October 26 , 2006 The rain has begun... Chance of showers, showers, light rainshowers, periods of rain, heavy rainfall warning, drizzle, rain... I love Environment Canada's weather web site. They have such a large vocabulary for one thing: rain. And it has started. Oh yes, it has started. Enter winter. Rain for weeks on end, dark days and plain old gloom. I love living on the Wet Coast! That's why I'm looking forward to heading south in December. If geese do it, why can't we? Good times with Andrea The last time I updated was the day Andrea arrived from Switzerland. Her 3.5-week stay has since come and gone (sniff, sniff). We had good times. LOTS of good times. (L) Andrea and Me at the base of Whistlers Mountain in Jasper; (R) Another one of Andrea's Canadian friends. The day after she arrived, we hiked the Grouse Grind (there's a good way to get over jetlag) and checked out the grizzly bears and lumberjacks at the top. Then we did a loop in Lynn Canyon Park with the obligatory suspension bridge walk. We capped off the day at Granville Island where we bought salads and bread for a picnic at Kits Beach, where we had a fantastic sunset over the ocean, framed by the North Shore Mountains. Vancouver's pretty darn beautiful, isn't it Andrea?! Road trip! The following day, we embarked on our giant road trip, which included around 3000 km of driving in one week. We drove the scenic Hope-Princeton Highway and up the fertile Okanagan Valley, visited Quail's Gate Winery in Westbank, Ronzanis' Mulberry Organic Farm in Vernon and beautiful Banff and Jasper National Parks in Alberta's Rocky Mountains. (L) Me at the top of Whistlers Mountain in Jasper; (R) Andrea in front of Moraine Lake and the Sentinels. (L) A squirrely squirrel near in Banff National Park; (R) Andrea chillaxin' at Lake Minnewanka. Looking up at Mt. Athabasca at the Columbia Icefields. Andrea peeking out of the tent in Jasper where it was -10 overnight! We then crossed back into B.C. and had a breathtaking view of Mt. Robson on our way to visit Jean Ann in her hometown of Valemount. After spending a day with her, we booted it to Quesnel's Ten-Mile Lake, home of the Feldmanns! Then, in one day, we drove from Quesnel back home via Duffey Lake Road. During the week, we only had one day of rain, and that was on the last day. Otherwise, it was beautiful, sunny, crisp and cool, with beautiful golden trees punctuating otherwise green mountainsides. Me pointing out Mt. Robson -- just in case you missed it. Racing and sushi The day after we returned, we were off again. This time it was to a cyclocross race, in which Andrea took part as well. She finished third on my Felt mountain bike! After the race, we went for some well deserved, world-class sushi in Ladner with Melissa. Of course, sushi is a must when visiting Vancouver, because some claim this city has the best sushi in the world -- even better than Japan's! Our personal favourite in Ladner was the salmon carpaccio. Mmmm. After the giant late sushi lunch, Andrea and I booked it home so we'd make it in time for Thanksgiving Dinner with my family. Although we were still stuffed from all that raw fish and rice, we had lots of room for Mom's cooking. Whistler Next, it was off to Whistler. On the way up, we stopped at Tim Hortons -- another obligatory Canadian experience. What can I say? Whistler is awesome! Luckily for me, I have friends in high places. A.k.a. Jeanine's parents own a condo in Whistler's Creekside, so we always have a free place to stay up there. And just in front of the condo complex, there's a beaver habitat that's encroaching upon the human habitat. There are now at least eight busy beavers transforming the roadside ditch into their home. In Whistler, we cruised the village, made pizza, took the gondola up the mountain, and checked out the famous Turkey Sale, where I bought a pair of (used for one season) skis with bindings for $79.99. That's right. $79.99, regular $1100! I definitely couldn't pass that up. I'm hoping to try them out soon! Body Worlds We drove back to Vancouver on Thanksgiving Monday and checked out Body Worlds 3 at Science World. It was pretty amazing to see real human bodies preserved like that and artistically presented. I learned a lot from the show, including: 1. Kidneys are big! 2. The liver is huge! 3. The digestive system fits in such a small area?! 4. Seeing an entire human skin displayed as one piece is creepy. 5. I'm REALLY glad I don't smoke. Jeanine and I escorted Andrea to the Pacific Central Bus Station, where she grabbed a bus to Vancouver Island, where she visited Martina in Victoria and took a long bus ride to Tofino, on the Island's West Coast. She saw whales! More racing and sushi During my week sans Andrea, I went to work, caught up on some sleep and did another 'cross race. After the race, I picked Andrea up at the ferry terminal, we went for more sushi in Ladner, then drove back home (almost didn't make it 'cause the Red Rocket had a little coolant leak). Guess who was waiting for us -- Gabi, Dennis and Helen! It was fun to have them down for the weekend. That evening, Mom made an Italian feast for 16 people to celebrate hers and Dad's birthdays. It was delicious, as usual. Helen, Andrea and Dennis spending a lazy Sunday morning on the couch (after a big pancake breakfast)! Classic Vancouver weather It poured on Sunday, but Andrea, Jeanine and I were determined to get some fresh air, so we donned the rain gear and walked from my backyard down to the river, where we checked out the roaring waterfall. We then scrambled down the riverbank and watched spawning salmon as they battled they way upstream. Did I mention that during Andrea's 3.5 weeks here, it was sunny nearly every day? She's soooo lucky. Fishing! Wednesday, Mom, Andrea and I met Rodney in Squamish and we went salmon fishing on the Cheakamus River. The river was roiling with spawning salmon, but Rodney informed us that spawning salmon don't eat anymore, because their full egg sacs take the space of their stomachs. So our fishing strategy was to make them bite for territorial reasons. Rodney gave us a quick lesson, and off we went, casting and casting for fish. Rodney was the first to catch one. He got a cute little Bull Trout that he released, since they are protected. Then it was Andrea's turn. She caught a trout as well. I stood, casting over and over. I hooked about 10 salmon, about four of which I almost landed. Two of them actually snapped the line and stole the hooks, while the other two just managed to free themselves without taking my hooks. I was getting really frustrated, because I had come so close so many times. Plus, my arms were getting sore from wrestling with all those salmon. By this time, Andrea and Rodney had both landed a big Chum Salmon each, while Mom had had a few bites, but no luck. Rodney holding up Andrea's slimy salmon. By around 3 p.m. (we had arrived at 10 a.m.), I sensed that Mom and Andrea were about ready to leave. Rodney was prepared to fish until sunset and I was willing to fish through the night until I landed one of the suckers! I vowed, "I'm not leaving till I land one!" I also vowed, "If I don't land one, I'll never fish again!" I told the others to leave and pick me up in the morning. Then I broke down and gave myself 10 more casts. On the fifth one, I hooked a very frisky salmon that jumped and bucked. I was reeling him in, when suddenly the line went slack. My frisky salmon -- he was just stringing me along! Again. Five casts left in my ultimatum. On the ninth, another bite. He was frisky too, and he went for a run downstream into the rapids, where Rodney feared I would lose him. We managed to bring him back up, however. Now my arms were REALLY getting tired, but I braced the rod against my body and reeled until I had the Chum on shore. I beamed triumphantly for the photos, holding the heavy, slippery, splashing fish. "Now we can go home," I said. Finally! Goodbye! Thursday was time to say farewell to Andrea. Her 3.5 weeks here seemed short, yet she experienced a lot. I had a great time having her here and look forward to her next visit. She still needs to go kayaking, see a bear in the wild (we saw bears at Whistler, but they were so far away, they were just little black dots), eat Indian food, go mini-golfing and more! City girl After dropping Andrea off at the airport, I headed to Lisa's place in Kits, where I spent the next four days and nights, doing some writing, racing, hiking and hanging out with friends. Saturday Jeanine, Lisa and I all raced in another cyclocross race. Jeanine finished fourth -- a personal best! Sunday, Jeanine and I hiked up the Lions -- two peaks on the North Shore that overlook the city, Howe Sound and the Sunshine Coast. It was a fabulous day and we had a panoramic view. Back to the grind This is my first week back to a structured training plan and I'm having fun! Yesterday I did a long ride on my 'cross bike, exploring some off-road spots I've never experienced before, because usually I'm on my road bike in those areas. Last night, my parents and I went to Expedition Canada: Beyond the Horizon, a film screening, slide show and info session on Colin Angus and Julie Wafei's human-powered circumnavigation of the earth. They rowed across the freaking Atlantic Ocean. In a rowboat. It was a pretty inspiring presentation. I highly recommend it.