Daily Musings

West Coast Vacation

We are five days into our West Coast Vacation and it is time to update the blog.

We flew to Vancouver on Saturday, June 19 and stayed with Ryan in his new apartment for the first few days. Once we see the Rockies and Coastal Mountains from the air I feel like I am home again.

It was really nice to see Ryan in his own element. His apartment is amazing - perfect for a young single man - in the heart of downtown situated between Yaletown, Gastown and Chinatown. He has a nice room mate from Ottawa to keep him company and help pay the rent. Day 1 of vacation was a late starter with our plane leaving Ottawa at 2:20 p.m. - it seemed so strange to be packed up early and waiting for it to be time to leave. By the time we got to Vancouver and unloaded our stuff at Ryan's it was getting late for us with the time change but we took a stroll down Robson Street. Ryan convinced us to try Sushi for dinner - we went to Robson Sushi which has an all you can eat menu. It was delicious but I stuck with all cooked items.

Sunday, we had a late start to the day. Ryan had to work in the afternoon so he dropped us off at Stanley Park where we trollied around the park, strolled, had lunch and finally made our way out via Lost Lagoon. It was a chilly and grey day so neither Dan nor I were very inspired to do much. The sun did eventually peak out a bit at the end of the afternoon as we were making our way down Robson Street and back to Ryan's.

Monday - another slow starting day - very out of character for us as we usually maximize our vacation days to see as much as we possibly can but we were waiting for Ryan to wake up and join us for breakfast and to get going. We eventually strolled to Gastown and browsed a few shops before eventually making our way on the Seabus across Burrard Inlet to North Vancouver. Ryan, who is the General Manager of the Indigo / Chapters store in North Vancouver had a big event that we were attending. Dan Hill was performing and reading excerpts from his new book, I Am My Father's Son. It was an honour to attend such an intimate concert and we are, of course, very proud of Ryan for pulling an event such as this off without a hitch.

A few photos from our first days (contributions from both Dan and I - Dan is getting pretty good with the camera - he uses the 30D and I use the 40D):

Ryan's apartment including the amazing views! The girly look is from his room mate's decorating finesse.

We traveled around Stanley Park in the Stanley Park shuttle - great method of transportation. Although it is possible to walk - it is a very big park! As much as I really wanted to run around the seawall - Dan would have been left on his own for the hour and a half it would take me to do that so I opted to stay with him.

As you can see, the day was grey and dull. It was also quite chilly! I had pants, a sweater and a jacket on! We have been to Stanley Park many times so today we didn't really have a plan other than just to enjoy the day. One of the things I love about the park is the rain forest feel - the big trees, thick underbrush and fresh feeling.

 

Lion's Gate Bridge as seen from Prospect Point with North Vancouver in the background.

 

We had lunch at Prospect Point. I had a Salmon Burger and Dan had fish and chips - nothing fancy but it did the trick to fill the empty hole. Had we been more patient, we would have held out for the Fish House further on in our journey. The raccoons are plentiful around Prospect Point - we saw at least 10 of them searching for crumbs and begging for food. It is really sad that they have become so familiar with people - the food that is fed to them is not even good for the human race let alone raccoons! They were cute photographic subjects though.

 

Lost Lagoon is always one of my favorite places to visit - guess it has something to do with my love for nature and birds :-). We were lucky enough to see an eagle perched in the middle of the pond on a log - he was waiting for his next meal. The crows were giving him a hard time and trying to scare him off but he didn't budge. Unfortunately I didn't have my ultra long zoom with me so no great photos of the eagle.

We did see some beautiful swans and even a late hatching to the mallard family.

 

A couple views of the Vancouver skyline from Stanley Park

   

And a couple shots from our brief stroll through Gastown:

Yippee!

HBW!, originally uploaded by Kadacat (Marlene).

I haven't been out taking any new photos so here is something from my archives. This past week or so, I have really noticed the birds singing and have spotted a few migrating birds returning. We saw robins on our run on Friday and last week in my 10K race I heard the familiar sound of the Red Winged Blackbird - a sure sign of Spring! Yippee!

So I haven't been as diligent with keeping up the blog posting - I am trying to get all my financial stuff completed before I spend too much time of things that are less important... It is working. I have the T4's done and will be bringing our personal tax stuff to the accountant this week to have them do the taxes. I normally do them but again got behind because of some tricky stuff that I wasn't sure what to do with. Better left to the professionals!

I really had a good week last week. I had one appointment for acupuncture for my jaw and I am happy to report that I have not taken a single advil since Tuesday. Another yippee!! Perhaps this was stress induced and getting a few things in order is helping me get past that issue. I am also closer to reaching a deal with a new contract at the RCMP - another yippee! It is not done yet so I need to be careful not to celebrate too early. This means I will not be moving on to other exciting opportunities but I am very happy where I am at and would like to see the current project through.

Another yippee for this week is I lost 2 pounds! I was surprised at this since I had indulged in a number of life's pleasures over the week with going out for dinner Saturday night and enjoying pie and ice cream, then going out for dinner Sunday night for Garrett's birthday and then enjoying birthday cake Tuesday night for Garrett's birthday. Yikes! Thankfully I did put in quite a few running miles which certainly helped. I am feeling so much better now that I have been making healthy eating choices again. My running has improved dramatically and I am already starting to feel the losses with how my clothes fit. It really doesn't take much change to make a huge difference.

I am heading out soon to stock the fridge and cupboards with the things I need for the recipes I have chosen for the week. I find this is so important to success - know what you need and only buy what's on the list.

My last yippee before I sign off is, of course, my running. As I mentioned it has been going to much better and I attribute that to my diet. My 10K run for St. Patrick's Day wasn't that great but every run since then has been wonderful. I have felt good during and after the run and have been able to stick with the 10 & 1 program. Ran ran the hill training on Wednesday which I was worried about but I stuck with it and did 4 hills. Friday we ran 6K and today 12K. My legs are feeling it but in a good way.

Must sign off - gotta go stock the fridge with healthy stuff!

Have a good week - thanks for stopping by.

Be ready

Snowkeh, originally uploaded by Kadacat (Marlene).

Let choice whisper in your ear and

love murmur in your heart.  Be ready.

Here comes life.

                            - Maya Angelou

A new month!

Red Cap, originally uploaded by Kadacat (Marlene).

As I was slugging it through the snow this morning on my Sunday morning run, the thought occurred to me that we should only have about 5 more weeks of the tough running conditions. Unless, of course, winter is extended like it was last year but being the eternal optimist I am hoping for an early spring.

My new training program starts on Tuesday. I have committed to 16 more weeks of training to prepare me for the Ottawa National Capital Race Weekend. I plan on registering for the 1/2 marathon run. It is always so exciting to start fresh. I am happy to be back into training gear. Not only did my injury set me back in physical activity, I also slipped up in my healthy eating and have gained some pounds back that I am anxious to get rid of.

So, although I have still not made it through all my Florida photos and still have more to tell you about our trip, I was itching to get out into nature again. Yesterday, I went for a little jaunt in the countryside looking for the Great Gray Owl. There have been several sitings of this gorgeous bird in the west end of the city. In fact, on Friday, there were six owls seen in close proximity near Dunrobin. I circled around the area a number of times but did not spot any owls. I stopped at one of my favourite birding spot in Shirley's Bay and was greeted by some faithful friends - Chickadees, Red Polls, Pine Siskins, Blue Jays and Woodpeckers. After watching and snapping a number of photos here I headed home, stopping at Britannia Conservation Area on the way. It was so wonderful to be amongst my feathered friends again. The chickadees are always happy to sing their song and stop by for seed.

Today looks like it is going to be overcast and snowy. Dan & I are going to spend the day together doing some errands around town.

Thanks for stopping by - I hope you are enjoying your weekend!

Pine Siskin, originally uploaded by Kadacat (Marlene)

Strolling

Strolling, originally uploaded by Kadacat (Marlene).

The end of another week! We have been home almost as long as we were away now. When you are away, it seems like so long but once home and back in the routine, time flies! How I wish I was back on this beach.

So, what did the week have in store for us? The big news in Ottawa is the Bus Strike is OVER! Hooray. The buses will not be back on the road for another week but at least there is an end in sight. This strike has had a profound effect on the city and I am sure it will take a very long time to recover. On a selfish front, I am looking forward to having a vehicle back just for me - being able to go out at lunch and take a few photos if I so desire. My boys will be very happy to be back on the bus and not have to worry about driving in traffic, parking and allowing extra time to do all that. All those that rely on the buses to get them from here to there will be able to regain their lives and the businesses that rely on bus traffic will hopefully be able to recover some of their lost income.

Other than that, I have not had a very exciting week. Same old, same old. The work week is filled with, well, work. I mentioned last week that I have started running again. I went to the Dome last night and ran about 4K - not a solid run - I am working back into this routine very slowly. I am so afraid of setting my injury back that I am likely being over cautious but that's okay. I will see my chiro again on Monday and see how the back is looking. It still gives me trouble but I suspect I will be feeling the effects of this injury for a long time to come and I am ready to get on with my life. There is still swelling and muscle damage and that may take more than a year to heal. The muscle may never go back to its original shape.

Today, I am going to venture out into winter wonderland and see if I can find me some good photographic opportunities. I think I have a car to drive :-).

Watercolour rescue

Watercolour rescue, originally uploaded by Kadacat (Marlene).

..., originally uploaded by Kadacat (Marlene).

Bird photography can be hit and miss. There are many factors to a good result:

• First you must have the opportunity (the bird must be present),
• Second you must have the right camera and lens (depending on how far away the bird is) and
• Third you must be ready to take the shot, conditions right, etc. 

The Air Boat Tour we took was on The Great Florida Birding Trail. There were lots of birds. I had both cameras with me with different lenses - one with the telephoto and one with the 17 - 85mm for closer shots. What was tough on that day was the fact that the boat was moving making it very difficult to set up and get a clear shot. Not being one to miss an opportunity, I continued to snap away and hope for the best. these two shots did not come out clear at all but I still liked the composition. The beauty of digital photography is you can usually still work with the photo and come out with something pleasing in the end. I decided to work with the blur and emphasized it a bit more with a water colour filter and this is the result.

Do you think it works?

Incidentally, the birds in the photos are TOP - Hawk and BOTTOM - Sandhill Crane.

Knobby Knees

Flamingo Knees, originally uploaded by Kadacat (Marlene).

I know - I take pictures of the weirdest things. I am fascinated by the variety of feet and knees and such in the animal kingdom - LOL.

These beautiful knees are, in fact, those of a flamingo. You have to admit that pink knees are pretty sexy.

I would have loved to have seen a wild flamingo in Florida but we would have had to travel further south for that. We saw these beauties at the Sylvan Heights Waterfowl Park in North Carolina on our way through to Florida.

I am searching for motivation - if you find some please send it my way!