Why oh why can't I stay......

Sitting in Kauai wondering what more in life do you need, basic accommodations, simple food, the one you love sitting beside you, and beautiful sunsets... Makes you wonder what the daily grind is all about…

Now back to reality.. Aloha…..

Old school BBQ

Our view

Great sunsets

Our sugar shack

Never anyone on our beach!

At the Superbowl party

Daily beach walk

Aloha……...

Sum's it up perfectly…...

enough said……

The loss of a Friend…..

Today should have been a happy day, it should have been a day that made me feel optimistic about the year ahead and being the first day of the year, is the best day to be positive and think about the great days to come in 2014…. and you know it actually started out that way. I slept in, I had really good coffee and and about 10am I decided the best way to ring in the new year was to go for a ride… and thats when it all went awry.

For those who have know me for awhile they will remember a day, long ago, when I had a bike accident during the Vancouver Triathlon and completely trashed my Bianchi, after the hospital it was on to get a new bike… I chose an Argon 18, she has been with me through a lot of good times and a lot of bad times, and even though I recently regulated her to my winter bike due to my new Colnago love, I still loved riding her.. and have been doing so all this winter.

So what is this lengthy dialogue all about, well I awoke this morning, ready to spend a couple of hours alone in my head (aka on my bike) and yes.. the worst thing I can imagine happened, it was gone, stolen……… the bike that had taken me through so much was now likely deemed to be torn apart and sold to support a drug habit or worse, to some unsuspecting girl who thinks she is getting a good deal on a great bike, until of course I see her on it and go completely Haligonian on her.. which trust me is not pretty…..

So I won't torture you any more with my grief, and while I know its not like loosing a life, it still feels like I have lost a friend…. RIP.. my girl.. until I find the %$^&% that took you and rip their heart out from their chest .. but really .. I'm fine… I'm Ok..

Merry Ho Ho ...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all my Family and Friends this holiday season........my Christmas wish.. to have a tree like this..

Dwight's Top Picks for the 2010 Bordeaux Release!

I thought I would be the conduit for Dwight's "FWS" insights into the Bordeaux release this year….. so….. below are his top picks for the left and right banks… a bit of an inside tip are the Fronsac. It is a really good value as the AOC, the area the wine is from, is right beside Pomerol, one of the more famous right back Bordeaux communes. 

Fronsac is a bit obscure, not popular because it is not well known and not well marketed.. so you don't see it very often. Fronsac has the same level of commune restrictions as Margaux or Saint-Emilion, meaning the French gov't regulations for the quality are exactly the same, which means the quality is there for half the price. 

Dwight's value picks for the 2010 Bordeaux release! One of the best vintages in the last 10 years! (numbers are based on the catalogue from the BC Liquor Distribution Catalogue) 

Left Bank Bordeaux's - Cabernet Sauvignon based

#21 - Chateau Brown, Pessac-leognan $38.00 - Drink now or 2020 

#13 - Château Bel-veu, Haut-medoc $38.00 Drink now through 2020

Right Bank Bordeaux's - Merlot based 

#86 - Haut-Carles, Fronsac $38.00 - Drink now through 2030 

#154 - Chateau La Vieille Cure. Fronsac $38.00 - wait till 2015 then good for another 10 yrs 

#17 - Chateau Bourgneuf, Pomerol $68.00 - hold till 2015… and longer :-) 

So Dwight is heading straight for the Fronsac's.. my job is to tackle the crazy people that get in our way!! Got to get my elbows out and go Haligonian on them!!!!!  :-) 

Ann 

What I did on my summer vacation!

So I know it's been a long time, and I am sorry... I have signed up for Facebook and it seems to have become my defacto way of posting... So.. This array of images is from my most recent vacation. Which I would like to point out… was really wonderful, we really do live in a great country.

It all started with the RBC Banff Gran Fondo, in essence a 145km bike race. Well they say its not a race.. But I knew better, and I did race it...and I am very happy with my effort, 4hrs & 54mins, 19th out of 171 in my age group and 37th out of 474 females overall... It might not sound that impressive but given the fact that I had been sick for almost 6 weeks and ended up on antibiotics two weeks before the race for bronchitis ... I thought it was not too shabby!

I have to give some great credit to my coach Mike Neill from Human Powered Racing, while I did not get formal coaching this year, last year Mike not only coached me to prepare for the ride but during the ride as well! It was his support and guidance during the ride last year that help so much this year, I was able to pick myself up after getting dropped by the group I was with in the last 20km and talked myself into moving forward at the pace I needed to… thanks Mike, I know you thought you were being hard on me last year…. but you were not and it helped!

The Trip…

So three nights in Banff with a great visit from my sister in law and it was off to wonderful Chateau Lake Louise, 6 nights; hiking, biking, canoeing, eating... And yes wine....  I can not even express how wonderful that place is! We were in a 1 bedroom lake view suite, yes… it was that nice!

Then one night in Radium Hot Springs, where we made friends with a waitress at the golf club that was sure we should do shooters, luckily we were sure we should not :) after a good nights sleep it was off to Nelson BC.... Historic, beautiful... But just a tad odd..... That's for sure...

Now after a very scenic drive we are staying at a little slice of heaven in Naramata BC, vineyard views, birds chirping, and breathtaking sunsets....

Want proof of all this wonderfulness? Here you go!

Beautiful Lake Louise

Its ok… he's just slipping...

Up high over the Chateau!

Hiking through the trees

On the beach in Nelson, BC! 

At the top of the hike, Mt Fairview 9002 FT! 

Iconic Lake Louise, we had dinner here! 

Our little slice of heaven in Naramata BC

Hume Hotel, Nelson BC

On the Lake...

Top of the world! Mt Fairview 9002 Feet

Incredible views… 

A couple of fun videos! 

I hope you enjoy…….!!!

New Sport, New fun!

Since starting my athletic life at 30 (ish) I have often wondered why I did not start sooner. I always thought I just liked learning new things... when what I really like is learning a new physical actitiy. I should have seen this coming, baseball with the brothers, loved being on my bike when I was a kid, taking dance lessons (this was very brief,, the tights were just too much!) all of it early indicators that being phyically challanged by learning a new sport was something that I enjoyed...so naturally when I entered back into this world again Triathlon was a great choice, lots of variety.. and LOTS to learn... but as some say.. been there, done that, and guess what... I am doing it again! Not triathlon however.... but a new sport, Rowing...... not the row, row, row your boat kind of rowing... in the club its called scullling. Now I can hear all the people that know me.... "of course you did!"

Don't I look happy :-)

Well, I am ...  not only is this sport physically challanging, it mentally challanging as well. This is one of the most technical activities I have ever done... and for good reason, if you dont do it properly you end up very, very wet!

I started last year... why pick this sport? Well there is a wonderful resturant called The Lift, yeah I know, wait for it, and it just happens to sit perched out into one of the prettiest harbours in Canada... sitting in  the sun facing Stanley Park watching... yes you guessed it, rowers... they looked so at ease, so happy, so graceful.. I turned to Dwight and said.. I would like to try that some day.

And so I did.......

I joined the Learn to Row program last year... level 1 & 2 - both done in two months.. September and October.. so I got a nice taste of "winter" rowing in October.. but I could not stay away.. worked hard over the last couple of months and finally got accepted into a program at the Vancouver Rowing Club out of Coal harbour.

Some good news is that I have NOT flipped a boat yet! But they do say, don't worry.. you will.. everyone does.. at least once ! I would relate it to when I first started clipping into bike pedals... you just know that it is going to happen, that day that you take your focus away for just a minute, usually at a traffic light.. and down you go!

So hopefully when it does happen, its warm.. and the water is clean :-)

In the learn to row prgram you start in an eight man boat "sweeping" so only one oar.. its really something to see, 8 brand new rowers trying to get coordinated and not go in the water.. I think I spent the first three classes with images of me swiming back to shore floating through my mind constantly... but we made it through and surprisingly we did not get wet, and we actually got to a point where we were.... if only a little.. rowing togheter.

The level 2 program has you in a four man boat "scullling" so two oars... that is even more interesting. The fact that I would be willing to rist my life with strangers on the water is knowing that I have a coach boat beside me... but I am not sure they would be so motivated to save us... at least not at first, its cold in the Pacific!

So I have started on another learning journey.. I have always said I like to do activities that make me feel like a kid again... cycling, rock climbing, trail running... and now.. rowing.. its like being in a big bath tub with a great new toy!

My New Playground!

Rowing is a sport that I expect to take a long time to learn, thats a good thing.. at least I think. So that brings me back to the question of ... why did I not start in sports sooner? The only answer that I have is.. I just didn't.. my path became one of smoking and eating potato chips.. with that behind me now I certainly have a passion for staying healthy and being fit.. its rather addicitve actually.

Hopefully I will be able to share some great stories of my new experiences here... and I might even get that picture of me in the water ....... some day... but lets say.. some day not too soon!

But for now I will enjoy my new adventure… and always..and I mean.. always… enjoy the post effort reward! 

Till next time......... Happy chatting......