May 31, 2007

Bzzzzz

The beehive, representing industry, is the official emblem of Utah. So, it is only fitting that my three days on business in Salt Lake City can be summed up by the following
B(ee)’s... Bringham Young: The famed fundamentalist mormon leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (man, that’s a mouthful) established Salt Lake City in 1847 and no trip would be complete without the obligatory trip to LDS world headquarters, Temple Square. You can’t actually enter the Temple if you are not a confirmed mormon, but there are lots of brainwashed young people wearing oversized name badges waiting nearby to convert you. Brine Shrimp: Did you know that the Great Salt Lake has up to five times more salt than the ocean so the only sea life able to exist are brine shrimp a.k.a. the Sea Monkey kits you purchased from the back of comic books as a kid. Also, many of the beaches are made up of sand formed by brine shrimp fecal matter. Don't forget your flip flops! Boring: They roll up the streets at 9:00 pm, but the thing is… I don’t think they ever roll them out in the first place. Also, the city streets are extremely wide. Six lanes to be exact, so that your horse and cart can execute a full U-turn… because there are so many on the roads these days. Bizarre: Bars and restaurants serving alcohol require you to have a membership to what they call ‘private clubs.’ This is apparently supposed to dissuade drinking, but a membership can be issued on the spot for a minimal cover charge. Ya, it’s a private club all right… called polygamy! Beer: Local microbreweries do exist however. My favourite was Wasatch Brewery’s Polygamy Porter which boasts “Why have just one? Bring some home to the wives.” I think that says it all folks.

May 28, 2007

Meaty goodness

If you can’t get to the east coast, bring the east coast to you… by Fedex. On Saturday night we were invited by Team George to an East Coast Donair Party. Our only instructions were to wear stretchy pants. What is a donair, you ask? Apparently it is the local delicacy in Nova Scotia. It is basically a spicy brown substance that claims to be meat heaped on a pita with onions, tomatoes and a special sauce. Apparently it is all about the sauce. It is big and it is messy, but is to be eaten with your hands. It is so popular in fact that Damascus Pizza in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia (that’s where Jesus lives by the way) will ship their donairs anywhere in the world. Unable to find an authentic donair on the west coast (or at least a good sauce… see I warned you about the sauce), our east coast hosts decided to go directly to the source. They had the donairs couriered across the country and straight into the stomachs of their west coast friends. And, I have to say for all my ridicule after I had my first east coast donair… I got it. To quote my friend, Red… Sauce, good. My God, those donairs were good! Thank you Georgi… and, thank you Jesus.

May 26, 2007

Farm folk, city folk

I have spent the past 24 hours in the country… the Cowichan Valley to be exact. I was invited to overnight at Fairburn Farm and enjoy an asparagus dinner prepared by students from the Slow Food University in Italy. An invitation too good to pass up. So, I packed my jammies and my good friend Georgi into the car and headed to the warm land. We decided to make the drive worth our while and visited a couple of wineries and artisan producers along the way. When we arrived at the farm, we were served handmade pizza baked in an outdoor wood-fired oven as we drank crisp Pinot Gris in the hot sun. We were also welcomed by Fairburn Farm’s resident herd of water buffalo. What I did not find upon my arrival, however, was my toothbrush! What kind of Travel Girl forgets her toothbrush of all things? Normally a quick trip down to the hotel’s amenity shop would solve the problem, but this was a country B&B. Luckily, I was able to intercept a friend enroute to the farm who saved the day by bringing me a brand new toothbrush. Thanks Bridget! We had a lovely evening dining on the veranda while breathing in the fresh country air scented with lilacs and hay. There is definitely something to life in the country… well, until you are asked to clean out the chicken coop. Plus, you can always take a little bit of the country with you. I came home with a trunk full of wine, maple syrup, fresh bread and artisan cheese… oh, and a new blue toothbrush.

May 20, 2007

Nacho mamas

Today I participated in my first Half Marathon… and won! I’m not kidding. However, note I said participated. Oh I ran, but I ran 5k of the total 21k. I was part of a relay team stacked with Running Room buddies: Georgi, Deryn and our ringer Rochelle who is fresh off the Boston Marathon. Together, we were the Nacho Mamas. Don’t ask about the name… It was a special request by Deryn. Apparently there is a story behind it, she just can’t remember what it is, but has always wanted to be on a team called the Nacho Mamas. Dreams really can come true! Incidentally none of us are mothers so we took to pronouncing it, “Not ch-your mama” in our best prison bitch accent. Anyway, our official time (despite the rain, the lame sash used to represent the baton and the fact that I was supposed to run the shortest leg and ended up running the 2nd longest… surprise!) was 1:38:42. We won the Women’s Open division and placed 10th overall! But wait, it gets better… the post-race festivities included pizza, chips and chocolate bars! Unfortunately we didn’t know we did so well so we skipped the medal presentations for brunch at Floyd’s, but oh well. And, no we did not have huevos rancheros… or nachos!

May 18, 2007

East meets west

Whoa. As soon as I published that last post I immediately had a comment… from India?! Here I thought no one read my little blog except my mother (and I think even she has stopped reading it) and someone from across the globe found and read my blog. And, liked it I might add. Freaky, but cool. I have to admit I had to look up where Alappuzha, India is… and I call myself a Travel Girl?! Turns out it is in the region of Kerala in South India. With the Arabian Sea to the west, the Western Ghats in the east and networked by 44 rivers, Kerala has unique geographical features that have made it one of the most sought after tourist destinations in India. Referred to as the Venice of the East, it is famous for cruising its backwaters on unique houseboat holidays and for its beautiful beaches. Because this stranger took the time to read about my world, I have now taken the time to learn something about his... an area of the world I otherwise would likely have never known. I guess they call it the world wide web for a reason.

Hometown heros

My fly guy has gone home to Manitoba for his Grandma’s 90th birthday. Long story short… I didn’t go. Let me paint the picture for you. His brother has rented a 30 ft. RV to be their home away from home for the weekend. Yep, Trailer Park Boys… Prairie-style. Apparently his brother even met him at the airport complete with stocked bar and polyester shirt. I spent 18 years waiting to get out of Dodge… I don’t need to visit it, thanks. The big part-y is in Killarney and dozens of relatives are flocking to this small farming town. I bet they’ll even serve rippled chips on paper plates and cubed cheddar cheese and garlic sausage just like classic Manitoba social gatherings always did. And of course true to form for the May long weekend, yesterday it was 29 degrees and today it was 5 degrees. Actually, having lived in Winnipeg, Manitoba holds a special place in my heart right next to my own hometown and I hope my fly guy enjoys the nastalgia of doing whip-a-shitties on the farm, dancing at the Legion and drinking 'til his liver shrivels up into dust… Ah, the good ol' days. Another rum and coke, Julian? F*ckin’ rights, Ricky!

May 16, 2007

Black out

Zzzzz... I am falling asleep at my desk. I have been working in the dark all day. Not because the power is out, but because the lights have been turned off. I do work for a non-profit organization, but no this is not a ridiculous attempt to cut costs... mind you I don't think that ban on ordering post-it notes has been lifted... Hmm. My office is participating in BC Hydro’s “Turn it off” campaign challenging British Columbians to shut off as many lights and appliances as they can for one day. To add insult to injury I decided this week to try listening to classical music at work in an attempt to keep my stress level down. Anyway, the combination of the two has me planning out how to build a secret George Costanza nap station under my desk. Usually the lights are on, but nobody’s home. Today, the lights are off and I want to go home… to bed. On second thought, perhaps after saving all this energy today, I will instead burn some energy tonight by going for a run. Now where is my measuring tape and hammer…?

May 14, 2007

A day in france

At Ottavio Italian Bakery & Delicatessen in Victoria they do Italian 364 days a year and it’s wonderful, so when they staged a "Day in France” not only did I perk up with interest… I immediately planned to attend. Since the fly girl is in French immersion and off to France in the fall, I thought this would be a good way to expose her to a little French culture close to home. O.K. it was a little weak on culture and she went straight for the gelati, but the crepes rocked and they serve one of the best lattes in town. Plus, how cute was the little old couple who shared their patio table with us and how cute was my fly guy for treating them to a bottle of French lemonade for their kindness. God, all the pleasantry was enough that you almost needed a smoke... how French.

May 6, 2007

Duck, duck, goose

There are two mallard ducks living at the end of my street. It is bizarre. As a girl who grew up in rural Ontario, it is strange for me to think that some ducks, deer, etc. live in the city. But, I migrated to the Big City so I guess they can too. Anyway, as previously posted everyone knows I am afraid of birds, but it doesn’t mean I can’t sometimes appreciate them. I think mallards, at least the males, are really beautiful and I love that mallards are always paired off in couples. I think it is nice, romantic even, that the male always seems to stand by his mate watching out for her. Case in point… this week I witnessed a “duck fight.” In downtown Victoria I should add (see comment above about wildlife in the city). It seemed to be a love triangle of sorts… One male was attacking a female and another male was attacking him trying to protect her… rolling around on the sidewalk and under a parked car. It was awful so I didn't stick around to see how it ended. I had to trust that nature would sort itself out. Hmm… maybe I should have re-thought the shredded duck pizza with spiced soy glaze I had for dinner at Blackberry on Friday night.