Yes, We're Still Here

  We're now officially into our longest stay, having surpassed the three week sit in Arizona, so yes, we're still in Vancouver. The weather hasn't been great the past couple of days so our activities have been curtailed somewhat. But, before we get into what we've done lately, I need to bring you all up to date on our future plans, specifically Botswana.

  In the last episode I was all excited about our upcoming assignment in Botswana, busy planning day trips into the Okavango Delta and figuring out what to do and where to go during our five weeks in the Kalahari Desert. Until the next morning.

  Now, you should know we spent a half hour on a video chat with the very nice couple who we were to sit for and all questions were asked and answered to everyone's satisfaction. Except I received an email the next morning telling us things they'd forgotten to tell us. No, we didn't care that they didn't have a TV. No, we wouldn't use their vehicle except for trips around town. Yes, we understood we must leave a window open so the cat could get in and out when she wanted. Yes, we will stand over her when she eats as that's what she likes people to do. BTW, we must watch her when she's outside as she can climb over the backyard fence and go onto the road and she might encounter a dog or a vehicle.

  Wait just a cotton-pickin' second. We let her go out when she pleases then have to watch her so she doesn't get into trouble? A cat? I'm not sure I ever did that with my children. "What about when we go out?", I asked. We could be out for hours for a day trip or out to dinner or groceries, etc. Did that mean we had to find her, get her into the house and close the window?

  I received a response almost immediately. They were sorry but we were no longer suitable house sitters. Yeah. I guess flying halfway around the world at great expense to sit in their little house in the Kalahari desert to take care of their cat but wanting to see something of the surrounding area makes us unsuitable. People. Welcome to the weird side of house sitting.

  Anyway, we managed to put that behind us. Well, Penny managed to put that behind her as I continued to grouse about it for most of the day. I'm still pissed and it was five days ago. Well, sort of pissed... more miffed than pissed. Upset. Dismayed. Perturbed. I'll stop now.

  The rest of my miffed/pissed day took us to the Sea to Sky Gondola in Squamish, a short hike up the Sea to Sky Highway on the way to Whistler. This is a relatively new attraction and we were very impressed. It's a fairly long ride to the top of the mountain and Penny's not exactly comfortable hanging from a cable fifty feet in the air climbing a steep mountainside. Full marks for not screaming or puking or closing her eyes. Me? I guess I'm used to ski lifts so I was fine, which you wouldn't expect after my Fly Over Canada experience. C'est la vie.

  At the top there is a selection of hiking trails of various difficulty levels and, if we'd brought our hiking boots, we'd have taken on a fairly challenging one to a mountaintop lookout. As it was, our running shoes couldn't cut it so we stuck with the more sedate jaunts that still afforded us some spectacular views.

  And then Penny wanted a picture of a rock star...

  I mean, when your adoring public demands it you just must make an appearance, right?

  As we were completing our hikes we happened onto an Israeli couple who had just completed the hike to the mountaintop lookout and we got to chatting about our respective travels, which led to lunch at the cafe overlooking Howe Sound...

  While Penny and Dafna discussed family and travels Motti and I worked out solutions to all the political problems currently plaguing Israel. After an hour we decided the only way forward was for us to become benevolent co-dictators and we shook hands on it. Done. I'm getting measured for a uniform next week. With that done we parted ways with promises to visit them in Israel and we headed back down on the gondola. At the bottom, with Penny not even hyperventilating👍, we headed off on the short hike to Shannon Falls:

  Oh, and we just had to stop to see another Big Thing:

  Monday, being a holiday, was a perfect day to head to Granville Island. We spent a couple of hours wandering around the island and checked out the Public Market. After an hour of salivating at the various foods available there we decided that, as good as everything looked, the prices were outrageous. We could easily find similar things away from the touristy zone without having to sacrifice a limb or two to pay for them.

  Last week, after our lunch with Yvonne and her son, David, we were invited to dinner at David's house to meet his wife, Jenn, and their daughter, Katie. Well, that was last night and what a beautiful place they have! Two acres of trees and lawns on a forested hillside away from everything and everyone. Yvonne joined us and we had a wonderful evening sharing stories from the past and tales of travels taken and foods eaten. Oh, and I didn't inspect any of their renovations. Even that bit in the top corner of the wall. Nope. Not a bit.

  Something we've noticed here which surprised us is that everything is expensive. Gasoline is over $2/litre and groceries are much more expensive than we remember from when we left Ontario in May. I know there were additional carbon taxes added since we left but gas in Ontario is still thirty cents less than BC. No idea about groceries but I suspect everything is just more expensive here. It's beautiful here but the cost of living means we'll always be 'just visiting'.

  Yesterday afternoon a fighter squadron flew overhead repeatedly which, I found out, was the Snowbirds aerobatic team doing a flyover of the White Rock Pier just south of us. As a result of my Googling I also found out the Abbotsford Air Show is on this weekend, one of the largest such events in the world! Tickets are sold out but we might just wander over there and see if we can hang out around the airport perimeter to take in the action.

  There is a restaurant offering patrons the chance to watch the show from their patio so I checked out the menu as they'll expect people to eat and drink while occupying tables. Well, the $140 Wagyu steak put me off and we'll just look for a hot dog stand while we take our place along the airport fence. Sounds like a blast 😁.

  The next few days promises another visit with David and Michele and some golf, I hope. Events and weather have conspired to drastically reduce my playing time the past two weeks so a remedy needs to be on the way before I get the shakes. Stay tuned.