Merry Christmas!

We wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

Here is our beautiful tree, called 'SideShow Bob' that is at the heart of today's events:

We are celebrating today in true ex-pat style...lots and lots of Skype/Facetime calls, a delicious roast and a walk along the sea wall.

Enjoy your celebrations all!

CG

Silverstar experience & wedding bells

We had an extraordinary winter solstice this year spent in Silverstar ski resort for the wedding of two close friends, Cameron and Chelsea.

Silverstar is a gorgeous ski resort that is a five hour drive from Vancouver, towards the interior of British Columbia. It is made up of a collection of coloured chalets, and the village itself is very quaint - a great location for a wedding.

It was a stunning ceremony held outside in the snow:

We had been told to wear warm clothes, rather than typical wedding attire. David had an interesting outfit (anyone who attended our wedding will understand why the tie is so funny):

The reception was held in a local restaurant, and David played his role as Emcee for the evening.

The rest of the weekend was spent in a whirlwind of parties and social activities, and a few hours on the slopes were enjoyed too.

CG

Whistler walkies

This weekend we had a ladies walking trip in Whistler, while the boys hit the slopes.

The four of us - me, Cathy, Sarah & Jess - set out on a three hour hike around Lost Lake. There was some snow, but not enough to warrant snow shoes, so we survived in just our hiking boots & hats/mittens (it was freezing at -10).

The lake itself was iced over and people were bravely using it as a skating rink. We also found (not made) this cute looking igloo. Kudos to whoever spent hours building it.

On route home, we stopped off at a friend's house to chop down a Christmas tree for Cathy and Dan's new home (very Canadian). Only Dan hadn't thought through the logistics about how we'd transport the tree itself back to their house...

We ended up with four of us in the car, along with a 10 foot tree. It smelt refreshing, although the prickily pine needles in your eyes wasn't so nice.

And what a tree it was! A 'Charlie Brown' is the only way to describe this thing...check it out:

What a beauty!


CG

Reifel bird sanctuary

What Autumn would be complete without a trip to Reifel bird sanctuary?

It is only 40 minutes from our apartment, and is an epicenter for wildlife. Of particular fame is the thousands of Snow Geese that flock to the area each year.

Here are some photos from our trip:

CG

Birthday celebrations at Cannon Beach

This weekend David reached another milestone...his 32nd birthday.

We suitably marked the occasion with a three day surf trip to Cannon Beach, Oregon, one of our favourite getaways.

We stayed in a gorgeous apartment in Seaside with sea views (would you expect anything else?), and had a very indulgent weekend of food, wine and waves.

Here are some photos from our adventures, including our time at Short Sands, our favourite surf spot in Oswald West State Park:

This is the view from our apartment....pretty stunning:

This is another surf spot we explored:

All in all, an excellent weekend & a place we'll undoubtedly be coming back to visit again soon.

CG

Tofino...return trip

We took advantage of the long weekend & headed to our favourite surf spot - Tofino on Vancouver Island.

It was awesome. Not only was the surf good, but we saw awesome wildlife - a Mummy bear & two cubs, the salmon run and whales - which was the highlight of the trip for me. Check them out:

We also treated ourselves to a dining experience at The Wickaninnish Inn. It was pricey, but delicious & the views were stunning.

We stayed at Surf Junction camp ground. It was rather lively with lots of parties going on late into the night. Not the best spot for sleeping; you live and learn.

Tofino is always a treat, and we'll undoubtedly return in 2014.

CG

On top of the world

Today was British Columbia day, a local bank holiday. Last year we were caught in amongst hoards of people so this time we decided we wanted to be far from the maddening crowds. So it was that we hatched a plan to head into the wild.

We packed our backpacks and headed for Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest over the border in Washington.

It rained this week for the first time in over a month (the driest month here since the '30s) so we figured only mad dogs and Englishmen (and women) would be heading for the backcountry in the rain.

It's about two hours away with an extra hour sat waiting at the border. Once we crossed into Washington the dueling banjos started to chime in our heads as we passed endless signs about God and the odd advertisement for guns.


With advice from some extremely friendly locals we were heading into the hills by mid afternoon. The sun had come out by this point and it was very hot so we were relieved to discover most of the 4.5 miles were in the shade of incredible forest. It was a steady climb, over 3,500 feet, through ever changing forest and wild flower meadows to reach the summit of Excelsior Pass. It was on top of the pass we set up camp for the night.

 

On Sunday morning we woke around seven and headed to Duphine lakes, about 1.5 miles from where we had camped. We left the tent and heavy packs on top of the pass so it was a nice stroll there and back.


Later on Sunday we had breakfast, packed our kit up and headed straight uphill on High Divide. It was a super steep start, with weight on our backs and the sun beating down on us. Charlotte was not happy! However, once we got into the rhythm of the day and found some shade her smile returned. The horse flies and mosquitoes were pretty ferocious so we did most of the 6ish miles to Welcome Pass without stopping (when you did stop they swarmed you).

 

We reached Welcome Pass at about 2 and immediately found a shady spot to put the tent up where we then spent most of the afternoon hiding from insects.


In the evening we headed to the nearest mountaintop to find some melt water and to dine al fresco.

Noodles for dinner turned me into Mr Miyagi











We left the top sheet off our tent and the view from bed wasn't too shabby...


A steep hike down and a short hitchhike with some friendly Canadians and another great weekend was at an end.

DG

Twice on the podium in one week

I spend a lot of time on my bike. Last week saw me hit 15 road bike races in 2013 but until Thursday, no podium places.

But at last - a third place in the Thursday night criterion!

I was sitting about fifth wheel coming into the finishing straight and then sprinted as hard as I could. It paid off with me less than a bikes length off first place.  

Here's a shot of me leading the pack in the week before (I didn't make the podium that week because I spent too long on the front pulling the group).

In case you don't know what a criterion is, it involves about 30-45 minutes of riding around in circles at maximum intensity. In this case it's around an industrial estate on Thursday evenings.

To top it off Thursday's success was followed by a third place in the Aldergrove Road Race on Sunday. 

This was an 80km Road Race with a fairly long hill. It was an 8km course that we rode around 10 times. On the final lap a couple of guys crashed on the hill next to me, causing chaos in the pack. I had to sprint to get back with the guys up the road and then held on for the next couple of kilometres. As we came to the final short steep rise before the finish I saw my chance and wove through the middle of the pack to get onto a friend's wheel. We both sprinted as hard as we could, with him taking second place and me third. I was absolutely elated, I couldn't even keep up with the pack in the road races at the start of the season.

Watch this space as next time I'm going for the win!

David

Friday night picnic

What better way to spend a Friday evening than with a picnic on the beach?

The sun is shining in Vancouver so it's a great excuse for us to put our new picnic blanket and case (wedding presents - thank you) to good use.

Yes we cycled to the beach (what other mode of transport would we consider?)

We scoffed delicious cheese, ham, french bread and raspberries. Delicious. Happy days.

CS/G

Cypress hike - ridge walk

Sunday afternoon...and time for our next Vancouver hike.

This time we did five hours along the Cypress ridge route, towards Lions Bay.

It was a good hike - varied and challenging terrain. Here are some pictures:

CS/G

Whiterock race

David, and his cycling buddy, Cameron had signed up to a Cat 3/4 (technical cycling talk) race as part of a series of races in Whiterock.

Having not been to Whiterock before, I agreed to be the dedicated supporter and cheer them on.

It was a fun race - and while neither David nor Cameron won, it was fun to watch and see the pro race later on.

We also did a mini walking tour of Whiterock. It's a pretty seaside area - and it was clearly a hit with the tourists.

Here are some photos from the race:

CS/G

Stateside to Portlandia

This weekend 'Canada Day' was celebrated all around British Columbia...which means a long-weekend for all Canadians (hurrah!).

 

We celebrated Canada Day by heading to the States (there is some irony in that). We went to Portland, or Portlandia as it has been re-branded following the popular TV show (love that program).

 

Our adventure started on Friday evening when we boldly drove over the border having not booked a campsite. We've done this before, and undoubtedly we'll do it again: the campsite was closed when we arrived (it was almost midnight) so we found a quiet spot with a pretty view & slept in the back of our car. 

 

On Saturday morning, we had a sleepy ride down to Portland, and we stopped off at a wildlife sanctuary on route. We saw a snake, which was cool: we got eaten alive by mosquitoes & attacked by stinging nettles, not so cool. 

 

Portland was awesome & lived up to its reputation. Very hippy-ish & relaxed. The sun was shining & the cyclists that Portland is known for were out in droves. We joined them, jumped on our bikes & toured the city.

 

It was an excellent ride, other than me flying over my handle bars & landing on my face. It has been a while since I rode. I'd forgotten the strength of my front breaks.

 

We took the time to visit Powells, Portland's famous & huge bookshop. It was an awesome place, and somewhat overwhelming even for a bookworm like me. We also enjoyed coffee & watching the world go by.

We later spotted a cycling museum. It would have been rude not to visit. David was in his element:

 

The second half of our trip was spent in Cannon Beach, a stunning area with many surf spots. We stayed at two camp sites, one called Wrights for Camping, which was awesome (yes, that's the correct spelling).

 

The beaches were also stunning. My favourite was Short Sands beach, set in a cove surrounded by forest, that's a ten minute walk from the main road. I'd go as far as to say it's competing for my best beach spot ever. Here are some photos:

We also tried out Indian Beach in Ecola State Park. It was another great place, but for me, Short Sands won the day.

 

There are few places we'd go back for a second time. However Portland & Cannon Beach both make the list as destinations requiring a repeat visit.

 

An excellent start to our summer adventures. We even made it back to Vancouver in time to see the Canada Day fireworks in town, which was a treat.

 

CS/G