Since the long weekend is over, Vicky made it home for uni and Yolande had to work so Joanne and myself were on our own for the day. We drove through Stanley Park with occasional stops and walked the Seawall. Drove around Aberdeen area again to pick up something then drove over to Thomas Haas and grabbed a pumpkin pie, cheesecake and double baked croissants.
Afterwards, we met up with Ben to unload his truck with the BMO supplies leftover from the Race up in Kelowna. We had lunch at one of his favourite sushi places called Minato. He goes there for the special Minato roll which is spicy salmon and their homemade spicy sauce which tastes like tahini, peanut buttery, and a bit of vinegar. Joanne had made plans with her friends while we were here so when Yolande came home, she took me along her running route via English bay. We ended up at Cactus Club for dinner where we were accompanied by her friend Christian and his friend Robbin. I had the red Thai curry Lingcod and a Caesar. We said our goodbyes and walked on Davie St (it is like our Church St back in Toronto) and waited at Starbucks to meet another friend of ours – Jamie to catch up.
Driving through Stanley Park
The Seawall
Minato Sushi!
Pumpkin Pie & Cheesecake from Thomas Haas
Sunset at English Bay
The Arc at English Bay
Cactus Club – Thai red curry pacific lingcod
10/16-17/13
Off to West Vancouver to visit Jo’s “grandma” who lives in Chartwell. Her neighbourhood reminded me so much of Los Angeles. She has lived in the house for 45 years and now lives there with her eldest daughter. It is definitely a very California styled home with spiral steps to the backyard with a pool. She use to swim on behalf of Taiwan back in the day and now, 40 years later swims 18 laps every morning. We then drove across town to Richmond to have Dim Sum at Shiang Garden Seafood Restaurant with her aunties Brenda and Bonnie and her cousin Matt. After lunch, Joanne and myself drove a little more south of Richmond to Stevenson Pier and walked around for a bit. Her aunties suggested we have some fish & chips since it’s the best there but we were way too full. We returned to the apartment and left behind the car to walk Robson St. To no avail, nothing was purchased but we timed it perfectly so we could walk over to Kintaro Ramen for dinner with the Miranda, Tom and Nelson. It’s suppose to be one of the best in Vancouver with lines outside the door but luckily we just beat the rush. I got my favourite base – miso and added an egg to my ramen. I wouldn’t say it’s my favourite ramen – still doesn’t beat Daikokuya in Los Angeles. After dinner, we all went over to Miranda and Tom’s somewhat new apartment and played games and hung out late into the night.
Final sleep and off we went early in the morning to catch our flight home.
Bright and early again we had awoken to hit the road towards Squamish. We arrived at 8AM and began our ascent. It is a slightly difficult hike/climb. All that heavy breathing and heavy legs going up plus the fact I kept stopping made me the last in the pack. It didn’t help the fact I was also carrying my camera bag up this steep climb. We made it to the fork in the road to Peak 1 and 2 so we decided to goto 1 instead of 2. We were lucky to have good weather as this ascension would have been even more difficult if it were raining and wet. There are parts that are actual wooden stairs that change into stepping stones to even areas where you need to hold a chain to pull yourself up. We made it to the top and had a little break and snack while taking in the views before heading down.
On our descent, we met a 45 year old lady named Deb who was originally from North York, ON and went to Queens and McMaster University but moved out to BC. She hadn’t climbed Squamish in almost 14 years but did it with her family so her kids would know how to get down. As we went down, we talked about travel especially Cambodia and Laos. By the end when we reached the bottom at Shannon falls, all our legs were quivering. The best is that we finished around 11AM so we had plenty of time to stop at lookout points such as Porteau Cove and had time to shop and eat at Aberdeen Centre in Richmond before Vicky had to catch her flight. The Daiso sells items for around $2 and has all sorts of products which I definitely recommend visiting – It reminded me of Japan so much. There is an extensive array of food in the food court.
We dropped off Vicky at 330PM and then dropped Joanne off at her cousins. We made it back to her apartment to hang for a bit before Jordan came and picked us up for dinner. We were meeting with one of our friend Lisa who also moved to Vancouver. Our location for dinner was The Eatery for some fun sushi. They had very interesting decor with a huge makeshift Astroboy above the bar and their slogan – miso horny with faces like Bruce Lee, Mao and a few others. That place was definitely dark though. We got the Queen roll, Paper Crane and San Francisco plus the seafood Okonomiyaki. The Queen roll was by far the best.
We woke up bright and early to make our way to Whistler. Arrived an hour ahead of time. We booked on the Whistler.com and booked the Superfly – Ziplines & Treetop Adventures – 3 Activity Combo. We chose Ziplining, Tree-top Trekking and Scandinave Spa. We started the day with zip lining. Our guides were Mel from Ontario and Fran from England. It was an amazing thrill to zip line down the world’s highest lines (1st and 2nd highest) and do 6 runs. We liked to make things easier for people so we introduced ourselves as Yo Ro Jo and Vicky. Along for this adventure were a couple named Brittany and Nick from Ottawa and Shane and Steve from Alberta.
Ziplining tips: You pencil or dolphin to go fast and squirrel to slow down.
The fastest line we went on was called Godzilla and when Jo and Vicky went down, Jo startled a doe passing underneath. The very last line called Base-runner had a challenge: if you can keep a note the entire run down you win a chocolate bar which Vicky tried to do. She sang “I came in like a wrecking ball” but fell short. As we were leaving the last platform, the girls turned to me and said surprise! They split the cost for the whistler adventures for me since it was my birthday then we turned to Yo and told her that we also paid for her adventure as well. I’m not one to celebrate my birthday but I am glad timing was perfect to goto Vancouver and especially with these wonderful ladies.
We ended up waiting until 130PM instead of starting at 1PM for tree top trekking because we were waiting for 4 more to join. Jenya our guide brought us over to the demo course to make sure we knew safety procedures and I was starting irritated because the group of 4 that joined us were too slow. Luckily, when it came time for the real thing, Vicky went first and we just sped through it. Some of the “games” were easy but some were so hard and required a lot of arm and leg strength. Secret to one of the games with logs was to step only in the centre because it teeters and another with the balls was to step on the sides because the balls spin. I think my fave were the bridges that you need stretch across or in my case, lunge across. The Tarzan rope swing was pretty cool as you propel yourself into a net then climb up. There was only one obstacle I had difficulties with at first as you hold on to a two handed pulley then you launch yourself off with no view of what is next until you have launched. Luckily, there is give in your safety line. The ziplining portion was good but the harness dug into your sides as you zipped. Jenya said we were probably one of the maybe loudest groups she has had. Good to have Vicky leading us through as we finished in an hour. It was also perfect timing to head back to Whistler Village. We got a photo with the Olympic rings then we walked over to Whistler Museum where I was able to see my dear friend Patricia Lynn who I haven’t seen in at least 2 years (my uni mate) who is now living in Whistler.
We were behind our schedule so after a short catch-up, we were on our way to the Scandinave spa. We had access to their pools where you soak in the hot ones for 10 minutes, transfer to a cold one for however long you desire then relax in a hammock or solarium for 10 minutes and repeat. All in silence. We were only able to complete 2 rounds of this before we had to leave and scurry over to Surrey for Joanne’s family Thanksgiving dinner. Ended off the night with good company and great food.
We flew to Vancouver via Air Canada. We rented a car (2014 Volkswagon Jetta – almost brand spanking new with only 2000KM) from Alamo. We took to the road and drove to meet with our friend Ben who works at BMO. We helped load his SUV with items to prep for the BMO – Okanagan Marathon in Kelowna. Had lunch at Edge Cafe. From there, we then hit the open road and drove 4-5 hours to Kelowna. Jo was first to drive but couldn’t make it past 45 minutes so I took over. The ride up was interesting as the weather shifted quickly and there was chances of ice and snow and chains on tires. We’re staying at the Delta vacation condos with 5 in the apartment (Joanne’s sister Marisa will join us in the morning). We finally arrived and drove around part of the town and ended up at Yamas for Greek food. Greek ribs with prawns were good but so salty.
10/10/13
Woke up early and went to workout. When everyone had awoken, we went to De Dutch for breakfast before heading off to pick up and drop off items at the run site. We spent the day setting up our space in the event tent which consisted of 2 tented areas to give away gloves, thunder sticks, apples, massages and where people can come to make signs to cheer on competitors. We finished relatively early and decided to drive to Vernon which is about 45min drive away to have dinner and see Marisa’s boyfriend Joshua and his family at Sir Winston’s for cheap wing night. We ended up at their home which is massive and overlooks Vernon with the lake view. The drive back to Kelowna was stressful seeing as there are no lights on the highway along the mountain so it was interesting flying down at 120-150KM turning around bends and trying to follow the person in front of you through the darkness. We got back with enough time to hit the hot tub for half an hour.
View from our apartment
Ogopogo
BMO
Our BMO team
Driving back from Vernon to Kelowna
10/11/13
We had prepped enough the previous day so our start time for the race prep was noon. We drove over the bridge to Westbank and had White Spot for breakfast then onto Mission Hills Winery for some wine tasting and to purchase gifts for Yolande and Thanksgiving dinner with their extended family. It was perfect timing as we made it back in time to grab the last of the tents and officially set up our BMO stations in the tents.
Once everything was completely set-up, we drove back to Vancouver around 2PM. Joanne drove the whole way with one pit stop to get gas. She decided to make a buddy on the highway to follow but alas with us going 180KM we lost him because he floored it. We made it back in record time of 3 hours. We did however hit traffic once we got into Vancouver but that is to be expected. I cannot tell you enough about how Vancouver reminds me of Hong Kong with a little mix of Japan & Los Angeles on certain streets and a bit of Sydney too. We made our way to downtown Vancouver to meet with Yolande. We settled in for a bit before we drove to the airport to pick Vicky up. For dinner, we ate at Matsuyama in Richmond for fresh sushi! It was the after 9PM menu so it was cheaper and the food was pretty good. The sashimi slices are so thick and enormous. There aren’t any all-you-can-eat places in Vancouver however their sushi is the best (better than some of the best in Toronto). Nelson and Jordan joined us for dinner as well.
All ready to go!
Kelowna Polar Bear
Driving to White Spot for lunch
White Spot! Eggs Benny and Smashbrowns
Enroute to Mission Hill – Westbank
Mission Hill Winery
Wine Tasting
Vancouver!
Port Mann Bridge
Japadog
Matsuyama – Beef Tataki
Matsuyama – unagi roll, salmon & tuna sashimi.
10/12/13
I had agreed to shoot the morning portion of Miranda’s wedding day so I had to wake up bright and early (only 3-4 hours of sleep for me) to head to her parent’s place. Her parents live right by the harbourfront overlooking part of Stanley Park and a yacht club but nonetheless the view from above (23 floors up) is unreal.
The ceremony was lovely. Miranda & Tom made the vows creatively echo one another. The wedding cake was actually the cupcake table where they had a cupcake periodic table. (Tom is a Bio Chemist)
We decided to go on a detour after to Thomas Haas for tea, coffee and the famous double baked croissants. Made it back to the apartment for a bit then off to Richmond where we went for the reception at Empire Seafood where we arrived just as the bridal party was making their entrances.
A lovely 10 course meal. The bridal party was very creative and performed like no tomorrow. They even performed a re-enactment of how Miranda and Tom met and proposed. They even sang “I’ll Never Break your Heart” by Backstreet Boys in Cantonese. By the end of the night, we took over the photo booth.
This is my 1 week trip to British Columbia (Kelowna, Vernon, Vancouver, Whistler & Squamish). The main reason for this trip in particular was for my friend Miranda’s wedding to Tom. I travelled with my friend Joanne first to Kelowna to help set-up for the annual BMO Okanagan Marathon. During our time in Vancouver, we stayed with our friend Yolande who recently moved to Vancouver and were also joined by our friend Vicky. We added on 2 day trips to Whistler & Squamish.
1009-1713 – British Columbia
10/09
FLY – Air Canada – YYZ – YVR
Rent car
Drive to Kelowna, BC - volunteer for the BMO Okanagan Marathon prep
Airport - Kelowna 398KM 4h 6min
10/10 – Kelowna
BMO Okanagan Marathon prep
Kelowna – Vernon
10/11 – Kelowna – Vancouver
BMO Okanagan Marathon prep
Drive – Kelowna - Downtown Vancouver 389KM 3h 58min
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