Friday, June 12, 2009

Davie and Burrard community Garden et al June 12, 2009

Davie Community Garden - Dave and Burrard

One of the nice things about Vancouver is some of the innovative ideas that come along for making our City all that more livable - nothing is worse that seeing an eye sore empty lot at a busy intersection in your Community. Such is the case at Burrard and Davie where a recent station station complex was suppose to be developed into a condo project but with the real estate boom collapsing here in Lotusland the land was sitting there and not looking pretty - the previous City Council came up with a program whereby development companies with projects on hold for at least two years could in exchange for a reduction in there tax assessment turn the land over to the local community to use for open space, gardens etc. Each one is used differently - the one at Davie and Burrard has been turned into a beautiful community Garden and now that the warm weather is here the fruits of there labors are starting to show.

The other open space near me at Howe and Drake has been made into a mini-park and is well used - now if the dog owners would only do what the law requires it would be even more pleasurable to walk through the area.




Kelowna for the weekend

Heading up to Kelowna for the weekend - chance for some even warmer weather and rest.

Sore hands update

After a chat with my physio - went to the local walk in clinic as a follow up to my recent injuries from the bike accident - the Doctor suggested that I get the hands x- rayed which I have done - don't have the results - we done think anything is broken but mild pain is persisting - both the Physio and Doc say no bike riding - so it lots of walking.

Strata AGM

We had our Strata AGM - it went on for over three hours - a number of housekeeping by-laws amendment took forever to get through and as each one requires a 3/4 vote in favor - a proper vote count was necssary - not all of them passed.

Managed to avoid getting ask to serve on the Strata Council - the present one does a good job and we have a smart, effective and effecient strata agent so things seem to get done.

The usual bitch session from the same people on the same issue also prolonged the meeting.

Cheers

Dennis




Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Down by the seaside watching the sun go down June 9, 2009

Often after supper I like to take a little stroll along the seawall a couple of blocks from my condo - with the recent warm weather and brilliant sunsets I did just that last night - didn't have my camera but these images are from my Blackberry and are taken from the foot of Hornby St looking towards the Burrard Bridge and the approaching sunset - the first image also catches one of the small ferries that crosses over to Granville Island.





Hope you enjoy

Cheers

Dennis

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

FOYP"S Director's meeting and the ferry trip home June 6, 2009

I slept fairly well and after breakfast started the process of taking the tent and putting the camping gear in the back of the truck - usually not a big deal but with the sore hands it took a while longer but I got it done - then toured Nanaimo before having lunch and heading to the meeting site in Cedar - the meeting went well - finished in around 90 minutes - I have an additional responsibility now as the Work Party Co-ordinator - we now have a fully equipped first aid kit - we have a secure storage place for it - I just have to make sure that the leaders on each work party know where it is kept and record any materials used - at the AGM in Dec I am to ensure that any needed supplies are replenished.

I stay for the dinner and drinks - straight fruit punch for me - I was going to take the 8:15 ferry from Duke Point but another couple were taking the 7:00 from Departure Bay so I took that one - it was a good evening to be on a ferry - the weather has cooled down - we are able to see three cruise ships off of the Sunshine Coast - the view is hazy - a combination of an inversion, hot weather and smoke from a large fire north of Vancouver.

Get home, unpack, do a little grocery shopping, take some more meds and ice my hands and then off to bed.

As I am typing this report on Tuesday I am back to about 90% use of my hands - still some stiffness if I move them to fast or put too much pressure on them. I had thought of going to the walk in clinic here as a follow up but since the pain and healing seems to be working I have pu tit off for the time being.

For the rest of the week I will be taking it easy before heading up to Kelowna for the weekend.

Cheers

Dennis

Strathcona Park - Paradise Meadows June 5, 2009

I find that I am able to drive the standard although it is slow shifting as I don't have a lot of mobility in my hands - I know some reading this post probably think I am nuts and you are probably not far off the mark but when has sanity being one of my strong suites.

I finally make it up to the Paradise Meadows parking lot at Mt Washington and start out along the Meadows trail until I come to a junction - continue with the meadows loop or head towards Helen MacKenzie Lake - I choose the latter as it is a rekkie and I have done the meadows before - I soon meet two gals who were doing the Battleship - Helen MacKenzie loop - they suggested that I should give it a try and I started to do it but when my turn around time came I wasn't at the Lake and wasn't sure how much further it was.

By now the trauma of the spill was wearing off and the real pain was beginning and I wanted to hit a walk in clinic before they close for the day so I turned around and headed back to my truck.











I take the slower Oceanside Hwy #19A route back - stop at the Visitor's bureau in Qualicum Beach for info on walk in clinics and are advised that it didn't open until after the other doctor's offices close and that would be 5PM so I went back to the campsite and rested before heading to the clinic - took me a few minutes of find it - the directions given by the tourist guy were good - after checking in and being told it was a good 90 minute wait I head out for a bite to eat - found a fish and chip place called Yorkies - as in Yorkshire - where I had a piece of fish and chips - it was excellent - returned to the clinic and waited in the office for my name to be called. Won't repost the results - they are in the previous post.

Tomorrow - the Friends of Yellowpoint Lodge Director's meeting and BBQ - the latter I might skip if I don't feel too great.

Cheers

Dennis

Log Bridge Regional trail and the "Accident" June 5, 2009

After having breakfast it was time to get the bike and hit the road - while I have done parts of the Log Bridge trail before I hadn't done it completely and with a new Suspension Bridge across the Englishmen River a loop opportunity also existed as well as a visit to the adjacent Englishmen River Regional Park - the route that I took from the campsite and then to the start off of Industrial road in Parksville is the popular one. The first part is great for bikes but as you get closer to the water the trail becomes more technical and you have to push your bike - there are alternate starts where the bike is supreme.




This is one of the weirdest notices I have ever seen - dogs are responsible for the decline in the fish stocks in the river?



Some interesting rock formations where the river many eons ago carved out its route - by now you will be pushing your bike as staircases are used to navigate along the River.



Finally the new 2007 suspension bridge comes into view - this was a new attraction for me.

A little history - the name Log Bridge comes from a bridge that use to be in this place on the original Nanaimo - Port Alberni highway and was removed years ago.







It was here after crossing the Bridge that I went to do a little exploring - wanted to see where a logging road lead to - suppose to take you down to the river and the Englishmen River Regional Park - well while slowly cycling downhill I must have hit a patch of soft sand or something because next thing I know my bike and me parted ways - As I was falling I ended up landing hard on my hands and wrists - at first glance - some blood, scrapes and some pain but it didn't appear to be anything that would necessitate a 911 call.

After my initial observation I figured I better start to see if I can make it back to the Park which is about 6 kms away.

The bike appears to be in working condition.

I am able to ride back to the campsite but can't put a lot of pressure on my palms - cleaned up the wounds and relaxed - I knew that there was no hospital in the Parksville area - the closest emergency is Nanaimo.

I decided to see how I felt - because of the lack of intense pain I was pretty sure that nothing was broken and that some of the current pain could be from the shock or trauma from the fall - I still had a couple of things that I wanted to attempt to do and in a hour or so I felt better so I continued on with my plans.

POSTCRIPT:

They are detailed in my next post BUT I will state that I did later in the evening go to an after hours walk in clinic where after a two hour wait I was examined by a doctor who confirmed that I likely didn't have anything broken but if I wanted an x-ray - Nanaimo would be my option - she suggested a pain killer and lots of ice and try and keep the wounds try and covered.

As I am typing this a few days later - I still have some soreness but for the most part have recovered - the wounds are the swelling is going down.

An eventful day

Cheers

Dennis


The ferry ride over to Vancouver Island + camping at Rathtrevor Park June 4, 2009

In advance of having a FOYP director's meeting in Nanaimo on Saturday and wanting to take advantage of the cheaper mid week ferry fares I headed out on the 12:30 Coastal Renaissance ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay in Nanaimo - it was an uneventful crossing on one of the newer BC Ferries - while the car decks appeared full there was lots of room to move around - being sunny and hot and although there was a breeze I spent most of my time on the upper deck where I chatted with a group fo people mostly from down under who would be heading for Victoria and then back to Vancouver to board a cruise ship to Alaska.








Before I knew it Newcastle Island is in site and the announcement is made to return to your car and get ready to disembark- I then head up Island to Parksville and the Rathtrevor Provincial Park - which is one of the nicest parks anywhere - it is not to busy as I check in for a two night stay but am told that there likely won't be a spot if I want to stay over for an additional nigth - the warm weather has the camping crowd out - I opt to put up my tent since I am staying more than one night rather than sleeping in the back of the truck.

I am given site #141 - close to the beach and the trails.

After getting settled in I take off on the bike for a tour of the area - having been there before I knew most of the trails but it is always nice to get some exercise.

Tomorrow my plan is to bike the Log Bridge trail and then either out to Port Alberni or up to Mt Washington. It would turn out to be a little more than I bargained for.

Details in the next post

Cheers

Dennis