Homecoming to Whistler Blackcomb!
Rolling into Vancouver…. ah man… and Toast is hanging out the window, filming, and chanting “we’re not in Kansas anymore!” Although embarrassing, we refrain from suppressing these outbursts, as they help promote afternoon Toast-napping, which is the one time the rest of us get to relax. As familiar sights and coastal rain stream by our windows the bittersweet emotion of the impending end of our Canadian tour is palpable. 
The lovely people at Carter GM have agreed to Dola-sit for the night, which means Gus and Dola will be separated for one of the first times yet. As Gus is catching up with all his Yukon Hybrid siblings, he hardly notices Dola has been unlatched and whisked away to be locked up for the night. Although momentarily disturbed (he loves her like a little sister), Gus takes solace in knowing that his siblings are around to keep tabs on Dola, and to ensure none of those flash flirty Solstices try to make any moves on her…
The next morning is Saturday, and Dave and I set out to Carter GM with Gus to collect Dola for her final media appearance of the trip – at the Showcase Snowboards’ grand opening on West 4th in Kitsilano… As I stepped up to climb – for the first time yet into the front seat of Gus, I was immediately overcome with a feeling of discomfort. I was not, of course, about to take my usual spot in the back-right seat to be chauffeured around by Dave. Even though Michelle wasn’t here the feeling that I was violating her territory did not escape me. I was so used to my ‘zone’ in the back-right side, it was almost like setting foot in a foreign country.
With Toast being the only one to indulge in the previous night’s Halloween festivities, it was a tad disturbing that when he and Michelle rocked up to Showcase that morning he was the one who appeared the most energized. Given how much I blatantly antagonize him and his famous penchant for nocturnal behaviour, I just can’t understand where this seemingly endless and unstoppable supply of energy comes from. He might be a good candidate for gene-research. In some regards.
As we packed up Dola at Showcase that day, departing from our one last ‘exhibition, it was indeed a bitter-sweet mood all-round… Toast was, of course, keeping up his track record of being conveniently MIA during the grunt of packing, and maintained his remarkable skill of reappearing at precisely the moment when we were basically done. Even DD, who was absolutely dying to see his wife, may have shed a wee little tear. Ok – so perhaps it was a tear of happiness - but there was no denying there was emotion in the air.
The final Kokanee party was that night to be held at Darby’s, which lay deep in the heart of Kitsilano. With none of the team having been there before, it was clear that the Hairfarmers knew the place well as they announced it was somewhat of an institution in those parts. “To whom…?” I innocently asked. Quote frankly, the word ‘institution’ felt somewhat too close for comfort at this point of our crazy ride. But, as it turned out, Darby’s was a huge hit – the was bar packed, and the crowd was buzzing. Imagine my surprise when Doug from the Hairfarmers suddenly smiled and handed me a Vegemite sandwich…I sure wasn’t expecting to see a talented didgeridoo player jump up and join them for what was one of the best renditions of ‘Land Down Under’ I have ever heard in its grossly-overplayed lifespan. To say that this set the spirit for the night would be a lie, the spirit was already rocking out. But I suddenly understood what Doug had meant by ‘institution” - this bar exuded an authentic and collective vibe, and I chalked it up as one of our most successful parties yet.
As Toast strutted around that evening and did his thing, Mich and I allowed ourselves to admit Toast certainly had his role in this world… With a few glitches on the side. Yep – at this moment we came to the realization that we might actually miss him. But that moment passed, we snapped back to reality and had another drink, to the tour of course.
As Mich and I lay in our beds the next morning slowly waking up, I finally piped up to announce my state of wake, and that I was seriously anxious by the fact that we had not yet been called by the boys. Michelle concurred, so – for the last time - we picked up the phone to call (a very sprightly) Dave. Next we called Toast and apparently Nocturnal-man had been awake for some time, editing footage for our next vid. Within the half-hour, we grouped downstairs for our final meal together. It’s not a reflective time - I think we’re all finally admitting defeat on the energy front. However, we take comfort in the fact that we are still laughing. We still like each other. And we will never forget this crazy journey.
We went outside to collect our belongings from Gus and I was struck by the home truth of where we had now landed: the inside of Gus had been our universe, but now was transforming into merely a mode of transport. It may have something to do with being in familiar territory and our delirious giddiness fading, but as we all took our places in our trusty steed for one final time, it was apparent that we had finally achieved what it was that we set out to accomplish. And with that, it was time to complete the final leg of this journey: returning Dola to her home - Whistler.
Dola was beaming from window to window, and took pride and comfort in knowing that she was going to be the brightest star on the PEAK 2 PEAK line… She had so many stories to tell her other PEAK 2 PEAK Gondola Sky Cabin buddies, and she was looking forward to having some of the people she had met on our trip come and visit her this winter. She did, however, feel a little thankful that the most amount of time that she would have to spend with anyone was 11 minutes at a time – if they were anything like the crazy group she had just called family for the past two weeks more than 11 minutes might be a little much. That said, they had managed to get her home safely. And there was one undeniable truth to this whole crazy ride… no other gondola would ever experience what she had experienced, or see what she had seen or laughed as hard as she has laughed. And shucks – from the bottom of her little-red gondola-heart, she had become as attached to her team of human-keepers – as they had to her.
