Cam I Am

It’s around 10pm of the first night of our camping trip to Alice Lake Provincial Park. It’s been two years since my family has been able to go camping, so this trip feels extra special for all of us. It’s a little bit different this time.. It’s raining today..

We haven’t done much today. We got here around 2pm, and by the time we were set up, it was 4pm.. After a quick trip into Squamish to pick up a few things we needed, we came back, cooked dinner, and then the kids (and my wife) were pretty much ready for bed. Of course, shortly after going to bed, Megan decided that she wanted up, and then Lizzy wanted to go to bed.

Hopefully, the weather improves a little for tomorrow and we’ll get a chance to do a little more exploring!

I haven’t written much recently, partially because of time, but mostly because I haven’t thought of anything to write about..

In the last month, my wife, kids and I and really gotten into geocaching.  With 13 finds now, we are enjoying the time out.  To me, it’s great to spend time out with the family exploring the area, and I get to play with an electronic toy..  It’s win-win!

We’ve booked our campsite for a camping trip this summer.  This year, we’ll be going up to Alice Lake near Squamish.  We have never really ventured up into Sea to Sky country, so it’ll be nice to get away!  Now, I just have to wait for July now..

That’s about it.. 

Last weekend, my wife and I took our kids on a mini-vacation.  Call it guilt or whatever you like, but we figured that if my wife and I could take a six day vacation with just ourselves, our kids deserved a little away time too.

With only having a couple days to go away, we decided to drive down to Seattle for the weekend.  It had been a few years since we had been there and we figured that we’d do the tourist thing for a couple days. 

Despite how close it is to Vancouver, I’ve been to Seattle twice and my wife once.  We haven’t done a lot of sightseeing there, so this time, we were really going to try. 

We stayed at the Springhill Suites by Marriott (I’ll leave our issues with them out of this!) which is in the downtown area.  After checking in, we had promised the kids that we would take them on a double decker bus tour.  My wife and I went on one in San Francisco back in March and found it interesting to see the city and some of the sights that we may want to check out.  But in Seattle, the 45 minute tour was lack-lustre.  Okay..  it was boring.  Their were a few interesting things, but I wasn’t “wowed” with Seattle.

Throughout the weekend, we briefly went to Pike Place Market, walked along the piers, took the kids to Woodland Park Zoo, and even went up the Space Needle.  The zoo was amazing as always and the Space Needle was expensive (as expected), but the rest of the city doesn’t seem to have a lot to offer.  And in the city where Starbucks started, try finding one open on a Sunday morning!   And one of our kids started getting a fever (and subsequently sick), what is with the drug store that was open, but with no children’s Tylenol.  YOU’RE A FREAKIN’ DRUG STORE!

All in all, the kids seemed to have fun, for the most part.  But Seattle left my wife and I with the same impression.

It’s just not a tourist-friendly place.

Our vacation to San Francisco was amazing!  Six days of being away with my wife… and no kids!

After checking into our hotel, we walked up to Fisherman’s Wharf, ate at Boudin’s Sourdough Bread shop (clam chowder in a sourdough bowl), and then looked around the wharf.  We checked out a lot of tourist shops, the sea lions, and took in the good weather.  Then it was off to a double decker bus tour..

I could go on and on about the trip, but I’ll just keep it to the highlights..

• We went to Alcatraz and took the garden tour, which takes you to some closed parts of the island and did the cell block tour as well.  It was an amazing experience..
• Napa Valley Wine Tour – There was nothing like taking a bus tour to three different wineries, trying and buying wine.  Lunch in Sonoma, California was at this mexican restaurant..  The bext mexican food that we’ve ever had!
• Lombard Street, Alamo Square with the Painted Ladies, and Coit Tower – all must-see sites!
• The Golden Gate Bridge – we walked part-way across, then turned back!  Amazing views!
• Shopping in Union square!
• The Cable Cars – we didn’t get on one until the fourth day that we were there, but then after finding that they go near pretty much everything that we wanted to see, we used them a lot after that!
• Visit with friends – we know a couple that live in San Jose.  They came out for an evening of dinner and drinks!  It was great to see you David and Kim!
• Cable Car Museum – even though it takes 10 minutes to see the whole thing (five of which is spent staring at the cable wheels going around and around, it was interesting nonetheless!
• Restuarants – We went to Sam’s Seafood & Grill (don’t recommend it!), Bubba Gump’s, the Fog City Diner, Mel’s Diner…  the list goes on and on!  Most mornings, we went across the street to the Starbucks for a coffee and a muffin..  By the sixth day, they pretty much knew what we were going to order!
• Hyde Street Pier – We walked up and down it..  Not much to say about it, but it was nice..  We could have paid to take a tour of a couple ships there, but it was our last day..

A couple things did put us off on our trip.  Within 3 hours of being there, we were lost and someone at a kiosk offered to help… but not before spending 15 minutes trying to convince us to do a 2 hour presentation about timeshares..  We declined! 

Also, while people weren’t rude there, they weren’t overly friendly…

All in all, it was a great trip..

Next stop…  Las Vegas in the fall!   

After a long battle with WorkSafeBC/WCB, I have finally had my claim closed and received my lump sum payment for the payments I should have been receiving while I was off work..

So..  it’s time for a vacation! 

Tomorrow, my wife and I leave for a 6-day trip to San Francisco.  We booked our flight and hotel about a month ago, and have been working out our trip details..  And one of the great parts is that we are going to be leaving the kids with my mother-in-law! 

We’ll be checking out Alcatraz, Coit Tower, Lambard St, and Fisherman’s Wharf!  We booked a wine tour in the Napa Valley and even will be visiting the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose.

The last 3+ years have been hard for my wife and I..  So, we feel it’s well deserved! 

See you later!

I’m looking for ideas…

My wife and I want to go on a vacation somewhere in January or February.  Initially, we were thinking of going to Mexico, but we’ve decided to put that off for another year.  So, we seem to be fairly short on ideas of a vacation/trip destination.

What we would like to do is go for 5-7 days, without our kids (Woohoo!).  We’ve thought of San Fransisco, Las Vegas, or Boston as options, but we are still trying to think of ideas.   We’d prefer to not spend a ton of money on airfare and hotels, so most likely we are looking at somewhere west of the Mississippi River, but not restricting ourselves to that. (I’m aware of Boston’s location!)..

So..  any ideas for us?

I’ve been unusually quiet here recently..

And not because I’ve had nothing to say.  I’ve just been..  quiet..

This past weekend, I took the girls up to the Okanagan to see grandma and papa..  We went to the beach, visited a couple friends, and of course, took the required trip to Tickleberry’s in Okanagan Falls.  It was nice to get away!   Even though I’ve been off for such a long time, it was nice to get away with the kids. 

Around the house, I’ve been painted our living room, organizing a few things, and just trying to keep busy. 

Yesterday, I went to see my doctor for a follow-up appointment from my surgery.  I asked him if I could go back to work..  and after a few questions, he said that I can, starting the 28th..     I’m going back for the first 2 weeks for just three days a week, but then full time.  I’ll be doing full duties from the start!

WOOHOO!

The last few days have been eventful!

First, Colleen went on a business trip to Chicago.  She had a great time!  She went to the House of Blues (twice!), a White Sox Game, and countless other attractions!  I got to see a good portion of her trip in the 276  pictures that she took! 

On Monday, my friends Mark and Christie finally arrived in town on their 30 day cross-country RV trip.  They’ll be staying in Vancouver for 6-7 days before going down through the states, so it will be a short visit with them.  We haven’t seen Mark since my wedding, but we talk frequently.  (Gotta love text messaging!).  We went to visit them at the campground that they are staying at in North Vancouver and had dinner and took the kids for a swim.  We’re planning to see them a couple times before they move on!

Yesterday I had my first follow-up appointment, since my surgery, with the neurosurgeon.  He tested my range of motion, checked the scar from the incision, and then said that I seemed to be healing well.  I asked him a few questions about some discomfort that I’ve felt in my back and leg and was relieved to hear that it is very normal to have that.

Today I started physio.  Just starting off with stretches and a some basic core muscle exercises, but I’m hoping to progress quickly..   Ideally, I should be able to return to work within 4-6 weeks! 

That’s about all for now.. 

In the last couple days, I’ve received some news that I’ve been expecting and dreading.

First, I finally had my appointment with the neurosurgeon (that I’ve waited for 7 months) to determine that I do need back surgery, and that it should happen within the next couple months.  This is welcome news and not.  I need my back to heal, and clearly other methods have not worked.  There are risks involved, but the outcome could be very good.  I don’t have an exact date yet, but I should have that within a few days.

Second, I saw my doctor..   I’m off work again, probably for another 4-5 months.  This poses all sorts of problems such as money and plans that my wife and I have made.  I had only been back to work for 3 months after being off for six months because of my back.  The other problem is that my wife and I were planning to go on a vacation (without the kids) to Chicago.  We haven’t been on a vacation in over 10 years, so anyone could imagine our disappointment.

Other than that, I’m managing.  I’m glad that I’m off of the serious painkillers, but I haven’t found a reasonable substitute.  I’m hoping to see my doctor next week again to find something.

The next 3 months seem to be holding a lot of promise.

In about 2 weeks, I finally get to see the neurosurgeon about my back.  At this point, I’m fairly sure that surgery is going to be in the future for me.  It’s not exactly what I want, but in a way, I’m looking forward to whatever it takes to make the pain go away..

In early May, my youngest brother, Andrew, is coming out from New Brunswick for a visit.  He’s bringing along his girlfriend of three years now, so it will be nice to finally meet her.  Last summer, Andrew came out to visit for about a week, we did a few tourist-type things and he got to spend some time getting to know our daughters some more.   This year, he’s going to take Martha around Vancouver and visit with us only a couple of the days that he’s here.

In mid-June, Colleen and I will be going to Chicago!  That weekend, she has a conference to attend for work, but I’m tagging along for the fun of it.  We’ll probably spend a couple extra days so that we have some time together on a vacation.  I was there about 10-12 years ago with my friend Mark (the memories of conversations of sporks and alarm clocks!), but I was on the outskirts, not the downtown core.

Around the same time that we return from our trip, Mark and his family will be in town with his family.  They are going to be RV’ing across Canada and staying in town for 6-7 days.  I’ve known him for almost 20 years, so I’m sure that they’ll be plenty of stories we’ll be recounting (and our wives will probably not want to hear them again), but I’m looking forward to having our families spend some time together.  I remember Mark and I having a conversation many years ago about how we would never own a mini-van.  Now, I have two, and I believe Mark still has one.  

I think that’s all that is in the works between now and the end of June.  I really like it when family and friends visit.  I also am excited that Colleen and I get to go on a vacation without the kids.   The last vacation that we took was in 1998..