BC Hydro Go Karting

BC Hydro offered to spend some effort on employee engagement this year and has set aside a modest budget for managers to do something fun with their employees. I could technically have taken myself and my two staff to do something but things get more fun when you go in slightly larger groups so my manager organized an event. We all got to make suggestions and then voted. Options included golf, horseback riding, an escape Room experience, go karting and several others. The resounding winner after the vote was go karting and we choose TBC Indoor Kart Racing in Richmond. The track is indoors and the karts are capable of going up to 70 km an hour. There were enough karts so that the 12 of us could ride in the same heat which made things much more fun. It's way better passing someone who's normal role is sending you spreadsheets to fill out. It was a hot day and I don't think I've ever sweated as much in my life but it was a lot of fun. Hard to say if there was a 'winner' but I will say I did quite well in several of the heats.

After racing we went to the downtown condo of one of our colleagues. He owns a place on Granville Street and there is a roof top patio with vistas in all directions. Food was purchased at Costco so there was plenty to BBQ and eat and I think everyone had a great time. It helped that we've had yet another sunny summer and at least for this event, no smoke. (That came a few days later.)

Honda Celebration of Light

Every year I mention to the family that we should go to the annual fireworks in Vancouver and every year we are either out of town or Kerry is concerned about the crowds. The fireworks I'm speaking of are a series of 3 or 4 events on Wednesday's and Saturday's in late July and early August. Fireworks companies from different countries compete for the best show. The fireworks are set to music and typically last about 20 minutes. As for the crowds, Kerry does have a bit of a point. There can be between 400,000 and 600,000 people all crowded on to a few key beaches in downtown Vancouver.

What made this year different was that Kerry was out of town for the weekend and I was in charge of the kids. A few timely suggestions and everyone was on board with taking the skytrain downtown to watch the fireworks. We tried to get there in time to see some stunt planes but were a little late. I had no idea what a good location was so we wandered till we found a nice green lawn in front of an apartment building. There was one tree a bit in our way but it did not diminish our experience. We weren't able to make the next two shows but I think we will try again next year. It was quite spectacular.

Summer in Oliver 2018

For the August long weekend the family went to Oliver to visit Kerry's parents and in this case it was extended family as well as Kerry's brother and family went went at the same time. We left after work on Thursday and went a slightly different way then our normal route. Ordinarily we take the highway three but this year there was a rather significant fire near Keremeos. I found out about it via Facebook as one of my high school acquaintances was driving through just as the fire was reaching the highway. I'm not sure if they closed the highway or not but it was good to know in advance so we could take the route via Merritt.

On our first full day there was a new hike that we had heard about and we all agreed it sounded like fun. It was 5k both ways for a total of 10k and this is a bit longer than our normal hikes. On top of that, Ryan is not a very big guy so it was going to be a significant effort for him. In the end we all made it with very little complaining. I think it helps that there are two families. It's harder to complain when it's not just your family. The hike was mostly a gentle rise up to one of the bluffs overlooking Oliver. We stopped for lunch and a family selfie before making our way back down. I'm glad it was only in the low 30's. It got much warmer later in the week.

The highlight of the hike was the deer we found on the way up. I was up front and managed to stop before scaring it away. It was only about 20 or 30 feet in front of us and stayed long enough for everyone to catch up and have a look. Oliver has quite a few deer and we often see them right in front of Barb and Reg's house. We all moved in to their territory but they don't seem like they are ready to move along.

We did the hike early in the morning for a couple of reasons. The first was that we wanted to get out while it was still cool and the second was that Kerry and I had reservations at Nk'Mip winery to celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary. Reg lent us the Miata so we arrived in style. When we got to the restaurant there were two people looking after the door guiding people in and they were very quick to come out to help us find our way. I don't think we get quite as good service when it's just us in the Kia Sportage.

The rest of the trip was fairly standard with outings to the beach and Tickle-berries for ice cream. For some reason one of Barb and Reg's neighbours often gives a $5 gift card to the kids. The first time Carter was quite disappointed when he realized that $5 only really paid for a single ice cream. This time he knew what he was getting. We also made a trip to Rattlesnake Canyon for mini-golf. I actually think this is one of the best mini-golf courses I've been to. It's not super big but it's very well done and the holes are complex without being too hard. We go every year and always have fun.

A Visit from Tara and Jackson

In July, Tara made her annual trip to the lower mainland to visit with family and it included a stop over at the Schwab household. Unfortunately it was during the week and I wasn't able to stay home from work on any of the days. Who needs me to have fun anyways? The family was able to find plenty to do during another warn summer including a trip to Crescent Beach in White rock, a trip to Stanley Park and the Aquarium as well as Snowy Village. The lower mainland is a mixing pot of different cultures and although I had heard about Korean Shaved Ice before I was only recently introduced to it in person. It starts with an ice cold cup and some shaved frozen milk and the creativity goes up from there. They are often a mix of shaved ice and fruit and get shaped into delicious looking treats. They offer a water melon version that is actually served in half a water melon and is covered with melon balls. That seems to be Carter's favourite though it's understandably only available seasonally.

For the evenings that I was able to be home, I enjoyed playing with Jackson. He's quite the character and can be very particular about things. I think I've managed to convince him to refer to me as Uncle Carrot which is what my other nephew refers to me as however it's taken some work. We spent one evening at the water park which includes a labyrinth. He had great fun once he understood that even though it's just a flat circle you have to follow the path to the centre that loops back and forth. It was an after thought on our way to the car but we had trouble leaving once we'd done it once. Perhaps we will turn that into a tradition for his visits.

A Trip to San Diego

This week I had the opportunity to go to San Diego for a conference for work. I've been to San Diego several times now and have visited the main attractions like Sea World, The San Diego Zoo and Legoland so this time I thought I'd go down a day early and check out some of the attractions I haven't seen. First up was the Maritime Museum. They have one of the oldest tall ships in the world and it still floats. This one has a metal haul and was just as cramped as I expected. They also had two submarines, one Russian and one American. Those were super cramped.

After the Maritime Museum I went to the Air and Space museum. I was very naive in my knowledge of this area. Apparently the area is called Balboa park and there are actually 16 different museums as well as many other attractions including the San Diego Zoo. I checked out the Air and Space Museum as well as the Auto Museum. Both were quite impressive with a mix of original and replica planes and vehicles. If I had know there was so much to see I would have set aside more time and checked out the all museum pass. I guess I have a reason to go in the future.

The conference I was seeing was for a company called ESRI which makes software for creating maps. There were over 18,000 people attending. Not the biggest conference I've been too but still impressive. The San Diego conference centre is very nice with plenty of room and it's right down by the water so there are great views of the harbour which includes many military ships. There was also a 'Dole' ship. It never occurred to me that they would have their own ships but I guess they have a lot of pineapples and bananas to ship around the world.

On the last night of the conference there wasn't much going on so I went down to PetCo Park to see a baseball game. We got a 20% discount on tickets and the cheapest seats were just $21 or $17 with the discount. As I sat down I realized that I don't think I've ever seen a major league baseball game in person. The park is pretty new and despite it's size was nestled nicely inside the downtown core. You could walk by it in the morning and see the field from the street. The seats were great because they all pointed right at home plate. San Diego lost but it was still a fun experience. San Diego continues to be one of my favourite destinations.

Trip to PG

We made our annual trip to Prince George this July. We were a few days late because Callie had camp for the Friday, Saturday night which meant we missed being there for Canada Day. Last year when we arrived GG had made herself a hat out of the local news paper. The paper included a full page picture of the Canada flag. When Carter saw the same thing in our local paper he decided he wanted to make one for her this year too. Our paper was a bit smaller so the hat wasn't exactly the right size but GG still loved it and wore it. Visiting with GG is definitely one of the highlights of our trips each year. She's 96 bu still sharp and we enjoy listening to her stories. She always has treats available to us and we did our annual trip down to McDonald's for breakfast. I push her in her wheel chair and we have a route that takes us along the smoothest path possible. Kerry and the kids referred to it as the jaywalking GG route. We also started and finished a 300  piece puzzle and started a 500 piece puzzle. Fun times.

The second highlight was the new kayak out at the lake. Kayak prices have come down a lot and Costco always has one each spring. My job this year from Kerry was to recommend Mom and Dad purchase one but they were way ahead of me and already had one. I enjoy the canoe but the nice thing about the kayak is that it can be moved down to the beach by just about anyone and is much faster. I enjoyed using it for looking for agots on the beach. I could get low to find them and didn't even have to get out to grab them. Just reached with my paddle.

Carter's highlight was his new fishing pole and tackle. He's been using a cheap one that he says was 'for six year olds'. It was fairly good for what it was but the line was starting to get old so we kept losing our hooks. I took him down to Canadian Tire to grab some tackle and our plan was to get a rod from Eric. He apparently had some virtually brand new ones from the transfer station where he works. I'm amazed at the kind of stuff people throw out.

We had some excitement while we were at the lake as well. I don't recall seeing snakes at the lake as a kid however I've seen them the past few years. This year there was a giant one at least three feet long. It was pretty fat so we think it was either pregnant or full. Jackson was not scared of it at all and followed it down the beach. I know it's not dangerous but there is still something scary about a snake. We kept him from picking it up as I'm not really sure what a 3 foot garter snake would do if you did. It was a short but fun visit to PG.

Canada Day Weekend

Ordinarily we are in Prince George for Canada day weekend however this weekend Callie was invited by one of her friends to a weekend camp on Friday night and Saturday night. It's church group themed but was intended for 'friends' so they know that Callie isn't well versed on what they are talking about. She did have to find her own bible to bring and learned how to find things in it. We haven't raised Callie or Carter with a particular religion and will leave it to them to decide if they are interested. For now we're teaching them to be followers of being 'good people to all'.

The event was held in White Rock near Crescent beach. We go there often but I didn't realize there was a camp there. It's nestled in at the end of the beach and is owned by the city of Surrey. Anyone can rent it and it's laid out nicely for groups of 50 to 100. Callie had fun and was glad she could sign up for the art portion. They each made a puzzle piece and Kerry and I could tell immediately which ones belong to her and her friend Caroline.

After camp we headed to the Surrey Canada Day festival in Cloverdale.

The highlight for me was drone racing. The participants have quad copter drones with cameras on them and wear goggles that give them the point of view of the drone. I always knew it was fast but I had no idea how fast. They cover the length of a hockey rink in under 2 seconds and there are spectacular crashes and lot's of excitement. 

We finished the day off with dinner from food trucks. I had fish and chips from a double-decker bus. If you want authentic fish and chips I highly recommend you buy it from a double decker bus.