End of the Line - Smithers
Written by Joei on July 5, 2010 – 2:25 am -It’s been a long week and I’m glad I arrived safely at my summer destination and looking forward to lots of writing, reading and a little exploring. I have a spectacular view of the Hudson’s Bay Glacier - all I have to do is open my back door and look up - out past the power lines - but nothing is perfect.
I left Kelowna last Tuesday, drove the hundred miles to Kamloops. The book manager recognized me from last year and asked if I wanted to do a signing - and, of course, I said “yes.” She set out a table and chair and the four books that were left on the shelf from last year. I took a bunch out of the back seat of my truck and I was in business. I must confess that I had totally forgotten that this was a holiday weekend and although I spent lots of time sitting and doing nothing I still sold 10 books. Not great but a few coins jingling in my pocket is always a good day. That’s all I can hope for these days. Decided to leave it to one day.
That night I camped in Clinton. There is a VERY cheap and cheerful campground right on the outskirts of town that I found last year. Can’t say much for the campground but the owner (Michael) is a fantastic cook and puts on a barbecue in the evening. For $13.00 I had a gorgeous plateful of ribs along with all the potatoes and gravy, rice and beans that I could eat. I brought my own bottle of wine (since he is not licensed) - had a glass and a half and I was a VERY happy camper. If you’re not a “ribs” person (if such a person exists) you can have chicken or salmon.
I had hoped to do a signing in Williams Lake since I was VERY successful last year but (and here’s where I discovered that it’s a long-weekend holiday) the campground was full. I was told that everything had been booked last year so I ended up parking with a dozen other campers at the Tourist Information Center. I was invited to join 5 other campers (who were on their way to Alaska) for a spaghetti dinner which was absolutely wonderful. Thoroughly enjoyed their company except for one drunken husband who ruined all conversation - he was loud, boorish and unless you were head-to-head with who you were talking to you heard nothing.
When I arrived in Prince George I took a wrong turn and ended up on the road to Vanderhoof. I took that as a sign to continue on since that was the road I wanted. I camped at Dave’s RV Park in Vanderhoof. Spotlessly clean but (and I think this is a sign of the times) almost empty. I went into their clubhouse, laundry and shower room and discovered the latest issue of the RV Times. My story about Victoria, BC was published in that issue. I was told that one of my pictures would be the cover of that issue but that didn’t happen so I was somewhat disappointed. They did a nice job on the story though with lots of sidebars. I’m sure the campground in Victoria where I stayed will be delighted with it.
Saturday was my last day on the road. Halfway to Smithers I ended up with a headache similar to the one I had the day before. It was just enough to annoy and make me was to stay put but I kept driving. About 10 miles past Burns Lake and really out in the boonies I was delighted to see Hossack Road…..now who da thunk. Had I been in a better frame of mind I would have stopped and perhaps met another Hossack but I just kept driving.
In Smithers I stopped for groceries and drove to the campground. I checked in, tried to nap in the hopes of getting rid of the headache but I didn’t do either. It suddenly dawned on me that I hadn’t had a cup of coffee since I got on the road Tuesday. I made a small pot and before I had finished a quarter of the cup my headache was gone - never to return. And who says caffeine isn’t addictive. My next door neighbor was an older man traveling alone. We sat out at the picnic table - he with his scotch and me with my coffee. A pleasant way to spend half an hour - just before the rain came down in buckets.
Well - I have lots of food and I’m perfectly comfortable, for the moment anyway, and I intend to finish writing my mini read on Morocco. Must get back to work now. Joei
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Interviews
Written by Joei on April 10, 2008 – 6:50 pm -RADIO INTERVIEWS:
John Michaels Show - Ontario
Bill Good Show - Vancouver
National Public Radio
RVJoey, Cocoa Beach, Florida - Archives May 25th, 2008 at www.rvtime.net
TELEVISION INTERVIEWS:
Breakfast Television - Vancouver
Living Vancouver with Jennifer Burke
Real Estate in Delta
NEWSPAPER INTERVIEWS:
The Surrey Now
The Surrey Leader
The Vancouver Sun
The Edmonton Journal
RV West Magazine
Niagara This Week (Ontario)
Pelham News (Ontario)
The Tribune (Ontario)
The Hamilton Spectator (Ontario)
The Shoreline Weekly (Texas)
MAGAZINE INTERVIEWS
Senior Living - Vancouver, Canada - September issue
ON-LINE INTERVIEW:
TruckCamper News
PUBLISHED ARTICLES:
Pelican Press Newpaper
West Coast Woman Newspaper
Sarasota Herald Tribune
RV Times
Surrey Arts Council
Author/Publisher/Entertaining Speaker Joei Carlton Hossack can be reached at #414 13860-70th Avenue, Surrey, BC V3W 0S1, Home Phone: (604) 590-1678 Cell (509)570-4966 Washington State.
E-Mail: JoeiCarlton@Hotmail.com
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