I'm Ancient

Guess who turned 30 on June 8th? I was hoping for another one of these fine machines, just like on my 8th birthday, but I think they cost like a million dollars nowadays.

Plett's white glove tour

We were lucky enough to actually be around this time when a fellow Manitoban came through Ottawa. Plett was doing a whirlwind business trip into Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal, last April and managed to spare an evening to get some drinks with us at the Heart & Crown in the Irish village. Later, we toured from the Byward market over to the Rideau locks on the canal, and then took this photo from Major's Hill park across from the American Embassy. (Next time he'll have to come up with a more sane schedule and bring his wife)

Sophie and I left for Calgary during the last week of April, and spent the weekend at Paul & Jill's house in the ultra-hip Sunnyside neighbourhood. Our first night had us taking in a Flames win at one of the local pubs. Maybe it's the high percentage of young proffesionals moving to Calgary, but this place partied hard. I still can't believe though that the province lets patrons smoke in the taverns.

We also had a chance to meet some of the poets and writers that Paul and Jill hang ten with, at a pub downtown. It's an old converted house set amongst the glass and steel of downtown, and they make very tasty pizza. I (Soph), got a chance to attend one of the spoken word events taking place in Calgary while we were there, and hear some amazing poetry by Angela Rawlings, among others. How inspiring! I'm glad our trip coincided with the poetry reading events, even though I didn't get to all of them. Paul was heading off to Banff to be a writer in residence at the Banff Centre for several weeks just before we left.

Above - taking Paul's Electra for a cruise.
Right - White wine action with "Sweet Home Siberia" on the front porch. Those pants are mint.



I (Sophie) also had a chance to visit with Nadine and her girls, and see them in their space which I think is always interesting. We enjoyed an unseasonally balmy day in the park, and I think I got a sunburn while sitting on the hot black rubber tire material that is the new 'sand' in playgrounds these days. Those girls are so much fun!

I took the day off on Saturday, and Sophie and I made a day trip over to Banff. There's a nice lookout point on the side of Mount Norquay, allowing for panoramic views of the valley and the town centre. The open meadow is also packed full of gophers who provide lots of entertainment.



We met up later in the day with some of my work colleagues, and one of them had expressed interest in taking the gondala up Sulpher Mountain. Here's a photo of us at likely one of the most photographed spots in Canada.


This is what I saw during my week of work in Calgary. The site is high above the deerfoot trail, and the mountains were yet to be obscured by the smog of summer.

Ballet in the Okanagan

Having a post-lunch Okanagan Springs Nut Brown ale with Jer at a new restaurant down by the lake in Summerland. I can see this place doing well, as the kids can break free after eating and run along the beach below, while the parents kick back and enjoy the view.

Jer and I did this ride which took us along a section of the Trans-Canada trail, and then looped over to the southern edge of (Rattlesnake?) mountain. This photo is surprisingly reminiscent of some of the scenery along the Rhine river in Germany, all that would be needed would be a few more dairy cows, and a church bell ringing in the distance. The relatively few and mild climbs on this ride absolutely kicked the shit out of my legs and lungs. Have you ever seen "The Triplets of Belleville"?. Yeah...I was one of the guys heaped over his bike on the side of the road. Shocking what 2 years off of a bicycle can do to you.

It's hard to believe that places like "The Elite" restaurant in Penticton still exist. Lately, I've been reading all about the early Chinese immigrant influence on the Canadian diner in Fred Wah's prose book "The Diamond Grill" (which was graciously given to us by Paul) There's definitely a trend to try and recreate that faux elegance of the 60's small town diner, with the big booths separated by the orange stained glass dividers, and long chrome edged counter tops, but this place is legit. (When a 70 year old guy in a faded pink Sun Ice jacket sits next to you, and the breakfast specials are still under $5, you know it's for real). As I waited for my monster spanish omellete, I dialed up some etch-a-sketch skateboard ramp masterpieces.

Sophie and Ella hanging out in the morning, discussing the highlights of the in-house ballet we were treated to the night before.




Sophie's old friend Colleen recently moved from Victoria with her partner Cory, and onto a 6 acre plot of undeveloped land in Cawston, BC. Their place was only about 30 minutes south of Penticton, and yet it felt completely different. The town is just far enough removed from the Okanagan to retain it's character, giving it an isolated feel that certainly adds to the unique microcosm of the town's inhabitants. Cory was telling us of the Keremeos cowboy, who rides his horse everywhere he goes. He has been spotted countless times at night, slumpeded at 45 degrees on his horse on the shoulder of the road, with a dog in tow, both waiting patiently for their master to sober up and continue onward.

For night, we bunked down in this classic 70's van with the convertible bed. The crisp air smelled of pine, and the stars were magnificent as they became visible over the black mass of the mountain ridge.

Colleen, Cory and Sophie before we head out for breakfast in Keremeos. The night before, they took us out for supper in nearby Osoyoos, to an Italian place called Campo Marina. After supper, we took the car up the winding #3 highway to a roadside lookout, where you can see both the Canadian and American portions of the town. At night, the lights of the town surround Osoyoos Lake in a way that makes it appear as a dragon. If I ever snap at my urban lifestyle, the Keremeos valley is the kind of place I can see myself retreating to, working the land, baking bread, and helping the neighbour build his "end of the world" bunker on Saturday afternoons.

Our BC trip ended by taking the Hope-Princeton Highway back towards Vancouver, where we went through sunshine, rain, and a substantial amount of sleet at one point. Initial plans were to head up to a meadow high above Manning Park, but the season still had the road closed. One of my favorite drives in Canada has got to be the stretch between Manning Park and Hope on the #3. I find myself always having a difficult time finding a balance between crooning my neck at the scenery, and keeping the car on the narrow hairpin corners. When we reached Vancouver, Sophie's friend Meghan got us into the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver for $80. I spent most of the evening exploring the Canada Place pier, and wandering the streets of downtown. If you are ever in the neighbourhood, be sure to check out the HSBC headquarters on Georgia street. The 5-story atrium has a monumental piece of art called "The Pendulum", designed by Alan Storey. This 90 foot hollow aluminum mass swings perpetually overhead, matching up exactly with two pillars on either side of the atrium.

During the 2 weeks that Sophie and I were back in Ottawa, we were invited out by some friends at work to visit Stanley's Maple Farm, for the full "Cabane a Sucre" experience. I think that most of the maple sap was finished running at that point, but we still got to witness the process in the shack where the sticky liquid gets reduced to syrup. If you were watching Rick Mercer's report a week earlier, this was the same place were he took the new Environment Minister, Rona Ambrose.

Springtime in Ottawa. Sophie's planting some flowers, lettuce, and radishes on our 3rd floor deck in an offering to the flee ridden black squirrels.