11-6-29

11-6-28

Architecture.

11-6-27

11-6-26

While I wait for summer to arrive in Vancouver I will at least have this photograph of Ontario blue skies.

11-6-25

My dear old Grandmother and my darling daughter. 80 years and 3 generations apart.

11-6-24

Last year she freaked out sitting in a bumper car that was stuck against a wall and the target of over zealous kids who had better control over their cars than Sophie. They only ran into her a couple of times but it was enough when combined with an inability to get the car off the wall and careening through space. This year she tried again and did much better. But she rode most every ride in the part two to five times but she only rode the bumper cars once. It was enough, but once more than I expected her to.

11-6-23

11-6-22

11-6-21

11-6-20

Sophie and Grandma making bracelets.

11-6-19

11-6-18

11-6-17

Ontario. I've missed you.

11-6-16

Sophie and I flew to Ontario today, or tried to. We missed our connector in Winnipeg and ended up staying in a hotel in town for the night. The town of Winnipeg is referred to a lot in the media lately because they recently regained an NHL hockey team. They say over and over again that it's an NHL city. I got the impression in the short amount of time I was there that the city was built 50 years ago and leased to some tenants who have never moved out and haven't really taken care of the place either. The whole city could use a fresh coat of paint and some modern appliances. I'd like to go back and take more photographs of the city without an impatient and attention demanding 4 year old in tow.

11-6-15

The Vancouver Canucks lost the Stanley Cup tonight. With authority, blanked 4-0. The city burned. It was truly embarrassing. On all fronts.

11-6-14

11-6-12/13

Nothing.

11-6-11

11-6-10

The last game the Canucks won in their pursuit of the Stanley Cup was tonight.

11-6-9

11-6-8

11-6-7

11-6-6

11-6-5

2000kms in 3 days on a motorcycle.

There are some things that are more romantic in theory than practice. The last stretch of this trip involves driving two lanes of arrow straight divided highway that's always throttled by traffic.

I used to mountain bike fairly regularly though time and energy, lack of both, has gotten in the way of me doing much of anything anymore, and mountain biking out west usually involves a long slog up the side of a mountain followed by a blissful descent back to the trailhead. It's a delicate balance of effort followed by reward but if it were the other way around, if the reward came first and then you had to ride your bike up some hellish ascent to get home you'd find yourself second guessing the merits of such activities.

That's how riding a motorcycle feels. There are blissful moments involving twisty roads and beautiful scenery, but it's always concluded with a $50 ferry ride or an hour of traffic choked roads perpetually under construction. The bitter aftertaste clouds the deliciousness of the experience.

I swore up and down I was going to sell both of my motorcycles the whole way back into town. I still think I might. Not because I don't like them but because Vancouver is just about the worst town in the world to own such things.

There are other such nonsensical vices that may replace them. Perhaps a convertible sports car. It's not that it would be any more practical though it might cost less which is a perk. It's hard enough to come back to Vancouver at the end of such adventures, at least sitting in a car instead of atop a motorcycle I might find something interesting to listen to on the radio, a coffee in a cup holder, and if I'm extra lucky, someone sitting in the passenger seat to have a conversation with.

But, damn, that Triumph is a good looking bike. And my Ducati is stellar to ride. But is that romanticizing what the motorcycles represent? Would I be just as happy with a Che Guevara t-shirt and a leather jacket? I could still walk around the mall (if I did such things) with a motorcycle helmet in my hand and look down upon the rest of the mini-van driving shoppers for their base form of transportation (as long as they don't see me hopping on the SkyTrain after I've had my fill of Orange Julius and New York Fries, how embarrassing would that be?)

That, and I really like this photograph. And I don't say that often.

11-6-4

11-6-3

3 days on the road. Vancouver to Calgary and back again. It's June but this is the first decent weekend anyone has seen west of Winnipeg.

11-6-2

It blows me away that there are people who still think the World Trade Centers were loaded up with explosives and taken down by the US Government or that something similar happened with WTC7. It's such a waste of resources that could be better used to expose the lunar landing hoax and find out where in Florida Hitler is living. (But seriously about the first part...)

11-6-1

11-5-31

Food.

11-5-30

I got nothing.

11-5-29

I thought I might teach her to roll down hills one day. Apparently she already knows all about it. And did it a good half dozen times this day.