Whistler in the Summer

We got back on Sunday from a few days at Whistler, where we spent some days of vacation with my brother and his family. While we all never felt very rushed, we managed to get quite a few activities in while we were there, including a gondola and chairlift trip up to the top of Whistler mountain, a ZipTrek tour in the forest above and around the Fitzsimmons river, a hike to Lost Lake, a couple of movies (”Get Smart” at the local cinema, “Jumper” on DVD) and several lunches and dinners out. My niece Renata also got in a couple of sessions on the bungee trampoline, which helped her to bounce a couple of stories (at least) into the air. While I can’t document all of it in pictures and video, here are some high points (sic):

Pam wasn’t quite prepared for how cold it would get, but fortunately, there were some blankets available at the chairlift, about 2/3 of the way up.):

I also thought I’d include a few ZipTrek videos. This gave me a chance to try out Flickr’s video features. I’m not including one that I can’t seem to flip horizontally (my Sister-In-Law held her camera sideways and no matter what I do, including changing the file and saving it to a new movie, the uploaded file seems to revert to that orientation).

Here’s Pam sliding on the wire across the Fitzsimmons River:

Now, from the point of view of a participant. Need I add that this is a blast?

In addition to the rides up in the trees (about 5 times over the river and back), you get a bit of an ecology lecture about the area and some tips on what you can do to be more ‘green’. I really like ZipTrek, who seem to practice what they preach, in terms of an ecologically-aware business. Aside from the vans that they use to transport people to and from their sites (and I heard that once there are electric ones or perhaps hybrids that will serve in this capacity, they’ll switch to those), they are pretty gentle on the environment. They even have a small water-driven generator via the river that provides most of the electrical power for the A-Frame where they house their offices, train employees, and end some of the tours. Our tour leaders were college students majoring in Eco-tourism and Geology, and they made sure that none of us were ever in danger or uncomfortable, despite what looks like an ‘extreme’ sport.

In addition to some good meals together (Monks up there is very nice and beautiful to look at; Pam’s Halibut dusted with porcini mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes was superb), Pam and I also had an excellent celebratory dinner of our third Anniversary of coming to Canada on July 5th at Il Caminetto , one of the restaurants of Umberto Menghi (his Il Giardino and Umberto’s are both downtown). He’s one of the three celebrity chefs in the White Spot commercials, (the other two are Rob Feenie and John Bishop) always talking about ‘the sauce’. We ate a light dinner; Pam chose a subtly flavoured Roast Cornish Game Hen atop chickpeas and mixed vegetables, and I had a simple but perfectly done homemade Fettuccine with cream sauce, peas and prosciutto along with some excellent wine: A good BC Pinot Gris made by the Pentage Winery from Skaha Bench in the Okanagan, as well as an intense Italian Muscat for dessert . I’ve become a big fan of dessert wines, and sometimes prefer them over a cake or tart.

So for trying of celebrity chef restaurants in the area, we are now 2 out of 3. I guess a visit to a Cactus Club would now count for Rob Feenie, since he has become the ‘food concept architect’ of that chain. That’s what the articles say, at any rate.

A nice time was had by all (I think), and we feel pretty lucky to have this beautiful resort area so near to us (for those who don’t live in Vancouver, depending on traffic and construction on the Sea-to-Sky Highway, it’s about a 2 1/2 hour drive from the city). My brother summed up Whistler by and large better than I could: “It’s a bit like Disneyland for adults.”

A Busy Saturday

9:45 AM - Apple Store Opening

We got to Pacific Centre Mall at about 9:30. There were about 50 people ahead of us in line. I found out later from John Biehler that the first guy in line had gotten there at 5:45 AM. After about 20 minutes, the line grew behind us to the end of the corner of Granville and West Georgia. After another few minutes, we moved in to the vestibule (before you get into the Mall, and waited another half our or so. Periodically, the Apple Store Staff, most of the young and about 75% of them guys, would come out and take pictures of the crowd, video them, (interview them in a few cases), and high-five them as they ran out. Finally, at right about 10:05, we were let in:

The staff were now in the store, and a line of them screamed and high-fived us as walked in the store, which was already packed. We each were given T-Shirts (very attractive black ones with Pacific Centre and the Apple Logo in small letters on the front). By comparison, the at the Apple Store opening in Boston years ago, the far more restrained East Coast New England staff merely applauded as we entered; there was no screaming or high-fiving.

We looked around and saw a lot of nice merchandise (nothing particularly extraordinary, though), talked to a few people in the crowds, and then headed out. It was fun to be part of the opening, but really, it was another Apple Store, and would certainly be a place that I visit many times in the future, so there was no need to purchase something in the throngs of people there. Sometimes the best part of an event is being able to say you were there. Besides, we had our next event to go to!

11:00 AM - Eat! Vancouver at BC Place

These photos are of the Barbecue Teams outside BC Place. Inside, we walked the aisles of the biggest food show in Canada. Your entrance fee is more than made up for in free samples to eat and take home, coupons, recipe books, bags and other goodies. Suffice it to say that we didn’t need to get lunch, and probably will have a light dinner as well. We also got lots of other free stuff, including razors, toothpaste, and tote bags. I always have fun at this show, and this year was no exception. Last year, the big product-type that everyone was pushing were all sorts of beverages. While there was still a lot of that this year, I’d have to say the big new addition was a lot more curries. Coconut curry was all the rage, and we must have tasted it at 3 or 4 different booths. Given the rising population of Asian immigrants in this town, it’s not all that surprising, but it’s making a good show even better, with more travel booths, more small family booths selling sauces and spice collections, and quite a few new vendors from Alberta and Manitoba. Canada’s ‘Queen of Maple’, Tracy Moore from Ontario was there, providing samples of some of the 77 products that she had created. (check out everythingmaple.com to see some of them).

We’re home now (and pooped!) Rather than hear Dame Evelyn Glennie (the famous deaf percussionist - yes, you read that right) play with the VSO tonight, I think we’ll try and go on Monday night.

The March

Today at 10:00 AM, supporters of the CBC Radio Orchestra met at the Queen Elizabeth Fountain. We waved to traffic going by on West Georgia, and heard speeches describing how protests like this one were going on in Montreal and Toronto (and also in Romania, where Prime Minister Stephen Harper is currently visiting).

Some passed out song sheets (also with all of the names of all the BC Members of Parliament, to send handwritten letters to). We sang some a couple of protest songs — to the tune of Three Blind Mice and Baa Baa Black Sheep (or Twinkle twinkle Star, if you will). My favourite bit was the second verse of the Baa Baa Black Sheep:

Bah, bah, humbug to the stingy beast
In his office way back east;
How can pencil-pushing jerks
Screw composer’s hard-earned works?
Bureaucrats don’t know their avant-garde
From a hole in their back yard.

Then the whole crowd marched a block south to the main doors of the CBC. Some of the radio orchestra members gathered at the door, and there were more speeches and chanting. There was no violence, and I think that frankly, the folks in the building were glad we were there. After all, I think they would have joined us if they could have. Here are a few other photos (the rest are on Flickr):

Alaskan King Crab at Sun Sui Wah

It’s that time of year again, when the Alaskan King Crab turns up at the Sun Sui Wah Restaurant on Main Street. It’s a combination of spectacle and cuisine that only lasts for a few weeks. This year, we got together with a bunch of friends and had one.

I got my turn holding him. I have to admit that for a moment it did remind me of one of the creatures from Alien. I always wonder who was the first person to try eating what looks like an enormous insect. Never mind, as you can see, all’s well that ends well (in our stomachs, that is):

Thanks to Irma Cho for these fun photos.

It’s all a Blur

First, some Fun Geekery
Before the ‘official’ start of this post, here’s a neat picture of what this blog looks like if you bring it up in the iPhone’s Safari browser:

Thanks to John Biehler for this screenshot from his iPhone. I got the plugin for WordPress that formats the postings properly for the device, and I have to say it looks like it works really well. Lets hope that I’ll be looking at a similar view soon (more about my imminent iPhone in Canada as it gets closer to a reality).

Recent Past and Near Future
The days really do seem to be going by with increasing speed, with Pam’s departure for the ‘Great White South’ coming sooner with each passing day. She leaves for Seattle, flies to Los Angeles, Santiago and Ushuaia (Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina) and then boards the ship with the Antarctic Peninsula as it’s destination the second week of February. Tomorrow, being the first day of February, really does feel a whole lot closer to the start of that journey for both of us (and she had a big grin on her face this morning as she went through many of her clothes and other equipment that she’ll be taking with her, as well as counting Chilean and Argentinean Pesos for her brief stops in those countries).

I’m also busy with many activities besides work. In fact, the past 2 weeks have had me out in the evenings several times, including attending the Launch Party 3 at the Lamplighter for Strutta, Sun, Techvibes, and Layer7 the first Blogger Meetup of the new Year (See Jan Karlsbjerg’s excellent write-up), as well as some dinners out with Pam at some restaurants that we’re trying out because of Dine Out Vancouver, including ( Aqua Riva by the Coal Harbour Waterfront, Bistro Pastis in Kitsilano, and tomorrow night, the Goldfish Pacific Kitchen in Yaletown) which goes on for a few more days). In addition, the holiday gift that Pam had gotten me, an XO OLPC (One Laptop Per Child Laptop) arrived, and I’ve been playing with this toy a bit as well - indeed the photo with me in the Blogger Meetup shows it off. I hope to be able to use it when the weather gets a bit better, as a way to connect to our Internet router from the park nearby our building to surf the net and post to this blog in the open air, a sort of hi-tech+nature goal I’ve had for some time. I’ll try and post the pictures from the unboxing of this charming piece of technology soon.

Before Pam leaves, it looks like I’ll be doing another one of those working weekends at IBM. Well, at least this time it won’t be during a bad snowstorm. Or it shouldn’t, despite the fact that we’ve been getting an awful lot of snow lately for this area (including enough to force many to work remotely earlier this week). While she’s gone, I’ll be attending my third Northern Voice, which will keep me busy enough while she’s exploring the Antarctic ice floes…