Mid-March Update (1 of 3) - Vancouver Island Pics

It has been way too long since the last update. Probably because we didn't take as many pics the final few weeks, as we had spent 2 months on Vancouver Island in Sooke

The Olympics were amazing, we had the best time watching all day (me working in front of the tv - work has been stressful this year). We also enjoyed a few more auctions in Victoria and lots of runs with Hudson

So here are the final pics from God's Country

Bald Eagle in the backyard:



Mount Baker on the road to Victoria:



Hatley Castle:



Esquimalt Lagoon:







Early blossom in Victoria (it was February...El Nino):



Aftershocks of earthquake in Sooke Harbor. The water did rise several feet just 15 minutes before the time they had predicted earlier in the morning (3pm):



Final sunrise from the kitchen:



Tomorrow I'll add pics of the drive from Seattle, where we spent a week, to Bend (and some pics of Bend before the battery died - we forgot the charger at Maureen's father's house; we saw him in Utah a week later). The other update tomorrow will be the beautiful drive from Bend to Utah and Utah to Durango, where we'll be the next 10 nights

Vancouver Olympics

No new photos, so stole some from the internet and some from the past to help make this interesting...

Last update we were on Vancouver Island and we still are. In between we went to Redmond (Seattle) for 6 nights as my big boss Bill Hague was in town. This is a picture of how I see Boss Hague:



Just before we left I got a haircut here in Sooke to look presentable. The lady cut it short as she told me stories of how she learned to cut hair when she was in prison, practicing on the male inmates

Visit was very good, great seeing fellow AT&T'ers like Bill Conquergood and Greg Jones. Cameron Dunn was not around, away at some exotic locale on the company's dime (kidding, it was Florida)

Caught up with another old boss, Gary Stevens, over several pints. Gary is starting his 3rd company and I'm doing a little financial modeling for him. He'll be successful again, no doubt. Here he is from a few summers ago when we took a few beers out onto Lake Washington on a perfect Seattle summer evening



Saturday my buddies Gary and Kevin (and Bonnie) came over to the Father-in-Law's for some Hockey Night in Canada & beers. The games were terrible (Toronto beat Ottawa 5-0 and Colorado beat Edmonton) but good times

So back here for a second month. We're getting a good deal on a great house in a perfect waterfront location:



http://www.bcislandvacationhomes.com/arbutusshoreslisting.htm

We're only 35 minutes to Victoria, where we go 2-3x each week, and have easy access to some of the greatest running trails. After being a slacker in Redmond I had a good week, running 27 miles. Hudson did 13 miles and was exhausted



The auctions we go to are a blast, lots of fun characters. We've bought a few more paintings (including two cool cross-country skiing paintings) and some crystal (the wife will display far away from me)

The main reason we're back, obviously, is to watch the Olympics on Canadian television. 3 stations showing live coverage of different events 18 hours a day. Highlights so far have been:

1) Hockey has started. Canada and Russia looked incredible - Russia is scary. Still, Canada won 8-0 against Norway; not a powerhouse but they did what they needed to do



2) Men's curling. Kevin Martin has delivered 2 strong wins



3) Women's curling. 2 wins, both on Cheryl Bernard's final shot in the final end



4) Maelle Ricker's gold





5) Team Norway's pants



Work has been very busy...

Tomorrow is another auction in Victoria - I'll have my laptop and aircard so I can watch Team Canada - and Sunday is an 8k at Royal Roads University. Royal Roads is home to Hatley Castle

East Sooke Park Trail Run

This is for my buddy Greg, who got me back into running three years ago. With another AT&T Wireless buddy, Tim, we were going to do a half marathon in Port Angeles back in 2007. Sadly, Greg broke a toe three days before

Still, I'll share running stories with Greg (possibly he's the only who cares). Such as the 10K I ran Sunday in Cobble Hill. My fastest run in at least 7 years...and I still came in 265th

(http://pih.bc.ca/results/Series.php?race=171)

Anyways, this is one of our two favorite runs (Pike Road) here in the Sooke area, at a very large provincial park (3,500 acres) on the Straight of Juan de Fuca

http://www.eastsookepark.com/

The only downside is there are cougars and bears (although the latter should be sleeping right now)

East Sooke is a bit more rugged. Last time we stayed over here I was in the General Store and someone had a baby deer's head in his hand to show, assuming a cougar had killed it. Anyways...



The first mile out is through dense forest. Hudson generally gets to be off-leash and zip around







This is at the end of the first mile...a quick run down to the ocean (straight)...





...and then off to the more challenging trails to the left...





Hudson's water break...



Some difficult terrain makes the second part of the run more like climbing and hiking...







Which is why Hudson's on leash...



Views of Washington State



We are here until Monday, when it's back to Seattle for a few weeks, including a visit with Boss Hague...

Back in God's Country

Tuesday we went back to Redmond; both of us had Wednesday appointments with our superstar dentist Dr. Danforth (and my beloved hygienist). Below is a shot of coming off the ferry from Victoria to Vancouver (more or less)



Wednesday evening I went to an Everett Silvertips game with my buddy Gary and one of his pals. The Silvertips are a good time in a good blue-collar town north of Seattle. Good game versus the Vancouver Giants, two top teams. Everett won 3-2. Highlights included the police taking Gary away for about 5 minutes just before the second intermission puck toss (closest to Center Ice won money) and the usual late night visit to Denny's. Below is a view near Everett, taken the next day on our way back up to Sooke



Here are two shots on a nice winter day on the ferry ride back to Victoria (well, Sidney actually)





So the wife is seeing this month why Canada is a top pick for our next place to live. Here is a box of Honey Nut Cheerios sold up here - complete with a hockey fold-out game (with Iginla in his Team Canada jersey):



Here is Canada's $5 bill - hockey!



Last Saturday we went into Victoria. I was wearing my "Hockey Night in Canada" sweatshirt. We walked into a fancy cigar store. The two guys working in their fancy suits were jazzed:

"All right!"
"Nice shirt, that's great"

Then we went next door to Munro's, a historic book store:

"Da da-dada Da da-dada"

Yup, an employee walking by singing the Hockey Night in Canada song

Today we went to the grocery store:

"Da da-dada Da da-dada"

Same thing, an employee singing the song. And then a 5 minute chat about the Canucks and Kovalchuk maybe being traded to the Flames for Phanuef

And of course Canada has some very explicit warnings on cigarettes:



Sunday I'm cruising up to Cobble Hill to run in a 10K...

Rainy Vancouver Island

I think it's rained every day since we got here 10 days ago. It's been stormy all through the Pacific Northwest

Still, great times here in Sooke (maybe 35 minutes from Victoria)

The rain has stopped enough to get some good runs in. We are a mere 3 minute run from an entrance to the Galloping Goose, a 55km old rail line now a trail. It's helped me get off to a decent start for my 2010 goal of running 1,000 miles; now at 35 miles as of January 15th

Here is the trail where we access it most days. The first pic is the way I go if Hudson is with me and the 2nd is if I'm going myself





Below is sunrise from our kitchen



So far two highlights here.

First, I ran a race Sunday, the Prairie Inn Pioneer 8K (http://pih.bc.ca/results/Series.php?race=170). I ran a fast race, for me. I didn't win. I came in 365th

Second, Maureen found an auction in Victoria and we did good. Mostly we bought art from an art house that went bankrupt. The company's info/price tags came along...

This first paining, rather large (maybe 36" x 16") was retail $1,750 and we bought it for $80



This one was retail $695 and we got for $50



These two are actually originals and were retail $590 combined and we got them for $50 (pic is fuzzy)



It was an excellent time and we spent maybe $500 with the auction house's 20% premium and taxes

Today Maureen was running around and Sooke - there is only one road to this part of the island - was temporarily cut-off due to this accident



We head to Seattle Tuesday for the dentist and a hockey game (me) before coming back for the rest of the month...

Freezing Montana & Back In Sooke

It's been awhile, no good reason. Last update we were leaving Jackson, WY. Jackson itself and the house we stayed at was OK but down the list on places we've been to. Also, the snow wasn't great for skiing at Jackson Hole

On to Bozeman, MT

The drive was a bit sketchy, especially the areas in and around Yellowstone. Beautiful, but snowing



After cruising through very white Idaho we arrived in Montana





Our place in Montana was about 5 miles outside of Bozeman on 40 acres



These are our neighbours across the street



It was great for running from the house. The driveway itself was 0.3 miles and the road was 1.7 miles long. Here it is running towards state land



It was bitter cold much of the time. I ran half the time with Hudson, including a Hudson record 4.2 miles. The other half the time it was too cold for him. Many mornings I was running in -9 degrees (Fahrenheit). Sometimes I'd have to take a break to let the ice in my hair melt



Christmas was fun! Since we're on the road, we decided to keep stress low and buy for ourselves and have the other unwrap the other's presents. Maureen bought herself a Kindle and some Kindle accessories. I bought myself The X-Files, DVD Seasons 1-4 (huge bargain, $18/season), The Haunting Complete DVD Collection, some books, some running touques and some official Canada Olympic gear from The Hudson's Bay Company



As you can see Hudson "loved" his new collar and leash



Here's a beautiful shot of the full moon setting from our porch



And a glorious sunset



And our car in a ditch, whoooops!



We went cross country skiing at Bohart Ranch 3x and had a blast! http://www.bohartranchxcski.com/

I wish we could go more often. The first time we took lessons and had a superb instructor. Here are a few pics from the New Year's Day





Sadly it was time to leave - and even more sad back to work after 2 weeks off. We decided to spend January on Vancouver Island in Sooke, my favorite place in the world. First we swung through Seattle for a night to drop things off at the Father-in-Laws

We packed up Grumpus and started the 550-mile drive...



...Montana...



...snowy Idaho...





...and finally the great state of Washington...



When we finally arrived at 10pm...it was raining

We arrived in Sooke today and began fulfilling my 2010 Goal of 1,000 miles of running, up here on the great Galloping Goose Trail. It's like the Burke-Gilman except through the woods on the water. 997.2 miles to go...

http://www.gallopinggoosetrail.com/