2 X 3 X 20

And... we're back home!  Earlier than expected as well, I have to say, and hooray for that.   Two nights down in Orange County, and now Conrad has to get himself ready to head to Chicago tomorrow morning before most people are up and at 'em.  So it's back to Pasadena, a load of laundry on the go, and I'll stay out of his way as he packs.

Orange County.  Say what you will about the place, but yeah, it really did feel like a different world down there.  In terms of being WASP (because I am, I cannot deny it), yep, it sure was.  If it wasn't for the fact that I felt like the fattest man on the beach, I might have felt at home a little.  Likely not, but maybe.

Anyway, I shan't slag Newport Beach, really.  We had a modest hotel that suited our purposes. 

It was easy to walk to the ocean or to the sheltered bay.  We didn't dine out beyond Starbucks, so I can't comment on the food, but we poked in some shops that were pleasant, and I ended up buying cards.  Because I am always looking to stock up on my cards.  I didn't really take photos around town, though.  By the ocean there, the marine layer (June Gloom) was prevalent throughout each morning, making for not great photos.  And there were a lot of people around.  Beachgoers, surfers, shoppers, tourists in general.  Accordingly, it was tough to get shots without people in them.  Ah well.

The point of the trip wasn't to see Newport Beach, though.  The point was the shared birthday celebration for two friends, Jennifer and Traci.  And having just typed those names I realize I didn't get photos of them at all.  What a funny weekend for photo-taking!  Anyway, here's what we did to celebrate:

Friday we met up at a house they were using for the weekend and walked nearby to a place that rents out these little boats called duffies.  Twelve-seaters, a table in the middle, a canopy for shade.  The party split between two boats and we spent about two hours riding around the inner harbour area.  There were refreshments - perhaps too many! - and good conversation.

After the boat ride we returned to the house where a dinner of pizza and meatballs and salad was laid out for us all.  Then it was time for the talent show.  Yes, the talent show. 

The thing we'd kind of been dreading.  And look, it was fun in the end, but please don't make people perform for you, I kindly ask you all.  Anyway, Van coordinated our talent (and really, this weekend we left a lot of organization to him since it is through him that we know Jennifer and Traci), and he was clever about it.  What do we do well?  Make cocktails!  So he organized all we need for demonstrating how to make Last Words.  And that is what we did.  Van narrated, Conrad passed me the ingredients, I made the cocktails.  We served one each to Jennifer and Traci, then sat back down, happy to be through that and happy to enjoy what the others did.  Honestly?  I think we kind of kicked butt.  ;-)

There weren't Saturday birthday activities until late in the afternoon when we reconvened at the house.  There we were asked to write letters on paper that would readily dissolve.  One letter was for Jennifer and/or Traci.  The other was for the ocean.  We would write then all head to the beach

where we would gather in a circle around the two women and read our letters to them aloud.  We would then put the letter to them and the ocean into the waves so that they could dissolve there.  Most of the party joined in, and it was lovely to do that activity.  Interestingly, Conrad and I wrote very similar things, and Van was touched that we drew him into what we wrote to Jennifer and Traci.  We were gathered high up the beach, and even so, there was a wave that came roaring far up the beach to not far from us.  That scattered folks lower down, sending them scrambling away, but it also scuttled our plans to walk down the surf and let the letters go there.  Conrad, every thinking, suggested we set them to float and dissolve in the water of the inner harbour just doors down from the house, and that is what some of us did.

After that came tacos made to order by a crew the hosts had hired.  We ate and drank, chatting to a few others (and here I will say shame on the people who withdrew to the living room to watch the basketball game - not my party, so not really my place to say that, but still).  Not long after we enjoyed a little homemade cake, we headed back to the hotel.  Most of the party reconvened this morning to head to brunch, but we passed on that.  I did a 4.33 mile walk,

part of it with Conrad.  Starbucks, packing, and then it was home.

So then, happy 60th (3 X 20, get it?)(that was their way of expressing it, not mine!) to Jennifer and Traci.  I hope they had a blast!  Now then, what shall I do when I get to that in a handful of years...? 

Vancouver scenery

Hey folks!  How about an easy photodump post to start this Tuesday?  Sound good?  Good!  So then, enjoy some photos from a few mornings ago in Vancouver.  It was a lovely start to the day, a nice little walk before needing to get my suitcase packed and head to the airport.

Happy Tuesday! 

appreciation for the city

Two nights in Vancouver, two morning walks, both of them without Conrad, who opted to stay in bed.  He's so cute.

I think I might have said this before, but I didn't like Vancouver when I was younger.  Too big, too much for a smalltown boy to deal with.  I knew very little of the city (and I won't pretend to know all that much all that well now).  It wasn't my favourite place despite it being my birthplace.  My, how things change.

I could see myself living in Vancouver one day.  Or Victoria.  Or the Sunshine Coast.  But Vancouver offers a lot.  On the Friday morning, I set off southeast-ish

then came along the False Creek waterfront and eventually back to the hotel.  I caught some photos,

but mostly walked and listened to music and felt great about being back in the city.  When I got back to the room, Conrad was up and around, and we wandered the the nearby Honolulu Coffee Company to start our day together.

Saturday morning I set out in the opposite-ish direction,

walking a bunch through the West End before coming along the water in English Bay

and back to the hotel.  I took almost no photos on that walk, but just enjoyed the sunny, cool weather and being out on foot.

I'm not dumb.  Vancouver is a city with the problems of a city.  Our condo when we owned it looked out on a lot of those problems.  It is a far from perfect place.  But then you walk about, see the bigger and smaller details, and you think how delightful the place really can be.

Victoria, for the first time in years

Nine days ago, Conrad and I made our way to LAX,

board a flight

to San Francisco, then another flight from there

to Vancouver, then rented a car and headed to the ferry, made the crossing to the Island,

and - 12 hours after leaving the condo - got to our room at the Hotel Rialto in Victoria.  At long last.  A view of city hall,

a bed to sleep in. 

And it was only dinner time.

A local friend wasn't wild about the hotel restaurant, The Palms Inspired Kitchen and Cocktails, and had advised going across the street.  Conrad suggested that, too.  But I was tired and had forgotten any advice.  So we went downstairs.  And you know, it was fine.  It needs work, but it was fine.  The bar looked pretty darn good, and I was able to order a martini made with Ungava gin,

which I am always delighted to encounter.  The glass of wine with my meal wasn't as good, and I think that drinking it with the food disguised that it was veering toward what Conrad calls sports bar wine.  The food was not bad.  An appetizer of scallops,

a short rib for my dinner,

a creme brulee for dessert. 

I'd rate the short rib as the best, and I'd suggest that they make the creme brulee smaller and not serve it with a chocolate dipped spoon.  Conrad's tuna was fine enough, though the dish was overloaded with ingredients. 

I liked his salad more than my scallops, and he preferred my appetizer to his.  It's all good.  It was food, and it was an excellent value, and we were alright and ready to unwind.

Until I got a message from Owen reminding me that we were meeting for drinks.  Merde!  Off we trekked, over to Clive's Classic Lounge to meet him and his boyfriend, Dale. 

So yes, we were tired, and yes, we had had a couple of drinks, but still.  So good to see Owen again and meet Dale for the first time.  And fun to have a cocktail in a lounge that seemed to know what it was doing.  The Deep Dark Forest for me, a smoked concoction. 

Tasty!

And then we got to go back to the hotel and sleep.

Wednesday came, and there was an event ahead, but that wasn't until mid-afternoon.  Time enough to go out, see the city a bit, get some things done.  I took Conrad through Market Square

where I used to go every weekend for comic books when I was in undergrad.  We headed over the water of the Inner Harbour

and into the VicWest area to a Starbucks,

grabbing breakfast and lattes before cutting through the roundhouse area

and then over to the waterfront to head back to the hotel. 

Not directly back, no. 

It was nice weather for a walk, and we needed to get a shot or two at Rebar so as to send one to Rachel. 

Inside joke, sorry.

After the walk and getting dressed, there were errands to do.  Banking, for one, and a stop into a nearby wine and spirits store where we saw this 3L beauty. 

I was sorely tempted.  Ah well.  And then on past City Hall

to the Victoria Public Market at the Hudson. 

The old Bay when I lived in Victoria.  I can see what they are trying to do with the space, but it's not quite there at this time.  Still, we had lunch and it was good.

The rest of our day was mostly taken up with the birthday party, but ah, that's a separate blog post.  In the meantime, a simple reflection.  Several years ago I went to my high school reunion, and I was disconcerted by how my home town was simultaneously changed and yet familiar.  I recognized things, I was confused by the loss of other things, and I was unsure about the things that were new or different.  A former friend asked me why I hadn't expected change.  I had, in fact, but that didn't stop the change from feeling odd to me.  I was from there but no longer of there.  I had a similar sensation with Victoria, but not as strong.  A city I knew when I was younger, when I was in undergrad at UVic.  I remembered some storefronts, I was perplexed as to what had happened with others.  Change, and I don't know how I feel about it.

Too long since the last trip to Victoria.  I shan't let that happen again.