stadivaderus

We're in Victoria, BC, Canada. Little did we know that beautiful Vancouver Island is home to Darth Vader. Littler did we know of Vader's musical talents. He has, as we witnessed on the street today, swapped his light saber for a black violin. Spectacular. I wonder what inspired this guy.

I also wonder where the hockey playing Vader lives. Probably Edmonton.

The next dark clad dignitary we spotted looked like a ginormous chess piece. At least she wasn't playing the violin. She's Queen Victoria R.I., and she gave this lovely city its name.

Ah, Victoria. What treasures shall ye reveal tomorrow?

black crack

Coffee in Seattle is sort of like the Red Sox in Boston. You're around it, you see it, you don't really understand the big deal about the whole thing. And then one day you find yourself interested and subsequently realize you've quietly, imperceptibly even to yourself, become a fan. I was never fond of Major League Baseball. But when we lived in New England I knew the Red Sox batting order and could identify players without consulting the cliff notes posted on the back of their jerseys. I didn't try to do this. It just happened.

And its happening again with coffee. Roadside espresso stands literally outnumber McDonald's out here. Coffee seems to be an obsession, a passion, something to look forward to. I think the weather here might be related...lattes are spectacularly comforting on grey dreary days.

Anyway, the other day I found myself seeking out Espresso Vivace, a great Seattle coffee roaster which neighbors an equally awesome pet supply store. Actually drove a fair amount out of my way to get there. People in Seattle will wait angelically for a good cup 'o Joe, so there were quite a few people (two holding bike helmets, of course) ahead of me in line when I arrived. Ample time to peruse the menu and make my delicious decision. And that's when the momentous realization hit me- I didn't feel like an fumbling idiot while trying to decipher the menu. I actually knew what most of it meant.

Breve. Cafe au Lait. Americano.

Papelbon. Ortiz. Ellsbury.

I don't know how it happened, but you know those folks with bike helmets? The ones ahead of me in line? I speak some of their language now.

the diversified weekend

One of the best things about living here is you can mountain bike in sunny 50 degree weather one day...

...and ski in the sunshine the next.

Thus was our Friday and Saturday. Although it dumped snow all week, Baker was a bit sobering on Saturday. Check out this photo of Baker's easily accessible backcountry. We've skied much of this terrain by now. See those horizontal lines near the top of the slopes? The ones that cut across the entire mountain? Those are avalanche crowns.

Even though we needed no further evidence of the snow instability, Sean dug a snow pit for learning purposes and it immediately failed the Rutscblock test.

Needless to say, we stayed out of the backcountry this weekend. Did some beacon practice and skied a half day at the resort instead. And Maya made a friend wearing the coolest piece of dog clothing I have ever seen. Usually I pity dogs wearing clothes. But this guy had a hand-knitted hat that fit him, his fur and his funny GoldenDoodle (i.e., MUPPET) personality perfectly. Check it out...it even had holes for his ears. His owner obviously made it with love.

Anyway, this is what I think of living in the Pacific Northwest so far:
(For those who can't interpret dorky pictures of me, this means I think its pretty rad)

I'm gonna miss you like hell.

Nikki and I just watched The Call of the Wild on hulu.com. The 1972 version starring the magnificent Charlton Heston. This movie is so bad it's hilarious. The editing is horrible, the voice overs are almost as bad as a kung fu movie and the acting is oooooooh so awful. My favorite scene is when Johnny, played by Mr. Heston, is leaving behind his love in search of gold, he says to her, as only Charlton Heston can, "I'm gonna miss you like hell." It's worth enduring this movie just for that. I can't stop saying it. I'm gonna say it to Nikki every time I leave the house. Thank You Charlton Heston.

I have to mention that this movie made Nikki cry. I'm not making fun, just mentioning it, that's all.

P.S. - If you've never checked out hulu.com, do so now. Lots of TV shows and movies at my favorite price.

channel walking

A couple pics from our post-work walk yesterday.

Sean and Maya on the little beach that only appears during low tide.

Maya likes sticks.

This spot is only a 10 minute walk from our place.

I know the blog has been a little low on written content lately. We'll get back up to snuff soon.

I'm awesome.....you're awesome....we're all awesome!

We went to Baker today. We love this place. Everything about Baker is awesome, even the lift tickets.



Thanks to Nikki's Dad for giving her an awesome birthday present that she has to share with me!

Well, I guess we have 9 new moms. Or 9 moms that want me to be a mom. And not just a dog mom. A real mom. Sean is probably psyched. I'm not sure what to think.

Thanks so much for participating though, we had so much fun watching and tracking the results. The best day was when someone chose the "you can't handle another dog" option but later changed their vote to "have a baby already". Can anyone explain the logic? I'm just not seeing it. :)

Anyway, as they say down here in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Thanks y'all!

5:00 AM

I'm up and heading to the airport to fly to Charlotte for work. I can't believe people regularly wake up at this hour. What's even crazier, people actually enjoy it! Ugh. I'd much rather be in my warm, comfy bed. It's so cold out here. Cold and....groggy. I think my brain stays on its own pillow until 9:00 am. The dog isn't even awake. She gave me the dirtiest look when I got out of bed, groaned, and dropped her head back onto her bed.

Lucky dog.

I want an Egg McMuffin.

That is all for now.

not funny!

Okay, EIGHT votes for a baby now! And six of you don't think we can handle another pooch. Sheesh. Three days left. We'll see how this ends up. :)

I only have a few minutes of sunlight left to get a run in today, so I'll make this post short and sweet. We headed up to Squamish, BC with some friends this weekend. Squamish, which just feels good to say, is the self-proclaimed Outdoor Recreation Capital of Canada and only an hour from Whistler Blackcomb resort. For the non-skiers out there, Whistler is the biggest ski area in North America. It is to skiing what Vegas is to gambling. I think.

Sean looking pretty nerdy at Whistler. Cool background though.

Boys being boys

Did some touring in Garibaldi Provincial Park on Saturday. Super cool place.

Garibaldi is home to some brave birds. One of these guys actually dive-bombed my hand to get at my trail mix. It scared the crap out of me and I reflexively threw my trail mix everywhere when I felt its crusty little bird feet touch my hand, so they clearly have effective tactics. Crafty little buggers.

This omits much of the feel of the weekend, which included an incredible dinner with cool people at a great Whistler restaurant and lots of laughs, but hey. I need to run.