Invasion of the campers

On Friday, we were supposed to have a show in Penticton, but it got cancelled at the last minute, and we were in Kelowna trying to find something to do for five hours. We decided to go bowling. I got one of my best bowling scores ever (111!) in 5-pin. Did you know that in the States they don't have 5-pin bowling? We ended up going to Vernon to stay with friends of Rhonda and Jeremy's. Jonathan, Reneyah and I were at one house, and after dinner we were discussing what we wanted to do. Of course, the idea of going on a hike came up. As soon as it came out of Reneyah's mouth, the lady we were staying up leaped out of her chair and nearly shouted "Hike? Yeah, let's go on a hike!" She was sooo excited about the prospect of a hike. We headed out with storm clouds coming our way, but we didn't really care. We climbed up the side of a mountain (which the locals call a hill) for about 45 minutes until it started coming down. We got soaked. My shoes still smell. It kept raining as we went home and into the hot tub. Despite a cancelled show, it ended up being a pretty good day.
If you ever go to Vernon, you ABSOLUTELY MUST go to Davison's orchards and buy yourself a pie. And by "yourself" I mean just you. You might not want to share. It is the most unbelievable pie I have had in my entire life. Trust me. You won't regret it.
On Sunday, in Vancouver, we did three shows at two venues in one day. The first one was at a Korean church. At one point, I left the room we were in and walked out to the foyer into a sea of Korean people. I have never before been the only white person in a crowd, and it was kind of an odd feeling. I stuck out like a sore thumb.
That night, Reneyah and I stayed with a Korean family who spoke very limited English. We had a great time watching tapes of a Korean drum ensemble, of which the wife had been a part. She then came out with boxes and got us to try on traditional Korean costumes and play her drum. It was interesting, because we could barely speak to each other, but they were really a blessing to us, and I hope we were to them.
At our next billet's house, Reneyah had a life-size cardboard cutout of Indiana Jones in her room. I decided to steal him, but it was kinda creepy having Harrison Ford standing at the end of my bed. So we left him in the living room.
For the two of us, that was the last time we stayed with billets. Our final night, the church put us up in a hotel. After our last show, the team dropped Reneyah and I off at our hotel room, and we decided to celebrate by going out to eat. Our first night on the road, we stayed in a hotel; our last night on the road, we stayed in a hotel. The next morning, Canada Day, we headed out of Vancouver at 8:30 for 16 hours on the road. We stopped in Cranbrook for dinner at a hilarious restaurant called Perry's. You could tell Perry had been doing it for a long time. And that he really liked boxing. He had a punching bag right by the entrance. We continued on Highway 3 and caught about half of Sparwood's fireworks show. Not bad for a town of 10,000. Later, we had an extensive conversation about the nature and measure of coolness. Rhonda came to the conclusion that touring with Spread the Word is cool.
When we finally arrived in Barons at 1:30, the school was besieged by campers and RVs. We had no idea what was going on. One guy was out with his dog, and was probably really confused as to why we were carrying large suitcases into the school. This morning, it looks like they're having some kind of softball tournament. Why in Barons of all places, I couldn't tell you.
And that is it. No more shows. We're being debriefed, having a cast party, and then being sent our separate ways; Jonathan and Reneyah on the 4th, myself on the 5th. Exactly six months ago, I had just met Jeremy and was on my way to the airport in a strange van to meet Rhonda and (I thought) Jonathan. We have done so much together. More on that later.
See you guys in three days.