Palm trees to Pine trees

Here's a serene photo from the 18th floor of the Marriott Waikiki. Always feels good to get off of the plane, and to stretch out on the deck. Getting take-out pizza was definitely on the agenda.

We're always a bit overwhelmed by the cultural differences that become apparent when landing in Honolulu. Australia imparts this easy-going, laid-back lifestyle, which we readily accustomize to during the time we spend there. This is particularly true in Perth, where Sunday trading is still practically non-existent, national holidays are widely observed, and the best time you can have is still hanging out with your mates around the barbie, cooking up prawns, and having a few crownies. Killing an entire week by watching a 5-day test match in cricket is the norm. By comparison, spending time in Waikiki is like throwing yourself into 10 lanes of traffic. Car culture abounds in this relatively small city, consumerism is rampant, the pedestrians are pushy and obnoxious, the prostitutes actively confront the citizens, and the television stations seem to have a higher flicker rate. That is, an image appears to stay on the screen for about half the time that it does in Australian media. I've heard a past professor of mine discuss at length about how this is related the ever-decreasing ability of North American's to pay attention. Oh yah, have you ever noticed how the volume also seems to increase by a few dB when the commercials come on? Guess who pays the bills. You'd think this would be regulated.

We've started to see Waikiki as a Disneyland for adults. It's not exactly relaxing, unless you decide to stay in your hotel room. Seems to me that most Americans view Hawaii as a must-see vacation destination, and many will save for years for that one exalted trip here. The problem is that the expectations get raised to an extreme level, and as a result, if the weather turns sour, the hotel room is not as planned, or that dreaded winter flu kicks in, it's like a world catastrophe. Throw into the mix that many of the sun-seeking American families likely haven't spent this much concentrated time together in the last 20 years, so suddenly sharing a compact hotel room, or something as simple as deciding on a place to eat, turns into a veritable meltdown. On every stopover we've had here, we've seen at least 4-5 major conflicts erupt on the sidewalks. These are not toddlers having a routine tantrum, but rather the parents having a full-on domestic in front of the kids and anyone else unfortunate enough to pass by. And there always seems to be at least 5-6 cell phones involved - why are these brought on vacations? Anyhow, that's my rant. When I think of vacations, my mind tends to drift toward the wilderness, and secluded cabins nestled next to calming lakes, but definitely does not involve these "trips from hell" with hundreds of thousands of people raising their blood pressure to volcanic levels. (BTW - Sophie felt the earthquake when we were there; she said it helped to be sitting on the toilet! I however, had no idea one even occured)

The first thing we noticed when arriving in Vancouver, other than the cold, was the strong smell of pine trees that greeted us. I just love that smell, it clears the head and drains the sinuses. Our return flight to Ottawa on Monday is a bit suspect at this stage, due to the amazing amount of white stuff on the left, which has been falling since we've arrived.



We've been hanging out with our gracious hosts Kathryn and Meghan for the last 2 nights, and have been spoiled by being walking distance to all the great shops on Granville street, Granville Island, and W4th Avenue. We also had to get in on the cheap, cheap, local sushi Saturday night. I think if I lived here though, I'd spend a shocking amount of money on restaurants. And, it appears that the locals do exactly that, which is surprising given the monumental cost of living in this city. There may be some relief on the horizon though for those first-time homebuyers like us, that is, if what is currently occuring in the US has any spillover into the North.