Friday, May 25, 2012

Everyday for 7 Weeks–Day 26–Vancouver

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 26 - Vancouver

I spent the day in Vancouver watching the rain and catching up on computer stuff. I had intended to get out and explore some, but the pouring rain convinced me to lounge around Sonja’s place enjoying hot tea and the fastest internet I’ve had on the whole trip.

As the day wore on, I became motivated by food and set off to find some tastiness. I didn’t have to go far before I was enjoying this:

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 26 - Vancouver

After brunch, I decided to go for a walk and leave the bike. It was nice to be able to explore on foot. I found a small park and set about wandering.

I don’t normally see a sign like this in the city parks of MN:

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 26 - Vancouver

There were two trails. A nice paved one for bicycles and a gravel one for pedestrians. I took the gravel trail as it had more twists, turns, and elevation changes.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 26 - Vancouver

The park seemed deserted. I only heart the birds chirping. It was nice to forget I was in the city again. Vancouver is quite the adjustment after being in the wilderness for so long. Cars, so many cars. People, trains, buses, and just all the noise of a city. I like cities, don’t get me wrong, but after spending time in a place where the only man-made noise is made by you. It was a change.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 26 - Vancouver

These berries will be tasty in a few weeks.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 26 - Vancouver

A slug. Another sight on this walk that is not common in MN, or if it is, I’ve never seen one there. He looked like I felt on this day -- a lazy slug. It was nice to relax with nothing to specifically do or anywhere to be.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 26 - Vancouver

The flowers in Vancouver were out in full force while I was there. Things were lush and green and it felt like everything was blooming. It was very pretty.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 26 - Vancouver

The trail was great. Several kilometers long with several small streams running through it. I enjoyed listening to the sound of the water moving and the birds. The bird songs were ones I wasn’t familiar which added to the charm of the walk.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 26 - Vancouver

By mid-walk, I realized the trail was quite popular. There were lots of other users, but we just weren’t bumping into each other. The dense foliage also did a great job minimizing the sound from others.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 26 - Vancouver

I continued to be spoiled by Roland, Sonja’s husband, for the rest of the day. He makes a great cup of tea. Sonja came home from work, and it was time to go for a ride!

Our bikes huddled together. The SV looks so much better without all that luggage. It handles much nicer too!

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 26 - Vancouver

Sonja prepping her Sportster

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 26 - Vancouver

She took me on a short little ride to a lake. There were some twisty forest roads along the way to enjoy. The view at the lake was great. The clouds were so low you could almost touch them.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 26 - Vancouver

Since I did a wacky pose for Sonja’s blog, I made her do one for me as well. I think she needs some orange gloves too. Don’t you?? hehe

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 26 - Vancouver

The lake to me was that idyllic British Columbia scene – low clouds, big hills (almost mountains), and some water.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 26 - Vancouver

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 26 - Vancouver

The ride made us hungry, so we set off to gorge ourselves before finishing off another night with a bottle of wine.

Everyday for 7 Weeks - Day 26 - Vancouver

I really enjoyed the hospitality shown to me by Sonja and Roland. They are good people. If you get the chance to meet them, you should. Even if it means you have to ride across a continent to do it.

Thank you Sonja and Roland!!

 

Day 26 Full Flickr Album

 

Video: Riding with SonjaM

8 comments:

  1. Chris:

    sorry about the rain, we seem to get a lot of it because of the Mountains where the clouds bunch up

    I love Tofu, that's what your first dish looked like.

    I am in the middle of the city, thus wilderness or the open roads take a bit of time to get to, due to gridlocked city traffic. It could take me up to an hour to get to Sonja's place.

    a day away from riding is good therapy on a long trip like this

    bob
    Riding the Wet Coast
    My Flickr // My YouTube

    ReplyDelete
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    1. no worries about the rain. I can have sunny skies every day.

      yup, I have been taking at least a day off from riding every week this trip.

      Delete
  2. That first dish did look pretty tasty. It resembles the some of the Ethiopian food I had in the more remote areas. Though they were made from eggs rather than tofu. The rainy weather made for great photos. And it must have been nice to be able to take a break from the traffic.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. it was very tasty if not a tad on the spicy side. they weren't shy with the cayenne pepper and jalapenos.

      it was nice to take a break.

      Delete
  3. That first shot of the bikes is nice and crisp. It will make a worthy background for my screen.

    Chris, you are very welcome. The pleasure was all ours. Please visit again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like it as well. I sent you a full res copy in email.

      Thanks! I will take you up on that offer. :)

      Delete
  4. I agree with Bob - a day’s R&R is good on a road trip every now and then. Spending time with Sonja and Roland sounds like a great way to relax. You make the Vancouver area look picturesque, but I can't believe the crappy weather you are having on your trip.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yup, i've been taking a day off every week. it has been nice. Sonja & Roland are great fun.

      I wouldn't say the weather has been crappy. I just dont have the magic weather wand you do to avoid rain for six months ;)

      Delete