A lil’ Face Time

15 02 2012

It has been years since I’ve been to San Diego.  And, like every person that goes to San Diego as a child, the most distinctive memory that I have is of the San Diego Zoo.

And also like every person that goes to the zoo as a child, as an adult, I just had to go back and experience it all over again.   Luckily, the animals were enjoying the cool weather and the light mid week crowds to give us a little face time.

Leopard in Deep Contemplation

Kissing Camels

Buddha Panda

"Winnie the Pooh" Panda

"Going Gorilla"

Cheetah!

Dinner Time!

San Diego's Baby Giraffe

Bird(s) of Paradise





Here….Fish…Fish…Fish…Crawfish…

26 08 2011

I grew up salmon fishing in Port Alberni, BC.  Waking up at 3am, taking half of a Gravol pill (aka Dramamine) and falling asleep in the truck until we arrived at the boat launch.  Sometimes it was just me, other times it was me and my brother.   Regardless, we would stay awake until we got situated in the boat, wrapped up in blankets and got a quick thrill riding over the waves and boat wake in the pre-dawn light.  Then we fell back asleep until it was light out and my dad had been fishing for at least 3 hours.

During these summers we learned that we did not like waking up at 3am, salmon fishing is no big deal and my dad wanted us in the boat so the fish limit would increase and he could catch more fish, if the fish aren’t biting it’s time for a coffee break, and my brother and I were easily persuaded to do all of this for the promise of a 7eleven Slurpee.

Much to my surprise, in the middle of Arizona, I went fishing for the first time since my summer fishing trips almost 15 years ago.  This time we fished from the shoreline, in a freshwater reservoir, with a little ultra light rod and reel.

No, we did not catch wild salmon the size of a 5 year old, but we also didn’t wake up at 3am!

Because we were not fishing at the morning bite I didn’t catch any fish.  But I now realize that my special talent is to catch crawfish on a line!

It was a group effort, but we managed to catch almost a dozen crawfish.  My claim to fame is the old crawfish that was covered in moss that has probably been in that reservoir forever.   ‘The Old Man of the Lake’ .

And what does one do when one catches a dozen crawfish?  You have a crawfish boil!

More trouble than those little crawfish tails are worth, but definitely a fun little vacation activity.





Going on an Elk Hunt

14 08 2011

You would think that spotting an elk in the wilderness would be a special occasion.  We did too when we went searching for a herd of elk one evening on an off road trail.  We kicked up rocks and plenty of dust as we drove along the off road trails near the Grand Canyon and we were rewarded by coming across a herd of elk bulls.  We crept into the tall grass to take photos as these bulls with huge racks of antlers were feeding on their evening meal.

Even after we’d gotten back in the car and were far away from the herd we were still whispering.  We saw another elk bull munching on some grass right beside the road.  And a mixed herd complete with babies by one of the watering holes.

 

By the time we’d gotten back from our ride, we’d seen a ton of elk, mule deer, and I realized I may have a little fear of heights after we’d climbed the Lookout Tower at Grandview Point and it made me a little shaky.

We thought we’d really spotting something special seeing so many Elk that night, that is until we woke up the next morning to watch the sunrise and found that they were all over the main Grand Canyon Lodge grounds, and then to find that our campground was filled with Elk during Happy Hour.

So, if at first you don’t succeed…try again at dawn or dusk.





Making Every Day a Different Day

22 05 2011

I just watched a movie that had a line in it that said, ‘never live the same day twice’.  You wouldn’t think that you’d get a little nugget of inspiration from a chick flick (that didn’t do very well in the theatre), but there’s definitely a good message in there.  The opportunity to switch things up is always in the air, you just have to be ready and willing to take it on.

Once in a while you have a day that just seems to come out of nowhere.  When you woke up in the morning, you had no plans, or maybe you had a lot of plans, but the way the day went, turned out to be completely different than what you expected.

I’m talking about those days when things just happen.  For whatever reason the positive momentum builds up and one activity turns into another.   And when you’re tucked in bed that night, you fall asleep with a smile on your face because when you woke up that morning, in the same bed with the same pillow tucked up under your head and the same blankets scrunched down around your waist, you had no idea what was in store for you that day.

Like waking up in the morning knowing that you have a formal dinner party to go to and the whole day is set for preparations for the evening…..but you and your friends rummage in the fridge and turn a few eggs and some smoked salmon into a West Coast masterpiece good enough for any downtown restaurant.

And then, as you continue with the preparations of the day, what else do you do…..but go crabbing.

Once you arrive at the formal dinner, you get to smile, knowing that you’re probably the only person in the room who went crabbing before you got there.  And, when you tell people what you did that morning, their response is, ‘don’t you guys ever slow down?’  I take that as a compliment.

And when you wake up the next morning,  knowing it’s a dreary rainy day, and you have a couple hour drive across the border and an evening flight ahead of you, what do you do to compete with the previous day?

Head to Granville Island for a fun photo shoot and spend way too long cooing at a group of goslings.

And then you pose the goslings for a photoshoot…

It is extremely satisfying to know that you took advantage of a day, sunny, rainy or otherwise, and you found something unexpectedly cool to do.  And….to grab a lyric from current pop culture, ‘everybody dies, but not everybody lives’.  





Tourist? Excuse Me?

25 03 2011

Someone called me a tourist.  In Vancouver.

I admit, I was dressed to spend a day walking along the Seawall and I did have my camera out.  But tourist? There was no fanny pack around my waist, I had on the Vancouver uniform of yoga pants and a puffy vest.  Besides, the mix of locals and tourists that take advantage of the seawall on foot, on bike, on rollerblades, taking photographs and being amazed at the scenery, is so interchangeable.  Everyone, local or tourist, takes time to discover, or rediscover, the area, especially on a sunny day.

I ended up on the same path of a couple of amateur photographers, and it’s so interesting to see what everyone focuses on for their photos.  One woman loved cherry blossoms and boats and another guy couldn’t pass up a good photo of a seagull.  So, I thought, Sure, I’ll take a photo of your seagull as well.  Why not?

Which led me to a little bit of a bird kick.  I spent waaay too long trying to get this crane to do something interesting.

And then a crow freaked me out by flying at me when I was very zoomed in to get a photo with it eating a fish.

And on that note, I leave you with a couple of photos to get your mind off of that crazy looking crow.

As I finished up my 15 km walk, I took in the image that was in front of me, the sun was shining, people were sitting on the beach eating ice cream, there were kayakers in the water, a sailboat was skimming the water at English Bay, and I thought to myself, ‘there is NO way that people are doing this right now on the east coast.’





The Canadian Wilds

23 03 2011

Did I ever tell you about the time I was in Dallas and when hearing that I was from Canada someone asked me, “So have you ever been attacked by a wild animal?”. I was stunned.  I didn’t know whether to feel angry that there was still such a stereotype about Canada or sad that this guy from Dallas had such a limited knowledge and exposure to the world.  That is, until he told me that he’d travelled all over the world – Europe, Australia, etc.  Then, I asked him where his cowboy hat and chaps were.  Time to fight stereotype with stereotype.

Well, maybe his views of Canada aren’t so far off.  Obviously not that we trudge around in the forest fighting off wild animals all of the time.  But there is SO much wildlife here!  Walking along the beach that I used to visit when I was growing up was like watching a show on the Discovery Channel.  It also made me realize that not everyone had the childhood activities of clam digging, picking seaweed and playing in the driftwood.

I went home to visit at exactly the right time.  The herring season was starting, the Brant Festival was upon us, the water was turning turquoise and the sea life was abuzz with activity.

The seals were having a party and the sea lion was barking up a storm.

The seagulls and ducks were gossiping on the sandbar…..that is, until the eagles swooped in to scatter them (for no reason other than their own entertainment – a little bit of a power trip).

Unfortunately not all of the herring are going to make it as a lot of the “herring to be’s” washed up to decorate the sea shore.

 





Beautiful British Columbia

14 03 2011

Scenes from home:






Seattle Wildlife

4 08 2010

Just a random day on the Westcoast (some may say the BestCoast)





Randomly in Toledo

13 05 2010

What is there to do in Toledo, OH?

I once tried to find a cool restaurant in the downtown area.

There is none.

I have heard that there is a famous Hot Dog place from the TV show Mash.

Never Been.

The only thing that I have heard repeatedly is:  Toledo has an excellent zoo.

Turns out all of the animals are put to bed at night and the only animal left to see is their new baby giraffe.  He may have been worth the trip.





The Biltmore Estate

25 04 2010

It wasn’t until we visited the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC (famous for being America’s largest home, the ancestral Vanderbilt family home and childhood home of Anderson Cooper) and I witnessed my very first lamb stampede did I realize that I am in love with lambs.  They’re just so cute.

As we drove through the windy farm roads that meandered through the first scientifically managed forest, we came across a field full of lambs and sheep.  I immediately jumped out of the car and only the electric fence could keep me away from running right up to them.  The sheep actually ‘baaaa’ and the lambs answer back ‘yeaaa’ as they run from one direction to another, up and down the hills.  The next day we were touring the estate again and I mentioned that we should just pass by the lambs, but I promised that I wouldn’t get out of the car.  As soon as we came up upon the field and I saw how close they were to the road…..ALL BETS WERE OFF…and I was out of that car while it was still rolling to a stop.  I mean seriously, how can you resist them?

Well, we did see other things besides the lambs while we were there.  We took one afternoon to tour the gardens.  Coincidentally, we arrived the day of the “Festival of the Flowers” and the walled garden was filled with thousands of tulips of all different colours.


After taking photos of every tulip at every different angle we followed the paths to the azalea garden.

After a little detour setting a bad example by running around in the grass, we headed down to the bass pond.

Not only did we find the perfect photo opportunity, but we came across an Asheville, NC local, that after finding out that I was Canadian (and from Vancouver to boot), thanked me for being Canadian because he enjoyed the Olympics, specifically the Opening Ceremonies, so much.  How cool is that?

Just slightly cooler than when we went to the children’s petting zoo and I found a ram with curly shaggy hair.  I put my head up next to his head and yelled out to Nathan to check out the similarity in our lustrous curly locks.  Note: there was a fence between our curly-headed locks.  The petting zoo also had a couple of goats, some odd-looking fancy chickens, one of which started scratching the ground like it was getting ready to charge at me, and these cute fuzzy baby chicks.  If I had had a camera I would have sent photos to a friend who has always mentioned that she wants to frolic with baby chicks.

And, just in case you thought we spent the entire time chasing the farmyard animals, here are some photos of the actual 200+ room, 5 story Biltmore House.