So after a great time in Toronto with plenty of sun, friends and family....we were off to Vancouver, for some sea, sand, and mountains ... and to catch up with some friends and family.
So our first day saw us land in Vancouver on Sunday at around 11pm. Dean, Catherine, Vaness and Chris came out to greet us which was an awesome way to arrive in BC. We went back to Dean's where my brother Jay was waiting for us. We had a few beer, caught up, then hit the sack.
Monday we went for a bike ride, well...Dean, Chris and Chris's friend Scott joined me for a wild and wacky downhill through North Vancouvers famous North Shore trails. It was wet and it was cold, but it was awesome! I borrowed Catherine's slayer and it was perfect for the job, you know, if you didn't go too wild, and remembered you were on someone else's bike!
While we were yucking it up in the muck heading down the mountain, Penny was checking out Vancouver. She opted out of the bike ride and went for a wee walk on her own. We had given her a map and pointed out how to get to broadway from main. She decided she wanted to keep going down main street and head to the waterfront. She made her way down Main Street, further and further until the buildings got a little dirtier, a little shabbier, the homeless were a little more obvious, and then finally some of the buildings were actually boarded up...not too mention there were tents set up on some of the grassy bits. She actually got a bit uncomfortable for some reason and took her earphones out so she could hear what was going on. At this stage there were homeless people actually staring at her from the balconies of the buildings. She even saw some rather aggresive arguments. Hmmmm, time to head back me thinks....so she did. The day was also quite rainy and overcast so she couldn't actually see the mountains either as they were buried in fog and cloud. Welcome to Vancouver Penny.
So after we got back from the bike ride, and Penny got back from the slums Dean and Catherine put on a wee Thanksgiving BBQ! So we had some Turkey Burgers, salad and beer....and desert! A few friends came around, and Penny got a chance to meet some of my friends from Vancouver. We had a good night.
Tuesday my brother had arranged a couple of massages for Penny and I to kick off our day. They were good, but Penny thought she'd been hit by a truck for a few days, it was a deep tissue massage. Then we went home, and got ready to go look at a few properties. Patrick our real estate guy picked us up and took us to Burnaby to look at a few properties in the Simon Fraser University area of Burnaby. We looked at a few properties but only one had everything we were looking for, and it was the cheapest! So we headed back to Dean's place after looking at the properties with a pretty good idea of what we could get for what money we thought we'd have if/when we moved out to Vancouver.
Penny still wasn't convinced though that Vancouver was for her. Fortunately today was a much nicer day than Monday. So we borrowed 2 of Jay's bikes and cycled along Vancouvers Sea Wall...which is a path that winds along ..... surprise, the ocean front. We cycled past a couple of beaches and stopped to admire the views at one of them. There was the ocean to the left, sand beneath us, and mountains ahead of us....not bad eh Pen!?
We went a bit further and decided to head back as it was getting later, and Penny couldn't get over how quiet it was. There were people running, cycling, walking their dogs, and just enjoying a nice autumn evening. I asked her if she could imagine us walking a dog, or heading into Vancouver for a cycle on a Sunday...the answer was yes, she could imagine it...
So on the way back the sun started to set over one of the harbours, and there was a wee Thai restaurant. So we stopped, parked the bikes and had a bit of Thai....watching the sun set over the harbour. I asked her what she thought of Vancouver....and her answer was..."Yeah, I could live here". Whooo hooo! Vancouver here we come! We don't know when exactly, but we'll get there eventually.
So the next day we blew a fortune in the Mountain Equipment Co-op store, but I got me a superb sleeping bag, which I can't wait to try out! Then we caught up with my mate Kerrie, and my cousin Claire...Jay joined us for a wee bite to eat with Claire. Then we all went to the Na'am to meet up with more friends, the Na'am is a great veggie restaurant which has the best veggie hot dogs ever!! After the Na'am we went back to Ness and Chris's and had a chance to look through photo's from many moons ago which was a blast, not to mention we got a sip of Vanessa's friends home made Citronella or something...it was basically Vodka with lemon. nice! We got a taxi home from Sikh fella who gave Penny a CD of his religous mojo music....weird...but hey, it's Vancouver.
Thursday Jay took us to Lynn Canyon where we went for a wee walk to check out some of the falls, and enjoy the beautiful rainforest, and it was raining, and it was a forest. After that we headed to my cousin Patsy and Tommy's to catch up quickly on the way up to Chilliwack where Dean, Catherine, and Jay were doing a 30km race!
Friday, Pen and I cheered on the rest of the gang as they all insanely raced through the forest around Chilcoutin Lake, the guys were teamed up to do a relay with a couple of friends, and Catherine was doing the whole 30km on her own! Pen and I were most impressed with them all! Especially when Jay and Dean came in 1st for the mens relay (well tied for first with their friends!). After the race it was homeward bound. Jay, Dean and Catherine drove us to the airport.......and hung out for a bit before we jumped on the plane and headed home....but not without taking advantage of the free drink Air Canada offered....we weren't driving home, Jen and Cairn were kind enough to pick us up! Thanks to everyone in Van who made it such a good trip, and it was awesome to catch up with so many familiar faces.
Canada was great, and we thoroughly enjoyed both Toronto, and Vancouver....and we'd recommend them both to everyone!! However, back to the grind now....renovations, work, and a british winter....man, bring back the sun!
Click on the photo to get a larger image
So our first day saw us land in Vancouver on Sunday at around 11pm. Dean, Catherine, Vaness and Chris came out to greet us which was an awesome way to arrive in BC. We went back to Dean's where my brother Jay was waiting for us. We had a few beer, caught up, then hit the sack.
Monday we went for a bike ride, well...Dean, Chris and Chris's friend Scott joined me for a wild and wacky downhill through North Vancouvers famous North Shore trails. It was wet and it was cold, but it was awesome! I borrowed Catherine's slayer and it was perfect for the job, you know, if you didn't go too wild, and remembered you were on someone else's bike!
While we were yucking it up in the muck heading down the mountain, Penny was checking out Vancouver. She opted out of the bike ride and went for a wee walk on her own. We had given her a map and pointed out how to get to broadway from main. She decided she wanted to keep going down main street and head to the waterfront. She made her way down Main Street, further and further until the buildings got a little dirtier, a little shabbier, the homeless were a little more obvious, and then finally some of the buildings were actually boarded up...not too mention there were tents set up on some of the grassy bits. She actually got a bit uncomfortable for some reason and took her earphones out so she could hear what was going on. At this stage there were homeless people actually staring at her from the balconies of the buildings. She even saw some rather aggresive arguments. Hmmmm, time to head back me thinks....so she did. The day was also quite rainy and overcast so she couldn't actually see the mountains either as they were buried in fog and cloud. Welcome to Vancouver Penny.
So after we got back from the bike ride, and Penny got back from the slums Dean and Catherine put on a wee Thanksgiving BBQ! So we had some Turkey Burgers, salad and beer....and desert! A few friends came around, and Penny got a chance to meet some of my friends from Vancouver. We had a good night.
Tuesday my brother had arranged a couple of massages for Penny and I to kick off our day. They were good, but Penny thought she'd been hit by a truck for a few days, it was a deep tissue massage. Then we went home, and got ready to go look at a few properties. Patrick our real estate guy picked us up and took us to Burnaby to look at a few properties in the Simon Fraser University area of Burnaby. We looked at a few properties but only one had everything we were looking for, and it was the cheapest! So we headed back to Dean's place after looking at the properties with a pretty good idea of what we could get for what money we thought we'd have if/when we moved out to Vancouver.
Penny still wasn't convinced though that Vancouver was for her. Fortunately today was a much nicer day than Monday. So we borrowed 2 of Jay's bikes and cycled along Vancouvers Sea Wall...which is a path that winds along ..... surprise, the ocean front. We cycled past a couple of beaches and stopped to admire the views at one of them. There was the ocean to the left, sand beneath us, and mountains ahead of us....not bad eh Pen!?
We went a bit further and decided to head back as it was getting later, and Penny couldn't get over how quiet it was. There were people running, cycling, walking their dogs, and just enjoying a nice autumn evening. I asked her if she could imagine us walking a dog, or heading into Vancouver for a cycle on a Sunday...the answer was yes, she could imagine it...
So on the way back the sun started to set over one of the harbours, and there was a wee Thai restaurant. So we stopped, parked the bikes and had a bit of Thai....watching the sun set over the harbour. I asked her what she thought of Vancouver....and her answer was..."Yeah, I could live here". Whooo hooo! Vancouver here we come! We don't know when exactly, but we'll get there eventually.
So the next day we blew a fortune in the Mountain Equipment Co-op store, but I got me a superb sleeping bag, which I can't wait to try out! Then we caught up with my mate Kerrie, and my cousin Claire...Jay joined us for a wee bite to eat with Claire. Then we all went to the Na'am to meet up with more friends, the Na'am is a great veggie restaurant which has the best veggie hot dogs ever!! After the Na'am we went back to Ness and Chris's and had a chance to look through photo's from many moons ago which was a blast, not to mention we got a sip of Vanessa's friends home made Citronella or something...it was basically Vodka with lemon. nice! We got a taxi home from Sikh fella who gave Penny a CD of his religous mojo music....weird...but hey, it's Vancouver.
Thursday Jay took us to Lynn Canyon where we went for a wee walk to check out some of the falls, and enjoy the beautiful rainforest, and it was raining, and it was a forest. After that we headed to my cousin Patsy and Tommy's to catch up quickly on the way up to Chilliwack where Dean, Catherine, and Jay were doing a 30km race!
Friday, Pen and I cheered on the rest of the gang as they all insanely raced through the forest around Chilcoutin Lake, the guys were teamed up to do a relay with a couple of friends, and Catherine was doing the whole 30km on her own! Pen and I were most impressed with them all! Especially when Jay and Dean came in 1st for the mens relay (well tied for first with their friends!). After the race it was homeward bound. Jay, Dean and Catherine drove us to the airport.......and hung out for a bit before we jumped on the plane and headed home....but not without taking advantage of the free drink Air Canada offered....we weren't driving home, Jen and Cairn were kind enough to pick us up! Thanks to everyone in Van who made it such a good trip, and it was awesome to catch up with so many familiar faces.
Canada was great, and we thoroughly enjoyed both Toronto, and Vancouver....and we'd recommend them both to everyone!! However, back to the grind now....renovations, work, and a british winter....man, bring back the sun!
Click on the photo to get a larger image
The townhouse we really liked, it even had a hose for the bikes...whoo hoo!
Dean, Jay, Lanny, and Magnus take joint first in the men's relay
Dean and Lanny racing down the stretch to the finish....
Lynn Canyon in BC
Some funky little carving Pen and I came across on our cycle along the sea wall.
The very green forest up in Chilliwack
The beach where Penny and I enjoyed Vancouvers views.
The Thai restaurant where Penny came to the conclusion that Vancouver was groovy.
The sunset over the Marina outside the Thai restaurant
Vancouve at night as we cycled home after the great Thai meal
Lake Chilcotin, the location of the race.
Some of the trails around Lynn Canyon
More of the awesome rainforest...great place to hang out
Pen and Jay at Twin Falls, one of the fall in Lynn Canyon
It was time for the Salmon to spawn in BC's rivers....
And time for the Canada Geese to fly to warmer climates
Catherine at the half way mark, getting a hug from Sarah...
Dean making tracks to the finish line...and ahead of Lanny....for now.
Jay coming in at the halfway mark to pass the relay on to Deaner
On our way to the Airport....me, Pen, Jay, Deaner, and Catherine....
On the plane, on our way, and a few beer and vodka and fresh orange in....it was a quick flight!
