Races in the Rain

Have you ever been the track? Where the horses race? In the rain?

Well, I've been to the track, where horses run but never in the down pour we experience over the weekend. While our friend had never been to the races and had asked if we'd go with her. So despite the rain we headed out.

During the race season at Golden Gate Fields in Albany, every Sunday is dollar day. Meaning parking is a dollar, the entrance is a dollar, the program is a dollar, beer is a dollar and I bet you can't guess how much the hot dogs are... yep, you're right a dollar. When we arrived a guy was on his way out and handed us the program, so we saved a dollar to bet later.

There is a cover section on the bottom floor where you can purchase food and place bets. Placing bets is the best thing about going to the races. And even better if you have no idea about the horses or know what the odds mean. Plus, most of the data that is provided does not account for the track condition, which was squishy at the very least.

My first bet was to show, meaning I was hoping for my horse to come in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd - which it didn't. Then we bet on a race at Santa Anita track, or that was the plan. Our friend forgot to tell the clerk that she wanted the Santa Anita race so her bet was placed for the next Golden gate field race. Oops. We notice in the program later that it tells you to check your ticket before you leave the counter, just for this reason.

J went for a Perfecta or Exacta or Straight Forecast (UK). A bet placed on two horses but they must cross the finish line in exact chosen order.

We lost our bets, like many others. But we had a fun time, and that's what really matters.

Oh, to be 4!

Do you remember being four?

I don't think they had bounce houses made for backyards when I was four. I remember going to Bullwinkle's (kinda like Chucky Cheese but with Bullwinkle, Rocky and dancing water - not nearly as cool or as big as the dancing water at the Bellagio), eating pizza, getting a sheriff badge and playing lots of games. Or when I was three we had a backyard party with a chocolate cake my mom made and we ran around in our bathing suits jump over the hose and running through the spraying water bug.

But today's four year old birthday party I attended. Was outfitted with a bounce house, trucks to push through the dirt and bubbles, lots and lots of bubbles. When it came to cake, it was build your own cupcake. The kids went nuts. They could choose between chocolate or vanilla frosting, oodles of topping placed into muffin tins (very clever) and then eat/lick/smash the cupcake into your mouth trying to smear as much as possible across your face, so I can take your photo.

I believe the birthday boy had a great day. He was so excited over his new trucks that he screamed. I hope your next birthday causes you screams of joy. Here's to many happy birthdays.

3 day weekend

Yes, a three day weekend in August.

See it's BC's birthday, it's 150th to be exact hence a day off for all to play. And play we did.

The fun kicked off Saturday late afternoon with a BBQ at a Rich's house. We BBQ'ed steaks and lamb skewers and even had freshly made juice drinks courtesy of the brand new juicer Rich received for his birthday. He even made up names for the drink concoctions including Hazy day of summer which included grapefruit, strawberry, and maybe blueberry.

After eating we headed down to Kits beach to watch the firework finale.

Sunday, I spent a few hours shooting photos of a friend down at the beach. We had a fun time finding different locations and trying different angles to see what would work better. Plus the wind was blowing so many of the photos have the wispy glamor-hair look.

Afterward, I met back up with J and we headed out for a hike in Pacific Spirit regional park. Although we done a few walks through the forest, this time we reached the ocean and watch the tugs pull the lumber down stream.

We then headed over to Drexoll games, a local board game shop that I received a gift certificate to. I knew that I wanted Ticket to Ride, where you build rail connection between destinations. Ever since playing last the game last May with my cousin in Seattle, I've wanted to get it. But there's now three versions of the game and two expansions to the original. So much to choose from. Thankfully the sales clerk helped explain the differences and I settled on the original Ticket to Ride which features the USA and Canada. In the evening our friends, Mark and Michelle headed over to play the new game.

If your looking for a fun family or party game, this is it. No dice, simple to learn and within a few turns you'll be hooked.

Monday was another gorgeous day, reaching at least 75 degrees. We grabbed sandwiches from the deli counter at Safeway and headed down to Kits beach/park with Rich and Joe and a Bocce ball set.

Rich bought along a measuring tape in order to calculate who's ball is actually closer to the point. Which came in hand in those, "Well, from this angle my ball is closer" moments. Rich triumphed both rounds but J came in second - not bad for his first time playing.

We finished the day with another BBQ, freshly squeeze drinks, Ticket to Ride followed by a game of the Settlers of Catan - a fun building and trading game with strategy.

What a wonderful three days! So when's the next holiday?

BMX

During my jaunt to southern California in late June my friend Hugh invited us to the track. Well the BMX track. He recently decided to get a BMX bike and get riding with his friends after spending a few sessions snapping photos. So this time I'm the photographer.

So here's Hugh (black jersey. silver helmet) in all his glory.

Then the fancy riders came out to show out their aerial skills. Check out the tutu.

I tried following the red rider around the track to see if I could snap him still while all else blurred out. What do you think? How'd I do?

This rider did some amazing moves. But I learned that when BMX riders race they actually try to minimize the air time because the more pedal rotations they can get in, the faster they go, the better their chance of winning. So that's why BMXers will push the back tire down over the little bumps.

Also did you know that BMX is an Olympic sport this year? Yes really. One of the girls at the track was on the team. She participated at the Olympic BMX trails in San Diego (well Chula Vista) where Mike Day rode an amazing ... check it out. The course is a replica of what they will face in China.

Ten Days until the Olympics begin!!

Passover in Vancouver

For the first time, the beautiful Seder place that we received as a wedding gift was used. I spent the morning dropping off things... one of which was my camera. Yes, it was returned to the store. Even the sales rep, couldn't figure out why it took two clicks - to get to the center of the tootsie pop- no really, to take the picture in the creative modes. Alas, my original enthusiasm and joy has soured. I'll figure out what I want to do next, as I have a another outing for photo class on Tuesday (can always used my 35mm) and with a big trip planned to Alaska in May, I'll want to have a good handle on whatever dSLR I end up with.

The rest of my day was filled with cooking for 5. I made matzo ball soup with carrots, onions and celery; followed by cheese kugel (my mom's recipe, which is the best and the guests agreed), then haroset (apples, cinnamon, honey, sugar and grape juice), then apple cake passover style. The main dish was halibut topped with cooked zucchini, garlic, onion mixed with salt, pepper, and tomatoes. Yummy.

The Seder was fun. It's nice to share the experience with people who've never joined in a Seder and are willing to read, dip their fingers into the wine, hunt for the afikomon, and sing Had Gayah while playing various character in the song such as a dog, butcher or even death's angel. Oh, and thank you Rich for reading the enlightening quotes at the bottom of the haggaddah pages.

(do you like the ticket stub overlay on the concert photo?)

"How far have we come?" - well they made it to Vancouver, even though the tour was called Exile in America... maybe it should have been Exile in North America.

Michelle and I traveled downtown to BC Place to see Matchbox Twenty rock out. The stadium is home to NHL's Vancouver Canucks. The ice was covered with a thick matt. In front of our seats there was a missing piece of matt and we could see the white of the ice peeking through... so we touched the it. Yep, touched the ice they skate on, how cool is that? :)

The concert started off with Mute Math, a band from New Orleans followed by Alanis Morissette with her harmonic tunes and crazy running-bent-over-dancing. It was pretty funny to watch. Then Matchbox Twenty took the stage and opened with their newest hit single, "How Far Have We Come" and they also played past hits like "3AM", "Bent", "Crutch", "Unwell", "Real World" and one of my personal favorites "Bright Lights". They also threw in a cover of Cracker's song "Low".

I danced throughout the concert and was suprisingly still able to talk and hear afterward. It was a great show and when I got home I was ready to see them again. Can't believe I waited for the fifth album to come out to finally see Matchbox in concert. I won't miss the next go around, that's for sure.

My treat

What a nice surprise. Our first visitor in 2008. Yep, we got a visit from one of our Minnesota friends. He was booking his business trip and realized "Hey I have friends living there." So, quickly dropped us a line on Monday and we were hanging out by Tuesday afternoon.
I gave him the less-than-2-minute-tour of our place and I notice him pacing around. I knew a walk was in order. So out the door we went.

We headed down the commercial district of Broadway, counting the Starbucks (3 if you count the one inside Safeway) and found our way to Kits beach, where there were many dogs for Rodney to pet. We walked passed the Maritime museum in hopes to find the eagles nest perch high up near the Burrard street bridge. We found the nest but no eagle. So we pressed on following the path passing the Coast Guard station, boat ramp and marina. We decided to head back passing the Molson brewery on our way.

To warm up (although he felt like it was summertime), I knew the perfect place. Arbutus Coffee. It's cute, quint and perfectly suited for a snack, a warm beverage and good conversation. I'm not much for coffee but they have a good selection of teas and the hot chocolate is great. Rodney insisted that he was going to treat, but the large CASH ONLY sign meant that his American green backs weren't going to cut it. So I got to settle the bill, as originally planned, and he got to enjoy a good cup of joe.

Arbutus Coffee is located on Arbutus and 6th, go check it out. Their bake goods are delicious as well.

Yes, I know, I'm a slacker. I realize it's been quite some time since my last post. But since the focus of my blog is supposed to be about Vancouver I didn't really have much to write about since I was in California. True I could have blathered on about updates concerning health care (I finally found a doctor) or could have mentioned the bomb threats that shut down UBC but I didn't.

Instead I'm going to fill you in on my little trip to sunnier weather. California was great. The weather was warm, the beaches pretty, family and friends are doing well. I met a bunch of new people, played poker (came in third), went hiking (twice), went on a photo outing, ate a Balboa bar on Balboa Island, walked the Hermosa Beach strand, ate sushi (twice), went to the Huntington Library, scanned in photos from the 1930s and 40s of my grandmother growing up, but most of all I got to spend quality time with a good friend as well as my mom and dad.

Pictures below.

Beautiful day for a hike!

This is Peters Regional Park known for good walking/hiking and mountain biking trails. It's an outdoor haven. There are several small hills to climb over and a large reservoir that completes the 5.5 mile hiking loop.

The first hike outing Dana retold her Italian engagement story and dazzled us with her sparkly ring. Then a few days later Veronica and I ventured back again with Lilo and a slightly injured Nicole. We decided to ascend up the ridges and after two ups and downs, Nicole headed for the lower route as V and I headed up to the top.

V and I made the loop while Lilo was a bit tired out and Nicole was more than ready to head to the car and grab a coffee.

Um, there's only five pins

and the balls are the size of softballs.

Welcome to five pin bowling, a truly Canadian sport.

"Five-pin bowling is a bowling variant which is only played in Canada, where many bowling alleys offer it, either alone or in combination with ten-pin bowling. It was devised around 1909 by Thomas F. Ryan in Toronto, Ontario, at his Toronto Bowling Club, in response to customers who complained that the ten-pin game was too strenuous. He cut five tenpins down to about 75% of their size, and used hand-sized hard rubber balls, thus inventing the original version of five-pin bowling." - Wikipedia.com

Thanks to Jodie (pictured above with Dennis) who gathered us together for a dual between the sexes at the Commodore lanes in downtown Vancouver.

J and I had a few things to learn before we could get rolling. You get three balls per frame and if you knock down all the pins on the first balls - it's a strike; if you knock the pins down with two balls - it's a spare; if you clear the slate on ball three - well great but no bonus. Each pin has a point value (center pin 5 pts, the right and left of the center 3 pts and the outside pins 2pts for a total of 15 pts). We also got to manually score, which is something I haven't done in years.

Although J and I had not been five pin bowling before and we were both used to the larger bowling balls, we both found our scores at the topping those of our Canadian teammates.

Toast to Happy Ever After

What a way to finish off a trip... with a wedding and a 9 course meal.

John and Gloria incorporated themes from each of their heritages. They were married in traditional American dress but during the reception Gloria had two outfit changes and John had one.

After tasting all nine plates, the walnut shrimp was my favorite, the cake seemed to push everyone over the top. It was a good thing that it was light and fluffy.

Here Gloria is in her Chinese formal grown and John in his Filipino attire. It's nice to witness other traditions and be able to celebrate everyone's culture.

Congrats to both of you!

Creative Growth

Color, patterns, collage and paintings filled the studio at Creative Growth.

A friend of mine recently joined the board of this wonderful organization, who serves disable adults through instruction, gallery space and allowing them to express themselves through different art mediums.

It was a great experience meeting some of the artists and finding a few holiday gifts. Further, knowing that the proceeds go back into the program makes the art even more precious.

When I get my art pieces framed and mounted, I'll post a photo.

California...

We ventured back to sunny California for some time with friends and family.
It's nice to spend time with people that you don't see very often. The stories are more animated and the laughter is louder.

My annual family gathering comes in early December and the number one thing on the menu is.......CHERRIES!!!

The kids go crazy for cherries. They think that J can magically create them. He places a napkin over a plate (that a waitress has brought earlier) and Ta-Da, bright red cherries appear.
The first thing said to J this year was, "Remember when we had cherries." Oh, the fond memories when your five.

If all memories could be as sweet as a bowl full of cherries.