Home Safe for Pat-Rick Day

The Paralympics continue in Vancouver with a symbol different from the five rings but events just as competitive as the Olympics. Good luck to all the atheltes, and Go Canada Go!

But we're happy to be home for R&R and the start of the work season inside the house and outside too. Wednesday is the annual Pat-Rick Day commemoration. And we know Easter is near because we can see the bunny out there practising. Happy Spring to everyone in the northern hemisphere, and thanks for checking in on these blog posts. Next blog --- who knows where??

Overstimulated, Over Weight Allowance

Once again we were gifted with very special seats to the Opening Ceremonies of the Paralympic Games, so once again I can't post any pictures at this time. Much of Canada is puzzled why CTV did not carry the event live --- after all, they have the rights to the show! The rest of the country is angry about it --- especially the athletes, families, and the head of the International Paralympic Committee. Don't miss it, even if it's a taped package of highlights on TV later. If you thought the Olympic Opening was a giant spectacle (it was), you might find the Opening of the Paralympics a giant noisy party with some pretty radical guests. You know --- the guy using a Harley as his wheelchair, or the breakdancer on crutches. A feast for the eyes, a deafening for the ears as 50,000 people roared for each of the 44 countries who paraded in.

So today we are recovering from all the stimulation of colours and music and dancing in the stands and amazing, amazing athletes. We're back to reality which is that we have accumulated uniforms and all kinds of souvenirs that put us over our baggage allowance. But we'll be on the redeye to Toronto tonight. Strange timing --- we'll be in the air when Daylight Savings Time starts. An hour longer to get back to our beloved home, family, and friends.

Sight-Seeing Before Going Home

The Paralympic Games open tomorrow; the ceremonies and competitions have been sold out. 1500 athletes from 44 countries are in town, as trained and eager as the bunch that just left!

Still, the Games seem a long time ago and we are eager to get home. Spring left ahead of us --- it's snowing in Vancouver today but +14C back in Toronto. So we're doing some sight-seeing and hiking in area canyons and mountain villages. A lot of natural beauty.

The Writing Is On The Wall

Even though spring hasn't sprung yet, the Okanagan Valley in the B.C. interior is really tempting. It has a desert climate of dry air and sunny days, fruit and wineries for any connaiseur, golden beaches, huge clear deep lakes --- and a colourful history of steamers, trains, loggers, and a gold rush all mixed together.

On a lazy drive up the Okanagan, you pass through Vernon. Like many other towns it has dozens of murals detailing its past. You just have to wander around and read the writing on the wall.

Garden and Gone

Right in the middle of Vancouver is the VanDusen Botanical Garden. 55 acres that were originally owned and logged by the Canadian Pacific Railway, which then became the Shaughnessy Golf Club, which then were rescued and rehabbed due to the generosity of (you guessed it) a Mr. VanDusen. Year-round glory with 7,500 kinds of plants that are scientifically organized before being carefully documented and labelled. Pat got these pictures and a preview of her own gardening when she gets back home.

Then we left town for a post-Olympic trip into the interior of B.C. What a lucky strike!

Daily Drivers in Winter

Vancouver has more classic cars in daily use than anywhere in Canada. No salt on the roads and very little winter weather means you see survivors from the 60's, 50's, and older still on the road, not just at shows. Problem is that they are usually moving when I see them, so most only please the eye before they pass into memory. Here are a few that stood still for the beauty-cam...

RHD in B.C.

A car guy in Vancouver quickly notices something very rare back home --- right-hand drive (RHD) vehicles on the streets. Lots of them. A bit of research and the mystery clears up. British Columbia allows the import and use of RHD cars IF they are older than 1995. Most of them are from Japan, which is just over the horizon from Canada's west coast. Mitsubishi Diesel vans are especially suited to B.C.: cheap to buy and run, high clearance for off-roading, sturdy diesel engines, and low kilometres --- usually below 70,00 which is high for Japan but very low for workhorse vans in Canada. They are so popular that importers are scouring Japan for more, and the price is inevitably going up. Nissans, Mazdas, even min-VW's. Get 'em while you can!

Flame Out But The Glow Lives On

A shock to come to work today and realize the Olympics are over! I'm still on the job for another week but any evidence that the games happened here is fast disappearing. The traffic barriers are coming down, the hundreds of pin traders are leaving town, the police presence everywhere (especially on the harbour) is no more, and all the TV monitors are blank. Even the Olympic rings are taking two weeks off until they come alive again for the Paralympic Games March 12.

We were at the Closing Ceremony last night outfitted like everyone else in white cape, Sochi snowball, and moose ears with twinkling lights. It was a spectacle first and a fun show next with all the Canadian cliches trotted out like table hockey, beavers, canoes, Mounties (some in miniskirts!) and moose ---- everything but the maple syrup!

All that satire was balanced out by Neil Young, Michael J. Fox, William Shatner,Michael Buble, Alanis Morrisette, Avril Lavigne, Hedley, Nickleback, and more --- everybody but Celine Dion! At some point I'll be posting some pictures just for the archives. And Vancouver has been amazingly friendly, festive, and proud. You've read or heard about it, we can vouch that it's (true X 100).