Adventures – Page 4 – JohnBollwitt.com

2007 Aug 15

Rocking the Osoyoos

It’s been a whirlwind last week or so, but I want to make a mention of the excellent long weekend that we had in Osoyoos.

I wish I could say that we did a lot of really cool things, but there is something to be said about going on holiday. To me, that’s means not doing a lot. One could say that cooking good food and hanging out on the beach is a lot, but that’s the speed of things that we both needed for getting away, especially with the amount of workload that has come with my day job.

On Sunday, we thought about doing some wine tours, but once we got into the car, it was tough to stop driving when we had some incredible, hot weather and good music going on the iPod. Instead, we ventured through Oliver and Penticton to explore the area some more.

There is something to be said about getting on the back roads to get a true sense of the Okanagan, especially after you’ve done a handful of wine tours before. It’s not that I’m against them (or the sampling), but it’s almost more impressive to drive by as many operations that you can and see them from the outside than seeing just a few from the inside. And if you think that the valley is impressive from the bottom, get up on the hills. Very cool perspective.

The marmots amazed me, and I realize that this makes me no better than the throngs of tourists who photograph the raccoons in Stanley Park like they are a dying breed. They were simply everywhere at one point. They’re plump and don’t move, even in the hot, hot sun.

When it comes down to it, numerous pictures of just hanging out on the lake just didn’t cross my mind. It was time to relax in the midst of all the busy things going on right now. As I write this, I’ve been awake since 3:30AM to work a remote until noon, only to have more things to take care of for future remotes in the afternoon. I knew this was on the horizon, so it’s why we took it very easy over the long weekend.

I’m ready for another.

2007 Aug 08

My first bear

As Keira commented, it’s been a little while since I’ve made a post. Work life has been hectic, and the long weekend prompted a kick ass getaway to Osoyoos. Getting back yesterday, I’m right back into the fray. But while doing the work thing last Friday, I saw my first bear in the wild during my first time ever in Whistler.

He came across the hill and ventured down the worn in pathway, nibbling on weeds or flowers or something.

This woman was asking for it. She stood there with her back to the bear to get a picture with it in the background. Did she stop there? No, she started to yell “Hey, bear! Look here, bear!” over her shoulder to get the bear to look her way just so she could snap that amazing picture. Better yet, she started backing up about ten feet, pulling her picture taker with her, towards the bear.

Black bears don’t get very large, but this one seems like it could grow just a little bit more before it’s fully grown. At least that’s what other people were saying. I haven’t a clue.

I would say that thirty yards is as close as I got, some folks got closer only because the bear came in that far. After reaching the bottom of the trail, he turned around and went back the way he came. Needless to say, I was pretty amazed. My co-workers flipped when I said that I had never seen a bear before, so everyone came running to make sure I caught him about a hundred yards out. Didn’t think I would be getting as close as I did though.

2007 Jul 262007 Jul 26

Watching stuff blow up in the water

Photo credit: duanestorey on Flickr

Basically, that sums up the Celebration of Light. You take a barge, stick it in the ocean, lace it with fireworks, call 500,000 of your closest friends, and watch someone light the fuse.

The pre-game mayhem is annoying, and the post-game crowds is almost made up for by watching the pretty lights in the sky. Last night being the first night of four, I wish we had sat closer to the music being played over the loud speakers. Could have brought a radio, but the last thing I want to be carrying around is a ghetto blaster. Although, that would be cool, especially if I had some high-tops, track suit, and a bandanna.

Photo credit: duanestorey on Flickr

Living in the west end, we understand what it is that we have to deal with. Getting to sleep last night wasn’t too hard, and I assume that the Saturday night performances will be much crazier than the mid-week displays. Still, I’m not complaining. Argue if they are good or not for the city, I was hanging out with a wicked group of people last night. Summer is made for things like this.

Photo credit: duanestorey on Flickr

Corinna and Adam picked us up on the way to meet up with Keira, and then we proceeded to Duane’s to chill and enjoy some beverages. He and Rebecca had the opportunity to meet Mr. Tony Pierce while in Las Vegas a few weeks ago, and the man is in Vancouver for the next few days. He brought along a local friend as well, and good times were most certainly had.

Photo credit: duanestorey on Flickr

Spain had their turn last night, and it started out slow. I was feeling a little let down towards the beginning, but it didn’t last long. There’s something pretty cool to be said about thirty, simultaneous explosions that will always put a smile on my face. Forty and I’ll clap.

Kudos to you, Vancouver, for taking your trash with you. Being that the garbage workers have been on strike for nearly the whole week, there wasn’t a ton of Starbucks cups left everywhere. I still can’t understand what possesses someone to just toss their waste where they are sitting. Morons.

And next time, I’ll think to take more pictures with my own camera. You can see even more of Duane’s fireworks pics here.

2007 Jul 09

Taking in some FIFA U-20 World Cup action

I was able to score a couple tickets to the FIFA U-20 World Cup tournament going on in Canada right now. Rebecca and I had really good seats, practically in the center of the pitch for the last half of the match between Scotland and Costa Rica. We would have seen more of the game, including the first game between Spain and Jordan, but we hit the 1PM showing of Transformers before hand. More about that another time.

When we got there, the score was 0-0, and the crowd was great. There was a great cheering section for the Scots, bag pipes and all. They had some great songs that they were singing as well, complete with kilts and accents. I loved it!

Not to be out done, Costa Rica fans had their fair share of support. What was brilliant was what the Scotland fans would yell in the midst of their cheers.

“COS-ta RI-ca!” clap, clap, clap-clap-clap. Instead of clapping, Scotland fans would yell, “SUCKS!” I was highly entertained.

Even though we only caught forty-five minutes of World Cup futbol, it was incredible. A Scottish player scored a goal on a bicycle kick, a fight broke out between the two teams in the middle of the half, and a streaker busted out onto the pitch with ten minutes left in the game. There was even some amazing snatch and dash of a game ball by one spectator where he casually caught the ball and hauled out of Swangard Stadium like his rear was on fire. The kind thing to do is to return the ball, if not mandatory, but I’m not sure if he was able to hold on to the souvenir.

The streaker, on the other hand, underestimated the width of the pitch and, probably, his blood alcohol level. Two-thirds of the way across, he gave up his all out sprint to walk his way over the to the other side. There was some mutual exchange of greetings between him and the security on the other side, but after pulling his pants up, his arm was pulled behind his back while he was forced out of the stadium.

I was slightly confused as to why I couldn’t get the bottles soda, that we got with our hot dog combos, with the caps left on them. That’s really useful when carrying a lot of food and drink, and I was told by the vendor that it’s against FIFA rules to leave the caps on. Talking about this over the weekend with friends, this made more sense. You can’t throw plastic bottles nearly as far when you don’t have a cap on it. Makes sense, but it caught me a little of guard.

The game was 1-1 going into two minutes of extra time. With just seconds left, Costa Rica was able to score an amazing goal that caught the Scotland goalie out of position. 2-1, final.

On the SkyTrain back home, a couple of Scotland fans, kilts once again, were still in great spirits and feeling pretty good. They asked a girl if she watched the game today. She asked what game they meant. Well, the football game, or soccer game, of course.

“Oh, I usually just pay attention to hockey.”

“What? Hoo-key?!!?”

2007 Jun 11

Throwing the camp down, Chilliwack style

In a matter of events that seemed to sneak up on us, we went camping this weekend with Duane in his home-neck-of-the-woods of Chilliwack, Cultus Lake to be exact. I’ve been camping a number of times, but the opportunity to camp in some official campgrounds with park rangers, outhouses, and “quiet hours” is something I’ve never experienced before. Plus, I’ve never been camping in Canada, so I did a few firsts this weekend.

We tried to get more people to come along, but the weekend was pretty awesome with just the three of us. Duane has some really great photos, and Rebecca has a few as well. You can see my collection here.

And yes, we called it “drunkcamp” because of some strange, string of conversation topics that stemmed from hanging out at these various meetups and (un)conferences (Northern Voice, democamp, barcamp, etc.) that our paths have been crossing at. As much as we appreciate those events, there’s something to be said about being outdoors, no computers, and a steady supply of food and beverages. You can talk shop, but you just can’t do any work.

Actually, I did a lot of work out there, and by that I mean chopping wood so much that my hands are tender from calluses that haven’t seen much action for a long while. There is something that happens to me when I have access to a fire pit and a supply of fuel for the fire. It’s like a sense of enchantment by the flames, and then I have to keep the thing going. It’s a delicate dance because you don’t want it too hot, but you don’t want it to die out completely. And because of that, I still have whiffs of smoke on me, and that’s after one day and two showers since being bathed in campfire ash.

I’m committed to this now, and we’re talking about making another venture in the near future. Get out of the city, get away from this keyboard I’m typing on, and just have more time to relax, not to mention being decently affordable. Of course, we spent a little getting a tent and other supplies, but we’re ready for drunkcamp02 now.

2007 Apr 232007 Apr 23

Lower mainland adventures with my parents

To explain a long story as to why I’ve been a tad MIA in the past week or so, here is my attempt at a photo blog post sort of thing, thanks to my cellphone camera(our digital camera is experiencing battery issues). My parents have been in town for the last week and a half, so we’ve been doing out best to be good hosts and show them how beautiful the lower mainland is. This is a far cry from Iowa, and I think they have really come to love the beauty of B.C.

Walking along the water in White Rock, B.C.

Introducing my dad to green tea gelato. Who knew that is could taste so good?

Last time they were here, we were only able to drive through the park. This time, we stopped and did a fair share of walking.

Road trip to Osoyoos, B.C.

Vineyards of the Okanagan. We did our fair share of enjoying the fruits of the labor.

And finally, this could potentially bore the pants off you, but I did all the driving this weekend. It was my first time driving through the mountains to that extent, so a huge adventure for me. The trek is not overly stressful when you kinda of know what to expect. Still, there are two words that I keep visualizing in the back of my head: “brake failure”.

2007 Mar 052007 Mar 05

Worst SeaBus ride ever

I’m not sure if it’s normal, but riding the SeaBus[wiki] to catch the Canucks on PPV last night was an adventure to say the least. I haven’t made the jaunt too many times, but the late afternoon trip from yesterday was a tad rough.

I’m not one to get motion or sea sick, but the three times that we rocked from front to back was pretty nuts. Then the left to right a couple of times was enough to have the little old woman sitting next to me lean into me pretty hard. The kids loved it as the wakes of passing ships thumped into the boat.

Being an inlet, I was told that the waters never got too rough. I’m pretty confident to say that it can, and did.

2007 Jan 282007 Jan 28

Foggy times in the city

I’ve been fascinated by the amount of fog rolling into Vancouver over the past few days. It’s not so much the amount as it is the way that the sky goes from sunny to pea soup. We were in the park yesterday when we thought the sun had set pretty quick. Turns out, it was just fog, and lots of it.

I wanted to walk around the back portion of Lost Lagoon, but Rebecca would have none of that. It was so creepy, only being able to see about 20 meters ahead of you. Because of that, I wanted to venture in that direction. For Rebecca, she didn’t want to venture in that direction for that same reason. We ended up heading home where it was much warmer, regardless if the the sun was shining or not.

What scary spirits lurk in the fallen trees beyond that fog? Looks like we’ll have to save that experience for another time.

2007 Jan 112007 Jan 11

Good day for a coffee walk

It’s just something you do on a day like today. Below freezing temps, hardly any wind, all the sun you could ever ask for, and a hot coffee in your hand. It’s been a nice two weeks to have Rebecca off from work, even if we haven’t left the city. In due time, you can bet that we’ll plan on making our holidays in much warmer climates. Not the greatest quality, but the cellphone can only do so much.

2006 Dec 232006 Dec 24

And a beer in a tree

We just got back from hauling the three kids of Rebecca’s sister through Stanley Park to check out the lights that are on display there. I know that this video from my cellphone isn’t of the greatest quality. I thought I would give it a try, and at least you can actually see that we were there. What you don’t see is how packed it was. People everywhere and a three hour wait to ride that train. Borderline chaos.

Now to try my hand at baking. Then it’s pretty much eating for two straight days. Welcome to the holidays, but I won’t be complaining.

Best wishes to everyone, everywhere this season. May it treat you well.

Mastodon	@johnbollwitt@mastodon.social
Twitter	@johnbollwitt
Flickr	flickr.com/photos/audihertz
Bandcamp	bandcamp.com/audihertz