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Owl Lake; wedding; sea wall cycling; John and Debbie
By ruth | July 17, 2008
I’ve been very remiss about blogging, again, so here’s another round-up. Sorry.
On the last weekend in June we went camping with Tim and Brigitte and their two dogs. Of course, them being them, that meant driving in their Jeep up past Pemberton; going up a very hairy logging road several kilometres, making good using of the Jeep’s four wheel drive and rock crawling capabilities; then hiking several kilometres to a lake inaccessible by road (although tracks showed it’s popular with ATV users).
The hike was fairly challenging, despite being easy on paper - level and not too far. The trail was by turns underwater, under swamp, under snow, and under huge fallen trees. We were carrying biggish packs too, and it was extremely hot, so I think ‘challenging’ is a fair term to use.
The campsite at Owl Lake was very beautiful; not right on the shore, which was swampy, but earby, and with mountain views and plenty of shade. There were areas that were clearly heavily used by the ATV drivers, which were full of litter and old tarps, and which I found very creepy, so we stayed out of them.
We got eaten alive by mosquitoes, unfortunately; but Dave used his fire knife to light a lovely smoky fire, which helped to keep them away. Unfortunately my long-sleeved top, which I thought was protecing, was too loose-weaved a material, and my back and arms got bitten mercilessly through the fabric, because I hadn’t used bug spray there. 120 bites. 120. I still can’t believe it.
After a slightly restless night listening to the dogs’ bear bells, we had a tasty and nutritious breakfast (KD!), broke camp, and with some chivvying from me (I was anxious to leave the mosquitoes behind), left to hike back to the Jeep. I strode off ahead, which given the prevalence of bears wasn’t very clever, but Birch the dog looked after me, and we had no encounters.
The following weekend, I had my hair cut, we did domestic sorty-outy stuff, we went to Mountain Equipment Co-op to look at bug repellent devices, and I went to Kate’s bridal shower at Harjinder’s house in Richmond.
Last Friday evening was Kate and Graham’s wedding at the Fairmont Oceanside. We were a small, exclusive group, and the ceremony made me cry (I was not alone - the bride and groom both cried, which set everyone else off).
On Saturday afternoon we went for a long bike ride, all the way around the sea wall from Kits via Science World to Stanley Park, then round the Stanley Park sea wall, and back to Kits via the Burrard Bridge. It was lots of fun and very beautiful, and not too hard either. We saw two giant cruise ships leaving under Lion’s Gate Bridge; and some cool beach art near Third Beach. The beaches were all jam-packed.
As is becoming traditional after a long bike ride, we went to Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co. for delicious pizza and beer before walking the bikes home.
On Sunday we went to the Kitsilano Community Market and bought vegetables to feed John and Debbie with; and six punnets of raspberries for $12, with which Dave will make frozen yoghurt.
J & D arrived in remarkably good time, so we fed them a snack and took them down to the beach to see the sunset before letting them go home to bed, although in the end we flaked out before they did.
I had the day off on Monday, so while Dave slaved over a hot computer, we all went to the Naam for breakfast (of course); then walked along Point Grey foreshore, Kits Beach and Vanier Park to Granville Island. We didn’t have long to linger in Granville Island unfortunately, because we were meeting Dave for lunch, but we did visit the Kids’ Market, the Net Loft, and passed through the Public Market on the way to the Aquabus. We got waylaid by a street magician who bullied us into watching his show, but it was quite good so it’s OK.
Downtown was chaotic due to a power outage, and the bus we caught was horribly hot and crowded, but we weren’t going far. Dave took us to Earl’s, but had to dash off to a meeting after wolfing down his burger. We lingered over salads and mojitos, then caught the bus to Stanley Park, where we wondered aimlessly before finding the free trolley bus. It takes you round the north sea wall past Deadman’s Island, Brockton Oval, the totem poles, the girl in a wetsuit, and Lumberman’s Arch before climbing up to Prospect Point. There we got off, admired the bridge, and ate ice creams (maple and walnut, mmm) before getting back on a trolley bus round to Second Beach, past Lost Lagoon and back to the bus loop.
Then home for a bit of R&R, before another bus towards Dunbar to find the Modern Club restaurant for Osaka-style okonomiyaki, which John had been craving. Vancouver can satisfy most food cravings. It was my and Dave’s first okonomiyaki experience. I had salad, then veggie tempura (yum), then pork okonomiyaki. It was way too much food, but I finished it, which tells you something.
J&D are now left to their own devices and I am back at work.
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