Getting fruity
A couple of months ago, I happened to be in a hopital gift shop with my sister and Uncle, @BobSongs.
We were simply killing time, browsing the trinkets, teddy bears and other tacky items you would expect to find in a hospital gift shop.
Suddenly, we spotted a lonely wooden figurine.
It was a bunch of grapes with a cute little face painted on and with dangling feet, clearly made in China.
And it just so happened to be Mother’s Day the following weekend. Coincidence? I think not.
We had to buy the thing, partially because we knew my mom would hate it, and partially because we couldn’t comprehend why anyone else would buy a sick relative or friend a bunch of wooden grapes as a get-well present.
Henry the Grape-th, as we have lovingly named him, now resides in our beautifully decorated kitchen, sticking out like a sore thumb.
Last weekend, I was in Lytton, and had the opportunity to visit Hell’s Gates.
While in the tourist gift shop on the cliffs surrounding the Fraser River, I found Henry’s brothers and sisters.
There were ugly potato figurines, grungy orange decorations and smiling watermelons galore.
As a souvenir, I just had to buy my mom the banana man; he was by far the cutest.
Plus, he goes very nicely with Henry.
I was made aware that one day, I will be inheriting this oddball collection of fruit.
But in the meantime, I am going to spoil my mom with tacky gifts.
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@HayleyWoodin
Bucket List #87
#87 Go white water rafting
Last year when I visiting Lytton with the White Rock Youth Ambassadors, I had the chance to go white water rafting for the first time.
The experience was absolutely incredible, and I can clearly remember telling myself that I would definitely come back a year later.
On Friday, I went back.
We only had seven people paddling plus a guide steering the raft, so this trip required a little more effort than last time.
But we successfully conquered the mighty Thompson River, the third largest commercially run river in the world in terms of volume.
We got to swim through six foot high rapids, carried down the river with about 48,000 cubic feet of water per second.
Now that is a lot of water. (I’m pretty sure I swallowed a cubic foot of water too, and that is also a lot of water.)
One of my favourite parts of white water rafting is that the water feels clean and pure, and the air seems so much more fresh and unpolluted than the air in the city, or even back home in White Rock.
So next year, I’m going back.
Maybe I’ll bring along @JSaggau, he’ll have some catching up to do by then in terms of completing our lists…
6 down, 95 to go.
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@HayleyWoodin
Lytton
Lytton is a small town, its city centre located about an hour outside of Hope. It’s known for it’s white water rafting, the First Nations population living there and on the reserves surrounding it, and it’s temperatures; Lytton is, after all, Canada’s Hotspot.
It’s also a very cool place geographically because it is surrounded by three distinct mountain ranges, and is situated where the Fraser and Thompson rivers meet.
This weekend was the Lytton Ambassador Pageant, so I spent three and a half days amidst excitement, culture and almost unbearable heat.
I drove up with the White Rock girls and coordinator on the Thursday.
As usual, we were running just a little behind schedule, so we missed the bus that was supposed to take the 25+ visiting communities onto the reserve for a Healing Gathering.
Our only option was to head up there ourselves.
After about an hour of off-roading through pouring rain, we made it to the Powow in time to watch the candidates give their speeches and to make our visiting royalty greetings.
We left shortly after due to the less than desirable weather, and on our way back to town, saw a black bear cub galloping across the road.
We met up with the sparklehead crew later on for a barbecue and pool party, even though it was still raining.
Again, we didn’t stay too long. Instead, we went exploring.
The Lytton Friendship Ambassador for 2009 took us on a tour to the West Side, a residential and ranch part of Lytton on the other side of the Fraser river.
We took a two-car reaction ferry across: a reaction ferry is propelled by the currents in the river, and also runs along several cables attached to each shoreline.
There used to be about 30 reaction ferries in B.C.; the Lytton ferry is one of five still in operation.
Besides ranches and houses, the West Side is home to the spiritual Stein Valley.
Hikers and adventurers can spend months hiking the entire valley with its many trails, but we decided to walk about 15 minutes deep to the Asking Rock.
This massive boulder was once decorated with First Nations paintings from over a hundred years ago. Today, you can still see the remnants of the art. It is a First Nations’ custom to bring a gift of tobacco to the rock as an offering to the ancestors who were once there.
After hiking back up, we returned to our hotel which was creepy and filthy to say the least, (it is apparently haunted, and is definitely inhabited by black widow spiders…)
Friday was my favourite day of the trip. After a delicious breakfast, we went to a resort just outside of town called Kumsheen, known for it’s white water rafting.
We spent a couple of hours in purple wet suits paddling the mighty Thompson river through rapids with six foot high waves.
To give you an idea of the size of the Thompson, it is the third largest commercially run river in the world, with a volume that day of about 48,000 CFS (cubic feet per second).
Perhaps the coolest part of our rafting trip was getting to hop out of the raft and swim down the river.
Like when I went last year, we swam in a calm section, in between rapids.
But this year we were allowed to swim through six foot high rapids!
This clearly would not have been possible without our life jackets, and I did swallow quite a bit of water, but it was totally worth it.
That evening was the talent and fashion show portion of the weekend.
Saturday we visited Hell’s Gates, located on the cliffs on the other side of the Fraser.
We took a short but rocky tram ride across and spent a couple of hours taking pictures, learning about the area’s history and browsing the fudge and ice cream parlour.
Finally, we attended the pageant itself, which lasted about five and a half hours.
The B.C. Ambassador team is very close to the 2009 Lytton royalty as both programs are run by the same coordinator.
The three of us were honoured on stage with hand-carved paddles, each with engravings unique to us: mine has a hummingbird backed by mountains, symbolizing inner and outer beauty.
We were also given beaded roses, four each to represent four of the world’s ethnicities: red for the East, black for the West, yellow for the South and White for the North. The bouquets were awarded to us for our work in bringing communities and people of all types together.
Sunday morning was spent with a nice sleep-in, followed by breakfast and the car ride home.
The Lytton pageant was a lot of fun, and I am simply ecstatic about my paddle.
Next stop, a weekend at home for the first time in weeks: the Miss White Rock Pageant and Spirit of the Sea Festival is five days away!
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@HayleyWoodin
Water aerobics? Yes please!
My family and I have travelled to Mexico three separate times over the years, and each time we’ve stayed at an amazing resort in Playa Del Carmen, metres away from the turquoise blue Caribbean.
The hotel is all-inclusive, and because it is family friendly, there are lots of activities for all ages.
The most well-known of said activities is the water arobics class.
At a specific time each day, the Activities Crew would walk along the rows of palapas and lawn chairs shouting “Water Aerobics? Anyone! Water Aerobics?”
My sister and I tried it out once; my uncle was much more enthusiastic than either of us.
It was strenuous and a little embarrassing as we splashed in the pool to salsa music, surrounded by amused vacationers.
I miss Mexico dearly and would love to go back again this year.
But in the mean time, I decided to go to the South Surrey drop-in water aerobics class this morning.
Now, to understand the humour in my little adventure, it is imperative that you know that the majority of White Rock/South Surrey residents are over the age of 65.
On with the story.
I showed up at a quarter to eight with a few other friends to this Aquacize class and lo and behold, we are outnumbered five-to-one by bikini and Speedo wearing seniors.
What made the situation even funnier was that they were totally kicking our butts!
After 45 minutes of rigorous cardio, I stumbled off to the locker rooms to change.
I honestly had a blast, although I would much rather swim in a pool at a tropical resort with people my own age.
Next week, bingo and lawn bowling. (The less skin showing, the better.)
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@HayleyWoodin
Kelowna and Oliver
Friday morning I drove up to Kelowna with six of the White Rock youth ambassadors, including Miss White Rock and White Rock Friendship Ambassador.
For once, we were on time with plenty of time to spare.
The pageant was held that evening at the city’s theatre. It was a lovely gala: the visiting royalty were piped-in in a sparkly procession, and the Lady of the Lake Society (the organizers of the Miss Kelowna pageant) were awarded $10,000.
That night, I travelled with the Lytton ambassadors to Oliver so we’d be in town for the parade the next morning.
This time I sat of the back of a bright yellow Miata. I also remembered to wear sunscreen: no awkward sash tans this time.
Afterwards I attended the Oliver pageant wearing a short dress for a change. The gala was semi-formal, so I was happy to get some use out of my hot pink grad dress.
The White Rock crew and I headed back to Kelowna that night, and headed home the next morning.
All in all it was a short but sweet weekend.
I didn’t get to spend too much time in either city, but from what I saw of the countryside, both Kelowna and Oliver look like amazing weekend getaway spots, complete with lakes, beaches, cute restaurants and vineyards galore.
Next stop, Lytton. Three days away!
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@HayleyWoodin
Kamloops
I spent this past weekend in the Tournament Capital of Canada, Kamloops B.C.
I drove up with some of the White Rock ambassadors and organizer Donna Friday afternoon. We made it just in time for the dinner and dance (no impromptu Graces).
It was way too hot to dance, so the evening ended early.
Saturday morning was spent in the park where we had a lovely breakfast at the community centre, and a scavenger hunt.
Once again; way too hot to get too competitive.
Next we had some free time.
Last year, I went to the Kamloops pageant with Donna and my White Rock princess Niki. Donna took us to the Sun Rivers golf course where we drove balls on the mountain driving range and drove the golf kart in circles.
This year, I made a point of going back to the golf course with the girls.
For my second time golfing ever, and my last time being a full year ago, I did quite well. My swing and follow-through were good, and I consistently drove the balls 75 yards and in a straight line.
After lunch at the course and the pageant in the evening, we went out to dinner in downtown Kamloops before heading to bed.
I woke up Sunday with extremely sore muscles.
I don’t know how I did it, but I pulled my left hamstring. My right shoulder was also super stiff.
But the golfing experience was definitely worth it: all in all it was a fun weekend.
Next stop, Kelowna and Oliver. Three days away!
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@HayleyWoodin