June 26th, 2008, 6 Comments »
Some old family friends gave my Dad a couple of photos from the summer of 1985. They’re of a family day out on, canoeing on a lake. We can’t remember where we were. We thought they might be photos of Alta Lake, near Whistler. Does anybody recognize these mountains (and, uh, that clearcut)?
I was trying to judge based on this Google Maps view, but it’s hardly conclusive. I searched through some Flickr photos that purported to be of ‘Alta Lake’ but, then, you know, got bored.
In another photo from that day, you can see an eleven-year-old Darren in an over-sized cap enjoying New Coke. That particular addiction (to Coke, regardless of taste) started early.
UPDATE: This is, indeed, Alta Lake. Thanks to Brent and Jason in the comment, who verify our suspicions. Jason found this image on this page from 2005, and the vista looks nearly identical to my photo.
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August 22nd, 2007, No Comments »
I’ve been catching up on my RSS reading, and happened upon these two tales of voyages gone wrong. I’m very envious of Sarah’s plan to migrate westward across Asia after bidding a tearful goodbye to Japan. I’m not so envious of her tumultuous trip across the China Sea:
Everyone stayed locked inside their cabins because it was too dangerous to go outside. It was horrible. I was taking a gravol every four hours to keep the nausea at bay. I couldn’t keep any food down. I spent the entire day and night in bed just sleeping or listening to the Chinese girl in the bunk above mine vomiting. At least she was able to contain her vomit in her plastic bags and nothing landed on me.
Closer to home, Jen spent an unpleasant couple of nights on a canoe trip. Caution, some grossness and use of the term ‘turd-burglar’ follow:
At least the camping was nice, though! Except, not so much. I understand that part of the allure of visiting a BC Forest Service campsite is the fact that they’re a) usually fairly remote and b) usually free. The downside to that is the fact that they rarely had any facilities. No worry - people will just dig a hole. Except they don’t. The campsites are COVERED in landmines. People seem to just shit where the urge strikes them. It’s completely gross. Add to that the fact that our dog fancies herself a turd-burgler - we learned pretty quick we had to keep her tied up in camp, or risk having her run off and return with an upset tummy and some VERY bad breath.
This was preceded by plenty of portage-related tomfoolery. As a rule of thumb, if I have to carry my mode of transport, I give up and go home.
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