Rehearsal just before the show
The set list
The stage
Bono on the revolving bridge
Thursday, October 29, 2009
U2 Concert
My first shift at BC Place just happened to be the U2 concert. Because I was being shown the ropes by Brendan I didn't have a whole lot to do so was able to see the pre-show rehearsal and most of the concert. We obtained a copy of the set list right at the start so it was good to know when was a good time to visit the boys.
Rehearsal just before the show
The set list
The stage
Bono on the revolving bridge
Rehearsal just before the show
The set list
The stage
Bono on the revolving bridge
Monday, October 26, 2009
Canucks v Oilers
We bought tickets to the Canucks v Oilers game a few days prior and for $75 we got back row seats.. literally back row. During the first period we noticed there were 2 unoccupied seats in the 6th row. So at the break we double-fisted a couple of beers (to make it way to hard to extract our tickets at the gate when asked) and cruised on in... nobody said a thing.
Brendan with his (losing) Oilers...
Brendan with his (losing) Oilers...
Sunday, October 25, 2009
A-Team Downtown Vancouver
Yesterday we went down to the big ski/snoboard clearance at the Convention Centre and they were filming the new A Team movies in the surrounding streets. I managed to get a bit of video of one of the action scenes taking place...
Friday, October 23, 2009
NBA Preseason - Suns v Trailblazers
When the city you live in no longer hosts an NBA team you have to make the most of any opportunity to get to a game. Living in Australia most of my life I have gotten used to this. The good people of Vancouver however, lost their Grizzlies to Memphis back in 2001 and although there were still some old Grizzlies jerseys in the crowd, many Vancouverites have adopted the Phoenix Suns as their home team because of their favorite Sun (pardon the pun) 2-time NBA MVP Steve Nash.
Unfortunately the Trail Blazers trounced them after 1/2 time and Steve was off the court most of the second half. One of the highlights for us can be seen in picture 4, down the page.
I think I'll be making the trip to Portland later in the season to see the Blazers again... they're looking good!
PS: If you haven't seen these Steve Nash Vitamin Water Ads yet... take a look they're gold!!
Unfortunately the Trail Blazers trounced them after 1/2 time and Steve was off the court most of the second half. One of the highlights for us can be seen in picture 4, down the page.
I think I'll be making the trip to Portland later in the season to see the Blazers again... they're looking good!
PS: If you haven't seen these Steve Nash Vitamin Water Ads yet... take a look they're gold!!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is a novelty for Australians. Last year I was lucky enough to have an awesome lunch prepared By the Brent & family on the Island. This year it was Alex and Kristen's turn (maybe I'll do it myself next time round). They'd only been in a the country a couple of weeks but were keen to give it a shot. The fact that they just moved in two blocks from my place was also a plus. We sat and watched NFL, drinking beers all afternoon while Alex tended to the turkey at 1/2 intervals. Kristen whipped up some BBQ wings with blue cheese to whet the appetite a little more. They were almost as amazing as the turkey!
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Central Washington Road Trip 3-5 Oct
View all pics
922 km – about 13 hours 53 mins
View Larger Map
Interactive Map
So I decided to take off on another road trip, only this time solo. I packed a small bag and my bike into the back of Jon's car and left Saturday morning around 11am and drove to the same border crossing at Abbotsford then south for about an hour where I headed East on the Northern Cascades Highway. I'd been given some advice from some of our regulars at work that this drive was pretty spectacular and there were a couple of really unique towns worth visiting along the way.
I stopped for lunch along the way at the Blue Mountain Grill (note the extremely unrealistic stock photo on their homepage) and one of the servers suggested I visit a town called Winthrop on the Cascade Hwy. So, based on the most sound, local advice I had received to date and the fact that I had no real agenda, I moved on towards Winthrop.
I got to a place called Marblemount mid afternoon, where there was a fork in the road. Seeing as it was going to cost me an arm and a leg in roaming charges to use the iPhone GPS, I had switched it off just after crossing the border. So I stopped and asked a guy by the side of the road which route to take towards Winthrop and he proceeded to give me the wrong one. Anyway I went along the WRONG road for about 1/2 an hour until it turned into gravel which made me think I may be headed the wrong way. So I back-tracked to the intersection and took the other road. As I moved on up into the mountains the scenery became more and more spectacular.
Unfortunately the light was fading fast and i was still about 70 miles (112k) from Winthrop. As it got dark it also began to snow and I began getting tired. I eventually made it into town by about 8pm. From what I could tell, this place was a full-blown saloon town, straight out of a cowboy movie set. I also noticed that there were loads of cars parked in the main street with bikes on racks or on the roof... this was promising!
I stopped in at the first hotel I saw to find a room for the night. they were booked, as were the next 3 that I tried. I eventually found one that had nobody in the reception but had a sign with 3 sets of keys by it. The sign read...
"If we are closed, don't worry, rooms are still available. Please select a key from the bench and pay in the morning. Enjoy your stay!"
So I took a key and unlocked room #8 only to scare the crap out of a couple watching TV in bed. I aplologized and went back (rather dubiously) to select another key from reception. This time though, my room was empty. Quickly threw all my gear inside and headed back out to find somewhere to eat. It was a Saturday night so I thought I wouldnt have any trouble however the first couple of bars I tried in the main street had finished serving food and barely had anyone in there even having a beer. So I tried this pizza place right near the hotel and just made it as their last customer for the night.
The next morning I got up early and headed into the town to take some pics. I spotted a guy in his car on the side of the road who had a rack full of bikes and asked him where the trails were. He was telling me how there was some big weekend of racing for all ages and skill levels but that the trails were still partially open to the public. So I packed my gear, checked out of the hotel and headed off on the 9 mile drive up Sun Mountain to the trails.
After picking up a trail map from Sun Mountain lodge, I dove down to the main car park and asked the woman at the gate which of the trails were being used for the races and she said it didn't matter and that I could go anywhere I pleases... OK sweet! So I got the bike out and took of on Black Bear Trail which had been recommended to me by the guy I got the map from. It was definitely one of the best trails I'd been on outside of the Whistler bike park (where you pay a chunk of change to get on) and before too long I'd had a big stack so decided to take a short break to recover my confidence and get some pics of the surrounding views. Oh yea, that was after I found my camera buried in dirt from when it fell out of my pocket. Just as I slowly got back on the saddle and took off again I hear this guy yelling 'coming through' so I pull off the track as he races by... literally 'races' by. He was one of several guys who would fly through who were actually in the race. It was a mixed bunch of skill levels and as I picked up the pace again I found myself overtaking a few of the slower riders. Not sure how happy they were about that. Anyway the rest of the trail was amazing. I think it was about 3-4 miles in total. At the end i stuck around for some free Gatorade and chocolate slice then got back into the car and hot the road again.
The next stop on the cascade loop was the 'alpine Bavarian village' of Leavenworth, about 3 hours from Winthrop. They were in full swing for Oktoberfest so I stopped in at on of the bust bars for a bratwurst burger and some Sunday afternoon football action.
I drove on with a few short stops at random places along the way until it started getting dark about an hour from Everett and Hwy 5 which was the end of the loop. Due to the fact that it was Sunday afternoon there were thousands of people headed the same direction after a weekend away, most of them headed back to Seattle. So after about half an hour of doing 5 miles an hour I gave up and pulled into a motel on the side of the road in a town called Gold Bar. I had a dinner at the pub next door to the hotel then crashed out around 10pm.
I set the alarm for 7.30am and hit the road again. It was a beautiful morning and the morning sun was burning off a heavy fog that lay across the road and surrounding paddocks and hills. I drove for about an hour, through Everett and down into Mukilteo where I put the car onto the ferry for the 15 minute crossing to the southern point of Whidbey Island. I drove all the way through the island to the northernmost point, stopping at a couple of paces along the way, until i reached Deception Pass where a small bridge joins the island back to the mainland. There is a Naval Air Station on the island so there are all sorts of planes flying overhead all day. I stopped for some lunch just after the pass then drove back to Hwy 5. I drove back to the outlet mall just before Everett for a cheeky look then headed back up north to Vancouver. I arrived home around 5.30pm Monday afternoon.
View all pics
922 km – about 13 hours 53 mins
View Larger Map
Interactive Map
So I decided to take off on another road trip, only this time solo. I packed a small bag and my bike into the back of Jon's car and left Saturday morning around 11am and drove to the same border crossing at Abbotsford then south for about an hour where I headed East on the Northern Cascades Highway. I'd been given some advice from some of our regulars at work that this drive was pretty spectacular and there were a couple of really unique towns worth visiting along the way.
I stopped for lunch along the way at the Blue Mountain Grill (note the extremely unrealistic stock photo on their homepage) and one of the servers suggested I visit a town called Winthrop on the Cascade Hwy. So, based on the most sound, local advice I had received to date and the fact that I had no real agenda, I moved on towards Winthrop.
I got to a place called Marblemount mid afternoon, where there was a fork in the road. Seeing as it was going to cost me an arm and a leg in roaming charges to use the iPhone GPS, I had switched it off just after crossing the border. So I stopped and asked a guy by the side of the road which route to take towards Winthrop and he proceeded to give me the wrong one. Anyway I went along the WRONG road for about 1/2 an hour until it turned into gravel which made me think I may be headed the wrong way. So I back-tracked to the intersection and took the other road. As I moved on up into the mountains the scenery became more and more spectacular.
Unfortunately the light was fading fast and i was still about 70 miles (112k) from Winthrop. As it got dark it also began to snow and I began getting tired. I eventually made it into town by about 8pm. From what I could tell, this place was a full-blown saloon town, straight out of a cowboy movie set. I also noticed that there were loads of cars parked in the main street with bikes on racks or on the roof... this was promising!
I stopped in at the first hotel I saw to find a room for the night. they were booked, as were the next 3 that I tried. I eventually found one that had nobody in the reception but had a sign with 3 sets of keys by it. The sign read...
"If we are closed, don't worry, rooms are still available. Please select a key from the bench and pay in the morning. Enjoy your stay!"
So I took a key and unlocked room #8 only to scare the crap out of a couple watching TV in bed. I aplologized and went back (rather dubiously) to select another key from reception. This time though, my room was empty. Quickly threw all my gear inside and headed back out to find somewhere to eat. It was a Saturday night so I thought I wouldnt have any trouble however the first couple of bars I tried in the main street had finished serving food and barely had anyone in there even having a beer. So I tried this pizza place right near the hotel and just made it as their last customer for the night.
The next morning I got up early and headed into the town to take some pics. I spotted a guy in his car on the side of the road who had a rack full of bikes and asked him where the trails were. He was telling me how there was some big weekend of racing for all ages and skill levels but that the trails were still partially open to the public. So I packed my gear, checked out of the hotel and headed off on the 9 mile drive up Sun Mountain to the trails.
After picking up a trail map from Sun Mountain lodge, I dove down to the main car park and asked the woman at the gate which of the trails were being used for the races and she said it didn't matter and that I could go anywhere I pleases... OK sweet! So I got the bike out and took of on Black Bear Trail which had been recommended to me by the guy I got the map from. It was definitely one of the best trails I'd been on outside of the Whistler bike park (where you pay a chunk of change to get on) and before too long I'd had a big stack so decided to take a short break to recover my confidence and get some pics of the surrounding views. Oh yea, that was after I found my camera buried in dirt from when it fell out of my pocket. Just as I slowly got back on the saddle and took off again I hear this guy yelling 'coming through' so I pull off the track as he races by... literally 'races' by. He was one of several guys who would fly through who were actually in the race. It was a mixed bunch of skill levels and as I picked up the pace again I found myself overtaking a few of the slower riders. Not sure how happy they were about that. Anyway the rest of the trail was amazing. I think it was about 3-4 miles in total. At the end i stuck around for some free Gatorade and chocolate slice then got back into the car and hot the road again.
The next stop on the cascade loop was the 'alpine Bavarian village' of Leavenworth, about 3 hours from Winthrop. They were in full swing for Oktoberfest so I stopped in at on of the bust bars for a bratwurst burger and some Sunday afternoon football action.
I drove on with a few short stops at random places along the way until it started getting dark about an hour from Everett and Hwy 5 which was the end of the loop. Due to the fact that it was Sunday afternoon there were thousands of people headed the same direction after a weekend away, most of them headed back to Seattle. So after about half an hour of doing 5 miles an hour I gave up and pulled into a motel on the side of the road in a town called Gold Bar. I had a dinner at the pub next door to the hotel then crashed out around 10pm.
I set the alarm for 7.30am and hit the road again. It was a beautiful morning and the morning sun was burning off a heavy fog that lay across the road and surrounding paddocks and hills. I drove for about an hour, through Everett and down into Mukilteo where I put the car onto the ferry for the 15 minute crossing to the southern point of Whidbey Island. I drove all the way through the island to the northernmost point, stopping at a couple of paces along the way, until i reached Deception Pass where a small bridge joins the island back to the mainland. There is a Naval Air Station on the island so there are all sorts of planes flying overhead all day. I stopped for some lunch just after the pass then drove back to Hwy 5. I drove back to the outlet mall just before Everett for a cheeky look then headed back up north to Vancouver. I arrived home around 5.30pm Monday afternoon.
View all pics
Saturday, October 3, 2009
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