Friday, April 25, 2014

Hwy 99: Sea to Sky Highway North from Vancouver BC

A couple of weeks ago I decided to have a leisurely breakfast at home


It was a plate of ketchup garnished with some eggs and bacon.   I didn't want to head out without having something in my stomach.   I bought a "new to me" camera and today I was looking for photos, so I stopped at Britannia Beach


I have been here before and never have I been here when the Mountain WoMan has been open


This used to be a Company town and was the site of a large copper mine .  It is now home to the BC Mining Museum  (read here)    Behind the General Store there is a small creek and this footbridge


so naturally I walk over to the other side and see if I can find any photos .  Here is what the mine site looks


like now.  It has been restored and they give mine tours


soon I arrive in Squamish and notice another photographer snapping a photo of that mountain,  Black Tusk (I believe),  except that today it looks like White Tusk (info here).   And who do I see walking across the


street walking my direction.  Must be one of the locals.  I am a bit early for lunch so I walk up and down


the main street and look at all the stores.   I even get a chance to relax and watch the world go by.  I can't help myself.  I have to stop at this shoe store and look in the window, such an original name


The main street isn't very long.  I am about half way down the business district and looking south


This is Cleveland Street,   the main street in Squamish.   It was here that I finally found the Chicago Barber


shop.  If you live in Chicago and you can't find the Chicago Barber, then here it is.  I found it for you.  Alive and well here in Squamish BC

While I was walking my sandals didn't feel right so I looked down and found that it was coming apart


The glue had become detached.  I know these sandals are old but they have been all across the USA and back.  They have been to Montana and Hells Canyon, Oregon.  They have been to PEI and they have walked the streets of Kingston.  I try pushing the strap in but it keeps coming off


So what to do except to continue over to the Harbour (Government Pier)


It is a nice day and I notice another snow covered mountain in the background


There are not many people walking about, perhaps it's early.  I notice the stores don't open on Saturdays until around 10am, and most restaurants open at Noon.  I stay here for a while looking for more photos


and a self portrait or two


I notice the time and soon I head back to Cleveland Street where I wait for my friends.  We decide to have lunch at a BBQ place and I was still a bit early so I made friends with one of the local natives.  Of course, just as I was arriving HE took MY SPOT.  It was one of the few benches in the warm sunlight.   I was setting up my camera and he offered to move out of the way, but I told him that I wanted him in my photo.  Meet Donald (Donnie for short)


We were talking about this and that and he asked if I could spare some funds for a coffee.  I asked him how much was a coffee, and he said "$5.00" .   I said coffee's are sure expensive up here but I did help him out


Soon thereafter, my friends arrived.  I am sure you already know ScooterChick and Christos, also known as Scootard.


They had never been to this restaurant before so we gave them a try


Here is their board menu

    Chris (Scootard) & Pat(ScooterChick)

It's been about a couple of years since we had enjoyed a meal together, but last time it was at the Howe Sound Pub


Notice that they're foodies too and often snap photos of their meals.   After our lunch I mentioned that I had to go to the shoemaker down the street to get my sandal repaired.  They decided to tag along as Pat was

 
also looking for a longer handbag strap


The shoemaker takes my sandal and glues down the strap


While she negotiates for a custom made strap


Here they are coming outside.  It looks warm in the sun but it is cool in the shade.   And here's Marchello


My shoemaker.   He only charged me $7.00 ,  either that or I just go barefoot.  I wasn't sure I wanted to put any more money into that old pair of sandals which should be thrown away anyway, except they bring back so many good memories, and they are moulded to my foot and fit like a glove

Chris and Pat really are foodies.  We just had a filling meal and only walked down the street, but now it was time for a coffee break.  (Thank you again Chris)


Often times he can look too serious.


and here's ScooterChick, she's the one holding the camera


The weather here in Vancouver is virtually like Spring.  My bike is insured and ready to ride except that somehow my foot swelled up again.  For the past two days I can barely walk.  I have a manual transmission in my commuter car and I can barely drive to work.  Sometimes my foot throbs just doing nothing.  I have done nothing strenuous.  I am watching my diet and trying to eat all the right foods: apples, bananas, salad, no pop and mainly water.  In fact I have also been losing weight.  I was down to 179.5 for one day, and I was under 180 lbs for two days in a row until I started to have hamburgers again.  I gain a couple of pounds but today I am back down to around 180 lbs.

I tried to self diagnose by doing Google searches.  It's hard to find exactly where you fit in and after a while you think the worst or presume you have something worse than what it may be.  This has happened several times now and the last time I humoured the Doctor and went for all sort of tests, and Xrays and the result was, they don't know.   They prescribed Celebrex and that was that.   The last time I had this swollen attack was just before iMBC2012 when I thought I wouldn't be able to ride.   So for now all I can do is to hobble around and just look at my bike wishing we were riding somewhere, instead of just sitting in the sun with my foot above my heart.  It may have something to do with my lack of circulation or maybe you shouldn't believe everything you read on the internet


21 comments:

  1. So, what is the "new to me" camera?

    Maybe it's all the bacon & eggs. Just have a little ketchup for breakfast...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Richard:

      I have always loved to have eggs & bacon with my ketchup. I know there's too much sugar in there so I have cut back a bit and use less

      The camera is on the table in the last two photos

      Delete
    2. The D800? I've been trying to talk myself into that camera. Very nice. What is the piece on top?

      Delete
    3. Richard:

      Yes, it's the Nikon D800. I have lots of Nikon lenses just sitting there, waiting to be used. I have always had Nikons from the original F way back in the 70's. I still have two Nikon F's and three of the original Photomic heads

      Delete
  2. Bob did they rule out arthritis and gout? How about a bone spur in the heel or plantar faciitis or get them to look for tarsal tunnel syndrome - you need to see a neurologist for that & nerve conduction studies. I think your worn out shoes are seriously messing with the mechanics of your foot and tarsal tunnel is definitely something to be checked.

    The pics are cool of the mine, nice to see scooter chick & scootard.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dar:

      I don't have any Uric Acid which crystalizes in the joints, so I don't have gout. I was tested for it last time and they found None. This is a mystery as they don't know what causing this, so I just do nothing and wait until it goes away

      I know I need shoes with more support but I thought that the barefoot, zero rise shoes would be more healthy. I have Merrills Life Barefoot style and they feel very comfortable. I've had no problems for 2 years now but this is a recurring problem and comes without warning

      Delete
  3. BTW, I like the mine restored to its original glory. But the photo of you three in front of your Harley's....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Richard:

      I knew you would like the photo of us standing in front of our Harleys . . .

      Delete
  4. First. Gout. Try googling symptoms to Gout. You may have it. Its can affect the feet in a big way. It can be as simple as a diet change.
    Second. Camera? What did ya get?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kathy:

      I don't have Gout, it is something else. I have already changed my diet."

      The "new to me" "pre-owned" camera is shown in the last two photos

      Delete
  5. Yes, you should be tested for gout I think, certain foods will kick off such incidents as you described. Oh, and yet another camera? :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dom:

      I thought that I should get a higher level camera while I was still working. I have always had "good" cameras but I downsized a few years ago when I bought my Canon Rebel T2i. I was getting frustrated with having only one control wheel and having to delve into the menus to change frequent settings for HDR. This new camera has buttons for everything with a separate LCD screen for settings

      Delete
  6. Looks beautiful there. Hope your foot is better soon!
    Smooches,
    Sash
    Www.SashMouth.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tina:

      There are some nice views in the Squamish area. I was lucky that it was a beautiful day, sunny but still a bit cool. I hope my foot gets better too. It is cramping my riding style.

      Delete
  7. I was wondering when you'd pos tup about your meet up. Glad you did. Some good pictures of the happy couple.

    Beautiful blue sky and snow capped mountain pictures too. I like the ones with the boats in it.

    Hope your foot feels better soon. Listen to KT Did, diet can do wonderful things to help the body out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trobairitz:

      I actually met them a long time ago in Vancouver, on a Saturday at Rideaway Motors. I didn't really know them and they had not started blogging yet. Chris did start a couple of ADVrider.com ride reports and I suggested that they blog instead, and they did.

      That harbour and boat scene with the snow covered mountain was just perfect. I liked it too

      I hope I get better too. perfect bike weather and I can't ride

      Delete
  8. Oh no, was it your swollen foot that burst the straps on your well worn sandals? Perhaps you need to have those bronzed for the memories and buy new ones for the actual walking. Hope the foot feels better soon - I remember the hobbling you were doing in 2012.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Karen:

      My foot wasn't swollen on that Saturday. Well worn clothes feel like they belong and it is hard to get rid of an old friend. Now that I've spent $7. on the repair I have to keep them for another year. Maybe I can toss them into the Atlantic Ocean, one day . . .

      Back in 2012 I was told that the pizza place was "just around the corner". All during our meal I was wondering how I was going to get back . . .

      Delete
    2. The city blocks in Oregon are huge...

      Delete
    3. Richard:

      Not as long as blocks in Fairbanks/Alaska. I hope to find out in 2016. My friend has ridden there twice on his bike. I was supposed to go there with friends a few years ago but I couldn't take the time off.

      Delete
  9. Enjoyed having lunch with you Bob. Hope your foot is feeling better. The old fols used to prescribe a hot soak in Epsom Salts. Can't hurt eh?

    ReplyDelete