secondGemini

Fulford Harbour

after 5 months of anticipation..... me and some of the boys from work got over to saltspring on our scooters to camp and ride for the weekend.   it really couldn't have gone any better.

the weather was just gorgeous.  sunny everywhere.  all the time. 

we stayed with some friends of the family who have a GREAT place tucked away from everybody else on the island.  they have a whole setup with firepit, chairs etc. right  on the water, looking out at the rest of the gulf islands.  just awesome.

riding on saltspring is amazing.  it's just a great place to rip around.  there really isn't alot of traffic and the roads are generally speaking decordated with beautiful fields, farms, vineyards and houses full of character on either side.  there is always something to look at.

.... however that's not to distract you from the gargantuan sized potholes in alot of the roads.  some of the worst i've ever seen.  a scooter's nightmare!  fortunately we're not going so fast that we can't see them coming.  but every once in a while they sneak up on you.... and BAM!  fortunately most of the worst potholes are on the north end of the island which we rode the first day, and got them over with.

camping was alot of fun.  well the 'pseudocamping' we were doing was fun.  with scooters you can't truly pull off a full camping trip.  there's just nowhere to pack food, supplies, dishes and the like.  but we took a tent, sleeping bags, personal gear and it was all strapped to the scooters. 

it was an amusing sight.... but we got it done.
i can't wait to go back.

Saving Grace

ok.... she doesn't need saving.  in fact i needed to be saved from her!

this is grace.  she's the most fun and charming kid i've met in a long time.  she's full of beans and is a real ham to boot!  we were chasing eachother around all evening at edward and nancy's summer fiesta the other night.  she's very demanding about having her picture taken.... but in a rediculously cute and hilarious way of course.

she is SO much fun to be around and  i absolutely adore her.

taking her picture will forever be a joy.

boose croose

i would much rather work a not so hot job with great people, than a stellar job a bunch of morons.  it makes a really huge difference.  and i have to say, the crew at the hotel is great.  the summer season has been alot of fun so far, and it's technically not even summer!

this week one of the mangers arranged for a 3 hour sailing trip out of the inner harbour and it was awesome fun!  it was cloudy and chilly for the first hour or so... but then the wind burned off all the clouds and we soaked up the sun and had a grand ol' time.

as usual i documented the whole thing and in the process got some really great and candid shots of some of my co-workers.

it was a fun time all around.  after the cruise i cranked out a quick 4 hour shift then right to the post cruise bbq for burgers, dogs, hammocks and many many rounds of chai moi.

chinatown

man i am so behind in my photos.  it's becoming more and more difficult to find the time to get to editing, optimizing and uploading.

i've become so fickle with my photography that i don't want to put anything out there until it's up to my standards.  but fortunately for me there have been a handful that i've loved so much that i've just found the time to do.  like this one.

this is just behind stockton street, which is one block up from the real 'touristy' chinatown, that is on grant street.  this little alley was mostly back doors to mahjong parlours, nail salons and markets.

Alcatraz

the water tower.  such a cool island tour.  i'd love to get more into it... but i absolutlely must sleeps.  i can get into this some more at a later date.

enjoy... and good evening!

San Francisco

I love it there.

Aside from that.... I'm having troubles figuring out where to even start.  It was such a brilliant trip and it happened at the perfect time.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I was determined to do something very different for my birthday this year.  I couldn't have asked for anything better.

I was actually clever enough while I was there to jot down everything that we did... and all the hilarious things we saw and heard.  I'm so thankful for that because at this point alot of it is hazy.  I guess it's comes from writing here for so many years.  Good thing man.... cos I wrote pages and pages of it.

Everything from the dive of a bar we spent the majority of our evenings in, to the massive electrical explosion that occured which cancelled the show we had tickets to, to the great new friends we made in North Beach who had us over to their home rooftop patio to drink with them until the sun came up on my birthday.

I feel very at home in San Francisco, and will hold on to the memories of this trip for a long time... as do most people who see different cities and places across the world.

One of the many things I really like about this city, is that it doesn't in the least feel like i'm in the US.  It feels like an incredibly vibrant city in BC somewhere that I've somehow managed to overlook my whole life. 

I have almost 600 pictures that made the final cut.  There were a handful that were perfect for my first official reflection post here.... but this one seems to sum it up just a bit better than the rest.

yaaaaWn!

after a long night in bellingham airport, our ride should be here soon.  oooh yeah.  finally.  what a trip.  once i get home to my bed and sleep for a day or so, i should be able to put together something that resembles a post.

i've got quite a few pictures to sift through, but not as many as i thought.  i was damn near certain i was going to take upward of 2000-3000 pictures.  i got alot of shots, but because i had limited memory i pre-deleted quite a few as i was shooting.  so who really knows what the bulk number was.  but i've got some great shots that i can't wait to play with and post.

i at least have some cold pizza for breakfast as we got it delivered to the airport last night.  when they asked for our address, i just said "we're the desperately exhausted looking guys sitting in the corner.  oh yeah, and we're also the only people in the entire airport." =)

i can't wait to get home.

SF so far

i couldn't even begin to sum up what has happened so far, and for that matter, how much fun i've been having.  yesterday was awesome... and the day before that was great too.

i've only got a few minutes, cos we're heading out in a few to hit up the golden gate bridge.  but not before we do up some sort of breakfast.

i've got some AMAZING pictures already, and still with a ton of space on my memory card.  so there should be tons more to come.

so today... golden gate bridge, muir woods and berkley.
adios !!