Travelling Man

What is a guy to do, I had been planning for another cruise and was about to finalize the arrangements when my traveling companion had to back out. Now I have these great plans and no one to go with me. Oh well I guess it is back to the drawing board. That is the tough thing about being single, the world of travel is not always that friendly to the single traveler. I checked with the cruise line to see what would happen if I traveled alone and the answer is I would have to pay double to travel alone.  Guess I either find another travel companion or figure something else to do instead of taking a cruise. I am not into all-inclusive resorts so I will have to see what else I can do.

Enough Already

Over the past 5 nights I have been listening to the drone of a power washer. It starts about 7pm and finishes about 10pm. One of my neighbors is washing his driveway and even though I can understand wanting a clean driveway it cannot take 5 nights to clean the damn thing. One can only hope that his power washer breaks down. Ugh  Please stop!

Summer is Here…I Think

It is the first week of July and the weather has been so crappy I am shocked when I see the Sun. We have had a very few days of warm sunny weather and I am trying to enjoy every second of it. I know the weather will change back to grey and dreary at some point but I do not think it is unreasonable to have a few weeks/months of warm, sunny and pleasant weather. Maybe I need to seriously consider a move to a warmer climate where the sun shines more than it rains.

The Way of the Dodo

On Friday I stopped by my local Blockbuster and found out it was closing along with a large number of their stores. It got me to thinking how technology has changed our lives and how those changes have impacted our lives. It used to be common on a Friday or Saturday to head to the local video store and get a few movies for the night. With the advent of home theaters  and sites like Netflix it was only a matter of time before video stores would disappear. I guess while it was inevitable it is sad when something which was part of our everyday life disappears.

There is a positive to the closures as the stores are selling off all of their stock at a decent discount so I was able to add to my collection.

Home Away from Home

Over the last three to four weeks I have been spending sometime staying in Vancouver, spending a night in one of the wonderful hotels downtown and being a tourist. It started with the Fairmont Waterfront and we had dinner at Herons West Coast restaurant. The restaurant has full length windows which give wonderful views of Canada Place and the city. Great food and incredible service. Dinner was Smoked Sablefish and dessert was Apple Pie which had a very unique design. I spent the Saturday wandering around the downtown taking in the sights.

Click for Larger Picture.

The next place we stayed was on Granville Island at the Granville Island Hotel a nice little boutique hotel nestled on Granville Island giving a getaway in the city. It has been years since I visited Granville Island and even though the weather did not cooperate it was still nice to wander and enjoy the shops and market. Dinner was at The Dockside Restaurant and the views of False Creek and the city were beautiful. During my wanderings I found something rather unique at one of the local bake shops.

It is interesting to be a tourist in your own city as there are so many things which you take for granted and so many great things which you miss. Usually the only time you see any of the local attractions is when someone comes for a visit and you take them to see the sights. I am enjoying being a tourist in my own city.

Spring is in the Air…Hopefully

Seems like we are getting teased with the weather. We have had a few days of sunshine but for the most part it has been rain and grey skies. Even though I have lived in this area for a long time it seems I get to a point where I have had enough and want or need some sunshine and warm weather. Today I started trolling travel sites looking at places which are warmer and normally the sun is shining. I found a few places to my liking and then I started looking at cruises and now I want to go on another cruise.

So I have two problems, where to go and who wants to go with me? I could go out of Florida and goto Jamaica, or maybe somewhere in Mexico or how about the Bahamas? Another choice would be to head out from California and head down to the west side of Mexico. When I travel I like to go places I have not been before as I enjoy exploring new places. Still there are lots of places I have not been and I need to strike them off my list. Maybe I should create a bucket list of places I want to visit. So this leads me to the other question, who wants to go?

Abbotsford Heat Hockey

Another good game tonight, played Hamilton Bulldogs, Montreal’s farm team. Pretty close game with chances at both ends and some big hits. I am still enjoying AHL hockey and find the level of play is still keeping me interested. Not to many nights do we see a bad or boring game. It is interesting to see how some players are developing and see them move up to the big teams. Even had an Elvis sighting tonight.

 

Elvis Sighting

 

 

Technology and Me

If you read my posts or if you noticed my Tagline for this blog you will know I am a geek. Yes as hard as it may seem to admit I am a geek and I like my technology toys. I used to try and get the current technology as soon as something new would come out. Over the years I grew to learn to be somewhat patient and try and get my toys at the appropriate time. I discovered that no matter when I got a new piece of electronics there would be something better and faster released soon after I got my new toy. It took me sometime to accept that this would always happen and at some point I would have to make the plunge and buy my new toy. Still no one says I have to like it when I do get a new toy and the manufacturers decide to release a better faster model right after I have opened the box.

Choices We Make

Over the last while I have been doing a lot of thinking and some of my posts have been a little deep and little retrospective. I have a few ideas as to why I am being so introspective. I recently wrote about doing things outside my comfort zone and being challenged to make changes. I would consider them positive changes and some of the decisions I am considering could be life altering. Again not in a bad way but just a different path for me.

I am sorry if my posts are little too deep for some people but part of the reason I have this blog is to express my thoughts and feelings. In some way it is a therapy for me to be able to write my thoughts as I do not normally vocalize my thoughts and feelings to most people. In most cases I was the listener who my friends would come to when they want to talk. This does not really happen very often anymore as I know I have pushed people away over the last few years and have no idea why I have pushed my friends away. Part of why I have been doing so much thinking lately is just this reason. I have pushed people away and would like to know why and also reengage with my friends before the gap gets unsurmountable. All that I ask is that when I make a decision which is a direction change for me please understand and hopefully support me in my decisions.