Wow! I needed that

I had such an awesome week last week that I just can’t wait to write about it.  My boyfriend and I took a week off and went on vacation to the island.  We started out Sunday and headed up to the Sunshine Coast to spend a night at a friends’ cabin.  We had a fire and a couple drinks down by the beach.  On Monday, we headed up the coast, did some 4×4ing in my boyfriend’s little Subaru up some pretty good logging roads and then moved to go for a hike out to see the Skookumchuk Narrows.  The hour-long walk each way killed me for the next few days (ok, the rest of the trip, pretty much) but, damn - it was worth it!  We managed to arrive just in time to see the the calm just before the waves started moving.  We had a ferry to catch, so we couldn’t stick around too long.  We sat there and watched as the waves grew for about an hour before we started on our way back.  After all, we did have a ferry to catch if we wanted to get the most out of this vacation.

So, we headed up to Earls Cove and caught the ferry over to Saltry Bay.  Next stop, Powell River.  We checked into a motel for the night and got some sleep for the long trip ahead on Tuesday.  We had to be in Victoria for Wednesday, so we had another good trip ahead of us.

We spent Tuesday morning checking out Powell River a little bit.  We checked out The Hulks, a fleet of dismantled ships that form a floating breakwater for the pulp mill.  We caught the 12:00 ferry over to Comox and started our way down to the bottom of Vancouver Island.  We stopped in Qualicum andchecked out the caves at Horne Lake.  That was really cool.  I’ve never been caving before, but I can’t wait til I’m a little more agile and I can actually go all the way in.  Either way, I am so glad we didn’t skip that.  Unfortunately the trail to the lower cave was closed, but it didn’t really matter.  I wasn’t quite ready for a long trek after our 8km hike the day before.  After the caves, we headed straight for Victoria, where we spent two nights at the Travellers Inn – or should I say, one of the numerous Travellers Inns in the area, since there was at least one on every block.  We did stay in the only one that allowed smoke though, which in the end was quite a big bonus because the smoking rooms cost half as much as the rest of them, not that it was cheap or anything.  I really do have to thank my boyfriend for spending so much to make sure we had a good week.  It wasn’t necessary, but it was wonderful and appreciated more than I could possibly say.   Thanks so much!

 We spent Tuesday night in the hotel and then Wednesday we went and checked out a bit of Victoria.  We went over to Fisherman’s wharf to see the harbour seals.  The shop with the fish there had just opened and the seal that was there was in his glory.  He only showed up right before they opened, so I guess he knew it was feeding time.  It’s great that people can buy some fish to feed them.  I love that they are so tame and that they come up so close.  It’s just really awesome.  Later, we went for a walk out along the Ogden Point Breakwater, an 800-meter long cement breakwater that protects the inner harbour for the cruise ships.  On the inner side the wall was just a cement drop.  If you fell in, there was no getting out.  There were so many jelly-fish on the inside of the breakwater, it was insane.  A lot of them were dead or dying, caughtup in all the seaweed that filled the area along the base of the wall.  The other side was different though.  There were cement and granite slabs that formed almost a stair-way (although those were high steps) down into the water.  I’m not sure how deep they went, but I could see at least a few more levels below the water line where we were sitting.  After dinner some friends took us up to Mount Doug, where we watched the sun set over Cordova Bay.  That was gorgeous.  They definitely picked a good spot to show us.

Thursday morning, we were finally on our way to our feature (and final) destination.  Bamfield - an 80 km drive down a winding gravel road - I’m sure glad I didn’t have to drive!  We got to the campground in Pachena Bay.  We set up camp for two nights right by the beach.  There were a couple of ships anchored out on the water, which was neat.  It was quite foggy on the bay, especially in the evenings, but it was so beautiful there.  In Bamfield we went up to the Marine Sciences Centre, which was cool because it is built on top of the old cable station for the pacific.  I thought that was really neat.  I love the history behind places like that.  Saturday morning we packed up camp, but before we left Pachena, we went down to the end of the bay where the West Coast Trail starts.  We had a fire on the beach and roasted some smokies, then went for a walk down along the water and over the rocks to a second beach hidden off to the side.  There were so many anemones, I was loving it.  We even tried to dig up some clams.  My boyfriend dug down so deep and quick trying to grab one, he ended up pulling out a prawn instead.  It was awesome! 

The trip back went pretty smoothly, back to Nanaimo and onto the ferry home.  I’m almost glad we came back Saturday because I really needed the day to get back to reality.  I had such a great week, I’m still not quite back to normal Monday-to-Friday mode.  Geez, I didn’t even know what day it was most of the time I was gone.  It took a few hours to readjust this morning and figure out what I was supposed to actually do at work, but I think I’ve got it down now.  I guess it’s time to start thinking about where we’re gonna go next…

Again, I have to thank my super-wonderful boyfriend for such an awesome vacation.  You really are the best!  Thanks Babe!

Another one off the list…

What a weekend!  It was so gorgeous, we just couldn’t sit inside all weekend.  Besides, it was hot as fuck!  We saw a movie Saturday night and spent Sunday at Stanley Park and the Vancouver Aquarium.

We started off with the day at the Aquarium.  Lots of fun stuff to see there!  First was the Treasures of the BC Coast, an exhibit of sea life from all over the coast.  Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see the octopus.  Those things sure can hide.   Outside, we actually got to stick our fingers into the “touch tank” full of Anemones.  That was so neat, the way they grip onto your fingers, it feels really weird when you pull your hand away.  We watched the otters swimming and playing around for a bit.  We even got to watch one float around cleaning itself.  We were outside in time to see the otter feeding and the dolphin show, which was absolutely awesome.  They can jump so high!  The training is just amazing.  I’m really glad we got to watch that. 

The line-up to go underground to view the belugas was too long due to the new baby beluga being so sick right now.  They were taking everyone in very small groups and no one was able to even get close to the glass, so we skipped the underwater viewing there, but we did get to watch from above as one beluga was being trained to fetch his lunch box.  It was quite cute.

Another big attraction was the Tropical Zone.  The first thing in there as soon as you enter the Graham Amazon Gallery is a tank that houses two large fish that almost look like dinosaurs.  They are called arapaima and the biggest one there is about 7 ft. long.  Pretty damn cool, I think.  There was also a tank that had a whole bunch of Jamaican Fruit Bats.  We could see a few hanging against the glass eating pieces of apple.  That was really neat to watch.  There was even a camera set up with night vision so that we could watch them on a screen and actually get an idea of just how many were in there.  Continuing into the Amazon Gallery, we walked through a rainforest with beautiful scarlet colored birds, and even a two-toed sloth sleeping up in a tree.  There were also some marmosets, one of which was so tiny it looked like it would fit in my jeans pocket.  Very cute!  Another display had a bunch of cocoons hanging and if you were lucky, you could even watch a butterfly hatch.  Of course, I wasn’t so lucky.  but the stick bugs next to that were neat.  They even had some nice big snakes and an alligator.

Downstairs, and the last thing we checked out, there was an exhibit called Frogs Forever, set up to raise awareness of a dying species.  There were all kinds of frogs and different amphibians there.  I think the coolest thing in there was the axolotl.  This thing was so cool.  It looked like it could be quite vicious if it wasn’t living in a tank at the aquarium.

 
After enjoying all there was to see at the Aquarium, we ventured out into the park.  We couldn’t resist a ride on the miniature train.  And we were just in time.  They were about to take the last trip of the day when we got there.  Definitely worth it!  I remember being on the train there once when I was younger for Christmas.  It’s great all lit up.  I’m sure Halloween would be cool.  We’ll have to check that out. 

We walked for a bit back to the car and then went over to Third Beach.  Finding parking there was almost impossible, but with enough patience, we ended up finding a spot up the road.  We walked out along the beach and waded along the water.  It was great on a long, hot day.  By then, we were ready to get out of the sun an off our feet, so we called it a day and headed home.  It was an absolutely awesome day!  I am so happy that we were able to get out and take advantage of such a beautiful summer weekend.

 

Today, we enjoyed Canada Day (Cannabis Day) at the Vancouver Art Gallery.  Gotta love them big pot rallies!  After that, we went over to Lonsdale Quay for some beaver tails.  Those things were actually pretty damn good.  We’ll definitely be going back for more of those in the future.  It was even worth the hour long wait to get back on the Seabus downtown so that we could get ourselves home.  So, it’s back to work as usual tomorrow, but I’ve had such a great time this past few days, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to sleep!  I guess it’s time to try though…  But first, I need to make sure I update my list – I’ve got something to cross off.  Sweet!
 
 

Granville Island

Well, we did it!  We actually took something off the list and crossed it off!  We did originally had other plans to paddle up Widgeon Creek, but the rain in Maple Ridge made us change our minds.  The alternate idea that everyone decided on was a mini-train ride through Centennial Park in Burnaby.

But, due to indecisiveness on the part of our friends - and an unexpected trip to Starbucks while we sat around waiting for them - we instead spent the day on Granville Island, just the two of us.  We thought about taking the mini ferry over, but when the walk is less than fifteen minutes, really, what’s the point?  We parked by Stamps Landing and walked out along the seawall there, which was wonderful, because it was perfect for the weather we were having – not too hot, but definitely nice enough to be out enjoying the day. 

 

It was really neat seeing all the shops they have there.  Number one was the Model Trains / Model Ships Museum, which was pretty cool.  Unfortunately, they only had two of the three trains running, but I had fun trying to find the animals hidden around the diorama.  We also checked out all the awesome artwork and the carved masks in the Eagle Spirit Gallery, where we had to be buzzed into the store and ended up keeping them into their lunch break while we slowly took everything in (oops). Next, we stopped to watch a street performer attempting to make a few bucks from all the spectators at Triangle Square.  We only caught the last ten minutes of the show… as he juggled his knife, a plunger and a flaming torch and then managed to squeeze his body through a tennis racket, all while teetering on some balancing apparatus atop a very wobbly table.

 

We saw this really cool aparatus that moves balls through an obstacle of automation. This thing sits out front of the gates to the Ocean Concrete Factory.  With a little research, I have discovered that this kinetic sculpture is called Ocean Commotion and was actually only unveiled in February 2007.  This thing was so intriguing, I can’t explain it.  It was like some kind of demo of a cement factory, with balls representing the cement, water and gravel that make up the concrete all falling into trucks and running along conveyors and chain pulleys that all ran in a continuous circuit that was actually made up of several different circuits.  It was so awesome, we must have stood there watching this thing for at least 15 minutes.

 
We snacked on some perogies from Perogy Place in the Public Market, and wandered some more.  We came across a place called the Wood Co-op, which had lots of neat things… wooden boxes, furniture, decorations, jewelry, even hair accessories.

 
We went back out along the water a bit more and sat atop the hill where the flagpole is in Ron Basford Park, what used to be called the Mound, for a toke.  Returning brought us to a place called New-Small & Sterling Glass Studio, where we got to watch glassblowing, which was something I’d always wanted to see.  Too bad she just kept making the same ordinary round balls over and over. It would have been neat to see her do something a little more interesting.  We did stop at a place called Dragon Space or something that was a spiritual shop - perfect for people like me.  Although I am not necessarily religious, I am wiccan and I always love the atmosphere in a place like that.  I guess maybe not something I should have dragged my boyfriend into, but I enjoyed all the stuff they had in there.
After that, back to the Public Market for a couple slices of PizzaPzazz, some tea for my man from the Granville Island Tea Co. and we were off.  It was now about 5:30 or close to and time to call it a day well spent.  We toyed with the idea of hopping on the Aquabus back to Stamps Landing, but again, with the walk being so short – and need for an opportunity to smoke some more before hopping in the car - we decided the walk back would be a good way to end the trip, sore as we were from the 5 hours of walking we’d already done, but worth the walk either way.

 

I know there are a lot of things that we didn’t see or even stop to check out, but all in all, I had such a wonderful day, I couldn’t ask for more.  Thanks for another awsome day hun!

The List

So, my boyfriend and I decided to actually make a list of all of the things we want to get out and do together – everything from going for a walk in Stanley Park to camping at Grace Lake.  Although I’ve lived in the Lower Mainland all my life, there are so many things I’ve never done and so many places I’ve never seen.

This past weekend we were actually supposed to pick something off the list and go do it, but when we looked at it, it seemed nothing we’d been talking about recently actually made it on there.  I guess we need to do some updating.  So, I’m going to actually make my own list so that I can keep track of all the awesome things I want to do this summer.  I just hope he’s actually going to want to do them all with me…

As you may see, I have created a page titled The List.  I will keep this updated and cross things off as I get to do them.  My plan is that by the end of the summer I will not only have a much bigger appreciation for Beautiful BC and the place where I grew up, but I’ll also be able to say “I’ve been there” and “I’ve done that” when people talk about all the awesome stuff that they’ve done.

So keep posted and lets see just how much fun we can have this summer…

Another good weekend adventure

So, maybe this weekend wasn’t quite the hit that Seachelt was. But then again, maybe it was better than last weekend. Although I slept until 1:30 on Saturday and then spent most of the day by myself… I even went shopping and bought myself almost a whole new wardrobe for summer. I didn’t even smoke anything until after 7pm. Crazy, eh?

Anyways, we went to Lynn Canyon on Sunday, which was perfect for the hot day that we were having. We spent some time by the water where it was so nice and cool I almost forgot just how hot and muggy it was. We spent most of the hottest part of the day down there in the shade, so it really was awesome. Then we drove up Cypress Mountain and I got to see a couple of the lookouts up there, which was the first time I’ve been to Cypress. The skihill was closed, and all the trails were messed up due to construction, so we didn’t end up going for a walk up there like we were going to, but it worked out ok. I guess the coming 2010 Olympics is really making a mess of some things. At least I got to go up there, so that was neat.

I was so tired by the time we got back last night that all I wanted to do was crawl into bed. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option, since my wonderful boyfriend decided to pick me up from my place Saturday instead of me driving out to his place, which meant he had to drive me all the way back home before I could get any sleep. But that’s life. And even though I got a good 8 hours, it still felt like I hadn’t slept all weekend when my alarm went off this morning.

And now I’ve been sitting at work all day waiting to get back to bed and hopefully I’ll feel like I actually got some sleep when I get up tomorrow. Not like that will ever happen. I am hoping that my man is going to come out tonight like he was talking about yesterday, but I’m sure by the time I’m off work, he’ll have decided to go swimming and maybe, if I’m really lucky he’ll come by after that. I guess we’ll see…