn't make sense, how could quite a thick, solid glass just shatter. He must have accidentally knocked it into something. Oh well, we now only had one glass. We would now have to buy one or share to make the most of the cheap refills. When we got to our destination, we saw Mike and explained the glass situation. I was proud of myself that the one I was carrying hadn't broke. They thought of an idea to try and talk there way into getting a new glass free of charge. The Medieval Times building is in the Exhibition area, its where they have this yearly exhibition with an almost circus feel to it. The exhibition starts next weekend so unfortunately I will be missing out. We walked around the area for a bit, we were still early as the doors weren't opening for another half and hour. When it got closer to the time we went to the doors, as soon as we got there, they opened and we went inside. All over the walls were these really tacky knights, shields and coats of arms. It all looked very silly but fun at the same time. The staff were dressed as a mixture of peasant, knight obviously, entertainers and there was even a king. It was so childish but I didn't care any more, I was here to have some fun.

I finally got all the documents sorted out and faxed off to the consulate, all I had to do now was wait. I was feeling very pessimistic about it, I pretty much already knew that it was going to be denied again. There was an ounce of me that still had belief that, you know what, maybe I will get the visa after all. If it wasn't for that little bit of me, I would have probably gone back home as soon as I could have to avoid spending/wasting more money. I really wanted to do the drive from Toronto to Vancouver so I stuck it out, plus I could always get the most pleasant of surprises. I had the bus booked now any way so I would have just wasted another $180. The whole time I had been staying with Mike, he hadn't stopped going on about this place called 'Medieval Times'. It is a restaurant that had a medieval theme and has the added entertainment bonus of knights jousting and sword fighting in the middle of the arena. There are even horses galloping around in there, its complete and utter madness. Another selling point for me were the size of the glasses and apparently they did refills of the said glasses for only $7, that's about two pints for the price of just over one in a pub. Mike had two of these glasses. I really wanted to go. I wanted to go even more after we all watched 'The Cable Guy'. The Jim Carey film, there is a scene in it where he takes his 'friend' to Medieval Times to help take his mind off his recent break up. This is one of the greatest comedy moments in any film. I remember seeing it a long time ago but never knew what or where it was. All I knew was that after seeing the film again, we had to go. Before I left them we would go.

Jim gave me my ticket and we all went in, through the gate, up the many stairs and to our seats. The view from the seats was amazing, not quite as good as being on the front row but it gave a better perspective of the whole field. Not much had changed since my last visit, apart from the fact that the stadium never fills up so they close off certain areas now. Poor Kevin and Mike had a problem seat. It seemed that the support strut in the middle had snapped or something, so both seats tilted into each other. The were pretty much leaning on each other and using a lot of effort just sitting up right. Due to this we shifted along a few seats, keeping an open eye out in case the possible ticket holders of that seat arrived. They never came. The available seats in the stadium started to fill up. The game was about to get under way, the players were coming out onto the field. There was this strange guy behind us announcing all the players to himself, not as they came out, he was calling out the full Blue Jays roster. Apparently he was a little bit special. He would call all the players out one by one. In a very special way, for example when Jose Bautista came out, he shouted 'Hi Jose Baustista (little pause) Jo-Se!'. The thing was he did this for every single player, not just the ones on the field. It was hard to contain my laughter but I did as not to offend the guy. The memory of that special guy will live on forever. The commentators started announcing the players, properly. The game was only minutes from starting. As with most American sports, they have to have bloody advertisement breaks all the time, whenever there is a chance to slip in a quick commercial, they do. The game started badly, the pitcher was terrible, the Red Sox were getting nearly all hits, some doubles and the annoying home run. They are great, but not when its the opposition team. The game just went from bad to worse, we were being torn apart. Worse still, Jose Bautista didn't even get a home run. By the eighth inning we left, there wasn't really much point sticking around, the Red Sox had already won. We were beaten horrifically, I felt hurt. Mike went back to Jen's after as he had work in the morning. I went back home with Jim and Kevin. Then guess what, I watched the food network.

The day came by so Mike, Kevin and myself went down town early in order to make the most of the day. It may sound like I haven't done that much in Toronto but its because I have been here before. We went to the Royal Ontario Museum or ROM for short. Mike and Kevin were going on about the place having loads of dinosaur skeletons. From what I can remember, the only ones I have seen were at the Natural History Museum in London, England and in the Museum of Natural History in New York City, USA. I was in the mood for walking around slowly looking at these massive skeletons of animals that previously ruled this planet. Plus the museum was free today. The best thing in there was this massive turtle skeleton, it must have been the size of a tank, maybe bigger, it was enormous. It looked as though it would have been so graceful drifting along the underwater currents and glistening in the sunlight. The totem poles were also pretty cool, some of them were huge towering in the middle of the three storey stair well like an intricately carved erect penis. There was only an hour or so before the game so we went off in the direction of Jen's place. On the way we spotted a McDonalds, I was really, really hungry so went in and ordered two double cheeseburgers. Kevin only got one. We walked around a really picturesque part of the city, I think a lot of the surrounding buildings were part of the main university campus. One of the buildings has huge carved walls and very few windows, doesn't seem like a functional design but it looks great. We walked past the genetic or molecular research lab, something along those lines any ways. Its great for the future of medicine and I think they are planning to build one in London soon. We got to a car park around the corner from Jen's place. What timing it was, as soon as we got there, we saw Jim pulling up in his car and parking it. I couldn't wait to get into the now called 'Rogers Stadium' to watch the game. The last time I was here it was called the 'Sky Dome', not any more.

I only had a few days left in Toronto now, mostly doing the same thing every day. I booked my bus to take me from Toronto to Vancouver, and epic journey across nearly the whole of Canada. It was a three day plus journey and I found it hard controlling my excitement for it. It cost me about $180 which was a hell of a lot cheaper than a plane and would mean I could actually see the changes in landscape from ground level. I was really excited, I would see the great lakes, the prairies and the rocky mountains. Kevin was searching for a car. He had been looking for a while and ruled the search down to a few choices. One of which wasn't too far so I tagged along with him and Bev to go and view this car. I think he must have liked it quite a bit, either that or he was desperate for a car because he snapped it up. He filled out all the paperwork and was picking it up in a few days. It was a KIA, that isn't an acronym for killed in action, its brand. Somebody had secured some tickets to go and see The Blue Jays play the Boston Red Sox during the week. I was well up for it, I hadn't seen them play in such a long time. I had seen them on TV doing pretty poor but one of their players, Jose Bautista had scored the most home runs so far in the season. He was miles ahead of anyone else. If he got a home run when I was there I would love it.