Vancouver in Case of Bad Weather (Feb. 7, 2019)

This morning Jan and I got up, had coffee and breakfast, then checked out the weather channel. The forecast for upcoming snow and slippery conditions for Gibsons and Vancouver were still there. I decided to go into Vancouver today instead of tomorrow so that I wouldn't get caught by the weather in Gibsons. Although not as bad as Toronto weather, it can still be very slippery with black ice and lots of hills. Earlier this week, the weather interfered with the ferries and there were cancellations. In any case, I thought it best to leave today, stay in Vancouver, then get to the airport in good time tomorrow. I booked a bed at Samesun Hostel, where I had stayed before. It's very central, clean and super reasonable. Also, the bus from Horshoe Bay Ferry Terminal drops off very close to this location, and the Canada Line train to the airport can be caught nearby as well.

Jan and I had a really nice last day, going for a walk by the ocean, and hanging out together chatting before it was time to take me to the ferry. I was very sorry to say goodbye, but we sure had a nice visit. Very relaxing and easy, and we both enjoyed it a lot. Here are some of the photos on our walk.

Saying goodbye at the ferry

Blooming crocus

Walk shot

More blooms

Walk shot

Walk shot

Walk shot

Walk shot

Marina

Walk shot

I boarded the ferry without any issues, and even made it to the bus at the other end, in time to catch it at 6:20 pm. As luck would have it, the farebox was broken so the bus driver said that I could ride into Vancouver for free. I got off at my stop and walked a few minutes to the hostel. It was nice that I'd stayed here before because I knew the area and exactly where it was located. I checked in, and asked the guy at the desk if there were a lower bunk available. He said that he would move me into a room that had one available then said, in fact, I'm going to put you into a room by yourself. Woo hoo! Score! So I checked into the room and brought my stuff up. It's a small room anyway, with only beds for four women, but I was alone. It is warm, the beds great and they give you a towel as well. 

After getting sorted, I decided to go and have dinner. I found a restaurant on Yelp that was close to the hostel and had incredible ratings. Of course I had to have sushi one last time before leaving the best area for it. I walked for a few minutes, found the restaurant which was very small, and sat up at the window bar, looking out onto the street. The sushi restaurant was super busy with people eating in the dining room, which sat about 12 people max, and there were also a steady stream of people coming in to pick up take out orders. I felt that I'd found a good place. I was right. It was amazing. I ordered a salmon and tuna Don bowl. It arrived and was HUGE. I couldn't finish all of it, but it was incredibly fresh with very thick pieces of sashimi. I ate as much as I could, paid, then decided to go for a walk down Granville St. 

As I was walking, I passed by a massage place. It looked decent, and the prices were really good, so I decided to treat myself and go in for a reflexology and foot massage session. It was amazing. The young guy that did my treatment was a Japanese guy from outside Osaka. He is a physiotherapist in Japan, visiting Vancouver for a year on a working visa. You can imagine the great massage I got. It was really interesting talking to him. He was a very nice guy and we chatted about Japan. 

Massage window

I had Queen's Feet

My sashimi don dinner

Inside restaurant

Outside of restaurant

Street view while eating

After I finished at the massage place, I came back to the hostel to relax and hit the sack early. It's comfy here in my bed, alone in the room. I'll get up early tomorrow, shower and have the excellent included breakfast here, before I head out for the airport. It's calling for snow tomorrow, but I think I might miss the brunt of it because it's not supposed to really hit until noon or so. I will be at the airport by then, so that'll be good. Wish me luck. Next stop.........Toronto.

Walk and Birthday Dinner (Feb. 6, 2019)

Today we went for a nice walk, I packed up my stuff and did some laundry, and we went out for a beautiful Japanese dinner in celebration of Jan's birthday. Here are the pics. Hope you are all doing well. I'm not sure what the weather is going to bring so I have a plan to go early to Vancouver if needed. It's supposed to snow again tomorrow, but the forecasts are conflicting so I'm waiting until tomorrow to decide whether I go into Vancouver a day before my flight, or whether it seems to be ok, in which case I'll go in on Friday. I'll decide tomorrow. Either way, I'm covered and it's not difficult to get into Vancouver from Horshoe Bay, or to the airport from the hostel I have located. Time will tell, so please send your positive energy to the west coast and tell it not to snow too badly, and at very least, to not interfere with the ferries or airplanes......lol.

Beautiful Walk and Coffee (Feb. 5, 2019)

Yesterday we had a really nice day. We got up, had coffee and breakfast and got ready to go for a nice walk. It was gorgeous and sunny, and a lot of the snow had melted a bit so wasn't too difficult for walking. Jan took us on a long, lovely route where we saw some new developments in the area, the mountain close to Gibsons, Mount Elphinstone. It was a nice outing.

We walked for some time, then stopped at a local coffee cafe for a rest and a coffee. It is owned by some friends of Jan's, who happened to be there when we went. We had a nice chat with the owners, then enjoyed our coffee in the bright sunshine.

Our walk continued around the area and wound us up at home. We stopped for some groceries along the way, as we had intended to make a cake when we got home. That didn't quite happen, so I think we'll do that today.

We had also planned to go out for a belated birthday dinner for Jan, but weren't feeling up to it, so we just stayed home and watched a movie together. It was very relaxing and perfect for the day. If we feel like going out for lunch or dinner today, we'll try it today.

Here are the photos of the coffee shop, a stop at one of the Thrift Stores and sights along the walk.

Street shot

Street shot

Thrift Store shot

Street shot

Street shot

Mount Elphinstone

Along the highway

Coffee shop

Coffee shop

Tree outside of Jan's house

Coffee shop

Happy Birthday Day (Feb. 4, 2019)

This morning we woke up, had coffee and breakfast and I had a shower. Yes, it's true. We were meeting a group of Jan's friends at a local restaurant, to celebrate Jan's birthday. Some friends of Jan's, her former neighbours, came to visit in the morning to bring her a gift and card. It was nice seeing them as I'd met them before and they're very nice people.

After they left, we got ready and left for the restaurant. The other people that we met there were lovely. I had met a couple of them before, but not everyone. We had a great lunch and fun chatter.

Celebrating

Friends at birthday lunch

View this morning

After lunch, one of the ladies came back to Jan's place for a coffee. We hung out chatting and enjoying the afternoon.

We had a delicious dinner of lamb, green beans and rice. Of course complimented with wine and gummies. It was great. I get so spoiled with yummy food whenever I'm here.

Take a look at the plate. Not too bad, eh?
I hope all of you are doing well and have had a good day.
More tomorrow.

Winter Arrives in BC (Feb. 3, 2019)

Well, it's a good thing we took advantage of the gorgeous day yesterday because we woke up to a snow storm today that cancelled ferries to the mainland and pretty much stopped the town. It was really quite lovely, though very unusual for this area. There was quite a lot of snow, but the temperature hovered around 1 celcius or so.

Jan and I decided to go for a walk after breakfast and coffee, to pick up a few things from the store and perhaps go out for a bowl of soup. It was a nice walk through the neighbourhood, watching people in their snowsuits using toboggans, in the two centimeters of snow that had fallen. It was a bit slippery because it's so moist here, but really wasn't too bad for walking. We picked up the stuff we needed, then tried out a new Chinese restaurant that Jan hadn't been to yet, for some dim sum. It was delicious! We had a variety of items, including these new type of dumplings that I'd never tried, some spicy calamari, hot and sour soup, and some amazing tripe. We sat for a long time after eating and just chatted, while we drained the tea pot, then got motivated for our walk home.

At home we made some lemon blueberry scones which were really good, had a drink before dinner, then ate a lovely supper of halibut, rice and baby bok choy with oyster sauce. It was a really nice day.
Tomorrow is Jan's birthday and I probably won't post until it's done so.............................

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAN

Hot and sour soup at lunch

Sunset

Lunch dishes

Us at lunch

Store window on walk

Friend on walk

Street shot

First view this morning

Golfing on Groundhog Day (Feb. 2, 2019)

Today was a lovely day on the Sunshine Coast. Although rain was predicted, there were no clouds in sight when we got up and had coffee. We decided that it was a great day to take a chance and play a round of golf, hoping that the rain would hold off. Jan made a tee time for just before noon, and off we went. We met her friend Mardi there, who joined us for 9 of the 18 holes. I hadn't golfed for two years, so I thought it might be awful. It was pretty decent and I had a few nice shots on many holes. Of course there were some trouble spots too, but not enough to feel frustrated by, and instead, I actually felt good about the game. There wasn't a rain drop in sight all day and it was sunny and bright with a temperature around 6 celcius. A fantastic day to golf!

I took some photos of the golf course which is absolutely amazing and so incredibly pretty. I know you will all be envious because, as Rachel said, unless the golf balls were black, there'd be no finding them in the Toronto area. I'm pretty sure that includes the Winnipeg area too. I thought that bringing you some lovely photos might help to remember what the winter brings upon its end. Hope you like them!

Pretty pond under bridge

Me at pretty pond

Fairway shot

Fairway shot another hole

Fairway shot different hole

Add caption

Another hole

Me on cart path

Jan, Mardi and me

Along the way

Jan, Mardi and me