We Are Not All Canucks

When Brenda and I moved out here we just assumed we would cheer for the home team while we here (except when they play the Leafs of course), but we were so annoyed by the Canucks terrible marketing that we have actively cheered against them. Two weeks ago we went over to Vancouver with James to see his Oilers take on the Canucks. We would have loved to see a Leafs game, but they never play here.

Our trip started Saturday morning with us just barely getting on to the 9 am ferry. Then we just barely got into to the Pacific Buffet for breakfast on board. The buffet was excellent despite the stunning absence of bacon and made for a highly enjoyable crossing. It seemed like luck was on our side. It was not however on the side of the Oilers, they went down 4-1.

GM Place from Rose and Kate's.

The view from the back row, the very back row.

The travellers.

Rose and Kate were kind enough to put us up for the night and feed us dinner. We also got to meet their lovely new canine companion Emmy Lou. They have a phenomenal apartment with a great view of the city and the mountains. Thanks for everything ladies!

Sunrise in Vancouver.

Running Fools

It was that time again . . . time for another half marathon. This time around we set our sights on the the Royal Victoria Half Marathon - a very popular event. Our training over the summer left a little to be desired, but we pulled up our socks and got back on track. Well, at least one of us did . . . Cam forged full steam ahead preparing for the race. I, on the other hand, decided to join a skating team (yay!) instead. With a 3.5 hour skating practice scheduled for the day of the race, I decided an 8K run would be sufficient.

Pre-race . . . looking calm and ready to run.

Mooooo.
(Yes, I realize this picture has nothing to do with running, but these pants were too awesome to resist!)

Cam ran an amazing race and finished strong - knocking 24 minutes off his previous time. I also ran a decent race, finishing well ahead of the man with the walker. Actually, all kidding aside, the man with the walker was pretty inspirational . . . it may have taken him as long to do the 8K as it took some to run 21K, but he did it! Pretty impressive, if you ask me.

Cam closing in on the finish line.

Doesn't Cam look like he is having fun?

Post-race. Still standing . . . always a good sign :)

Dick Dale for President

Last Wednesday we went out to Element Niteclub to see 60's surf-rock legend Dick Dale perform. Our expectations were low, as Mr. Dale turned 70 earlier this year and our knowledge of him comes mainly from an ancient greatest hits album. Our expectations were exceded pretty much from the first riff of the night.

Dick had more energy than just about any other performer we've ever seen in a bar environment. The first twenty minutes or so was just Dick and his band hammering out some of rock's all-time greatest licks, fast and hard. Cam's parents provided us with the tickets (they were a birthday present to Cam) and here's what he had to say in an email to them immediately after the show:

He must've played about fifty of the greatest rock riffs of all time, putting his own touch on all of them. Whether it was an old surf relic, Deep Purple, Bo Diddley, Sarah Vaughan or Stevie Ray, he was bang on. At one point he transitioned from some old 60's dance craze song, into some wild blues-harmonica, then grabbed a couple of drumsticks and played a drum 'duet' with his drummer (who was pretty good in his own right). After emerging from behind the kit, his bass player held up his bass which Dick proceeded to play WITH THE DRUMSTICKS. He threw some trumpet solos in at the end for good measure, then closed with about six minutes of Amazing Grace the likes of which I had never heard before.

None of the pictures we took could do the show justice, but we do have a clip of the bass drumming.

Dick's guitar.

The girls in the front definitely enjoyed Dick.

Dick Dale on the bass guitar.