Home sweet home

I have completed my business travel for the season and cannot tell you how happy this Travel Girl is to be home for awhile. For the next two months, the only place I’m going is Lake Cowichan. It was my fly guy’s dream to build a cottage here and the Lake House has become our summer holiday. We spend as much time here as we can. I never thought it would be possible to feel so at home yet so “away” only 1 hour and 15 minutes drive from the city. The area is beautiful and reminds me of growing up in Northwestern Ontario. Trees, trees and more trees. Oh, and a big lake. And, being in the Cowichan Valley temperatures can be up to five degrees hotter than in Victoria. Crucial for completing my summer ritual (which is taken so seriously it is also known as my second job)... the perfect tan. Ya, ya I know the health risks, but I come from a long line of sunbathers. My Grandma used to suntan in our backyard in her bra and my dad would come home on his lunch hour to lay out on an aluminum blanket. I have a duty to uphold. So, I’ll be "working" weekends on the dock until my next flight is boarding at the end of August. Hmm... now if we would only get some sun!

Rules of the road

When I am not jetting around the continent and am actually in the office, I walk to and from work every day. OK, OK… most days. I absolutely love this time… sort of the ‘calm before the storm’ of my day. Not to mention getting a workout in and doing my little part to save the planet by not driving to work. A period of time with my thoughts, my music and my musings. And, I tell you… some of the things I see on my walk are some of the most bizarre moments of my day. Case in point... This morning I saw a guy shaving as he drove to work. OK, people. Isn’t it bad enough that everyone is on their cell phone or blackberry while driving. Are we seriously so short on time these days that we have now taken our bathroom into our vehicles? Sure, I’ve put on make-up and even painted my nails while driving, but that’s amateur. My friend Ness once made a salad while driving to a dinner party (and incidentally received rave reviews). What is the weirdest thing you have done while driving?

Coneheads

I recently went to depths I’ve never been to before… my ear drums. Yep, I tried ear coning for the first time. We’ve been talking about doing it for ages and I finally found someone who offers the service. I didn’t know what to expect as she works from home and I wondered if she would answer the door in a cloud of incense and head-to-toe dreadlocks and tie-dye. Turns out she was totally normal and the grandmother of a mutual acquaintance. This made me feel better as now I had a way of tracking her down if she burnt my ear off. I went first so I couldn’t see what was happening, but it was completely painless and relatively relaxing. It wasn’t until I rolled over to have the other ear done that I shockingly laid eyes on my fly guy with a burning taper candle sticking out of his ear. He looked like a human birthday cake as he sang “Happy birthday to me.” What was amazing was what came out of our ears… I don’t blame you for thinking this is gross, but it was actually really cool. A little wax as you might expect, but a ton of powder that was apparently yeast. I asked what caused this and was told a diet high in bread, diary, wine and beer. Yep, that pretty much sums us up. Will I be changing my diet for the sake of my ears… nope. Will I have my ears coned again… you bet your beeswax!

Tools of the trade

We spent the entire weekend in Oak Bay at the 45th Annual Oak Bay Tea Party. We started early Saturday morning and took in everything from the parade to the amusement rides to the entertainment. We also took in hot dogs, French fries, the famous baron of beef, corn on the cob, mini donuts, cotton candy, ice cream and lemonade. Ugh... but, when in Rome. After spending too much money and too much time in the hot sun fighting the crowds and standing in line you’d think we would have had enough… but, no. We were back again on Sunday like a couple of greasy carnies ready to run away with the circus. Actually, the carnies were the cleanest, most well dressed and polite I’ve ever encountered… this was Oak Bay after all. We squeezed in the air show, the tea cup races and the women’s nail driving competition. I even stepped up to compete… safety goggles and all. But, I’m afraid my years of Girl Guides and shop class didn’t pay off and, I know you’ll be shocked to hear this, I didn’t advance to the finals. I think I'll keep my nails to manicures and pedicures. Plus, there’s always next year… and maybe we’ll actually have tea next time.

Rock n' roll

I shouldn’t be so hard on Utah. The people are so nice and the scenery is bee-utiful! (Sorry, bad joke related to the last post). Plus, this actually wasn’t my first trip. I have been to Southern Utah on a circle tour of red rock country which is a must for every traveller in my opinion. Most of us know the distinct landscape from countless movies filmed in this region, but if you are like me you likely never stopped to think that it is actually Utah or assume it is always the bigger, more famous Grand Canyon of Arizona. There are so many red rock canyons in the south, however, that the ABC principle almost applies… Another Bloody Canyon! But, there are definitely a couple of musts including my favourite... Bryce Canyon. It is known for its Hoodoos and is arguably the most distinctive. We got up early one morning to watch the sun rise over the canyon changing the colour of the rock from purple to red to orange. What was most bizarre about this trip though… other than my first introduction to the mormon religion, was the use of segways at the last site we visited. It was really cool to try them, but who uses a motorized vehicle in a national park when you can hike?! Can you imagine what the old western cowboys would think of us if they saw us coming on one of these rolling pogo-sticks when you can practically walk faster?! They’d probably shoot us for our stupidity! Oh, that reminds me... I still haven’t rented Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.