Vancouver Trip Part I

Most of my family is in Nova Scotia, minus a couple cousins scattered in other places. However, I have an aunt, uncle and three cousins who have for my lifetime always lived in Burnaby, BC. I always wanted to go visit them, but never had the opportunity. I finally did in 2010 when E and I went out to go see the Winter Olympics. It was a fantastic trip! We saw five sporting events as well as an Our Lady Peace concert in four days. However, I left wishing I had done more things with my family. Now that I am a teacher, I am fortunate to have lots of time on my hands now, as well as a little extra pocket change. So, on July 16^th, I made a trip out to Vancouver, BC.

I got in on Monday, July 16th to Vancouver. AD picked me up and we went over to watch his girlfriend, JB,  play in a rec beach volleyball league. I enjoyed watching, but I'm one of those guys who watching sports makes me want to play that much more. Eventually got in with a few members between matches and rallied a bit. It was fun to stretch my legs after such a long trip. It was also nice to see sooo many people together playing something that is not really a dominant sport. One reason why I would love to be in a larger city; more people means more sports and more leagues. Made me miss all the different stuff I would do back in Nova Scotia that much more.

Tuesday morning, we went out to pick up a Go Pro Hero 2 helmet cam. Been looking at them for a while and I think it'd be cool to use for a multitude of different sports and E is wanting to use it for horseback riding. 

Tuesday afternoon, AD, JB and I rented some bikes from downtown Vancouver and went for a nice casual bike through Stanley Park. It was great going from the hustle and bustle of downtown Vancouver to a trail surrounded by trees, water and views of the mountains in the background. It was nice to get out and about and be active in the city. I decided to test out the helmet cam on this bike ride too; here's the vids, enjoy the views!

Starting downtown and entering Stanley Park:

In and around Stanley Park

Along the Stanley Park seawall:

Me and AD along the Stanley park Seawall:

Lastly, we ended Tuesday night by entering in a free poker tournament at DD's bar (AD's buddy), called Oscar's. I haven't done poker in ages, so it was nice to get back at it without worrying about losing money. First place winner won a randomly drawn prize. I was kind of hanging in there for most of the night, but then started bleeding chips fast. I had to do some all-in moments eventually. The time came when I picked up pocket aces pre-flop. So I went all in. AD's bud, MB who is JB's sister (sorry for all the abbreviations) called me with a J-8. I was ecstatic when an ace came up on the flop; I had trip aces! But then MB picked up a club on the turn and the river which caused him to get a flush. I was so pissed off. It's easier to accept when you lose on a hand you shouldn't have played, or you made a stupid decision. It sucks when you lose a hand you shouldn't have. Oh well, there is definitely some luck in poker. I finished seventh out of 16 or so. MB went on to double up his chips thanks to my contribution and used that money to go all the way to winning the tournament, his third win in five tourneys (combined with two seconds). You definitely can't say there's no skill in poker because you can't just fluke your way into those kind of finishes. Other than the bad beat, it was a great night out!


Ended the night with a little Tiger Woods on the XBox with AD and MB. Was finally able to beat MB at something. After that, played a little late night MarioKart and GoldenEye on the N64 with AD. It was a very nice chill night altogether. Loved it.

Vancouver Trip part II coming soon!