life in the northern town

I took a trip across the border today. I visited my "motherland." I went to British Columbia; Vancouver to be exact. Strangely, I received more questions going into Canada this time than I did coming back to the States. I still want to use my dual citizenship; but they keep track (and take a picture) of you and your car when you cross the border, so today, I continued my use of the US passport. I tried stopping at Peace Arch Park, but missed the turnoff for it. I was stuck in enough border traffic that I was able to take a couple pictures: The Peace Arch reads "Children of a Common Mother" on one side and "Brethren dwelling together in unity" on the other. I hope our countries continue to share such common ground.

I can see myself living in Vancouver someday. Despite the traffic, it's a gorgeous city (although, I did remember that, though the sun was shining on this particular day, there are plenty of rainy days as well). The city reminded me a bit of being in Sydney this spring; though, I don't feel as strongly about living in Australia! I spent a marvelous afternoon taking in sights, sounds, and smells of Stanley Park by bicycle, and then a couple hours of the early evening admiring the modern architecture of Coal Harbour on foot.

And, of course, I got a Vancouver Starbucks mug, too. My corporate discount works up there, so it was also the cheapest mug in my collection! The city-scapes have change styles now, recently. It's a bit disappointing, but things change, and I continue my collection with the new designs (previous sentence goes a lot deeper than the 20oz coffee mug).

Stanley Park is a huge park nearly entirely surrounded by harbour, lake, and waterway. There are unique sculptures throughout and totem poles to view, too. There are trails and roads for pedestrians, bicyclists, drivers, skateboarders, and roller bladers to get lost on and plenty of scenery to view of the city, mountains, hills, and beaches surrounding the shores of the park. Lots of late-summer plants were blooming; including this magnificent lily.

I'm really happy I took this fabulous-weather day away. I needed a break from the cell phone, the mess of organization, and Antarctica packing (27 days, and countind down) I've been doing. And, I still have another day off before I'm back to work on Saturday.

cinnamon rolls

I hope this post doesn't make Laura too homesick at the South Pole, but I suppose it's a tribute to mom (and her baking).

This morning I woke up to the smell of cinnamon rolls. Mom made these growing up as a special treat and I can remember leaning over the table inspecting each one to find out which roll had the most topping on it (before my siblings snatched it up). They are delicious!

My mom is good at most things she sets her mind to. She loves to sew and quilt and be creative. She knows colors and can weave together shapes in fascinating ways. And, she donates much of this art to organizations that give quilts to kids. She's very intelligent and thinks things through before asserting her opinion. In the same way, she tends to pick up on things others (like myself) would overlook.

I'm sure I could get all gushy and stuff, but I'll leave it at that. It's been nice to spend a couple of weeks at home with mom and dad.

mcmichael art gallery

Today we decided to get out of the house. Since mom and I are driving off for Chicago on Wednesday, we have to make my time in Canada worthwhile. So, we scooted out of the house after I sent a resume off (so I feel like I'm making some progress) and drove towards the McMichael Art Gallery. This gallery shows only Canadian artists work and they capitalize on "the seven" artists who created a "Canadian" style of painting.

It was an interesting morning. We followed that with a wonderful lunch at a quaint little country cafe, and a drive through the rolling hills of Ontario. It was a nice casual day to wander through art; whether by human hand, or God's Creation.

wrong weather

When I came back to North America I thought I would catch some mild spring weather, don my jacket and sweater every couple days in the evening, and take long runs in the fresh moist air. As nice as it is to spend time with my parents, if I do this again, and return from Antarctica in the spring, I will spend another month in Vanautu, or Samoa, or Kiribati, or Tonga, or follow through on my Malaysia vacation plans.

This picture is only the beginning.

fresh start

I'm at the beginning of the race, taking my sweats off, enjoying a last minute of rest before the intensity of the competition begins.

Well, in actuality, I'm sitting in Alliston, Ontario, debriefing myself from the last six months outside of North America, attempting to apply for some jobs, sift through pictures, read, and relax before hitting a bombardment of address changes, road trips, moving, and finding a new job somewhere between Vancouver, British Columbia and Portland, Oregon.

I am enjoying this break in life and career. Last week, mom and I went to decorate eggs; the Ukranian way. We divided the egg into sections, penciled a design on the shell, waxed, and dipped the eggs until they were up to our expectation (or close enough for a first-timer). The process was fascinating and I appreciated having some artistic liscense after being on the road so long!

I also enjoyed a morning out on a maple farm. What could be more Canadian than Saturday morning pancakes with real maple syrup and a hay ride out to tour the maple grove. I'm glad they had coffee; and for future folks who may participate in this fun, local activity, I invite you to bring one more layer than you think you do. It was the coldest I've been since Antarctica! The french toast and pancakes were certainly worth the trip out to the farm, though!