VanRamblings
A Rainy Morning in Vancouver
Summer in Vancouver would seem to be over, with the arrival of torrential west coast rains pouring down on our city. We'll hold out for a warm, sunny September, though, a usual state of weather affairs in Vancouver.
VanRamblings is pleased to report that 90% of the renovation of our apartment is complete, most of the remaining work involving stuffing our clothes back in our closets, washing the floors, replacing all that we store in our cupboards in their usual home, and just generally attempting to recover a semblance of a 'tidy' life that's been missing for some time now.
Amidst the chaos we were disinclined to publish on VanRamblings, a creative venture we'll set about to correct in the coming days and weeks.
VanRamblings Takes Leave of Home While Renovations Continue
As work continues on the renovation of VanRamblings' Co-op condominium apartment — drywalling, tiling and grouting in the bathroom (no use of the 'facilities' today, oh me oh my), as replacement panels are affixed to the ceiling (they have to be 'built' first), and 'boxes' are constructed to house 'the new piping' installed throughout the apartment (after which said boxes are puttied up ready for sanding later this week), with all the concomitant banging, drilling, and covering of almost the entirety of the contents of our home in plastic — we have taken our leave of Chez VanRamblings these late sunny August days to explore our Kitsilano neighbourhood.
Upon our arrival home from our journeys each day, on the recommendation of the inimitable J. B. Shayne (that's him on the left, and a svelte VanRamblings on the right), we have set about to download new lustrous music. Today, we 'acquired' The Books' new CD, The Way Out. Thus far, in the initial couple of listens, we are intrigued with this trippy art / folktronica collage. At MetaCritic, with a Metascore of 81 / 100, The Books' latest emerges as one of the most critically acclaimed albums of the year.
This early week has brought beautiful west coast weather, the mean temperature 75° Fahrenheit or 24° Celsius, with a perfect cooling breeze taking the sting out of the midday sun (of course, we've been wearing our new Neutrogena sunscreen — having 'lost' our Vichy sunscreen at the Halifax Stanfield Airport last Wednesday — and our new Frenchy's cap).
Tonight we're off to dinner with a friend, to return later in the evening, when we'll attempt to make sense of the clutter in our beleaguered apartment, and do our best to at least begin the process of bringing order to the chaos that has ensued as a consequence of the ongoing re-piping of our the entire Co-op building in which we live. Have to say, though, that Cambridge Plumbing are doing a superb job, and keeping 'the mess' to a minimum (it's just that we like to kvetch ... but, really, it's not that bad).
A Walk Along Vancouver's Spanish Banks
As a youth growing up on Vancouver's eastside, VanRamblings' parents told us that the area known as Spanish Banks 'belonged' only to the people of the west side, and that we would not be welcome to 'use' their park, nor frequent their part of town. For the entirety of our youth, our only palpable knowledge of Spanish Banks came through the photos we saw of this pristine waterfront, either in photos in the daily newspaper, or on TV.
In the late 60s, when we met the woman who would be our spouse, she —
as an habitué of Vancouver's west side (where a favourite aunt, uncle and cousins of hers lived) — pooh-poohed the nostrum of VanRamblings' parents; thus we became infrequent visitors to the patch of waterfront on Vancouver's west side, even as VanRamblings' 'parents voice' continued to remonstrate our discomfort level was somewhat alleviated, but not entirely.
In the 1980s, when we moved to the west side (long story that, the details of which we'll save for another time), we managed to overcome our undue prejudices, and by 1988 a walk along Spanish Banks and through the trails of UBC became a daily feature of our lives, as it remains to this very day.
The video published on VanRamblings on this Saturday takes in a walk, yesterday, along Spanish Banks, from Locarno Beach along and through to Tower Beach, in an area just east of the University of British Columbia.
Although Vancouver's absolutely lovely and bewitching Spanish Banks is not the Annapolis Valley's Annapolis River (about which we've written frequently in recent days, as part of our vacation travelogue), tranquil and calming, VanRamblings believes there is much to recommend about our favourite stretch of beach within the city of Vancouver (our favourite stretch of beach in British Columbia may be found along Long Beach, or Chesterman Beach, near Tofino, about which we'll write another time).
Please enjoy today's video presentation, and if you live or are visiting Vancouver may we recommend a stroll along Spanish Banks (after all, the beach is yours), one of the true natural wonders of Canada's west coast.
VanRamblings Arrives Home From Our Maritime Adventure
VanRamblings has finally arrived home from our Nova Scotia vacation.
As is our wont, we did not sleep much the early morning hours prior to our departure from Halifax Stanfield Airport. Quite honestly, VanRamblings is surprised that we made it on to the plane on time, and left behind only our Vancouver Canadians baseball cap somewhere in greater Halifax (we're prone to losing things), and had our 100+ ml Vichy sunscreen confiscated at the airport (whoops, guess we should have packed it in the suitcase ... oh well). Otherwise, all went well, and we were Toronto bound by noon (you'll notice from the video above that Airbus seat 18a's window was just a tad streaky), finding ourselves in the air for about an hour and a half.
Landing and taking off in Toronto went fine. As we were rushing from one plane to another, we stopped off at Starbucks for a coffee and date square, shortly thereafter finding ourselves in seat 12f (with a non-streaky window). The five hour jaunt from Toronto to Vancouver was a bit much, but we did manage to watch The Losers, which provided everything it promised: an action-packed comic strip adaptation, a hot, tough-as-nails 'girl' (Zoe Saldana), big explosions, and gleaming bad-ass cinematography.
The flight was uneventful, but a tad jealousy-inducing for VanRamblings. Why? Seems that everyone around us had an iPad. iPads with external keyboards, and in leather 'cases' that would act as a stand, causing the device to look like a screen. VanRamblings wants an iPad, but we'll wait for an iPad-versary, a faster, leaner, sleeker, less expensive mobile device with front-and-back facing cameras, USB and HDMI ports, an HD 16:9 widescreen, built-in flash (so we can watch YouTube videos), GPS, the ability to multitask, a longer battery life, and ... so we'll just wait for now.
VanRamblings' arrival in Vancouver had us thinking about our Film Club conversation about 'passion'. The group's general consensus was that, as we age, passion transforms into 'acceptance'.
We recall, 40 years ago, when we were first married and Cathy traveled to Edmonton to visit her mother, we would both be near tears at her leaving, and then again upon her arrival home. Waiting for our luggage at Vancouver airport yesterday, we observed that only one of the 200 passengers onboard our flight had someone waiting, a spouse and two daughters. The rest of us hoofed it on over to the Canada Line.
Upon arriving home, we found our apartment to be the disaster we expected. The entire apartment, save the bedroom (which we'd asked the workmen to leave untouched) was covered in plastic. In the kitchen, we couldn't access any of our appliances, or cupboards. The living room furniture was swaddled in plastic wrap, as was our computer hatch, and the closet doors were on the floor. As for the bathroom, well ... The whole Co-op looked like a construction zone (because it is). We took one look at the state of things, carried our suitcase into the bedroom, began a bit of unpacking, and called a friend about going out to dinner, which we did, at the Saravanaa Bhavan. When we returned home, we simply went to bed.
Arising today at 6 a.m., we went out for coffee, and were distressed to find that, in our absence, our favourite local coffee shop had gone out of business. Back at the Co-op, the workers arrived at 7 a.m., and after a bit of negotiating, together we agreed that as most of the re-piping work was complete, that come day's end it might be appropriate to remove the plastic sheets from VanRamblings furniture. At 4 p.m., the foreman knocked on our door to say that all should be back to 'normal' by month's end.
Were that he knew us better. At least our apartment will be in shape.
VanRamblings Bids a Fond Adieu to Our Maritime Home
VanRamblings' Maritimes vacation ended as it began: with blustery winds and rain, although not the torrential downpour with which we were greeted a couple of weeks back. In fact, as the day progressed the sun did emerge, along with a most appreciated cooling breeze to temper the heat of the day, allowing us (and many tourists) to once again appreciate Halifax in all its glory, from the Public Gardens to a rejuvenated Harbour Waterfront, where we saw Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas leaving harbour.
VanRamblings' Air Canada flight departs at 11:55 a.m. on Wednesday morning. We are almost all packed, and ready to go. Upon arising we will visit Anna's Café, on Hollis Street, which is reputed to prepare the best breakfast in town; as we will not be eating again until 9 p.m. Atlantic time, we want to fortify ourselves for the long trek home to our place of birth.
We feel ourselves fortunate for having secured our preferred window seats for the return journey to our west coast home, seat 18a from Halifax to Toronto (the same seat we had on the way out), and when we switch planes in Canada's hub city, another window seat - this time 12f, which 'Net research suggests is one of the best seats on the Airbus 320.
VanRamblings very much enjoyed our sojourn to the Maritimes, and we will miss the east coast more than words can express. Still, the time has come for us to return to the 'big city', and the many joys of our life in Vancouver.
VanRamblings' Triumphant Return to Halifax (Or Not)
Well, folks, here we are back in Halifax, and writing this post from our cozy 'dorm room' at Dalhousie University's Howe Hall on Coburg Road.
Now, just in case you're wondering, the picture above was taken at 8:17 a.m. this Monday morning, while VanRamblings was waiting outside the Annapolis Royal Inn, a bit south of town (on the road to Digby), for our Acadian (Acadien?) Lines coach to pick us up for transport to Halifax.
Once the fog lifted, the weather was great all the way to Halifax, and stayed sunny and warm in the province's capital throughout the day. By about 2:30 p.m. we got ourselves squared away at our university residence, and headed into town to continue our exploration of the city. By late afternoon, the humidity became a bit wearing, so we snuck into a cinema to see Salt, about which we were unthrilled (we would tend to agree, then, with the critics: 'basically, a thrill-less thriller'), although the film did provide a couple of hours diversion, not to mention relief from the humid conditions outside.
Truth be told, dear and constant reader, VanRamblings is feeling a bit verklempt about the prospect of returning to our west coast home. As we looked out across the Annapolis River each morning this past couple of weeks, enjoying the pastoral view and the tranquil setting, the thought now of returning to the busy-ness of the 'big city' seems to us kind of daunting.
Still, we have the Vancouver International Film Festival to look forward to (we love the annual Film Festival), and walks along Spanish Banks and on the Pacific Spirit Park trails, riding our bike through Kitsilano towards Granville Island, going out to dinner with friends at our favourite Ethiopian (or other ethnic) restaurant — a 'gift' denied to our Annapolis Royal neighbours, Corinne points out — or even returning to our work on the Downtown Eastside, where we hope we 'make a difference' (as we all wish to engage in meaningful endeavour), not to mention our regular forays to Vancouver Canadians baseball games ... well, upon reflection, there are aspects of our life in Vancouver that inexorably pull us back to our home.
Annapolis Royal, A Remembrance Of Our Maritime Vacation
Please find above a SlideFlickr pictorial slide show representing VanRamblings' summer vacation, and 60th birthday celebration, in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. We thank Corinne for her warm hospitality, and the good folks of the Annapolis Valley for their tremendous kindness.
The slideshow is not fully complete, so in the days and weeks to come we'll fine tune the photo display, re-order parts of the slide show, and add some pictures and video. For now, though, please enjoy the current slide show.
To access a larger version of the SlideFlickr pictorial slide show above, click here. For a full screen version of the Flickr slide show above, click here.
Annapolis River, Days of Exploration and Wonderment
As VanRamblings composes this post, we are sitting in the front room on the top floor of Corinne's home listening to Rose Cousins in concert just down the street at The King's Theatre, her voice and music drifting through the night air to VanRamblings' most appreciative ears.
Today, although we continued our preparations to leave 'our Annapolis Royal home' early on this Monday coming (witness the picture above of our wash on the line), we did in fact make it to the Saturday Market, where we set about to purchase some small, we hope interesting, 'gifts' for friends in Vancouver, as we wandered through the many Market paths.
VanRamblings also attended at the Fish Market to locate Digby scallops, fresh off the boat. Anyone who knows VanRamblings appreciates just how much we love Digby county's awesome scallops, pan-seared in butter and oh so sinfully delicious. Where, in previous visits to the Maritimes, we managed to inhale a pound of scallops each and every day of our visit, on this vacation we've thoughtfully restricted our scallop intake to only a quarter pound of plump, large Digby scallops per meal, lunch and dinner.
On this scorcher of a Saturday, VanRamblings thought better of roaming the streets of town in the heat of the early afternoon sun, and took the opportunity to do a wash, allowing our clothes to dry in the reflection of the sun off the Annapolis River, a gentle river breeze aiding the process.
Instead, we wandered over to the Fort Anne Café, had ourselves a coffee and read the Globe and Mail, after which we took a restful afternoon nap.
Upon arising, we ambled down the back streets of Annapolis Royal, at one point wandering past the Queen Anne Inn (see picture above). We continued our walk to the edge of town, after which we meandered down Ritchie Street towards the junction, past Fort Anne, down the boardwalk towards the wharf, past the clothes on the line, through the back door of Corinne's home, and into the kitchen for some refreshments.
Tonight, we're just lazing around the house, listening to the music of Rose Cousins drift in through the windows, posting to VanRamblings and organizing photos for Sunday's SlideFlickr show.
Corinne wishes it to be known that her home is an eco-conscious home.
One of the features of my stay at Corinne's home in Annapolis Royal revolves around the availability of hot water, for showers (VanRamblings is an 'upon rising have a shower' kind of guy), and dishwashing.
All the heating of water in Corinne's home occurs as a consequence of the solar panels she had installed a couple of years back. Fortunately, it has been sunny each day of our stay; as a consequence, we have had access to our revitalizing daily shower each morning (with enough hot water left over to do the dishes). Of course, Corinne employs low-flow shower heads.
The toilets are also low-flow, 4.8 litres upstairs, and 6 litres on the main floor, and they work just fine. Awhile back, Corinne had soy oil foam insulation installed in her basement (where she checks the water temperature each morning), dramatically reducing her electric bill through the year (Annapolis Valley winters can sometimes be long, and cold).
Corinne's Kenmore washing machine is front-loading, and employs an 'eco' feature that determines the size of one's wash, supplying the appropriate amount of water for the wash. Front-loading washing machines also consume only 20% - 30% of the water needed for a wash, and in the spin cycle dries the clothing much more efficiently (almost bone-dry) than top-
loaders, thus requiring significantly less drying time, a more eco-conscious process than that provided by a top-loading washing machine.
Off topic, but worth mentioning (given that it's been a constant, welcoming feature of our stay in the Annapolis Valley): crickets. Whether shopping in the local Foodland (a division of Sobey's) or the Save Easy (a division of Loblaws), when we find ourselves walking the boardwalk, or down the main street of town, or on a 'rural' back street, we hear the welcoming sound of crickets accompanying us wherever might find ourselves. We like this.
VanRamblings continues to enjoy our pastoral Annapolis Valley vacation.
Annapolis Royal: A Relaxing Day As Our Vacation Winds Down
On our third to last day in Annapolis Royal, VanRamblings slept in, enjoying the peace of the early morning, before wending our way to the kitchen for our morning coffee. No breakfast today, though, as Corinne was having luncheon guests and a feast was planned. Time enough later for noshing.
By 9:30 a.m., on this warm, sunny summer's day (complemented by a wafting breeze off the Annapolis River), Corinne and guest headed in the direction of the Save Easy, on the outskirts of town, to purchase scallops and haddock for our visitors. Haddock could be found, scallops, not so much. Fortunately, there were fresh scallops in the fridge at home, which proved more than adequate for our guests, and present company.
While out on our stroll, vistas presented themselves that had previously gone unrecorded by VanRamblings, all of which photos should find their way into Sunday's upcoming SlideFlickr presentation, a sample of which may be found here (a photo taken of Annapolis Royal, from the Granville Ferry side of the river) and here. Nothing short of gorgeous, huh?
Back from our walk, and it was time for lunch. Corinne prepared her own special baked haddock recipe and secured beans from her garden, while VanRamblings prepared the scallops in batter and butter (superb). Georgia and Peter brought along a fresh and mmmm delicious home-baked blackberry, blueberry and apple pie (the organic fruit freshly acquired that very morning from her 'yard'), and dark, richly-coloured homemade beer, courtesy of Peter, a full-bodied Irish Stout and fully matured English Bitter.
And the feast was on.
After our sumptuous repast, and the pleasure of good company, our foursome ambled on over to the wharf (where the picture above was taken), first taking a look at the fishing boat in for repair. We continued our stroll along the wharf, first turning to have a look at the tower on Corinne's home (on the left), and then turning west towards the Annapolis River to gaze upon the sailboat. Soon after, Peter and Georgia bid us adieu.
The afternoon was spent continuing our ramble down the streets and through the hills and dales of Annapolis Royal, hat and sunscreen on (you'll find us mighty tanned upon our return), as we continued to take a riot of pictures for our upcoming VanRamblings SlideFlickr show this Sunday.
Then it was home for a restorative and much-needed afternoon nap.
For dinner, prior to taking in a 7 p.m. screening of Toy Story 3 at the King's Theatre, we attended a rural church social at Lower Granville Hall, which (as you might imagine) was quite as charmingly romantic as it sounds, as parishioners brought us plates of homemade ham, baked beans, coleslaw, scalloped potatoes, and fresh-baked dinner rolls, and for dessert, coffee and scrumptious gingerbread cake topped with farm fresh whipped cream.
All and all, a very good day, busy yet relaxing and fulfilling, as we wandered the verdant hills and valleys of Annapolis county, supped with friends, and took in the wonder of our historic Maritime locale.
A Day of Gardens In The Annapolis Valley
Following breakfast, VanRamblings took a stroll with Corinne along the boardwalk, towards the Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens.
The gardens were planned in the 1970s to celebrate the Annapolis Valley's rich heritage. Originally a French settlement, established in 1605 under the leadership of the Sieur de Mons, Annapolis Royal's founding colony was called l'Acadie, its culture referred to as Acadian, as it is today. Over a period of 105 years, the British made six attempts to conquer the Acadian capital, until they defeated the French in the Siege of Port Royal, in 1710. Shortly thereafter, the town's name was changed to Annapolis Royal.
Designed to represent the gardens of the Annapolis Valley at various periods in Acadia's history, the Historic Gardens has something for every garden lover: formal Victorian and Rose gardens, La Maison Acadienne et Potager (a French settler's dwelling), an innovative garden representing the modern period, a blush of perennial flora and fauna, a riot of textured, leafy shrub borders, and reproductions of pools spanning the centuries.
Covering 17 acres, and showcasing the Annapolis Valley from a horticultural perspective, as far as VanRamblings is concerned, Annapolis Royal's Historic Gardens easily surpass Halifax's Public Gardens.
Our garden tour continued long into the day with a visit to ...
The Garden Path
A private, yet open garden situated on Mallette Lake, since 1999 The Garden Path has been a labour of love for Gary and Arla Marshall, who upon purchasing their beautiful lakeside home near the turn of the millennium, set about to create a breathtaking woodland garden.
This afternoon's visit to The Garden Path began with a sumptuous feast, a potluck dinner for the 20 members of the Samuel de Champlain Garden Club. Over the course of the hour we toured the garden, VanRamblings took many pictures, most of which you can look for in Sunday's SlideFlickr 'show'. You know what they say ("a picture represents a thousand words").
Return to VanRamblings Sunday for an explication of our Garden Tour Day.
Annapolis Royal: Bell Aliant and Rogers, A Frustrating Saga
A representative of Environment Canada approached Corinne, and requested of her that her home become the 'weather reporting station' for Annapolis Royal, for which they will supply her a laptop computer. A whole 98kb will be broadcast to Environment Canada every 10 minutes, recording temperature, wind speed, and other weather-related information (humidity, barometric pressure, dewpoint, etc.). Corinne agreed.
In order for Corinne's home to perform its weather reporting function, her home requires an 'always on' high speed connection. As Corinne is not overly tech savvy, VanRamblings was asked to shepherd through the high-speed Internet order with Bell Aliant, the only game in town. A tale of woe and poor customer service followed, although, as of this writing, Corinne's home does now have a toasty fast wireless DSL connection.
A decision was made to have the Internet high-speed order placed first thing Monday morning (she had a meeting to attend at 9 a.m.).
The first of five calls (!) to Bell Aliant was placed at 8:15 a.m. Bell Aliant, like most other large corporations, contracts out its customer service offshore, to New Delhi, India; Lahore, Pakistan; the far reaches of China; the Philippines; and, in some cases, Montréal, or small provincial centres in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland.
The sad, instructive tale of Corinne's high-speed order placement, and subsequent setup, follows ...
- As reported previously, the initial contact with Bell Aliant was made at 8:15 Monday morning. After navigating our way through voicemail hell, we finally reached a customer service agent, who proved far from helpful. While attempting to place the order, the agent informed us that there was a $149 cancellation charge, and that Corinne must sign up for one year. VanRamblings attempted to clarify aspects of the order and pricing, but (during the conversation) it became clear that the individual to whom we were speaking was offshore, from what we could tell, India. At 8:35 a.m., having gotten no satisfaction, having none of our questions answered, and finding ourselves no closer to placing the order than we were 20 minutes previous, Corinne suggested we terminate the call, and try again, hopefully to reach a more informed sales agent.
- At 8:37 and 8:42 a.m., we placed the second and third calls to Bell Aliant, each voicemail navigation resulting in a dial tone.
- At 8:45 a.m., we placed call number four, this time reaching a sales agent by the name of Carrie (we think) located in Nova Scotia, she said. Over the course of the next half hour. Carrie placed us on hold three times for periods exceeding 5 minutes. Corinne had spoken with Carrie at the outset of the call and given her all her particulars, stating to Carrie that she wanted high-speed, that VanRamblings simply understood the ordering process better, thus his intervention, and could VanRamblings act on her behalf? "Yes," Carrie answered. We informed Carrie that Corinne had to leave by 9 a.m. local time, and would not be available after that time, should Carrie have any follow up questions, or require further confirmations(s). Carrie said she understood. Corinne left at 9 a.m.; Carrie didn't come back on the phone until 9:15, saying she needed to speak with Corinne to finalize the order. VanRamblings reminded Carrie that Corinne had to leave at 9 a.m., and that she was now not present, as she had been half an hour previously. Carrie informed VanRamblings that she could not place the high speed order, and hung up.
- At 9:20 a.m., VanRamblings called a Bell Aliant customer service agent to place the high-speed order, this time portraying ourselves as the holder of the Bell Aliant telephone account, Corinne. After some futzing about ("Thank you for using Bell Aliant, sir, I mean ma'am"), the order was finally placed.
Constant reader won't be surprised to learn that the high-speed wireless modem we had ordered did not arrive on Tuesday, as the sales agent had promised. Instead, we received a wired modem.
VanRamblings placed a call to Bell Aliant on Tuesday afternoon to order a 'modem' swap'. The Siemens wireless modem arrived today, and as of 2:30 p.m. Atlantic Daylight Time, Corinne's household has entered the world of wireless surfing!
VanRamblings can now use our iPhone (yippee!), we've configured our outgoing mail server, so we can now use our laptop's e-mail programme for the first time since arriving in Nova Scotia. We can post from 'home', then, which is a boon (not that we didn't love posting from The Internet Café or the library ...). And almost all is right with the world.
Now onto the Rogers portion of the saga ...
As difficult as was our experience with Bell Aliant, in some ways, our recent Annapolis-Royal-based experience with Rogers Wireless has proved even more frustrating.
In 2004, VanRamblings was a Rogers customer (terrible mistake, that). At that time, when visiting Annapolis Royal, although we were given information to the contrary by Rogers prior to our departure, we were chagrined to discover that Rogers did not offer cell phone service in the Annapolis Valley. Our cell phone was, then, useless. VanRamblings doesn't need a cell phone to exist, but we have some expectation that when a technical support person informs us that our cell service will operate in the town of our destination that person might be believed.
At present, VanRamblings owns an iPhone (yes, it's true, we have no life). At the time we acquired our iPhone, Rogers was the only carrier which offered the phone. Prior to our departure from Vancouver, we had a look at the Rogers wireless map, and spoke with both a customer agent and a tech support person, and were assured that our iPhone would work wonderfully in the Annapolis Valley, and all throughout the region, that we could avail ourselves of the tethering function, that our connection would be 3G, and that we'd find ourselves able to call, surf the 'Net, retrieve e-mail messages, and otherwise enjoy our smartphone as we do in Vancouver (we use the mapping, Yelp, CBC and many, many other iPhone app functions).
Well, you won't be surprised to learn that upon arriving in the Annapolis Valley we are experiencing almost no Rogers cell and smartphone service in Annapolis Royal, and in and around Digby, along the French Shore, and throughout most of the region, we received a far from pleasant, and we believe unjustifiable, No Service notification on our phone which, one supposes, is a metaphor for Rogers' customer service.
Today we learned from the local Bell Aliant outlet that Telus Mobility works wonderfully and in full 3G in the Annapolis Valley, piggy-backing as it does on the Bell network. In 2004, we dumped Rogers in favour of Telus. In 2010, we're it not for the 3-year contract that Rogers (and most other Canadian wireless companies) make you sign, upon our arrival home next week VanRamblings would quit Rogers Wireless for Telus in a flash.
Although we're far from pleased with Rogers, as reported earlier in this post, we are pleased that, finally, Bell Aliant's wireless modem arrived, that we were able to install it with a minimum of fuss, and that we are now experiencing a first-rate wifi service, which not only allows us to post from Corinne's home on the Annapolis River, but that we are, too, afforded the opportunity to once again employ our iPhone to good advantage.
Annapolis Royal: Birthday Celebrations Make For A Very Good Day
VanRamblings was up early to begin a day of birthday celebration.
Overnight, for the second night in a row, there'd been a spectacular thunder and lightning storm, the rain pelting down with gale force velocity. Just the kind of overnight weather VanRamblings loves!
Still, upon arising, the skies were blue, the sun was shining. Another spectacular day in the Maritimes, and a great day full of promise in Annapolis Royal. And, did we mention, it is VanRamblings' 60th birthday!
After our usual breakfast (granola, yogurt, blueberries, tiny home-baked muffin, and coffee), we headed over to the Market Square for the Farmers' Market, the mid-week summer market about one-third the size of the spring, summer and fall Annapolis Royal weekend market. Upon our arrival at the Square, we spotted a gorgeous hand-crafted wall-hanging quilt, and were stunned to find the price was only $10! Needless to say, we've been admiring our tremendously-priced, and beautifully-crafted, purchase all day.
Over the course of the hour we spent at the market (there was an Acadian fiddle player that kept us enraptured), we also picked up a jar of Gilbert's Cove crab-apple and cranberry jelly, and a glass jar of French Shore organic strawberry jam (nicely wrapped and now in our suitcase); a colourful print of a hand-painted depiction of Annapolis Royal, as well as a hand-printed 'post card' of the same (which we sent off to our friends, at work, in Vancouver); a tiny cinnamon bun and a couple of squares of milky fudge.
After returning home with our purchases, with camera in hand we headed out for a morning photo session, the results of which we hope to publish in a SlideFlickr photo slideshow presentation this weekend.
(VanRamblings, by the way, will be leaving Annapolis Royal at 8:35 a.m. this next Monday morning, after which we'll spend a couple of days in Halifax before boarding the plane home on Wednesday, August 18th.)
Home for a late lunch (Corinne's terrific feta cheese and olive salad), and out again for more picture-taking and sightseeing, and then home for a pre-dinner nap. Oh yeah, did I forget to mention that we did a wash this afternoon, and hung the clothes on the line where they dried in nothing flat, and looked for all the world as if they'd been ironed (nothing like wearing a clean T-shirt that has been dried by the sun and a wafting breeze off the Annapolis River). We also played around a bit on our computer.
Once Corinne and VanRamblings were dressed for dinner in our finest duds, we headed over to the Café Restaurant Composé, a charming gourmet Viennese style restaurant with tremendous food and great service situated near, and overlooking the Annapolis River.
Maria was our server, a young, tremendously competent and engaging young woman who's returned home for the summer on a break from her university studies and who, when she's not working at the Café Composé, acts as the summer house manager at Annapolis Royal's Kings Theatre.
Okay, okay, we won't keep you in suspense any longer: on to dinner (have a look at Ruth's photos). And yes, just in case you were wondering, we sat on the patio terrace overlooking the Annapolis River.
Corinne opted for the Lobster Risotto (rife with fresh-caught local lobster, scallops and shrimp), about which her praise was unending. VanRamblings had our heart set on the 'Neptune platter' — a huge serving of fresh-caught local haddock, Bay of Fundy scallops and locally acquired shrimp, presented in a delicate and creamy white wine sauce, with roasted potatoes, and carrots served with a low-fat zucchini purée. After coffee and dessert (warm, home-baked caramel apple pie and ice cream), we strolled along the boardwalk, and looked to the north eastern sky for the Perseid meteor shower, an annual birthday tradition in the VanRamblings household.
All and all, a low-key August 11th birthday in Annapolis Royal. "You're finally beginning to relax," Corinne suggested. And so we are, and so we are.
Annapolis Royal, A Busy Couple of Days
For VanRamblings, Monday and Tuesday proved to be a busy couple of days (although 'busy' is a relative term when in come to Annapolis Royal).
Monday
After spending the morning exploring Annapolis Royal — walking along the boardwalk, sauntering over to The Queen Anne Inn, checking out the various museums, galleries and shops, as well as spending a bit of time at The Internet Cafe — it was home for a great lunch, fresh caught scallops and greens from Corinne's garden, made into a scrumptious salad.
After lunch, we traveled on over to Granville Ferry to Michelle's home on the Annapolis River (opposite side of the river on which Corinne resides) for Film Club, a monthly film buff discussion group. Consisting of a group of 7 - 10 Annapolis County women (sometimes men attend, as VanRamblings did on Monday), mostly retired, each month these erudite women meet to discuss a film suggested by a member of the group. This month it was Nick Cassavetes' adaptation of Nicholas Spark's 2004 best-seller, The Notebook. In September, the movie up for discussion will be Tim Burton's modern-day fairy tale, Big Fish (which, Christmas of 2003, VanRamblings' loved).
Monday afternoon's discussion revolved around the issue of Alzheimer's, the experience various members of the group had with the malady (friends, family), and how realistic was the film's depiction of the degenerative illness. The issue of 'passion' was discussed — some members of the group felt that 'passion' transformed as one aged, but there was dissenting opinion on the matter. Most group members felt that Joan Allen's seemingly latter-day humanistic conversion was inconsistent with her conduct throughout the film, and such plot device only served to take them out of the film. There was general agreement, tho', that Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams had very real heat in the film; VanRamblings offered that, in fact, Gosling and McAdams fell in love during the making of the film, and lived together for five years subsequent. Discussion group participants swooned.
Following Film Club, Corinne and guest traveled over to the grandeur of the North Hills Museum, an Annapolis Valley heritage home owned formerly by Toronto-based antique collector Robert Patterson, who in retirement moved to Annapolis Royal, and set up his home as a Georgian manor, a perfect representation, and collection, of period décor. Patterson bequeathed his home to the people of Nova Scotia, as a heritage site, in 1974.
Well, that was only part of what VanRamblings was up to on Monday. Just wait til you read about our many adventures on Tuesday ...
Tuesday
Up bright and early for a breakfast of granola, yogurt, garden-fresh blueberries and coffee. Then into Corinne's Honda Fit, along the highway to Digby (world capital for scallops ... more about scallops another day), and then to the Acadian 'French shore', for a day of sightseeing (see the video above), an incredible lunch at Chez Christophe (where we dined on exquisite, home-baked seafood lasagna, chock full of scallops, haddock, lobster and shrimp), as well as VanRamblings' usual salutary exploration of Frenchy's where, suffice to say, as per usual, VanRamblings picked up several incredible buys. Here's only a sample of what we purchased ...
- Two computer 'carry cases' perfectly tailored to VanRamblings' laptop. An unbelievable buy at only $3.25 apiece.
- Two new sweatshirts, one wheat-coloured, the other navy blue, replacements for the sweatshirts we picked up last visit, and a fabulous buy at $3 each.
- The Vintage Contemporaries novel Lulu Incognito.
- Three cotton market 'carry bags' so VanRamblings can transport our veggies home in style from Young Brothers Produce on West Broadway
- Two jackets, one a dark green, lined winter jacket that fit perfectly, and looks great ($7), and a green water-resistant jacket (with elastic around the waist) that will take us through the fall ($3).
And that was just for a start. In addition to the above, we picked up authentic handcrafted Acadian ... well, that would be giving away the nature of the gifts we're giving to friends upon our return home next week.
Reflections On VanRamblings' East Coast Maritime Vacation
For VanRamblings, one of the great joys of vacationing in Annapolis Royal revolves around the absolute tranquility of the evening and early morning hours. Life in Vancouver for us tends to be a noisy affair, at the best of times, and to arrive in Annapolis Royal and experience the peaceful serenity of the Annapolis Valley means more to us than words can express.
One week into our Maritime vacation, our east coast sojourn has proven to be everything that was necessary for us to transcend our protean life.
In Halifax, our stay at Dalhousie's Howe Hall was more comfortable and welcoming this time around than has been the case previously, and our welcome and stay has been pretty spectacular in the past. The habitants of Halifax were just as friendly and engaging as has always been the case. And, as per usual, hoofing it around town, when conducting our pedestrian self (and, yes, we get the pun ), we continue to be taken aback that when preparing to cross a street, when simply standing at a corner, vehicles proceeding down the road will always stop, not just sometimes, but always.
We also took note of one salutary change: every little coffee shop around the Halifax region serves certified organic free trade coffee. Were such fortunate circumstance the case in our west coast Vancouver home.
In Halifax, the buses run frequently, and it's easy to get around town. During the summer, Halifax's Metro Transit runs a free downtown / harbourfront transit service called Fred (Free Rides Everywhere Downtown), shuttling both Haligonians and visitors throughout the downtown core —
seven days a week, from 10:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. A first-rate tour service, with an on-board tour guide providing commentary on historical highlights, Fred transports appreciative passengers throughout the summer months. Again, Vancouver would do well to learn from the Halifax Fred experience.
An insight into Annapolis Royal after the jump ...
As for Annapolis Royal, the town is as pristine and pastoral as ever, beautiful bordering on the bucolic.
Annapolis Royal has hit some hard times economically, though, probably worse now than at any point in recent memory. One empty shop after another sports a forlorn looking For Rent sign, the number of businesses for sale on the town's main street alone despairing and depressing, compromising Annapolis Royal's continuing viability, affecting the ability of the town to provide needed services to its citizens.
In terms of summer tourism, the requirement of the Canadian and U.S. governments that visitors possess a passport, the winding down of the Yarmouth ferry (which used to transport thousands of Americans, each summer, to Nova Scotia and the Annapolis Valley) several years back, and the continuing strength of the Canadian dollar, almost now at par, all represent a 'perfect storm', a present circumstance that has driven tourism down during the crucial summer months in a community dependent for its livelihood, and viability, on visiting summer tourists.
Annapolis Royal's junior high (there's only one) is about to close, to be converted into God knows what? There's been some preliminary discussion, too, about rescinding Annapolis Royal's 'town' status (Annapolis Royal would become a village), the implications of which are far-reaching in respect of the services which might be afforded Annapolis Royal's declining population. That a town as vibrant and beautiful (and as you can see from the videos we've been posting, quite magnificent) as Annapolis Royal continues to experience hard times is nothing less than heartbreaking.
Clearly, the solution to Annapolis Royal's economic woes involves drawing clean hi-tech industry to this valley paradise on the Annapolis River. To that end, Annapolis Royal has developed a preliminary Community Plan in which it states (quoting from the Report / Discussion Paper) ...
- 1. We recommend a web-based strategy to advertise Annapolis Royal as a prime location for retirees and young families to settle.
2. The (town's) website should have a simple interface with few words but should promote livability with images of the awards won by the Town.
3. We recommend marketing Annapolis Royal to young co-habiting couples between the ages of 25-35, retirees, and entrepreneurs with web-based business. We do not recommend marketing the Town to potential American immigrants.
With all due respect to the authors of the Report, Annapolis Royal is hardly in a position of finding itself able to discriminate against 'potential American immigrants'. Yes, the citizens of Annapolis Royal would wish to maintain the livability of their town, but if Annapolis Royal is to remain viable, the town needs an in-migration. Our American neighbours, operating IT businesses (any one of the video gaming companies or magazines, which are hardly location specific), were they to take up residence in Annapolis Royal, would once again make Annapolis Royal an economically viable community, as company employees would bring their families with them, and grow the town. Just because they're Americans doesn't necessarily mean they're going to ride roughshod over Annapolis Royal values.
No matter which IT business chooses to re-locate in Annapolis Royal, company employees would find that there is no better place to raise their children than Annapolis Royal. Quite simply Annapolis Royal, and the area around the town, is beautiful. There's much good that is going on here: a vital and thriving arts community, first-rate medical and dental (a big pull for Americans), great high-speed Internet service, and ready access to the eastern seaboard (Boston and Halifax), only a short hop away.
Housing prices are among the best in the country — where else could you purchase a 1.5 storey single family home, on property, for only $40,000?
VanRamblings loves Nova Scotia, and Annapolis Royal in particular. As long as Corinne can see her way clear to putting a roof over our heads every couple of years, we will be returning again and again and again. And we will continue to sing the praises of this undiscovered gem on the Atlantic.
VanRamblings, more than anything, wants Annapolis Royal to survive, to exist long into the future.
Work to ensure Annapolis Royal's continued viability must begin now.
Update: Tuesday morning, VanRamblings was provided a copy of the Town of Annapolis Royal Draft Strategic Plan, dated May 7, 2010. Once VanRamblings has read the strategic plan, in full, we will report out again contents, and further clarify the information presented in this post.
Annapolis Royal celebrates Queen Anne's Birthday
VanRamblings attended the annual birthday celebration of Queen Anne, the last monarch of the House of Stuart, and the Queen of the British Commonwealth at the time the village of Annapolis Royal was first settled.
Bishop Park, on Highway 201 between Annapolis Royal and Bridgetown, proved to be the perfect open setting for this most august celebration set as it is within the verdant, rolling hills of the Annapolis Valley, the blustery winds of the valley providing relief from the heat of the day.
Tomorrow, VanRamblings will continue our exploration of Annapolis Royal, and in the afternoon attend, with Corinne, the Film Club (discussing Nick Cassavetes' The Notebook, starring Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams).
We'll see you here tomorrow!