Friday, January 31, 2014

31/365


Today was the Lunar Chinese New Year. This meant that not much was open, but we still managed to find some fun stuff to do and some ok food to eat.
While walking around Kowloon Park, we saw a group of students playing drums and animating this large dragon puppet. It was super cool to see the dragon weave throughout the crowds of people.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

30/365


Today we did an epic walking tour of Kowloon. Starting in Mong Kok, we wandered the many markets the whole way back down to Tsim Tsa Shui. There were bird markets, goldfish markets, flower markets, clothing markets and the Temple Street Markets. It was such a vibrant and bustling day.
While out at the flower markets we headed to a Dim Sum restaurant that we found inadvertently because the actual restaurant we wanted to go to was closed.
Anyways this place did outstanding dim sum. The highlights were a mango jelly roll and a pork bun called a snow bun or something like that. It was amazing. A mix of sweet and savoury like I have never had before. The bun was almost like a sweet coconut egg pastry, with a bbq pork bun style filling. Amazing!
That aside, on the huge walk we passed Tin Hau Temple. Inside there were these amazing spiral insence sticks that were burning away, filling the air with the most calming incense aroma. They made for an amazing pattern especially with the sun shining brightly through the spirals. I felt this summed up one of the most beautiful things we saw today, and makes for a rather interesting still life photograph.

29/365


Wan Chai Markets. What an amazing vibrant space. I loved walking around these markets. The streets were teeming with people madly rushing around seeking bargains or purchasing fresh produce.
The wet markets were unreal, I haven't seen anything like it since the Tokyo Fish Markets almost 10 years ago. So much fresh seafood, and such inhumanely treated fish. An eye opener to see, but I was glad to be spectating and not consuming. Kate saw an eel escape from a bucket, slide across a ridiculously busy side walk and try to bite someone before being scooped back into the bucket.
The meat stands had large portions of meat being butchered right there for you, thankfully those animals didn't start alive.
Coming up to the Chinese New Year there is loads of citrus available - not sure if this is all the time, or just at this time of year, but anyways, there is a lot of it available. Cumquats, mandarin, orange and these huge mandarin looking citrus that I just had to try. Way bigger than a soft ball! Anyways, it was delicious, just like someone crossed cumquat, grape fruit and mandarin.
The stall pictured here is one of the many roasted meat stalls. Vibrant, colourful and smelling amazing.

28/365


Checking into the Hyatt late, not leaving much time for a fantastic photo of the day. The entrance foyer to level 14.
We had a long flight, 13 hrs, from Vancouver, finally landing in Hong Kong at about 7pm, the next day. This made my photo of the day a bit difficult as we crossed the international date line, all of the 28th of Jan was spent in a plane, except for the last few hours, which were spent feeling jet lagged, commuting via cab to The Hyatt and then checking in and zonking out. I quickly snapped this photo of the entrance foyer to our floor. The hotel is rad and very fancy.
Better photo to come tomorrow I promise.

27/365


Waiting at the airport - our spare Canadian cash was used to buy some fortune cookies. It was funny when we opened the first fortune cookie, as we got the fortune "Friends long absent are coming back to you". This seemed so fitting as we sat together in Vancouver airport, feeling a bit sad that we were leaving Canada, but also excited to be returning home to see family and friends.
I composed this photo of a few things to remind us of our last day in Canada. Spare change, ski magazines to kill time and the good fortune message.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

26/365

                                          
Today is our last full day in Vancouver. The last week has been full of reminiscing and reliving all the special moments that we have had in Vancouver. There has been a lot of sea fog around this week, and it has made for some awesome photo opportunities. I liked this composition of the elderly couple disappointing up our street into the fog. Images and moments like these make are opportunities for me to contemplate and appreciate how fortunate I am.
I wander off in thought thinking about the lives of this couple, where they are going and what life adventures brought them to Pendrell St, or Vancouver for that matter.
The last week has been very humbling. Vancouver has been good to us and we are going to miss it a lot.

25/265


This morning I want for a stroll to English Bay to take in the beautiful sunrise. What a beautiful crystal clear day. The view from English Bay on a morning like this is nothing short of spectacular. I love spending time sitting at the beach contemplating. It is so peaceful and amazing that it is a few minutes from our apartment. We will miss this in our daily lives once we are back in Adelaide.
This morning I was sitting on one of the many logs, gazing out over the boats in the harbour and noticed this guy feeding seagulls. I looked so relaxed, I guess this was his morning Zen!
The silhouette of this guy and his birds with the vibrant sunrise behind him made for a very unique photograph, and a really good memory of English Bay.

Friday, January 24, 2014

24/365


Kate and I were going for a stroll through downtown Vancouver today, organising last minute things. While out and about Kate wanted to check out a cafe that was featuring in the "hot chocolate" month, to get an elaborate white hot chocolate.
The road pictured above is super steep, and as we were walking down it, this can man started wheeling his can trolley down it pretty quickly. Fully under control he was just going about his daily routine. He pulled right across in front of me to check a few big dumsters in a back alley.
This is such an iconic Vancouver character, there are can men with big trolleys all over the city, and generally they are nice enough, and ensure that everything is recycled.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

23/365


Sadly I think that today may be the last time I visit my favourite produce market, Aria. Aria Market is at Bidwell and Robson St, and without a doubt has the cheapest produce in the area. We have been shopping here for a good year or so, since we discovered it. I have no doubt that it has saved us hundreds of dollars on our weekly shopping bills. I love the way they lay out all the produce in front of the store as is shown in the photo. It looks like a proper market stall, and is super cramped, rickety and cluttered; just as you'd expect a market stall to be.
Today I made the trip to Aria even though I didn't really need anything, but I took the opportunity to grab some produce for lunch, then head to Coal Harbour and eat lunch overlooking the moored yachts, basking up the glorious sun.
Fir $2.08 I got 4 Californian Navel Oranges, 1 Fuji Apple and 1 Orange Capsicum. Not bad I thought!
After lunch I strolled back through Stanley Park and the West End. What a beautiful day!

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

22/365


This building has always interested me. It sits just West of Olympic Village, totally dilapidated. It is a gutted old rusted warehouse, I'm not sure if it is still used for storing anything, but I think it adds a lot of character to the area and am so glad that they have left it standing.
I had just met Ty for a lunch of fresh produce and sitting at False Creek overlooking the mountains and downtown. Wandering back I had this view of the old warehouse at the end of the street. It acted as such a strong focal point to the whole road, siting perfectly at the end of the road, and especially today with the vibrant blue skies, the red rust really stood out making it quite stunning.
Another little gem of Vancouver that I am glad to have wandered past in my last few days.

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

21/365


Yale Town aka Hongcouver. The glass facades look amazing when viewing the city from the South Bank of False Creek. I especially love this view because of the one building that breaks the standard pattern. The curves in the right most building just add a huge amount of interest to what would have otherwise looked like any other downtown district.
Today I went for a big adventure, starting with a swim and run to and from the Vancouver Aquatic centre. Following this I wandered to False Creek to get a ferry to Granville Island Market. Coffees and fresh produce were consumed at the market, along with checking out some local art studios. Following this I wandered to Kates work at the Vancouver General Hospital to meet Kate and Becky for lunch. This stroll took me up the seawall on the southern side of False Creek, giving me many amazing views of downtown Vancouver, including this image of the facades of Yale Town.
Another jam packed day of unemployment and lapping it up in Vancouver.

Monday, January 20, 2014

20/365

                                                
I was standing on Burrard Bridge looking down at False Creek and I noticed that the height of the bridge gives you a very different perspective of the city.
It is always nice to see something differently, and after having lived somewhere for years, it doesn't happen as often as you may like. I had originally walked out to Burrard Bridge to take a photo of the fog that was settling over the Harbour, but once getting up there I saw this cool perspective of the Granville Island ferry, and the crystal clear waters of False Creek.
This image somewhat symbolises the coming week. I hope to spend my last week in Vancouver ecperiencing Vancouver from as many perspetives as possible. It is a beautiful city and I want to make the most of this last week. Secondly the week will be spent preparing to "set sail" on our voyage back to Austraila. It is going to be an exciting and sad week, full of a lot of experiences that have become part of our daily routine, that we will be saying goodbye too. Probably to never experience again, but with those experiences we are saying good bye too, we will welcome new routines to our life back in Australia.

Jantastic

After getting off to an amazing start to 2014 for my running, I pushed it a little hard last week and ended up with a slightly aggravated quadriceps tendon. This put a halt to all running until it settled down, and thus I thought I'd miss all of my week 2 Jantastic runs. Thankfully I caught this injury early on and listened to my body straight away. I rested from Monday to Thursday and by Saturday was able to attempt a small 30 min run/walk session with no pain.
The tendon pulled up fine after this so I did another 30 min run/walk session on Sunday, and then followed with another one on Monday morning. I was pretty excited to get my three runs for the Jantastic week in eventually, and it really showed the importance of resting an overuse injury immediately.
So as to not overdo it again, the first few days of this week will be run free, just swimming and yoga, and I will hit up another run by Wednesday or Thursday I think.
Kate has been banging out some great runs this year regardless of some niggling knee issues, and is still holding an amazing pace! All in all we're off to a good year of running, fingers crossed, touch wood etc.

Sunday, January 19, 2014

19/365


The spring bulbs are starting to poke through the ground. It is always an exciting time of year. It shows that spring and warmer weather is just around the corner. New beginnings, new adventures and experiences.
The past week has been full of preparation for change and new adventures. It is fitting that with the change of the seasons just on the horizon, there is also going to be a big change in our lifestyle and living situations. Kate and I are going to have a lot of new experiences and journeys over the coming months. It is exciting to think of what they may hold.

Saturday, January 18, 2014

18/365


English Bay had been foggy all night. I knew this as the ship horns had continued to sound all night, they do this when in thick fog so that they know where they all are.
When I awoke, an eerie ornage glow was filling our room, so I made my way to our balcony and was welcomed to the day with this beautiful sunrise over the thick fog that had blanketed the harbour.
This view has given us many beautiful memories while in Canada. The different weather phenomena that we have witnessed from here has been amazing!

Friday, January 17, 2014

Burrard Bridge

I was lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to capture this amazing photo the other day. Burrard Bridge, with Granville Bridge just behind it, nestled in the fog as the sun rose. Moments like these are the moments that you are stoked that you travel, explore and don't spend all day sitting on your couch watching the television.

Heather and Jacobs Wedding

I have wanted to post about this for some time now, but have been so busy that I haven't been able to find the time to write a post that will do the beautiful wedding justice.
I now find myself sitting in Delaney's Coffee House at Denman and Pendrell St with some spare time to chill, drink coffee and write.
Our very close friends, Heather and Jacob, got married on the 29th of December 2013 in Lake Louise. Kate and I made a week long road trip of the event, and it was beautiful to see the Canadian Rockies in Winter. If you haven't already see my blog post on that roadtrip.
The wedding was an amazing day. Perfect "mild" weather, maybe -5, with a bit of blue sky mixed with cloud and some light snow flurries. It was especially beautiful when it started snowing lightly for the ceremony. The day started with hanging out and getting ready at Deer Lodge. Kate, V, Ty and myself went for a walk along Lake Louise to pass the morning. This was then followed by the ceremony just after lunch, then hot chocolate and amazing cookins, ice skating on Lake Louise, and then the reception which was amazing and so much fun. The bride and groom looked sharp!
                                          
The main point of this post though is that it was my first attempt at wedding photography, and my first use of my new flash in dark interior conditions. It was an amazing learning experience and I had an great time. The camera gives you a great ice breaker to meet people. Walk up to them, introduce yourself, have a good chat and then get some great photos. I had so much fun meeting and talking to everyone. Heather and Jacob also tasked me with taking polaroid photos to fill their guest book. This was awesome, and Kate and I teamed up and filled that guest book to the brink. This experience inspired me to possible give wedding photography a go as a side job. I have a few weddings coming up so may try to refine my style there and do a bit more testing with my flash to see how I can shape and control my photos a bit better.
Being my first time taking photos at a wedding, and my first flash photography experience, I was really happy with the results. Can't wait for the next opportunity.


17/365


Ahhh. Another day of unemployment. The day started with some odd jobs. Buying some cleaning supplies, things to get ready to vacate our apartment. Whilst out and about on these errands I make sure that I wander the long way past some interesting views. I have all the time in the world, so I may as well make the chores interesting.
Once again I found myself at the seawall at Sunset Beach. I noticed a lot of pigeons sitting on a railing so I wandered closer to check them out. They immediately scattered and started flying in a flock in circles. I watched them for a while and then they came in and landed on the same bar, which is when I captured this picture of the chaotic movement of a flock of birds all flying together. How they don't hit each other I don't know.
I continued to watch the birds for a further fifteen minutes or so, and realised that they were periodically taking off and flying in almost the exact same routine, then landing again. I pondered whether they were practicing for a migratory run maybe? Regardless it is amazing watching the formations that birds make when flying together without any noticeable form of communication with one another.
The beauty of this project and the rules I have set myself is that I am always finding something interesting. You just have to keep your eyes open and be open to walking down a different path each day :-)

16/365


Today was a frosty day in Vancouver. Clear skies overnight had covered everything in a frost, and once the sun came out it gave everything a beautiful sheen.
I walked Kate to the dentist first thing in the morning, then did some chores and then headed to hatha yoga and Y Ride class.
The day was finished with a killer haircut from my buddy Ritchy at this rad barbers shop at Burrard and Davie St!
This photo was taken at Nelson Park, at about 9am, the highest point in the West End of Vancouver.

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

15/365


Having some time off at the moment is really nice. It is letting me get out and about in Vancouver to just enjoy the city. I love Stanley Park, there is always something to see that makes you amazed that you are so close to a big city.
While wandering around this afternoon I came across these trees that were full of berries, one of the most colourful trees at the moment as all the deciduous trees have lost their leaves and nothing is flowering. In these trees were lots of small birds eating the berries. I stood watching the birds for a long time. It's quite peaceful just watching them go about their thing, all they care about is eating and living, free of all the material pressures of human life.
The lighting was beautiful for photography and really helped bring out the vibrant colour of the berries.
This was just off The seawall near the English Bay Bowling Greens.

Montana Ski Trip - Whitefish, Montata, Days 3 to 8

Today I sit in Melrichies Coffee house, Davie St, West End, Vancouver. I am unemployed and loving it. Preparation is well underway for our move back to Australia, and I have finally found some time to write my next installment on our Montana Trip. If you haven't read part 1, here it is :-)
We slept a little on the overnight train from Seattle to Whitefish after a decent train meal, and killing a lot of time playing Yahtzee (best $10 we've ever spent). I was so excited to be in a sleeper carriage, that I found it hard to settle. I was like a dog in the back of a car, running from window to window wanting to take everything in. It was a crystal clear night and there were amazing views of the stars. I have rarely seen that many stars in the sky;I couldn't stop watching them. Eventually breakfast summoned us to the dining car at about 6:30 am, we fueled up on rubbery omlettes and overcooked vegetables just in time to disembark into the pitch black morning at Whitefish Station; about 7am.
We had pre-organised a shuttle to the mountain so we had a fat American guy, wearing a cowboy hat calling our names at the Amtrack station. It was quite amusing being called over the room as "For - beees". Although they have "Forbes Magazine" and manage to pronounce that correctly? Anyways, we were whisked away from the station and dropped right at Whitefish reception to check in. It was announced by our driver that we wanted breakfast, although we had never uttered a word about this, but then it obviously came the single most important point of discussion as to where we could get breakfast. After explaining that we had already eaten a slow morning ensued. Room service took ages to clear our room for check in. Our room was finally ready by 11am. After a bit of a boring wait, we discovered it was well worth it. The hotel room was freaking massive. An ex club room, the owners of the building decided to renovate it and turn it into a hotel room. It was easily 3 times as large as out apartment, with a big king bed, enclosed balcony with dining table, lounge and an amazing view over the whole valley. The kitchen was huge and fully equipped, massive bathroom, fireplace...WOW. We felt ridiculously spoiled! Best part was it was cheap. We could not believe the price we paid for such amazing accommodation.
After settling in and making an essential coffee, we caught a free shuttle down to the town of Whitefish to check it out. It was a quick trip, some amazing chicken wings, a salad and a grocery shop later and we were back up at the mountain to chill in our amazing apartment. Dinner that night was the squid and scallops that we bought in Seattle - they were the most amazing scallops I've ever had, coupled with a Californian Chardonnay (Napa Valley), which was probably the best Chardonnay I have ever had.



Day 4 was our first day skiing, but first I had to start the day with a good old run around the ski resort. I love running in new places, and ski resorts are no different. The run was a bit difficult as due to the snow depth pedestrian access isn't great, but I made it work and had an amazing hour long run, getting me back with time for an epic brekky, coffee and a stretch before hitting the hill. Skiing wise, we were blown away by Whitefish. Firstly we got an amazing bluebird day which is always great for scoping out a new mountain. We rode a lot of fun terrain, found some dry pow even days after the last snow, but most of all killed the groomers. I have never ridden groomers like this, they were amazing. So fast and they were all interesting and different with cool rollers to hit and amazing views. The day ended with a dinner of fresh fish from Seattle market, and a relaxing hot tub that overlooked the ski resort! Amazing.



Day 5 was a rest day. The forecast called for snow for the rest of the week, so we figured a day exploring Whitefish would be good. We headed down to the town of Whitefish soon after a delicious breakfast of home made muesli and the most amazing Montana Natural Yoghurt and Milk. Both were organic, no hormones, antibiotics etc. I haven't had dairy that good ever - Paris Creek may come close. Hats off to Montana for doing dairy right, the US was the last place I expected to get good dairy - BC has a bit to learn. Anyways, it snowed lightly all morning, making Whitefish so beautiful to walk around. We ventured out into the suburbs and just aimlessly wandered. I love getting into the suburbs of towns as you really get a sense for what makes up the community. When you get off the standard tourist route you can see the locals and how they conduct everyday life. We bumped into a lot of them and everyone was so friendly, including an elderly couple that reminisced on the time they saw a moose walk right through downtown. The suburbs were so quaint and typically American. I loved it.
We walked along an amazing trail network that hugged the Whitefish River, stopped in a snow covered park for lunch overlooking the river. Coincidence took us past an amazing little bike shop that also did espressos. Here I had a good chat with the guy that ran the place about cycling in Montana - sounds like it is really taking off, and that it would be worth visiting in summer.
After a good 3-4hrs of walking, Kate and I ended up at the Great Northern Brewing Company. This was hands down the best brew pub I've been to. I'd say 50% of the beer list was malt and yeast driven beers, that were super light on the hops, unlike every other North American brew pub I've been too, which has a beer list of IPA and that's it. What also made this brew pub unique was a good list of lagers, which were superb. I ended up getting a pint of their Steam Ale, which is a beer brewed with a larger yeast at room temperature. Malt driven, and delicious. Then I got a pint of their Amber Ale, once again malt driven in flavour. Delicious. Feeling a little tipsy as I don't often drink, we headed back up to our amazing mountain apartment to cook the most amazing steak from Seattle for dinner. My mind was blown by how amazing this steak was! Seared for a few minutes on each side then quickly finished off in the oven.





Day 6 was our first POW day for a while. I however was getting edgy about exercise and was up early, so I started the day with a good half hour core session and half an hour on the treadmill! Great way to start the day, then followed with a huge muesli meal to prepare for an amazing day of pow. We explored so much of the mountain. We hit up a few runs on groomers with half a foot of fresh for our first few runs. That was super fast and like riding in silk. Once these were tracked we headed for the steeps of Hellroaring Basin. We found one face that was a really steep black run, probably 30 turns in length, no tracks, blower face shots every turn! Made the whole trip worthwhile, not that it wasn't already worthwhile.
Kate was killing it, popping little ollies off everything and hauling ass on the groomers! I haven't seen her ride like this before, it was awesome. We were just shredding and having so much fun together. Once the legs were burning and saying no more, we retired to the hot tub, and then I cooked up an amazing bean chilli-con-carne and then celebrated our last North American holiday, and three years of good times and successes, by opening my Tasmanian Single Malt Whiskey. The best whiskey I've ever had! Sweet fruit driven flavours. Beautifully smooth and rounded with a very full mouth feel. If it weren't so ridiculously expensive I'd buy a bottle for those special occasions.


Day 7 was another amazing Pow Day! About a foot of snow had fallen at the top of the resort. We headed straight for a run we ended the day with the day before. We knew it would be epic if we got first tracks; and we did! Super dry pow, really steep gladed run. Blower face shots every turn! Amazing. We then tracked a few other zones, and just so happened to be at the top as Hellroaring Basin was cleared of Avvy danger. You best believe we headed straight to the same steeps as the day before and shredded it like there was no tomorrow. I saw Kate make some of her deepest turns ever, and once again, I was getting blower face shot after blower face shot. What a day.
We returned to the lodge, super pooched, but loving it. This is where it all gets interesting. We had an inkling that trains were running late due to the cold weather in Chicago - just from the odd comment that people had been making. So, being my overly cautious self, I contacted Amtrack to discover that Friday nights train was running 10 hrs late. Based on this, I assumed that our train for Saturday night will also run just as late (it was already 3 hours behind and hadn't even left Chicago yet), so we changed our reservation from the Saturday night train to the Friday night train, which was now so late that it was actually Saturday mornings train, it got slightly confusing at this point dealing with people about this Friday / Saturday train. This delay and train change suited us perfectly though. It removed the risk of missing Monday for Kates work in Vancouver, and meant that we would get to see the country side by daylight! Turning a annoying situation into a good situation :-) I feel that many people on the train that had traveled the whole way from Chicago would not have shared my enthusiasm for the delay.
We arose on Day 8 after a sleepless night. We had to get up so early to make sure that if the train had made up time overnight, we wouldn't miss it. However when we get to the train station we find that the train had been delayed a further two hours overnight, meaning we could have slept in a little more....oh well, such is life, at least we hadn't missed it. In the end, the delay at the station wasn't all bad as I found an amazing coffee shop that did great lattes and great muffins. This made my morning.
The train finally arrived and we settled in for the next 14 hours. Now, we had a connecting bus in Seattle that was departing the Seattle train station at 9:30pm. As it was, the train was going to get us to the station at 9:30 pm, so we were starting to look at another night in Seattle. Oh well. We figured we'd make a nice night of it and spend the following day at the market.
As the day ground on, the views continued to be amazing, but the train continued to run later and later. Super high winds were limiting the trains speed, and we just continued to see the arrival time grow later and later, to the point where it was starting to get pointless to pay for a nights accommodation in Seattle.
I decided to talk to the conductor when we realised that the arrival time was getting ridiculously late and that we would definitely miss our connecting bus. The conductor told me that she would try to work something out and get back to me. About fifteen minutes later she returned to our cabin with the news that they had arranged for the bus to stop by Everett after leaving Seattle (which it doesn't normally do), so that the train could drop us there, and we could jump on the bus when it came through. This worked perfectly as the bus didn't have to leave later, and we could get off the train earlier. I was so stoked that they had been able to organise it. Amtrack offered amazing service I have to say.
We disembarked at Everett and jumped on the bus 30 minutes later. In the meantime we had an interesting conversation with a nice Japanese girl who was living in Victoria, BC. The bus driver drove like a mad man! He killed it up the I-5, making it to Canada in record time. En route we drove past a massive factory fire! Never seen anything like that before, but the stupid thing was that morons were actually stopping on the I-5, getting out of their car and taking pictures. What is society coming to. Anyways, I fell asleep for a bit which is rare on buses, but I could not believe how quick we were at the border. Funnily enough the border guard kinda gave me shit when I told him we were returning to Australia while we still had time a valid work permit. It's not often that a border guard hassles you about leaving the country :-) Next thing we knew we were at Vancouver Central Station, hailing a cab home, and then finally in bed by 1am! Not bad really; we woke up in Whitefish at 4am on Saturday, and in bed in Vancouver by 1am on Sunday. Everything definitely fell into place for us on this bit of travel. The cold snap has wrought chaos for travelers on the East Coast, and we could have easily had a few days of delays and lots of travel expenses, but instead we managed to turn it onto a very scenic daytime train trip, and avoided any extra accommodation expenses :-)
The trip was so amazing. Kate and I have been spoiled for the last few weeks that's for sure, but we want to make the most of North America while we are here. Whitefish, Montana is a beautiful little town and an amazing ski resort well worth checking out if you have the time. Just be wary of train delays :-)



14/365


Today was a full day that involved a lot of walking around the West End. I was heading to a bike shop at Pacific and Burrard St to pick up some bike packing supplies, so I walked along the sea wall as it is always such a nice walk.
Recently there has been some rough weather, and I guess all of these shells were deposited along the foreshore then. I thought they made quite a nice natural pattern with the calming violet hues.
Sunset Beach, False Creek. West End Vancouver.

Monday, January 13, 2014

13/365


The coming week is all about health and fitness for me. After a few weeks of indulgence, it's time to get back on track with healthy eating and a good fitness regime.
I will be joining Y Yoga for a few weeks and geting in as much swimming and running as possible. It should be a great way to spend my last few weeks in Vancouver.
This is a delicious simple salad that I often make. A mix of various leafy greens, grated carrot and beetroot, raw cauliflower, dulse, hemp seeds, nutritional yeast and a tahini and mustard dressing. You can bulk this up as you wish, mix and match different vegetables. I often like to add chick peas and some raisins and seeds.

Montana Ski Trip - Seattle Days 1 and 2

The last 8 days has been quite amazing. A while ago Kate and I organised a ski trip to Montana. We chose Whitefish, Montana, because the Amtrack train passed through the town, making it very convenient to get to without a car. A positive to this was also that we had to go through Seattle, so we decided to stop off in Seattle and explore there one last time.
We departed early on Saturday the 4th of January for the 6am train from Vancouver to Seattle. We were super excited, and it was great to be traveling by train as buses generally suck and are uncomfortable. Being able to get up and move around made the trip so much nicer. The train trip from Van to Seattle was amazing. It was so much more picturesque than I expected. We saw lots of beautiful farm land and coast line throughout the 4 hr trip.
We arrived in Seattle and checked into our downtown accommodation. It was nice for the price, well located and had free apples. You best believe I made the most of these, stashing up a good 10 or so apples to take to Montana with us. After settling into the room, we headed for Capitol Hill for some coffee, food and exploring. It is really quite close to downtown, you could walk it no worries. We spent all afternoon out there, and after chatting with the locals decided that Seattle is rad and super friendly. People recommended that we go and check out different things so our day spontaneously evolved based on locals advice. We hit up an amazing coffee shop called "Vivace", a great little cookie and ice cream shop called "Hello Robin" and was directed to an amazing park that we never would have known about without speaking with the residents that had an old water tower that offered amazing views of downtown.



After a full afternoon we headed back downtown and quickly dashed to Pike Place Market to stock up on french baguette, washed rind cheese, and "Sound Brewing" beer. Some of the most amazing beer I have ever had. A quick relax and a few beers at the hotel, than back to "Long" Thai restaurant for an amazing dinner.

The next day was another day spent in Seattle. This was an amazing day. Firstly Kate and I went for a good hour long run along Seattle's waterfront running trail. It was a beautiful clear morning. An amazing way to see a lot of the city. We followed the run with a market shop at Pike Place Market. This was such a great experience. The market was still quiet and not full of tourists so we were able to speak with a lot of the vendors. We visited the seafood place that is known for throwing fish. Here the fish monger gave us so much great information on what was fresh and where all the seafood came from. We got some amazing scallops, squid and sole. He also shucked the most amazing oysters I have ever had right there for me.
We next hit up a fruit and veg stand where we got amazing service from the owner, making sure we only bought what was in season. The we were off to a butcher that was recommended by the fishmonger. This butcher was amazing, 25 day dry hung beef. We bought the Rolls Royce of meat. One huge steak for $25, but as we found out later in the trip - it was worth every cent. Probably the best steak I've ever eaten.



The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around, getting coffees and finding some cool places for lunch. We were due for the train at 4, so we headed that way a bit earlier to make sure we had time for a beer at Elysian brewpub. After the brew pub it was time head to the train station.
Seattle's King Street station is beautiful, so we had a bit of time there to check it out, and then got on our train, and settled into our sleeper car. The train was pretty empty so we were treated to some champagne, and included with the sleeper car was dinner, so we had a nice big steak for dinner. We then settled into a long 14hr train trip across the USA. Washington to Montana. We were really glad we got a sleeper carriage. Next stop Whitefish, Montana.

Jantastic

Well, we are at the end of Jantastic week 1. So far Kate and I are on track with our goal of 3 runs each per week. As a result of being in Whitefish for most of week 1, I went for an early morning run up at the ski resort. I really enjoy running at new places, and based on my New Years day run at Sun Peaks I had high hopes for Whitefish.
Well I was relatively disappointed. The run itself was beautiful, but there is a major lack of sidewalks at Whitefish Mountain Resort, and as a result I didn't get to run everywhere I hoped. Oh well, I still managed a good 1hr run around the resort. I also hit up a second run at Whitefish, which was believe it or not, my first ever treadmill run. I obviously like running outdoors a lot more, but it wasn't all bad. I just zoned to some tunes and ran. I found it great for focusing on form and the mirrors in the fitness center really helped with that too.
The best run of the week however was on Sunday morning. Kate and I had stopped over in Seattle en route to Whitefish. We decided to go for a run along the foreshore trail at downtown Seattle. It was super cold with a lot of frost and ice, but was a beautiful run none-the-less. We ran a good 11km, the sun was rising, clear skies and just good fun running with Kate and chatting the whole way. It makes the run go by quickly when running with good company. As this was our last time in Seattle, it was a really nice way to see the city one last time, and there is nothing like running through a big downtown early in the morning. It feels cool being immersed within a large downtown core while the city is still sleeping.
After returning from Whitefish I decided to sneak in a 4th run. I felt like I needed to stretch the legs after a day of traveling. Unfortunately I flared up something I have never felt before in the top of my right knee. Hoping a few days rest will fix this so I can get back onto meeting this weeks Jantastic quota.

Sunday, January 12, 2014

12/365


The past week has been amazing. Time spent with Kate exploring so many great places and sharing so many special moments. I was at English Bay this afternoon. This shower has always interested me in the way it is like a frame for whatever is going on behind it.
It frames a moment in time that can never be recreated but was something special. It is somewhat symbolic of the last week of travel, and moreso the last 3 years in Vancouver. Full of many moments, now framed in time to be remembered upon fondly.

11/365


Today was an interesting day - our return voyage from Montana. We ended changing our Amtrack reservation to jump on the earlier train (Friday the 10th instead of Sat the 11th), that was actually running 12hrs late (so it was due to leave 9am Sat 11th), but we worked out that this would work best for us, as the train we were meant to be on would also be 12 hours late, thus meaning we would arrive in Vancouver super late on Sunday, and possibly have to stay in Seattle overnight, therefore missing Monday in Vancouver too.
Anyways, the best part about all these changes is that we would now get to do the return trip during daylight hours and get to see the amazing scenery - and it was. So varying. The most vibrant landscape for me was this rural area in the rain shadow of the Cascade mountains, Washington. It reminded me so much of Australia. The US is really so large and varying - such an amazing country, and what a way to wrap up our epic Montana trip.

Friday, January 10, 2014

10/365


I woke up to 5 inches of fresh snow. We fell asleep early the night before and I was therefore wide awake at about 5:30. I git up early to make a coffee and read my book, the whole time I was able to hear snow clearing machinery outside working away.
I finally decided to check out the window and saw this military style operation going on. The three vehicles had the technique to clear a road very quickly down.
I decided it would make a unique photo so I headed downstairs to capture the scene. The white blur you can see in the photo is the snow being projected from a funnel into a large bin that moves along with it. I thought this photo captured the motion of the whole scenario quite well.
The rest of the day was amazing to say the least. Deep dry pow, shredding with Kate and lots of face shots. Loving Hellroaring Basin steeps. A great way to finish out Montana Ski Trip.

Thursday, January 9, 2014

9/365


Today was an amazing day at Whitefish skiing with Kate. There had been a decent amount of snow overnight, and with the help of the wind, some aspects had become quite snow loaded.
The day started with an early morning visit to the fitness room for core, legs and a 30 min treadmill session. An amazing breakfast followed and then hit the slopes for almost first chair (we were about 10 chairs back).
The day started with amazing groomers with a few inches of fresh, followed with some of my best steep open tree runs. Face shots every turn!
At the top of the mountain the fog had set in well and truly. Kate noticed that this unused chairlift looked eerie in the fog - immediately I thought it would make a great still life image. The lifeless lift encrusted in ice had a solemn creepy feel about it, almost like a deserted ski resort. The real story is this chair only works when the resort is busy enough to require it - all the terrain is still accessible without it.
Another amazing day riding fresh Montana pow with Kate.

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

8/365


Today was a beautiful day in the town of Whitefish. It was snowing all morning, and about 2 inches of fresh snow had blanketed the town. We started the day with a well needed sleep in and amazing breakfast.
It made for a very monochrome environment, and made it hard to find a good photograph to represent colour. The town had a really nice trail system that ran along the main river through town, it was ploughed all winter and made for a great way to see the city. Kate and I walked most of this trail, and it gave us a really nice view of the suburbs, lake and river. Along the river the yellow tips of the willow trees really stood out against the black and white background of the conifers in the snow. This was the one main splash of colour that caught my eye all walk.
The walk took a good three hours and led us to a cool little bike shop that sold great lattes, and then to the local brew pub, that was amazing, and unlike a lot of other North American brew pubs, did great lagers and a few non hoppy beers!
Finally we made it back to the lodge where we cooked our rolls royce of steaks that we purchased at Pike Place Market!

Tuesday, January 7, 2014

7/365


Today was a beautiful day skiing at Whitefish, Montana. The infamous Montata snow ghosts were out in force. The trees were beautiful as cold temps had maintained the snow on the trees.
The resort is so much fun, and although there had not been snow for a few days, what was left in the trees was light and dry, and the groomers were amazingly maintained and fast.
Kate and I made a good attempt at covering most of the hill so we now have a good grasp of all the different zones, so when the POW comes, we'll know where to go.
It was pretty cold, and a midday break was essential to warm up to get through the day, but later on the sun came out giving some nice relief to the overcast conditions and chilly wind.

Monday, January 6, 2014

6/365

Looking out from the amazing view of out Whitefish, Montana accommodation. Today was freezing as a cold snap has hit East Coast Canada and USA, but the sun was out and the mountain was looking amazing.
After rolling in on the Amtrack early in the morning, Kate and I sat looking at this view from our amazing apartment for a long time. The coming week is going to be fun, full of adventure and relaxing.

5/365


This was a spontaneous photo that I took while we were waiting in our Amtrack sleeper carriage bound for Whitefish. It was some public art that was mounted on the rail tracks. I was not expecting to use it for my photo for the day at all, but after taking it and looking over my photos, I thought this photo best summed up our week.
It has been a week full of traveling to new places, taking all sorts of different routes and paths, and not really being sure where we'll end up. The last week has been a great adventure that continues unpredictably into the future.

4/365


A trip to Seattle is never complete without visiting the Pike Place Market. Unexpectedly the market was teeming with people, although not being tourist season. A vendor that we spoke to did $1000 more this Saturday than the same Saturday a year earlier.
This part of the market has all the fish stores and fresh produce and is full of tourists and neon lights. It always feels dynamic and lively!

Friday, January 3, 2014

3/365


This morning started with a light jog to the Vancouver Aquatic Center for a good swim with a solid pyramid session mixed into the 3kms. When I run to the pool, I don't bother with a towel, and just throw my running gear back on, while still wet and then just jog home.
My swim lasted a hour, and by the time I left, outdoors had switched from night to day! A solid wind storm overnight had kicked up some swell, and there was fog rolling in over False Creek. While running home along the seawall I saw some swell hitting the barrier and splashing into the air, this gave me an idea for todays topic of motion, so as soon as I got home I grabbed my camera and headed back to the seawall to try and capture what I saw in my minds eye.
I'm pretty happy with the result. Looking East towards Burrard Bridge, and about Pacific and Cardero St.

Homeless Guy and a Sleeping Bag!

I had an old sleeping bag that I never used, but was in great condition. On Christmas Eve I was walking back from the shops and saw this homeless guy that frequents the Safeway car park. I decided I'd duck upstairs, grab the sleeping bag and give it to him.
As I walked back to the car park towards him, sleeping bag in hand, it was pretty obvious from about 10 meters away that I was walking towards him, and at about 5 meters his eyes lit up.
"Hey man, how's it going?" I said."I was just gonna give you this sleeping bag if you'd be interested."
He was stoked!
"I really need a new sleeping bag" he commented with an appreciative look on his face.
I hung out there for another 5 minutes or so, chatting about Australia and Canada. He had a crazy bearded friend who had turned up halfway through our conversation. He insistently commented on how alike Australians and Canadians are, although I feel he had never actually been to Australia. At this point I drew the conversation to an end, wished the two a Happy Christmas and safe New Year.
I hope I helped make his Christmas a bit better!

Thursday, January 2, 2014

Rocky Mountains Roadtrip

We just returned from a pretty epic road trip! Rocky Mountains to finish off 2013! What an amazing trip. We left Vancouver on the 25th headed for Revelstoke, staying at Sutton Place. Wow, was Sutton Place amazing. Views of the ski resort from our hotel room (which was bigger than our apartment), and the apartment was so new and well equipped. Full kitchen for cooking, huge bathroom, epic bed! We were well and truly spoiled. We got some good snow in Revelstoke and cooked up a pretty good Christmas dinner!


After two nights in Revelstoke we made tracks towards Alberta and Lake Louise! Thankfully the drive wasn't as sketchy as we had thought, and Nick got us to Lake Louise unscathed! The main reason for heading to Lake Louise was for Heather and Jacobs wedding. We had an amazing 4 nights. Our great friends Ty and V were over for the wedding, and it was awesome to catch up with both of them. The wedding was amazing with lots of cool people. On top of this we rode at Lake Louise one day, the resort was amazing and the views were epic. The crew we rode with was so much fun! I also got out for two runs. One around Lake Louise itself, about 10km, and the other run along a snow shoe trail. Both runs were on soft snow, and at an elevation of maybe 5000ft. This made life hard, but I got to see some amazing scenery. Kate and I also did an epic hike through the forest and saw some of the most amazing snow covered scenery I have ever been in.



After 4 nights in Lake Louise, it was time to head back West to Sun Peaks for New Years. Once again we had to deal with the sketchy roads around Revelstoke, with a much needed stop at the town itself for a bad ass coffee and some baked goods! After refueling we headed for Kamloops then Sun Peaks. The drive was pretty good and we made good time. Sun Peaks made a great first impression. The resort looks amazing, and the village has a really good vibe. Our accommodation was outstanding. Afternoon tea and breakfast included! The scones and chocolate slice for afternoon tea was amazing!
That night for New Years celebrations we caught some of the big air competition, and then headed out on na snowshoe tour, which included sitting around bonfires in the snow making smores...yum! We then headed to a ridge to watch the New Years fireworks from up on the ski hill. It was a pretty memorable way to spend New Years.




New Years day came around. No hangover and I was itching for some running, so I was up at six, and out running by six thirty. A nice little 11km run all around the village of Sun Peaks was an amazing way to start the year. The sun burnt the sky a deep red for the whole run. The network of trails and steep roads kept the run really entertaining, while listening to Mat Zo's TATW 450 mix. I returned from the run just as Kate was rising, freshly made coffee and then a great brekky followed.
We spent the day in the sun chilling around the village, and then headed out for Vancouver later in the afternoon. Once again a solid drive back to Van City got us in early evening on the 1st! Pretty stoked to be back in Van. It was a long trip, but so much fun. It will be one to remember for some time!

Updated Showreel...with Elysium :-)

Enjoy!

timForbes RiggingReel 2014 from Tim Forbes on Vimeo.

2/365


What a wet and rainy day in Vancouver. Kate and I had some odd jobs to do and wandered by Milano on Denman St for a coffee while out and about. While sitting drinking our coffees I noticed that the condensation with the milano logo made for a pretty interesting photograph, encompassing both still life and fine details with the water droplets.

Christmas Eve Emergency Room

In a funny twist of events Christmas Eve went from packing and getting ready for our roadtrip, to heading up to the Vancouver Hospital Emergency Room. For some reason I thought it would be a rad idea to service my bike at about 6pm on Christmas Eve. As I was taking my pedals off I slipped and stabbed my hand on my cogs, the wound was relatively a deep puncture wound, not deep enough for stitches, but definately requiting a tetanus shot. At this point I realise that there are no walk in clinics left open, so the only option is to head to the ER.
I walk into ER to check in, stating that I felt like a bot of an idiot coming to ER for such a minor issue, but that I needed a tetanus shot and no where else was open. To my luck, the ER was empty, the staff were rad and they got me in and out in about 20 mins. They knew I was a total wuss with needles so they took great care, until the doc got the nurse to scrub the wound...ouch!
After all that I walk back home much to the amazement of Kate who could not believe that I had got in and out so quick, leaving plenty of time for packing :-)

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Happy New Year, 365 Project # 2 Starts, 1/365

I cant believe it is 2014, and finally my new 365 project has begun. What a year 2013 was. It could not have been better. To finish it off we had an amazing holiday through the rocky mountains, and woke up on New Years day in Sun Peaks Ski Resort for a great start to 2014.
So without further ado, photo 1/365.

New Years Day 2014. I was up at 6:30 am for a run around Sun Peaks Ski Resort, what a beautiful way to start the New Year. For most of the run the sun was creating a firey red hue on the horizon. After my 1hr run the sun was just creating some beautiful colours in the sky. I captured this from just out front of our accommodation, Pinnacle Lodge.