Northwest Passage Day 2

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Vancouver, BC

Ali: New game: keep score after someone “takes one for the team.” Example: at lunch yesterday, the waiter offered to let us go next door to watch the World Cup game. We accepted, but then changed our mind once we saw we’d be at one big table with stranger-danger. Someone had to go tell him we needed to be seated elsewhere. Matt gets THAT point. Later, we didn’t understand how to make selections from the tapas menu, so I earned a point asking about that. Today, Ali got one for getting on the bus first to see how the fare worked.

Starbucks: Tim Horton’s: Taking One for the Team:

Matt 5 Matt 1 Matt: 1

Ali 3 Ali 1 Ali: 2

Matt: We had a good night’s sleep before heading to the hotel’s breakfast at 8am. In addition to a pretty standard continental breakfast, our rate includes two eggs, meat, and potatoes made to order. There was more food than we could eat, but it gave us a great start for the day.

The plan for today was mostly to spend time at Stanley Park. It is described as “the green jewel of Vancouver.” It’s the second largest urban forest in Canada and has a lot to do. We took a bus from downtown to the edge of the park and then began with a one-hour horse-drawn carriage ride through the park. This included a stop at a collection of totem poles and a nice leisurely way to see the park. We had to bundle up a bit; the temperatures in the 50s and shade from the trees made it a bit cool!

Matt: Next we went to the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre, one of the largest aquariums in North America. We had a lot of fun checking everything out including a 4D showing of “Planet Earth.” The 4^th dimension comes from bubbles, water, air bursts, and other special effects that come from the seats and all around the theater.

Ali: The 4D ride warned against people with back injuries, but it turned out that an imaginary eel poked you once during the movie. I thought a kid kicked the back of my chair until everyone around me reacted to it. It was cool to feel the spray from blowholes, splashing dolphins, and crashing waves. The seats shook so you felt the surf beneath you as if you were body-surfing with the dolphins, and vibrated when you were watching shocking anemones and urchins zap surrounding fish. I was relieved that the 4^th “D” wasn’t a gross smell.

The rest of the aquarium was great. We walked through a rainforest exhibit and the birds actually posed for pictures! I guess that’s sad but I won’t think about it too much. There were butterflies and turtles all over the place and the different birds were lots of fun.

A non-marine exhibit that I really liked was a tank full of bats. I’ve never seen bats up close before and they were cute! Their little heads and ears were fuzzy and they were very excited to share the hanging grapefruits and to fly around the black-lit tank.

We got to see a beluga and dolphin in the outdoor tanks. The cutest exhibit was the one with three really playful seals that tumbled, wrestled, and paddled on their backs while rubbing their furry faces. We saw frogs, snakes, jellyfish, sharks, giant sea turtles, rays, and lots of coral and fish. We decided that Matt was a Black Rockfish in a past life because they looked grumpy and harumphy. His imitation made me laugh a lot. I resembled a Fake Tomato Frog because they’re wide-eyed and silly. We continued walking through the park, through the rose garden and around the Lost Lagoon that had napping duckies all around the edge. We took a break on a bench by the beach and enjoyed some reading and writing.

Lunch was at the Fish House, the best of several restaurants in Stanley Park. I had afternoon tea, which we did not opt to do at the Tea House because it was only advertised at the Fish House. At any rate, it was exquisite. We were very impressed with how attentive the staff was- they adjusted our place settings after we ordered, asked if we had any preferences, allergies, or substitution requests, and treated us with special attention since Matt told them it was our anniversary. We got complimentary glasses of champagne and a souvenir menu with “Happy Anniversary” printed on the top that was tied into a scroll with a ribbon! My tea service came with a mountain berry tea made of steeped local berries and herbs, finger sandwiches including the classic cucumber, smoked salmon, and ham salad, currant scones with coddled cream and strawberry jam, and an assortment of sweets including a lemon tart, strawberry panna cotta, apple muffin, and chocolate and caramel mousse tart. Matt’s lunch included a colorful (ahem, “colourful”) clam chowder with whole clams in the shell, prawns, potatoes, bacon, celery, and chives. He also had scallop and prawn skewers. I split my desserts with him.

After lunch we passed an exclusive lawn-bowling club and wanted to join in. Since we seemed at least 50 years too young, we settled for playing Frisbee across from the water. We made it to 29 catches before setting off for our next walking tour. This tour was interesting because we got to see the residential areas of the city. I was surprised to see palm trees outside of some developments. There were many historical homes along the tour, but upon closer inspection of their plaques, we discovered they had been moved from another neighborhood. The self-guided tour showed us some interesting architecture, passed by the 2010 Olympic Countdown Clock, and helped us make our way back to our hotel without needing to get back on the bus. My favorite (I mean, favourite) stop was a small garden by a cathedral where we sat on a bench for a rest. It was a cool spot with lush grass in the middle, benches and hanging plants around the perimeter, and a cool juxtaposition of gothic arches and art deco detailing.

Matt: We took an hour or so breather in the hotel and tried to make dinner reservations. We ended up taking an early reservation at Joe Fortes Seafood and Chop House, not too far a walk from the hotel. Good thing because we had to be out the door about 10 minutes after making the reservation to be there on time!

We started with drinks and then tried to use our method from Hawaii – either do a prix fixed menu or order a few appetizers to share. This allows for a wider variety of food and usually a cheaper bill. This place was advertised as the best place for raw oysters in Vancouver so we ordered six of them. They were really good and we learned the right way to order them (through trial and error). Next we shared Albacore Tuna Sashimi (delicious) and then Steamed Mussels and Clams. For dessert, we enjoyed Tahitian Vanilla Crème Brulee and Banana Cream Pie; both were wonderful!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Vancouver, BC

Ali: New game: keep score after someone “takes one for the team.” Example: at lunch yesterday, the waiter offered to let us go next door to watch the World Cup game. We accepted, but then changed our mind once we saw we’d be at one big table with stranger-danger. Someone had to go tell him we needed to be seated elsewhere. Matt gets THAT point. Later, we didn’t understand how to make selections from the tapas menu, so I earned a point asking about that. Today, Ali got one for getting on the bus first to see how the fare worked.

Starbucks: Tim Horton’s: Taking One for the Team:

Matt 5 Matt 1 Matt: 1

Ali 3 Ali 1 Ali: 2

Matt: We had a good night’s sleep before heading to the hotel’s breakfast at 8am. In addition to a pretty standard continental breakfast, our rate includes two eggs, meat, and potatoes made to order. There was more food than we could eat, but it gave us a great start for the day.

The plan for today was mostly to spend time at Stanley Park. It is described as “the green jewel of Vancouver.” It’s the second largest urban forest in Canada and has a lot to do. We took a bus from downtown to the edge of the park and then began with a one-hour horse-drawn carriage ride through the park. This included a stop at a collection of totem poles and a nice leisurely way to see the park. We had to bundle up a bit; the temperatures in the 50s and shade from the trees made it a bit cool!

Matt: Next we went to the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre, one of the largest aquariums in North America. We had a lot of fun checking everything out including a 4D showing of “Planet Earth.” The 4^th dimension comes from bubbles, water, air bursts, and other special effects that come from the seats and all around the theater.

Ali: The 4D ride warned against people with back injuries, but it turned out that an imaginary eel poked you once during the movie. I thought a kid kicked the back of my chair until everyone around me reacted to it. It was cool to feel the spray from blowholes, splashing dolphins, and crashing waves. The seats shook so you felt the surf beneath you as if you were body-surfing with the dolphins, and vibrated when you were watching shocking anemones and urchins zap surrounding fish. I was relieved that the 4^th “D” wasn’t a gross smell.

The rest of the aquarium was great. We walked through a rainforest exhibit and the birds actually posed for pictures! I guess that’s sad but I won’t think about it too much. There were butterflies and turtles all over the place and the different birds were lots of fun.

A non-marine exhibit that I really liked was a tank full of bats. I’ve never seen bats up close before and they were cute! Their little heads and ears were fuzzy and they were very excited to share the hanging grapefruits and to fly around the black-lit tank.

We got to see a beluga and dolphin in the outdoor tanks. The cutest exhibit was the one with three really playful seals that tumbled, wrestled, and paddled on their backs while rubbing their furry faces. We saw frogs, snakes, jellyfish, sharks, giant sea turtles, rays, and lots of coral and fish. We decided that Matt was a Black Rockfish in a past life because they looked grumpy and harumphy. His imitation made me laugh a lot. I resembled a Fake Tomato Frog because they’re wide-eyed and silly. We continued walking through the park, through the rose garden and around the Lost Lagoon that had napping duckies all around the edge. We took a break on a bench by the beach and enjoyed some reading and writing.

Lunch was at the Fish House, the best of several restaurants in Stanley Park. I had afternoon tea, which we did not opt to do at the Tea House because it was only advertised at the Fish House. At any rate, it was exquisite. We were very impressed with how attentive the staff was- they adjusted our place settings after we ordered, asked if we had any preferences, allergies, or substitution requests, and treated us with special attention since Matt told them it was our anniversary. We got complimentary glasses of champagne and a souvenir menu with “Happy Anniversary” printed on the top that was tied into a scroll with a ribbon! My tea service came with a mountain berry tea made of steeped local berries and herbs, finger sandwiches including the classic cucumber, smoked salmon, and ham salad, currant scones with coddled cream and strawberry jam, and an assortment of sweets including a lemon tart, strawberry panna cotta, apple muffin, and chocolate and caramel mousse tart. Matt’s lunch included a colorful (ahem, “colourful”) clam chowder with whole clams in the shell, prawns, potatoes, bacon, celery, and chives. He also had scallop and prawn skewers. I split my desserts with him.

After lunch we passed an exclusive lawn-bowling club and wanted to join in. Since we seemed at least 50 years too young, we settled for playing Frisbee across from the water. We made it to 29 catches before setting off for our next walking tour. This tour was interesting because we got to see the residential areas of the city. I was surprised to see palm trees outside of some developments. There were many historical homes along the tour, but upon closer inspection of their plaques, we discovered they had been moved from another neighborhood. The self-guided tour showed us some interesting architecture, passed by the 2010 Olympic Countdown Clock, and helped us make our way back to our hotel without needing to get back on the bus. My favorite (I mean, favourite) stop was a small garden by a cathedral where we sat on a bench for a rest. It was a cool spot with lush grass in the middle, benches and hanging plants around the perimeter, and a cool juxtaposition of gothic arches and art deco detailing.

Matt: We took an hour or so breather in the hotel and tried to make dinner reservations. We ended up taking an early reservation at Joe Fortes Seafood and Chop House, not too far a walk from the hotel. Good thing because we had to be out the door about 10 minutes after making the reservation to be there on time!

We started with drinks and then tried to use our method from Hawaii – either do a prix fixed menu or order a few appetizers to share. This allows for a wider variety of food and usually a cheaper bill. This place was advertised as the best place for raw oysters in Vancouver so we ordered six of them. They were really good and we learned the right way to order them (through trial and error). Next we shared Albacore Tuna Sashimi (delicious) and then Steamed Mussels and Clams. For dessert, we enjoyed Tahitian Vanilla Crème Brulee and Banana Cream Pie; both were wonderful!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Vancouver, BC

Ali: New game: keep score after someone “takes one for the team.” Example: at lunch yesterday, the waiter offered to let us go next door to watch the World Cup game. We accepted, but then changed our mind once we saw we’d be at one big table with stranger-danger. Someone had to go tell him we needed to be seated elsewhere. Matt gets THAT point. Later, we didn’t understand how to make selections from the tapas menu, so I earned a point asking about that. Today, Ali got one for getting on the bus first to see how the fare worked.

Starbucks: Tim Horton’s: Taking One for the Team:

Matt 5 Matt 1 Matt: 1

Ali 3 Ali 1 Ali: 2

Matt: We had a good night’s sleep before heading to the hotel’s breakfast at 8am. In addition to a pretty standard continental breakfast, our rate includes two eggs, meat, and potatoes made to order. There was more food than we could eat, but it gave us a great start for the day.

The plan for today was mostly to spend time at Stanley Park. It is described as “the green jewel of Vancouver.” It’s the second largest urban forest in Canada and has a lot to do. We took a bus from downtown to the edge of the park and then began with a one-hour horse-drawn carriage ride through the park. This included a stop at a collection of totem poles and a nice leisurely way to see the park. We had to bundle up a bit; the temperatures in the 50s and shade from the trees made it a bit cool!

Matt: Next we went to the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre, one of the largest aquariums in North America. We had a lot of fun checking everything out including a 4D showing of “Planet Earth.” The 4^th dimension comes from bubbles, water, air bursts, and other special effects that come from the seats and all around the theater.

Ali: The 4D ride warned against people with back injuries, but it turned out that an imaginary eel poked you once during the movie. I thought a kid kicked the back of my chair until everyone around me reacted to it. It was cool to feel the spray from blowholes, splashing dolphins, and crashing waves. The seats shook so you felt the surf beneath you as if you were body-surfing with the dolphins, and vibrated when you were watching shocking anemones and urchins zap surrounding fish. I was relieved that the 4^th “D” wasn’t a gross smell.

The rest of the aquarium was great. We walked through a rainforest exhibit and the birds actually posed for pictures! I guess that’s sad but I won’t think about it too much. There were butterflies and turtles all over the place and the different birds were lots of fun.

A non-marine exhibit that I really liked was a tank full of bats. I’ve never seen bats up close before and they were cute! Their little heads and ears were fuzzy and they were very excited to share the hanging grapefruits and to fly around the black-lit tank.

We got to see a beluga and dolphin in the outdoor tanks. The cutest exhibit was the one with three really playful seals that tumbled, wrestled, and paddled on their backs while rubbing their furry faces. We saw frogs, snakes, jellyfish, sharks, giant sea turtles, rays, and lots of coral and fish. We decided that Matt was a Black Rockfish in a past life because they looked grumpy and harumphy. His imitation made me laugh a lot. I resembled a Fake Tomato Frog because they’re wide-eyed and silly. We continued walking through the park, through the rose garden and around the Lost Lagoon that had napping duckies all around the edge. We took a break on a bench by the beach and enjoyed some reading and writing.

Lunch was at the Fish House, the best of several restaurants in Stanley Park. I had afternoon tea, which we did not opt to do at the Tea House because it was only advertised at the Fish House. At any rate, it was exquisite. We were very impressed with how attentive the staff was- they adjusted our place settings after we ordered, asked if we had any preferences, allergies, or substitution requests, and treated us with special attention since Matt told them it was our anniversary. We got complimentary glasses of champagne and a souvenir menu with “Happy Anniversary” printed on the top that was tied into a scroll with a ribbon! My tea service came with a mountain berry tea made of steeped local berries and herbs, finger sandwiches including the classic cucumber, smoked salmon, and ham salad, currant scones with coddled cream and strawberry jam, and an assortment of sweets including a lemon tart, strawberry panna cotta, apple muffin, and chocolate and caramel mousse tart. Matt’s lunch included a colorful (ahem, “colourful”) clam chowder with whole clams in the shell, prawns, potatoes, bacon, celery, and chives. He also had scallop and prawn skewers. I split my desserts with him.

After lunch we passed an exclusive lawn-bowling club and wanted to join in. Since we seemed at least 50 years too young, we settled for playing Frisbee across from the water. We made it to 29 catches before setting off for our next walking tour. This tour was interesting because we got to see the residential areas of the city. I was surprised to see palm trees outside of some developments. There were many historical homes along the tour, but upon closer inspection of their plaques, we discovered they had been moved from another neighborhood. The self-guided tour showed us some interesting architecture, passed by the 2010 Olympic Countdown Clock, and helped us make our way back to our hotel without needing to get back on the bus. My favorite (I mean, favourite) stop was a small garden by a cathedral where we sat on a bench for a rest. It was a cool spot with lush grass in the middle, benches and hanging plants around the perimeter, and a cool juxtaposition of gothic arches and art deco detailing.

Matt: We took an hour or so breather in the hotel and tried to make dinner reservations. We ended up taking an early reservation at Joe Fortes Seafood and Chop House, not too far a walk from the hotel. Good thing because we had to be out the door about 10 minutes after making the reservation to be there on time!

We started with drinks and then tried to use our method from Hawaii – either do a prix fixed menu or order a few appetizers to share. This allows for a wider variety of food and usually a cheaper bill. This place was advertised as the best place for raw oysters in Vancouver so we ordered six of them. They were really good and we learned the right way to order them (through trial and error). Next we shared Albacore Tuna Sashimi (delicious) and then Steamed Mussels and Clams. For dessert, we enjoyed Tahitian Vanilla Crème Brulee and Banana Cream Pie; both were wonderful!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Vancouver, BC

Ali: New game: keep score after someone “takes one for the team.” Example: at lunch yesterday, the waiter offered to let us go next door to watch the World Cup game. We accepted, but then changed our mind once we saw we’d be at one big table with stranger-danger. Someone had to go tell him we needed to be seated elsewhere. Matt gets THAT point. Later, we didn’t understand how to make selections from the tapas menu, so I earned a point asking about that. Today, Ali got one for getting on the bus first to see how the fare worked.

Starbucks: Tim Horton’s: Taking One for the Team:

Matt 5 Matt 1 Matt: 1

Ali 3 Ali 1 Ali: 2

Matt: We had a good night’s sleep before heading to the hotel’s breakfast at 8am. In addition to a pretty standard continental breakfast, our rate includes two eggs, meat, and potatoes made to order. There was more food than we could eat, but it gave us a great start for the day.

The plan for today was mostly to spend time at Stanley Park. It is described as “the green jewel of Vancouver.” It’s the second largest urban forest in Canada and has a lot to do. We took a bus from downtown to the edge of the park and then began with a one-hour horse-drawn carriage ride through the park. This included a stop at a collection of totem poles and a nice leisurely way to see the park. We had to bundle up a bit; the temperatures in the 50s and shade from the trees made it a bit cool!

Matt: Next we went to the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre, one of the largest aquariums in North America. We had a lot of fun checking everything out including a 4D showing of “Planet Earth.” The 4^th dimension comes from bubbles, water, air bursts, and other special effects that come from the seats and all around the theater.

Ali: The 4D ride warned against people with back injuries, but it turned out that an imaginary eel poked you once during the movie. I thought a kid kicked the back of my chair until everyone around me reacted to it. It was cool to feel the spray from blowholes, splashing dolphins, and crashing waves. The seats shook so you felt the surf beneath you as if you were body-surfing with the dolphins, and vibrated when you were watching shocking anemones and urchins zap surrounding fish. I was relieved that the 4^th “D” wasn’t a gross smell.

The rest of the aquarium was great. We walked through a rainforest exhibit and the birds actually posed for pictures! I guess that’s sad but I won’t think about it too much. There were butterflies and turtles all over the place and the different birds were lots of fun.

A non-marine exhibit that I really liked was a tank full of bats. I’ve never seen bats up close before and they were cute! Their little heads and ears were fuzzy and they were very excited to share the hanging grapefruits and to fly around the black-lit tank.

We got to see a beluga and dolphin in the outdoor tanks. The cutest exhibit was the one with three really playful seals that tumbled, wrestled, and paddled on their backs while rubbing their furry faces. We saw frogs, snakes, jellyfish, sharks, giant sea turtles, rays, and lots of coral and fish. We decided that Matt was a Black Rockfish in a past life because they looked grumpy and harumphy. His imitation made me laugh a lot. I resembled a Fake Tomato Frog because they’re wide-eyed and silly. We continued walking through the park, through the rose garden and around the Lost Lagoon that had napping duckies all around the edge. We took a break on a bench by the beach and enjoyed some reading and writing.

Lunch was at the Fish House, the best of several restaurants in Stanley Park. I had afternoon tea, which we did not opt to do at the Tea House because it was only advertised at the Fish House. At any rate, it was exquisite. We were very impressed with how attentive the staff was- they adjusted our place settings after we ordered, asked if we had any preferences, allergies, or substitution requests, and treated us with special attention since Matt told them it was our anniversary. We got complimentary glasses of champagne and a souvenir menu with “Happy Anniversary” printed on the top that was tied into a scroll with a ribbon! My tea service came with a mountain berry tea made of steeped local berries and herbs, finger sandwiches including the classic cucumber, smoked salmon, and ham salad, currant scones with coddled cream and strawberry jam, and an assortment of sweets including a lemon tart, strawberry panna cotta, apple muffin, and chocolate and caramel mousse tart. Matt’s lunch included a colorful (ahem, “colourful”) clam chowder with whole clams in the shell, prawns, potatoes, bacon, celery, and chives. He also had scallop and prawn skewers. I split my desserts with him.

After lunch we passed an exclusive lawn-bowling club and wanted to join in. Since we seemed at least 50 years too young, we settled for playing Frisbee across from the water. We made it to 29 catches before setting off for our next walking tour. This tour was interesting because we got to see the residential areas of the city. I was surprised to see palm trees outside of some developments. There were many historical homes along the tour, but upon closer inspection of their plaques, we discovered they had been moved from another neighborhood. The self-guided tour showed us some interesting architecture, passed by the 2010 Olympic Countdown Clock, and helped us make our way back to our hotel without needing to get back on the bus. My favorite (I mean, favourite) stop was a small garden by a cathedral where we sat on a bench for a rest. It was a cool spot with lush grass in the middle, benches and hanging plants around the perimeter, and a cool juxtaposition of gothic arches and art deco detailing.

Matt: We took an hour or so breather in the hotel and tried to make dinner reservations. We ended up taking an early reservation at Joe Fortes Seafood and Chop House, not too far a walk from the hotel. Good thing because we had to be out the door about 10 minutes after making the reservation to be there on time!

We started with drinks and then tried to use our method from Hawaii – either do a prix fixed menu or order a few appetizers to share. This allows for a wider variety of food and usually a cheaper bill. This place was advertised as the best place for raw oysters in Vancouver so we ordered six of them. They were really good and we learned the right way to order them (through trial and error). Next we shared Albacore Tuna Sashimi (delicious) and then Steamed Mussels and Clams. For dessert, we enjoyed Tahitian Vanilla Crème Brulee and Banana Cream Pie; both were wonderful!

Northwest Passage Day 1

Monday, June 28, 2010

Newark, NJ -> Vancouver, BC

Our day began early with a 4:00am wake-up call to get to the airport by 5:30. Things did not start all that great with extremely slow check-in at the Continental international counters. This was especially annoying because we already did everything we could do. We checked in online ahead of time, printed our boarding passes, and even paid for our luggage (even though it was an international flight). All of this saved us absolutely no time as we still had to wait in line as if we didn’t do any of these things. It took so long that they finally pulled all the people waiting for Vancouver out of line so we wouldn’t be late.

Security was a little faster than check-in and we got to our gate with about 15 minutes to spare before boarding. The flight itself was uneventful. I watched some of The Proposal and Invictus, slept a little, had a pretty decent amount of “snack” made up of fruit, an egg and cheese biscuit and corn muffin. They even came around with drinks 4-5 times, which was pretty good.

Customs and baggage claim went smoothly when we arrived in Vancouver, we found our way onto the SkyTrain without incident and within about an hour of arrival we were in Vancouver City Centre. We were met with temperatures in the upper 50s and a light rain. We were the only ones in short-sleeved shirts, but it wasn’t really that bad. It took us a couple tries to find the right direction out of the train station, but we found our hotel, The St. Regis, and, since our room was not ready, we dropped off our luggage and hit the street.

Ali: Apparently, we’re a very warm-blooded couple (and too lazy & bashful to ask the bellhop to let us rummage through our baggage to find our coats), because we were the only ones in short sleeves. It was nice to escape the muggy NJ heat and our signature brisk pace made up for the cool day.

We took a walking tour outlined in our Frommer’s book that started at the Waterfront’s Canada Place. We spotted a Chevron gas station on the water for refueling boats. Canada Place is the port from which most Alaskan cruises depart. Matt thought the cruise ship docked there was “Canadian” because it wasn’t quite so swank as he believed a New Jersey person would opt onto. WELL then.

As we walked down the perimeter of the convention center, the walkway was tiled with city names by each province and lined by pretty hanging plants. The International Jazz Festival began a few days ago so we were able to stop and enjoy that for a few minutes. We were pretty hungry, though, so we kept walking. We visited the Waterfront Station, which had beautiful watercolors of Canadian landscapes tiling the tops of the walls. We walked through a lovely downtown waterfront area with quirky, artistic, and trendy storefronts and great pedestrian-friendly areas. We stopped by a steam-powered clock, aptly named the “Steam Clock,” which was our last stop before lunch.

We enjoyed lunch at “Irish Heather.” Matt had potpie and Guinness and I had grilled cheese, salad, and Harp!!! I’ve missed Harp since trying it in Ireland last December.

Our walking tour continued to Maple Tree Square, where Vancouver was apparently founded. We saw the Sun Tower, the beautiful Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Park & Chinese Classical Garden, and other landmarks. We also browsed the T & T Supermarket that was full of Asian treats and groceries, including many American-brands with Asian twists (like green tea Kit Kat bars). After our walk through Chinatown, we headed back to the hotel for a long happy nap with a World Cup game in the background. Apparently, I woke up from this nap to exclaim “aboot!” imitating a TV commentator. That doesn’t sound like me…

Dinner was at Sanafir, a tapas restaurant. Although we thought tapas was a Spanish concept, Sanafir offered “Tapas Trios” by type of meat that offered three cuisine influences: Indian, Asian, and Mediterranean. We had the lamb and the seafood trios, which included lobster and prawn samosa, ahi tuna spring roll, and other fun combinations. The walk to and from the restaurant afforded a great view of a trendy neighborhood and wasn’t far from our hotel.

Game on: Starbucks and Tim Horton’s sightings.

Starbucks: Tim Horton’s:

Matt 2 Matt 1

Ali 0 Ali 0

(To be fair, Matt started playing after Ali spotted and called several of these…)

Goodnight, eh!

The Northwest Passage Overview

June 28
Continental Flight 342 (Newark-Vancouver)
Walking Tour

June 29
Day at Stanley Park including: Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre, Afternoon tea at The Fish House in Stanley Park, pitch and putt, carriage ride, dinner with sunset at The Teahouse in Stanley Park

June 30
Walking Tour
Vancouver Lookout
Some nightlife activity - jazz festival, comedy, etc.

July 1
Canada Day celebrations on Granville Island
Walking Tour
Amtrak to Seattle

July 2
Experience Music Project
Science Fiction Museum
Savor Seattle food tour at Pike Place Market
Olympic Sculpture Park
Waterfront area for drinks/nightlife

July 3
Amtrak to Portland
Massages
Powell's Books
Alt rock show at Doug Fir Lounge

July 4
Independence Day
Bicycle rentals to ride in parks along the river
Blues Festival along the river
Japanese Rose Garden
Fireworks

July 5
Epicurean Excursion Tour
Continental Flight #685 (Portland->Newark)

July 6
Flight arrives in Newark

Summer Schedule

Two days ago was officially the first full day of summer break for me...here's the summer schedule as of today:

June 22-23: Curriculum Writing
June 25-26: Nathanael Greene Liberty Fellowship
June 27: P2P Bon Voyage Party
June 28-July 6: Paradise in the Pacific Northwest (Vancouver, Seattle, Portland)
July 8-21: P2P (Japan)
July 26-29: Congress in the Classroom (Peoria, Illinois)
July 30-31: Ashley and Rob's Wedding
August 6-7: Drum Corps International Eastern Championships (Allentown, Pennsylvania)
August 20-22: Vishal and Reema's Wedding (Toronto)
August 23-27: Montgomery Band Camp
August 30-September 2: Montgomery Band Camp
September 7: Return to School (Staff Development)

Montgomery Supervisor Position

I did not get the supervisor position at Montgomery. An outside candidate did.

Updates

Too much to catch up to even pretend I'll be successful, but here are some thoughts...

Yesterday was the finalist round of interviews for the social studies supervisor position at Montgomery High School. I think I did a pretty good job, but I am not feeling all that confident about being selected. There is one other excellent internal candidate and an external candidate who was also a finalist for the vice principal position I interviewed for earlier in the school year.

This process has been weighing on me and it will be good to find out the results (as early as today) and then move on one way or the other. I don't really see much of a future for myself at Montgomery if I don't get this position, but at least I'll know that.

Two days ago I interviewed for a high school assistant principal/supervisor of social studies position at Kittatiny Regional High School. It is in the boonies of Sussex County, but it is an interesting opportunity since it combines building responsibilities with curriculum responsibilities. I should hear back from them later this week if I am a finalist.

I have widened my application range to schools essentially anywhere in central/northern NJ because if I don't get the Montgomery job, I want to have options elsewhere. Any job where the midway point between it and Jersey City is less than an hour will be considered at this point.

Why do I want to move into administration so bad? Ali is right in her analysis...I just always like to be moving towards something more. I don't like to feel stagnant. I want new challenges, new experiences and this is the natural next step for that. Certainly I can still become a better teacher, but I started to lose some of my passion for it towards the second half of this school year and I don't want that slide to continue. It's time for something different.

Speaking of something different - baseball. The freshmen team had a great season, especially given it was my first as the head coach. We finished with a record of 17-5, most wins by any freshmen team in school history. The guys on the team were great, too. They didn't whine or comnplain about anything; they just worked hard and played well. It made the experience a positive one for me and, if I do return to Montgomery as a teacher next year, I will be happy to continue as the coach.

Marching band drill writing is getting into full gear now. I am about 30% done with the Park Ridge show, which leaves Kearny and Hopewell Valley. The band director at Montgomery has also asked me to write their show for next year. Although I work relatively quickly, the fact that I'll be away from home from June 28-July 6 and July 7-21 makes it very difficult for me to do all of that. Luckily Steve has agreed to pick up some of my writing if necessary.

I think I'll leave this where it is for now...hopefully I'll be able to update with good news soon!