Vancouver Island Mon Tues

End of Sunday: Found a street person to give my old umbrella to ... she was soooo grateful ... amazing .... and then I found "Johns" restaurant and had a fantastic Eggs Benedict :)
Mon: Had to get up early for ziplining @ Adrenalinezip.com ... definitely in the top 100 things to do before you die :) One of the lines is 1000' long ... you are whizzing through the treetops for at least a minute. The tour is 2 hours long ($75). Miles better than bungee ... should be some photos emailed to me soon of my escapades.

Next onto China Beach for camping ... now I'm just grabbing a campsite as needed .. no more reservations ($6/night). Found some more veggie Samosas and Lentils and rice from an Indian Health food store ... really healthy! Walked down to the beach (2.5 kms) ... really rocky but not bad ... my 1st look at this coast. Had to put on my clothes in the tent @ 3am ... cold enough to "freeze the b***s off a brass monkey" ... once I put a hat on I was fine.

Tues: Morning was good ... didn't spill my water this morning so I had some coffee and oatmeal (instead of a power bar). Read some Muir last night ... really fits this trip ... he was such an adventurer ... real inspiration.

This morning set off for Sombrio Beach at 10am ... slowwww start. Good photos of this beach ... the trek down was in a forest ... at least 20 deg cooler ... so maybe 45 degF ... brrrrr. Thought about camping here on the beach ... but after I saw the spiders I headed for Port Renfrew :)
Probably hiked about 5 kms ... but got a bit cloudy and I need to find a campsite.

No phone or Wifi service here ... but the info center had PCs so I jumped on. Will head back to the East side of the Island tomorrow.

Will write more when I'm back on free service ... this just cost me $5!!

2nd Day on Vancouver Island

1st day was bright and sunny ... the crossing from Tsawassen was fun ... very smooth ... I used my binos to check out the Gulf Islands the ferry has to thread through. There are so many homes and lighthouses and the interiors lokok dark and mysterious with lots of private adventures awaiting. Stopped at a Info center after getting off the ferry and found out about Boutchard Gardens and their fireworks. I can truly agree now these were the best I have seen anywhere ... lasted about 45 mins and built in crescendos of sound and light. For the first time, watching fireworks, I felt like a small child seeing them for the first time, with all the wonder and amazement.

I did take a few shots of flowers and one of the band that played prior to the start of fireworks @ 9p (I was at the gardens at 5p to guarantee myself a spot!). I actually fell asleep watching the band.

But I have got ahead of myself ... remember I haven't camped for 20 years ... so I was a bit rusty.
The tent went up really smoothly and the bag and pad worked ... although my old bones need a thicker pad and I just got a recommendation of where to get one :) The campsite is soooo nice ... hot-ish showers are 100 m away and I wandered around and saw every possible camping setup you could think of. Goldstream is a good campsite (and its a provincial park). One photo in here of Niagra falls with the incredibly steep trail leading up to the side

Today its tipping it down (raining) ... so I will spend the afternoon in Victoria with my umbrella.
There is an Imax ... etc. I guess I could put on my cycle gear and try ziplining in the rain :( ... perhaps not ... I'll wait for a break in the weather :) The manager @ Blenz says it should clear up soon ... perhaps tomorrow.

I talked to a nice lady in Blenz ... her name was Lucy ... she could have been straight out of The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe by CS Lewis ... so sweet and thoughtful. She gave me an idea for my class where you use Corn Syrup and food coloring to create finger paintings ... if I used rice-paper they'd be edible :)

I am realizing that it is the journey that is most important and not the destination ... I could be in Paris (especially with all this rain). I did remember my brolley but its getting a bit worse for wear .. so I'm off to buy a new one.

I am getting tips for my next time ... this time I'm realizing its almost a "scope-out" mission ... just heard about Della falls in Strathcona Park (highest falls in N. America) .. but its an overniter.
And I still want to do the whole of Juan De Fuca trail another time.

My friend Allan, in Bellingham was correct, in general the people in Canada are much more friendly, warm, intelligent and curious ... they remind me of the folks in Colorado.

OK ... almost out of juice ... signing off for now ...

Last day in Vancouver City

A nice sunny day.


Tried Dr Sun-Yat-Sen's classical Chinese garden. This was surprisingly non-touristy, there are only two small stores and they are mostly hidden from the garden.
The third photo is the view from the study of the scholar.

Essentially the chinese liked to visit the mountains to enjoy the quiet and peace found there. This garden is an attempt to bring the mountains to the home.

Old chinatown surrounding this is quite rundown and filled with tourist shops ... the garden is an oasis.


















After the garden I thought Gastown might be convenient ... mostly pubs and shops with one steam clock. If you really want to pay $24.99 for a hat ...

(Crossing East Hastings was more harrowing than expected ... hordes of "high" homeless right in your face ... a terrible paleness on them ... )

In the late afternoon I prepped for my ferry ride to Victoria tomorrow. I am off to Vancouver Island 'till Sept 1st.

After journalling for an hour this evening ... I find myself humbled by my arrogance(superciliousness) ... I judge too easily ... even though I try not to ... Yoda quote applies ".. there is no try ... do or do not". So I choose to no longer be arrogant with anyone. And only a fool hides his ignorance with bluster.
(Thank-you [God] for revealing this.)

Another interesting day of increasing awareness and relaxation. I started off chatting with Jordan ... I think I am now committed to trying Ziplining just south of Victoria (when I get there ... hopefully Saturday) ... it'll be scary but fun.

Re-read the freedom prayer from "Waking The Dead" by Eldredge .... it's what set me off on this trip :). I really need this daily ... the world can so easily intrude and I need to be what he intended.

So ... began with the Capilano Suspension Bridge ... unique but tooo touristy ... the shop was so tacky I didn't buy anything ... much to sugar sweet. Took the eco-tour on my 2nd pass and learned about the tiny 9 cm brown bats that can live in the folds of the huge Douglas Firs and eat 600 bugs/night!
Some photos but nothing special. Thought of doing Grouse Mtn next ... but I've been up cable cars in New Zealand ... I would see Grizzlies and a view of Vancouver ... but I'll probably pass.
After this I wandered into Stanley Park ... much construction craziness ... but I found the jewel that is Third Beach (name really sucks). I have a few good photos of this beach and two candids, one of a brother-sister in the water (she had just dunked him) and another of some racoons playing in the trees nearby.
I really liked strolling along the high water mark and the water was not that cold! This moved me back to joy and quiet.
I continued around all the Northside beaches and after lots of walking ... crashed for a bit.

Wandered out around 8p along Robson ... more interesting characters ... ended up at Blenz on Bute (and Robson) and sketched the mix of curves and tower blocks that characterizes downtown Vancouver for me. Absolutely addictive dk chocolate mocha ... Sbux watch out.
I am attracted to some of the people here.

Found Chapters (bookstore) on the way back ... Borders should train their managers for US here ... so much better (book choice, layout, staff attitude). I was there for at least an hour but this would make an excellent rainy day standby. Only downside was the in house Sbux. Caught the last 2 crepes at a cafe, on my way back, around 10p .. now I cannot eat for the next 2 days!

1st two areSouth Falls and view from the back of the North Falls :) at
Silver Falls State Park in OR



Vancouver is a small city with lots of high-rise luxury apartment blocks right in the center of downtown. But they are smaller than the giant blocks of Amsterdam and fit this mini-city's size, not overwhelming one. I can unreservedly recommend my B & B right near the center. The room is tiny but adequate, only having a sink and, thank God, no TV. The shower-toilet down the hall is very clean and simple to use. The staff were really helpful and stored my bike in a room for an extra $5/day. Parking is a hassle, but I knew this already from what I had read and am paying $18/night for secure underground parking under the nearby Westin hotel.

Today was my get my bearings and wander day ... so I strolled past the Art museum (photo #3), trying to catch the atmosphere with a quick photo and then headed towards the waterfront where I circled the "Canada Place" pier (photo #4,5). It was amazing to peer into the cruise ships docked down there and see into all the suites with their Plasma TVs, beautiful furniture and slick design ... but I was reminded of Alcatraz ... I don't think a cruise ship is for me. The floatplane looked really cool.

Now it started raining .... pretty heavy.... so I pulled out my camera bag cover (1st time) and headed back to the Art museum. They didn't permit photos :( so i had to check my camera.
The content was OK ... lots of cartoon stuff ... with a few conventional photos. TP.

The camera check girl was nice on the way out ... even though she was overwhelmed with stuff.

My most interesting time was in the evening about 8p when i took a stroll down the street I'm on and up another. I had picked up a Moleskine sketching pad and the lamposts with trees enveloping them with the cityscape background ... got me to try my first sketch. On the way back I found the Nester's market (deli) and was amazed by the variety of the food. I picked up 2 Vegetable samosa's (divine) ... some cheap fruit and 1 French orange truffle as a treat.
(Only now do I fully realize the truly sad state of US cuisine.

The front-end manager was warm and friendly and made me feel welcome and safe even in a strange city. I do feel at home here.

Never ... never stay at the Cedar Lodge Motel in Medford ... enough said.

I checked out the Silver Falls State Park just east of Salem(Hwy 22). Great place ... has 10 waterfalls but the atmosphere was what got to me ... it was simply alive ... ferns everywhere, misty, you can feel the energy in the place. A couple of interesting humans (awake and aware and they reached out) in contrast there are so many are asleep or constrained by their family limitations to allow them to communicate. It's OK. Took 11 photos ... will post when I find the cable! I may buy a USB flash card reader tomorrow!

Limited my hikes .. I was still weakened from my recent cold so I only hiked about 3 miles total, but with 500' of climbing.

I have started to quiet myself, relax and begin to listen :) It will probably be raining in Bellingham tomorrow ... this is the best time to walk and listen.

I am joyful tonight and quieter ....

Start of the Journey

I'm on my way to Canada for 5 weeks. I'm excited and a little curious....