Scenes from home:
Beautiful British Columbia
14 03 2011Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: Animals, Canada, Life, Nature, Photography
Categories : Vancouver
Jack Frost is a Nipping
12 12 2010It’s official. Winter is here. I made it up until December 5th before seeing any snow on the ground and up until Dec. 10th before I woke up to snow on the ground (although it was gone by the afternoon).
There’s no escaping the snow today. In Detroit it’s been snowing since 5am (it’s 9:30pm now) and it doesn’t look like it’s stopping anytime soon.
Not to worry though, I see the snow as an opportunity to spread some Canadian good cheer! Just in time too, since I was in Windsor, ON this weekend and stopped in at Tim Horton’s and I forgot what a French Vanilla Cappuccino was called. I stammered at the counter, ‘you know what I want – what everyone orders… a…. a ….. french vanilla something’. My eyes zigzagged around the room looking for clues, but I was so panicked because I couldn’t remember that I couldn’t see what I was looking for. I felt like Robin Scherbatsky on ‘How I met Your Mother’ – a woman with no country, resisting the American ways but realizing that the Canadian norms aren’t so normal any more. Don’t worry though, I still say ‘you’re welcome’.
So, in an attempt to reclaim my Canadian citizenship, I stomped around every snow covered surface that I could find to mark my territory and establish my Canadianism.
I haven’t had this much fun stomping in the snow since I was a kid. Is it wrong that every few steps I took I would look behind me at my Canadian tracks?
Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: Canada, Random Life
Categories : Detroit
There’s No Place Like Home
29 08 2010It’s always fun to take a look around your hometown and discover it in a whole new light. I think that everyone can relate to the feeling that at one point in time they have taken their hometown, and all of its wonders, for granted. And I think everyone can also agree that it takes actually leaving your home to realize what a great place you have.
It’s been 3 1/2 years since I moved away from Vancouver (9 years since Vancouver Island) and I have heard 4 different responses when I tell people where I’m from:
1. “What? You left Vancouver to come here? Why? Usually it’s the other way around.” – Toronto
2. “Vancouver? Oh I love Vancouver. It’s so beautiful, I can’t wait to go back.” – A little bit of everywhere
3. “One day I want to go to Vancouver. It’s definitely on my ‘Bucket List’.” – Detroit
4. “Vancouver, Canada? Where is that? Did you like it in Canada? Isn’t it really cold?” – Small town America
So, needless to say, that while everyone was questioning why I left (with the exception of those who I couldn’t take seriously), I’ve started to question why I left as well. Sometimes I say, “Oh Vancouver”, with a long drawn out sigh. All those people who have since moved away from Vancouver or those Vancouverites in the middle of summer patio weather, know exactly how I feel, and have probably made that same longing sigh.
Parksville Community Beach
Sproat Lake
Third Beach – Stanley Park
False Creek Marina – Yaletown
Now that you’ve seen the photos I just know that you’re making that same longing sigh…
During our two week trip to Vancouver, with 3 days on Vancouver Island, I reintroduced myself to my city. It’s almost like meeting up with a friend that you haven’t seen in a while – you have a history together, but there are all of the little day to day details that you haven’t kept up with. And then there are all of the new discoveries – when your good old childhood friend shares new stories, life philosophies and wisdom, which makes you think, ‘man, we should get together more often.”
This is the experience that I had. A place so familiar and comforting; it was on its best behaviour and showed off its beauty, its energy, (its good weather), and it shared some old memories with me and gave me a lot of new ones.
Old Memories:
Goats on a roof, Mountainviews & Sand Castles
New Memories:
Wild bear sightings & boogie boarding in the Pacific Ocean. Pretty much everything about Tofino, BC was a new discovery.
Comments : 2 Comments »
Tags: Canada, Travel
Categories : Vancouver
Westcoast Flavours
27 08 2010If you’ve been to the Westcoast you know that it has a certain flavour. Not only do the people have a laidback attitude and a sense of joie de vivre, but the food has a certain flair to it. In a place where sushi restaurants are as common as coffee shops, wild salmon is the norm, and dim sum is one of the most popular Sunday family events, we definitely tried out a variety of culinary delights in Vancouver.
Steamed Mussels in Thai Curry Sauce
Fresh College Bay Oysters with lemon, fresh horseradish, and cocktail sauce
Har Gow (Shrimp Dumplings)
Local cheese and homemade fruit jams
Takoyaki with Bonito Flakes (deep fried octopus ball with dried fish flakes…I swear it was delicious)
Renkon Chips (some would say they’re better than potato chips!)
Assorted Sushi (note the deep red of the wild salmon sashimi – that’s what Salmon’s supposed to look like)
Terimayo Japadogs!!! (A Vancouver phenomenon – japanese style hot dogs complete with japanese mayo and seaweed flakes)
Comments : 5 Comments »
Tags: Canada, Food
Categories : Vancouver
Vacation Withdrawal
23 08 2010Vacations are interesting things. Sometimes one of the most exciting parts of them is the build up, that anticipation that you feel during those first few hours. You’re officially on vacation and off of work, but you haven’t reached your vacation destination yet. Those moments, when you feel all of that potential, have such a revitalizing effect.
I read in a magazine once that taking several long weekend holidays were more beneficial than taking a two week holiday because the anticipation of a holiday is just as important as the actual holiday. I can believe that.
When you’re away for two weeks, it’s just enough time to adjust to a different way of life, before you realize that you have to go back to work again. And then, those last few days go by achingly fast and you almost feel desperate to hold onto your vacation. As you drive down the same roads that you did at the beginning of your trip you remember all of the excitement and adrenaline you felt that first time down the road when your vacation was nothing but a ‘To Do’ list, and you realize that the clock has kept ticking and your time is almost up.
You can probably guess that I’m feeling a bit of vacation withdrawal. It’s hard to leave the Westcoast in general, but after a couple of weeks in Vancouver and Vancouver Island, I admit that it was a little emotional having to cross over the border, leaving Canada and returning to the US. And even though it’s only been a week, the vacation is becoming a distant memory. But as I flip through the photos and look at everything we ‘checked off our list’, I get those warm fuzzy feelings that you can only get from a fantastic vacation.
Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: Canada, Sightseeing, Travel
Categories : Vancouver
Olympic Memories
7 03 2010
After 16 days of checking the CTV Olympic Iphone App every hour, spending every evening falling asleep to speed skating, figure skating, bobsledding and other winter sporting events and pointing out to Nathan that although the US may have more medals in total, Canada has more GOLD medals….the Olympics are over.
Even though I only had a chance to take in the Olympic frenzy for the opening weekend, the memories are definitely going to be lasting. Where else other than Disneyland do you chase people down the street yelling, “can we take a picture with you?” AND when are they standing around (like Disney characters) waiting to have their picture taken?
When else would I drag myself out of bed (after only 4 hours of sleep) to get on a bus while it’s still dark outside to go to an arena where there “may or may not be athletes present”? Lucky for me, there were athletes present during the pairs figure skating training session, and also lucky for me, I was not the only one that got sucked into paying for tickets to a non-event, with no promise of athletes showing up except for the zamboni man (who, I have to say, lived up to my expectations!).
When else will I ever LOVE the fact that I look exactly like everyone else in Vancouver and exasperate my friends more when I wander off and blend into the crowd – EVERYONE is dressed in a Canada toque, scarf, and red mittens – and the majority of people – Asian!
When else would I be at a Sweden vs Switzerland hockey game yelling my head off and annoying my neighbours while clanging a commemorative cow bell? Maybe the bigger question is, when else will I ever have another commemorative cow bell? And, is there ever going to be another time when I’m running down the streets of Vancouver thinking that I’m running towards Wayne Gretzky only to realize that we’re running in the wrong direction, and then get stopped by the police to make way for Vice President Joe Biden’s motorcade?
All I can say with certainty is that I have never had more Canadian pride than seeing people dressed in red, with Canadian sweatshirts, scarves, toques, red Olympic mittens and Canada Flags draped around their shoulders hosting the world in my favourite Canadian city – Vancouver.
The only true way to experience the Olympic Games is when its in your hometown and you’re in the heart of it.
Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: 2010 Olympics, Canada, Family, Friends, Sightseeing, Sporting Events
Categories : Vancouver
OH CANADA!
11 02 2010The rain didn’t dampen the excitement of the crowd as the Olympic Flame was marched through the streets and we came out in our Red & White with the best of them!
Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: 2010 Olympics, Canada, Family, Friends, Sporting Events
Categories : Vancouver
Shot Gun!
11 02 2010Considering at Christmas people referred to me as a “Kamikaze Pilot”, you may be concerned of my “Copilot” status. But, COPILOT I am!
So, maybe it was a seaplane, and I didn’t actually touch anything, but I did sit in the copilot seat and take photos and video of the trip from Vancouver Island to Vancouver.
This is the best way to see the Vancouver skyline!
Comments : 1 Comment »
Tags: 2010 Olympics, Canada, Sightseeing
Categories : Vancouver
Welcome to Vancouver
11 02 2010I made it to Vancouver and the Olympic buzz is buzzing!
On my flight from Newark to Vancouver we had Olympians onboard and the pilot made a big deal about welcoming them and wishing them good luck, which meant that I spent the majority of the flight looking people up and down as they passed me to go to the bathroom to see if they had “Olympian” potential.
It was so exciting when we arrived at the Vancouver airport because all of the airport staff were wearing Olympic clothing, there was a special Olympian customs area, and so many people had the Olympic lanyards. When I walked into the main terminal greeting area where there were welcome groups, signs, people in matching Olympic outfits, etc, it made me realize that when you don’t have anyone waiting for you there, it’s kind of lonely. And, it reminded me of the time when I traveled with friends, and to prevent the lonely “we’re not greeted by anyone” feeling, we took turns running ahead of each other so there was someone (ourselves) to greet us. Lame I know, but it worked.
So after leaving the east coast where there were constant blizzard warnings and below freezing temperatures and the fact that I had been taking photos of snow-capped mountains during the flight, you can imagine my surprise when I looked out the window as we were descending into Vancouver and saw nothing but lush green landscape. There’s no snow here, and I actually saw people walking around in flip flops. Whoops, I’m definitely overdressed and apparently I have forgotten myVancouver roots – we don’t get snow here and the appropriate attire is a waterproof jacket and a scarf for decoration only!
Welcome to Vancouver!
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Tags: 2010 Olympics, Canada, Sightseeing
Categories : Vancouver
Bringing NYC to the T-Dot
14 11 2009Jay Z performed at the Air Canada Center on Hallowe’en night in Toronto, and we were there to see it.
While watching Jay on MuchOnDemand in our hotel room 2 blocks away from the Much Music building, we got the official email – “4 tickets waiting at willcall under Traci Lee”
After picking up my sister, grabbing dinner at Springrolls (www.springrolls.ca), we sat down in our seats just as the 10 minute countdown started. Perfect Timing.
After spending a year working in these circles, we were finally going to see ‘the magic happen’. It was a soldout show – the only seat available being the one beside us with the extra ticket burning a hole in my pocket. There was tons of energy and Jay definitely knows how to control an audience.
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Tags: Canada, Celebrity Sightings, Concerts, Jay Z, Music
Categories : Toronto
Adventures On the Road 
