some Admiralty Point Trail pics

These shoes are made for walking but my feet are taking a rest at Admiralty Point. I'm sitting on the rock with the water's edge below me.
It was a bright, sunny, warm day, just perfect for a hike on a trail.
This ship was at anchor at the mouth of Indian Arm where it meets Burrard Inlet. That's Capitol Hill on the south side of Burrard Inlet in the background. This photo was taken between Cod Rock and Admiralty Point. More photos are to follow as soon as they're all edited. Meantime, enjoy these! - V

Admiralty Point Trail

I did the hike down Admiralty Point Trail to Burns Point passing by Cod Rock and Admiralty Point on Indian Arm along the way. Burns Point faces Burrard Inlet. As mentioned, it was a warm, sunny day just excellent for a hike. I got quite a number of shots and plan to upload them to the computer Sunday with editing to follow. I haven't exhausted seeing all of the trails in the area, so there are many more to see. Look for some awesome images soon! - V

chrome

I've been using Google Chrome for some months with very few hiccups unlike the other browser I was using which crashed regularly, especially in the summer, and at little notice. The image above is just one of many masthead photos I've created for my other blog but I thought I'd share it here too. This one shows the top of the Brockton Point Lighthouse on Burrard Inlet in Stanley Park.

Blue skies are nice but I do love to have some clouds in the photo to add some interest. Right now the sky is a clear blue with only a little cloud in the far distance. At nearing 20 degrees Celsius, its perfect weather for a hike. This afternoon I'm off to Belcarra to hike a trail down to Burrard Inlet in Belcarra Regional Park. My cameras will be along to take some shots. Expect a post soon! Meantime, enjoy your weekend, guys!!! - V

rain

Its just after 7 am, the sky is a grey overcast and some rain is expected, which we certainly need after a long dry spell. The air is sticky with a humidity at 82 percent and a temperature at 14 degrees Celsius. Now I'm off shortly with a short bus ride to the SkyTrain station and then the train from there to work. Have a good day, guys! - V

update

The gout symptoms I've had for the last month or so are lessening with a strict diet which includes no red meat of any kind from any sources and no alcohol. This latter one is tough for the moment but necessary, since I do love to drink the odd glass of beer or wine, but the risk of having another attack is not one I'd like to take. I'm also eating plenty of red and blue fruits, such as raspberries and blueberries, though I'm getting rather sick of the latter, but blueberries have lots of anti-inflammatory agents as well as zinc. I'm also planning to purchase some raspberry leaf tea on the weekend when I'm in Vancouver. This tea also has anti-inflammatory agents to keep gout symptoms away.

In other news, I have taken a few new photos and hope to post some of them on the weekend when more time is available.

I also plan to work on some new masthead photos for this blog. I have started that process for my other blog. My thinking is that the current photo has been up long enough, so its time for a change. Look for some new masthead pics then!

Meantime, Brad is on Vancouver Island as far as I understand and will be here with me soon. I'm looking forward to his input! Now its time for bed. Have a good night!!! - V

motorbikes II

Just to continue on from the previous post, if I were to ride nude or even half-naked on a motorbike, I'd choose a stretch of land that has lots of sand, like a beach or sand dunes. There are places that have miles and miles of sand. I can think of a few! Wiping out on gravel isn't a pretty sight. I've done that wearing a t-shirt and shorts on a bicycle and had to clean myself up after wiping out! I did ride my motorbike on gravel years ago, when taking a country road east of London that turned to gravel. Its definitely a different feel than riding with four wheels. Anyway, enjoy what's left of summer and be safe!!! - V

motorbikes

I remember taking lessons but we never did this. Our instructors would have frowned on the lack of protective equipment. A helmet alone is not enough but this looks like a lot of fun if you're good and provided you don't wipe out.

The bike I owned was an on-off road bike, a single cylinder 500cc compression release dual purpose Yamaha XT500. It was a lot of fun riding and way better on gas than a car. I owned this bike from the mid-1980s until the early 90s. It was third-hand and had some issues when I first bought it, like a leaky gasket. When it was worked on to replace the gasket, we found string wrapped around the gearshift to stem the flow of oil. That and another gasket issue had to be worked on. Later I added signal lights for on road riding.

During days off I would ride from London, Ontario where I lived at the time to places like Waterloo and Barrie and back, all in one day. One trip with a friend took us up to Georgian Bay, up into the Bruce Peninsula and then back to London over a couple of days. I could do the London to Waterloo trip on 5 dollars of a gas at the time. You couldn't do that with a car and still can't. Just starting the car and pulling out of the driveway would cost you as much.

I even rode late in the year but getting on it after being parked all day in a frozen parking lot was like sitting on a block of ice. The leather-covered foam seat was hard as ice and just as cold too but warmed up soon enough. The brake and clutch had to thaw out too. The warmth of the engine soon took care of that. At work I would put the bike in a heated building and so the seat was real comfortable going home in the morning. In such cold conditions don't forget to lower your visor after stopping at a light. I learned the hard way after forgetting to lower it and the condensation was frozen in place. I had to ride the remaining mile or so home with the visor up (couldn't see otherwise!) and the ice cold air streaming across my face. As long as there wasn't too much snow on the road, I kept riding late into the season. An accumulation of snow and ice on the road brought an end to riding for the year. The latest I rode was into December but that was a rather short, mild winter. The usual was into October before the season ended. It was fun and I may even get another one.

I hope you had an awesome weekend, guys!!! - V

dallas

I received word today that Brad is on Vancouver Island. He said he'll be here at my side in about a week. I'll have to pinch myself (and him) when that happens. Its been such a long time coming. Exciting? You bet!

Meantime, anyone for some lacrosse??? (That's Dallas in the photo, just in case you're wondering). Have a great Sunday, guys! - V

wrestling dudes

So I ask you, how do wrestlers get themselves into these positions??? Well, while we're looking at this, it gives us something to ponder! I love the colours in the wrestling singlet, don't you? Our blogger friend at LA Lycra posted this one a while back but I've also seen it on the web at least a year ago if not longer back. Check out his link in the right-hand sidebar. Have a good one!!! - V

Philip

Here we've started yet another work week and summer will be over before we know it. Before that happens, we've got about a month or so. To start this week and give us some inspiration, some fodder for thought, here's Philip Fusco. The photographer's done a fine job...but then what Philip's doing is really great too. He's not only hot to look at, he's also talented and has an awesome sense of humour. Check out his blog. The link is in the right-hand sidebar. Meantime, if you go over to We Love Guys, you'll find even more hot images of Philip. Check him out! - V

English Bay, Sunset Beach and other photos!

On Sunday, August 1st I went to check out the activities along English Bay and at Sunset Beach before heading over to the Davie Village Community Garden. These are just some of the photos I took along the way. Kayaks were being rented out at the main beach on English Bay, something that has been happening every summer recently. The colour yellow seems to add something to these photos in an otherwise drab setting. Otherwise, its just shades of greens, browns and blues!
The yellow tansies were found in flower along Sunset Beach and even thistles complete with busy bumblebees.
The photo above shows a view of the activity on English Bay. That's Bowen Island on the left in the background. Sunset Beach itself was very busy, especially where the pride tents were located.
The aquabus was kept very busy ferrying people between the landing at Sunset Beach and Granville Island. Feel free to comment. I hope you enjoy these images! Have an awesome weekend!!! - V

English Bay

Even though I missed the pride parade there was enough to see on English Bay and its main beach plus Sunset Beach. More pride photos taken Sunday, August 1st coming up soon. Have a great weekend! Hope its sunny and warm where you are. - V

oasis in a busy urban metropolis

A week ago this past Sunday I was in Vancouver's West End and among the places that I visited was the Davie Village Community Garden. This is just a sampling of the photos I took. The top photo looks toward the downtown with a mix of flowers and plant in the foreground. The image below shows a planting of annuals and perennials. Spanish Lavender is in the middle and petunias at the bottom and the left-hand side of the photo.
Those are scarlet runner beans (in flower) above and the top of a hollyhock stock complete with beautiful pink flowers below.
I managed to capture a wasp on a white yarrow flower in one photo and a couple of honeybees on a sunflower below. There must be a hive somewhere!
The yellow sunflower is something that we're all familiar with (above). There were even bumblebees about such as on this Spanish Lavender flower. In this case it might even be two of them!
Sweet Peas are lovely (above) and below we have a close-up of one of the flowers. Its amazing what can be found with in a bustling metropolis, a kind of oasis in all the noise and haste of life! I hope you've enjoyed this small selection of images. Feel free to comment! - V

rain

After what seems like an eternity, we finally have some rain. All summer we've had less than 1 mm of rain. This will change all that. It'll also clear the air of all that soot that was causing problems for some of us, including breathing problems and eye irritations. I had eye irritations, especially the left eye and a dripping nose. Vancouver, where I work, seemed to be worse than at home in New Westminster. Wednesday the mountains were shrouded in smog and Thursday you couldn't even see them, the air was so thick with smog.

Now with the slow, steady rain this should be a blessing to our trees and plants as well as to clearing the air so we can see everything as we normally do. All things considered, we are still far better off than the city of Moscow, Russia which also has thick smog with soot from the many forest fires burning there. There its not only the smog but carbon monoxide gas warnings added to that. Its the worst air quality they've had in a hundred years! Heat and dry temperatures continue.

Vancouver's air quality had so much particulate in the air that it was at a 4 and 5 on the air quality index. The interior was at 7 and probably still is in many places except where the rain is falling to make a difference.

With the rain I'm spending my time indoors getting things done there! What are you doing this weekend? Have a good one regardless of what you choose to do!!! - V

wood ash

The gout symptoms in my right foot are subsiding, so as this particular situation is improving, we have a lot of fine particulate in the air locally. This is coming from the numerous forest fires that the interior of the province is experiencing. There are some 400 fires as I learned yesterday. So how is this ash getting here? Well, the jet stream is currently running south above the Coast Mountains (I believe on the leeward side) and is dragging the fine wood ash south along with it. That would account for why we have this fine particulate in the lower mainland and why my eyes are red and sore, particularly my left! We're expecting some rain on the weekend, so this will hopefully settle the stuff and bring an end to irritated eyes!!! - V

300th video

My friend Scott Herman has posted his 300th video on YouTube. I received an email today confirming that. Check out his latest fitness video here. Way to go, Scott!!! Keep it up, keep us motivated. Hope you all had an awesome weekend and are starting the week off right! - V

pride 2010

By the time I left home, walked to the SkyTrain station at Sapperton and got into Vancouver's West End, I missed the parade this year. Many people were returning from the parade or were heading over to the beaches, especially near Sunset Beach where festivities continued. The photo above is from one I took at the 2008 pride parade.

I did take some photos at both English Bay Beach and Sunset Beach as well as some at the community garden at Burrard and Davie Streets. As soon as they've been uploaded and edited, I plan to post some of the best ones along with commentary. I hope you all had a wonderful Sunday! - V

hot dude

Sunday morning seems to be a good time to lounge, relax and unwind a bit. Its currently overcast at 15 degrees Celsius but sun is expected for the afternoon with warmer temperatures at 22 degrees. We'll see! The sunny weather will be appreciated by those watching the pride parade this afternoon in Vancouver's West End. It'll be the fifth one I've attended since arriving here in early 2006. Enjoy the parade, if you're going, and otherwise, enjoy the holiday weekend (BC Day on Monday here in British Columbia)! - V

wrestling dudes

There's a lot of male "bonding" in sports, like in wrestling! If you don't like getting up close and personal with someone, then this isn't the sport for you. So now the question is: "Where do we go from here?" - V