2011 Ten New Things – Part 2 January 3, 2012

Continuing with the new things I have done this year…

6. Tofino

On the May long weekend Dave and I headed out to Tofino for the first time.  We didn’t do anything exciting while were were there, but we really enjoyed the ferry ride, the drive and the big fireplace in the lounge at the hotel we stayed at.  We explored the town of Tofino (I found a nice little yarn store), ate at a great restaurant called Shelter (try the warm salad, it was amazing!) and walked along trails and the beach to look at surfers and starfish.  It was a really nice, relaxing weekend and we can’t wait to go back again this year.

Tofino in May

7. Going to a NHL Game

Dave is a big Canucks fan, and this year they made it all the way to game 7 of the Stanley Cup.  I went to one regular season game this year with a friend, but Dave was insistant on going to a playoff game to experience the excitement.  We went to see game 3(?) of the San Jose series and it was pretty exciting.  Dave get’s right into the game.  The Canucks blew the Sharks out of the water (ha ha, lame I know), and everyone was happy.  We also got free towels to swing around (not as easy as it looks).  Towel power!

Dave and I at a Canuck playoff game.

Playoffs Canucks vs San Jose SharksDave and I at a Canuck playoff game.Dave and I at a Canuck playoff game.

8. Galiano Wine Festival

My friend Meaghan has a tradition of going to this wine festival on the small Golf Island every year and this year a group of us decided to join her. We walked on the ferry and we were on the island in time for their pancake breakfast and market. While we waiting for the festival to set up in this park we all laid around in the grass soaking in the sun. The festival was great, it was $35 for all you can drink wine. They also had ciders, beer and cheese stands, and the whole time there was finger food being passed out by little old ladies from the area, so you knew that they would be good and you would be forced to stuff yourself whether you liked it or not. How do you say no to grandma? By the end we were all giddy and ready to walk to the ferry in the late afternoon for our ride back. It was a great day and I’m all in for doing it this year again.

Galiano Wine Festival with friends

9. Driving through Algonquin Park in the Fall

Dave and I went back to Ontario to visit his family and mine in October, part of the trip involved renting a car and driving to Petawawa through Algonquin Park. I had never been to the park but know lots of people who have gone for camping and portaging. It was a perfect time to go as the leaves were changing color and the temperature was comfortable. We stopped at lots of nice little places on the way. I remember as a kid my parents taking us to places a couple hours away and they would want to stop and look in little towns. I thought it was the most boring nothing ever. Now I’m totally into it. I guess I’m getting older.

10. Snorkeling (in Grand Cayman)

This just happened last week when I was in Grand Cayman visiting Dave’s mom and step dad.  We had a morning to ourselves and we decided to go to Cemetery Beach so I could go snorkeling for the first time (I had been to the Cayman Islands once on a cruise already). When we got there we went for a run first.  However, about five minutes in we realized that it happened to be the rockiest part of Seven Mile Beach and that Dave had forgot to lock the car doors and his wallet was inside.  Needless to say, we turned around and went back.  Next we got our snorkeling gear on and headed into the water.  We could see out in the water where other snorklers off the boats and in the water. As we worked our way out I noticed that I was getting stung.  It felt like a bee sting, but it was happening over and over again.  Then I noticed that there were little jellyfish in clusters in the water and we were swimming right into them.  Dave was getting stung too, so we turned around and headed back. When we stepped out of the water we were covered in red spots and Dave had even swelled up all over his arm.  However, I did see a stingray and some fish in the coral, but Dave was said it was the worst snorkeling he had ever done.  I would definitly give it another try though…without the jellyfish.

Since our morning was a bit of a comedy of errors, we went to a open beach bar and had a pina colada to make everything better.  This went down smoothly.

There are several other firsts this year, or places I have returned to to spend more than a couple hours in, including Portland, Grand Cayman and Montreal. I also went to a CFL playoff game in Vancouver,finally went to the Festival of Lights at VanDusen Gardens, ate at several new restaurants in Vancouver, had conch fritters in Cayman, ran a 1/2 marathon in Portland and visited several new airports (Washington, Winnipeg, Denver, Cayman, Ottawa, Hawaii, Seattle, etc.) . I think the only thing that I had really wanted to do this year but did not do was create a knitting pattern, but I have resigned myself to be okay with that, I have learned so many new knitting techniques and things about yarn and gauge that I’m okay with just learning right now and becoming better at it, before trying to tackle designing something.

BC Lions playoff game

Next year already has some great adventure set up, the biggest includes a trip to Europe to do the Paris Marathon with Dave and visit my sister in Germany. The plan on this trip is to also visit Spain, but we will see how much we can pack in. It has been 6 years since my last visit and I’m really looking forward to it. So, cheers to a great year past, new adventures and love found, and here is to an amazing 2012 full of new adventures and challenges to come!

2011 Ten New Things – Part 1 December 30, 2011

Almost unbelievably, another year has passed.  I was thinking about the time I have been living in Vancouver, and it has been almost 3 years.  I tried to think back over my time here and I almost couldn’t think of what happened in my second year here.  Of course it happened, but it happened so quickly.

Thinking about this past year, I continue to be surprised how fast things are moving.  I have been dating a lovely man named Dave, who is the love of my life, and no one has made me happier.  I have traveled to Hawaii, the Caribbean, parts of the States, and all over Canada.  I have never spent more time on a plane in one year, but I continue to find it my favourite place to be.  No phones, computers, work, people to talk to, just me and my knitting or reading or catching up on movies.  True time to relax that includes mini servings of pop and pretzels.

Mmm, now with that thought in mind, let’s take a little trip.

2011 The Year of Travel

1. Snowboarding on Mt. Baker

 

Snowboarding at Mt Baker

You can catch up on this experience in my blog from March.  It was something I always wanted to try, but turned out not being something I enjoyed.  However, that said, I think I might try it one more time, in a different location and with better snow conditions and see if that changes my mind.

2. Hawaii

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

 

Hawaii was always on my list of places to see when I moved West and it didn’t disappoint.  It was a great place to visit.  The weather was wonderful, it was easy and safe to get around, and personally not as expensive as everyone says (as long as you do it right). I traveled with three friends and we went to Maui for 5 days and Oahu for 5 days and during this time I has several firsts.

 

3. Surfing

 

Surfing in Maui

 

 

Dylan and I with the Surf Board

Surfing was awesome, I really feel like I found something I would want to continue to learn.  And this is coming from someone who doesn’t care for beaches or water that much.  I had a great ‘dude’ of an instructor that helped me one on one.  The waves were really mild and I got up on my first try.  Being the adventurer that I am and having a teacher that was ready to see what I could do, we tried everything.  I surfed backwards, did my yoga pose and even did a quick handstand while riding a wave.  Everytime I got back to Dylan, he would be like, “I think you could do a triple axle on your board this time.”  Sadly, the photographer that took pictures only took them for the first 45mins of the lesson and not the last part where I was building up the confidence to do all the fun and crazy stuff.  Either way, it was fun.  I think I still have a lot to learn about timing the waves though, but hopefully I can do that on my next try.

 

4. Whalewatching

 

Whale Watching

 

While on Maui we also went whale watching.  It was the end of the season, so there was a chance that we might not see anything, but it turned out to be the best outing that one of our guides had all year.  There was only one whale out, a teenager sized while, but like any good teenager he loved attention and taking risks and he came right up to our boat and swam under and around us.  In the whale watching world, we had been taken hostage by the whale, since you can’t move your boat while a whale is a certain distance from it.  It was a pretty incredible outing, even though it was bloody early in the morning, but it was well worth it.

 

5. Drive a scooter

 

 

Scooter Gang

 

Once we got over to Oahu, we rented scooters for a day and set out to drive around some of the island.  Before we left we asked for helmets and got the strangest looks.  In Hawaii you don’t have to wear helmets on scooters or motorcycles, so the scooter place managed to find two helmets for us to use which we shared.  I can see partially why people wouldn’t want to wear them…it is HOT! 

 

I’m pretty sure we weren’t suppose to go on highways or as far as we went, but our fearless leader Michael led us out anyway.  The sites as we drove along the coast were incredible and the beach we stopped at had perfect sand and a great view of the ocean with surfers and some small little rock islands.  If I remember correctly, there was even a bride and groom getting their pictures done there.

 

To be continued…

Return of Rhett July 20, 2011

2am….Squeals wake me. It sounds like there is a bat trapped in my kitchen.

I rush out of bed only to see that there is nothing visible in the next room. Perhaps it is trapped between my window and the blinds. Slowly I turn the blinds…nothing.

SQUEAL!   SWEAK!

Perhaps it is trapped behind the oven. I hop up on the counter and pier behind….a tail…a trap. But nothing moves.

No sooner do I hope off the counter then out flies a mouse. Twisting and lunging for my bedroom.

Rhett.

He is obviously hurt, but I can’t stop him…but maybe a heavy pot will.

By the time the pot is in my hand Rhett is under my bed. Out of reach. I can see his body go up and down with every breath he takes.

I go back for a broom. Maybe I can poke him out.  By the time I return he is gone. I check every corner of my room. Nothing.

Behind the oven I can still see a tail…there were two.

Nothing to do but go back to bed and hope Rhett can’t climb.

As I slept, I dreamed of drowning two mice and a rabbit in a pail. I don’t know why that rabbit deserved to go, but it did.

Canuck Crazy June 10, 2011

Playoffs game 2 against San Jose

Every year since I moved to Vancouver the Canuck have went to the playoffs. Usually they go out in the first or second round but this year…if you didn’t know this already…they are one game away from winning The Cup. And let’s just say this city is in a tizzy.

The 5th game has been over for about 40mins and there are still cars driving down Main Street blowing their horns, flags waving, with the passengers shouting out the window. Groups of people are gathered on the street corner egging them on and kid’s with cow bells are walking down the sidewalk making noise like crazy. The sound of celebration is continuous.

In a normal year, I get really antsy around playoffs and can’t wait until they are over. It feels like the whole city is sleep deprived. Everyone is jumpy and paranoid about the next win. This season is only slightly different. We are doing well and the celebrations seem endless. Personally I’m exhausted from rushing home or to friends or to the bar for 5pm games. The traffic is terrible as people rush to get downtown and watch the game in the core by the stadium. I want to see a win, and I want to celebrate, but I’ll be happy when it is all over.

I have had some firsts though during this whole craze:
1. I went to my first playoff game in round 3 against San Jose. We won and it was pretty exciting…and expensive. :)
2. I watched Game 3 of the finals in Rogers Arena when there was no one on the ice, just a jumbo screen to yell at.

Don't bug Dana, she has a game to get to.

Monday night I’m heading downtown to watch Game 6 and hopefully celebrate in the streets. I feel like this is going to be a bit of a healing event for me. If we win, it will make up for not being downtown during the final game of the Olympics, something I still regret to this day.

Very excited about the game.

So Go Canucks Go.  It’s time for the Stanley Cup to visit Stanley Park.  It’s time for the Canuck’s to win their first cup.  It’s time for summer to get started and it’s time for my life to get back to normal.  :)

Good ol' Johnny Canuck

Until I blog again!

d.