gay friend

Wow! It’s been fun to hear how many of you related to the Sea To Sky Highway, Jane’s favourite drive (Chapter 3). It’s an awesome drive from Horseshoe Bay, just north of Vancouver, along the coast and then carved out of the steep cliffs overlooking the always breathtakingly beautiful Howe Sound, up past the in-your-face monolith The Chief in Squamish, to the abundant pleasures of Whistler and beyond to the open valley spaces of Pemberton. The Duffey Lake Road takes over from there to Lillooet. It’s all part of Highway 99 and prior to the major improvements for the 2010 Olympics, this section has a checkered history. Fifty years ago it was a two-lane undivided highway with no outside barrier. White-knuckle driving, I well remember! In those days, a number of motorists lost their lives due to inclement weather, poor visibility, speeding, passing slower vehicles, or drunk driving. Local media have called it variously the “Killer Highway”, the “Highway of Death”, and the “Ski-And-Die Highway”. Not infrequent rockslides have also added “Sea-To-Slide Highway”. Negativity aside, this drive is often in the top ten of “beautiful drives you must do” in travel magazines. Click here for photos
I knew when I began my novel that somehow I would work this drive and skiing in Whistler into the story. It’s a passionate part of my history. So I gave those same passions to the character Jane whose zest for life grew from her childhood summers in those spectacular surroundings. Perhaps it was that same zest for life that allowed her to come to terms with her sexuality and recognize who she was with grace and ease. Some might say surprisingly so. I have no doubt it was that same zest for life so appreciated and admired by the rest of The Bridge Club that helped them overcome the shock of her announcement and support her on her journey. Friendship at it’s finest, although not without some hurdles – that’s the women of The Bridge Club.