Tofino for Spring Break

We're tentatively planning to attend the Star Wars 5k, 10k and Half Marathon in January of next year so we decided we would stay closer to home this spring break. Everyone really enjoyed our trip to Tofino several years ago so we booked a cabin at the same place we stayed last time. Our trip always goes through Coombs which has the Goats on the Roof store. As far as I can remember I've never actually seen the goats on the roof but maybe they don't put them there in the winter because it's too muddy. We still had some good baked goods and Carter bought himself a 4x4 Rubik's cube.

We caught the first ferry in the morning because there was a spring time deal where all passengers were 50% off. Despite our dawdling at Goats on the Roof we were still much too early for our cabin to be ready so we took quick trip to Long Beach. This is a fairly famous surfing beach and when you are there you can see why. Constant wind and lot's of waves. We have a great picture of Wilson on this beach in the wind. It was a bit calmer today and Oliver has no hair right now so not the same effect.

Even after Long Beach we still had time to have lunch at a place across from our campsite called the Wildside Grill. It's nothing more than a dirt covered parking lot with a few small businesses but the food is great and it's surprisingly busy for the middle of the winter. It must be a pretty popular spot because the crows there appear to be experts at scavenging. They stay in the trees and the moment someone gets up from their seat to leave they fly to the table to see what's left over. We were pretty clean but I left them one fry as a tip for the entertainment.

On Friday we took a trip to a rainforest walk. It's two 1k hikes on either side of the highway though unfortunately the upper one was closed again. We had tried last time we were here and it was closed at that time as well. When we got into the lower hike you start to get a sense of why it closes often. The boardwalk seems to be getting pretty old and there are some very steep, very rickety stairs to climb. We recalled that the last time we were here both Carter and Wilson fell off. We managed to get out without any disasters though Oliver had to be carried through some of the steeper sections.

Our cabins were called Crystal Cove Cabins and they are on the end of Mackenzie beach. It's an enormous cove with a sandy beach that is several hundred feet deep at high tide. The weather was overcast for much of the time however on our last day it was sunny and there were some lovely sunsets. Carter and I did make an attempt at swimming however it's quite possibly the coldest water I've ever been in. We managed to wade up to our waists, dunk our heads and then run to the hot tubs. It isn't exactly roughing it camping.

On Saturday we took a drive to the beach beside Wickaninnish in called Chesterman's Beach. This is a great beach for tide pools as there is a bunch of rock outcroppings that are accessible during low tide. Callie had her usual fun of finding star fish and creatures that close up quickly when you touch them with your baby finger. Oliver had a great time as well because he could follow us almost anywhere.

We finished Saturday with a trip to the local fish hatchery. The weekend we were in Tofino was the Whale Festival and one of the events was a fish race. The hatchery was at the end of a long, narrow, winding road and parking wasn't easy so I was glad we got there early. We bought our four fish, had some hotdogs and pudding and got a lesson on the hatchery process. Callie even found an albino fish which apparently won't last too long in the wild. The winners were the top 10 fish and unfortunately none of our guys made it.

Our last day included a trip to the Wild Pacific Trail in Ucluelet. There was supposed to be a marine biologist there to guide us in whale watching. As it turned out he may have just been a naturalist and I'm not sure he was much of an expert. His guidance included telling us where to look for the whales and pointing us to a sign that had explanations of the types of whales that visit during this time of year. I think I probably could have covered for him.

We managed to see a few whales blowing water but nothing that breached the surface. The more interesting part was seeing the eagle in it's nest. A local hiker told us he had come back the last five years to that spot. There must be eggs right now because he stayed there for the whole time we watched him without much movement.

Tofino was a fun trip. The weather was pretty good for this time of year and it was a relaxing stay. We might have to come during the summer some time.

Shamrock'N'Race

Kerry has us signed up for several races this year. Kerry and Callie have aleady done the Historic Half in Langley and Kerry has done the Hot Chocolate run in Seattle. The first race for the whole family was the Shamrock'n'Race the weekend before St.Patrick's. We don't ordinarily dress up for these events however the Dollar store had a full selection of green head gear and accessories so Kerry and the kids purchased plenty of green for all of us. The weather was overcast but not rainy which was a pleasant surprise considering all the rain we've had this winter. Carter looked very dapper in his bowler hat, moustache and glasses and my tall hat was surprisingly comfortable and well fitted for running. Kerry and Callie had matching top hats and scarves.

The race went very well for us. Carter was close to his personal best and Callie has continued to improve upon her personal best. This was her first sub 40 minute race. She was a bit mad at me because my time ended up being faster than hers but that was because she left before me and even though she beat me to the line, I was close enough that I was a second ahead on our chip measured time. More incentive for her to be faster next time.

Montreal - Riding The Metro

On our last day in Montreal the plan was to get a day pass to the Montreal Metro and see where it would take us. I hadn't done much research into where it could take us other than the fact that Dad wanted to go to Mount Royal so I found the closest station I could and off we went. We quickly learned that it might have been quicker for us to walk up Mount Royal from where we were staying however that wasn't really the point. From the closest point to our hotel we had to take three different lines to get to the station at the University.

We got off the train with mostly students which made me feel quite old. The station is not quite at the top of the hill so we still had a trek to reach the closest university building. As with everything in Montreal it was  quite old. If we had more local knowledge perhaps we could have figured out how to get to the top of the main tower but instead we quickly got lost in the student offices area and decided we had had enough so we went outside to see if we could walk some of the local trails. We also learned that Mount Royal is perhaps a better place to visit in the summertime unless you are into snowshoeing.

Our Metro pass was a day pass so we hopped back on and headed to the Olympic Park. My understanding is that they only recently finished paying the thing off from the Olympics. A bit of a historic blight but it's now an interesting area. There is the main stadium, a bio dome with various ecosystems, a few arenas, a planetarium and an IMAX theater. Our luck was not with us however as it seems that the majority of the buildings are closed on Monday so it was back to the train to go back to the hotel for a break.

There was still time before dinner and Dad wanted a break so I walked over to old Montreal to wander the streets and check out some more old buildings. The range of architecture styles is amazing and with such narrow streets there are very few cars making it very quiet. I'm going to have to watch more carefully in pictures set in the 1700's to 1900's. I imagine this is a great location for historical movies. Montreal was an excellent trip and hopefully I'll get a chance to come back again during the summer.

Go Habs Go!

On Saturday we readied ourselves for the first of our two Habs games. The game was at 1:00p so we had breakfast and then waited around the hotel until game time. The Bell Centre is a newer stadium but it had to squeeze itself into it's spot in Montreal and you can tell they didn't quite have as much room as they would have liked. Small stairwells and a small concourse. Still a nice arena though. All the seats have good views and even though we were in the upper deck it was a nice way to watch the game. The Habs did not prevail, falling 3-2 to the Washington Capitals.

Sunday's game was also at 1:00p and unfortunately had a similar result. It was however a much better game to watch. No goals in regulation meant overtime and eventually a shootout. It was fun watching McDavid. As a Habs fan it was frightening every time he got the puck. The 3 on 3 OT was exciting with good chances for both teams. Shootout was over quickly with Montreal missing on two shots and Edmonton scoring on their first It was definitely fun finally being in a stadium where most people were cheering for your team. If we come again we'll have to order a win in advance.

With both weekend games at 1:00p there wasn't much time to do anything else. The museums didn't open early enough and closed too early. On Saturday I did take a walk down to Old Montreal which is just as nice at night as it is during the day. The buildings are often lit up and in old Montreal there were several projectors showing historic moments on the sides of brick buildings. It was spooky seeing the burning of Montreal in a dark ally without any sound. Sunday was spent watching what will likely go down as one of the best Superbowls ever assuming you are not an Atlanta Falcons fan.

Montreal - A Mix of Old and New

I was born on Groundhog Day in 1977. 40 years later and my Dad is taking me on a tour of Montreal. We came in yesterday and have a hotel near the Bell Centre. The plan is to go to two Montreal Canadiens Games on Saturday and Sunday which meant we had Friday free for some sightseeing. We started with a short cab ride to the Notre Dame Basilica. It was originally constructed between 1824 and 1829 though it has gone through many additions, renovations and repairs since that time.

Dad and I spent much of our time admiring the craftsmanship that was required to build it. I stopped for a speaking tour and a young kid asked how much it would cost to build. I already knew the answer was 'we don't really know'. So much labour went into the original work that it would be impossible to price it in today's dollars. The most intriguing thing to me was the fact that the floor sloped towards the alter yet the way they built things you can hardly tell. It's only when you compare a person standing at the front to one at the back that you clearly see the difference. All before computer aided design.

After we finished admiring the church we went on a walking tour of Old Montreal. Living in BC you're only exposed to architecture back until the late 1800's. Montreal takes us back a few more centuries. The buildings are a mixture of ages and some look like they've been heavily modified over the years. One of the buildings appeared to originally be all rough stone work before adding a new fascade and brick work to add on additional stories. Most buildings also had to be heavily supported as the walls started to bow outwards. Fun to see what construction looked like hundreds of years ago.

Also in old Montreal was the present day city hall. Built in the late 1800's we were able to go inside and see where they hold council meetings. We also took some time to check out the court house. The front door was about 25 feet tall and made of steel. With very few windows and thick stone walls I feel it was actually built to handle the zombie apocalypse or some other event where high ranking officials need a safe place to go.

Our final destination was the old Montreal Forum. Unfortunately neither me nor my Dad ever got to see a game played here. It was closed in 1996 and turned into a movie theater and shopping mall. I don't think it's coincidence that Montreal hasn't won a cup since. They've destroyed a sacred hockey location. They did try to keep some things in place. There is an atrium area with a museum to the Habs and you can see the original roof beams as well as the approximate location of centre ice. Maybe this will be the year the Habs christen the Bell Centre with a cup.

Turning 40 in Harrison Hot Springs

This year is a fairly significant birthday for me as I turn 40 despite only feeling 39. My Dad is taking me to Montreal over my birthday weekend so the family had to find another time to celebrate. They surprised me with a trip to Harrison Hot Springs two weeks before. Harrison is quite close to us and we talk about going there often. Kerry let me know that we were doing something but wouldn't give me any details. I didn't expect an overnight trip and had no idea until we got in the car and started driving. Once we passed the Abbotsford Zoo and I saw that Pooh bear was coming with us I knew we were going someplace overnight.

It is February so swimming in the lake was out of the question however we stayed at the Harrison Hotel which includes three pools fed by the hot springs. The springs themselves are around 140 degrees Fahrenheit but they add cold water and the pools are closer to 102 to 106. It was a bit chilly in the outdoor pools but the indoor pools were excellent. The pools are quite old now however they've maintained them very well. The only drawback during the weekend was that the pools were open to 11:30p so it was pretty loud after 10:00p. Other than that it was a great birthday surprise.

A White Christmas

This Christmas was fairly typical for us. It started with our new tradition of searching for our Christmas tree. We don't quite have a traditional location yet. We got our first tree from the same place we get our pumpkins. We got our second tree from our local nursery and this year we got our tree from a farm near the pumpkin patch. It looks like a great location, with gentle sloping hills full of trees and the trees are very nicely. Unfortunately it has a 'No Dogs Allowed' rule so I don't think we'll go there next year.

Once we had our tree it was time to decorate it. Callie had pulled out our old artificial tree so we actually had two trees up. She wanted to do the old tree with home made decorations. She started with popcorn and we added some paper lanterns as well as some Japanese lanterns from the garden. We also decided it would be a good idea to decorate with some emoji's which are simple pictures people use while texting. Callie picked several smiley face and puppy emoji's but Carter decided he wanted to use the poo emoji. It was fun finding out some people still think it's just a picture of ice cream.

We also took our annual trip to the Vancouver Christmas Market. Ordinarily we go with Barb and Reg but they wanted to stay behind and look after the dogs so it was just the family. They moved the market this year down to Jack Poole plaza which is located on the water near Canada place. There were a few significant differences from previous years. There was a lot more room which almost had a negative effect since it didn't seem as cozy. It also didn't seem to include a reduced cost ticket to Flyin' Over Canada. We've gone the past few years to that because it includes a piece where you fly over the North Pole. Maybe next year.

This year we got a special treat of snow during the holidays. The first flakes came down in mid December and it remained through the new year. I can't quite say we had a white Christmas since it didn't snow on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day however we got a great snowfall on New Years Eve. It snowed about 20 cm and I was out in the evening before midnight shoveling. The snow stuck to everything and with our LED Christmas lights it was a very peaceful evening in the snow.