[JONAT-chat] Reflections on my tour participation - Vancouver/Okanagan/Calgary - Long and potentially boring!

[John McEwen]

Hello everyone:

I returned on Wednesday from my participation in the tour.  Using my 
relatively-newly acquired '85 XJ-S Coupe, I drove from Edmonton to 
Vancouver on Thursday, May 20.  The car ran very well and delivered 
an astounding 26 mpg Imperial for the 800 mile trip.  I arrived at my 
friend's home in Vancouver where I spent the night.  Because of the 
long weekend, fuel prices in Vancouver were at a record 99.9 cents 
per litre or roughly $4.50 CAD per imperial gallon.  What fun to be 
running a twelve cylinder Jaguar!!  Friday was a complicated day as I 
had to drive from my friend's home in Kitsilano to the host hotel - 
the Lonsdale Quay Hotel - which is located on the waterfront in North 
Vancouver.  The distance was not long but the drive was very long.

Vancouver traffic is unbelievably slow and congested.  I had not 
visited for a number of years and found the driving challenging - and 
I'm used to pushy, cut-throat driving here in Edmonton.  My XJ-S 
performed admirably and refused to overheat in spite of the many 
opportunities which I gave it.  I kept the air conditioning on and 
moved - bumper to bumper - through the narrow, congested streets.  I 
gained some relief on the bridges which Vancouverites seem to use to 
vent their frustration at the slow speeds.  Each bridge resembled a 
race track where speed limits were ignored and everyone seemed glad 
to reach a rather high speed before braking violently into the 
crowded roads at the end.  I often saw speeds of 100 kph and more 
during these frantic moments.  Naturally, I  moved with the traffic, 
not wanting to be a target or cower behind by out-of-province license 
plate.

After a mere hour and a half of crawling - bridges excepted - I 
reached the hotel and parked in the underground parking which Gregory 
had arranged to be cordoned off for the group.  I met some wonderful 
people and saw some very beautiful cars.  My own car seemed decidedly 
common by comparison.  There were E-Types, a gorgeous 120, several 
beautiful saloons, an XJ-6C and a marvellous late-model XJ-S 
convertible.  Gregory was driving a new X-Type which was very smart 
in its color-changing paint.

The hotel was a revelation as it sits above a large market and opens 
onto a circular pier adjacent to a tugboat operation on one side and 
the Sea Ferry from Vancouver Harbour on the other.  I had a 
marvellous view of downtown Vancouver across the water.

The weather was a bit iffy with heavy rains on Friday evening before 
the ABFM at Vandusen Park to which we were all bound on Saturday 
morning in order to present our JONAT cars to the public.  On 
Saturday morning we took off in a group to make the opening time of 
the ABFM.  Gregory led us across the bridge (3 lanes merging into 
one) and through downtown Vancouver via a continuous run down a back 
alley.  Speed bumps and mid-block intersections provided a rather 
hairy introduction to the big city.  We eventually crossed the 
Burrard Bridge then made out way via West Broadway to Oak Street and 
down to the Vandusen on 37th Avenue.  We were processed quickly and 
made our way to the appointed spot.  Just as we arrived, the rains 
stopped and the day remained fair until it was time to leave.

The ABFM itself was a marvellous display of the finest of British 
cars.  I won't go into too much detail but suffice it to say that the 
Rolls/Bentley display was amazing - as they were the featured cars. 
There must have been nearly 40 cars including a 1912 Silver Ghost 
Boat Tail, resplendent with solid brass acetylene lamps.  It was no 
trailer queen and had been driven to the show.  Beside it was a 
mid-30s Rolls Shooting Brake.  I'd never seen a Rolls Woody before 
and it was quite beautiful.

There was an excellent turnout of Jaguars.  I saw a Mark V, three 
Mark IX, 420G, three Mark Is, a Mark 2, a 420 and a gaggle of later 
saloons.  There were two XK120s (OTS and DHC), and a 120 Coupe plus a 
gorgeous red 150 DHC.  The display of E-Types was awesome and I'm 
sure that there wasn't a single model missed.  In out JONAT section 
there was a large number of cars including several XJ-S, saloons and 
E-Types.

For me, the best part of this show is always the "odd-ball" cars.  I 
come to see the Jensens, Lagondas, Aston Martins etc.  They never 
fail to please and where else can one see such things?  Highlights of 
this group were the 1939 Lagonda V-12 ex-Duke of Windsor, 1936 LG 45, 
1936 Aston Martin close-coupled coupe with cycle front fenders, 
exposed exhaust, and without running boards - perhaps the ultimate 
expression of early '30s "high zoot".  With its extremely long bonnet 
and short tonneau, it looked like the first SS1 would have looked. 
Next to it was parked a large Talbot saloon - probably among the last 
built.  Beside that was one of the great cars of the show - a late 
'30s Singer roadster which was freshly restored.  If ever a car said 
"Bertie and Jeeves" this was it.  It was a truly stunning slice of 
time recaptured.  Fold-down windscreen, cutaway doors, slab tank with 
dual rear-mounted spares.  It was perfect.

I saw Farina Wolseleys, a Riley RME, various Ford Saloons, a Triumph 
Dolomite Sprint, a Jowett Jupiter, a very nice TVR and a gorgeous AC 
Aceca coupe.  With these things to feast the eyes on, I couldn't find 
the time to look at the MGs and Triumphs.  Over in the Aston Martin 
section I saw a DB2/4 and a racing version of the same car.  I looked 
longingly at the engines as my own Lagonda seriously needs one - 
Lagonda having provided the engines for the early post-war Astons.  I 
admired the DB5 Superleggera then spotted the modern Lagonda.  It was 
a real thrill to look at the last of the unique Lagonda cars and 
among the most radical and advanced British cars ever designed.  I 
had no idea that one even existed in Canada.

Back near the JONAT display I met several people with whom I've 
enjoyed regular correspondence on the various Jag-Lovers lists 
including Jerry Liudahl and Doug Dwyer.  It was great being able to 
put a face to a name.  Jerry's Mark 2 was among the outstanding cars 
of the show and it was great to see Doug's early XJ-S.  I also met 
Fezal and enjoyed his enthusiasm and warmth.  He was worn out after 
so many days of driving but he was determined to see it all.

On Sunday morning we met for breakfast then headed to the cars. 
Fezal was there to wish us farewell as he was heading back to LA to 
return to Oz.  We duly pulled out and immediately went the wrong way. 
No matter, we were moving and soon got on route.  We fought heavy 
freeway traffic for miles through and out of Vancouver as we made our 
way east on the Trans-Canada Highway.  One of the great moments was 
seeing a large truck, without its customary trailer, pulled over by 
the police for speeding.  He had pushed everyone out of his way while 
dominating the left lane and speeding tremendously.  He rode about 
three feet off my bumper while I was trying to get around some slow 
traffic.  I followed him and noted that he was clocking in excess of 
130 kph in a 100 zone.  He'll be looking for a new job, I suspect. 
That's a major fine in BC.  We honked and waved as we went by.

Following a side tour up the Frazer Canyon to Hellsgate, we returned 
to Hope and headed up the Hope-Princeton highway to Princeton.  Lots 
of fun was had by all as we sailed into mountain curves in formation. 
Some ot the E-types were 'pressing' through the curves and I was 
pleasantly surprised to see that I could 'press' with the best of 
them in the XJ-S.  We ate lunch in Princeton (actually it was more 
like supper as were running late with traffic and side-trips) plus 
pauses for E-Types to put up their tops as the weather was changing.

We duly arrived in Penticton and most spent a quiet night.  I awoke 
early and walked along the beach with some of my new friends.  We 
walked over to a restaurant for breakfast as a group and following 
that headed out on the first part of our tour.  Our group had now 
swelled to 15 cars with local people joining us, and we were guided 
to a restoration shop run by a young couple in Summerland.  They are 
working on a LHD XK120 Coupe which has been the current owner's car 
since 1960.  It is getting a full restoration in the shop where he 
uses traditional methods including an English wheel and an air hammer 
to achieve success in forming panels from scratch.  Following this, 
we headed up the highway to Kelowna where we stopped at the Mission 
Hill Winery.  This is a huge and somewhat pretentious operation.  We 
sat down for lunch at their outdoor cafe but after a short time were 
hit by a squall with lots of wind and rain.  We retreated to the wine 
tasting/purchase area and after a few glasses decided to press on 
through Kelowna to the Gray Monk Winery with its very beautiful 
hillside location looking out over the lake.

Lunch at the Gray Monk was a pleasure and following this we made our 
way north to Vernon where we stopped for the night.  I was staying 
with a friend but all of us decided to 'run up the hill' to Silver 
Star, the local ski resort and village, for supper.  We dutifully 
made the steep and winding 17 mile climb to find that everything was 
closed.  Heading back down went smoothly and we ended up at Boston 
Pizza for supper.

The following morning, I joined the group at the hotel.  Gregory, who 
was planning to do the entire Okanagan leg, decided that he and 
Darlene would stay on in Vernon for a couple of days as they had 
never really visited before and were quite pleased at what we had 
seen.  We said our goodbyes and headed to Armstrong to visit the 
amazing cheese shop there.  At one time, Armstrong made large 
quantities of excellent cheese in BC and in Alberta, but they were 
bought out by an American firm and disappeared.  The owner of the 
Armstong shop formery was a cheese maker for Armstrong so the 
continued on.  The store is beautiful and the selection vast.  One 
can see the entire cheese making machinery through large windows 
adjacent to the store.

We headed north again and reached Sicamous on Trans-Canada.  At this 
point, we pulled over so that Barry could check his car.  He was 
having problems with a tire rubbing the fender of his Series III 
E-Type.  We checked it and the problem seemed to be a loose wheel 
bearing or inner u-joint.  Barry decided to return home to Vernon and 
left us there.  He had been carrying Jay and I took over for him. 
The rest of us - by now only four cars - carried on through Roger's 
Pass to Revelstoke.  Along the way we stopped at Craigellachie to 
visit the spot where the last spike was driven in the completion of 
the CPR in 1885.  We took Jay with us everywhere and photographed him 
with the huge painting of the driving of the last spike.  Needing 
lunch by this time, we stopped at Three Valley Gap and had a pleasant 
lunch with a view of the rain clouds and snow-covered mountains along 
the lake.  Heading to Roger's Pass we duly passed through the many 
snow sheds and up to the summit.

At the summit, we posed Jay on a huge pile of snow and then moved on 
to Revelstoke where we visited the huge new CPR Museum.  Jay was very 
interested and had his picture taken sitting on the drive rod of a 
giant Mikado class steam engine.  Later he was found in the cutaway 
cab of a diesel with both paws firmly placed on the brake lever.  We 
bought Jay a nice earring here featuring the old logo of the CPR in 
tribute to his following the CPR route from Vancouver to Winnipeg.

We arrived in Golden in time for the first Stanley Cup game.  Jay was 
very interested in the game and although he is a Florida Jaguar, he 
could be heard rooting for the Calgary Flames.  During the game, one 
of the waitresses in the lounge made Jay a Calgary Flames hat with a 
perfect red cowboy had and some felt pen to make a Flames logo.  He 
was wearing it proudly when I last saw him.  We had been joined that 
evening by Steve from Calgary who was planning to travel on the tour 
- although he didn't really explain why he was doing it in a TR6.

In the morning we waited patiently for the Calgary contingent who 
apparently were driving out that morning - rather that stay overnight 
in Golden.  We waited and waited.  I suggested that they wouldn't 
come - hung over - but eventually Craig and Nels (from Edmonton) 
showed up in two saloons and that was it for Calgary
drivers.  I wasn't surprised.  Bob and Ian (who had had their cars 
shipped to Vancouver from Regina and were driving home) were a bit 
confounded, but I suspect that some Calgary people may have joined 
the tour as it passed through the city.  Whether they continued or 
not I don't know.

The six cars finally left Golden and headed east to Field where we 
stopped to buy Park Passes.  I left the tour at this point and headed 
back home to Edmonton, via the Banff-Jasper Parkway and the David 
Thompson Highway.  I had great company and thoroughly enjoyed the 
fellowship.

My car exceeded my wildest expectations.  It averaged 25 mpg Imperial 
for the entire trip.  I travelled well over 4000 km in all and the 
XJ-S used no oil.  It was an impressive testimonial to the previous 
owner and to my friend Bert who did the pre-trip inspection and 
adjustments.  Other than the somewhat uncomfortable driving position, 
the car is definitely a keeper - and I wasn't sure of that until I 
made this trip.

To those of you waiting to start your leg of the journey, have a 
great trip and take a lot of pictures.

John