Maple Leaf Mailbag rock'N roadshow

Staying at the Burrard Inn on Burrard Street. $105 per night. I'm angry because the crew did not make it down from Whistler until 2 pm. We hold a meeting to talk about how we will proceed. I'm responsible for this problem but I'm disappointed because I feel the guys should know better. The idea in Vancouver is to shoot evidence of the upcoming Olympics, the Downtown Lower East Side, an interview with listener Jenny Moss and a hit with Tom skateboarding. After Jenny we head out to the Roxy to blow off some steam. It works well, maybe it's because people are feeling clearer about their roles.

Day 6:
Party at the Roxy seems to have helped morale. Everyone's up early we head to the Hastings skatepark to watch Tom strut his stuff. Some really cool graffiti, some really cool moves, golden ears in the background and guitar smashing. Then it's eight hours by car to Golden. Tom is tired but drives most of the way. We're actually getting along. Blake takes over at Sicamous, the road is dark and windy, Blake hits a wolf just before we get to our destination. Front left damaged. Wolf is dead. Stay at Golden.

Slow start. It's my fault; can't hurry this morning. We leave the vacationers behind and cruise down into the Lower Mainland. There's no view on the Lions Gate bridge as fog has blanketed the city. In the heart of the superstructure of cement, aggregate, and sand, we observe the people enjoying all the amenities of the metropolis. Everyone happy and healthy or are they? One wonders about the forgotten types. How should their problems be addressed? Who's job is it anyway? After the shoot at the Red Cross, we return to our "luxury" hotel on Burrard. The evenings socializing leaves me looking inward..

Day 6:
I need to get out of this hotel room! The mouse droppings on my pillow are a strong signal; it's time to drive east. But where are we going? Before that question could be answered we stop to watch Tommy battle the bowl. He fully commits to the concrete wave; He is rewarded for doing so. We make a final sacrifice then push off, out of the city. We follow the number 1 highway as it twists through British Columbia. Near Golden, driving in the darkness I'm unable to avoid the carnage. The animal is mortally wounded. The effects of the collision are clearly seen by our fractured bumper. Never cry wolf.

A bit of a late start, since nothing's on the books until later in the day in Vancouver. Check out, gas up and we're on the road. Meet up with Ian in Vancouver at our hotel, the Burrard Inn, a suitably basic hotel with a tropical flare, in the heart of the city of blue glass. The courtyard features a palm grove and all the doors of the rooms are painted all the colours of the rainbow. The plan is to head out to the Red Cross building in Burnaby to speak to listener Jenny Moss about her work. It's her last day working at the Red Cross; she's heading down to Costa Rica to head up a community project with her daughter. The interview goes really well, and now everyone at the Red Cross offices will be listening to the MLMB!

Day 6:
The rest of our stay in Vancouver consists of driving around looking for clues of the upcoming Winter Olympics. They're few and far between, but the disparity between the haves and the have-nots walking the streets of this town is something. Finally, before leaving for Alberta, we stop in at a lesser-known Vancouver destination: Hastings Bowl, a skateboard park that quickly sorts out the haves and the have-nots when it comes to on-board ability. The deep concrete pools are impressive enough to look at, but try riding them! It's not easy, certainly not for a guy who's more used to riding off the edges of sidewalks in Montreal. The locals are floating high over the lip, as I struggle to stay out of harm's way. Action sports shots in the bag, it's time to go to Alberta.

Vancouver, and it's so foggy! But warm, so can't complain...Dropped some melted ice cream in the van (strike 3, he's out!)...fantastic hotel, Burard Inn, you feel like you're in Florida with all the palm trees...went shooting at Red Cross, and then in a class of refugees who are learning to spell their names in English...Went dancing on "walking on sunshine"...good times!

Day 6:
Hangover...nice b-roll of Tom doing some skateboarding tricks in a skate pool....destroyed a guitar in a parking lot...On our way to Golden, BC, the bumper of our van destroyed a poor wolf who had the bad idea to cross the road...RIP...Is this bad luck?...Ponderosa Inn, you rock!