What a Weekend! - Part 2

As I mentioned, I woke up Saturday feeling great.  The weather outside was cool-ish with hazy sun, and I set my sights on a good run down by the river while Craig was at the morning shoot-around.  Before I got going, I decided to try for a FaceTime session with my parents and the kids.  I couldn't use my cell phone in Canada so I just had to press my luck by initiating a session and hope they happened to be near the iPad when I did it, and fortunately, they were!  We ended up chatting for a good half hour or so.  I showed Jacob the hotel room, got some views of Carter, and heard about how everything was going there.  Technology is great like that!  After that I threw on my workout clothes and headed out to the river walk outside the hotel.

The hotel was right on the Fraser River, and the river walk was perfect for a good run. 

Our hotel...our room was the second from the left on the seventh floor 

There were quite a few people out, even though it was fairly early--a few runners, a few walkers, and a few dog walkers.  The weather was great for running because it wasn't too warm, though by the end of my three miles, the sun was emerging from the haze a bit and it was getting warmer fast.  The run was so nice because it was scenic the whole way.  At one end were countless condos with gorgeous grounds...

...at the other end were some park-like areas, and in the middle was the entertainment area around the hotel.

The World's Tallest Tin Soldier

There were pretty flowers along most of it, as well, and as I ran I decided I needed to come back out later with my camera and take some pictures.  The three miles went pretty quickly (and I love that my Nike+ sensor tracks the distance and time for me--it's so cool!), and Craig came back as I was showering off afterward.  He wanted to take a nap before lunch, so I headed out to do my picture taking.


My walk was lovely, and I had a blast taking pictures of random flowers...

So vivid!

These colors were so pretty!

These were like tiny little pom-poms...about the size of a penny.

The sprinklers were on and the water droplets added something...when I could take a picture without getting the camera wet!

I loved the orange on these.  Not sure the picture does it justice.

Not sure I have ever seen a yellow rhododendron!

Not sure what this is, but it was cool!

I love the perfect center of this flower.

 I decided on that walk that I really liked the vibe of the area.  I loved that it was this little spot of bliss on the edge of a city, close to the grocery store and restaurants (across from the hotel) but still so peaceful since it was on the river.  I saw one couple around my parents' age walking back home with their groceries for the day.  It seemed like a nice existence...live on the river, walk to the grocery store, stay out of the crazy city life but be within a half hour train ride of a major, vibrant city.  Seems pretty nice to me!

Incidentally, in the weeks leading up to this trip I felt like I had lost some of my passion for taking photos like this.  My focus has been trying to capture perfect pictures of Carter, and honestly, it wasn't going well.  I think that got me down a little, but this trip was the perfect opportunity to remember how fun it is to get a great shot.  Chihuly and the flowers were the perfect muses.

After my walk, Craig and I headed out to lunch at the A&W restaurant across the street.  We made a stop at the grocery store for a couple things, and the pharmacy for a couple more, and headed back to the hotel.  Craig had to catch the team bus, and I had to meet up with some other wives, girlfriends, moms, and miscellaneous family members and staff to get ready to carpool to the game.  I was lucky enough to go in a giant SUV limo.  I sat next to the goalie's mom, who was a wreck.  I don't blame her!

Outside the arena, there was a gorgeous view of the mountains...

 
And the wood beams outside the arena were actually structural.  Neat touch.

I'll post about the game and wrap up my thoughts on the trip in my next post...