So, I wrote this and then forgot to post it...a Northwest update

I'm flying over the English Channel, some twenty hours into my flight to Chad, which puts me just past the half way mark, and definitely in a reflective frame of mind. As I'm not sure when I'll next have an internet connection, I may not be posting for a while, but at least I can play catch up! More on Haiti in the next post, but for now some thoughts on Pacific Northwest holidays, as Laura and I enjoyed some time off between trips.

Do: see theatre productions whenever, wherever. They are pretty much always worth the price. We recommend The Bard on the Beach if you're in Vancouver in the summer, well worth it. Secret tip – bring your own picnic to the afternoon shows. Vanier Park is a great place to watch sailboats, kites, clouds, and pretty much anything else propelled by wind, and it really is just a short walk from Granville Island Public Market . You can pick up ready made sandwiches, or buy the meats, cheeses, breads and pastries and fix your own.

Don't: go whale watching in the rain. Despite the fact that the whales don't mind, you will. Open ocean whale watching honestly isn't about the whales, they're more impressive at the Aquarium or on Discovery Channel anyway. It's really about being outdoors, on the water, in the beautiful Georgia Strait, and that is more impressive when the sun is shining, you're not huddled inside the cabin over a hot chocolate, and your fingers aren't too numb to take pictures. Then again, this is the “Wet” Coast, so one can't always wait for a sunny day. And remember, the whales really don't mind. 

P.S. Thanks so much LCK, for the whale trip and discovering Spinnaker's with us - it was a great experience!

Do: go down to the fisherman's wharf at Steveston, even if you don't want to bring home a fresh salmon (and I mean fresh, some are still alive) for $10-15. Just the experience is fascinating. Also, if you don't want the whole fish, go to the shops just a couple blocks north, where the price is lower per pound than the shops on the water. The shellfish are also incredible!

Don't: be conned into paying too much for something because it's “neat”. NO bread is worth $10 a loaf – although we did make some great “artisanal” croutons when it became rock hard the next day.

Do: go to Victoria on Vancouver Island, there's at least one festival every weekend of the summer. We recommend the Greek Festival in Sidney for one, and the great party on BC Day (August 1).

Don't: visit the Island in one day. Especially without a car. It's worth it to plan a two day trip - there's so much to see, transit is efficient and cheap.

Do: try to enjoy a different cuisine every night of the week. In order to enjoy all the best of the West before returning to the field, we had Chinese, Japanese, Ethiopian (ironically I land in Ethiopia in a few hours), Mexican, Italian, French, Pacific Northwest, Quebec, English, Vietnamese and Thai (if I remember correctly).

Don't: think you have to leave the city, or even your own home for any of the above. I think Ethiopian is the only one we haven't tried at home yet.

Do: spend as much time as possible with the ones you love.

Don't: spend a lot of money doing it!

Apologies

Apologies to all who are unimpressed with my last post, after weeks of waiting. Isn't old news still good news? After returning from Kelowna, we've had visitors again - thanks to Laura H and Katrina for good times!

Also, through a former coworker and recent SFU grad friend Joel (he took our official wedding pics!), I was invited to a fundraiser for the Niapele project, a local charity for kids in Liberia, and then a meet and greet for BCCIC, a local coalition of agencies. It's been fun meeting up with like-minded individuals, and I even met a former SP staffer.

Laura and I are spending Thanksgiving in Powell River, along the Sunshine Coast, with her recently married cousin Annabelle, so I'm sure there will be beautiful pictures to come!

Happy Thanksgiving to all, and may God bless you from His bounty and riches.

Labour Day Longings

Oh, Labour Day, when we celebrate the fact that any chance we had for a summer holiday is gone, and now it's back to working through the winter! Winter certainly sent it's message-bearing envoys to Vancouver this weekend, with temperatures dipping to 15 C highs, cloudy with rain. Actually, Alaska had better weather. Alaska.

Despite the gloom, we had a relaxing and full weekend of typical bad weather things to do: watching movies, the library, hours in a comfy cafe, the beach. Um, yeah, so we did go to the beach at Buntzen Lake for a quiet retreat yesterday, and the sun did peep out for 20 minutes as we read in our camp chairs on the desert strand. Then the clouds advanced, and we retreated. It was amusing, however, to think that the weather was still better than a typical June or August day at Wasaga or Sauble beaches in Ontario.

Weekend highlights:
1. Learning parking in Vancouver lots has a variable rate based on how much they think you can be milked for. Hence our advertised Sunday rate in an empty lot was not reflected at the pay station, because a hockey game (really, on Labour Day?) was taking place nearby. A gracious parking attendant explained that the lot on W Pender has the best rates in town.

2. We love shopping for fresh veg at the grocers on Commercial Drive. Going there first saves us money from the supermarket, and we can get a rainy stroll and a fresh coffee at the same time. Right now we prefer Norman's.

3. We got camping gear at a steal! Tent for $15 and cooler for $10, during RC Superstore's no tax clearance weekend. Now for some camping weather...

4. Fresh mussels at 1/2 price, so we whipped up a curry bouilleabaisse with porutguese buns Saturday night, and caught the CBC presentation of WTC (Nick Cage). Interesting for what it included, and for what it left out.

5. Thanks again to Anthony and Marlise for their thoughtful gift of Gary Smalley's books, which were an enjoyable shared read this weekend!

It's been one week...

Well, almost! Now, where where we? Ah, yes. Sunday last, and the imminent rock concert. We decided to visit Coastal Church, but were to late for the music, at the 12:30 service. Very interactive sermon, including live swordfighting and video clips. Listen to the podcast for more details. The rest of the afternoon was a bit of a wash, as we conserved energy, then it was off to http://www.chambar.com/ in Crosstown for a light supper.

The moules frites was fantastic, especially the Moules Congolais, although nothing like the mussels in the Congo! With our reservation, we were able to get in an out in time for the short walk to GM place. Although the lines at the door where not long, there was an air of eager excitement. We're not talking "Jonas Brothers delayed crossing the border" frenzy, but a rising hum, none the less.

The Whigs were already on stage when we arrived, and as enthusiastic as they were, I think they would be better seen at a smaller venue, such as the media club, where they are headlining on November 13.

So, lulled by the underwhelming opening band, we were not prepared for the knockout punch that is Kings of Leon on tour. They have clearly stepped into their arena-playing days with a sagacity unexpected of hard-living garage-band rockers. The playlist order controlled the audience well, the sound filled the arena, and the video/light show added to, rather than detracting from, the stage presence of Caleb Followill. LM thought he was unattractive (which pleased me greatly), and we were all-in-all impressed with our first rock concert together.

Could a weekend be better?

So, by Friday afternoon, we were pretty excited for the Kings of Leon concert - we had tickets for Sunday - and wanted to rush through the weekend. Little did we know all the activity that could be packed into a single weekend in Vancouver...

Friday after work we popped into Solly's after work, for a little snack. Try the knishes for a traditional Jewish savoury snack, and of course ethical bean coffee. The rugoleh, although IMO not as good as Siegel's, was still quite tasty, flaky, and fresh!

A craving for baked brie, and a sale on ripe mango and papaya led to an improvised mezze meal at home, with olives, dolmades, homemade bruschetta, guacamole, baked brie with pepper jelly and a pitcher of tropical sangria! Candlelight dinner with a view of the city from our dining room made the evening complete, and we wrapped it up with an exciting thriller, "Obsessed", better than you would think from Beyonce and Ali Larter. And that was just Friday night!

Saturday started early, because it was the opening day of the English Premier League (EPL), and there is NO BETTER WAY to celebrate football in Vancouver, than at Abruzzo Cappuccino Bar on Commercial Drive. It's nitty-gritty, white linoleum floor and old laminate tables don't seem to fit in with the 7 pm Drive scene we're used to, but at 8- noon on Saturday and Sunday mornings, the crowd of old and young gather from all corners of the world for one purpose - footie. I enjoyed a fabulous espresso (or four? from a machine older than myself, and my better half was shocked to discover what cappuccino vero can be - a mound of stiff milk foam so smooth you can spread it. We left with me exhilarated by Arsenal's 6-1 win and completely hopped on doppio espressos. Saturday was supposed to be a day to get away from the urban crowding, but with the threat of rain all day, we dawdled down the Drive, ordered lunch from the Grotto again (see previous post), checked out the Van East Fermer's Market (disappointing), but scored some great eggplants and peppers at Norman's Grocery, which, with a handful of fresh basil, prepped us for a light linguine recipe and the rest of the sangria. Then, it was off to the mall for a first weekend viewing of District 9. To describe how good it was, we were still relating life events to that film, right after the rock concert last night. Sorry KoL, you were upstaged by prawns!!! (LM thinks they're cute ;)

After such a full weekend, it was hard to believe we hadn't even got to the main event! More on that in the next post...

Friday Fun?

It's Friday, and I should be all excited for the weekend. But, at the end of a week of holidays, one day just blends into the next, in a steady procession of relaxing, guilt-tripping myself into chores, more relaxing, and taking a break from relaxing.

This morning dawned as one of those days when you don't want to get out of bed, but wish your chicken noodle soup could be delivered. Ah, the Vancouver summer I had heard so much about is finally upon us. After weeks of Torontonian heat wave and bright sun, with the accompanying short fuses and miserable people, the tranquility of coastal grey has returned. A day when you don't want to go to work at all, but write blogs about the weather instead.

So, after sending the missus off to work (someone has to put food on the table), I'm keeping warm with a cuppa and thinking about what to add to my soup order, so that the Vietnamese restaurant across the street will deliver for lunch.

There is some thrill in the arrival of Friday night, as with two days off, the missus has promised to cook dinner for me! In addition,having her at home means I may actually leave the house tomorrow. And Sunday, our pastor is gone, so there should be some variation at church...I guess I sympathize with hard working stay-at-home folks. They can't really go to the office for a weekend getaway, now, can they? It's like those who live in vacation destinations and have their summers ruined.

I certainly appreciate my working life more now, as it's just so much simpler to TGIF and slack off for the afternoon when you're in the office!

Long Weekend that never ends?

Added on to the Civic Holiday long weekend, my office is closed for the week so I have an extended home stay. Which means that, after a day of lounging in front of the TV yesterday, I got hopped up on caffeine today, got my British Columbia driver's license (I'm now an offical resident), read the weekend's news (sorry to Twitter followers and FB friends for the status updates), and decided to start a new blog for a hobby, and maybe write a book. In addition to cleaning the kitchen, doing somelaundry and vaccuuming, I suppose.

This weekend was the end of my first month of marriage, and as Laura put it, still 800-odd left to go! Actually, when I reflect on the fact that I have only lived 364 months it seemd rather short and brief. Who measures time in months anyways? Which reminds me, congrats to my sister and brother-in-law, who are celebrating their 4th anniversary, and planning for Child #2.

Now that I've got my "virtual life" kickstarted, if you have a blog or are on twitter, and think I'd like to hear what's going on (and aren't afraid of me plagarizing your brilliance in the form of a re-tweet), send me an email...

And, because the list of people I need to email is getting longer by the minute, I'm off.

Lindeman Lake Hiking Adventure

Laura and I went on an adventure today, driving to Lindeman Lake, in the Chilliwack region. It was a vigorous hike, with a rewarding finish - a peaceful, crystal clear lake pressed in by peaks on all sides. An oasis of British Columbia tranquility, an escape from the daily commute, the urban crush, and the constant hum of the city. We packed a lunch from La Grotta del Fromaggio, a famous Italian deli on Commercial Drive, and rounded off our day with burgers at Central City, followed by a stroll through the Surrey Fusion Festival, a multicultural festival which rewarded us with loukoumades, Laura's favourite dessert (of the moment).

All in all, a full, and fulfilling, day - for pictures check out Flickr!

Photos!

As noted in my last post, Laura and I met after work at a cafe called Death by Chocolate, and decided to walk for a while before eating. We walked from here down W est Broadway, past Laura's office, and just looking for something to pique our interest. Not too cold, and not too breezy, with a clear sky to catch glimpses down each street of the lights downtow

Image by Proggie via Flickr

n and the mountains beyond. We found this tranquil oasis behind Boston Pizza, and kept walking until we need a pitstop. That made us go into The Mongolie Grill, at Cambie. Tasty, and just what we wanted, but definitely overpriced. Unlike Mongolian Grill in Hespeler, ON, this place charged by weight, so my bowl came to $12.00, and then I went back for a second. I've since read a review that says there are better options for grill in town, for next time. Being full, we decided to walk more, all the way back to Laura's apartment! Lots of walking!! Speaking of Laura's condo, here's some pictures.

Image by roland via Flickr