Hammock's r' Us

I spend my long weekend balancing the trifecta of being sick, snoozing in ferry line-ups, and entertaining at least to of: a dog, a 6 year old, and a 4 year old.

I did, however, bring something in my weekend arsenal which would balance these needs perfectly.

A Hammock. BUT not any hammock, a double hammock...... and with this double hammock spread between 2 trees in the shade, I spent the better part of the weekend trying to sleep off a cold that had been plaguing me for about 10 days now. I highly (and I mean highly) recommend the family size hammock from The Hang Out Place on Granville Island. As I dozed in and out, all I could think of was "This is what summer is all about."

The picture is from when I was at the Hang Out Store with LP-ette, testing out the Hammocks. It gives you a representation of what I was doing on Hornby, only I wouldn't let anyone in with me lest to spoil the tranquility. I will admit upon discovering the room I had to sprawl, I dutifully wiped out my Blackberry to update my Facebook Status: LP is testing the "Hang Out Place" queen size hammock, and is currently suspended between 2 trees... Man this thing has girth!

With a few naps out of the way I was strong enough to get out for a good paced ride up Mt. Geoffery, if you consider a "good pace" as riding behind Little J, age 6. He kept asking me to take me where I go riding, so we rode up to the green trails and did some gentle - yet undulating - out and backs. He had a great time, and upon the return back home I collapsed again in the hammock, and snoozed until the next requisite game of "hit something over the volleyball net".

Here are the statistics from my 3 day weekend:
4 naps
2 beach excursions
2 hours of riding
6 Tylenol for Cold
umpteen giggles from the kids...

Going to France so I can slow down....

I have been writing. Not in the narcissistic way, but in a self-preservation. Unfortunately it has mostly been in my mind. Occasionally on scraps of paper, and although my leather bound journal has never strayed far from my side, the only time it has been opened was to record a fine wine or single malt notation.

To say the work-life balance has been interrupted is an understatement. But several days travelling across France this past week solidified my commitment to Go Slow, and spend all of August incommunicado on a small island, far away from the reach of technology.

We were 2 evenings in Annecy, France, a beautiful town that is connected to one of the historical authors and thinkers of the French Revolution, as well as the upcoming individual time trial for the Tour de France. Having a visit 18 days later would have climaxed this visit to a point beyond blogging...

The trip was for work, which usually means a 30 hour travel day (via 3 airports, a train and a car), followed by several 12+ hour work days, followed by a 30 hour travel commute home. However, when travel is required I make it a point to try to get out and see parts of the world I would otherwise probably not have the chance to visit. On this trip, I found 1 place I would visit again, especially if on a holiday.

On arrival we went on an drive to see the surrounding region from the top of Col de la Forclaz. In reality we drove most of the way but did have to portage through a cow maze, before getting to the point where we could watch some Parapenter's soar across the lake. Re-read that last sentence... yes, we actually had to go through a maze of cows.


On our way up we passed a field, reminiscent of the Sound of Music...


Had my wife been with us, I am sure she would have jumped the fence and ran into the middle of the field, spinning her arms like only Julie Andrews could.


You can see the dots of the Parapenters, essentially going from one peak on the side of the lake, across the lake and beyond another peak. Even from that height, we were unable to see the landing spot they were heading for.



At the top we watched both new and experts take their turn at jumping off the summit edge, their Parapents being buoyed by the thermal drafts a mere 1 or 2 feet off the ground. A colleague told me the expert Parapenters can stay up for a few hours, going across the lake and eventually to a landing site.

Annecy, with several small canals (with emphasis on the word small) snaking throughout the old part of the city, has a plethora of outdoor cafes which allow you to take in the afternoon and evening sights. Revelers mixed with lovers, tourists mixed with locals. I tried to make the transition from tourist to revelers, but had a difficult time convincing my coworkers to do some team bonding over many drinks (at least many in the Canadian sense).





By far the favorite part of the city was the discovery of this: Rue Jean Jacques Rosseau, and his monument.

Reading some of my early posts, circa 2005, you may see some influence of Rosseau. In fact, his book is one of 2 or 3 that sit along side my journal to read when I am in the contemplative mood (with Thoreau being one of the others).

We capped our 2 days in Annecy with a quick photo visit to the Monastery Church, with it timed by our local host to be both closed, but devoid of tourists. .

On our way back, our trip would not have been complete without a quick 3 hour tour of Paris, with a visit to the Sacre Coeur, and the Arc de Triomphe.




All said, short trip and full of historical monuments, but Doug's Summer Solstice post has me Pining for the Fjords of Hornby.

A 4 year old's perspective on travel

On airport lights: Ohh, look, it is still lit up for Christmas.

On phoning home: How does daddy's voice get from there to here?

On Hotel Stays: Who are you staying with? Nobody? Well, that's lonley.

3 Months in 3 Pictures

Holy Crap - 3 months and no posting. If you only knew how busy I was, you'd cut me some slack....

March: A month of trying to get up to Hornby (3 failed "I'm packing the truck!") I finally got up to get the water tank installed on Hornby.

This sign is what March seemed to feel like...




April: I basically spent most of April travelling for work, or sequestered to a small windowless room doing 8 hour Innovation Sessions with a group of 10 people. Nashville. Toronto. Rajpur. Vancouver. And not one bike ride the whole month...

It felt like the whole month I only got outside once, but barely refrained from leaping off the cliff:

This was taken at the Savage Gulf in Tennessee.

Fortunately I did manage a stop-in to the big T.O. to visit some Vodka Bars and French Restaurants. I have never had such an inkling for some petite castor in my life... (ahem, yes it is a restaurant)

I also found out I was a marshmallow, as compared to a piece of fruit. Go figure.


May: I traded my rental car back in for my truck and a mattock, and got a water line trenched from the tank to my trailer. That's Dave, my F.I.L., who also taught sailing on the island last year. I think this year he realized if he wanted a shower in the trailer if he came up again, he was going to have to help get some water plumbed in.





All that is left is a little 12V wiring to my pump then putting in a filter and I should be able to pump water from the tank into the trailer. I can't wait to have my first 2500 gallon shower this summer.


Later... LP.

Pink Haley

Haley, who is sick with the stomach flu, came in to the kitchen holding the Pepto Bismol. She wanted more so when she threw up again it would be a "pretty pink".

Even in sickness she if fashion conscious.

A Blue Haley

It was breakfast time, with some help from the kids. Or so we thought.

"Haley, can you set the table?" we asked, merely hoping for the placemats to be put out.

But not today. She was efficient. Not only did she get the placemats out, but also her plate. Without us knowing, she also managed to sneak the box of blueberries over to the table. By the time we looked over Haley had managed to open the blueberry container and put a heaping pile of blueberries on her plate.

“Haley! I just bought those! They were for muffins I was going to make today. Do you know how much they cost?”

Her reply was quick, and amazingly accurate: “Yes. Like sixteen dollars.”

“That’s about right.”

A Green Jordan

“Dad, how much money do you have?”

“About $2000”

“No… that’s impossible. Nobody has that much. Maybe like $200, but that’s all you probably have.”