The GeekHiker

(Sorry these are taking so long to put together.  I’m hoping to get them done before the London games in 2012…)

Day 6 – Goodbyes and Hockey

Sadly, The Best Friend and her beau had to leave on this day.  Their flight was in the afternoon, though, so at least I was able to spend some time in the city with them before they left.

Looking across Burrard Inlet towards North Vancouver and the mountains

We started the day dropping their bags at the workplace of a friend of JaG’s in the Gastown section of Vancouver.  After breakfast at a local coffee shop, we wandered along the Vancouver shoreline towards Stanley Park and back. Stanley Park was one of the places I’d hoped to hang out at during this visit, but time and my impending cold would dictate otherwise.

Seaplane taking off over the Inlet

After a tasty lunch at Steamworks Brewing and retrieving their bags, we Skytrained down to the airport where we said our goodbyes.  Then I was on my own.

I headed back into the city and wandered for a while, crossing the Cambie Bridge and walking along the shoreline around False Creek, taking in views of the Olympic Village and the city streets. The weather was warm, but overhead thin clouds streamed in and I knew a change in the weather was in the air…

Cherry blossoms in the city from the unusually warm winter

Sunset over False Creek from Science World

As evening approached, I hopped on the bus and headed to UBC to meet up with JaG and SJ for a game of Women’s Hockey.  Women’s Hockey doesn’t get quite the attention as men’s, which is a shame: it’s just as exciting and aggressive.  In fact, watching player after injured player removed from the ice, it was hard not to wonder if it was a game of attrition rather than points!

The hockey rink at UBC

The fast moving hockey game

These pillars, located outside the events venues, were beautiful during the day and glowed wonderfully at night

Our exciting hockey night over, we headed back home, electing to skip the downtown party atmosphere this time…

Day 7 – Wandering

I was right about the weather: the sunny warm weather that had been in place for the first week went away with my friends back to California, and rain rolled in.  Of course, having lived in the desert for the past 10 years, I rather liked it.

JaG had the day off from work, and despite the presence of a rapidly growing sore throat, we headed into downtown to see the sights.

Our first stop was the Tilley store.  My famous hat has, in the past year, started to develop holes in the front, so I brought it along and figured I’d try for the free replacement guarantee.  They lived up to the word of their warranty, and I walked out with a brand new hat in hand.  My old one, of course, I kept.  Many miles and memories have been hiked under its brim…

The next stop was Granville Island, where we toured through the shops and drooled over the various food stands.  I’d had a hankering for fish & chips since arriving, though, and JaG obliged me by walking over to a stand just off the island rumored to have some of the best around.  They did not disappoint, with tasty, flavorful fish and perfectly cooked fries.

After lunch, we headed to the Coke pavilion, where we stood in the rain to get a collectible aluminum bottle of Coke and be drenched in marketing madness.  After walking through a display of Coke’s relation to the Games and viewing the last few Games’ torches in a case (which was, actually, pretty cool), we were shown a video, then dumped into a tent full of people, loud music and bright lights.  It wasn’t exactly either of our proverbial cups of tea so, collectible in hand, we made for the exit pretty quickly.

The Olympic Torch at the Coke Pavillion

A few more random wanderings and we headed to the SeaBus and North Vancouver with two goals in mind: a gluten free bakery and a pizzeria that made gluten free pizza.  We arrived at the bakery late, but the shopkeeper was kind enough to sell JaG a few goods and tell her about stores located closer to her home that sold their wares.

A few blocks later we arrived at Hell Pizza, where we both ate some amazingly good pizza (I had “Lust” if you’re curious) and watched the Olympics on TV.  I wish I could post the picture of JaG, smiling happily with her first pizza in almost a year, but no doubt she’d kill me.

Full of pizza and carrying leftovers (you have to love a pizza joint where the box breaks down into a small coffin for the leftovers), we SeaBused back across to Vancouver and headed to the Olympic Store at The Bay.

Large, crowded, and hot, we spent the better part of an hour or two working our way through.  By the time I found the section with the items I wanted to get, we were exhausted, and planned to come back another day.

Day 8 – Ugh

What can I say?  I was sick as a dog.  Remember?

I spent the day at JaG’s house.  Doing laundry.  Blowing my nose.  Bombing out on Olympic coverage.  Blowing my nose.  They were at work, and treated me to a nice dinner when they got home.  SJ was even kind enough to bring 7-UP, which I only crave when sick.  I thanked him profusely… then blew my nose.

Yeah… not the most thrilling vacation day ever, eh?