packing it up...

I woke up in the middle of the night last night and had no idea where I was - Boston? New York? Bowmanville? Gatineau? - not a clue. Besides the fact that I was coming out of a serious sleep-coma, I have been moving around so much this summer that I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner; besides the out-west wedding stay (3 weeks), I haven't spent more than a week in one place: Vancouver, Calgary, Seattle, Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary, Winnipeg-Ottawa, Toronto, Ottawa, Boston, New York and now, finally, Winnipeg. And it is a finally Winnipeg thing - we sold our house while I was in Boston, and... we're out of here - the new owners take possession on Thursday. Steve arrives tonight from his tourney in Mexico (where they qualified for next year's World Championships - hurray!), and Wednesday we get the moving van. I am, with my hubby and a packed Uhaul, making the trip from Winnipeg to Toronto for the second time this summer. (I will definitely have to calculate my miles/kms logged...) Anyways, so since I got back from New York I've been arranging and cancelling and changing all of those things you need to arrange/cancel/change when you move away. Thankfully, much of the house was already packed (and has been for a while), so it's not like there's an overwhelming amount of work to do; I boxed up the kitchen yesterday, and am planning on organizing and packing up miscellaneous bedroom and office things before I pick up Steve just before 6:00. Will I miss Winnipeg? The people, yes, I'll miss my friends here. Will I miss the constant construction and crappy roads, or the flat flat prairies, or the bugs or the ridiculous weather? Nope, I shall not miss any of these things. On Friday night it got down to SIX degrees overnight! I've been wearing lulus and it's August! Maybe I should just be thankful that it's not snowing or something. Anyways, I suppose it's time to pack - I can't believe we're actually moving to Ottawa!

more new york city

And so, the rest of our fabulous trip…

the Jackie Kennedy Onassis Reservoir

ready to go - why hasn't anyone invented a cool looking bike helmet yet?

Central Park


On Tuesday morning we grabbed coffees and walked up to Central Park to explore the beautiful park on a bike tour. We sifted through the tour-hawkers and rent-a-bike-here signs and ended up at Bike’n’Roll at the one of the southern entrances to the park – we were given bikes and helmets and a tour guide, EJ, and off we rolled. The tour was great and we loved – LOVED – Central Park; on the next visit I want to spend more time there – go for a run, more bike rides, relax… you know. And there are so many neat things going on there: free concerts, a roller disco on Saturday afternoons, poetry and readings; being there on the weekend is a must, as much of the aforementioned cool stuff happens then. The gardens and grounds were beautiful and everything was so well kept – we were all very impressed. We saw Strawberry Fields, Lennon’s memorial, the Jackie Kennedy Onassis reservoir, turtles sunbathing in Turtle Pond, a castle and more.


before and after lunch shots at the Carnegie Deli


After a few hours of biking and touring and silliness (we were doing the wicked witch of the west on our cruiser bikes) we hit up famous Carnegie Deli for lunch, and I tell you… they mean meat. Jen and Venus both ordered Pastrami sandwiches that were absolutely colossal – there was enough meat in there for a week's worth of meals – and I had the recommended and not-too-goopy egg salad sammy which was also enormous. Our waiter Wayne sold us on the strawberry cheesecake for dessert (apparently they sell more cheesecake than they do food), and it was to DIE for! Some of the most worthwhile dessert calories I’ve ever consumed, for real. Post deli-piggery, Venus and I made for Rockefeller Centre and the Top of the ROCK, the observation platform at the top of the building. The views were spectacular, and the density of the city was just so obvious… NYC means business. From there we went our separate ways – there was shopping for some, internet business for others, and Venus went all the way to Staten Island and back to get a closer view of Miss Liberty.

views from the top of the rock... pretty impressive!


the view gave us a good idea of just how big the park is!

Our mid-day hiatus was followed by more split plans: Jen and Venus met up with Katie and hit up the oldest (est. 1854) bar in America, McSorley’s, cruised St Mark’s Street, ate at Bua (a grilled cheese with any type of cheese place that sounds amazing), and downed a few bevs and Little Frankie’s. Griff got a tour of the lower east side (super cool), and Venus and I both called it an early-ish night. I met up with an awesome and very good friend from high school who I hadn’t seen in AGES, Anna Marandi… and we had such a good time! It was so great to see her and so great to feel like we picked up right where we left off, even though neither one of us was quite sure of when that was. We had drinks on a roof top patio near Union Square (I think the bar was called 13), and by 11:30 I was fading into sleep-zombie zone so made my way back to the our hotel. That’s about all there was for Tuesday, but we were up and going going going once again on Wednesday morning – we were NYC machines!!

me and Anna!!

Wednesday was another great day. We got a bit of a late start, but again, managed to fit a ton of stuff in. Venus and I walked up to the NBC studios to see if we could check out the Today Show, but didn’t catch much – they were filming in the coffee shop next door (Dean and Deluca), but neither of us felt like fighting crowds for two seconds of TV time… and so we didn’t. Instead, we made for the New York Public Library which ended up being closed (it doesn’t open until 11!), so continued on to ogle at Grand Central Station. Yes, we ogled – it’s a beautiful building inside and out. From there we met up with Jen and hopped on a subway bound for Coney Island, which was a great idea – we loved it there. The beach was long and beautiful and covered with people of all sounds and colours and sizes, and the water was lovely. Jen was the only one smart enough to bring her bathing suit, so she went in while Venus and I waded as far as we could. The park there was interesting, but apparently most of the original stuff has been torn down, and apparently they’re also re-doing the walkway there as well. Anyways, it was hot and we had a good time checking out the old rides and strange shows and famous hot dog stands, and all agreed that on the next visit, time allowing, we’d spend more time – a day or a morning or afternoon – out at Coney Island. The next stop was famous Grimaldi’s Pizzeria on the Brooklyn side of the Brooklyn Bridge, and after we devoured a really yummy pizzapie we walked across Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan. The views were fantastic – it’s a must-do thing in NYC. We split up again and I checked out the library (next time I’d do a tour, but I missed the boat on that one this time) while Jen napped and Venus took down Union Square. On my way home I checked out the original escalator in Macy’s and then fought the busy rush hour crowds back to the hotel. Last night’s escapades included dinner in Little Italy (a bit of a tourist trap, but decent food) and drinks at a trendy bar/restaurant called La Esquina. We had our first and last celeb siting – some girl kept bumping into Jen and when she turned around to give the dirty look saw that it was Mischa Barton so just decided not to say anything. The drinks were yummy but we were all so exhausted from our four day whirlwind trip that we had to head for the hills after drink #2. We got home, donned runners and comfy clothes, and busted up to Times Square for some last late-night pics and then came home and crashed…. It was a solid last night. For now, c’est tous!

just outside the NYPL

at Coney Island


yummm... pizza!

crossing the Brooklyn Bridge

NYC - Day TWO!

the skyline from Katie's apartment on Sunday night

If I had to describe this city in one word, the word I’d choose would be overwhelming. If you gave me a second word? Amazing. Day two here was as busy as the streets are full, and we sopped up the sites and sounds of this city with a whirlwind city escapade. Griff and I completely shocked ourselves by getting up extra early to hit the hotel gym (ugh), but managed to get it done and get out of the hotel by 8:30 – good on us, I must say. We walked up to Times Square – which has got SO much going on – billboards, ads, electronic signs and tickers, colours, flashing lights, people people people, and an eat-here-buy-this vibe that is fully charged. Anyways, it was bus tour day, so we hopped on the red double decker to do the downtown line first. From Times Square, we passed and saw: Madison Square Garden, the Broadway theatre district, Macy’s (the original), the Empire State Building, the Flat Iron building; at Battery Park we stepped down from the big red and did some exploring on foot. From Battery Park (at the southern tip of Manhattan), we looked out to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island (two to-dos for the next trip), saw Castle Clinton and the warped wreckage of a metal art-globe that had stood between, and then below, the twin towers. From there we walked up to the Ground Zero and the World Trade Centre site - what a charged experience. There was such an emptiness there, and the three of us shared some of the same thoughts: what it must have been like, for people in the buildings, the people in the next-door buildings, the people working at the lunch place or the hot dog stand just below, and everyone else in the city on that infamous morning of 9/11; I thought about the emptiness there in the sky (and in a theme (or something-or-other) that pervades all parts of all of our lives - that you most notice something/pay attention to something when it’s gone), the fear and terror in the streets, the split-second decisions made by all of the people, city-wide… For an empty space, there’s a LOT going on. From there we walked up to Wall Street – a very small street – where we had a highlight of the day moment with some NYPD uniforms. These guys were hilarious – outgoing, sassy, loud; they’d almost bark at people saying NO! to a timid “can I/she/we take a picture with you?” and then wipe the nastiness off their face with a smile and a New York “aaaaaah of course you can take a picture with me darling!”... it was awesome! There was a lot of banter flying back and forth in front of the Federal Building, just down the block from the NYSE. I admit that I should have been paying more attention to one of these historic places (Washington was inaugurated on the steps of 26 Wall Street on April 20th, 1789), but, real NYPD blues? Talking to us? It was fun.

An onwards. We hopped back on the bus, and saw more of the sights: Chinatown, City Hall, the Brooklyn Bridge (from afar), the UN, the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Rockefeller Centre, Radio City Music Hall and the south end of Central Park. And, there’s more: on the Uptown Loop we saw (from the bus only) lots of Central Park, Columbus Circle, the Lincoln Centre, the Dakota Apartments (where John Lennon breathed his last breath), the American Museum of Natural History, the Upper West Side, the Cathedral of St John the Divine (it was HUGE), Harlem, the Apollo Theatre, the Guggenheim, the Met (also huge), and the Time Warner Building. We got off the bus at the southeast corner of Central Park (we actually barreled off the bus – our tour guide was not only super annoying but incomprehensible) and continued on our way. Thanks to a reco from a good friend, we made our way to the Parker-Meridian hotel where we had a SUPER delish burger at a small, inconspicuous diner tucked in a corner of the el-fancy hotel – it was gooooooood; a definite re-recommendation from all three of us. From there, the ball kept rolling: we spent a few hours in the MoMa, hit up and were dazzled by Bloomingdale’s and then finally, after a quick trip to Whole Foods for to-go dinners, made it back to the hotel. Wow… it was a lot. Our feet were dirty and tired and we were hungry hungry – but still, ready for more. We napped, got NYC dressed up, and by 9:30 or 10 headed out for more.

On a recommendation from Katie, we cabbed to The Spotted Pig (another very cute re-reco), where we shared a cheap bottle of Cab Sauv, resisted the delicious menu-treats, and gabbed. From there we walked down a few blocks to The Rusty Knot, a “tiki” bar – it was decorated with tiki torch wood (you know what I mean - what sort of wood that is I have no idea), colourful banners and boat and ocean trinkets. We picked up some really yummy light beer, and observed; the vibe was way less pretentious and way more casual and relaxed – definitely our style. And then... we suddently realized that we may have walked in on a private party when everyone started singing happy birthday (to whoooo?). It was potentially awkward, so we asked the dudes standing beside us if this was the case, and got talking to them… Venus was all sass once she found out they were skateboarders – her best line of the night was, without a doubt, “hey… 1990 called, and they want their skateboards back”… it was priceless. After a few beers there (and a few debates about Nike’s new spray-on runner product, PLUS Venus challenging dude #1 to a race), we made our way (Venus tried to skateboard – another quotable quote: “so eventually I’ve got to try to get two feet on this thing, right?”) up to an apparently very tough to get into bar called Employees Only. It was a cool scene, very friendly and, again, not at all pretentious … but it was late and we were tiiiiired girls. It had been a long day… so yellow-cabbed it back to the hotel, where we finally crashed around 3:00. And voila.. day two!





at Battery Park - the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island are just behind me...
what's left of an art-globe once situated between the twin towers - now in Battery Park

NYC buildings

WTC site

burgers for lunch - YUM!

at the Spotted Pig for drinks: Jen, me and Venus

NYC!!

We're in New York City! I feel like I should try not to get too far ahead of myself and talk about Boston and the Sox game and the rest of our trip there before I jump all over how crazy and cool this city is - or seems to be... so, Boston. The Sox game was SUPER cooking - we were sweating like nobody's business packed in that stadium like sardines, but despite the fact that we couldn't stop overheating, it was awesome. We got hooked us up with some better-than-way-out-there-in-the-bleachers seats behind home plate, and loved - LOVED! - the atmosphere in and around Fenway. There were so many people and so much energy, and everyone was wearing their Boston gear; there were beer stations and hot dogs and there was just such a genuinely American baseball game vibe – I mean, of course there was… it’s the Red Sox (!)– and vs the Yankees! Anyways, so we got there early-ish, found our seats, I sweat it out in a line-up for ball park franks and soda, and then game on. The first several innings of the game were a bit snoozer (despite the charged energy and expectant crowd), but things got going pretty quickly, for the Yankees at least. It ended up being a bit of a blow out (final score 21-11 or something), but we stayed to the bitter end… all the way to the last strike-out. It was really great to be able to go to the game, and also to meet up with left-fielder J-Bay after for a few beers. I emailed him (10 years ago email address - we went to Gonzaga together) and it just worked out that he had time to meet up afterwards for bevvies. It was nice to catch up, but also strange to see him as a celeb; a woman came up to him in the restaurant and said, “thank you thank you” … and, J-Bay: “thank you for what?” Just a bit strange. Anyways! It was a great night. Saturday morning we worked out, went for breakfast (croissants from a recommended bakery - so good), shopped a bit, walked around a bit, and then caught the train from South Station (just across the street from our hotel) to Penn Station, NYC! We watched Entourage the whole way here, and decided that we’d take a cab to our hotel, even though it was only a few blocks away…. or so we thought. For the duration of this entire trip, the universe has been – how do I say – just in synch with our plans? We walk up from the subway depths to the street, and literally… right across the street is our hotel, shiny and bright! And so… NYC…



… is awesome! So far, I love it here too. It’s definitely more busy busy than Boston, and the vibe is a more big-city-pretentious… but it’s awesome. We dropped our bags off at the Affinia Manhattan, which is an awesome hotel – we booked on Priceline or Hotwire or something for $100 a night (!!! AND there’s a kitchen!) and went a’walking. Up to Times Square and down to a Whole Foods for snacks before heading back here to meet Venus, the trio completer for the NYC leg of the journey. The three of us got ready, talked about how excited we were to be in the big apple, and then headed out to the Stanton Social House to meet some of Jen and Venus’s mutual friends for dinner and drinks. The vibe was, as I said, a tad pretentious, but we were just so excited about everything – the cab ride, all the other yellow cabs, the buildings, the busy-ness, the people, the outfits, the shoes – that it didn’t really matter. (I will say that we were seriously thankful for having eaten at the hotel beforehand – portions were miniscule.) We hopped around to a few other bars and called it a night around 2:30 – back to the hotel and it was sleep time. This morning we met up with Katie again (a Vancouverite who is now living in NYC and loving it) for breakfast at a beautiful boulangerie in SoHo – how cool does that sound? I never knew that SoHo stands for South of Houston (street) – so there you go, in case you were also in the SoHo, NoHo dark. She took us to a few shopping hot spots, a mini cupcake window that had the most delicious little treats, and a soap/body place called Sabon (definitely a highlight of my day), where we got to wash our hands with exfoliator and then moisturize, all at a big copper sink. We walked up to Dos Caminos, a place famed for its guacamole (it was amazing) and margaritas (YUM!), and then on to Greenwich Village where, among other things, we visited a store/café devoted almost exclusively to peanut butter… no joke. They have flavours galore – Might Maple (PB and Maple Syrup), The Bee’s Knees (with honey), Dark Chocolate Dreams, White Chocolate Wonderful, Cinnamon Raisin, and The Heat is On - spicy PB… it was amazing. I sampled the white chocolate spread and it was honestly to die for… just like the nutritional information. Somehow I resisted, and managed to get out alive, sans PB. YUM. We were saying throughout the day, that a trip to the city could be done with almost any focus in mind: art, fashion, food, architecture, shopping, museums, and to try to do some of it all in one four-day trip was a bit sickening/mind-boggling/impossible. After PB heaven, we strolled through a super cute neighborhood a la Sex and the City, and made our way along the Hudson River to Chelsea Pier, where we drank a bucket and a half of Coronas at The Frying Pan, an on the river boat-bar with fantastic views of Jersey, the Statue of Liberty, Chelsea and more. It has been a fantastic day. We have an agenda for the remainder of our time here (hammered out over beers, recorded on the back of a shopping receipt), and plan to do as much as possible – we are going to take advantage of it all. And so, on that note – it’s time to get ready to get out there and see some more…

the night-time view from outside our hotel...

drinks at The Frying Pan this afternoon

out last night

mini cupcakes this afternoon - so good!

lunch! pre-guac and margaritas...

i love home - i love BOSTON!

Downtown Boston - in red is The Freedom Trail

Boston is awesome! Jen booked us into a pretty swank hotel before we left Gatineau on Tuesday night, The Intercontinental - four stars! We're right downtown, basically on the water at the harbour front, and have had an awesome day one here. The drive down from Ottawa was very scenic, and there were more than a few interesting/amusing moments. We had lunch outside a Capers-esque natural grocer (: hummus, crackers, pesto tortellini salad, turkey sams, wheat-free cheesies, plums and nectarines - a feast!), drove through and spent too much time in the cute college town of Burlington, Vermont, and were continually surprised and entertained by the fact that the license plate motto of New Hampshire is "Live free or die" - aggressive. Anyways, our day one here consisted of a morning jog/run around the harbour followed by coffee and a breakfast sandwich in Boston Common, and the full Freedom Trail trek around the city - which was amazing!! We saw the resting places of a handful of importation statesmen (John Hancock, Sam Adams, Paul Revere), America's first public school (Boston Latin School), the Commonwealth's first state house, where the Declaration of Independence was first read to the people of Boston in 1776, Paul Revere's house, the site of the Boston Molasses disaster (aka the Molassacre) and more... There is so much history here, and the buildings (old and new) and public spaces are beautiful. We climbed all 294 stairs of the Bunker Hill Monument, and took in the impressive view with some pretty aggressive sweatiness going on. Our legs were cramping up on the way back down, but we made it better by hitting up a lemonade stand (run by some entrepreneurial kids) on our way back into central Boston. It's put-the-feet-up time here now - we're back out again for dinner and more neighborhood cruising in a bit. Some out-of-order pics....

The Old State House Museum - where the Declaration of Independence was first read to the people of Boston... kind of a big deal!

A plaque to commemorate America's first public school

I went to uni with that guy!

In Boston Common

Dinner at a famous crab shack on the night of our arrival...

Driving into the city - woot!

Our picnic-feast on en route to Boston

In Ottawa on Tuesday afternoon - with my hubby, yay!

a week later..

The big city - the view from Toronto Island

What a week! From Winnipeg to White River and onwards; we hit six provinces in seven days! Ay caramba. Jen and I were road masters, and drove from Winnie the Pooh to Ottawa all in one long shot. We changed plans and picked Steve up, spent Monday night in Gatineau and drove to Bowmanville and on to Toronto the day after our 13 hour cross-country last-long-day trek - we were car ZOMBIES. But it was all worth it - Jen and I hit up Toronto, and Steve and I had an awesome weekend with Dan and Milka and all of their guests this weekend. The wedding was amazing and it was so great to spend more time with them in the big city. Plans for next year are ever so slowly coming together, but until plane tickets are booked I'm reluctant to reveal the where and when, as these kinds of things sometimes just fall through - so stay posted for more on that end. For now, we're going to enjoy what's left of the weekend in Bowmanville, and watch the live scoring of the Canada-Cuba game that's happening maintenant; if Canada wins they're qualified for the World Championships (next year, Italy), and Steve can come with me to Boston and NYC. If they don't win, they head to Mexico in a few weeks for a second try, and then Steve and I will meet up afterwards to deal with house stuff, next year stuff and who knows what else. So - some pictures....

day one in the Toronto: Jen and I took a bus tour - despite the hot hot heat, it was great!

Thursday's wedding rehearsal at a small church on the island

on the ferry back - it was FULL of people!!

the wedding! Milka look amazing... and no one melted from the heat...

okay, so no one melted, but these dudes got pretty sweaty - cooling off after the service, two tall boys with their tall boys

at the Rosewater Room for the reception - the decor was gorgeous!


Steve and Dan-O, looking dapper

yummm dessert! and four of them! the food was amazing...