How could I have imagined that driving down a California highway in a 67 Volkswagon van, rag top down, singing Stevie Wonder hits, would lead me to a small city on an island in Canada for the past 23 years, creating and operating John's Place Restaurant? Oh yes, I had the experience -- I've been cooking for 30 years, even won a gold medal at the food Olympics, but that's a far cry from running a very busy diner style restaurant with breakfast, lunch and dinner 364 days a year. It sure didn't start out that way, though.