Thunderbird Ridge

We didn't do nearly as much hiking as usual this summer. Partly this was because it took the snow a long time to clear.

We did get in a hike to Thunderbird Ridge though, with beautiful views of Kennedy Lake. Our friend Richard joined us. Thing Two gashed his knee leaping from rock to rock but dealt with it very matter-of-factly. He had even packed his own first aid kit.

The trail is not long but is quite challenging for the boys. It's quite wet and has lots of slippery tree roots and rocks to clamber over.

Tofino

We spent a week in Tofino, on the west coast of Vancouver Island.

The beaches were reminiscent of New Zealand -- blank sand, cold water, forest. I had bought a wet suit but it was clear the boys weren't going to survive without one. Fortunately every other store in Tofino sells wetsuits. We went boogie boarding almost every day, even in the rain.

We also went on a whale watching tour. I got terribly sea sick and threw up until I had nothing more to throw up. A gray whale came right over to out boat and started swimming under the boat, surfacing then back to the other side. It was an awesome sight, even if I was hanging over the side of the boat feeling terribly ill.

At the end of the day, when we were frozen from boogie boarding, we relaxed in the hot tub then curled up with the laptop to watch a movie.

Playland

Thing Two and I went to Playland. I don't usually do amusement parks but let myself be persuaded to go on a few rides. I did not enjoy it. But the shadows were pretty.

Skiing at Grouse Mountain

Activity date: 2 January 2011
Cost: $210 (lift passes and equipment rental for three people)
Energy level: 8/10

Grouse Mountain is an amazing little ski field within the city limits. You park below the snow line, then take a gondola up to the snow.

The boys have had two 2 hour ski lessons. While they were having their second lesson, I decided to re-learn snowboarding. In the time before kids, I was a moderately proficient snowboarder, but it's been almost ten years since I have been on the snow. I did a two hour lesson, with an excellent instructor.

On Sunday we got up early and headed to the mountain for a full day of skiing. We spent 1.5 hours on the bunny slopes, mostly so I could practice some skills, but also so we could figure out how to ski together. The boys tend to zoom straight down the mountain, which makes it difficult to keep an eye on them.

We had lunch at the lodge, then headed off to The Cut, a nice wide green slope. It was a gorgeous sunny day, with spectacular views of the city. The boys needed some reminding to practice turning and to keep together, we had a blast. They were most impressed by my snowboarding "moves".

As the afternoon wore on, the crowds got bigger and bigger. For our last few runs, late in the afternoon, the wait for the chair lift was almost 30 minutes. I asked some locals if that was typical. They said it wasn't surprising for a sunny Sunday, but that it was worse than they remembered seeing it.

By the time we had returned our rental equipment, it was 4:30pm. The boys played in the snow in an area where people have worn grooves in a slope for sliding down on your back. Then it was time to join the line for the gondola back down the mountain. A staff member was walking up and down the line with a vat of hot chocolate strapped to his back. He handed out free cups as we waited. The sun was setting, and it was already quite dark. They were lighting a fire in a fire pit next to an improvised ice-skating rink. It was very magical.


The next day, I have a bruised butt and kneecap, and sore arms (from breaking my fall) but I am otherwise unscathed. Thing One has sore quads. Thing Two seems completely ache-free. They both woke up at 6 am and started playing video games.

Stanley Park / Vancouver Aquarium

Activity date: 1 January 2011
Cost: $0 (Aquarium members)
Energy level: 3/10

I have always said that my #2 career choice is Marine Biologist. This may be due to excessive viewing of Jacques Cousteau documentaries during my impressionable earlier years, rather than a full understanding of what marine biologists actually do. Still, it no doubt explains why we head off to the Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park every six weeks or so.

This particular day, it was quite cold (for Vancouver). We walked 2.5 km along the sea wall, stopping to stomp on icy puddles.

That satisfied the destructive urge, then we headed to the playground until we were all frozen, then into the Aquarium. We saw all our old friends. The octopus was hiding in his cave. The jellyfish looked lovely. And Thing Two enjoyed watching the electric eel through the dome. They had placed electrodes in the water so that when the electric eel zapped, it caused the lights on a Christmas tree to flash.

Catapults at White Rock, BC

Activity date: Christmas Day 2010
Energy level: 2/10
Cost: $0

We go to White Rock quite often in summer. Every second store along the waterfront sells ice-cream or sorbet. In the winter, most of the ice-cream stores are closed. But this particular day, we had a plan.

We took a picnic and half a dozen rubber bands. Our goal was to find ways to launch pebbles into the ocean. As we were heading out the door we met some neighbors. It was raining quite hard, and they were puzzled when I told them we were going to the beach. I explained that where I come from, that's what you do on Christmas Day. They pointed out that we're in the Northern Hemisphere now.

By the time we got to White Rock, the rain had stopped. It was a cool day, with no wind.

We tried using the rubber bands to fling stones, and searched for Y-shaped sticks to make catapults. You never seem to be able to find one when you want one. We found a few good candidates.

The most effective catapult system resembled a child's teeter-totter: a piece of driftwood for the pivot, and a strip of wood placed across it. Place a rock on one end, weighing it down. Drop a larger rock on the end of the wood that's sticking up in the air.

Later we went bouldering along the rocks from the pier to the small beach to the north. Both boys are quite agile, but there were some scrapes and bruises along the way.

Kite flying at Garry Point Park, Richmond, BC.

Activity date: December 2010
Energy level: 3/10
Cost: $0 (We already had kites).

It was a miserable wet Saturday, but that's what raincoats were invented for.

We headed off to Garry Point Park in Richmond. We walked around the perimeter of the park, observing a bald eagle perched on a navigation buoy. It was holding a fish in its talons and tearing hunks off to eat. A brave crow was harassing it but the eagle seemed unconcerned.

The rain stopped. It was still cold and very windy so we got the kites out of the car, assembled them, and flew them. The first spot we tried, the kites kept crashing to the ground. We realized we were partially sheltered by some trees so we headed towards a large red sculpture where the wind was uninterrupted.

We had much better success flying the kites. Thing One was having trouble controlling his kite, so I looped the string through a notch on the reel. Then I took off my belt, looped it through the handle of the reel and around his waist. Now he could fly the kite without fear of letting go.

The wind was quite strong and surprisingly tiring as the kite pulled against the belt.

Thing One had a trick kite which he was causing to dance about in the air but occasionally it would crash into the ground.

After a while we were cold and numb so we retreated to the car to eat hard boiled eggs and PB & honey sandwiches.