I Climbed a Mountain

This Saturday I went hiking with my brother-in-law. We had originally planned to do the Grouse Grind but then decided to climb Mount Seymour. I still want to do the Grouse Grind which everyone says you need to do at least once. My brother-in-law is a hiker, he does 3 day hikes and crazy hard ones. I, on the other hand, am not. I like to walk, but hiking is not something I do on a regular basis. I do enjoy hiking though I have only gone a few times. With that being said, my brother-in-law told me that this hike would be pretty easy. It was only about 9 km, no problem. I walk about that distance walking to and from work 4 times a day. My thought was I can do that it will be fine. No, it was not. His version of easy is not my version. He is 6 foot and I am 4'11'', this alone made it more difficult and the fact that spots that were just a step up for him I had to climb, on hands and knees. I was filthy by not even half way up. There are 3 peaks on Mount Seymour that you can climb to. We decided that we would go to the first peak which is called First Peak (real creative, did I name it?) and see from there if we wanted to continue. Along the way there are signs telling you how far you are and to give directions. Each time I saw one I was sure we were almost there and it would dash my hopes. We did make it to the top of First Peak after climbing and crawling my way up there to have second breakfast (Lord of the Rings anyone?). We had a pretty sweet view of Vancouver and area. It was kinda cloudy so we did not get to really see the city but you could see parts and over to Vancouver Island. It was so beautiful and I was so proud of myself for making it up there. 
We decided to head back home instead of going on to the other peaks. I was so tired and did not think I would make it if we continued. The worst part of that was realising that I now had to climb down all that I had climbed up. We went early in the morning and there were not many people on the trail at that time. On the way down we passed so many people. I could not imagine starting that hike at 11 am. I was sweating like crazy when we were going up at it was about 7:30 am. It is a fairly narrow trail, so going past people you had to stop and wait for them to go past and taking breaks was a little harder. I am sure people wondered why I was so filthy when they went by, but I had a lot of fun. I would like to do more hiking. I think I will ask my brother-in-law if I can come on more of his easy hikes before the season is done for the year. It was definitely a challenge but I am working on my fitness and that is just a different form to get my body into shape and not just be doing the same thing all the time. Was a complete body workout not just a leg workout for sure! I am so proud of myself for making it all the way up and it is amazing to see what you can accomplish when you put your mind to it. 

I hope everyone had a great weekend and enjoys the last week of summer! I go back to regular work after this week of summer camp!!

Song of the Day: Walk Me Down the Middle by The Band Perry

Lake Time

On Sunday, I went to Buntzen Lake with my man and some friends. It was the first time that I have been swimming or to a beach this summer. Which is sad since summer is nearly over! It was an adventure to get there for sure. I drove and my man had his GPS on to get us there. It was the first road trip even though it was small that we have taken together and both of us got so frustrated. The GPS didn't tell us street names until we zoomed super into the map and some of the streets weren't marked. It's about a 40 minute drive from Burnaby and it took us longer because of getting lost. Both of us were so frustrated by the time we actually got there. And the signs for the parking lot kept saying the lots were full so we were worried

that it was going to be super busy and I took the first parking spot I saw at the end of the parking lot to walk past almost 20 spots closer. It was sad, but we made it and got a great spot on the beach as it wasn't very busy. The weather was perfect for spending at the beach. Warm and sunny. Only problem was the water was freezing.It probably wouldn't have been bad if you just jumped right in, but going in slowly was painful. It was a great day though, our friends met us there and we had a great time just relaxing on the beach. I had wanted to go to the ocean and swim in the ocean, but the water isn't very nice here in Vancouver to go swimming so to the lake we went. I am glad I took my friends advice and went to Buntzen Lake instead. I would have been very sad to not be able to go in the water. I wish I would have taken more photos while we were there, but I was enjoying my time that I didn't even think to take out my phone.
Hopefully there will be more beach days before summer ends. And definitely need to bring floaties next time we go! It was nice to get out of the city and spend time with adults. I spend way too much time with children and not enough with adults it feels like most days. 

Song of the Day: It's Just What We Do by Florida Georgia Line

Fun for the Weekend

Last weekend was August Long and it was a crazy, busy, fun filled weekend for me. I got to see more of Vancouver and see things I have never seen before. It was a great time with great people. 
It started off Saturday night with the Honda Celebration of Lights. Which is where 3 different countries do a musical fireworks display and get judged on it. This year there was the Netherlands, Australia, and USA. I got to see the fireworks from USA which was Disney

themed. We headed down to English Bay to watch 

the fireworks. We actually got to stand on the beach, which was crazy busy. We were standing in a crowd of over 500,000 people. I don't do crowds so this was a little stressful for me. Just as we got a spot (we had to stand) there was an announcement that the beach was now full and there was still tons of people standing behind us. The fireworks started at 10 pm and went until about 10:30. We were too far away from the speakers to hear the music but the fireworks were still amazing. I thought about taking pictures but I decided to just enjoy them and firework pictures never really turn out that great anyway. I swear I did at least 500 calf raises that night. Being only 4'11'' I had to stand on my tippy toes to see the lower fireworks, since there were tall people standing in front of us. There were some fireworks that went way up in the sky and others that were closer to the boat that the fireworks are on. Heading out after the fireworks was terrifying to me. There were so many people trying to leave at the same time. It went really smoothly but it was insane. I was pressed up against so many people and holding on to my man so I didn't lose him. It took a couple blocks for the crowd to thin out a bit but then getting on the SkyTrain was just a cramped. Shout out to the Vancouver Police who were super organised and had everything set up to move that many people quickly and efficiently. Though it was crowded, the crowd did move pretty quick and was an experience for sure. Not one I would like to repeat anytime soon, but it was still a great time!

Sunday was the Pride Parade in Vancouver and I decided that I wanted to go. My man thankfully came with me again and I survived another day in a huge crowd. The parade started at noon and went until 3. There are different sections so we only saw one section before finding a patio and grabbing a drink. I again did at least 300 calf raises. We weren't too far from the street but we were pressed in like sardines and I didn't get to see much of went on on the street but the floats were cool and some people went all out with the outfits and the design of the floats. There was a lot of men in speedos dancing on the floats, but it was fun to see. After our section of the parade was done we slowly headed out to find a patio to grab some drinks on while we waited for some friends to come join us. We ended up meeting them at Sunset Beach and getting to be part of a large wedding ceremony. There were 5 couples that got married on the main stage at the beach that day. It was the first time that has ever happened and it was really cool to get to be a part of it. After seeing that we went for food and drinks then headed to Harbour Green Park just enjoyed the evening at the park with our friend's dog and many other dogs. I'm terrified of dogs and it was a little hard for me to enjoy myself at first but I did after a bit when the other dogs stayed away from us. We were going to head down to another beach, but I was so tired we called it a night and went home.
It was a crowd filled weekend, but was so much fun and I am so glad that I went out to experience it. I hope everyone had a great long weekend!!

Song of the Day: For The Win by We Are The In Crowd