Heading West. . . BC

So I let everyone know I was taking a day off and I still got four comments -- thanks all for giving me the hall pass! As for pictures, for the most part, they'll have to wait until we get home and download the digitals.

As we counted down the days to vacation, our living room was lined up with suit cases. For a trip longer than a week, we'd need a lot of clothes. Complicating things is the unpredictable nature of the Pacific NW weather -- we need to pack short, jeans, swimwear, etc. Not like going to the beach. I quickly noticed the difference in space requirements with smaller clothes. I swear that my XL boxer briefs (there, now, I've just answered a burning question I'm sure many of you have had) take up 1/3 the space that the old 5x pairs did! By the time we were ready to go, we had 7 bags to check and 6 carry ons. I just love being the bag schlepper!

Flights were uneventful -- late, but uneventful. By the way, if you have a chance to fly on Delta with seat back TVs, do it -- it was fantastic -- and great to keep the kids occupied for our 6 hr trip from NY to SEA. We finally go to the hotel at 12:30 am and SEA and all off to dream land.

On Saturday morning, we headed north. Our first stop was the Fremont Fair in one of Seattle's neighborhoods. Turns out, this is not for the feint of heart. Imagine taking a trip back to Haight-Ashbury around 1965. As we were looking for parking, I passed about 150 bikers wearing, well, paint. Um, yeah, that's all they were wearing, just paint. I mean, really, paint, and nothing else. My kids got quite a show. We all got quite a show! Just one snippet of what we saw there. Most certainly the most obvious demonstration of freedom of speech I've ever seen!

From there, it was off to Vancouver. I didn't expect an hour wait to cross north, but what are you going to do? By the time we got to our hotel, we really only had time to unpack and find dinner.

Sunday was Father's day and my one request was to run the 5k course I'd tracked through the park near our hotel in Burnaby, BC. When we woke, the weather kinda sucked, so I just chilled. We had a blast at the Alcan Dragon Boat Festival. Very cool. Those folks know how to throw a festival! Lots of free stuff and things for the kids to do. For dinner, the folks at the Hilton recommended a local sushi place -- Sushi Garden. I do enjoy sushi, but have had very little in the past year since I don't do rice. I ordered the 17 piece sashimi plate. Now, normally, a piece of sashimi is about 2" x 1" x 1/4". I have never seen anything like what this plate was. The slices were more like 3x2x1/2" and the fish was amazing. Salmon, octopus, tuna, yellow tail, and one or two other items. I normally don't care for octopus since it's usually so chewy. This was almost tender. It was amazing. We all went to town and, even better, the four of us ate for $50 CAD!

Monday was a big day -- our long awaited rafting trip. After 2 1/2 miles on the treadmill, we were on our way north to Squamish. We stopped en route to check out the Capilano Suspension Bridge just north of Vancouver. They were closed when we went through. The thought of crossing this bridge was daunting -- I'm not a big fan of heights. I'm cool with tall buildings with really thick glass, but getting to the edge of a deep canyon (like the Grand one) or an outdoor observation deck (like the Empire State Building) makes me pretty queasy. With that said, this is a fear I'd like to conquer someday.

We continued north up to Squamish and arrived at the base right on time. We met our guide -- Enriquez (nickname E-Z) -- and he fitted us for out our wet suits. Deb and I took the suits he gave us and went to the changing room and put those suckers on. Now, I know that they're not meant to fit loosely, so we pulled and tugged and pulled and tugged on each other's suits and we got those bad boys on. At least for me, I'd describe the fit as something close to the way paint fits on a wall. There wasn't a millimeter left for breathing. All I could do was be thankful that I had lost those extra pounds from the time I reserved the trip.

So now that we fit, it was on to the river. The trip was a blast. Not too rough a ride, as we had planned. It was icy cold -- E-Z said that the water had been a glacier 10 minutes before we were riding on it. Probably 35-37 degrees. Those wet suits just didn't do enough.

We hit one rough patch where E-Z's oar came loose. I turned around and he was standing up yelling at Deb and I to paddle as we approached some downed trees. I yelled at Deb to duck as a tree limb was approaching her way too quickly. It was the most excitement of the trip.

(Photo credits to Jeff the rafting assistant and photographer.)

Other than the water temp and air in the mid 50's, we all had a blast. My youngest wanted to go again the next day.

On our way back, the server at lunch recommended a free suspension bridge, near Capilano. This was at Lynn Canyon and at $60 less, worth checking out.

We hit Vancouver about 5pm and I was sure that the public park would be closed. No doubt, I was hoping it would be! We found the park and it was, in fact open.

Before you get to the suspension bridge, there are chain link fences near by with lots of warnings of death. They give very specific examples of how some were lost falling into the canyon or being washed away, never to be seen again. This served as quite the encouragement for me to get right on that bridge!

As we approached the bridge, my youngest began to balk at crossing. Good news for me, I'd have company on the eastern edge. In the mean time, my oldest went right on, into the middle and started jumping up and down. More positive encouragement for daddy! Deb was in the middle now taking pictures as my youngest started to head over. Oh no, all alone! After a few minutes, I began to move onto the bridge. I made it 1/4 of the way over and froze, then backed off. Deb and my kids were now running back and forth at will. Next up, a high school trip visit. 30 or so high school kids crossing at will. Oy!

After they all cleared, I decided I could do it. I asked Deb to guide me over. She came back over and walked just in front of me. I passed her and then continued slowly the rest of the way. Whew! Now all I had to do is get back. After I caught my breath, I briskly moved back across and it was done.

I've got to say, it didn't feel invigorating. It wasn't a relief. It was just done. I was glad to have done it, but I didn't feel like I had conquered any of my demons. I feel like if I were to go back tomorrow, I'd have the same feelings, but I really don't know for sure.

From there, we headed back to our hotel and to get some dinner.

An amazing day. A day of renewal, really. A tremendous amount of fun and time to look forward to the next adventure. More vacation to come. . .

L'Chaim!