Saturday, May 23, 2009

What a day!






















I ran 6 miles today (428 miles) and every moment of the run was incredibly beautiful. I took the photos as I ran along the sea wall from English Bay to the Lion's Gates Bridge. It is probably the most picturesque run that I have had this year. I had a short time line of about thirty to forty minutes to run because I had to start a meeting at 9AM. However once on the trail I kept running to the next point because it was so beautiful. After the bridge I had to turn around and head back to meet Shannon who had joined me to come and see English Bay. Before my run I took Shannon for a quick tour through the Sylvia Hotel which is my favorite hotel in Vancouver. It is the coolest place to stay because it still operates as a small hotel. There is a great view of English Bay from the restaurant and bar. The first two pictures are of the outside of the Sylvia Hotel. 

The other pictures are taken in early evening after our meeting ended. I went sailing with an old friend of mine, Alan Keil. Alan and I knew each other in the early 1990s right at the time I started university.  Alan was living in Prince Albert working as an instructor at the northern dental college. When he moved from Prince Albert to Vancouver I went along with him as far as Calgary (I think it was in the fall sometime). We were in his Volkswagon Rabbit which had plywood on the roof attached to a ski rack. On the plywood we had a pup tent bolted down. With the pull of a cord the tent went up ready to be used. We drove to Banff, arriving late at night when all the other campers were asleep. I remember waking up the next morning to the cool mountain air and upon popping my head out of the tent receiving a number of strange looks from the other campers at nearby campsites. I guess seeing people emerging out of a tent perched on a VW Rabbit must have looked rather crazy. 

After parting in Calgary I returned to Saskatoon and Alan made his way to Vancouver where he made his home for the next twenty years. Friday was the first time we had seen each other since my wedding (which was strange given that I am now divorced). Alan now lives most of the year in Germany with his family, returning a few weeks out of the year to work at his Vancouver dental practice. 

Friday night we took Alan's sailboat out but because there was no wind we didn't sail. Instead we took the boat over to Bowen Island and had a nice dinner. The photo of Alan holding the trophy was taken because a few years earlier he had won this trophy i a sailing race. Being out in the ocean was such a treat and the scenery was breath taking. We drank some wine and spent the evening talking about old and new times. By the time I reached my hotel I was very tired and still in disbelief about the wonderful day that I had had. The early morning run was spectacular, the meeting was interesting and productive, and the day ended on the ocean with a fun evening with an old friend.  

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