# BC/AB planning



## sfwilshire (May 4, 2008)

dFirst, I must thank all who have made suggestions here and sent private messages to me. I'm getting into panic mode and have been pouring all afternoon over my notes, guidebooks and the maps. It's going to be a while before I try to plan such a long/complicated trip again. I swear it.

There have been RCI Points nights available every time I looked in Vancouver, until today when I actually tried to book something. I've clearly waited too late, as the first night I need in a hotel at the Vancouver airport June 12 has also been a bit of a challenge. The perfect hotel is booked solid and I've got to stop waffling about the ones that ARE available or we'll be sleeping in the rental car. 

I have a night booked in Victoria June 13 that I got free on a Best Rate Guarantee that I saw on flyertalk. I was pleased to get that.

Here's the itinerary I'm proposing at this point. Will someone please give it a sanity check? Haven't looked for hotels at any of the interim stops, so if you know there are none, that would also be valuable information.

We're leaving Pacific Shores on June 21. Spend the night in Kamloops.

June 22 & 23 - Hotel in or near Jasper. I have the names of a couple recommended by TUGers. Hopefully everything isn't already booked solid. (I really DO have an excuse for waiting this long to plan. Honest ... I do.)

June 24 - July 1, Timeshare in Canmore

July 1 - Hotel around Kelowna or Penticton or Summerland

July 2 & 3 - Hotel in Vancouver if I can find one that won't bankrupt me. Already tried with Marriott and Hilton points and didn't see anything sleeping four. Well, maybe a couple of Marriotts with high parking fees. May resort to those if I don't see anything else interesting. I'm going to call RCI Points tomorrow to see if they see anything I don't see online.

Thanks again for all the past help. I'm sure I'm going to have a million questions as I finalize my plans in the next month.

Sheila


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## Tacoma (May 5, 2008)

Wow that will be a major tour with tons of driving. (At first I missed that you had a timeshare for a week in Canmore so I thought you were nuts! ) Even assuming you prebook the ferry from Nanaimo to Vancouver I can't see you actually accomplishing the crossing in much less than three hours.  THe drive to Kamploops from Vancouver can be done in 3 hours if you drive the Coquihalla but I highly recommend the number 1 as it is much more scenic.  There are also many beautful stops along the way including Hell's Gate. I have never taken the northern route from Kamloops so I can't say how long that will take. At least you have 2 nights in Jasper so you can spend one day enjoying the area since there is lots to do.  You will need the entire day to drive down to Jasper with stops along the way.  DO the snowcoach tour at Athabasca glacier as I'm guessing you've never walked on a glacier before.  I alos highly recommend stopping at Peyto Lake. It's at least a reasonably quick stop. Don't worry about the Lake Louise area you can do that from your week in Canmore.  I'm assuming you have an idea what to do in the Banff area.  Driving back don't go much south of Kelowna (if at all to stay) since just south of Kelowna  is where you catch the Coqahalla again. (Canmore to Kelowna will likely take -8 hours in the summer) THe drive through the Okanagan valley is slow in the sumer and remember July 1st is Canada day so that valley will be totally booked out the weekend before so I would have reservations.  If you're not using points and want a great hotel in Vancouver try the Sylvia hotel.  It's older and has a variety of rooms types and it's location is on ENglish Bay just off Denman? street and can't be beat.  We walked to the ferry to Granville island from there and also rented bikes a few blocks away and cycled around Stanley Park. (actualy only I had to rent a bike we had three with us)  If you tell me how old the kids(?) are I will try to make sugestions for activities not to be missed.  Hope you have unlimited mileage on the car rental.

JOan


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## sfwilshire (May 6, 2008)

Joan,

Thanks for all the great comments. I actually considered a bigger loop with more driving, but thought this one might be enough. Our favorite thing is seeing the marvelous scenery. We have a disabled child, so can't really do any of the hiking. We have to see what we can see from the car.

The kids are 14 and 9. It doesn't look like the 20 and 22 year olds will be going along. I booked timeshare units big enough for them, but that was a year ago.

I'll check out the Sylvia.

Sheila


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## Keitht (May 6, 2008)

Sheila,

Stopping at Peyto Lake was suggested above.  That may be problematic with a disabled child as the walk from the car parks is pretty steep.  It's a few years since we were there so I don't recall if there is disabled parking nearer the viewpoint.


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## sfwilshire (May 6, 2008)

I was SOOOO close to booking my last two nights for this trip. I got a few responses for availability in Jasper. Read reviews on all of them if I could find them. Chose the one most suited to our group. Logged into email to notify the owner and had a message that she had looked at the wrong month and only one of our two nights is available.

At least I'm getting close. I'm sending out more email inquiries and will choose one tomorrow regardless. 

Then I've got to work on the rental car.

After that, I can start doing the fun part of planning our days.

Thanks again for all your help.

Sheila


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## Tacoma (May 7, 2008)

A disabled child definitely means you need to use handicappped parking.  I'm almost certain they have it at Peyto Lake. I don't know about the icefields tour but if your child could be lifted on the bus they might still enjoy it.  ALso Lake Louise, Emerald Lake and Moraine Lake are beautiful and level.  I'm sure you could drive and drop at the upper hot springs in Banff.  As for beautiful scenery you won't be lacking for that.  I'm always annoyed though when my kids barely look out the window.  Have fun.

Joan


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## sfwilshire (May 7, 2008)

Thanks for all the suggestions. My son is fairly mobile, but is not able to take very long walks. He uses a wheelchair when the walking is more than he's capable of, but hiking trails aren't always good for the chair.

Sheila


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## sfwilshire (May 7, 2008)

I found all the info on the transit system. It looks like a daypass would be a great bargain and we could see all of Vancouver.

The only thing I haven't figured out is how long it takes to get from Richmond to downtown this way.

Sheila


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## EvelynK72 (May 10, 2008)

*rooms at University of BC*

Sheila 

It looks like you have things set up already, but I'll post this anyway for others. The University of British Columbia offers year-round accommodations, as well as additional accommodations during the summer months. During the summer, they rent out some of the dorm rooms/suites. We have stayed there several times for conferences and the accommodations are great. Check it out at the following URL:

http://www.ubcconferences.com/accommodation

Not sure though how their prices compare to hotels in Vancouver.

Evelyn


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## Liz Wolf-Spada (May 10, 2008)

I bookmarked that. Thanks.
Liz


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## Carol C (Jun 22, 2008)

That part of Canada is so beautiful; I can't wait to return one day...just hope the customs folks don't keep me an hour for inspection again. That was uncalled for, really.


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## sfwilshire (Jul 5, 2008)

Customs wasn't interested in us at all. The Canadian version of TSA inspected three of our bags closely. Anything metal brought extra attention, including the two sided jigger DH picked up in the free box at the thrift store for DD the sometimes bartender. The inspector played at great length with the little bells we bought (sort of a musical doorbell kinda thing). They also looked closely at DS's Matchbox cars. I didn't realize we had a bottle of Sunscreen in his bag, so that had to go.

The one thing I was worried about, a shed Moose antler that had been painted by an Indian woman, didn't concern them at all. I was very afraid they would call it a weapon, since it weighed a ton and had sharp points (young moose).

Two things got broken in the luggage on the way home, but at least it all made it. On the trip out, all four of our suitcases were lost for a while with the one we needed the most missing for three days. I had stupidly packed my camera charger (because it was in my cosmetic bag) and thought I was going to have to go try to buy one. Luckily the battery held out until the bag finally caught up with us.

What a marvelous trip! My only major disappointment was not seeing the things in Vancouver I had planned. My initial thought was to use public transport, but rain was predicted all day and I thought DH would hit the roof about waiting for it in nasty weather. In fact, the rain held off and it was the traffic that torqued him off. I had to give up most of my plans to keep peace in the family on our very last day in Canada. Maybe we'll go back there someday to catch that Alaskan cruise I want to take.

The only really nasty weather we had was the day we went to Pacific Rim park, so we didn't spend as much time doing things there as we might have in better weather. Otherwise, the weather was good most of the time and warmer than I expected. The only time we put on our jackets was on the glacier tour on the Icefields Parkway. We could have done without them even then and the gloves and caps never came out of the bag.

Sheila


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## IreneLF (Jul 5, 2008)

*Back already?*

Wow that went fast, for me at any rate.

Sorry to hear about lost luggage. It is because of this -- it happened to me three of the last 4 times  I flew - that I vow to NEVER check a bag again. I made it through 2 weeks in UK/Paris with the 21" Barbie suitcase allowed as a carryon  by Brit Air and never regretted it for a minute. A little handwashing made it all work out, and half of what I packed I left there (old socks, PJs sneakers) so as to have room for the souvenirs...
I know it's not always possible to do the one bag carryon,  especially with kids...

Welcome back and I"d love to hear  more about the trip I 'missed' )


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## sfwilshire (Jul 6, 2008)

I've never managed to travel with just a carryon, though I need to learn with all the new baggage rules. We usually have our carryons full of snacks, books and stuff for the kids. DH14 thinks he has to have a full bag of stuff to go to the next town over, let alone survive a 4 1/2 hour flight.

I've also never managed to get all my personal things into the maximum TSA size and just throw it into checked luggage. Regretted that when we arrived with no toothpaste, deodarent or anything. The airline finally authorized $50 for us to buy underwear and essentials, but we spent far more than that and didn't get much.

We left Tennessee in 90 degree weather in short sleeves and DS9 in shorts. We didn't have anything warmer to put on the first night and it was quite chilly. We sat at the Vancouver airport the next morning for an extended period of time until they came up with three of the bags, so we at least had a few clothes. 

I clearly made some rooky errors on our packing, but it all seemed to make sense in the stress of getting ready to leave four days after our previous vacation. The plan was to use only the one bag for the first two nights when we were in transit to Pacific Shores. Naturally, that was the bag that went missing for three days.

We had the nicest view we've ever had (except maybe at Cameron House in Scotland) at Pacific Shores and the absolute worse we've ever had at Elkhorn at the Lodges.

Sheila


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## IreneLF (Jul 6, 2008)

and the absolute worse we've ever had at Elkhorn at the Lodges.

OK:::: what was the view?
Worse than a parking lot or overlooking the garbage collection place?
Inquiring minds need to know!


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## sfwilshire (Jul 6, 2008)

IreneLF said:


> and the absolute worse we've ever had at Elkhorn at the Lodges.
> 
> OK:::: what was the view?
> Worse than a parking lot or overlooking the garbage collection place?
> Inquiring minds need to know!



I'm not sure I even want to get started as just thinking about it raises my blood pressure. I plan to write a detailed complaint to RCI along with a full review for TUG. 

RCI tells me that construction was mentioned in the "urgent info" when I confirmed online. May be true, as I've stayed in other resorts with construction in progress with no major problem. Since I confirmed it more than a year ago, I honestly don't recall and didn't do a print screen that I can find. In this case, the driveway (internal road .... whatever you want to call it) was approx 4' from our living room window and approx 6' from the bedrooms. Our view was of the men and trucks going by all day and piles of construction material on the other side of the driveway. 

We went to the office and ask to be relocated before I even put my purse down. Elkhorn at the Lodges only has a few units in the large complex and the only option they offered was for us to rent a unit from the complex at our own expense. RCI returned my call promptly, but had no other unit to offer me. Their only solution was to return my week and exchange fee and let me find my own rental. Since I didn't have my computer along and there was no free internet, I just couldn't imagine finding anything acceptable over the long Canada weekend, so we had no real option other than to stay.

The first afternoon at quitting time, my husband (who is not a prude in any way) was outraged by the foul language used by the men as they left the job site. Luckily my 9yo was occupied with his cars and not paying attention as far as we know. Also, the area immediately in front of our unit was the designated smoking area and people stood in front of our windows all day talking loudly and smoking. The grass between the patio and the driveway was full of coffee cups, cigarette butts, and other debris.

That evening, every few minutes a sound like a drill going into sheet metal went off. Very, very loud. I thought it was construction continuing, so by the time I called the office, several other units had complained. The management person (who was the only somewhat bright part of our stay .... she did at least try to be helpful ... note that she did NOT work for Elkhorn, where the customer service was the worst I've every encountered) tried with no success apparently to reach someone responsible for the construction site and finally the fire department arrived at 10:45P. They sat directly outside our bedroom windows with the engine running for more than an hour (not that we could have slept anyway with the racket going on). They traced the noise to a valve on a very large propane tank about 25' from our living room. I was pretty nervous about that, but we were assured that if there was physical danger to us, we would be evacuated. In the end, the gas company was called in to do something. The fire dept left just before midnight and the noise stopped about 2AM.

I called the Elkhorn "customer service" rep the next morning and she was the rudest person I've ever spoken with in that sort of situation. She again insisted that my only option was to rent from the complex as they had no vacancies. Since we had a Tuesday - Tuesday week, I ask if we couldn't move to another one of Elkhorn's units when someone checked out. She said that we would be charged a $180 cleaning fee if we did so. I thought that was pretty ridiculous. 

There was no AC in the unit and it was 20 degrees warmer than normal while we were there. Closing the windows was not really an option, and when we tried there was not a significant reduction in the noise level. Crews started arriving at 7. The backup horns were going by 8 every morning. You couldn't even hear the television when they started blaring. The second night, the hammering continued until about 9P. Luckily on Friday and over the weekend, there was less work. Still noise, but not so much nor so late in the day.

Again, to give the one young manager credit, she did try to talk to the crews about the foul language. This apparently just irritated some of them, because the sheetrock delivery truck driver made it a point to shout the F word at the top of his lungs every time he came by and also to blow his airhorn several times. She also had them remove the smoking area sign and that reduced, but did not eliminate the smoking outside the room. She also had the debris removed from the grass. Stuff kept blowing in from the job site all week, however. The dust was so thick on the televisions by the time we left that DS14 wrote notes in the dust warning future guests of what they were breathing in all day.

Even after the construction ends, this will be a miserable place to stay with the driveway so close to the unit and the only view on the "inside" units of other buildings. The units on the outskirts of the resort may have mountain views, but they will also be along side a major highway on both sides. There is no sound proofing between floors. It was one of those places where the people upstairs sounded like they were coming through the floor.

Sorry for the length and I will write a full review later. Beware of this resort in Canmore.

Sheila


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## herindoors911 (Jul 6, 2008)

I hope you weren't caught in the traffic on July 1st!    One of the major bridges was closed down for 6 hours due to a police incident.  (aka a "jumper" who needed to be talked down).

As it was also Canada's Birthday, traffic would have been busier than usual.

Come back another time for longer?

Can you share which resort you stayed in at Canmore?


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## sfwilshire (Jul 7, 2008)

perl said:


> Can you share which resort you stayed in at Canmore?




Happily, and repeatedly. Elkhorn at the Lodges.

No traffic problems on Canada Day. We stayed in Banff until after lunch, then went down through the three natl parks to Kelowna to spend the night. We were too tired to check out the activities there by the time we arrived.

Sheila


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