Exploring and Conquering

Bryn, Mum and I took a day trip to the Vancouver area yesterday to pick up my passport and then spent the rest of the day driving around the Fraser Valley looking for new and interesting places to explore. We eventually arrived at Rolley Lake Provincial Park after driving though Fort Langley (a historic town that started as a trading fort) and waiting in an hour-long line for a ferry that took only about 8 minutes to cross the Fraser River. Inside the park, surrounded by mountains, sat the exquisitely calm Rolley Lake. Mum got out her camera and took advantage of the perfect evening lighting in the serene setting. The highlight of the day was when a bald eagle soared overhead and settled in a tree to intently watch a couple fishing on the other side of the lake. I tried to lure the eagle from its perch so Mum could get a picture of it flying by pretending to be a bird, but apparently I wasn't too convincing and the eagle stayed on its branch. By the time we started home, my friends, Jodi and Nik, driving out from Alberta to visit, were almost to our house. They got there an hour and a half before we got home, but Ty entertained them by making Wii characters until we arrived.

After work today, I drove downtown and met Jodi and another one of our high school classmates, Melissa, and her baby, Garrett. We had just starting on a walk around City Park when we saw some people we knew and talked to them for a bit. Then we headed to the beach. Jodi had been looking forward to swimming in Okanagan Lake for weeks, but as we touched our toes into the frigid water, our resolve to swim faltered. In the end we both decided to brave the water and dunk under the icy waves. This is the earliest I have ever gone swimming in Okanagan Lake. I felt like I had accomplished a great feat, until I remembered that earlier this week a girl training to swim the English Channel had swam in Okanagan Lake for 6 hours. My pride readily shrank back to a reasonable level.

----------

On the subject of exploring and conquering: -Scientists are adding a new element to the periodic table. -Tomorrow is the full switch from analog to digital TV broadcasts in the U.S. It should be interesting to see what happens, especially to those people still unprepared for the switch. -The Pittsburgh Penguins will be in Detroit tomorrow to take on the Redwings in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. These same two teams played for the Cup last year with Detroit winning in 5 games. For that reason alone, I hope the Penguins win this year.