Keep Pace
I've been trying to keep up the hectic pace of my summer in Vancouver and found that I had to slow it down and take a bit of a breather this weekend. Having spent the last two weekends out camping and sleeping on hard ground the thought of sleeping in on a mattress was absolutely appealing. A couple weeks back a car-full of people went up to Leavit Lake on the way to Whistler. It was about a 40 minute off-road trek in a Bronco up the side of a mountain to a fairly secluded lake. We hauled our stuff another ten minutes by foot and set up amongst the trees on the edge of the lake. The off-roading was a lot of fun and the rest of the weekend was just relaxing in and around the lake. Doing a bit of a hike and sitting by the fire.
Last weekend (the long one) was the big outing to Tofino for the Triumf Summer Student learn to surf adventure. Thirteen of us set out early friday afternoon and pulled into our campsite by evening. Besides an overly restrictive campsite attendant we enjoyed barbecues, music and discussion around the fire. Spent the next couple of days floundering on 6 foot waves in the Pacific ocean, trying to get the hang of the surfing thing. By the second day I was standing up fairly consistently - though I would only stay in that position for maybe 5 seconds at a time. Those 5 seconds were enough of a rush to head back out and wait for the next perfect wave though. We also did some hiking and checked out some rainforests, toured Tofino itself and ferried back late Monday night. A little bit of social drama took place but all in all the weekend was a lot of fun.
My buddy Dave came to visit me at the frat house. We caught up and chilled at the house. I showed him downtown Vancouver and we went out for a night on the town. He may or may not have ended up walking through Stanley Park with his buddy trying in vain to find his way back to my place but I take no responsibility for that and he lays no blame. Just another story to tell. I also was feeling a little 'sick' of work one day and we went to climb the Lion's mountain; located in North Van, overlooking the city. It was a tough climb to the top, and when we arrived we found all views obscured by thick clouds. A real disappointment. We walked along a few mountain tops, frequently cursing the weather, and looking for a final scramble we'd read about. After losing ourselves a couple times and backtracking a little we found the free climb we were looking for. It was only 200 meters of climbing of so, but without harnesses and with the only options being up and off-a-cliff 80 m drop it was pretty thrilling. Breathing slowly to calm my nerves and strictly adhering to the 3-points-of-contact climbing rule I scaled to the peak of Lion's West. It was at this point that the clouds did begin to show us a glimpse of what we'd been missing all day. Carefully climbing back down, the clouds fully cleared now and left us with some breathtaking views of the city and the ocean. The hike down was kept interesting by "choosing" to take a new path down. By the time we ended up at the road we were near the end of the tank and then realized we still had a 5 km walk back to the car. We didn't even have the energy to take in the fireworks competition but the hike was by all accounts a successful one.
I had already seen day 1 of the 4 day annual fireworks competition in English Bay. Watching from Kits beach I was fairly impressed by Italy's display. Apparently the shows only got better from there but unfortunately I was busy and unable to attend them. Ah well - what I saw was still good.
What else? What else? Went to the Broken Social Scene show in Deer lake park. They played in the late evening sun and were excellent. The only disappointment was the leading ladies were all noticeably absent. Amy Millan (stars), Leslie Feist (Feist), and Emily Haines (metric) were no where to be seen. Rumour of K-os dropping by also fell flat. Yet the rest of the huge ensemble played to their full potential. Having as many as 11 members on stage at a time they really did impress me and the crowd. Sam Roberts played afterwards and it seemed that his fist-pumping brand of Canadiana rock was even better received by the Deer Lake crowd. Old favourites such as Where Have all the Good People Gone, Brother Down and Don't Walk Away Eileen were far and away the best - though the new material did come across pretty well too. He really does have a stage presence and his backing band was tight too.
Back to this weekend of relaxing. Friday night was a concert cruise. Some random event I found on craigslist paid off well. Five bands ranging from Celtic to folk to punk and all in between entertained while we cruised out from the Plaza of Nations through the inner harbour, past Stanley park, into English bay, out to the UBC point and back. The city at night is beautiful from the water and the bands were excellent.
Yesterday I visited the PNE. It will have to do as a smaller, scaled-down version of my annual trip to the CNE. Although it is a permanent park, most of the rides are in the style of a moving carnival and scare more because you are unsure of the safety of the equipment than because of the actual ride. There were a couple full sized rollercoasters. The older of which was built in 1958 of wood and was the best ride of the day. Classic ferris wheel and log rides were also enjoyed.
In the next post you can look forward to details of my end of summer bashes with the geeks, I mean summer students, at Triumf and probably one at the frat. Also I will recount my adventures biking down Whistler mountains at break-neck speeds from this upcoming weekend. The Seattle Bumbershoot review will have to be in person or once I'm settled away in Sudbury.
Speaking of which I should let you know of my quick stop in at home come the end of this semester. September 5th I will be flying home and should arrive in the evening (9:30) with Jon Kit, my partner in crime for the September long weekend in Seattle. The next couple of days will be catching up with friends and family in and around Bradford. Hoping to head to Guelph (plus maybe Waterloo) for some frosh week antics and to visit some amigos. Come Sunday the 10th I'll have to boot it up to Sudbury as I start my job bright and early Monday the 11th. Going to be frantic but here's to seeing as many of you as possible in that short window.
Last weekend (the long one) was the big outing to Tofino for the Triumf Summer Student learn to surf adventure. Thirteen of us set out early friday afternoon and pulled into our campsite by evening. Besides an overly restrictive campsite attendant we enjoyed barbecues, music and discussion around the fire. Spent the next couple of days floundering on 6 foot waves in the Pacific ocean, trying to get the hang of the surfing thing. By the second day I was standing up fairly consistently - though I would only stay in that position for maybe 5 seconds at a time. Those 5 seconds were enough of a rush to head back out and wait for the next perfect wave though. We also did some hiking and checked out some rainforests, toured Tofino itself and ferried back late Monday night. A little bit of social drama took place but all in all the weekend was a lot of fun.
My buddy Dave came to visit me at the frat house. We caught up and chilled at the house. I showed him downtown Vancouver and we went out for a night on the town. He may or may not have ended up walking through Stanley Park with his buddy trying in vain to find his way back to my place but I take no responsibility for that and he lays no blame. Just another story to tell. I also was feeling a little 'sick' of work one day and we went to climb the Lion's mountain; located in North Van, overlooking the city. It was a tough climb to the top, and when we arrived we found all views obscured by thick clouds. A real disappointment. We walked along a few mountain tops, frequently cursing the weather, and looking for a final scramble we'd read about. After losing ourselves a couple times and backtracking a little we found the free climb we were looking for. It was only 200 meters of climbing of so, but without harnesses and with the only options being up and off-a-cliff 80 m drop it was pretty thrilling. Breathing slowly to calm my nerves and strictly adhering to the 3-points-of-contact climbing rule I scaled to the peak of Lion's West. It was at this point that the clouds did begin to show us a glimpse of what we'd been missing all day. Carefully climbing back down, the clouds fully cleared now and left us with some breathtaking views of the city and the ocean. The hike down was kept interesting by "choosing" to take a new path down. By the time we ended up at the road we were near the end of the tank and then realized we still had a 5 km walk back to the car. We didn't even have the energy to take in the fireworks competition but the hike was by all accounts a successful one.
I had already seen day 1 of the 4 day annual fireworks competition in English Bay. Watching from Kits beach I was fairly impressed by Italy's display. Apparently the shows only got better from there but unfortunately I was busy and unable to attend them. Ah well - what I saw was still good.
What else? What else? Went to the Broken Social Scene show in Deer lake park. They played in the late evening sun and were excellent. The only disappointment was the leading ladies were all noticeably absent. Amy Millan (stars), Leslie Feist (Feist), and Emily Haines (metric) were no where to be seen. Rumour of K-os dropping by also fell flat. Yet the rest of the huge ensemble played to their full potential. Having as many as 11 members on stage at a time they really did impress me and the crowd. Sam Roberts played afterwards and it seemed that his fist-pumping brand of Canadiana rock was even better received by the Deer Lake crowd. Old favourites such as Where Have all the Good People Gone, Brother Down and Don't Walk Away Eileen were far and away the best - though the new material did come across pretty well too. He really does have a stage presence and his backing band was tight too.
Back to this weekend of relaxing. Friday night was a concert cruise. Some random event I found on craigslist paid off well. Five bands ranging from Celtic to folk to punk and all in between entertained while we cruised out from the Plaza of Nations through the inner harbour, past Stanley park, into English bay, out to the UBC point and back. The city at night is beautiful from the water and the bands were excellent.
Yesterday I visited the PNE. It will have to do as a smaller, scaled-down version of my annual trip to the CNE. Although it is a permanent park, most of the rides are in the style of a moving carnival and scare more because you are unsure of the safety of the equipment than because of the actual ride. There were a couple full sized rollercoasters. The older of which was built in 1958 of wood and was the best ride of the day. Classic ferris wheel and log rides were also enjoyed.
In the next post you can look forward to details of my end of summer bashes with the geeks, I mean summer students, at Triumf and probably one at the frat. Also I will recount my adventures biking down Whistler mountains at break-neck speeds from this upcoming weekend. The Seattle Bumbershoot review will have to be in person or once I'm settled away in Sudbury.
Speaking of which I should let you know of my quick stop in at home come the end of this semester. September 5th I will be flying home and should arrive in the evening (9:30) with Jon Kit, my partner in crime for the September long weekend in Seattle. The next couple of days will be catching up with friends and family in and around Bradford. Hoping to head to Guelph (plus maybe Waterloo) for some frosh week antics and to visit some amigos. Come Sunday the 10th I'll have to boot it up to Sudbury as I start my job bright and early Monday the 11th. Going to be frantic but here's to seeing as many of you as possible in that short window.
posted by Stefan Andrushenko at
4:58 PM
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