| Vancouver 2006, Day 11 & Day 12 – The Trip Home (September 08 & 09, 2006): |
[Sep. 20th, 2006|11:08 pm] |
Day 11, Friday:
Our last full day in Vancouver was just that…a full one. We had two major events planned….a hike in Mt. Seymour Provincial Park to Dog Mountain and a combo going away/birthday party at Ward and Catherine’s.
I did the some of my packing this morning, so I put us a little behind schedule for our hike. We were out early for the Grind yesterday morning, so I wasn’t all that concerned about running a little late today.
Mt. Seymour Provincial Park is located at an elevation of 1000 meters, approximately two-thirds the way up Mt. Seymour. On the drive to the park, we were gaining about 100 meters every kilometer. Once at the end of the road, we started on foot along a wooded rocky/rooty path to Dog Mountain. We were here on Catherine’s suggestion, who had done the trail with the family recently. Kudos to the kids for doing that hike because there were some spots where Kim and I were looking for proper footings. We took 50 minutes to get to the end of the 3.1-kilometer trail and the view at the end was spectacular: the mountains of BC to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the west, the city of Vancouver to the south, and Mt. Baker in Washington to the southeast….all from a vantage point 1-kilometer high. We took it all in for about a half-hour and then made our way back to the car.
Once back at the house, I finished packing and then it was on to supper at Ward & Catherine’s. The going away segment of the party was for Kate, little Allie, Kim, and yours truly and the birthday segment was for Trish, a friend of the family. Catherine put on a pasta bar, so everyone built their own meal to their own liking; I had one of everything.
We returned to the house around 10pm and prepped everything for the trip home. It is a mid-morning flight, so thankfully we don’t have to get up before the sun rises.
Day 12, Saturday, The Trip Home:
Since Allie and Kate are returning to NB with Kim and I, we borrowed Ward and Catherine’s Sienna for the trip to the airport; this is a nice van….we were traveling in style and we hadn't even left Vancouver yet.
Kate called WestJet a while back to co-ordinate all of our flight plans so that we could sit together. Unfortunately, this did not work. Upon check-in we found out that we were sitting apart. For the first time ever, we found a WestJet employee that wasn’t helpful. She told us two things that later turned out to be false: a.) The flight was full and b.) since the flight was full, she couldn’t seat us together. For the Vancouver-Toronto leg, Kim and Kate were sitting together, which I thought was paramount since Kim had a bunch of Allie’s stuff in her carry-on, and I am of not much use when it comes to being helpful around infants (lack of breasts, etc.). I didn’t think it was such a big deal to be seated apart, but Kate insisted that I ask the WestJet gate attendant to be moved to their row. As it turns out, this is kind of easy to do, and the dude was more than willing to help out. Also, the flight was far from full. I don’t know what was up with the person at check-in. My theory: She was an Air Canada employee masquerading as a WestJet employee providing bad customer service to try to deter passengers from switching to WestJet.
The flight was routine, and for the first time I had an aisle seat. (I prefer window, but FYI, mothers with infants are required to be in the window seat.) Given the freedom of an aisle seat, I took a stroll to the washroom mid-flight. To my shock when I returned, someone else was in my seat! ( http://littleallie.blogspot.com/ Scroll to the September 12 entry, first photo)
After a few brief words with the seat stealer, the situation was rectified and I regained my aisle seat.
I mentioned the feather-like landing in Vancouver a few posts ago. Our landing in Toronto was anything but! I think the pilot was trying to bury the plane into the asphalt. To make things worse, since I was on the aisle, I had no idea how close to landing we were, so when the wheels hit, my lower spine ended up somewhere in the back of my throat. The roughness of the landing was not lost on the flight attendant who came over the intercom system and announced, “For those passengers with checked luggage, it can be retrieved on runway 33R.”
Our connecting flight to Moncton was delayed, so we had a three-hour wait at Pearson. Again, we arranged seating all in one row with the gate attendant with no problems. The flight was good, but sleep eluded me, so I was left to watching episodes of Trading Spaces for most of the flight. We had slight cross-winds upon landing in Moncton, so a bit of a shaky landing, but relatively smooth compared to the previous landing.
Allie took to air travel very well and had two excellent flights. She's a pro now.
Burtron met us in Moncton with the still un-nicknamed Freestyle and I drove home. It was a slight challenge….10 hours of traveling + darkness (after midnight) + rain + wildlife infested highways of NB + Allie crying for the first 45 minutes = challenging drive home. Given those conditions, I don’t blame Allie, as I kinda wanted to cry on the trip back to Fredericton too. We arrived home just before 3am, but I was still wound from the trip, so it was well after 5am before my head finally hit the pillow.
All in all, it was an excellent trip and by far our most active trip with lots o’ hiking. (I think the Grouse Grind counts as about 5 hikes in one.) Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who helped make this vacation so great with your tips and directions, chauffeuring, hosting, (dogsitting back in NB), and of course, the excellent meals. You know who you are; pat yourselves on the back. Well done and cheers until next time. |
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| Vancouver 2006, Day 9 & 10 (September 06 & 07, 2006): |
[Sep. 8th, 2006|02:23 pm] |
Day 9, Wednesday:
The less said about today the better; lets just say I was having a bit of an off day. Nine days into the trip and I think I hit a point of mental fatigue. There has been a lot of stuff going on up to this point and even our “non-scheduled days” ended up being busy. Definitely no complaints…I like to stay busy, but as I mentioned, it was a lot to digest mentally. Physically I feel great, but I think I should have taken today and just relaxed. Today, a trip to the Kitsalano shopping district was planned as well as supper out with Kate & Matt at a restaurant called Wild Garlic. I tried to back out, knowing that I was “in a mood”, but was told I should come along. We did Kits, we ate at Wild Garlic, I was pissy (sorry to those involved)…..end of story.
Well, not quite end of story….after the restaurant, Kate suggested a stop on my behalf at La Casa Gelato, home of 218 flavours of gelato and sorbetto. I tried a sample of chocolate chili, which left my lips burning for about 20 minutes afterwards. I decided upon chocolate sambuca and Kim had strawberry champagne. Now it’s the end of story.
Day 10, Thursday:
Besides gelato, there is no better way to shake off a bad day than to climb up the side of a mountain. After talking about it and planning it for the past two and a half years, I finally got out to do the Grouse Grind. Kim did the hike with Maureen a few years ago, so she knew what to expect; I had no idea.
The Grouse Grind is a path consisting of planks spiked to the ground as makeshift steps, rocks, and roots. The total elevation gain is about 2800 feet (853 meters) on the 2.9 km trail. They tell beginners to allow between 1.5 to 2 hours to complete the Grind; Kim and I clocked in at 1 hour 34 minutes. It was the most strenuous bit of exercising I’ve done (ever), but I did enjoy it and I think I will add it to the list of things to do while in Vancouver. Now that I know what to expect, I’m pretty sure I can improve on 1:34. My legs were fine the whole way up the Grind….it was my heart and lungs that took a beating.
Once at the top, we went to the gift shop (where every good hike should end, of course). I bought a Grouse Mountain t-shirt and a locally made pewter chain & pendant to commemorate my first hike up the mountain. Kim and I sipped coffee overlooking Vancouver from the outdoor terraces. We took the gondola back down to the base, proud of the mornings little excursion.
We met up with Kate in the afternoon and had lunch at the ThreadBare tearoom. We each had the half sandwich and soup combo with tea. After lunch I realized just how hard the Grouse Grind was on my chest….my abdomen was actually sore from all the heavy breathing.
A little more shopping around at the Capilano Mall and back to the house for a bit of rest. We went to supper at White Spot with Catherine and kids. Kim and I both had the BC grilled chicken burger, Catherine had a Tuscan pasta dish, and the girls had fish & chips and a burger & fries. The rest of the evening was spent watching the final Thursday (thankfully) edition of Big Brother. I also took Lily for a walk….I hope Cailin doesn’t get jealous. |
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| Vancouver 2006, Day 8 (September 05, 2006): |
[Sep. 6th, 2006|02:00 pm] |
Day 8, Tuesday:
I would think that typically the courthouse doesn’t rank in the top five places to visit while on vacation. When one of the lawyers involved a case in the BC Supreme Court invites you to sit in on the proceedings however, you might as well make a day of it. It doesn’t hurt when the courthouse in question is the Arthur Erickson designed Vancouver Law Courts.
We took city transit into town and met up with Ward outside of courtroom. We were on the seventh floor, so the view from the hallway was from the top of the glass and steel concourse that faces Hornby Street. We took our seats and having never been in a courtroom before, I didn’t really know what to expect. The case involves sexual and physical abuse of special needs individuals at a BC institution over many decades. To go into the details of what happened in the two hours we were there would probably take me three hours to type up, so all I can say that it was interesting. There was courtroom drama, but at the end of the day, the proceedings were adjourned for two weeks, so not much headway was made.
Ward took us for lunch at The Fairmount Vancouver (Griffins Restaurant). We all had the buffet and typical to a Fairmount buffet, there were about a hundred choices available...and I think I tried half of them. Off the top of my head I had small portions of: coldcuts (dry salami, blackforest ham, smoked turkey), Caesar salad, braised lamb, spinach & ricotta manicotti, fancy sausage, salmon, roasted herbed potatoes, basmati rice, slow cooked beef and a roll. For dessert I had a profiterole, a macadamia nut cookie, and a slice of bread pudding.
Since I needed to walk off lunch, Kim and I took a stroll on Robson Street before going to the Vancouver Art Gallery. We went specifically for the Haida art exhibit and took the guided tour. When you picture BC native art, you are probably picturing Haida art. The exhibit encompassed it all: paintings, masks, sculptures, totem poles, woodwork, fabrics, and jewelry. To coincide with our morning at the Vancouver Law Courts, the other main exhibit we saw at the gallery was the projects and works of architect Arthur Erickson. Both exhibits were worth our time and admission.
We took the bus back to North Van. and had supper at Kate & Matt’s, a Thai red curry dish with naan. I had a half serving since I was still stuffed from lunch. Kim and I went for a walk around Capilano College campus and then back to Kate’s for…..you guessed it…..Big Brother (thankfully it is in its last week). |
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| Vancouver 2006, Day 7 (September 04, 2006): |
[Sep. 5th, 2006|09:44 pm] |
Day 7, Labour Day Monday:
Day number two of nothing scheduled. We had breakfast at Kate & Matt’s and then decided to try the whole “walk in a park” thing again. We opted for Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver, about a 25-minute drive from where we are. Following Marine Drive to the park, the road took us along great scenery and nice houses. Lighthouse Park appeared to be deserted as we drove in from Marine Drive, but once we arrived, there was exactly one parking space remaining and we got it.
We walked from the trailhead straight down to the water at East Beach. The scenery was beautiful, a craggy rock beach with distant views of the mountains, Lion’s Gate Bridge, the city, and UBC. From East Beach, we walked to Lighthouse View Point, then to West Beach, and back to the car along Shore Pine Trail. The paths ranged from paved, to gravel, to rocky/rooty.
From Lighthouse Park, we went back into West Vancouver to Park Royal mall. After 16 years of convincing, Kim finally got me to purchase a pair of Teva sandals. I bought the ones I was considering on Saturday. Thankfully I didn’t put it off any longer….they were a clearance item and the pile went from many pairs on Saturday to 5 pairs today, and only 2 in my size.
We also went to Whole Foods, a grocery store that I could spend hours just browsing all the yummy foods; their prepared food section is unbelievable. We also stopped in at The Urban Tea Merchant.
Supper was Chinese take-out at Kate & Matt’s with Ward & Catherine & fam. Kim and I spent the rest of the evening at Ward & Catherine’s and were introduced to another show: “Entourage”. It is entertaining and easy to get into…..now we just have two seasons of the show to get caught up with. |
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| Vancouver 2006, Day 6 (September 03, 2006): |
[Sep. 4th, 2006|10:31 pm] |
Day 6, Sunday:
Today and tomorrow are free days in that we don’t have anything concrete planned. We figured it would be a good day to check out the scenery by taking a walk at the Seymour Demonstration Forest. This is a nice park set in a forested area just 5 km north of where we are staying. There is a 12 km trail with kilometer markers, so it is easy to keep track of how far you are walking. We went with Kate and we had Allie with us too.
We settled on a 6 km walk and everything was great…..until an unstable woman on a bike decided to threaten us. We were walking along the right side of the two-lane paved path, as we had been for over an hour with no problems with anyone: walkers, baby strollers, joggers, runners, roller-bladers, or cyclists. All of a sudden the peacefulness of our walk was disrupted with “BEHIND! BEHIND!”. I looked just to see what all the hubbub was and she shot me a look as she wheeled by (with plenty of room) and said, “Some day I will!” as in, “some day I will plow into you and yours, just for kicks”. Kate’s motherly instincts kicked in as she yelled back, reminding the woman that we had the right of way. I took the smart-ass route and ran straight into the brush, arms waving, asking her if I was far enough off the path. She was shouting back that cyclists had the right of way, but by this time her ramblings became inaudible as she sped away. So much for a nice walk in the park.
In the parking lot, Kim pointed out on the sign to the entrance of the park that cyclists must yield to pedestrians. I suspected this, since I can’t recall a shared path where this wasn’t the case. Even though we didn’t need to be yielded to, I felt somewhat vindicated since I had confirmation that we were right. It could have ended there, but as I walked back to Kate’s car, I had to wait for a vehicle backing out from a spot. By chance, it was our heckler. Her window was down and she was about three feet away, so I calmly told her, “You do have to yield to pedestrians, it says so on the sign”, as I pointed to the sign 10 feet away. Hoo-boy! She lost it! Her husband rolled up her window and sped away so I don’t know what she was yelling at me, but she was pissed! I hope he was taking her home so she could get back on her meds.
The rest of the day was pretty calm in comparison. Kim and I went to Lonsdale Quay to pick up something for supper at the market. Kim bought some fresh crab cakes and I picked up a package of red pepper gnocchi, a tub of tomato-pesto sauce, and garlic bread. We enjoyed supper with a bottle of Wild Horse Canyon Chardonnay from the Okanogan Valley. After supper it was back to Kate’s for Big Brother and dessert (cherry pie). |
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| Vancouver 2006, Day 5 (September 02, 2006): |
[Sep. 3rd, 2006|06:58 pm] |
Day 5, Saturday:
Breakfast today was pancakes and lattes courtesy of Kate & Matt. With full tummies we went to the automall to pick up Kate’s car. The concept of the automall is a neat one that requires a bit a planning and cooperation. Most car dealerships end up in the same general area of a city, but in North Vancouver, they have set aside a whole area specifically for auto dealers. The street is called Automall Drive and it is one dealership after another. When searching for a new vehicle, you could spend the day just going from one lot to the next without ever leaving Automall Drive. I mentioned cooperation since all the dealers would have to agree to move to the automall, but in retrospect, a lot of the dealerships are owned by Jim Pattison.
With Kate back in possession of her vehicle, Kim and I continued to Park Royal, the mall in West Vancouver. Kim was on a hunt for a new pair of Teva sandals. She found a pair, and I looked as well. I saw a nice pair that I may have to think about. Very comfortable.
We came back to the house and took advantage of the super warm weather to sit out on the deck.
Ward and Catherine picked us up for the evening’s events…..supper and a concert. We had supper at Earl’s, a steakhouse in North Vancouver. Ward had the cedar plank salmon, Catherine had a Margherita pizza, Kim had a bacon wrapped oven roasted chicken dish with portabella mushrooms, and I had a Cajun chicken cheddar sandwich.
I now have irrefutable proof that Great Big Sea is stalking Kim and I. We went to Arizona in February and they played Tucson; we went with Maureen. We saw them again a month later in Fredericton, for obvious reasons. The next week we went to PEI and they were in Charlottetown (we didn’t go to that show). After our Vancouver tickets were booked months ago, low and behold, GBS announce two dates in Vancouver during our stay. Since we went in Arizona with Maureen, it was only fitting that we go to this concert with the rest of Kim’s family. Ward, Catherine, Kate, Kim & I took up half of our row, 5 back from the stage. It was an outdoor concert at the Malkin Bowl in Stanley Park. The weather was amazing, the crowd was into it, and the concert was excellent. Although this concert was not part of any official tour, they followed the same basic playlist as the previous two shows we saw on the tour. The banter between songs was a little more relaxed with more tangents, amusing as always. There were the usual two encores pushing the concert to about 2 hours with no intermissions. It was definitely worth the admission (as usual). |
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| Vancouver 2006, Day 2 - 4 (August 30 - September 01, 2006): |
[Sep. 2nd, 2006|02:17 pm] |
Day 2, Wednesday:
Today was our first full day in Vancouver. I was terribly disappointed to learn that the wireless internet connection I’ve been “borrowing” for the past two and a half years while visiting is gone. Oh well….it was good while it lasted.
We didn’t have much planned for today, mostly just settling in. We went to JJ Bean at Park & Tilford for coffee to shake off any jet lag that was hanging around. Kim and I each ordered a house blend (medium roast) that was strong, but not too bitter….just what the doctor ordered. We drank our coffee on JJ Bean’s very aromatic all-cedar deck. Afterwards we picked up some groceries at Save On Foods and went to Kate’s for supper. She made us a chicken and wild rice/mushroom dish with a side of steamed broccoli & orange pepper and a mango/romaine salad. Not wanting to suffer too many withdrawal symptoms from being away from the kitchen, I offered to help with the chopping of the veggies and mango. I guess I prefer to play the sous-chef role. It is more mechanical & technical then cooking which requires some degree of creativity; something I lack at the best of times.
Day 3, Thursday:
PNE Day! I was sooooo disappointed to learn that we would be missing the FREX in Fredericton while away, that Kim tried to cheer me up by promising a day at the PNE. OK, that’s not really true…..we rarely go to the FREX; I was looking forward to the PNE though…..the FREX on steroids.
I must say the visit to the PNE didn’t quite start off on the right foot. We were waiting in line at the parking booth at the PNE with just a Smart car in front of us. There seemed to be a bit of a delay while the attendants were speaking to the occupant of the Smart car. Next thing we knew, the STUPID, STUPID driver of the “Smart” car throws it into reverse and smashes into the front of our car (we were in the old Corolla). Those cars must have super acceleration in reverse, because in the 5 to 10 feet of distance between our cars in the line, she whacked us quite soundly. She hit us on the passenger side of the front bumper…the side I was sitting on. I felt the shock wave in my lower back and spent the rest of the day with a tingling butt and sore legs (typical back issues for me). Kim was sitting behind me and ended up with a bit of a sore neck and a bruise on her leg where she hit the front seat. It didn’t seem to bother Kate much and Allie was behind Kate in the backseat and actually seemed to enjoy the whole ordeal….or maybe I don’t interpret infant expressions very well; she seems to always be happy. It turns out that the driver of the Smart car was trying to use the “general public” parking lot instead of the “exhibitors” parking lot that was further away. She has been trying this for a few days, being refused entry each time. I guess today she decided to brilliantly taking out her frustrations by blasting away from the parking attendant in reverse….Excellent plan Einstein!! The one place that you can pretty much be guaranteed that you’ll have cars lined up behind you is in line at an admissions booth to a parking lot. I can’t reiterate how stupid (and pointless) the whole situation was.
The PNE security staff completed an incident report and then waived the $15 parking fee for us…..bonus. Since parking took an hour longer than expected, it was lunchtime by the time we made it to the PNE grounds. With tons of concessions stands to choose from, mostly offering something fried in last year’s cooking fat, we decided to eat at Hunky Bill’s, known for its Ukrainian cuisine. Lunch consisted of perogies, cabbage rolls, and sausage….just the fuel needed to get us around for afternoon. We checked out the Marketplace, the IAMS Superdogs Show (dogs running various agility courses), a model luxury prize home, and the fair in general. We spent about 3 hours (plus 1 sitting in a damaged car) at the PNE before returning home for a birthday supper for Alvia at Kate’s. All BC Branch members were present and accounted for and we had Catherine’s Chicken Tetrazzini (Todd Bertuzzi??) and fettuccini with meat sauce from Kate. After supper, Kim and I ended the evening by going to Ward and Catherine’s to (shamefully) watch Big Brother. (I have been watching this horrible show since Day 1, Season 1, although I had to stop part way through seasons 3, 4, & 5; I’m not crazy…..really)
Day 4, Friday:
Steveston Day! Today Kim, Allie, Kate, and I piled into the old Corolla since Kate’s Honda was still at the dealership for servicing. I had flashbacks to when I had my little CRX and would take it to the Honda dealer in Fredericton for servicing. Every “oil change” ended in a phone call 5 hours later telling me I needed $300 - $500 in repairs. I see Vancouver’s Honda dealerships are not so different.
The old Corolla does not have air conditioning and the temperatures in Vancouver have been hovering around 30 degrees. It was a warm trip, but we arrived at Alvia’s for lunchtime and walked along the boardwalk to Pajo’s, a well-known fish & chip restaurant that floats out in the docks. Lunch was good, considering I don’t typically do the whole fish & chip scene. (The fish was fresh, melt-in-your-mouth halibut.) We walked through downtown Steveston and then hung out on Alvia’s balcony for the rest of the afternoon. I’ve mentioned it in previous entries but it deserves repeating……one of the best balconies in the country.
The trip back into Vancouver was quite toasty in the air conditionless auto and this time Allie wasn’t digging it. (Future note to Allie…..we all felt the same way.)
We went to Ward and Catherine’s for supper; BBQ burgers, oven roasted potatoes, and salad. Afterwards, we went for a walk through the multitude of wooded paths all around their house. We hung out for a few hours longer, discussing Ricky Gervais podcasts past and present. We were introduced to a British sketch show called Little Britain and we introduced them to some Dane Cook stand-up. I’m sure a little innocence was lost on both sides of that equation. |
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| Vancouver 2006, Day 1 (August 29, 2006): |
[Aug. 30th, 2006|08:41 pm] |
Day 1, Tuesday:
My name is Caliper, and unfortunately, I am not a blog-a-holic.
I am behind in entries, but hopefully I'll catch up by the time this trip is over. Please ignore the garbage post below this one for now.
We flew to Vancouver on WestJet for the second time in a row, so our trip started off by auto from Fredericton to Moncton. Burtron and Lima were heading to Charlottetown, so we hitched a ride with them in the new Ford Freestyle-mobile. (We haven't had a chance to come up with a catchy nickname for the new vehicle yet.) Kim and Lima watched the Sarah McLaughlin Live DVD in the backseat while I piloted with Burtron taking up navigation/sleep duty.
We arrived in Moncton with plenty of time to spare, so Kim and I were left to drinking all the water we could before heading to security. A guy ahead of us apparently just crawled out from under a rock since he was trying to get on the flight with pretty much every toiletry possible in his carry-on. To contrast, we went through security in record time and absolutely no hassle. Go figure…..we had next to nothing for carry-on.
Our flight was through Hamilton instead of Toronto this time around. The lay-over was short, less than 45 minutes. I napped at one point on the Hamilton-Vancouver leg and woke up with a mouth and throat so dry that I could barely swallow. In that regard, the inability to bring our own water on to the flight was annoying, but the flight attendants do seem to be going through with drinks a little more often. I hope they reverse the “no liquids” policy, but I won’t hold my breath. Fairly smooth flights, live seatback TV, minimal turbulence, and an extremely smooth landing in Vancouver. It felt like we hovered onto the runway.
Once in the airport, our luggage took forever to get to us, but it did eventually arrive (always a bonus). Matt met us at the airport and drove us to North Vancouver. It was about 11:00pm (3:00am according to our body clocks) by the time we made it to sleep, and I didn’t sleep as much as pass out. I woke up at 8:00am BC time, so just like that, the switch-over to BC time was complete. |
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[Aug. 30th, 2006|07:55 pm] |
<[ Error: Irreparable invalid markup ('<saving [...] august,>') in entry. Owner must fix manually. Raw contents below.] <<Saving this space for: Bathurst Weekends: August, 2006>> |
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[Aug. 30th, 2006|07:51 pm] |
Charlottetown, August 04 to 07, 2006:
Day 1, Friday:
Back to PEI for the second time in two weeks. It has only been 8 days since we were last here. This time we are traveling with both Cailin and Conan, since I found a way to store two crates and my guitar in the back seat.
We arrived in Charlottetown around 7:30pm and Maureen came in from work just after us. For supper, Kim and Maureen planned to get sketchy Thai, so I took the safe option and went for JR Pizza. To their shock and sadness, the sketchy Thai restaurant was closed, so they opted for Chinese instead. (Maureen later discovered that the sketchy Thai place had simply moved, so there may be future adventures in questionable food.)
Day 2, Saturday:
Maureen was working days, so Kim and I were on our own. We went to the Gouda Cheese Lady for a few hunks o’ cheese and since it was so close to lunch, we continued north along the highway to Dayboat, a restaurant that has been profiled in a program on the Life Network. Coincidentally, I saw the program the night before (while enjoying my JR Pizza) and thought it would be a little heavy on the seafood, and a little pricey. Kim wanted to try it, so off we went. Dayboat’s lunch menu was great for me, a little bit of everything, including non-seafood options. We sat outside on their patio, overhanging the water. Kim ordered the fish & chips and I had the smoked meat sandwich and garden salad with house vinaigrette.
Afterwards, we continued along the highway to the National Park. We drove around the Park and tried one of the smaller beaches, but it was quite exposed and very windy. We drove back to Brackley Beach, and walked a bit until we were away from the big crowds. Kim relaxed in the sun & sand while I went into the water. The water was nice, no jellyfish, and decent waves. After a couple of hours, we went back to Maureen’s and waited for her to come off shift. We went to The Queue for supper; we had a sweet potato fries appetizer and then Kim and I had a baked brie and chicken dish and Maureen had pasta I believe.
Day 3, Sunday:
Since Maureen picked up the tab for last night’s meal at The Queue, I told her I would mow the lawn (for the second time in 10 days). Kim and Maureen went to Blooming Point beach for the morning. After the lawn mowing, I went to Ian’s for another guitar session….this time outdoors. Ian lives in a wide open space with few neighbours within eyeshot. He set up the big Fender amp and away we went. This amp rattles dishes in the house at “3” and outdoors, he had it on “5”. Kim and Maureen drove from Blooming Point to Ian’s and met up with us in the early afternoon. Ian taught me various parts of various tunes such as “Rockstar” by Nickleback.
We left Ian’s around 5pm and had a quick bite of leftover pizza before heading to the Driveway Park for the Barenaked Ladies concert (Maureen left earlier as she had to work nightshift). The concert was a complete RIP OFF!! There were absolute no nude women whatsoever.
Bad jokes aside, the concert was great. Old and new songs with witty banter that lasted a little under two hours with no intermission. Interesting side note: There were 4000 people at the concert and Kim and I ended up sitting behind our next door neighbours from Fredericton who have a cottage in PEI. We chatted for a bit before heading closer to the stage to get a better view. A memorable concert with one very funny Ed Robertson story involving Sean McCann of Great Big Sea. The story is a little long, but involved a party in Newfoundland and a $36 hunk of baloney.
Day 4, Monday:
All good things come to an end, and with Maureen coming off of a night shift, Kim & I packed up the dogs and headed back to Fredericton in the morning. A holiday Monday for New Brunswick but not for PEI. Someone should look into that. |
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| Kim’s Charlottetown Conference |
[Aug. 30th, 2006|07:48 pm] |
Charlottetown, Part 2: July 25 to 27, 2006:
The rest of our trip was quite routine. Kim was in her conference all day and I was at Maureen’s all day. On Tuesday and Wednesday evenings, I would drive back into town to pick up Kim at the hotel and go back to Maureen’s to make supper. On Tuesday evening we took a walk in Maureen’s old neighbourhood in Lewis Point and on Wednesday night, I mowed the lawn. On both nights it was back to the Rodd to sleep…..I was trying to spend as little time there as possible.
Kim’s conference wrapped up at lunchtime on Thursday and we met Ian at St. James Gate. Ian and I talked a bit of shop, tentatively agreeing to a start date in September-October. For lunch, Kim and I had the Gate’s soup & sandwich special and Ian had ravioli. We parted ways, picked up Cailin on the way out of town and made tracks for Fredericton. |
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| Kim’s Charlottetown Conference |
[Jul. 26th, 2006|03:03 pm] |
Charlottetown, Part 1: July 22 to 24, 2006:
Although technically not a leisure trip for either of us, there are some social aspects of this jaunt across the Straight, so I guess it warrants a couple of blog entries.
Day 1, Saturday: The trip to Charlottetown was a little unusual as it was Fredericton – Charlottetown, via Tabusintac. Kim left Fredericton on Thursday evening with Burtron and hitched a ride to Bathurst for a couple of days. I stayed behind in Fredericton because Andrew and I had purchased advanced tickets for Clerks II for Friday’s opening weekend.
Cailin and I drove to Tabusintac Saturday morning to meet up with Kim who was traveling in her own two-vehicle caravan made up of Burtron, Lima, Ward, Catherine, Anna, Sarah, Olivia, and Lily. Their trip from Bathurst was far more eventful than my trip from Fredericton as they came upon quite a horrific accident. A taxicab had tangled with a tractor-trailer loaded with gasoline just north of La Bonne Route on Highway #8. The tanker jack-knifed, caught fire, and exploded. The truck driver survived but the taxi driver died in the melee. As such, the highway was closed and they had to turn around making a 1-hour drive a multi-hour drive.
We all eventually met up in Tabusintac and hung out for the afternoon. Kim, Cailin, and I left for PEI around 4pm for leg 2 of the day’s travels. We made it to Maureen’s by about 8pm; seven hours of driving for one day was enough for me. Maureen was already headed to Bathurst, so we don’t see her at all on this visit.
Kim and I ate at Pat & Willy’s, a restaurant known for its Mexican cuisine. I had a chicken and veggie burrito with sweet potato fries and Kim had a chicken enchilada with Mexican fries (think nachos with fries instead of chips).
Day 2, Sunday: We headed for the outlet shops in the morning and Kim picked up some PST-free footwear. It was then off to Maid Marian’s for brunch with the ever faithful tummy-pleaser, the Robin Hood breakfast.
After Maid Marian’s Kim checked into the Rodd Inn, her place of abode for the week. That went smoothly and due to the ever-present rain, we thought a trip to the Gouda Cheese Lady would pass the time nicely. Unfortunately, GCL was closed, so it was back to Maureen’s to start loading up the car with stuff that had to be transferred to the hotel.
We met Ian for supper at St. James Gate. We had a round of Clancy’s and some chicken wings to start off the meal. Another round of Clancy’s and stuffed chicken breast for Kim, a 22-oz prime rib steak for Ian, and a steak and mushroom stew with Guinness broth for me for the main course.
Day 3, Monday: First morning at the Rodd Inn, and I’m not really into it. The room is quite small, and has old-fashioned everything. Nice, but just not for me….especially with a dog to look after. I have to trot Cailin through the lobby and front desk every time we go out. This hotel is pet-friendly, but I’d rather use side entrances with Cailin because I realize there are some people that don’t care for dogs. The other ways in and out of the hotel are alarmed fire exits only, so through the main lobby is the only route.
Through the day, Kim is in conference from 8 to 5, so Cailin and I hang out at Maureen’s where I am supposed to be “getting lots of work done”. I did some inspections last week so I could write them up this week, thus not losing a week of work. Excellent in theory, not so great in execution. Whenever at Maureen’s I can always find ways to stay occupied, be it cleaning or just general puttering around. No repair work needed this time around, so report writing did occasionally occur.
I picked up a JRs pizza, whisked by the hotel to pick up Kim and then off to Ian’s place for a night of “Beers and Guitars”. One of the reason’s Conan is in Fredericton is that I needed room in the car for my guitar. That’s right…..I had to leave my dog at home so I could play guitar. I’m sure there is a country song just waiting to be written somewhere in that last sentence.
Ian has been playing guitar for a little now and I just acquired my Seagull S6+ Folk CW QT I translucent-red special edition (yup, that’s a guitar) a couple of months ago. This was an opportunity for me to pick up a few lessons and to hear my guitar plugged-in for the first time. It is official, I like this guitar…..hearing it plugged-in was nice.
We went over various techniques and tried a few songs with my limited library of known chords. “Take Me Home Country Roads” was the highlight of the night with Ian coming up with his own lyrics to help me with the memorization of the chord shifts. All I can say is that it worked.
After about three hours of non-stop playing, it was time to call it a night. It was a weeknight after all and we all had early calls in the morning. |
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| Montreal Grand Prix Weekend |
[Jul. 26th, 2006|01:47 pm] |
Montreal, Day 4 & 5 (June 25 & 26, 2006):
Day 4: Grand Prix day and still excellent weather. Quite hot, but excellent….I don’t really want to think about what it would have been like if it had rained all weekend.
We arrived at the track early as usual and took in the usual round of support races before the F1 drivers came around for their driver’s parade. Each driver was perched in the backseat in there own separate convertible waving to the crowd as they passed. All the drivers were wearing their street clothes except for the square-jawed Coulthard-o-bot 3000, which had already been dressed in its race uniform.
We grabbed an early lunch, trying to find whatever bit of shade we could before returning to the stands for the main event. We were packed into the grandstands like sardines where I was rubbing thighs with Andrew for way longer than I was comfortable with. The race was fun to watch although I did lose track of what was happening a few times, especially around the pitstops. Jacques was doing well but had the inevitable crash about 13 laps from the end of the race. Sad as it was to see happen, a bunch of people got up and left, so at least there was some wiggle room in the stands for the final laps of the race.
For the sake of history, the top three finishers were Fernando Alonso, Michael Schumacher, and Kimi Raikkonen. After the race, the fences were opened and we were allowed on the track. We walked from our grandstand counter-clockwise around the track. We saw the corner that Villeneuve had gone off, which had basically become a shrine as fans were scouring the ground for any bits and pieces of BMW-Sauber they could find. All I saw were the skid marks and a fluid puddle where the car had rested against the wall.
We continued our walk around the 4.36-kilometer track until we got to the pit straight. The pits were still closed to the public, but we got to see the driver’s garages and parc-ferme through the catch-fencing. It was neat to see the mechanics disassembling the cars and waking around with the glossy-painted engine covers.
At this point Stefan and I lost Andrew. With no contingency plan for getting separated from each other, tensions were a little high at one point, but after about 35 minutes we spotted him off in the distance wearily sauntering along the track. I went to retrieve him, and gave him a simple “Let’s stick together” complete with hand motions, and that was that. Crisis over.
It didn’t really matter how long we spent looking for each other, as the line to the metro was still huge by the time we got to the station. At this point it was about 1.5 hours after the race and we waited about 20-25 minutes in a sea of people all trying to get through 5 or turn-stiles to get to the metro platform. As surprised as I was at the line, I was even more surprised in retrospect at how quickly it moved given the amount of people.
Once back at the vehicle, it was off to Esthel’s via Stefan’s for one last meal (yummy pizza) before heading to bed for much, much needed rest.
Day 5: The drive home was uneventful…..kinda the way I like it. Amazing few construction zones, so nothing to hold us up along the way. We stopped in Cabano so Andrew could stock up on various bieres Quebecois, while I opted for a case of Unibroue’s La Bolduc, some Tour Eiffel pate, and a couple of packages of fondue parmesan.
Excellent trip, memorable, and a GREAT BIG thanks to Esthel, Leon, Stefan, and Roxanna for the hospitality and for making the weekend flow as smoothly as it did. |
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| Montreal Grand Prix Weekend |
[Jul. 26th, 2006|12:24 pm] |
Montreal, Day 3 (June 24, 2006):
The Saturday morning routine was the same as Friday’s and we were at the track for the first Formula BMW race. Frankie Muniz didn’t fare so well as he was near the back for the whole race and then had a quick spin near the end.
The F1 practice was interesting to watch since crowd favorite Jacques Villeneuve posted the 3rd fastest time. Unfortunately, that didn’t translate to a quick qualifying time 3 hours later since he got bumped out of the final qualifying round by 0.118 seconds courtesy of Jenson Button. The Renaults qualified on the front row with Alonso taking pole.
We stayed for the rest of the afternoon, watching races with the Honda Civics and the Star Mazda series. There were 41 cars in the Star Mazda race resulting in a huge 22 car first lap pile-up before they even made it to our section of the track. Watching on the jumbo screen, it looked quite horrific…..open-wheeled cars spinning out of control with other cars continually plowing into them. Three drivers were sent to the hospital overnight, but everyone else was OK.
The weather was hot & sunny. No amount of sunblock was going to keep me from getting the worst farmer’s tan I’ve had in years!
After leaving the track, we went back to Chambly and out to supper with Stefan and Roxanna. We ate at Retro Americano where the portion sizes were H-U-G-E. I had a medium vegetarian pizza, which in a restaurant is typically about a 9” pizza. This was at least a 12” pizza, and took up about half the table. Andrew had a plate of spaghetti that would have easily fed three people. Stefan had an open-face sub that came with a wheelbarrow load of fries, and Roxanna had a steak & shrimp table d’hote that came with not one, but two appetizers, soup and Caesar salad with garlic bread.
There were lots of evening activities going on for Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, but with full stomachs, and having spent the day in the glaring sun, we opted for rest and sleep. I know partying was the furthest thing from my mind. |
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| Montreal Grand Prix Weekend |
[Jun. 28th, 2006|09:51 am] |
Montreal, Day 2 (June 23, 2006):
I can’t remember the last time I woke up at 5:30am and still managed to get 8 hours of sleep.
Stefan picked us up at Esthel’s and we were on our way to the track at 6:45am. Since tomorrow is Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, most people had today off as a holiday. That greatly reduced the amount of traffic on our drive, so we were at the Longueuil metro station in a little over 30 minutes. We took the metro to Ile-Notre-Dame and there still didn’t seem to be as much of a crowd as I was expecting…….then we got to the gates for the track……Crowd City! There were two bottlenecks before we got to our grandstand, but we still made it for the end of the first segment on the program.
I was happy with our grandstand location…..we were in front of turns 8 & 9. From that vantage point we first see the cars as they are braking from a straight, right turn into 8 which quickly gives way to a gradual left turn into 9 and then we lose sight of the cars as they get hard on the acceleration for the sweeping straight before the hairpin.
The on-track schedule makes for a full day of racing as there are four classes of cars plus F1. Two closed wheel classes: Honda Civics and Ferrari 360s/430s, and two open-wheel classes: Formula BMW and Star Mazda.
Interesting note: Car #2 in the Formula BMW class is Frankie Muniz, AKA “Malcolm” of Malcolm in the Middle. I knew he was a racing enthusiast, but I didn’t realize that he is actually part of a real North American racing league.
All the support race classes were interesting to watch, but seeing the F1 cars in action is really something else. I’ve been watching these things on TV for as long as I can remember. In person, you notice three things immediately: the speed, the colours, and the SOUND!!!!!
Granted, from our grandstand, it is still difficult to get an appreciation for the pure straight-line speed of the cars…..they brake, do their turn, and then accelerate out of sight….but even that is done faster than I’ve ever seen.
The colours of the cars are so vivid. Again, TV does not do this justice. Of note are the Ferraris, the Renaults, and the McLarens. The Ferraris are painted a colour of red that most likely does not exist in nature. The blue of the Renaults is so deep that you would be temped to dive into it. The McLarens have their reflective silver colouring that really needs to be seen to be appreciated.
Then there is the sound. I’ve heard and read so much about it, but still didn’t really know what to expect. It really defies description….and I used to work on the tarmac at an airport! I sat through the first 1-hour session without earplugs, kinda like a right of passage. My ears were aching after the session was done, so I opted for ear plugs during the second. I thought it would dull the experience, but it actually enhanced it since the cars are still plenty loud, only with earplugs, I don’t feel like I’m going to lose my hearing at the age of 33.
I always thought there would be a 4th element to experience….the smell of the cars (fuel, rubber, brakes, etc.). I think changes in technology such as regular fuel vs. racing fuel, harder compound tires, and carbon-fibre brakes have reduced the smells associated with F1. Too bad, since as far as I can figure, F1 racing smells like beer and cigarettes. (Or that may have been the crowd in the grandstand…who knows.)
We stayed for the whole day’s schedule, meaning we were at the track for 10 hours. The weather was great, cool-ish and cloudy for the first part of the morning and warm and sunny in the afternoon. The sun was a bit brutal in mid-afternoon but was no match for sunblock and my Tilley Hat. <----Best thing I packed for this trip! The Tilley Hat is amazing….I bought it about 13 years ago and rarely use it, but nothing beats it when it comes to sitting in the sun all day. I’m so glad I rediscovered my Tilley.
Back to Esthel’s for Friday night’s slumber. I went to bed a little later than last night, but the same wake-up call for Saturday morning.
For a more colourful version of this weekend’s events (and by colourful I mean lots of swearing) see Andrew’s blog at http://vettel.livejournal.com/ .
Surgeon General’s Warning: Not suitable for readers under 20….or maybe even 30 |
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| Montreal Grand Prix Weekend – The Day Before |
[Jun. 28th, 2006|09:10 am] |
Montreal, Day 1 (June 22, 2006):
After so many years…..I’m finally in Montreal for the Grand Prix!
Andrew and I left Fredericton around 9am, with no set timetable for getting to Stefan’s. Good thing too, since my back has been acting up a bit lately and I ended up stopping about every hour-and-a-half to stretch my legs. At one of our stops, in St. Apollinaire, a green bug hopped on the windshield as we were leaving the gas station and stayed with us until our exit off Autoroute 20, about 200 kilometers away. How it managed to hang on at highway speed is beyond me, but that must have been one confused bug when it finally flew away.
The drive took 9 hours including stops, and we arrived in Chambly (at Stefan’s) at 5pm in our new time zone.
We took a short walk to decompress, had supper, and went to the grocery store to stock up on food and snacks for our trackside meals.
We continued on to Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu (Esthel’s), our terminus of arrival for the day. I was zonked, so I went to bed at 9:30pm for a 5:30am wake-up call.
Up to this point in my life, I have still never seen a Formula 1 car in person (not even on display!!). |
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| A Montreal Wrap-Up, 2 months late |
[Jun. 28th, 2006|08:48 am] |
Montreal, Day 3 & 4 (May 01 & 02, 2006):
Why am I so bad at doing a wrap-up entry on my trips? Perhaps in some dark recess of my mind I don’t want my trips to be over.
On Monday, I took the metro to a mall on the east** side of the city called Place Versailles. I roamed around for a bit, mostly killing time until noon, since I was meeting Stefan for lunch. I met him at his workplace, a few blocks away from Olympic Stadium (The Big “Owe”….which is to be paid off this year, 30 years after the Montreal Olympics).
We ate at Nickels, a restaurant not far from Stefan’s workplace, which I believe has some tie to Celine Dion, although that fact seems fuzzy. We each had a smoked meat sandwich lunch special: Soup of the day, a sandwich with smoked meat piled too high to fit in your mouth, dessert, and coffee. Good stuff.
It had been a while since I had seen Stefan, so we got caught up on past happenings and made rough plans for the upcoming Grand Prix weekend. After lunch, we walked to the metro station, said our goodbyes, and it was back to work for Stefan, and back to roaming around Montreal for me.
It was sunny and very warm for mid-spring, so I was hopping on the metro to go to certain parts of town, and resurfacing to absorb the warmth, sights, and sounds. I went to the Plateau (St. Denis/St. Laurent/Roy Street area), and then to an area a bit further north** which was new to me. It has a Little Italy district, but being really unfamiliar with this part of town, I wasn’t sure where to look. I basically went there to say that I had taken all the metro lines on this visit: Yellow, Green, Orange, and Blue.
Kim had a supper banquet to attend, so I was on my own for food choice. After two straight days of non-stop walking, I just went to the mall under the Hyatt and got a Subway sub and relaxed back at the room. I went to the fitness room and pool afterwards where I met up with Kim. We soaked in the pool for a bit and got ready for the trip home.
Day 4 was kinda hectic, Kim had a wrap-up breakfast to attend, and I went in search of a pound of Montreal smoked meat to bring home. I made the purchase at Ben’s Deli on Maisonneuve Avenue and then we spent the remainder of our Montreal time getting to the airport and of course, eating at Moe’s at the airport. The flight home was quick and easy.
**Interesting Montreal fact: The global compass and the “Montreal compass” are not the same! When in Montreal, everything is shifted about 45 degrees on the compass.
From http://www.toutmontreal.com/english/eguide/general/aboutmontreal.html:
“By the way, you don't really need a compass to tell east from west here, as a matter of fact it wouldn't help at all since what is called north in Montreal is actually northwest on the compass. That's because the east-west streets run parallel to the St-Laurent River which is actually on a northeast/southwest axis. So the rule of thumb is to follow the street layout and not the compass, for example, if you are standing on the corner of Ste-Catherine street and St-Laurent blvd. facing the St-Laurent river (you won't see it from there but you get the idea), east will be to your left, west to your right, south is in front of you and north on the other side.” |
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| Walk-a-Thon 2006 |
[May. 1st, 2006|07:56 am] |
Montreal, Day 2 (April 30, 2006):
With Kim in meetings all day, I was on my own, unleashed in Montreal on a Sunday. There is a café in the complex that the Hyatt is in that is on the corner of St. Catherine Street and Jeanne Mance Street (Café Baroque). I have walked by this café so many times in the past as it seems to be an area of downtown Montreal that I always end up in. Since it is just downstairs, I decided to try it out for breakfast. A bagel with cream cheese, fresh fruit, and a coffee for $4.50; I think I found my breakfast spot for the next few days.
After breakfast I went to the Place-des-Arts metro station and bought my transit tourist pass….3 days unlimited use for $17. I continued down to the platform and took the metro to Ile Ste. Helene. From the metro station, it is a short walk to Ile Notre Dame, home of Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Stefan told me that years ago that you could walk the track, so that was the plan….I knew that the track was open to vehicles, cyclists and rollerbladers, but could never confirm if it was open to pedestrians. I was told by the unadventurous concierge at the Hyatt that it would be “much to dangerous” to walk the course. I thought I’d scope it out and rightly or wrongly, I walked around the track (other people were doing it too). As I was walking around the track I was having flashbacks of various incidents that have happened in years gone by in those areas as I came to them.
It was getting close to lunch, so I made it back to the Hyatt and managed to meet up with Kim on her lunch break. Again, since it was so convenient, we had lunch downstairs at the Café Baroque. I had the bruchetta and Kim had a chicken and cheese quesedilla.
We parted ways again, and this time I headed to another section of St. Catherine Street. I started in the Peel Street area and headed westward. I checked out various shops and markets, but I was on a mission….Kim wanted a Habs t-shirt. I was pretty sure there was a sports clothing store in the area, so I just had to keep my eyes peeled. (“Peel”ed….get it??) I found Sports Crescent, oddly enough by Crescent Street. Trying to find Canadiens clothing in Montreal, during the playoffs is a pretty huge request. Luckily, Kim takes size small, and it was about the only size available. Nice t-shirt.
Having walked all day, I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my evening, than to take a walking tour of Old Montreal. This was offered through Kim’s conference, and is officially the only part of the conference that I will take part in. We left the hotel in groups of 15 and Kim and I (as usual) were younger than everyone else by a good 10-15 years. Our tour guide was quite witty and animated and super knowledgeable. As assumed, he knew Montreal inside and out, but it sounds like he could also give tours of most other major Canadian cities. While describing a particular area or building, he could compare it to analogous buildings in other cities so people in the group could make a connection with their hometowns. (Most of our group was from BC and Alberta.)
The tour ended in Old Montreal on St. Paul Street and the guide suggested restaurants in the area for those of us that had not yet eaten. We had been planning on a pub-style restaurant, and he suggested a place called Les 3 Brasseurs, a microbrew pub. Game 5 of the Montreal-Carolina series was already under way (in Carolina), so it was a rocking place. They brew four types of beer on site: a blond, an amber, a blanche, and a dark ale. Kim went with the blanche (think Hoegaarden style) and I took the sampler (small glasses of all four). For food, I tried the house specialty, a Flamm. It is from Alsalce in France and is difficult to describe, but picture a thin crust pizza made with pita bread instead of dough. I had mine with the Provencal toppings (tomato, pesto). Kim ordered a slow cooked pork dish, which we both thought would be a pulled pork plate, but ended up being two hunks of pork still on the bone. Slightly barbaric, but tasty all the same.
It was 10pm by the time we got back to the Hyatt. Kim was tired from being in meetings all day and I was physically tired from walking all day, so no wild St. Catherine Street stories this time around either. |
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| Montreal Trip #1 for 2006 – “Not the Grand Prix” |
[Apr. 30th, 2006|08:12 am] |
Montreal, Day 1 (April 29, 2006):
This the first of two trips Kim and I will be taking to Montreal this year. This is also the only trip to Montreal that we’ll actually take together. My second trip will be with Andrew for the Grand Prix in June and Kim’s second trip will be with Maureen for the Bon Jovi concert in July. I guess we’ll call it the “Take the Siblings to Ile Notre Dame 2006” tour. More on those trips when they happen.
This trip is a business trip for Kim and I’m just here to tag along. I actually was able to use Aeroplan points for this trip, so that was definitely a bonus. We left Fredericton at 12:30pm and the flight took about 1.5 hours on a Dash-8. Routine flight, a little rough on the descent, but nothing to fret about. I have a bit of a reputation of being a control freak, but in the plane I am in my Zen place. I know that nothing I do is going to help this flight along and I put complete trust in the pilot and co-pilot. When it gets bumpy, I just sit back and roll with the punches; it at least makes flying more enjoyable.
Once on the ground, it took longer to get from the airport to the hotel than the 600 km flight had taken. The luggage took almost a half hour getting to the carousel, meaning we missed our shuttle by less than 5 minutes, so we had to wait 25 minutes for the next shuttle. The shuttle ride takes almost an hour and that includes a transfer along the way. Not the most efficient process in the world, but what do you expect for $13? (A cab costs about $60.) Yes, Kim could have just charged a cab ride to the government, but I’m married to one of the few civil servants that actually tries to keep a slim expense claim while on business trips.
We arrived at the Hyatt at about 3pm local time and then had to wait a further hour for our room to be ready. Kim asked for an early check-in a few days ago, but I guess that went to the wayside when we were an hour late getting to the hotel. We checked our baggage with the concierge and took a stroll along St. Catherine Street. I was looking for a leather necklace and found one at a street vendor in front of The Bay. I didn’t even think about haggling, but he started it. It was originally $20 bucks and I didn’t really want to pay that much, so I guess I hesitated a second to long because in the same breath, he knocked the price down to $15. There were some skater dudes behind the street vendors smoking dope, so maybe he mellows out by mid-afternoon after taking in all the smoke wafting around in the air. Regardless, he had a deal.
Kim and I had reservations at a fancy Italian restaurant just down the street from the Hyatt called Le Latini. It was recommended by Burtron and Lima, who were footing the bill as repayment for 4 months of dog-sitting Bonnie. (By my calculations, that works out to about $1.50/day; I guess it’s kinda like PM Harper’s daycare plan.)
We went for the Table d’hote (afterall, it is Quebec). For an appetizer, Kim had Ricotta Marinara, a hunk of roasted ricotta cheese topped with marinara and I had Fillotto de Melon, Italian pepperoni with honey dew melon.
We both ordered steak in a red pepper sauce for our main dish, and it was served with green beans and roasted herbed potato wedges. The dish had a fancy name, one that I wouldn’t be able to spell it my life depended on it. We each had an accompanying glass of red wine (Valpolicella) with the meal.
Desert was a long list of choices, a pleasant surprise for a table d’hote. We both went with sherbet. It was served in three separate little bowls, one pear flavoured, one mango flavoured, and one raspberry flavoured. (Plus the requisite coffee.)
The meal was excellent and so tasty. Thanks to the Branch parentals for the recommendation and for making the bill disappear.
On the way out of the restaurant, there were pictures in the stairway of famous people who have dined here. I didn’t recognize any except for one that caught my eye. Michael and Ralf Schumacher posing with the owner. The funniest part of the picture….Michael is wearing jeans and workboots. I guess he wasn’t planning on a photo op.
After such a great and filling meal (the portions were surprisingly big for a restaurant of this caliber), we headed for the Hyatt gym to work off a few calories. The gym was renovated just a few weeks ago, so all the machines were new. Being a Saturday night, we probably should have hit the town, but Kim’s conference starts at 8am, so the gym and pool proved to be wiser choice. We worked out, soaked in the pool, and sat in the sauna, all with little interference from others. It’s hardly amazing that the fitness area of a hotel in downtown Montreal is completely deserted on a Saturday night.
Quite a full day considering the trip started in the afternoon….and there are still two and a half days left. |
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| An Island Break |
[Apr. 10th, 2006|02:48 pm] |
Charlottetown, March 24 – 26, 2006:
It had been a month since returning from Arizona, and not being the type to sit in one place too long, Kim and I packed up the car and headed for PEI. Maureen’s house was empty for the weekend since she was still in Phoenix and her housesitter was gone for the week to visit her there. We went non-stop from Fredericton to Charlottetown and arrived just after dark around 7-ish (in just over 3 hours!). In what will more than likely become a ritual, upon arriving we ordered a pizza from JR’s (the pizza chain formerly owned by JP Tremblay, AKA “Julian” from Trailer Park Boys). Their Friday night special: a 17-inch pizza (3 toppings) and 12-inch garlic fingers for $18.82, tax in. Excellent as always.
Although this wasn’t planned, we ended up in the same city as Great Big Sea for the third time in just over a month. Having already seen them in Tucson and Fredericton, we unfortunately couldn’t justify buying another set of concert tickets for Friday’s show in Charlottetown.
On Saturday we went to the Farmer’s Market for lunch; perogies, a cabbage roll, and a way-too-hot coffee for each of us. We continued downtown and checked out the shops of the Confederation Court Mall. I had no intention of buying anything, but at Family Shoe Shoppes I was strangely attracted to a pair of black leather slip-ons by Clark’s. I still can’t believe that I bought them, since I find they look a little goofy, but they are sooooo comfortable. They are like wearing slippers out and about.
Late afternoon, we went to Ian’s to see his new house located about 15 minutes outside of Charlottetown. The house is perched atop a hill amongst the rolling farmlands of Millview. It offers up quite a nice view after you’ve made it to the end of the almost half-kilometer driveway.
We were informed that we were the first non-family visitors to his new abode. Coupled with the fact that I will be doing a bit of work in the future with Ian’s engineering firm, we celebrated by cracking out the rum. I tried a couple of rums that were new to me, and have since forgotten their names; I don’t think my lack of memory was due to the “doubles” he was pouring, but I must admit, I’ve never felt hung-over by 9pm before.
Ian made us supper, spaghetti with his very excellent pasta sauce. We sat around the living room while Ian played guitar for us (occasionally accompanied by his young daughter on her own guitar). A nice visit….I can’t wait to see what kind of view the house has when all the fields are planted and there is a summer breeze blowing over the hills.
We returned to Fredericton on Sunday with our usual stop at Costco in Moncton. It was a nice early spring trip and should hold us over until our Montreal trip at the end of April. |
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