Bobskoot: Wet Coast Scootin

Maui OGG to Kona KOA via Cessna

2012-01-26T11:50:00.001-08:00

When we went to Hawai’i this year we decided to visit another Hawai’ian Island. The last time (two years ago) we went to Kona on the Big Island so after a bit of internet surfing we picked Maui. We had heard so much about the beaches and the road to Hana so it was off to consult with our travel advisor. She managed to book direct flights to and from. We would land in Maui first (direct flight from Vancouver), spend a few days there, then make our way to Kona, spend a few days and take a direct flight back home to Vancouver. In between we were our own travel agent, I was booking our accommodations on-line trying to find condos with oceanfront views, booking our rental cars (both locations) and then we had to find a way to get from Maui (OGG) to Kona (KOA).

It would have been so easy to just book with Hawai’ian Air or Island Air but with a sense of adventure I decided to take the local commuter flight using Go ! Mokulele Airlines and travel on their Cessna TurboProp 9 passenger commuter plane. We thought that we were on an adventure. Because they use little planes, everything had to be weighed before we loaded. We had to put our bags on the scale, our backpack, and then ourselves with our weights being tallied on the passenger manifest. To avoid embarrassments they weighed each of us as we carried our carry on luggage/backpacks. The plane also had to be loaded by weight priority to balance the planes centre of gravity. The flight captain looked at the manifest and decided our seat positions which were assigned as we walked out on the tarmac towards our waiting plane.

WOW, flights were grounded in December, 2011

We looked upon this alternative as an adventure and luckily everything went as planned and we left and arrived in Kona on time. Now that I am preparing this post I find that we are probably one of the few who have had a good experiences. I did a google review of Mokulele and they are all horrible. Bad customer service, cancelled flights and then I find out that their planes were recently grounded due to parts or possibly maintenance problems.

Then there is this political mess of Mesa Airlines and their takeover of Aloha Airlines and the messy aftermath which has the locals avoiding them like the plague, and also their Bankruptcy earlier this year until they found a new investor to bail them out.

Remember what that white plane with red lettering looks like

Looking back and knowing what I know now, It was a REAL ADVENTURE the magnitude of which, we were largely unaware. I am glad the flight was uneventful and all went well and we arrived unscathed and will live to breathe another day.

Hop aboard and join us on this Uneventful Flight. I hope it has all of its nuts and bolts this time

Mrs Skoot still thinks that we were being adventurous, I mean . . . ignorance is bliss

The Road to Hana, Hawai'i

2012-01-24T21:06:00.000-08:00

Ever since I found out about this road many years ago I knew that if I ever came to Maui, then I would have to drive it. It is one of the curviest roads in the world with over 600 curves in less than 50 miles. The actual twisty section is only about 34 miles with 59 bridges (46 of which are single lane), and around 34 waterfalls.

you can read more information about the Hana Road HERE

It is the perfect road for a 2-wheeled vehicle but other than tourists who rent bikes while they are here on vacation I don't see many bikes, but there are lots of 49cc scooters . I mean why would you own a sport bike or a V-strom when there is only one main road which gets repetitive after a while.

From all the literature we have read the Road to Hana was described as an all day affair, taking at least 2-1/2 hours, or if there is lots of traffic . . . closer to 4 hours each way to drive the mere 50 miles. The road is narrow with narrow lanes and most of the 59 bridges are one-lane, having to yield to oncoming traffic at most curves. The posted speed often crawls to 10 or 15 mph. The road is not conducive to taking photos as there are few places to pull over and you can't stop in the middle of the road since there are too many curves.

A few hours with a Diva, Princess Scooterpie

2012-01-22T19:51:00.000-08:00

It had been nearly a year since I first discovered Dar: Princess Scooterpie . I was over in Victoria on the May weekend (2011) to attend the large scooter rally and I was keeping an eye out for her. I had come over on the morning ferry from Victoria with a group from VancouverScootering.com and it seems that everyone had met her (from our group) except me. I was delayed at the hotel due to a minor bike issue and arrived at the meet up point a few minutes late and missed the morning ocean ride. Our paths never crossed again during that weekend as she never showed up at any of the later events. I was crushed . . . and very disappointed.

You can imagine how excited I have been during the past month anticipating this weekend when she would finally be in town to visit the Vancouver Motorcycle Show. I mean, I have never met a genuine, original scooter Diva before.

There is not much to add to what Dar: Princesss ScooterPie has already written HERE, and I also have some "fun" photos to post if there is enough interest but I suppose what happens at the MC show, stays at the MC show (she knows what I mean)

I also met Deb, the transplanted Kiwi, you could visit her BLOG HERE.

It was a fun day with new friends. I have a short video featuring the screen debut of Dar: Scarlett Vixen, Diva Princess Scooterpie . . .

What a difference

2012-01-20T22:55:00.000-08:00

a day makes. We woke up on Thursday morning, early as normal and ate our last meal in our oceanfront condo in Kona, Hawai'i

We were lucky to find this place with a beach right under our lanai (sundeck), and where you can view the sunset without any effort except to grab our camera. It was just luck that we managed to book our vacation during the recent cold snap at home. There's nothing like taking a break somewhere warm while it is snowing and below freezing where you live. When we travel we usually take our rental car and drive to the ends of the earth looking at all the sights, taking in all the scenic beauty we can and squeeze every waking moment doing something. This time was a bit different, we were more laid back. I was more interested in compiling more video and eating where the locals eat. We found some great local eateries and we also took a small 8 passenger commuter flight from Maui to Kona. There were a couple of "must sees" which were the scenic road to Hana and the Place of Refuge which we missed the last time, and other than visiting a few music stores we acted like beach bums

We normally don't duplicate trips to recently visited places. We were in Kona only two years ago at the insistance of friends who were having a yearmark wedding anniversary. We visited with our friends in the fall of 2011 and they mentioned that they wanted us to come to Kona again for his Special Birthday. We decided that if we came again we wanted to "squeeze" in another Island. We were going to pick Molokai, but in the end chose Maui. The second half our our vacation to Kona was to attend this dinner. There were 9 one us; two from Maple Ridge, two from Vernon, two from Whistler, one from Denver, CO and us from Vancouver. All of us were also here in 2010. Dinner was in the Posh Hilton Resort in Waikaloa. I like Kona, coming back here is like coming home as we know where everything is. They want to come back here in 2 years for another dinner.

We had to check out of our condo at noon and live out of our car until our plane was scheduled to leave at 11pm that night. The flight was 5 hours and we arrived back in Vancouver around 7am and home by 9am after some errands. We unpacked our suitcases and after putting everything back to their rightful places we headed out for lunch as we had no food at home and were too tired to grocery shop, let alone make something. So we were getting very tired after being up for 31+ hours.

We had gotten used to the warm temperatures of Hawai'i around mid 80's every day but now we return home to snow and freezing temperatures, but I'm defiant . . .

except our sand is WHITE and I still have on my Hawai'ian shoes . . .

Two Ki'i, and then there were three

2012-01-17T23:57:00.000-08:00

The last time we came to the Big Island of Hawai'i we drove everywhere, and around the Island but we were time challenged so even though we drove right past, we didn't stop at "Pu'uhonua o Honaunau" National Historic Park, aka: "Place of Refuge". A massive stone wall was built around 1550 and still stands. (more info here: www.nps.gov/puho). It is basically a place where they have restored the ancient Hawai'ian ways and was the residence of the Royal Chief, great great grandfather of Kamehameha I.

On the way here, which is south of Kona we stopped at Kealakekua Beach which is very picturesque

The waves are very powerful here and is a popular spot for scuba divers and kayaking

We probably spent about an hour here watching the waves and having a snack and soon we get underway and arrive at the Historic Park

I saw photos of these figures after we returned home and I knew that if we returned I just had to take some photos for myself. Here are two Ki'i, Gardians of the Palace of Refuge

Ki'i: Gardians

From the photos that I have seen I thought that they would have been larger than they were, and they also face towards the sea. There was also another figure on the lava rocks but since this is considered to be sacred land you are not allowed to walk anywhere off the trail, nor can you climb onto any ancient structure or over the sea wall, nor can you wade into the water, nor sunbathe, so I had to keep my shoes on. Otherwise I would have gotten a front view photo

They seemed to be a friendly two-some so we both posed for a group picture

It was hot standing here under the Hawai'ian sun but they asked if I could stand guard with them

(Three Ki'i: Guardians of the Place of Refuge)

. . . and so I did

Heading East from Maui

2012-01-16T22:26:00.000-08:00

It was a long day. We started with an early breakfast, packed our bags and took one more peek at the view outside of our Historic Hotel in the middle of Lahaina

We have spent the last few evenings outside our room looking at this scene and watching the cars and people pass by. There are two bars across the street and it was hard to get any rest because of the loud music and rowdy patrons. This morning it looks peaceful and quiet.

We loaded our luggage into our rental car and headed downtown towards the airport and ended up at the commuter terminal, which is not where you would normally catch a plane. I decided that it would be nice to take a flight with "the locals". It was quite the experience. Little was I prepared for what was in store. Since we were taking a small Cessna Turbo Prop, all the weight had to be accounted for. We had to have everything weighed and pay to bring our luggage aboard. First our luggage hit the scale, then we had to step on the scale ourselves along with our carry-on luggage & backpacks. They wrote our weights beside our names and the captain had to arrange where we sat on the plane, which carried 8 passengers

The lady that checked us in also had to do triple duty. She loaded our luggage onto the cart and pull them out onto the tarmac and waited for our plane to land. When the plane made its appearance she brought out those two lit battons and guided the plane to the parking spot where she unloaded the luggage of the disembarking passengers, and loaded our luggage into the compartments below the plane. Eventually our plane landed 45 minutes later and our luggage was unloaded and put next to the plane where we had to bring them to the terminal all by ourselves.

It surprised me that there was no security, no scanners and no one to check our luggage before we boarded the plane.

We eventually found our way to our rental car and drove 20 miles south into the small town of Kona where we finally had lunch at our favourite place across from the beach

I had a very tender, delicious, great tasting prime beef dip sandwich with salad. After lunch I headed across the street to show you this view

Today felt like a very warm day into the mid 80's (around 29C) . We tried to check in earlier but we were told to come back after 3pm, so we went to the local KTA supermaket in Kailua and picked up a couple of steaks, condiments, sweet bread, eggs, bacon and juice, Oh and a tub of Ice-cream. We always buy ice cream so we can sit outside and enjoy the sunset. It almost feels like home here as we know where everything is from our last visit. We even stopped at the local Costco in search of Shrimp and prawns.

Buy the time we get settled and get our steak dinners ready it is dark.

We managed to find a Condo with the ocean right outside our balcony. The waves make such a racket because they are so close

The sun had just set. If you had been looking a mere 10 minutes earlier you would have seen this . . .

(view from outside our lanai)

Another ordinary, spectacular sunset from Kona, on the Big Island of Hawai'i .

Lost in Maui, Hawai'i

2012-01-14T23:12:00.000-08:00

We have been on the go continuously since we arrived last Thursday. There is no time to smell the roses. One of the main tasks was to drive the Road to Hana. It is a mere 50 miles but it took nearly 4 hours to get there, on a windy road with over 600 curves and 34 waterfalls. It is known as one of the most scenic roads in the world. There are few places to stop for photos and the road is very narrow in spots. Most of my "Photos" are in Video mode so I will have to edit my footage when I return home, and to think that I didn't even consider bringing my GoProHD until the final moment as a last minute decision.

One of the first things I did was to ditch my shoes and go Hawai'ian, and I think I blend right in with the locals . Compared to the weather at home it is relatively warm and it was nice to be able to sit on the edge of a cliff and watch the waves . There was also a pod of whales offshore but I only got to see the small puff of water from the blowhole before they disappeared

We found a remote beach at the end of the road and I made a few footprints in the sand. Feels good . . .

Much better than the snow at home

Lahaina, Hawai'i

2012-01-12T23:23:00.000-08:00

The day started with temperatures hovering around -2C as we made our way down to YVR. Our Plane was waiting

and before we were allowed to take off we had to de-ice the wings

After a thorough spraying we headed west towards our intended destination 6 air hours away on a tiny speck of land in the middle of the Pacific Ocean

I told the rental agent that I wasn't fussy. But I needed a car with a trunk and he complied by bringing over a white one for use to use while we were here

It was a very pleasant 79F and I quickly changed into my warm weather attire and tried to blend in with the locals. Here I am at our hotel right in the heart of Lahaina. A street filled with tourists, noise, and lots of traffic

It has a feel of an historic place, lots of old buildings, narrow streets, hundreds of restaurants and souvenier shops

A scooter or small motorcycle would be nice to have here as parking is hard to find

It's as if summer has arrived in the blink of an eye

Right now, shorts and T-shirts are my friend and it feels good to be able to escape the ice and frost for a week or so

PS: sorry about the aspect ratio of the photos. I am blending shots from two cameras and I am too tired to fix them tonight. Tomorrow may be a long day if we try to tackle the Hana Road

The Tax System & I'm getting

2012-01-09T08:34:00.000-08:00

pleasingly plump. When I was much younger we coined this phrase which we used to describe those of us who were heavier than what those health charts indicated. I mean no one could possibly get down to their "ideal" weight, or could they ? Lately, everyone has been commenting about their New Year's resolution to eat healthier. ( SonjaM & RichardM, to name a couple) . I mean we changed our lifestyle a few years ago and started to eat healthier, less carbs, less soda (soft drinks), more fish, less red meat. All told things were going along fine until the past few months when I started to eat more junque food. I gained a few and it seemed harder to get rid of the extra luggage. Then came Christmas, Turkey, desserts and tons of Hollandaise sauce made with butter and cream puffs with chocolate topping.

The other day, our son said to me that my jeans were falling apart. Well, I know they were getting frayed, with some holes in strategic places but I thought it was the style. I mean, I have seen many younger people wearing jeans with holes in them and half tattered and ripped, and also sneakers with toes poking through. I never really embraced the jean revolution in the past preferring to wear corduroy but they never held their shape, or those twill pants which were considered between jeans and slacks.

I only discovered jeans about 20 years ago and now I wear them all the time. I just get the cheap, non-brand name ones from the big membership C+ store. I keep thinking that one day I may splurge and get a brand name label, but so far I haven't been tempted but the cheap ones are thinner and seem to wear out faster. I took a photo to show you my current tattered pair but then I wasn't sure I had the GUTS to show you my GUT, and I am holding my breath, otherwise you could imagine another inch or so in "expanded" mode.

(Pleasingly Plump)

There is also a worn through hole in the rear of my pants, but I couldn't twist around enough to capture an image of it.

The rear cuffs are also getting badly frayed but you don't notice from the front . I am most usually without shoes so the cuffs get dragged along the ground .

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I found the following on a forum a few months ago which you may find interesting. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did .

THE TAX SYSTEM EXPLAINED IN BEER

"Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100.
If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this...

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing
The fifth would pay $1
The sixth would pay $3
The seventh would pay $7
The eighth would pay $12
The ninth would pay $18
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59

So, that's what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve ball. " all $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men ? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share?

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer.

So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by a higher percentage the poorer he was, to follow the principle of the tax system they had been using, and he proceeded to work out the amounts he suggested that each should now pay.

And so the fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% saving).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% saving).
The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% saving).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% saving).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% saving).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% saving).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20 saving," declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,"but he got $10!"

"Yeah, that's right," exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar too. It's unfair that he got ten times more benefit than me!"

"That's true!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back, when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!"

"Wait a minute," yelled the first four men in unison, "we didn't get anything at all. This new tax system exploits the poor!"

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks so the nine sat down and had their beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and government ministers, is how our tax system works. The people who already pay the highest taxes will naturally get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas, where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

The power of photography

2012-01-04T21:53:00.000-08:00

exceeds the value of the paper that it is printed on. Steve Williams posted a very thought provoking essay (LINK). I read the letter and went to the author's site and then to the subsequent post and it only confirms what I already know that photography is not valued by many. I know people who never take a photo and don't even own a camera. I am the opposite, I take photos of everything I see, the ordinary, and special events in a style that I have adopted by hanging around photographers in my past life. It wasn't always this way. I remember a time when I knew nothing and I got a job developing film in a pro-lab. This led to a retails sales position in the camera department at Eaton's, part-time when I went to high school. I received my first camera on my 8th birthday, a Kodak Brownie 127 roll film. Remember the Kodak slogan "one click and we'll do the rest", and when the film was ready to be developed everyone would say, "I want to see them IF they turned out". While I was working for the lab, I bought my first Minolta SR-1 SLR with std lens. I knew nothing about how to work it but I suddenly became one of the school photographers.

Yesterday I stumbled across a blog where Martha mentions that she used to have a Nikon F2 photomic . She also has a photo blog HERE This got me thinking that I still have my Nikon F which I bought used from my uncle back in the early 70's

I have 3 heads for this body. The plain prism, the cds version, and the Photomic FTn later version but I prefer to use the camera in complete manual mode. It still has the original 5.8cm 1.4 mounted. If you are a Nikon collector this is a sought after model being produced in the first year of production, 1959 with a low serial number starting with 64xxxxxx. Being a camera collector, I used to keep my eye out for these models and I have another one in this number series.

Everything I have learned has been by reading and experimenting. From bulk loading film, hand developing, printing and framing, I do it all myself. I have many cameras, mostly medium format and large format as I was always interested in producing large, sharp, technically perfect enlargments (in Black & white).

For many years I walked the streets of East Side Vancouver taking stealth photos where Leica was my camera of choice

Notice that the cameras have their logos blacked out. All the street photogs we knew did the same to not draw attention to the camera brands. The two M6`s have Abrahamsson RapidWinders. I have known Tom Abrahamsson for many years and he anodized them for me so I could identify which one had slow speed or high speed film. The other M body is a Leica CL with 35mm f2 summicron

I have thousands of negatives taken of virtually everything around town. It was expensive back then having to purchase film, develop and print. After a while I moved to medium format nearly exclusively in my quest for big prints. You know what they say Bigger is Better. I used to take photos of my unsuspecting subjects with the intention of producing a framed print to give away. Of course I never told them ahead of time. I have always felt that photos were a way of preserving memories, of happy times and if it gave them joy, then it made me feel good that my hobby has brightened someone``s life. Because I do everything from start to finish, when I look into my viewfinder I don`t see an image, but rather I see a framed photo.

I don`t collect cameras anymore but I really haven`t sold any either. I am sure that digital has reduced the demand for film based equipment. Perhaps it would be nice to take a step backwards once in a while and do things the OLD way

I used to be sucker for Leica LTM (screw Mount M39). Whenever I saw one at a camera swap meet it was like a magnet. I just had to hold them, and often it was hard to put it down and walk away.

These are two nearly pristine models in my collection which have SCNOO`s attached. I believe that they are very rare and hard to find, but I have two. CameraQuest rates these as èxceptionally rare`` , perhaps one will show up once every 3 to 5 years.

It took me a long time to embrace digital and I had a lot of catching up to do. I never thought that digital would surpass film in resolution. I was a hold out until the end.

I still take a lot of photos but once you have the equipment to process, the cost is irrelevant. I still make memories and whether it be an edited Video or a framed enlargment, I still take pleasure in giving them away to my friends. I have complete control of my project from start to finish, which includes printing and framing. It is my hope that they appreciate my gesture and it will give them fond memories of a moment in time

Happy New Year

2011-12-30T17:21:00.000-08:00

where ever you are. Blogging has brought me in touch with more people than I would ever have imagined. A few years ago I tried to start a Blog and gave up because I had no one to show me how to get started. Back then I was content to post ride reports on various local forums, mostly scooter related . . . hence my name. I have always ridden motorcycles but as a returning rider I needed an excuse to get back into riding so I suggested to Mrs Skoot that we should get scooters so we could tour the Gulf Islands. Other than Galiano and Saltspring we haven't yet fulfilled our goal. All of my posted ride reports are now lost in the internet void as the local server crashed several times, loosing all the data so I thought to myself that if I were going to continue to post reports I should try blogging again and be more in control of my content. So I did.

I didn't get much readership at first in spite of the time I devoted to my posts and photos until I got some help from Orin, Scootin 'Old Skool I had met Orin before at various scooter rallies down in Bellingham, WA . Since those early days I am proud to be part of the blogging community and I have gone out of my way to meet many bloggers during my travels.

I enjoy being on the road with others with the same interests. Last year was especially memorable with a motorcycle tour to Idaho, Montana, Oregon & Washington. We had an IMBC2010 in Bend, Oregon a couple of years ago where many of us got together for a weekend of friendship. Next year is developing to be another great year. Troubadour is organizing another get-together IMBC2012 and there is lots of interest for others to tag along.

What I am trying to say is that I hope all of you have a very Happy New Year and I hope that 2012 shapes up to be as good or better than 2011. Peace, Prosperity, good health and good fortune, and may our paths cross . . . one day soon

I hope you enjoy this collage from this summer's motorcycle vacation. I am tired of getting tagged with copyright infringement so I have done something I have never done before, and in the style of Ricky Nelson

Christmas Day 2011

2011-12-26T03:00:00.000-08:00

For the past couple of years our SIL: sister-in-law has been hosting our Family dinner, usually after work, on a work day so as to leave our Christmas day free of responsibilities. So again this year our family meal was scheduled for Christmas Eve December 24th

It's a long story but as a family (for nearly 2 decades) we have agreed not to exchange Gifts (children excluded) so we have nothing to buy for anyone except for ourselves, if we decided that we needed anything of importance. It is nice to escape the hustle bustle of the commercialized Christmas season. We have gotten out of the habit of decorating our home and have not put up a tree for more years than I can remember.

With our family dinner out of the way, there was nothing to do on Christmas Day except to try out the only gift we received this year, a PoachPod, from the greatest blogging couple on the West Coast.

I normally poach my eggs free form in a shallow frying pan, with these silicone pods you crack your eggs into the pod and let them float in the boiling water

we also had some left-over salmon from the other day

so I cut a few small pieces. After you float the pods you put the cover over your pot to hold in the heat. I also have a small saucer with melting butter, and plates being preheated as I don't like to put hot food on COLD plates

I try to keep an eye on the poaching eggs as I like the yolks a bit runny, but the whites solid, so these are nearly ready

My hollandaise sauce is getting too much heat, I turn the gas down to simmer and add the butter slowly, and then add the juice from one small lemon, constantly stirring the whole time . I love my new GAS stove as it has instant heat control

I lightly toast my english muffins and then start to assemble our Christmas breakfast. I add the poached eggs, top with our left over salmon (slightly heated in the microwave to take off the chill), and top with generous drizzles of freshly home-made hollandise sauce, accompanied with a glass of orange juice.

Christmas Breakfast: Salmon benedict

As I said, an uneventful day. Dinner was comprised of left-over turkey from last night reheated

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-24T13:57:00.000-08:00

Today I made a BIG mistake. I thought that our family dinner was going to be on Christmas Day, tomorrow so I had planned to bring a dessert to our SIL: Sister-in-law's. This meant that I was going to work on it tonight . . .

well, as it happened, dinner was tonight so I had to fastforward my plans by 24 hours. It's a good thing that we suspended gift giving years ago so I didn't have to navigate the busy malls and like a horse with blinders I only had one task on my mind so I headed to the local grocery store to purchase some supplies, after breakfast with the guys

baking was my hobby during a previous life and I still have a counter crammed with the applicances necessary to do the job. While I haven't done much baking lately I was still able to multitask a bit. Here I am getting my workstation ready

(following in the toe-steps of the Barefoot Contessa)

while the flour was presifted, I sifted 1 cup anyway

I had one cup of milk on my new gas stove waiting for 1/3rd cup of butter to be boiled

after the liquid mixture came to a boil, I turned off the heat and added the 1 cup of sifted flour, in one fast lump

I had 4 eggs at room temperature on standby. I usually bring the eggs out of the fridge and put them in warm tap water to speed things along. It normally takes about 10 minutes. The liquid mixture to which the flour was added was taken off the heat and the residual heat is what is needed to temper the eggs in the next procedure

The room temperature eggs are added, one at a time until the flour mixture appears to loose its shine (looks more dry), then eggs are added until you have used 4 or so. Vigorous mixing with a wood spatula gives your arm a good workout

After the "dough" appears to look dry and can hold a stiff point, I use two spoons to make little balls to put onto a baking sheet. The dough is very sticky. You will find with experience that using your fingers creates more problems

I have my new Gas oven pre-warmed to 400°F and put my baking sheet into the oven. After 10 minutes I reduce the heat to 350°F and bake for another 25 minutes. Make sure you do not take your shells out of the oven too fast as the cool air may make them collapse. Here is what they look like out of the oven

In the meantime, while my shells are cooling I put ice into my Kitchen aid mixer bowl as well as the whipping attachment, and put into the fridge to cool. The freezer would have been better but it is full of junk food. It is much better to have eveything cold before you attempt to make your whipping cream

While my shells are still cooling down, and my stainless steel mixer bowl is cooling down I get my chocolate topping ready. I use a double boiler setup with water in the bowl below to heat the semi-sweet cubes of Baker's chocolate.

you have to keep an eye on the heat as you only want to melt the chocolate, add icing sugar to desired sweetness, and whipping cream to proper consistency. I don't like it too runny and remember that it hardens a bit as it cools down to room temperature

By now I have already mixed my whipping cream adding icing sugar to taste, sliced open my shells to be filled with whipped cream, and drizzled the tops with chocolate icing. And you can see my creation (below) . . . Cream Puffs

When I was younger I used to watch my Grandmother bake and I always got to lick the leftovers. Today I got the whipping cream all to myself

As I have mentioned before, Christmas to us is not so much the material things but the getting together with friends & family. We do appreciate what we have and the things we receive from others and we are thankful for the friendships and bondings over the years and especially from our Blogging community

As I am writing this I just remembered in my haste the BIG mistake I mentioned above. I forgot to add vanilla into my chocolate icing. I hope no one notices after dinner tonight. ( I suppose I could always lick off the icing and add a new batch, I mean, who would notice ? )

Merry Christmas to all of you where ever you are and may prosperity continue during 2012.

Here's a Christmas performance I recorded a couple of weeks ago at a luncheon at the Sheraton Guildford Hotel. A choir from a local elementary school, to get you in the Holiday spirit, using my 1920 8mm vintage camcorder, in full HD

P I M S: Talking Pictures

2011-12-23T00:01:00.000-08:00

If a picture says a "thousand words", then a video would say a Million Words. Last weekend we had a mini-Blogger meeting at the Seattle PIMS: Progressive International Motorcycle Show. It was just an excuse to get together for a weekend of fun, taking photos, experiencing new places to eat, and of course to walk around the annual motorcycle show oooing and sitting on the new models. All of us met at the entrance as previously arranged but then we mostly went our separate ways, except that the four of us, Troubadour, Trobairitz, Ms Skoot & Bobskoot (myself) more or less stayed together .

Good for me as I had my camera in hand just waiting for willing subjects. As a photographer I am accustomed to not getting any photos of myself as the images end up on memory cards belonging to others. I managed to capture the essence of our day at the show with a short video, starring Troubadour & Trobairitz.

Supplement to Troubadour's

2011-12-20T23:21:00.000-08:00

Progressive Motorcycle Show report HERE, and our 3rd annual mini-get-together.

For the previous two years we have gotten together in Seattle to visit the Motorcycle show and I was wondering whether we were going to continue with this tradition. And as if Troubadour had telepathy he sent an email wondering if we were free to meet again this year, so we did. It gives us a chance to discuss plans for next year, and try out new restaurants after all, Blogging and food are two ingredients that mix well together.

Trobairitz knows her way around a keyboard and google is her friend. She found a funky internet hot dog cafe (cyber-dogs.com) just around the corner from the Motorcycle Show. The portions were generous and delicious. Orin has some food photos HERE

We didn't have a clue where to go for dinner so we sent Chuck a text message and he came up with a very nice Thai restaurant close to our lodgings and took some time away from his studio to join us. We chatted until our food arrived, then came dessert and when that was gone we continued to chat, and chat, and chat, and chat . . . until we got the notion that the staff wanted to clear our tables and go home.

Here is a short recap . . . "We Like to eat . . . "

Our 3rd Annual Mini-Bloggers'

2011-12-18T18:54:00.001-08:00

get-together in Seattle this weekend. What's better than getting together to enjoy each other's company, trying out new food, talk about our plans for next year, and walk around for a few hours looking at motorcycles. This is exactly what we did and co-incidently the Progressive International Motorcycle Show happened to be on at the Seattle Convention Centre.

We decided to head south on Friday night after work and arrived in Seattle around 10pm, where we met up with Troubadour & Trobairitz who had travelled north from Oregon. We had arranged to meet up with SonjaM & Orin at the entrance to the show on Saturday morning. Orin drove south from Bellingham and SonjaM also from Vancouver. We were to have dinner with Chuck that evening

We spent a lot of time looking at all the farkles & accessories for sale and sat on a few bikes. It didn't take much coaxing to get Orin onto a very nice Triumph Tiger 1050 Adventure touring bike

Orin: Scootin Old Skool

Trobairitz just had to swing her leg over a Triumph Street Triple

Trobairitz Tablet

We spent a lot of time in the Triumph section looking at all the models. I wouldn't know which one to choose but I did like the Triumph Tiger 800 which is giving
Troubador a big smile

Troubadour on a Tiger

You get hungry walking around looking at motorcycles and soon it was lunch where we all congreggated for lunch for gourmet hot dogs at a funky place around the corner at 9th & Pike

Cyber-dogs.com

We were having so much fun ooing and aahhhing that we nearly spent the whole day there. We had arrived early in the morning not long after sunrise, and now the sun was setting

4th floor of the Seattle Convention Centre looking South towards Pike Place

This is the first time they have had the motorcycle show downtown. It had previously been held at Qwest Field south of the city and this year was much better than the dismal displays last year. There were lots of custom bikes on display as well as the new models. I managed to sit on a few and felt very comfortable on the Triumph Tiger 800 & BMW R1200R. The Suzuki 1250 something (which replaces the Bandit) felt very nice too

Triumph: Street Tracker

With the day nearly over we had to concentrate on dinner and Chuck came to our rescue with a very nice Thai Restaurant close to our lodgings. He is a very busy person working in his studio creating masterpieces from Glass. He brought some samples for us to drool over.

We had intended to take a group photo with motorcycles in the background at the show, but it didn't happen and I only have Chuck's likeness taken with my 1920 Vintage Camera while waiting for our meals to appear.

So here's Chuck . . .

I don't know what it is but when you finally meet another blogger "face to face" it is as if you had known each other for Years. We had our first IMBC2010 a couple of years ago in Bend, Oregon the same weekend as the BMW regional motorcycle rally. A few of us had expressed interest in meeting again during the summer of 2012. Troubadour has posted HERE <---

Troubadour has volunteered to make the arrangements, so if you are interested send a comment his way. I would imagine it would be during July or August somewhere Mid/East Oregon or even Southern Washington State to be central for all of us to meet and have a great weekend together, sharing good times, good food and good roads

After working a

2011-12-17T00:32:00.000-08:00

full day, I returned home to pick up Mrs Skoot, had a quick snack, and headed to Seattle, WA where we arrived at our lodgings for the night and unpacked our luggage. Although it was after 10pm, I wanted to snap a few photos down at the Pike Place Market . . .

If you look closely at the figures in the photo, you may recognize Troubadour & Trobairitz . . . with Mrs Skoot looking on

There are 2 ways

2011-12-14T21:47:00.000-08:00

to produce night photos. There is the way that most people do, that is hand hold your camera at a low shutter speed and crank the ISO way up and cross your fingers. Tonight we headed downtown to the outskirts of Vancouver's Chinatown to a Cambodian Restaurant where I grabbed a quick shot of the street outside. This particular restaurant has won the award from WestEnder Magazine as the Best Vietnamese Restaurant in Vancouver for 2011

(ISO: 6,400 1/60 sec F 4.0 HHT Mode: Sony NEX-5n w/ 18-55mm)

On the way home I stopped on Cambie Street to snap a night shot the old fashioned way. It was drizzling a bit but I found a dry spot under an overhang. I like the reflections that bounce off the wet roads

(ISO: 100 5 seconds F 18.0 Sony NEX-5n w/18-55mm)

I wanted more red light trails but most cars were headed north.

I like ketchup

2011-12-11T21:32:00.000-08:00

with my eggs

I somehow got off cycle this week. I spent too much time trying to figure out why my video was not rendering without errors. During the week it is hard to snap photos when it is dark in the morning and dark on the commute home. I often get ideas for photos but find that there is no safe place to pull over, but I have a tripod in the trunk always ready for action, if needed. I have resorted to snapping shadow photos in our company parking lot during lunch hour

this was on one of those rare days when the rain finally stopped. I generally look forward to the weekends when I have more time to explore more photogenic places around town. Saturday morning found me at home waiting for my plumber to work in my washroom and also to disconnect my dishwasher, in preparation for a new one. I thought that this would be a speedy process and imagined that I would have the whole afternoon to myself and my new camera. He arrived around 9:15am while I was making breakfast, my ham omlette (1st photo above).

My plumber was happily working away and about half an hour later there was a knock on the door. It was the contractor who repaired my siding and had come today unexpectedly to repair a few loose ends. He is becoming enamoured with photography and we talked about this and that and he decided to purchase a Canon T3i upon my recommendation. I showed him some of my work and videos and how you were able to use "adapted" lenses on the EOS due to the short film plane to sensor distance. His friend was urging him to purchase a Nikon. I am mainly a Nikon person myself but I am very glad to have a Canon as it is more versitile. I think Nikon may theoretically have the edge in IQ but in the real world, there is little difference and you should purchase what feels good in your hands. I still have my D80 but I have the ability to now attach my Nikon lenses on my Canon.

My contractor was working in my kitchen, then downstairs, then outside in my carport. Between talking and working and discussing photography the whole day was shot as he finally left around 3:15pm.

I had been eyeing a new tripod that I saw on Granville Street last week. It looked very well made and I since discovered from my friend Google that all parts are forged and the ball head is machined to a very close tolerance. I already have too many tripods and I recently added to my collection just over a month ago when I picked up my first Pan Head tripod for video use. As I am typing right now, I have 5 tripods within 5 feet of where I am sitting, a 6th one in my trunk, not counting my two Manfrotto monopods, and my fat gecko suction mount. Almost forgot my small Manfrotto on my V-strom in the tool tube. I wanted a very small tripod for travelling to put into my backpack. This new one collapses to just under 12" and comes with a small sling carry pouch. I think it is made better than a Manfrotto and will double as a monopod, in a pinch. It is a Sirui and looks like THIS

I had plans on Sunday to drive out into the country and try out my new tripod, and snap a few photos with my Sony NEX-5n but Mrs Skoot wasn`t feeling well so we just ate at home and I decided to print and frame some photos. I haven`t used my printer in months and I was afraid of clogged heads but my Canon Pro9000 MK2 fired right up, made some head cleaning noises and the prints came out flawlessly.

We jokingly call these jackets our "City Slicker" Jackets because they are matching colours. We only wear them during the colder winter months. They come with a detachable fleece liner and have lots of storage.

Roger has recently issued a challenge to post 5 of your favourite photos from 2011 and I am still thinking about it. The problem is that I take too many photos and they are scattered amongst various external hard drives all over the place, and some are already archived onto DVD . Here is one taken in Victoria last May, 2011 during the Capital City Scooter Rally. It was taken from inside Pagliacci's. I have been attending this rally for many years and never have I been able to get a parking spot right in front of the restaurant's window. And Princess Scooterpie is no where to be seen.

Another Christmas window display from Granville Street

Another weekend

2011-12-10T20:28:00.000-08:00

We finally made it to the end of the week. I've been occupied all week working on a stubborn video which refused to render. I was getting lots of error messages: "low resources", "dropped frames . . . ". I didn't really understand about the low resources as I have 4 GIGs of RAM in my laptop but my computer keep freezing up, and when I tried to insert a title, it crashed again. Then I was off to google to figure out what "dropped" frame(s) meant.

HHT MODE: Handheld Twight Mode, Sony NEX-5n 16mm pancake lens

HHT mode: where you push the shutter button ONCE, and the camera rapid fires 6 shots and merges all the photos into one image and throws away all parts of any or all images which are blurred or not in focus

I started to edit my video on Monday night and by Friday night I was no further ahead except that a week had gone by and I was getting very frustrated. I spent some of the time trying to figure out whether I needed a new computer, or whether my OLD, ancient Core2 duo was up to the task, or whether I could just add more RAM.

That's the problem when you purchase a laptop during Christmas week of 2009 and the new i3, i5 & i7 models came into stock a month later. While I had Windows 7 installed I had the 32 bit version and the max usuable memory is around 3.5 Gig regardless if you had more RAM or not. I cannot upgrade to Windows 7 64 bit because my hardware won't support it, and I cannot add more memory as it wouldn't make a difference.

same photo as above but: aperature priority mode, single shot: handheld

I try to limit my videos to 5 minutes, more or less as most viewers have a short attention span but recently two friends have passed away unexpectedly and in both instances I asked the remaining spouse whether they wanted a photographic record of their Celebrations of Life. So here I was "filming" the sad occassion. My regular workflow is to reduce the native "clips" down to a manageable 8 Mbps bitrate and on my first production which ran 45 minutes I had no problems at all. This was recorded on my Lumix Camcorder which uses AVCHD 1.0 and I can only use the clips after conversion to AVI. On my second production my Canon uses Mpeg4 (MOV) and the files are not efficient (ie they are very large files). My computer choked on all this data . . .

I had a lot of help behind the scenes from RichardM and Gordon/682202/GAW They are both audiovisual GURU's who know everything about producing videos and I value their opinions and recommendations. Incidently GAW has recently just built a super fast computer designed for fast editing. Richard, has recently installed a video system at the University in Fairbanks capable of broadcast quality video production. I am just a hobbyist with a small budget so I will just stuggle along with what I have and make do for now.

On Friday evening I decided to tackle my video problem by converting all the Canon MOV files to smaller AVI files. On Saturday morning I edited the video and finally finished it. So my 18 minute video only took 5 nights and one morning and the file ended up being 1.1 Gigs in size.

Christmas window display: Granville Street, Vancouver, BC

Another Bikeless Sunday

2011-12-04T20:29:00.000-08:00

I don't ride on Sundays (as a normal practice) and lately we have been eating at home making our own eggs benedicts. I know, I know . . . you are all tired of looking at the photos so because I feel like we make better ones at home rather than paying for them when we go out, today I decided to order,

Shepard's Pie

I was a bit disappointed as Mrs Skoot makes a very good Shepard's Pie and these taste like they were premade and probably frozen as that's the way most pub food is like. Mrs Skoot had Clam Chowder with toasted garlic bread

Clam Chowder

I'm still loving our new Gas stove. I was more of a baker than a chef but I have been trying some new things. I don't know why it costs more for a RAW uncooked chicken, than a fully cooked BBQ'd chicken at the supermarket. I mean, at Costco a cooked BBQ chicken is around $6.99 or $7.99. They sell uncooked chicken in a 3 pack for just over $28. but I don't need 3 chicken. I only wanted one to try out so off to Safeway where they are normally priced at $12.+ but I got it for $9. , still more than a full cooked one. I wanted to try to make a roast chicken

450°F for about 20 min or so to sear the outer skin, then reduce heat to 375°F for another hour. I set the probe for 170°F and the oven turned off by itself, as it should

I was in the meat department to see what was for sale and came up with some pork tenderloins & chops. The hardest part about planning meals is deciding what to make and the best way is to find out what is for sale and plan from there. We also like to make double and then just heat up the other half for the next day's dinner which is usually more tasty. So for around $2. per pork steak I came up with

a tray of baked Pork steaks smothered in onions, sliced oranges, splash of XVOO (Extra Virgin oil oil). Low heat around 350°F for about an hour . Boiled vegetables are better for you so Mrs Skoot added the carrots, turnips, and baby potato nuggests and used the vegetable water as her beverage

On Saturday, after breakfast with the guys in Kitsilano I decided to walk Downtown

over the Granville Bridge. It was a cold, dark, overcast day and the wind gave me a bit of a chill. My foot is not yet 100% so I took it easy and it started to hurt a bit, but I continued on . It was proably farther than I should have attempted but I started to take smaller steps and favoured my other foot. I also got a chance to take a few photos of Granville Island (from above).

Sony NEX-5n, 18-55

Sony NEX-5n, 16mm 2.8 pancake lens

Near the end of my walking excursion I stopped for a quick rest. I must make a mental note to come back here on my 100th birthday

Introduction to self powered 2 wheeled machines

2011-11-30T20:46:00.000-08:00

In response to Gary, that guy with Flies in his Throat was wondering how some of us got into riding motorcycles I can only say that I was introduced to bikes by accident. My experience should be divided into 3 defined periods, the first of which was purely accidental.

I have always liked mechanized power . My first experience was with a wagon, you know, they were metal and had a tiller like steering handle and you would put one leg inside the wagon to support your weight and then you would push with your other leg. It was easier than walking and you seemed to go faster. In my early years I also had a tricycle and a two small-wheeled push scooter. You stood on a platform and pushed with your leg to attain the speed you wanted. Then I graduated to my first 3 speed bicycle.

It was a safer world back “in those days”. I was around 10 years old. I changed schools and I met a friend who was also an explorer. We lived over a mile away from each other but on the weekends, and during the summer we would go exploring, which meant we would ride our bikes downtown, through Stanley Park and over the Lion’s Gate Bridge over to West Vancouver. No one knew where we were, or what we were up to. All they knew was that we were riding our bikes or playing somewhere and we always made it back in time for dinner. Now that I think about it, we had no money and I don’t know what we would do if we had an emergency. There were only pay phones but I think back then you could knock on someone’s door and they would help you.

Now fast forward a few years to around 1960-61 when I was in grade 8 or 9. I was in the back yard trying to get the lawn mower started and someone in our neighbourhood was selling a mini bike. It had a briggs & Stratton engine on a tubular frame and a pulley system which tightend as you stepped on a friction pedal. It only had a single speed but I was very happy that I didn’t have to pedal anymore. I knew nothing about licences, permits or even how to handle a machine faster than a pedal bike but I rode it for miles to the other side of town and back. I knew it wasn’t right to ride on the main roads so I took backstreets and lanes. Come to think of it I don’t think it even had brakes.

Things are a little foggy about what happened to it but I think I sold it or traded it for an actual Moped. It was a 2 speed 2 stroke affair and I cannot remember the make or model but I believe it to have been a Puch. I had fun riding around the local area close to home. One day I finished my ride and put the moped in the back yard and I notice a police cruiser drive by very slowly and looking directly at me as they drove by. I wasn’t sure what they were doing but in retrospect some one must have complained to the police and they were trying to catch me. I knew the gig was up so I got rid of it and that was that until I graduated from high school.

I came from a home with modest means. I hardly every got to borrow the family car, but my dad did let me use it for my graduation ceremony. During the time I was going to school I had a part time job developing film for a local professional photo lab, hand developing B&W subminiature films. ( I did not get an allowance, I always had to earn my own spending money and buy most of my own clothes. ) This is what got me into photography and my first camera back in 1959, it was a Minolta SR-1. I call it my first real camera, not the Kodak 127 Brownie I received as a birthday present when I was 8. In order to save money, I listed to the radio a lot and knew every hit parade song by only hearing the first couple of notes. Of course I couldn`t afford a collection of 45`s, or 33 rpm albums so I bought a reel to reel tape recorder and I started to tape the music using a microphone in front of the speaker. You had to be quiet otherwise you got your voice mixed into the music. Of course you also got to hear the DJ at the beginning and end of every song. I started to buy better tape recorders and a year later I decided to sell the one I was using to upgrade.

I advertised the tape recorder and I received a call from someone who wanted to make a trade. So we got together to see what each other had. This was around 1964 or 65. We got together and he got to inspect my tape recorder, and I got to look at my new used Yamaha 80cc 2-stroke 4 speed motorcycle. I valued my tape recorder at $60. and this was the amount that I used when I took the papers to the Insurance Agent to do the vehicle transfer.

Now what do now that I have a motorcycle and no motorcycle license. I rode anyway. That`s what everyone did ``back then`` . Hardly anyone had a proper license but I decided to get one. It was easy back then. I practiced figure 8`s, stopping and starting and after a short parking lot test in a huge parking lot, I was legal. It was 1965 and I was on top of the world. I had a motorcycle and an MGB sports car.

Most of you know that I prefer to ride solo. I wouldn`t know how to carry a passenger nor do I wish to be responsible for one, BUT I have only carried a pillion twice in my life. And once I got my motorcycle license, Mrs FutureSkoot hopped on the back and we rode this Yamaha 80cc from downtown Vancouver up to the top of Burnaby Mountain, home of the new SFU University

Back in those early days of motorcycling, Honda had a promotion whereby they used the line . . . ``you meet the nicest people on a Honda`` . Downtown near Stanley Park there was a place where you could rent those semi-automatic Honda 90 step-thru scooters. For a 2 hour min we had a blast riding around Stanley Park.

It would also surprise you to know that during the time I owned the Yamaha 80cc motorcycle, we also purchased a used Honda 65 SuperSport motorcycle for Mrs FutureSkoot

I'm having a hard time trying to come up with a photo, so here is one from the same period but this is 100cc. Mine was a Yamaha 80cc 2-stroke, 4 speed, with Posi-lube. I have no photos of it and can barely remember what it looked like. Wouldn't mind having it back

Not much

2011-11-27T18:53:00.000-08:00

has happened this weekend. Nada, nothing, NIL. Saturday found torrential rains so it was better to stay indoors and do some 'net surfing looking at new, fast Laptops. During the past week I talked myself into and then out of purchasing one right now, preferring to pay more for a newer model after the new year. If it weren't for the video editing I wouldn't need one so I am going to stick with my slow core2 duo and make do.

Sunday started out with hope of a sunny afternoon. It was a lazy morning getting up without the alarm clock and a home-made

generous portion of eggs benedicts. Lots of sauce which was savoured with every bite until it was gone

Then while I was relaxing and looking at the food channel I hear . . .

Mrs Skoot say "We need a new washer, the faucet is leaking"

I head over to our utility sink and see that it is dripping and needs a new washer. Today is Sunday and not many plumbing stores are open except for Home Depot so now the plan for the day developed. I remember that when my friend came over to help me change some pipes a couple of years ago that this same faucet was dripping a bit but we didn't have a washer and it was too late to make a special trip to purchase one, so we did what anyone one else would do in our predicament, we turned the washer backwards and put it back together, so I knew we needed more than just a couple of washers. It took a couple of stops to find the correct complete tap assembly as I did not know the manufacturer of our faucets. Of course I bought two to replace both sides. Amazing how a simple job eats up an afternoon.

Earlier in the week I took a few photos with my new Camera, Sony NEX-5n, with 16mm pancake lens. I could not take low angle shots before as my Canon T2i does not have a moveable LCD screen.

(South Arm: Fraser River)

(High Tide: Finn Slough)

(Finn Slough, Richmond, BC)

Gulab Jamun & a visit

2011-11-23T18:56:00.000-08:00

Today was a day away from work. It was a bonus when the rain stopped and the sun tried to come out. My plans were not etched in stone and I was contemplating having a home-made breakfast of eggs and go out to find things to photograph. In other words, it would be a normal Saturday of being alone and trying to keep myself amused. Imagine my surprise when Mrs Skoot said she would join me for brunch, but where to go ? After driving around Richmond with no fixed destination we ended up at an East Indian Buffet

it was one of those AYCE: All You Can Eat affairs where I normally have too many plates of filled to the brim food. Mrs Skoot wanted to have something with curry in it and I like butter Chicken . Here's what my plate looked like

it was a little taste of everything "in moderation" and I didn't go back for seconds as I wanted to leave room for dessert. You would be proud of my newly found willpower. In days of yore, I would keep grabbing a new plate and they would have to roll me out . . . I went to look at the desserts which were trays of very colourful stuff

I don't know what all this stuff was but I know that most East Indian desserts are on the sweet side. I was trying to limit my input but when I saw these . . .

I knew that I was in heaven. I have had these before and I just love them. They are sort of like rumbabas, without the rum. I never knew what they were called but you can never have too many of these, they go down easy and fast

(a whole tray of Gulab Jamun)

The balls have a cake texture and are sitting in a sweet, warm, honey-like syrup. I tried to exercise restraint, but with a tray full of these delicacies it was my purpose in life to put a "dent" in this supply

These must be 100 calories each so I stopped at only four

After brunch the clouds appeared to be blowing away and the sun was trying to shine so we headed south towards Steveston in search of photos. We did stop at Finn Slough again and noticed the very high water levels. As we were driving along the Fraser River, the water came much closer to the road than normal. The piers are barely above the water level

As we got closer to our destination I thought it would be a good time to introduce Mrs Skoot to my new found friends, whom I met the last time I was here.

I found them at the same place as last time. It seems that they are always on their "break"

The soft-spoken guy was still sitting on the bench, he must be the ringleader. The other guy standing on the right still didn't say much, but he asked me to stand beside him for another photo, while Mrs Skoot sat on quiet guy's lap

Not to be outdone, the soft spoken guy wanted us to take another group photo with him in the middle

by now it was getting late so we decided to stake out a spot along the river to watch the water flow by. It was a relaxing day to do nothing

Matched third party

2011-11-22T20:12:00.000-08:00

content. I am so careful when it comes to copywrited music. When I first started doing videos a few years ago I used to put music to photos but then EMI or Sony Records sent me official looking emails which resulted in some of my videos being audio silenced. Since then I have been using public domain or music from other sources which were not subject to copywrite. I've gone for quite some time now with no incidents until the other day when I uploaded a couple of videos from our recent trip to China. I have more videos on my Youtube Channel than I link to from this blog so you may not have seen them

The following was recorded in a Temple somewhere near Nanjing. The "girl" is playing my favourite Chinese 2-stringed musical instrument called an ERHU. I still don't know why my video was tagged with "Matched third party content" as it was a live demonstration being played before me. I was mesmerized with its sound, thus I recorded it for you to hear (before the sound may be silenced).

Sorry for the Ads. It was never my intention to place ads on my youtube channel, but since it was matched with 3rd party content, one of the conditions of leaving the audio intact is to give them permission to place ads on my video, and also permission for them to see the viewing statistics

Mmmm, perogies

2011-11-20T19:42:00.001-08:00

On Sundays we usually go out for brunch, but lately we have been making our own. I love eggs benedicts but you can't have them every week so we decided to go out for some home-made perogies

Not home-made by us, but rather . . . home-made by some nice Ukrainian ladies over at the Ukrainian church. Mrs Skoot spotted their sign the other day. We know that they have regular Ukrainian perogy lunches periodically but we can never make it on a weekday. Because of the Artists' Art Crawl this weekend they put it on this weekend and combined it with a small flea market

I purchased my new camera (info HERE) a couple of weeks ago and this is the first time I have posted anything using it. It is much easier to take stealth photos/video with it rather than my Canon dSLR.

The line-up really isn't that bad but we were ahead of the rush as it got very busy later

They even had desserts for sale and I intended to purchase some, but forgot . Here is what our meal looked like, mostly vegetarian except for that piece of sausage

A bowl of Borscht, cabbage rolls, perogies with onions and I dabbled on a great amount of sour cream . We have a few Ukrainian Community centres around town and most of them have a perogy dinner night but we have not attended one for a while. Did I mention that I love perogies ?

After lunch we went upstairs where they had a flea market and we didn't leave empty-handed

Here is a short video using my new Sony NEX-5n , AVCHD 1080p30 mode but reduced to 1280x720p30 .

River Road, before my GoProHD battery died

2011-11-18T12:10:00.000-08:00

This video is an addendum to the previous post. It was a sunny but cool day when I decided to enjoy some solo time by myself. It was a lazy day, didn’t rush to wake up, made breakfast and waited until mid morning to finally get underway on my V-strom. This was the first time that I had taken a week from work and not travel anywhere of note. I had big plans to ride somewhere for a few days but instead stayed close to home and entered into “retirement” mode. Retirement mode is my vision of what my life will look like when I stop work, paychecks cease causing me to be more frugal with my pennies.

It also helps to have projects. Projects keep my mind active and when I shoot a clip, my mind imagines how it is going to be compiled and in which sequence. My project today was to show you some of our urban traffic and how it is like to maneuver across town on our local thoroughfares and ended up on River Road which is a relaxing route to take on the way home from work . Lately, I have been using my GoProHD more as a camcorder than a sports cam but this day I made a special effort to mount it onto my bike

An upgrade & Solo

2011-11-14T19:33:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, I frequently upgrade my photographic equipment. I actually prefer the film days as film cameras had a longer life span. Also analog equipment had a trade in value. Most camera shops in Vancouver do not take digital cameras in trade which forces you to pay full price for what you want, then leave you to sell your old stuff on your own. It seems that every few months a new digital something or other is announced which makes the old model redundant and of no value. You will seldom, if ever, find me without an instrument capable of capturing an image. I have one in my pocket, and often another strung over my shoulder and perhaps a video cam in my backpack. I am not very successful in selling things so I find it easier to just "give" it away. I had a Canon G10 which I purchased new a few years ago which is basically brand new. Hardly used but it has travelled with me on many trips as a backup camera. Although I took it to China I didn't use it at all.

My friend expressed interest in it so before I handed it over to him, I updated the Canon firmware, and hacked it with CHDK (<-- click link) With CHDK it allows you to access more options with your Canon camera. I was interested in timelapse which is easiest done on a P&S type camera rather than a dSLR where you would wear the shutter out. At 30 fps you would have to trip your shutter 1,800 times just for one minute of video.

Anyway with my Canon G10 gone it gave me an excuse to purchase its replacement.

I wanted something with a larger sensor, and with more adjustments. The APS-C crop sensor is perfect. The short focal distance means that I can use alternative lenses with adapters which I already have on order from Hong Kong. I am not sure which lenses I am going to use so I purchased 5 adapters which will allow me to use: Nikon Ai/AiS, Pentax M42, Leica LTM L39, Zeiss, and Leica M39 bayonet mount as I already have lenses. If you have been following the flood situation in Thailand you will already know that the Sony and Nikon factories are still underwater which means no camera production until Spring 2012. Also most of the worlds Harddrives are made there which will bump up the costs of laptops. So while I didn`t really plan on purchasing my Sony NEX-5n until spring 2012, I thought I better get one now before stock runs out. Excellent review here
I also picked up the 16mm 2.8 pancake lens and spare battery

In an effort to make more professional videos I also purchased a new tripod with Pan Head. Not that I need another tripod as I already have several, but none for video. All my tripods have a ball head so you cannot pan horizontally. I didn`t wish to pay for a top line model so my new tripod does not have a level which presents a problem. Anyway this is my first test video using a Pan Head

I have found that you first must level the tripod horizontally then do a practice Pan to ensure that the horizon is level, then you can start recording.

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A month ago before signs of winter I took a day off and decided to ride by myself to see how I like to ride solo

I took the long route taking the highway and ended up on some backroads around Steveston where I was planning to have a bite to eat. It is not very pleasant on the highway with the speeding traffic, it felt like a raceway . I mounted my GoProHD and was trying to shoot some video so I would have something to do in the winter. Of course with the GoProHD you have no way of knowing if it is recording or not, unless you stopped and looked at the front LCD. Here I was travelling on the freeway, taking on and off ramps, lots of heavy traffic then I travelled along the River turning the GoProHd on and off and a couple of hours later when I finally stopped I noticed that the unit was OFF. I thought I had forgot to turn it on, but then it wouldn`t turn on . . . dead battery ! My spare battery was at home

Sometimes it is nice to be by yourself and have time to think things out, to solve your personal problems, and have time to think. I feels refreshing to hear the sound of your engine, shifting up and down, leaning into the corners but then I craved for some company when I noticed a small group of people outside the Cannery just enjoying the day. They asked me to join them

they told me it was okay to snap their photos so I posed too . Then the soft-spoken guy on the bench made room for me to sit down beside him

There we were, all four of us, solving the world`s problems. They weren`t really that talkative but they seemed friendly enough. The soft-spoken guy was really friendly and said I could sit on his lap

so I did and they asked me to come back anytime, and would wait for me at the same place as they really enjoyed my company.

Rape of Nanking, remembering . . .

2011-11-10T21:49:00.000-08:00

On the eve of Remembrance Day I can't help but think of something that has saddened me immensely since our trip to China last year. I was not prepared for it when our tour bus arrived at the Nanjing Memorial where 300,000 ordinary citizens were massacred during 6 weeks of occupation from mid December 1937 into January, 1938 .

more information from Wilkipedia * * HERE * *

you can read another article * * HERE * *

When they discovered the mass graves they started to excavate the area then decided to leave it "as is" and built a building on top to preserve this site for future generations

It's a solemn place and while I started to take photos outside I felt it was not right to photograph what I saw inside the Memorial. There were skeletons, bone fragments and bones/skulls scattered everywhere on the ground . It felt as if I was in a tomb. Many Japanese were also there giving their respects.

This site is a few square blocks in area with a Wall surrounding the perimeter. The actual Memorial building is more or less in the centre. Surrounding the Memorial building there are open "fields"

where they covered the ground with gravel and just left the "dead" where they lay. It was an overpowering sight to see the barren landscape and just imagined what had happened here over 7 decades ago by a ruthless aggressor.

My mind was having a hard time processing what I had seen and could only think of the poor innocent people buried here

As respect for the souls of these people you are instructed to walk on the cement paths, and not onto the gravel itself . It felt like such a barren place

the power of this Memorial is in its simplicity .

Outside the perimeter wall there is a shallow water filled moat with statues depicting the "dead"

I think that this is the saddest place I have ever been and even a year later I can't help but think that something like this ever happened . . . it's hard to imagine

Lest we forget all of these people, and of all the people that died in all the world wars all over the world to preserve our Freedom and our way of life.

(Nanjing Memorial)

Peace . . .

The Meeting

2011-11-06T18:05:00.000-08:00

I have been trying to visit the site of "The Meeting" for a few weeks but I have a dislike to pay for parking and each time I go near the area I am unsuccessful in my search for a free spot

As part of Vancouver's Biennale celebrations there are statues on display throught the city, you can find a MAP HERE

On Saturday we decided to change our brunch location to Surrey, 45 minutes south of Vancouver to a popular greasy spoon, the Round Up Cafe on King George Highway

We hadn't been here for years and Bill said he always orders something that he can't make at home, eggs benedict

Since I had my own home-made eggs benedicts twice last week I went for the eggs over easy with ham and pancakes, big mistake as Mrs Skoot had another of my favourites which I forgot that they made

Boiled perogies with sausage and sour cream. I was drooling over it but I managed to beg for some . . .

Now, family day Sunday rolls around and it was my plan to make breakfast at home then go out to see what was for sale at the camera swap meet then try to snag a few photos of "The Meeting"

Again I lay everything out to get things ready and soon enough stuff is cooking on our new GAS stove. (Did I mention that I love our new GAS stove ?) . The hollandaise is simmering on the left and the poached eggs on the right

Then there was the yogurt and the coffee

Can't wait to start diggin in . . .

There is lots of sauce with every bite made with lots of lemon juice to add the tang I like

When we arrived at the community centre where the camera swap meet was being held, on the other side there was a large guitar meet with lots of vendors and displays and this intrigued Mrs Skoot more than cameras so we went our separate ways for a couple of hours.

I was specifically looking for adapters (for alternative lenses) , small monopods or perhaps a quality, small tripod head, for pennies on the dollar or other video camera mounting brackets . I only managed to secure a small travel tripod in my price range.

I used to belong to this camera group which organizes the swap meet (twice yearly) so I saw many familiar faces as I made my way around the room. I used to collect cameras but now I am more selective with my purchases. I also spent some time talking to the legendary Tom Abrahamsson who is shown here posing with his Leicas and Nikon S rangefinders. He is a mentor on the Rangefinderforum.com , click here <--

(Tom Abrahamsson, aka: "Mr Leica")

Eventually we made our way downtown to Coal Harbour to see the statues which were smaller than we had imagined

Hollandaise Sauce: the video

2011-11-02T22:59:00.000-07:00

This video supplements the previous post .

Hollandaise Sauce:

3 egg yolks
1/2 cup butter
1 TBsp lemon/Lime juice
pinch salt

Other ingredients:

english muffins (slightly toasted)
black forest ham (or shrimp, crab or salmon)

A relaxing Fall Day

2011-10-31T19:00:00.000-07:00

I took a day away from work. A lazy day waking up without the alarm the natural way. Sunrise is around 8am so no need to wake up with the dawn, or in the dark as on a work day. I was waiting for the sun to come out and decided to make my own breakfast with our new gas stove. Did I tell you that we love our new gas stove ? I decided to make one of my favourites . . .

(eggs benedicts)

It's a simple recipe but I am getting used to our stove and I am not sure what heat level to keep the water at. I have 1/2 cup of melted butter standing by in that clear dish. A pot of nearly boiling water on the front element with another container on top, being heated by the heat from the water, which contains the yolks of 3 large eggs.

I have another pan on the right element half filled with water ready to poach the eggs. I also purchased a bag of sourdough english muffins which I half toasted. I find that fully toasted is too hard, and not toasted the hollandaise sauce makes the bread go soggy.

You have to watch the heat or the sauce will overcook. You have to constantly stir the liquid (eggs yolks) until they thicken. I use a stainless wire wisk. As it thickens you have to add a bit of boiling water, perhaps a tsp or so, but I prefer to add the melted butter, very slowly at first, constantly stirring a bit at a time until it is all added. As the liquid thickens I turn down the heat a bit and add a bit more water (another tsp). This is when I turn the element down to low. My liquid has thickened again, so I add a bit more boiling water (from my hot pot), and then I add a TBsp of juice from a squeezed lemon. I like lots of tang so I add lots of lemon juice and perhaps just a pinch or two of salt

We usually have double smoked black forest ham on hand for sandwiches so I slice some up and get it ready for my benedicts, but you could just as easily use hand peeled shrimp or smoked salmon. You could pan fried the black forest ham or do what I do which is faster. I put it in the microwave to take the chill off

Eventually everything is ready and I have to start to assemble my meal. I bring over my plate with the lightly toasted english muffin, put the ham on top, then I add the poached eggs and pour my hollandaise sauce over it

Prepare my cup of Vietnamese coffee and I am set to devour my creation

One thing I find when we go out and order eggs benedicts, the sauce always runs out before the eggs are finished. Today I have lots of sauce with each mouthful and tangy just the way I like it. If you need more sauce to make 4 benedicts (for 2 people), then just use 4 egg yolks and another sliver of butter, it's not like I didn't have enough sauce, but I like my eggs smothered with it

I do have video clips to be edited if you want to see this cook in action

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After breakfast I got my bike ready and headed south to do a couple of errands before I could start my ride. I needed to buy another battery tender as one is flakey, first stop was to buy

some halloween treats, just in case I need some. It is best to buy candies that you want yourself, that way you won't waste the leftovers. Most of my rides are on repetitious roads but today I was looking for photos. Here is a Mike Simmon's inspired self portrait "shadow" photo

(overlooking the approach to George Massey Tunnel, Rice Mill Road, Richmond, BC)

Then I headed down to the Fraser River

then I stop again on an empty gravel parking lot to show you the Village of Steveston in the background

today it was very windy with wind gusts which nearly blew me off the road

it was a chilly 11°c and while the sun was out there was little heat

(Gulf of Georgia Historic site, Steveston, BC)

I have taken numerous photos of Finn Slough before but today I noticed the very high water levels, so of course I just had to snap another one

It won't be long before our Fall days turn into days of rain and gloom so you have to enjoy them while you can. I certainly enjoyed today. It was great to be out on two wheels

Burnt Thumb #2 & memories

2011-10-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

Friend: "Have you burnt yourself yet ?"

Me: "No, why do you ask ?"

Friend: "How is your new gas stove ?"

Me: "Fine, still getting used to it"

Well, famous last words. Things break and things have to be replaced and so it was with our old Stove which came with our house when we purchased it back in 1980. It was old then but it worked so we never had an inclination to have it replaced . . . until it broke down again. The hinges on the door were broken which meant that we could not use the oven. The top elements were fine, and so was the broiler section which we use often to broil steaks or roast our own rotisserie chicken.

When it came down to replacement, we wanted what we wanted. We didn't want stainless steel finish, nor did we want Black, nor did we want dual fuel. We just wanted a simple gas stove in white enamel finish to match all the other appliances we have at home. We have a white fridge, white microwave and our small kitchen stuff is white. The dealer finally put one on special order and it took nearly 2 months to get it. Then was the challenged to get it hooked up to our gas line

We needed to buy some parts. What you see cost around $122. and we have some pieces left over. It was more expeditious to buy what you think you may need so you don't have to waste time going back to get the 'missing' stuff, which was not returnable. I have never used a gas stove before and it was a learning experience for the first few days, where I burnt my thumb on a very hot pot. Perhaps we have the gas turned on too high as the pots seem to be much hotter than before when we used electric. Now I know what my friend was asking about. We started to put pot holders and oven mitts beside the stove, just in case we need them

On Saturday I decided to make Tomato Beef chow mein, and I burnt my thumb for the second time

I boiled a large pot of water, put the burner on High and waited for the pot to boil. Then I added a package of noodles to cook and when it was ready I grabbed the pot handles to pour the cooked noodles into the strainer. All was well at first as the handles are insulated but when the noodles were emptied from the pot, I then grabbed the side of the handle where there was NO insulation. This is where I received burn #2 . Stupid me . . .

I put onions in the skillet, cut strips of beef and when they were nearly cooked, then added the diced tomatoes, then a tbsp of cornstarch and a bit more liquid.

Then I turned on the right burner to get the Wok heated up to receive the cooled, cooked noodles. When the noodles were fried up a bit, I added the beef tomato mixture and stirred it up . . . and dinner was served

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Last Sunday we were down in Tsawwassen and I noticed this Suzuki motorcycle parked in the lot

It was a Suzuki GS550L, I bought a new one back in 1980 but mine was wine colour. For some reason you don't see many of these models around. I went over and snapped a few photos, and one of the gauge cluster

These were very advanced as compared to their competition. They came with GPI: gear position indicators, electric start. This must have been a later model, as mine also had a kick starter. I also added a Vetter faring with storage pockets, and plastic side cases. Back then I felt "on top of the world" with my new wheels

Wuzhen, China - Part two

2011-10-27T20:25:00.000-07:00

Our trip to China was just under 2 weeks. I took 3 cameras: two for stills and video, and one in the suitcase as a backup. I had to also pack a netbook with external HD's to make daily backups of my images. Whilst I also brought a small Manfrotto travel tripod I only used it once, though I carried it with me everywhere we went. On the plane you are limited to space and weight so you just have to make do with what you have.

I came back with over 38 Gigs of mostly video which was all shot handheld using my then new Canon T2i. I used the tripod one evening for some time exposures but it drew so much attention from impoverished residents looking for money or handouts, who obviously think that all tourists are "rich" .

One day when our group went to a mall somewhere in Shanghai it was expected that all of us would remain in the area and shop in the local tourist stores. I decided to explore in a larger radius and found myself in the Old Shanghai Market about a kilometer away. I knew I had a couple of hours to make my way back to the tour bus. I couldn't get over all the photo opps and immediately started aiming my camera everywhere taking pictures of window frames, clothes hanging on the line, old buildings and trying to capture the local people doing their everyday things. The market was also interesting with all the goods for sale, street food, shoemakers doing their work in the street. As this was an older area plumbing was added to the front of their small residences so it was unusual to find the sinks in the street where people were brushing their teeth, washing their hair. For me it was such a cultural shock of seeing life without many modern conveniences.

I brought out my camera and started aiming it everywhere and before I snapped a few frames I heard many people shouting at me and waiving their arms. I don't really know what they were saying but I realized that I was the intruder. I mean, who am I to take photos of them who have little and then leave and return to my deluxe American style hotel with all the trimmings while they remain in poverty . . . It was obvious to me that I could only photograph in these areas if they thought that I was NOT taking photos. So I went into stealth mode and shot mostly video with my camera cradled in my arm and aiming from the waist, without viewing.

I was told that the average wage in Beijing (for the working class) was around RMB 1,500-2,000 which works out to about US$320. per month. A little more in Shanghai, perhaps RMB 2,000. to 2,500 (US$400), so we are looking at under $15. per day. There were labour troubles at Foxcon which was big in the news while we were there. Front page news in some english language newspapers. Foxcon is the company that makes all the iPhones, iPods and apple computers. The workers were promised a wage increase up to RMB 2,500, but the company refused and only gave then RMB 1,800 (US$288). Until this trip I never knew anything about Foxcon, but they employ over a million people in Company cities

Sorry for rambling on and giving you this useless information, but in my long, round-about way I am trying to tell you that I took a lot of video and I have formed some opinions about China from our short stay from what I have seen and from what our Guide has told us. I have so much still to show you, but for now, here is some video from Wuzhen which supplements the previous post.

Wuzhen, China

2011-10-26T20:50:00.000-07:00

I was going through my hard drive looking for video projects when I came across some photos from our trip to China a year ago last October. We visited an Ancient Water Town, a protected UNESCO heritage site, to a village called Wuzhen, near Suzhou .

being a water city what better way than to see it by gondola . You can find more information HERE

or you can find more information about Wuzhen here
. A little change of pace today as we all know that a picture says a "thousand words" so I'll let the photos do the talking

one of many stone arches

this town is over 1,000 years old and the homes do not have running water. Laundry has to be done in the river, and there are communal washrooms for the residents to use

Mrs Skoot enjoying our brief ride floating down the river

here is a view looking straight ahead

where else can you hang your laundry

as you notice most of the people walking around are tourists like ourselves, and the
Chinese people are now encouraged to travel to see their own country

the local streets are very narrow and we are walking on the original stone walkways. The homes are constructed of wood and it all looks original, and weathered

this town is separated into areas to highlight what it was like "back then". Here we went into a bed museum

we also visited their Mao Tai Jiu factory. It has a distinct smell and these urns are filled to the brim with liquor. Mao Tai has a very high alcohol content of 55% in their familiar white/red bottle

Imagine living 1,000 years ago with no modern conveniences, no electricity and no running water

White Rock revisited

2011-10-23T21:10:00.000-07:00

While I have posted limited photos of White Rock in the past, I had always intended to record a video of the main tourist area along the strip which is across from the beach. We used to come down here all the time and have brunch at our favourite restaurant, near the pier. Nowadays, not so much.

I also have a summer car which I have not used since August and my insurance is expiring in a few days. There is always a reason not to use it and when the weather is good I usually gravitate to my V-strom, and my car sits gathering dust. I also spend my Sundays in the car with Mrs Skoot and we go somewhere for a ride & brunch. Today I decided to kill "two birds with one stone" and accomplish both missions.

The following video was recorded using a GoProHD in R3 mode (720p60), using my Manfrotto monopod technique. In the car, Mrs Skoot was the human monopod holder & aimer.

White Rock has two business districts. The main one on the top of the hill where there is a mall, restaurants, shopping and fast food places. At the bottom of the hill along the beach the "tourist" area is split in the middle by a hill which is really too far to walk. The sandy beach is around 2 miles long and is a popular place during the summer when parking is hard to obtain.

Goats on Roof, Coombs, BC

2011-10-19T20:16:00.000-07:00

During our relaxing weekend on "the Island" we had to stop at Coombs to see the Goats, but there were no goats today. If you are in the area you have to make this a "must see" place, especially during the summer

you can obtain more information ---> "HERE" <---

There is a very well stocked Country Store along with other business' in an area behind . I remember that this is a very busy place during tourist season, not so much now that the weather is cooler.

Years ago when I first started my YouTube Channel, I used to put music to my videos, that is . . . until I got some disturbing emails from EMI and Columbia Records about Copywrite infringement, so while some of my videos still have music attached, many are silent. I am very careful now about the music I use and I only use "public" material, or in the case of the following video, music that we have produced ourselves. I have a prof PCM digital recorder and the soundtrack was from a jam session recorded on November 7, 2009. Rock, the guitarist is no longer with us and if you listen closely you will hear Bobskoot & Mrs Skoot happily singing along.

R & R on Vancouver Island

2011-10-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

It is not often that we take a day off but that is exactly what we did last Friday when we caught a morning ferry to Vancouver Island and headed north to Courtenay, BC which is about an hour or so north of Nanaimo

Instead of boarding the ferry at Horseshoe Bay which is the usual way to arrive in Nanaimo, we decided to be daring and take the Tsawwassen to Duke Point ferry where the crossing takes 2 hours (instead of 1 hour 40 min) and I had more time to fiddle with the ProHDR app on my iPhone

(iPhone, ProHDR app)

I usually stay outside on the upper deck but today it was very chilly and the wind made my legs feel like jello so I didn't venture outside for long

(Lumix ZS3)

Where possible I like to travel on the backroads so at Parksville we took the Oceanside route along the water and ended up at a neat place called Deep Bay

(Canon T2i, Tamron 17-50)

where we happened to stumble upon a crime scene. We noticed many newer homes in this area. There is short peninsula with a road in the middle and homes on both sides with water access. There is a Government Wharf and other marine facilites

(Canon T2i, Tamron 17-50)

Perhaps it was the good weather but first impressions are that this is a very picturesque/photogenic place. We hung around for a bit enjoying the freedom of a day away from work

We dilly dallied most of the day meandering our way north and eventually found our way to our destination and checked into our Spa Resort just south of Courtenay/Comox and settled into our waterfront view suite

(Lumix ZS3)

Here is a sunrise view from our deck. Across the bay you can see Comox on the other side

(Canon T2i, EF-s 55-250)

While the air was a bit nippy, especially in the evening, the outdoor spa was pleasantly Hot. Luckily I brought my Speedo

(Lumix ZS3)

We topped off the evening with a five star meal in their award-winning restaurant. This was the special of the night, Scallops on a bed of herb-filled, spiced mash potatoes

(Lumix ZS3)

it was so delicious I tried to "stretch my meal" by cutting the scallops into smaller pieces to savour every bite.

I try to travel very light but the electronics take most of the space & weight. This trip I mostly used my GoProHD with a few shots from my Canon T2i. I carry the Lumix as a backup

(iPhone using Pano app produced from 2 images, cropped)

Giving Thanks

2011-10-13T19:54:00.000-07:00

Last week we had our Canadian Thanksgiving. I look forward to having turkey with lots of stuffing but not this year. Our oven is out of commission. It is too old, broken and parts are no longer available so we had to purchase a new one. I mean, how hard is it to purchase a new WHITE stove. Everywhere we called they had stainless steel or black ones in stock but we have an older home and those just wouldn't fit in. We wanted WHITE to blend in with our WHITE fridge and WHITE microwave and WHITE hot (water) pot. We like WHITE. We ordered our stove a few weeks ago and are waiting for them special order ours in. On the US website I found WHITE is available, but on the Cdn website it is not listed.

Luckily our SIL decided to host Thanksgiving this year and decided to prepare two beef roasts, so we were not without food. Sorry no photos but we had an excellent meal with all the trimmings and managed to take some home for another day.

At the end of our meal, after a tableful of desserts and pie someone brought out a few boxes of OLD, Historic family photos

we had photos spread out onto three tables, ooing and aaaaing at the old cars, and the way people used to dress, and also photos of family members which were hard to recognize as they were much younger.

In the old days all you could get were these small black & white contact prints from 127 film. We didn't have fancy equipment back then. I remember when I was 8 years old I was given a 127 Kodak Brownie (no flash). Who knows what happened to it but a few years ago someone gave me a 127 Kodak brownie KIT which included the flash which attached to the side and used flash bulbs. So it is not surprising that not many photos exist of our prior life.

We did not have the disposable income back then to be able to pay for developing and printing a roll of film. It was hard enough to keep food on the table and even strategic highlights of your life are not documented. So it was a bit of a surprise when I noticed the following photo. We got married on June 5th, 1969. We had no photographer and merely just went to the JOTP and had a simple dinner with a few friends and family

this may be the only wedding photo we have and thankfully rediscovered after all this time. Over the years I have lots to be thankful for

English Bay for a Smokie:

2011-10-10T20:57:00.000-07:00

Nothing exciting . . .

2011-10-02T18:59:00.000-07:00

has happened recently. No trips, no adventures, just life, living and enjoying the expected. I love to eat Won Tun, NO ! not the HK (Hong Kong) style with bamboo shoots or shrimps, but plain with just pork and some seasoning. That's me, the simpler the better. Few places make this Cantonese style anymore so we just have to make them ourselves

It is also hard to find the brand of Won Tun wrappers that I prefer, which are large squares and thin. The package above was a compromise as it was the only kind I could find on short notice from the Asian mall

I am an old hand at making these bite-size delicacies. When I was much younger I used to have a part time job downtown on Friday nights and Saturdays and I used to stop by this chinese restaurant for dinner and the waiters usually sat at a large round table at the rear of the restaurant, often making Won Tun between customers to keep busy. I would often watch them as I ate my dinner and over the years I have become quite proficient in their production.

soon I have neatly stacked rows of Won Ton in my container. Enough for three meals which we devoured last week. Just have to add some boiled broccoli, and some soup base to float them in.

We have found it is best to boil/cook the Won Tun separately in its own boiling water to eliminate the starch build-up, then scoop them out into a bowl, and add the soup and vegetables. Soon you are eating

Hmmm delicious . . .

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This week was also time for house repairs. We had a problem with the siding on one side of our house which needed to be replaced. We also thought we should replace the rotted out wood framed windows at the same time, and also have an exhaust fan installed in the downstairs washroom

I rushed home and found my old window frames in the contractor's trailer

The first day was to remove the siding and rebuild the rotten areas. The second day was to install my new double paned sliding windows.

and by the time Friday rolled around, the siding was nearly installed

The original siding was heavy duty cedar which is hard to get, but it was replaced with siding made of compressed concrete which will never rot. It comes pre-primed and soon will be painted to match the rest of the trim .

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On the way to work Friday morning I took a different route which led me nearly downtown. At this time of year I leave home around sunrise and I noticed this scene as I travelled northbound down Cambie Street . I just can't resist a colourful sunrise so I pulled over and unpacked my camera

here is a closer view . . .

I then set my Lumix ZS3 to full zoom and came up with this closer view

As I headed Eastbound on West 2nd Avenue towards Knight Road I noticed the new refurbished BC Place Stadium, which was scheduled for its grand opening later this evening.

The new retractable roof is nearly finished. There are still problems with having the joints sealed and the contractor has run "out of time"

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I just couldn't resist this graffiti. The hardest 3 words in a male's vocabulary

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NOTE: I am having problems posting comments on "some blogs" so don't think I am ignoring any one. I am having problems posting on:

Confessions of an Ageing Motorcyclist: Geoff
Two Wheelers Revisited: Sonja

There are more but I can't remember right now. It may have something to do with the new blogger templates. I have already reset Internet Explorer 8 back to default settings, and I am open to further suggestions, thank you

Kerrisdale to Fairview Slope, Vancouver BC

2011-09-27T21:03:00.000-07:00

I have been playing around with video, lately. You are probably tired of hearing my non-accent Canadian voice. It takes me hours to produce these and it is simpler to just post a few photos with some words dotted in-between. A photo is just a photo, a video conveys sounds, action and I like to give you a glimpse into daily life. If there is something you wish to see, something you are curious about in our area, just forward your requests. If it is within my power to perform your task, I will undertake it as a project. I love projects. It gives meaning to my life and gives me a purpose, and it will give me satisfaction to know that my life has meaning and that someone out there will appreciate it.

Contemplate

2011-09-25T21:19:00.000-07:00

Lately I have noticed a lot of soul searching, coming to crossroads, ageing, thinking about the future, changing our lifestyles, wondering about our futures, making changes to our free time, and leaving behind the mundane, routine and considering future changes to enhance what is left of our lives. I have been noticing this on most of the blogs (on my sidebar) . I am no different. We have bucket lists, unfinished challenges, trips to take, dreams to come alive and all this while we are still healthy enough to enjoy, yet we continue to work, do things for others and find that we have scarce time for ourselves.

With the current meltdown of the world, wondering about our securities and whether our funds will last until the end of our time. I am reduced to thinking about these alternatives available and with a clean slate to ponder these things I decided to go for a walk, ponder and just be . . . enjoy the fresh air, the ocean breezes and be by myself, as I make "Footprints in the Sand" and think about my future

Gagliardi Way on-ramp Westbound Hwy 1

2011-09-21T22:00:00.000-07:00

There was recently a very bad motorcycle accident at this freeway interchange not long ago as was reported by SonjaM . Sonja knows that I often take this route home on my evening commute home. One day we met here by accident and stopped beside me at the stoplight

A few months ago the Cariboo/Gagliardi Way intersection was made a bit safer with the installation of a traffic light. Before that light it was hard to merge left as the traffic gets up to speed and you cannot get a clear sight line due to the slight curve in the road. The on-ramp to Hwy 1 used to enter on the right side, but it has now been dismantled with another signal light in place to make the traffic turn left onto a curved on ramp which merges with Hwy 1 also on a curve. It is hard to turn your head backwards to see the oncoming traffic, and most of the time the traffic are heavy duty trucks often tandems who insist on staying in the outside lane. This often makes it difficult to come up to speed and merge due to the short acceleration distance before the lane ends.

Perhaps I am not explaining it very clearly due to my Canadian accent. That's the problem when you enter some narration on a video and people make fun of the way you speak.

anyway . . . a photo is worth a thousand words, so you can see for yourself. I try to avoid this freeway entrance by taking another way home, but I had planned to video it for you and this I managed to do earlier this week

Blackie Spit, Crescent Beach, BC

2011-09-19T20:31:00.000-07:00

This blog entry is a slight deviation from my usual posts. I wanted to try something different. As you know I have been doing video for a few years but mainly post still photos with narrative. I know a few of you don't like to look at videos so I try to keep them short.

I also have a love/hate relationship with the GoProHD camera due to its clunky interface, lack of remote control and your ability to see what it is doing whilst riding my V-strom, as the LCD display is "on the front", where you can't see it. Also you have to guess a bit as to where to aim it.

BUT, since it looks like a toy, many people don't know what it is or what it is doing so I have been doing some testing and find that I can "film" video without them knowing. Lots of people stare at my contraption but no one has asked any questions, yet.

For those that edit video will know how much time it takes to compile all your clips and arranged them into a logical sequence, with transitions and titles. While this video is only around 5 minutes, I have spent nearly 3 hours today, and over 2 hours on it yesterday. Uploading to youtube took nearly an hour. Excuse the narration as I am doing it "on the fly" without a script, to save time. I seem to be fumbling with the microphone and audio, and I don't stutter in person.

A lazy Staycation week

2011-09-18T19:24:00.000-07:00

My Staycation is over. One week of doing not much, riding close to home, taking photos and working on some new video techniques and different ways to mount my videocam on my bike. It is a rare week where I would not go out of town when I had time available. These past days were a test of what will be one day when I will not have to make work my primary goal. While I did not commute to work, I did manage to ride around in our urban traffic during off peak hours. I didn't mean to make this video so long but I wanted you to see a typical day riding along Broadway, with signal lights at every block and also part of another route I usually ride on the way home from work

Most of this video was filmed last Wednesday when I rode my V-strom to Steveston for fish & chips, where I also took this self portrait

don't be concerned, I did wear my helmet as it is compulsory to wear helmets in British Columbia, but there is no requirement to wear anything else

Liquid sunshine

2011-09-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

Summer had a late start and recently we have had a few weeks of very warm temperatures. Our great weather is now coming to an end due to forecast for rain, the first rain this month. Since the skies were overcast and grey I got a late start and decided to go down to False Creek, ending up half way across the Cambie Street Bridge

It had been raining and this is the first time that I have had to wear a hat and waterproof shell since Spring.

I am nearing the end of my one week staycation. The idea of staying close to home was my idea as I recently came to a major crossroads in my life. It is rare that I would take time away from work and not travel somewhere. I was taking this opportunity to find out what retirement would feel like, if I were retired

Soon I change locations and head farther East towards the Olympic Athlete's Village. There are not many people out today, they are probably at work

Lately I have been carrying my Canon T2i dSLR and take more time in my quest to make better photos. Less point and shoot and more "take your time" and check your settings and focus before hitting the shutter button type photos. Since I lacked a suitable subject to practice on I had no choice but to use myself as the Model .

The temperatures have moderated a bit, you can feel the coolness in the air and so far the rain has been light and was more like a fine mist (drizzle).

I decide to head over to the pedestrian bridge

and use the Stadium in the background

The new roof is nearly completed . It gets tiring taking all these photos

so I take a short rest on one of the built-in recliners . By now my stomach is asking for nourishment when I noticed this vendor. Their actual storefront, across the street is not yet open, so they set up this street cart. I ordered an excellent chicken/bacon sandwich and beverage to wash it down

The sandwich was very tasty

I savoured every bite but soon it was gone and I moved on to the large bird statue

I also managed to climb this square rock pedestal to pose with this First Nations artwork

It was now late afternoon and the sun was trying to peer out from behind the clouds, I hopped into the car

(try it, you may like it)

and headed south back to the railway tracks I discovered the other day. I am not the only one who loves "rails" .
but instead of sitting on them, I tried my balancing act. It is harder than you think . . .

Lunch in Steveston

2011-09-14T20:16:00.000-07:00

Our summer weather is slowly retreating. I had plans to ride somewhere with a view but with the heavy overcast sky I knew there would be no view, other than clouds and mist so instead of leaving at the break of dawn, I left closer to noon and ended up in Steveston for the best Fish & Chips in the City

Ask anyone and Pajo's is the first thing that comes out of your mouth. Pajo's has a few locations around the area but this is the original location, on a barge floating in Steveston harbour. It is seasonal and closed during the cold winter months. On weekends it is very busy, today not so much.

Even the Steveston boardwalk is devoid of people. Today you could have your choice of where to sit . Soon my small order of Cod & Chips are ready

to bring to my table. Notice that your order is presented in a paper funnel which fits precisely into these round circles cut into the tables . If I were younger I would have ordered the Larger portion, but nowadays I find that I prefer to eat less.

Here it is . . .

You are able to order 3 types of fish: Cod, Salmon or Halibut . Even though I ordered the small portion, there were more fries than I wanted to eat, so rather than throw them away in the garbage, I decided to feed the seagulls

I decided that today I was going to concentrate on photography and stick closer to home. On the way here (to Steveston) I usually pass through Finn Slough. I notice that this deteriorating foot bridge is calling to me

the wood is rotting and the structure feels less secure than before. You have to watch your step and stick close to the middle. I decide to snap a Gary France inspired Centre-Line photo, even though there is no centre line

Earlier I passed by another Marina where I thought I could set up for another photo of my bike

and another for your viewing pleasure

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This is a panorama of Finn Slough, produced from 4 stitched images.
I am having trouble figuring out clickable thumbnails

(Canon G10: panorama assist mode, left to right)

after you click on the thumbnail, you have to click on the photo again

Grover the Vino

2011-09-13T18:49:00.000-07:00

My Friend Robert gets Tuesday off. Last month he knew that I was taking a vacation week so he said to me that he was going to block off his calendar, for me. We could do anything I wanted, we could ride, we could walk, my wish was his command. This morning I took my time, packed my cameras and headed East towards Surrey where I met Robert and his friends for breakfast

This was the first time that I had seen "Grover", his wife's new Yamaha Vino 125. Robert's Vespa PX150 is being serviced and he is using Grover for a few days. It is brand new and is still being broken in so we planned to stick to slow roads, close to home. With stomachs full we are soon underway and head East towards Tswwassen, a community which is adjacent to the US border

We take the scenic route passing through Ladner and miles of farmland

half an hour later we arrive on the southern portion of Centennial Beach

A walk up those cement stairs will lead to the USA

Obviously we are on the Canadian side as you notice the fluttering flags blowing in the wind. A short half a block south we could set foot on the American side, if we wanted to endure the stiff penalties with crossing the border illegally. The trees and the homes in the background are in Point Roberts, WA .

Eventually we move on to the main beach area to use the "facilities"

The beach is deserted. There is no one here, the parking lot is empty but luckily the washrooms were open. It seemed a bit chilly with the breeze over the water and a hot beverage would have hit the spot, except the concession was closed

I managed to capture another photo of Robert and Grover

We head back to Vancouver taking Hwy 99 North and approach the entrance to the George Massey Tunnel. Notice that Robert & Grover is that speck ahead of me. I am using the BlueKat "hold the camera in my left hand technique" to take photos whilst riding and I hang back to allow a buffer, "just in case" .

As we approach the Oak Street Bridge we are caught in a massive traffic jam

the highway and all approaches are dead stopped. We have to endure 3 ft shifts for over a mile, all due to a slight fender bender . By now we are hot and decide to visit Gary and have a cool beverage from across the street when some members of the scooter gang show up

Another relaxing day, not doing much and not many miles. But I did manage to spend a pleasant day with my friend, Robert , and riding my V-strom

(Robert & Bob: Centennial Beach, Tswwassen, BC)

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I did TWO stupid things yesterday:

i) Mrs Skoot said: "A light has burnt out" . so naturally I go to my stockpile of spares and pull out an Eco Halogen type dimmable, high efficiency bulb which draws 40 watts but works like a 75 watt. We use dimmable bulbs in our washroom. I remove the head, unscrew the bulb and replace with the new one. No problem, operation successful. We have two bulbs and now one is brighter than the other since it was a different type. I decided to remove the other head and when I grabbed the light bulb, I got an instant burn on my right thumb. I only grabbed it for a millisecond and now it gave me jabbing pain

I still have a white, circular blister but the photos doesn't look as bad as it was. I mean, how stupid for trying to hold a hot bulb without letting it cool down first. We had LidoSporin which took a while to take affect.

ii) The other thing was so dumb I am ashamed to tell you . . . I should have known better . I have slightly re-injured my left foot, the one that was getting better.

Sometimes I think too much

2011-09-12T19:39:00.000-07:00

I imagine as a person ages they come to crossroads and reflect upon where they are and where they are headed, how they spend their free time and what they want to achieve in the future as it pertains to hobbies, or travel. A man of Iron recently had these reflections which he blogged about recently HERE . I too came to the same intersection about a decade ago. I was always first to offer my services which people expected that I would jump to their rescue and many times I did. As photography has been my lifelong hobby "friends" with limited budgets would pounce on me to take their wedding photos. Even friends of friends have come knocking and expected that I too would "bend" to their desires. In the past, with good friends I would offer my services as a wedding gift, I would give them a day of my life, produce the negatives and give them to the lucky couple. All this for no payment and with my best wishes.

When our daughter got married, I called upon my photographer friends to help me snap a few photos. I would have taken them myself if I wasn't in the wedding party, so I left my camera at home. No one came to my rescue and thus I had to hire my own Wedding photographer just like everyone else. You may ask, what's this got to do with being a riding instructor and giving up all my free weekends training new riders ? Same analogy, just differing skills.

The first crossroads was exactly like the Man of Iron mentioned before. I too reflected on my free time, and all the stuff I did helping others on my free weekends, some appreciative, and others not so much. Ever since I made the decision to act upon my own priorties, over the whims of others who infringe upon my free time, I feel happier as I am steering my own course.

Lately I am feeling like I am too old. Nothing has changed, I still feel healthy except for my foot, but I can still walk under my own power, and I can still ride my motorcycle but I have come to my second crossroads. Thus, a good friend recently said to me that . . .

"I think too much"

And this is probably true because I came to a major crossroads in July when I should be retiring, except for the fact that the economy has collapsed again and we are dipping into another recession. I am a bit worried about the future and lack of income, so I trudge on and continue to work like many others of my generation. I have been issued a Gold Care Card which signifies that I am receiving my CPP: Canada Pension Plan and OAP: Old Age Pension and the fact that I am now officially an Old Person. I didn't really feel any different when I turned 65, but when I received my first pension payment, things changed. I call it Retirement Mode and I am using this transitional time to try and do things that cost less (or free), and I have been staying at home more to watch the grass grow.

This week I am on Vacation but I decided that I would stay close to home and find out what it would be like to "pretend" that I was retired . It is very rare that I would not plan to go anywhere when I have time off work. Of course the idea would be to do things that were cost efficient.

This morning I got my V-strom ready to go for a ride

I had no plans but ended up Downtown on Denman Street, then rode around our beach areas over to UBC: University of British Columbia where I parked in the motorcycle area

It was still early in the day. I was planning on going down to Wreck Beach to spend an hour or so but it was still cool and windy so I continued my ride to a viewpoint overlooking the Fraser River

The YVR: Vancouver International Airport is in the distance (left horizon)

There is not much beach access on this section of the UBC endowment lands. There are dangerous steep cliffs on the south side.

I decided to return home and park my bike. It was suggested to me to ride out to Alouette Lake in Golden Ears Provincial Park but that is nearly 2 hours for me, each way and I didn't feel like navigating the traffic mess to get there. Being officially old I thought that I would prefer to keep a closer radius and just enjoy the day at a slower pace

I know it's not safe to sit on the railway tracks, and there are No Trespassing signs warning of danger but today I wanted to be a daredevil

Yes, we have a helmet law here for cyclists. I dread the thought of having to ride home from this spot as it is 5 kms all uphill and my legs are feeling like jello

and I had to stop a few times to catch my breath and rest. I must have looked like the walking dead, for one of my stops a lady came out of her home and asked if I was Okay. As I neared the top of the hill I noticed a red deux chevaux 2cv

Well, I managed to ride all the way up the hill under my own power. Not bad for an Old Guy, even though I had to stop a few times. I suppose it will get easier each time. I used the bike route and I was passed by a few other cyclists who "left me in their dust" . It's not easy to see them pass and a block later they are nearly out of sight.

It was a pleasant afternoon for a ride, a chance to get a bit of exercise and to build up my sandal tan

Meet Wayne, the Meanderer

2011-09-10T20:34:00.000-07:00

Photography has been my passion and hobby for more years than my memory can remember. I ride, I drive, I walk, I cycle, I also meander on the streets of Vancouver and have done so for decades. Maybe not so much walking these days but you will seldom, if ever, find me without a camera of some sort. I am always learning new techniques and visit many photo forums and a couple of years ago I stumbled across another fellow Vancouverite who happens to also take photos and travels on the streets of Vancouver. One thing I noticed from his posts is that we are always following in each other's footsteps missing each other by mere days. It's a wonder that we have not bumped into each other, by chance. For months I have been trying to catch up with him but he is an elusive "fish".

Today was the Big Day . . .

Here is my first glimpse of Wayne, the meander who is author of THIS BLOG I arrived early this morning to pick him up and drive him to my usual breakfast spot for breakfast

As I don't carry passengers on my bike, I decided to use my dusty 'Vette . Wayne told me that he feels more comfortable behind a camera, rather than in front so I rushed to snap a blurry grabshot before he noticed

Every Saturday morning for over a decade I have been meeting "the guys" for breakfast at this Kitsilano eatery on 4th Avenue

(Bill, David, Gord & Wayne)

Today we also had another visitor, David from Toronto . Over breakfast we often talk about this and that and today was no different . We like to solve the world's problems before we leave . No food pOrn today

Mine was the plate on the left, my usual sausages with eggs, and Wayne had the French Toast w/syrup. It was delicious as you will surmise.

We also had lots of their excellent coffee blend . Soon enough it was time to leave and we ended up talking more camera talk. I demonstrated how to operate a 4x5 field camera, and ended up taking our photo using my radio remote control shutter release

(L-R: Wayne & Myself)

In a couple of weeks Wayne is off to Boston and we will get together again when he gets back and perhaps walk about snapping photos together.

We soon parted ways and I transported Wayne downtown and I managed to grab another image of him, with my iPhone4, before he exited the car

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Our Company would prefer that we do not carry our vacation days over to the next year, which is based upon your aniversary date of hire, mine being mid-October. Prior to last year it was calculated on the calendar year which ended December 31st and I often took extra days off during the Christmas week. Not that you needed to know all of this detail, so next week I am off on Vacation. No plans, nothing set in stone, sort of a "go with the flow" sort of random non-planning. I look forward to shedding my work attire and dressing down

I worked so hard on my sandal tan and now that I am breaking in a new pair, the straps go the opposite way ruining the strap pattern. This new pair (Teva: Zilch) is a minimal design which is foldable for travelling. They are so flexible you can roll them up and when they are on they are so light it feels like you are barefoot. My commuter car has a manual transmission, and with these sandals on you can really feel the clutch engage.

I am not sure if they are better than the Vibram FiveFingers , perhaps Steel Cupcake can give a review of her pair.

It's not often I take time off from work and not go anywhere. Maybe I'll just work on my sandal tan

A $30. camera, in action

2011-09-08T19:47:00.000-07:00

During the summer whilst wearing my usual tank top, shorts & sandals I have nowhere to put my pocket camera. This is not a problem in cooler weather when I wear my jacket as I also have inside pockets. I am a cameraHolic. I would feel naked without my camera. Lately I have also been carrying my Canon dSLR T2i as I find I have more control over my images but I still have my pocket camera with me. I stuff it into the pocket of my shorts on one side, in the other side I stuff my iPhone, which also has a great camera, and on my shoulder I sling my trusty Canon. It gets cumbersome figuring out which camera to use. For posting on the net I mainly use my Lumix, and sometimes my iPhone. For more serious, or challenging lighting conditions I use my dSLR as it is more configurable. I was trying to come up with a more simplistic way to cut down on what I needed to carry. I was thinking that I would just use my iPhone as I also had editing apps installed, some of which are very good such as the ProHDR, or Pano+ . I often forget to use my phone camera but I always have it with me thus it would solve having to carry my Lumix around.

Then last week while in the big box electronic store I was seduced into purchasing a low cost, small, basic Samsung ST30 10 MP camera slighly larger than a credit card. You could lose it in your pocket. As photography has been my hobby for decades people expect 'good' photos, so I purchase "good" cameras for that purpose. Most often I purchase top of the line P&S models, or mid priced dSLR Nikons or Canons. I have nearly always been a loyal Nikon user until recently when I switched over to Canon and found that I could use alternative lenses.

On my previous post I mentioned that I would post a few photos using this basic Samsung ST30 camera as compared to my Canon T2i with a highly rated Tamron 17-50 2.8 DiII WA zoom. The ST30 is 10 mp vs the Canon at 18MP, photos were reduced to 2400 x 1400. Being a basic camera you have no control over the ISO. From using the camera I noticed that it is actually auto ISO which is selected by the camera at time of exposure. Luckily there is EC: Exposure Compensation which can be selected on the menu

(Samsung ST30 EC: +1, 1/45s F3.3 iso=180)

(Canon T2i 100s F5.0 iso=200, no EC)

After dinner at a restaurant on Cambie Street we were walking back to my car and I snapped one of the sidewalk

(Samsung ST30 1/5s f3.3 iso=640)

(Canon T2i 1/8s F2.8 iso=800)

We drove down to Hastings Street in a not so good area where I wanted a photo of this neon sign

(Samsung ST30 1/42s F3.7 iso=400)

(Canon T2i 1/20s F4.0 iso=400)

The next day I took this photo through the windshield with around 2/3 zoom, bright sunny day

(Samsung ST30 1/180s F5.9 iso=80)

while refuelling my car the other night, just around dusk I took this at the gas station

(Samsung ST30 1/34s F3.3 iso=400)

As long as you realize the limitations of a basic camera and how it works, you would be pleased with the results. I could still carry my Canon T2i around my shoulder and have this little camera in my pocket and not even know it was there. I think for $30. + tax, I got a bargain

So there you have it, the mighty vs the mini. I can tell you that once you fondle it in your hands it is very hard to put it down.

Riding boots or nothing

2011-09-06T20:05:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was the last, long, holiday weekend of Summer. I had been commuting to work on my V-strom in the cooler temperatures . We even managed to get some refreshing drizzle and several bright cloudy days. While summer is coming to an end we are finally getting the heat we had been hoping for. I dreaded the thought of having to wear ATGATT with near record temps that were to come. If I have a choice of having to wear riding gear in the heat OR minimalistic summer attire, then summer attire will most likely, win. Also in case you haven't noticed the first thing I do when I ride to my destination is to change out into my preferred choice of footwear

which happens to be this type of sandal. I have quite the sandal collection, some still new and not yet broken in. Under my riding gear in hot weather I usually wear shorts and tank tops. I have not yet tried commando mode but I thought about it recently when I was making my way home and sweating at the many signal lights along the way. This weekend I decided to park my bike and take out my 'Vette. I don't get to drive it much and it is just sitting there gathering dust. It seems that every nice day I usually grab the keys to my V-strom and the 'Vette gets left behind again but it was not to be . . .

I make up these silly rules and one of the things I decided a long time ago was that I only drive my 'Vette with the top down and it is not enjoyable to drive with the sun beating down and drying out my fragile skin . It is more enjoyable to go out for an evening ride along the waterfront, beach areas and Robson Street where all the posers hang out on a Summer's night. Cars are cruising up and down the "strip" and sometimes you just have to join in the parade.

So I hopped into my commuter car, put on the A/C and headed down to False Creek to enjoy a lazy day wandering about and snapping a few photos

I tried to find an interesting place to pose for you and you may recognize this area from past posts. It never feels hot down by the water with the ocean breezes and I can easily find a vacant (free) parking spot close by. I wanted to show you what a daredevil I was but in the process I nearly fell down onto the rocks below

I don't think this railing is very secure, especially with an overweight, ageing person on top . Shortly thereafter I decided to just enjoy the warmth of the day and just watched the boats float by. It was very relaxing to just be.

Later that afternoon I decided to light the BBQ and put on the chicken

We are on the wrong side of the sun and on a normal work day it is too cool to sit on the sundeck and BBQ in the dark. We both get home late. It was very nice to be BBQing in the late afternoon for a change

The next day was another lazy day, I mean isn't that what long weekends are for ? to relax and recharge. After a home-made breakfast I decided that our cars needed a bath

it really wasn't planned that way. I was merely moving Mrs Skoot's WRX out of the way so I could get the 'Vette out. We have limited parking and the 'Vette is parked in the rear. It was too hot to go for a ride with the top down, so we didn't and then it was time to wash my commuter car

Washing your wheels is as important as washing the body. By now you may have noticed that I managed to ditch the sandals

While at home I manage to do without shoes most of the time but Mrs Skoot has an eagle's eye for dirty feet and gets after me all the time to wash my feet, so that's what I have to do . . . often

sometimes just a rinse will do, other times soap & water and often I require the can of hand cleaner or Comet

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Lately I have been less of a consumer but after breakfast on Saturday, with the guys we decided to walk to the big box electronics store to look at Tablets, and I naturally had to walk over to the camera department to see what was on sale.

It was so heavy it needed two people to hold it steady. I was straining for the few seconds needed for my friend to snap a fuzzy photo

Then I saw the deal of the moment

I usually do my research before I buy anything and for cameras I usually select good performers in the mid price range, but this was cheaper than a toy camera. It was the demo model without a box or packing and without battery charger, but it didn't matter to me as I already have chargers capable of charging most batteries. I have always liked miniature gadgets and this camera was the size of a credit card, only thicker. Because this model was the "last", I managed to get the price reduced to only $30. because the battery was probably worth the price alone, making the camera FREE. I picked it up and it was a struggle to put it back down so it came home with me

If the truth be known, I was talking to the cute female salesperson and during our conversation she allowed me to take one of the dummy cameras at No charge. It was part of their camera display where one working model is on display to touch and play with, and other non-working models are there to show you the other colours available. I felt guilty taking apart the display and taking all of the 'dummy' shells so I just bought the demo, and she found me a battery

I have taken identical photos with this $30. Samsung as compared to my Canon T2i, with Tamron 17-55 2.8 DiII and if there are enough requests, I may post the photos. I think you would be surprised at the results as long as you know its limitations

EMS Bike Nite and HRD: Vincent

2011-09-02T20:15:00.000-07:00

During the summer, the sportbike community attends Bike Night BBQs, and a week ago this was hosted by EMS: Essential Motorcycle Services, where TED the owner is the one who services my V-strom. What better way to spend a warm Wednesday summer evening having a hamburger or hot dog and chatting with other bikers

No, that is not my V-strom but there were a few other Stromtroopers there. This was early in the evening but soon after the lot was jammed with live DJ music permeating through the air.

The BBQ was put into action and soon I was munching on my hamburger and enjoying a soda. There were bikes of every description and most makes were represented. As I was walking about rubbing elbows with other familiar faces the star of the show arrived. I knew from the chitter chatter on the local bcsportbikes.com forum that this beautiful bike would be there, and right on queue it arrived right before my eyes .

I stared at it from all angles wondering whether this was a restoration, but others were speaking of it as being brand new and not ridden, until now. If you ask me it is better than new. I often take more photos than I can ever post and RichardM recently posted a request to see more photos of this bike. I mean, how would he know that I would have more to show ?

As I don't know much about these bikes, I'm letting the photos speak for themselves

There you have it, The Vincent HRD . . .

being ridden under its own power . A beautiful work of Art

Mostly Random Sunday photos

2011-08-31T20:07:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been very busy. Family gatherings, Aunt's major Birthday, Friends visiting from California and other stuff which I don't blog about. Relatives are shy and don't wish to be recognized. Due to the recent hot weather, not much riding except for commuting to work so it was refreshing this morning with the unexpected drizzle of rain

During the summer the sportbike community usually plans a few bike nights, but not so many this year due to our late summer. Last week was the 2nd bike night of the year and it was fairly well attended. There was a BBQ, DJ music and lots of ooing and aahhhing over the Ducati's but I was mesmerized over this nearly new Vincent with only 300 miles on the odometer. It was virtually new

Actually it was better than new. I don't know if this was a restoration or not but it was used sparingly as the owner only rides short distances to show it off

A couple of weeks ago we happened to be downtown at English Bay and noticed that the laughing statues had been decorated with colourful headwear.

There were other people taking photos and I decided to pose "monkey see, monkey do" style

I'm the one with the plain headwear . It was a humid hot day so I was very glad to not have to wear ATGATT today

I walked across the street to show you the view of the seawall which goes all the way around Stanley Park.

but my camera had a mind of its own and pointed to the bottom right corner, like a magnet. The force was strong that I had to concede to its wishes

Did I mention that it was a hot day ? So I decided that I wanted a Tim Hortons Iced Capuccino. While on our way to Timmies I looked to my left and noticed

another rider out for a ride and just enjoying the day . We finally arrive at Timmies and noticed this motorcycle patrolman parking his HD to join his friends

who were waiting inside

Doughnuts and the Police, a common combination

Translink bicycle bridge over the Fraser River

2011-08-28T20:05:00.000-07:00

If you happened to be a cyclist you would know that there was an alternative way to bicycle from Vancouver to Richmond

Of course if you happened to not live in Vancouver you would not know where this bridge was located . At the south end of the city you reach the southern boundary of Vancouver which ends at the Fraser River. The other evening I had the opportunity to borrow an electric bicycle and go on a test ride.

After a block or two to figure out how to manually shift the gears and work the electric propulsion system I was nearly ready to tackle more than a block . This is an eZee Sprint 450 watt powered motor with disk brakes front and back

It is a front wheel drive bike with the motor hidden in the front hub

The large battery sits vertically on the seat post and is the newer Lithium Polymer high capacity type. I am not sure of the specs but I believe it has a range of approx 50 kms and more if you help by pedalling. It can be fully recharged in 4 hours

Most of the controls are on the right side. The bike has a 7 speed shimano drive system and you are able to shift gear ratios while stationary and it is not a deraileur system as on most less expensive bikes. The throttle functions just like a motorcycle, as you turn the bike goes faster

I didn't want to borrow the bike for too long so I decided to cycle over to the Translink bicycle/pedestrian bridge which spans the Fraser River and takes you over to Richmond

At the bottom of the ramp I notice the pedestrian and bicycle Icons

The ramp snakes you up to the deck level which also serves as the bridge for the Skytrain (rapid transit) This is the first time that I have been up here

It is a suspension bridge

There does not seem to be very many people using this bridge today

So I stop for a quick self portrait

Vancouver has a compulsory helmet law but my helmet was safely tucked away at home, as this ride was unplanned and unexpected

This was where this photo was taken, looking West over the North Arm of the Fraser River.

You can barely make out the bridge in the distance, but that is the Oak Street Bridge and is part of Hwy 99 which heads south to join up with I-5 in Washington State

Soon enough my time is up and I have to head back to Vancouver and as I exit the ramp onto Kent Avenue you are able to see this welcome sign

(Welcome to Vancouver)

It was refreshing to be able to cycle without actually cycling. A quick twist of the throttle and you seem to be going fairly fast. If you pedal then you can go faster or help conserve power for longer distances

I was wondering how much these electric bikes were so on Saturday I stopped at Urban Wasp to visit Bob, the owner

You'll have to excuse the "blurry" photo, when he told me the price I started to shake. It is more than a low priced gas 49cc scooter. But I also had a chance to look at the other models

I thought that this folding model was just my style

With all the hills around here I think an electric bike could come in very handy

Paolo's first master

2011-08-25T21:47:00.000-07:00

What seems like a long time ago, Paolo was master to another. I came across one of my early videos where Paolo was given a bath by Local Firefighters at a Suzuki open house

I know Paolo is happier now that she has a companion and gets regular exercise throughout the area exploring the backroads of Southern BC and Washington state. This video was recorded April, 2008 when I was still riding my prev bike, Suzuki SV650n

Lunch at Mile One, Pemberton, BC

2011-08-23T20:32:00.000-07:00

There is a small section just north of Mount Currie where they are doing road construction on Hwy 99 and the road turns to gravel

I probably passed two or three times before I got brave enough to attempt riding on the road. Notice the pea gravel on the left. It is the luck of the draw when you arrive and which side they decide to dump the gravel. I remember my trip to Vancouver Island a couple of years ago where they had over an inch of loose pea gravel which came unexpectedly without much warning and I can still remember the rear end whimping out.

For now I am lucky that my side has been compressed down a bit more due to the constant flow of traffic heading north, and I noticed a few groups of bikes ahead of me . I don't know how far I travelled on the gravel but I got a bit used to it after a while, and before long I came to the spot where they started the single lane alternating traffic. Not far ahead I notice the cars waiting for the pilot car

I would have continued as I wanted to snap a few photos at the head of Lillooet Lake but time was running out and I had to get back to Pemberton and meet the gang for lunch. So rather than wait in the line and do the same on the return, I opted to turn around

and head south, but now I was on the side with more gravel. I tried to stay in the left track and soon enough I got back onto terra firma and went to the Pemberton city centre

At the stop sign I snapped a photo of the main business area which extends about 2-3 blocks in each direction and I noticed the ONE EARTH sign (bottom right corner). I am not really much of a consumer but I was interested to find a place where they sold local work by Native Artists for another jewelry maker who frequents this blog
I walked inside and found many items produced by local Artisans

Actually there are sections for various artists to display their work. I would presume that these items are sold on a commission basis

It was a bit awkward attemting to snap photos in a shop like this with the attendant watching but there was; leatherwork, belts, bags, native bags, walking sticks, cards and lots of other stuff worthy of a visit if you are in the area .

On the highway the Government has signage to point the way to local Artisans throughout the area so perhaps you may be able to purchase more traditional native art directly from the artists workshop .

Soon enough my time was up and I headed over to our lunch destination

I left Vancouver just after 7am and it was now around 1pm and my stomach was just crying out for food . The Gang had arrived

(Self portrait at Mile One Roadside Cafe)

It seemed like an upscale place with great food and a great menu

It was hard to decide what to order

(Otto, James, Sam, Geoff & Mark) (Missing: Peggy & Bob)

If it weren't for us, there would be no line up . On a group ride you are really riding solo, so while waiting for our lunch to be prepared we had lots of time to socialize and talk about our next food destination, which happens to be next Saturday at a DIM SUM restaurant in Richmond, followed by a special Dessert place

Their hamburgers are very thick and difficult to open your mouth that wide

Here's Mark taking some food porn for himself

(Mark, with camera; Peggy and Otto on right)

I ordered the Philly Cheesesteak, it was delicious

it was made with very tender Angus Beef with carmelized onions and cheese . With full stomachs we were ready to tackle the ride home

(signal light in Squamish, BC, the Chieftan straight ahead)

You have to watch your speed coming down this long hill at Furry Creek, the LEO's are usually waiting for you at the bottom

While riding with a group it is difficult to stop for photos, so the only way is to grab them whilst riding

(Upper Levels Hwy 1, approaching West Vancouver)

I am riding sweep but decide to break off at Taylor Way and head over the Lion's Gate Bridge as I wanted to stop at a certain store on the way home

The traffic is much busier now than it was this morning when there was hardly a soul in sight . We were dead stopped on the causeway for what seemed like a long time with long lines of cars both in front and behind

I am beginning to think I made a mistake. I should have followed the group over the Second Narrows Bridge (Steelworkers Memorial Bridge). Traveling farther with less traffic creates less stress, and less sweat on this hot day while you are stopped in traffic ATGATT.

As we reached the end of the Stanley Park causeway we ended up on Georgia street where there were 3 lanes of traffic gridlock in both directions. We were stopped again with multi signal lights for the next couple of miles.

I was in the wrong lane, I had to find a spot to move over and take another route through the downtown core, but with all the cars bumper to bumper, there was no space to move into

I had to wait it out and be patient while tears of sweat rolled down my face . I eventually made it home, rolled out of my sweaty ATGATT, washed my helmet head, showered and got ready to go out for dinner. I got home just after 6pm which meant 11 hours on the road today, with half of it in the heat.

Normally Mrs Skoot works on Saturday, so I am free to do as I please. Little did I know that this was her rare Saturday off but I offered to abandon the ride and we could do other stuff together (gulp). She insisted that I go on the ride and she would occupy her day and do something else. As a compromise we went out to an upscale restaurant for a meal

(Halibut, something or other . . .)

and I decided to order two appetizers, instead of a full meal. It's part of my food reduction mode

All of the beautiful servers wore slinky black provocative dresses kind of place, but sorry no photos, as Mrs Skoot was watching my every move

Lil'wat Nation, Mount Currie, BC

2011-08-21T20:33:00.000-07:00

This weekend was forecast to be the hottest weekend of the summer. So far we have had mostly rain and below average temperatures. I had been on the fence all week wondering whether I should join the gang for a ride, or just take a leisurely, relaxing day to relax at the beach and enjoy the ocean breeze, devoid of ATGATT. If I have a chance to either wear riding gear in hot weather instead of my usual summer attire of Muscle Shirt and sandals then it will always be the latter.

At the last minute I decided to join the group, sort of. I find that with group rides you have no chance to stop and smell the roses, and I wanted to stop for photos along the way. I thought the meet up time of 10am was too late to cover the distance in a reasonable time, so I started at 7am

The Lion`s Gate Bridge is empty at this time of day, there is hardly any traffic as I wound my way through town on my way Northward . I had my GoProHD mounted but I didn`t take any video. I decided to take only still pictures using a technique perfected by Bluekat on our last trip to Montana. No manufacturer makes a left handed camera which can be operated with gloves, by motorcyclists. I have two Point & Shoot cameras and I had been practicing all week holding them with my left hand, with gloves on trying to perfect my routine

You basically have to make sure your camera is tethered to yourself and you have a long stretch of fairly straight road before you have to use your clutch. I tried using my Canon G10 but the ON button is too hard to hit quickly but it does turn on significantly faster than my Panasonic Lumix ZS3 . I found the ZS3 was easy to turn ON quickly and the shutter button is easy to trigger.

Soon I was on the Upper Levels Highway, HWY 1 and heading Westbound towards Horseshoe Bay and while fiddling around, managed to capture my self portrait while cruising at the speed limit . Temperatures were still cool around 17°C and was to drop a few degrees as I ventured Northward towards Squamish on the Sea to Sky Highway

While sunrise occured nearly an hour ago the sun had not yet make its appearance over the mountain and I was still in shadow as the temps dipped down to 14°C, and coupled with the wind factor, I was getting a bit chilly. I only had a T-shirt under my riding jacket as I was prepared for the hot weather coming in the afternoon .

As I made my way past Britannia Beach up the long hill, I managed another self portrait with the Britannia mine blown out in the background

Before I left home, I only had a small bowl of my favourite cereal, Frosted Flakes with milk which I knew would not be enough nourishment to tide myself over until lunch so I had to make a quick food stop for bacon & eggs

I parked beside this mobility scooter and thought that perhaps not too far in the future I may be needing a machine similar to this to get around . After a hardy meal I continued my journey North and soon I was heading down the hill into Cheakamus Canyon

I should have stopped at the viewpoint to snap photos of the raging river, but didn`t. I don`t like to make left turns into parking lots on curvy sections because of oncoming traffic. This morning there were lots of bikers heading the opposite direction towards Vancouver. I often wonder where they are from and where they are going.

Today my goal is to meet the guys for lunch at a little cafe in Pemberton, BC. Yes I realize that we are all coming from Vancouver and there is only one road to take but I know there is no time for photos on group rides. Today is a compromise, I wanted to ride solo and do my own thing, then head back to town with the group. Since I started 3 hours early I was travelling anywhere from 5-10 KM per hour slower than the speed limit. This highway is heavily patrolled, and with helicopter enforcement later in the day when traffic builds, this is no place to speed.

I managed to stop in Whistler for nearly an hour looking at this and that before I mounted my mighty V-strom again and continued my trek north . Since I was travelling at, or under the speed limit I had quite the caravan behind so I pulled over into this viewpoint just north of Whistler to let them pass

This is Emerald (Green) Lake with Blackcomb Mountain in the background. The Whistler ski area is comprised of both Blackcomb and Whistler with a Gondola joining them called `Peak to Peak`

Here`s a closer view of some of the ski runs

I don`t know where the time has gone. I left just after 7am and as I approach Pemberton it is now after 11 and I had planned to meet the rest of the group at 12:30pm for lunch and I still had ground to cover and photos to take

Now I am fighting the clock trying to squeeze my photos in. I quickly pass Pemberton and head farther North to the small native community of Mount Currie, part of the Lil`Wat Nation (click for more info)

There are many Indian Reserves scattered about British Columbia and these communities are situated on Indian Land. These are referred to as First Nations People

(Lil`Wat Nation Band Government building)

There are less than a handful of roads in this `village`

The major and only business I saw was the gas station

I stopped because I was feeling dehydrated created by the increasing heat, but since lunch was within grasp I held back. I also forgot to bring my water and emergency granola bar rations

I didn`t wish to bring too much attention with myself taking photos while residents were watching but managed a few on the main street

This is `Main Street` (below)

This village has two intersections, and here is a street sign from one of them, with Stop in their native tongue

Presumably, IR10 road means Indian Reservation no 10 road and Main Street . Here is the signage at the intersection where you are able to go straight into Mount Currie, or turn right and continue along Hwy 99, aka: Duffey Lake Road which takes you to Lillooet

Originally when I arrived at this corner I wanted to turn right and head to the north end of Lillooet Lake to snap a few photos, but part of this road is currently gravel due to road construction with single lane alternating traffic. Even though I have a bike capable of gravel travel I don`t really have enough gravel experience and I didn`t know how bad the pea gravel was, but I was really thinking about trying it . . .

I might have caved in, or did I ? WWDD: What Would Dom Do, sort of a variation on "What would Ivan do ?"

Stay tuned . . .

Two rides in one

2011-08-17T20:16:00.000-07:00

It was another summer day in the city. I had finished breakfast with the gang at our favourite motorcycle cafe in Kitsilano and fiddled around with stuff at home for a couple of hours then went out for a ride

No where particular but I ended up in Richmond and stopped to enjoy the view at a local marina .

I was very close to the Yamaha dealer and most recently I have been tormented by George who recently took possession of his Raven Super Tenere, and has been blogging about it. He has many photos of his new "lady", videos, and he is in love with his new found acquisition. Needless to say that I had nearly wiped all recollection of this beautiful bike out of my mind, until now. I sat on one at our recent motorcycle show back in January and it fit perfectly. I was thinking perhaps that due to a cancelled pre-order that one may have been available to purchase. While I was just around the corner from the "candy store" , my stomach gave me a jab and I ended up miles away

at a fast food Mexican place to have a quick lunch , while my faithful V-strom

waited patiently outside. While I was having my meal, thoughts of indiscretion were bouncing around in my mind. I mean, my bike was reliable, it was set up more or less the way I like it, and the gas range is phenomenal and the additional power is a non-issue but I do like the shaft drive. Do I go, do I not go and eventually curiosity won and I ended up

at the Yamaha dealer to see what was available. Nope, nothing of interest except for the new FZ8 so I went across the parking lot where they are also a BMW and Triumph dealer

I was greeted right away and asked some questions about the R1200RT

It looks so large and imposing, too large in fact when I should be downsizing the size and weight, but right next to it was this beauty

(BMW R1200R)

I swung my leg over this stunning machine and just loved it. It seemed so naked without a windscreen and fairings but the size was perfect. I also glanced at the Triumph Bonnevilles and Street Triple on the other side of the room and left for home shortly thereafter

where I quickly got my other steed ready for a longer ride to downtown Vancouver

(Self Portrait)

We have numerous bicycle lanes within the city criss-crossing North and South . Here we are riding on a tree-lined street with virtually non-existant vehicle traffic

by now I have reached a retail section of Broadway and lock my bike to one of many bicycle racks supplied by the city to encourage eco travel

This was a sports consignment store where I was going to purchase some accessories until I discovered that I had left all my identification & money at home. Now I felt really naked without my wallet . Sometimes I purchase a beverage but luckily today I had my water bottle.

Travelling at a slower pace you notice more photo opps and I saw a blue table

with matching blue chairs. Due to the harsh sunlight and low sun angle it didn't turn out the way I had envisioned . If you look closely at their sign

you will notice that it is indeed a Nice Cafe . About a mile or so further North you come to the Grand Central Station

This is the terminus for the Canadian Pacific Railway which travels across Canada. It houses the main bus depot for Vancouver and it would appear that there are funds to spruce up the building to its original splendor. It had been neglected for many years being in this less than desirable part of town

Everytime I notice trains or railway tracks I think of my pal Jack in West Chester PA
so I take a moment to snap a "rail porn" photo for him

In Canada's poorest Postal Code on Vancouver's downtown Eastside you will be surprised what you can find when you travel in the lanes

There are many Native Artists in the area. Actually I bumped into a Carver who was looking for a "donation" which I would have gladly given, had I had my wallet with me. He showed me some artwork which he said would be a pattern for a wood carving.

This reminds me of a time many years ago where I was offered a wood carving for a nominal amount and I passed it up. Later I found out that this Native Artist was well known but down on his luck. His pieces now command big dollars as he has since passed away.

In preparation for the darker days of fall, I purchased some LED lighting, front and rear, just in case I have to ride home after sunset. For now sunset is still around 8;30pm but days are getting shorter. I particular notice this in the mornings since it is now dark when my alarms signals the time to wake up

Cycling clears stress and clears your mind as you are merely concentrating on being able to ride up the next hill . Vancouver has a lot of hills and while it may seem easy to go Downtown, it is nearly uphill all the way home. If I had a choice between Engine, or muscle power, it would be engine and throttle everytime.

Right now, I am puckered out . . .

Boat cruise waterfront homes

2011-08-15T19:31:00.000-07:00

I was lucky to be invited to a pleasant afternoon cruise on a private yacht last week

We had lots of room to roam around and I chose to stay on the upper deck so I could take photos along the way. We cruised the south shore of West Vancouver and we were able to see the spectacular homes along the waterfront which are not visible from the road . Many homes are built in challenging positions on cliffs, on private islands with most having swimming pools.

I'll let the photos speak for themselves. Oh how nice it would be to be living in any one of these beautiful homes with stunning views, overlooking the ocean.

The high tide mark can be seen on the rocks

(Your own private island)

Homes of the rich and famous . Doesn't hurt to dream . . .

Walk to the Marina

2011-08-14T21:24:00.001-07:00

Last week I took a rare mid-week day off to go on a cruise. What to do, do I drive downtown and pay for parking ? do I ride my bike and leave it in a parkade ? I was meeting Mrs Skoot so we would possibly have two cars down there and have to pay double for parking. Then do I take the bus which is half a block from home ? Or do I take the Skytrain (subway) instead and walk the mile to the nearest Skytrain station. Decisions, decisions . . .

Even though my foot is not yet back to normal, I took it easy and decided to walk the mile . As I allowed lots of time, I decided to get off at the Cambie Street station and walk the rest of the way . It's amazing what you notice while you are surveying your surroundings at walking pace

In order to get to the downtown area you have to travel across one of many bridges. Today I was going to walk over the Cambie Street Bridge

I set a slow pace and the bridge is shorter than it seems but looking at the walkway it appears to never end, though it is only about 1 kilometer long

I turn around to see I have walked from the top of the hill. The building on the left is Vancouver's City Hall.

It is a pleasant day with lots of marine air which is expected to burn off around noon. The temperatures are just right with a strong breeze blowing over the water . I am soon nearing mid-span and can see my destination on the other side aboard one of those white yachts

As I get closer I snap another close up photo

Eventually I get to the other side and have to cross through Yaletown where there are some fancy condos with creative water features

This one looks sort of like a tree with barren leaves so I just have to walk through it . Unfortunately I did not bring my tripod and could only put my camera on the ground and it chopped off my head

I was still a bit early so I decided to have a snack at one of the restaurants in the Marina area. I grabbed a sidewalk table and ordered a heathly sandwich accompanied with a healthy beverage

Two waters because I was thirsty and it was easier to carry two glasses to the table instead of having to get up a second time for the refill . My grilled salmon sandwich was simple

and very tasty . I was still had an hour to kill so walked around the corner to the Roundhouse Turntable Plaza which is still under construction

The Roundhouse was where rail cars and engines were put on a circular moving platform and redirected to various garages which were arranged in a cirle. CLICK HERE for more information

Of course the turntable is now in a fixed position

I was thinking that it would be nice to have a Roundtable mechanism in your own garage so you could turn your bike around

The rail tracks go into each "former" garage and have been left in the ground . There is also a railway museum on site and they have restored the first engine, No 374 that entered Vancouver during May 1887 .

I took many photos of waterfront homes during our cruise and generally had a relaxing time watching the scenery float by. Here is one taken from the stern, of Lighthouse park in the background . The lighthouse is still in daily operation but recently through automated control

Stators are submerged in oil

2011-08-11T19:47:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been in keep fit mode. I have been cycling and last week I decided to take a walk on the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver. Not long ago I used to take my camera and walk all day shooting photos of daily life. These days not so much because it irritates my foot, but I take it easy, take smaller steps and keep the distances manageable. As I was in the area, I decided to walk past this old house

It's the 3 storey walkup with the red roof. I notice that the veranda is now closed in. It used to be open

It was not considered to be in a good area back in the mid 1960's, and I notice that nothing has changed. It is still not in a good area but things look more deteriorated now. Earlier I walked past the front of the house intending to snap a closer photo, but the tenents came outside to enjoy the sunshine and I had to back off to a more discrete distance and zoom in, from a vantage point out of view.

It is not general knowledge that I was from a broken home and I thought my mean step-mother was picking on me as I was the one that always had to do the chores, while my step siblings didn't . One night I packed all of my worldly possessions into the trunk of my car and went to work as usual . . . only I never went home again. I found a room in a boarding house and shared my room with a friend. It wasn't the greatest existence but I continued to go to work expecting my family to call me on the phone at work to ask about me, but they didn't. A couple of weeks later, my dad called and asked how I was but we were not well off and he couldn't help much . Not long after I decided that a boarding house was not for me. Dinners were Kraft dinner and perhaps a hot dog or two for protein, preceeded with a stack of bread and butter. To this day when a meal is served with bread as the starter I often think of these sad times when I was alone with no support .

When I left the boarding house I was finally on my own. I had to fend for myself and I rented half of the upstairs of this old house, photos above. I look at those two windows on the top floor and remember that the one on the right was my bedroom, and the left one was the kitchen that I had to share with another young person. As I walked by it reminded me of these old times that I would rather forget. This was nearly 45 years ago and I still remember the sadness.

I walk around the corner to see if my previous mechanic, DJ Paul is in

He was the one who used to work on my SV650. He used to work out of a private garage, but now he has a storefront called, Motomethod. You can hire him to do all the mechanical work, or you can rent a lift and work on your bike yourself and call him over if you run into problems

Chelsea has a failed stator which she installed and somehow there is now an oil leak. I did not know until today that the stator is immersed in oil. here she is with her 600 sport bike leaned on the frame sliders while she removed the stator cover

with the cover off DJ Paul noticed part of the previous gasket was not fully removed causing the new seal, not to seal correctly and the oil just gushed out when the engine produced some pressure

That is the starter pinion gear near the bottom . After her bike was put back together and started for a few minutes

both of them crawled underneath to check for oil leaks . There was some oil residue but it was presumed that it was not completely cleaned off the inner fairings from the original leak, and was dripping down

There is another person who uses the shop to make custom bikes using 650 engines. Here is one example

later on this other person started one up to go on a road test

Choosing my new boots

2011-08-08T21:45:00.000-07:00

Recently on my return home from a recent trip, I found out that my waterproof boots were not waterproof . Last year on my trip to Oregon I wore a pair of waterproof boots from a different manufacturer but the buckle broke and they were too snug, so I gave them away to a needy noobie.

Last week I stopped at Imperial Motorcyles to check out their Alpinestar boots, the same ones that someone else recently purchased.

They are the Alpinestars Ridge Waterproof, at least I hope they are

There is not much choice if you don't want a full height boot. I opted for the shorter Ridge model

They were not in stock last week but a new shipment was arriving in a few days so I put two sizes on hold . Ever since I hurt my foot I have been wearing GEL inserts which would require the next larger size, so I was fiddling around for quite a while trying to figure out which size to buy

I tried on the boots, with and without socks, and socks with and without the GEL inserts trying to narrow down the decision. On regular street shoes I would take a 42 metric. These size 10's were 43 but felt tight, then with the insert in, really really tighter. Remember in winter you may want to double up on the socks

the size 11's were 44 metric and were easier to put on. With the GEL insert they felt nearly perfect but my mind was thinking that they were 2 sizes too large, even though they felt good. I walked about the store for a bit wearing both sizes trying to flex the new leather and the 10's bit into my foot because it creased in the wrong spot (on my foot).

I even tried the eye test

and the larger boot looked to be the correct size. The 10's were very tight to pull on. Funny thing that when I compared my size 9W to the size 11 Alpinestars, they appeared to be virtually the same size

The top boot is the Alpinestars Ridge Waterproof size 11, and the bottom is size 9W and it fits a bit snug. If you didn't know the size you would think they would fit the same. Perhaps the Ridge is slightly wider. I like the idea of boots with NO laces as the laces have been caught on my pegs before.

After a lot of humming and hawing

I finally settled on the size 11's. They feel very comfortable with the GEL inserts

Smell the roses orientation ride

2011-08-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I used to do a bit of cycling. After work I would come home, cycle downtown, ride along the seawall then ride home . I had two loops, one was 25 km, and the other was 40 km depending how I felt. I also rode with my friend on Saturday mornings after breakfast in Kitsilano. We would race around the seawall until one day my friend had a mishap and wrecked his elbow. My old bike was worn out with too much mileage so I upgraded to this bike

Of course I still have my racing bike with the 100 psi tires but the frame is old style with the shifters on the down tube. You could nearly lift it with your baby finger. This bike doesn't have the lightest frame but it is chrom-moly with alloy wheels and those new type of brakes which stop on a dime.

it has Shimano gears with the changers integrated into the handlebars

The cateye computer still has battery power and still works after all these years. I rushed home after work with the intention of going for a short cycle ride. I dug the bike out from the basement, pumped up the tires to 32 psi, and got out my chain lube and lubed the chain and gear cluster. I also sprayed the pivot points on the brakes and got a dust rag and dusted off the 8+ years of accumulated dust. It is illegal to ride a bicycle in BC without a helmet and I noticed that the inside cushions are disintegrating, so I may have to purchase a newer style helmet

I don't have mirrors mounted on my bicycle but since I wear glasses, I have this neat mirror gizmo which attaches to my left glass arm . Not the greatest but I have to monitor the traffic behind me

It took a few blocks to get used to the hang of things. Such as the front brake is the left lever, and the rear brakes are operated by the right lever, sort of opposite of how a motorcycle works.

I forgot that I did mount some accessories such as the front and rear fenders, rear rack and additional lighting

I cycled over to Queen Elizabeth Park and the hills defeated me, I had to stop for a quick power rest

I seem to be getting my rhythm back, twisting left and right gear levers to find the right gear ratios. Vancouver is bike friendly with many bicycle paths scattered throughout the city and I was able to use the traffic control button as I crossed Cambie Street

bike lanes are easily identified by these large bicycle graphics

My feeble muscles are running out of power so I stop again for a photo with this RCMP statue

I stop because I need to rest my legs. I am not used to this torturous method of transport. When I got home my legs were like jello and I could hardly walk, but it did feel good .

I have a short video . . .

Happy BC Day, August 1st, 2011

2011-08-01T11:42:00.001-07:00

I know that I have posted these photos before, but the girls all wish you a very happy BC Day

It is a long holiday weekend in British Columbia. The weather is good, the sun is out and we get to play for another day. I tried to find a BC provincial flag but I couldn't . Hope you don't mind

Have a Happy Day from BC

Going to the Sun Highway, Montana

2011-07-25T20:29:00.000-07:00

It was to be our last full day in Montana and we were lucky that the Going to the Sun highway was finally opened, July 13, 2011. It was the second latest opening of the road in its history due to heavy snow fall . Dom has already posted his photos HERE so I'll try not to duplicate too many.

It was decided that due to the expected crowds that we would approach Logan Pass from the East so we had to get an early start and head towards St Mary

we decided to leave the cabin by 8am and Richard, Jan, Patrick and Miles would follow in our support vehicle with the picnic lunch

Martha decided to be the Monkey today . I think we planned on being there in 2 hours but there were a lot of construction stops

Dom with Martha in the lead, with Bluekat directly in front . We eventually made it to Two Medicine Lake

It's a tranquille scene with a mountain backdrop . Here you are able to rent a canoe, kyack or take a boat tour

After we had finished snapping photos we move on and Dom has found another spot for a photo opp

I think because we are all bloggers and photographers we stop a lot for photos. It seems to be taking a long time to get to St Mary's

Here's Bluekat posing in front of the mountain

Eventually we enter Glacier NP again at St Marys and ride over to the Rising Sun picnic area to have our lunch . I forgot to snap a photo until it was nearly too late. There is hardly anything left

There are several construction delays and one way alternating traffic as we climb up the mountain and reach Logan Pass

another delay on the mountain gives us a chance to stop and snap more photos

I think we are all getting used to the gravel. The road is in bad shape we have been on gravel for miles, all the way up and part way down

If it weren't for these construction delays we would not be able to stop and enjoy the view, nor be able to converse and stretch our legs. It was a warm day around the mid 80's °F . We all started out with liners but they were quickly removed as we were all sweltering in the heat

We had some excitement with the appearance of two mountain goats. They were so tame that they came right up to us

The goat came very close to Martha

Dom was glad he remembered to bring along his spray bottle. He was getting a lot of enjoyment spraying Bluekat to keep her cool

In the following video I am trying to give you a feeling of what it was like to ride some portions of the Going to the Sun Highway. It was gravel from the bottom of the road where we started to climb and construction crews were everywhere. We had to stop several times as they alternated traffic up and down. Excuse the vibrations, the road was very rough in spots and I changed my GoProHD mounting location from my handlebars and mounted it on the windshield frame using RAM mounts which I did not test before the trip.

Front tire is shot

2011-07-22T19:03:00.000-07:00

Before our trip to Montana I ordered a set of Michelin Anakee2's with the intention of using the new tires on my vacation. The tires were ordered and arrived a couple of weeks before I left but after a cursory inspection, I thought that the tires that came with my bike would last. I purchased my V-strom new in 2009 and I thought that the tires were wearing quite well. I had nearly 13K kilometers on it when I had the bike last serviced and my mechanic also looked at the tread and it was thought that it would make the trip

I never gave the tires much thought and I did look at the rear tire a few times but never really paid any attention to the front tire. One morning while at the cabin in Martin City, MT I looked at Ron's tire and his lack of tread. He eventually purchased a new tire and had it installed in Kalispell but then I looked at my front tire more closely and noticed that it was cracking between the tread

The cracking was throughout the whole circumference and I also saw that I was down to the Wear Bar Indicators. Basically my front tire was shot and I was only half way during our riding vacation. We still had many miles to cover.

I was worried a bit but I thought it would get me home and just keep an eye on it and don't do anything crazy. I would just hate to have to purchase another tire while on the road when I had two new ones at home, just waiting.

Somehow I knew that I should have just stuck with Plan "A" which was to install them before the trip. The funds had already been spent and it would have been safer with the new tires. Yesterday when I got home I decided to bring my tires to my mechanic and set up an appointment to install the tires on the weekend. I got home, bunggied the tires to the bike and arrived there around 6:20pm

before you know it, Ted has pushed my bike onto the lift

(here is the old Bridgestone Trailwing)

Even though the rear tire has 18K kilometers on it, it probably could have lasted the rest of the season but I wanted to mount both new tires so that I have the same tread and same rolling resistance.

Ted asks me how I want the tires balanced ? Weights, Dyna beads, or this new stuff he recommended call Ride-On

It coats the inside of your tire with stuff 6x stronger than steel and can seal punctures up to 1/4" in diameter LINK HERE

I don't usually post video that are not my own but this is from their website

Cool, now my tires have built in puncture resistance

Both tires are nearly installed

After my tires are done, I ask Ted to do an LOF: Lube, Oil, Filter and do a visual inspection of my bike to make sure everything is in order.

(New rear tire)

I have to take it easy for the first 50 miles to scuff them in

I rode to work the next morning (Today) and the tires seemed quieter and it is probably my imagination but seemed to roll with less rolling resistance. My bike is now ready for another adventure

Rattlesnake Pass, WA129 / OR 3

2011-07-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

It was another boring, warm, sunny day. After the Spiral Highway we headed West crossed the bridge into Washington state and fuelled up in Clarkston. From there we followed WAl29 south

it starts out impressive, a few miles of switchbacks as you increase in elevation. Soon you are at the top and you transverse miles of flat farmland

(BlueKat with her photogenic Ninja)

We noticed a barn in the background and stopped for a photo break. The speed limit is 55 mph and we were tired of following a car which was creeping along at 30 mph. We had passed him several times and when we stopped this time, he passed us again . He was the snail and we, the hare. But slow and steady wins the race so he was now in front again .

I looked at Ron and asked him to give me a cool pose "man", and he countered right away as if by instinct he knew what a cool look looked like

I had heard so much about this road but so far it was just a straight ribbon of asphalt taking us to the outskirts of Hell's Canyon and miles out of our way, I mean, we could have taken another straight road to get to our temporary home down in John Day, OR . We knew that this was going to be our longest day

After about an hour of straight boring riding we started to notice the terrain changing and we were now approaching a canyon

There are not many places to pull over. Ron and Kari overshot the gravel shoulder and ended up at the 2nd curve ahead and waited for me

Soon I caught up with them. We decided early on that if anyone saw a photo opp then just stop and the group will wait at the next crossroads, or turn around.

the scenery was just stunning, and we were gloating at the sight of the road ahead

Notice that the roads also seem to be cambered especially for us

It was so nice to be able to stop and breathe in this view, but since we had a long ride ahead of us we had to get on our way

another click and we are off . . .

soon we cross into Oregon

We decide to minimize our stops as we were getting behind and had to cover some miles. This eventually turned into an 11-1/2 hour day arriving in John Day, OR just before 7:30pm, a mere half hour before the restaurant closed

Nearing the end

2011-07-18T18:53:00.000-07:00

of a perfect week of riding . We had an opportunity to meet new friends (Dom & Martha), a chance to renew aquaintances with Kari & Ron and a chance to experience new roads with our motorcycles. Roads that we have heard about. Kari provided a list of what roads she wanted to ride and we modified our route to try and take them all in. For the most part we had the perfect weather, perhaps a bit warmer than we would have liked but we checked all the weather forecasts and with temps in the mid to high 80's we made sure we had our warm weather mesh gear with us. We were in Central Oregon down in the John Day area and our plan was to head up to the Columbia Gorge. Up until today we had been putting in 10 hour days, today was to be different, we decided to take it easy and we chose Hwy 19 and we found a gem of a road in Hwy 207, then we took Hwy 206 to Condon where we stopped for fuel and a refreshment break.

It was bound to happen, our luck ran out and the black clouds were right on our tail coming from the South. Soon we felt a few trickles of rain and Kari screamed over the radio to stop and put on our rain gear

We rode and we rode and the wind was quite gusty. Maybe that is why they have a lot of windmills in this area

We were riding at a good clip which felt that we were outrunning the storm and after around 20 miles the sun came out and it was getting very warm and sweaty under the non breatheable rain layer, so Kari shouted on the radio again to stop and remove layers

Soon we reached Biggs, OR for a fuel break and crossed the bridge to visit the War Memorial at Stonehenge

We could feel the wind picking up and it felt like rain was close

We could hear the sound of thunder, and later we would see lightning . We knew that the rain would be heavy so we had a quick discussion whether we would head directly to our home for the night or continue to Klickitat Canyon as was our plan

The problem we found was that on most of these twisty roads there are not many safe places to stop for photos, so we just rolled on. On the way down the road is very narrow with sharp corners slowing to 25 mph. On the bottom the twisties follow the river and eventually we come to a viewpoint

We didn't realize that they built a new bridge to access the parking lot on the other side. We parked on the side of the road above

On Sunday morning it was time for us to go our separate ways. We woke up to wet roads and rain.

We decide to take our last photos together

(Ron & Kari/BlueKat)

It was a sad morning. We had such a good time together and I didn't want it to end. We were also talking about a repeat trip next year to a different location . They had a short ride back to Corvallis area of about 3 hours. I was looking forward to a 7 hour ride back to Canada. I was originally thinking of taking NF25 but I was tired and just wanted to get home so my plan was to just take I-5 all the way. I have to thank Kari & Ron for coming with me to Stevenson which was one day out of their way. They could just as easily gone straight home from John Day but I appreciate their gesture and their company for another day

Ron offered to snap my photo too. By now the rain was getting stronger. No problem I thought. I put in my jacket liner and my pant liners, snapped my jacket tight at the collar and waved at them as I left the parking lot.

I continued west on Hwy 14 towards 205. The road is quite twisty but with the rain my visor was fogging up, I had to leave it slightly open and breathe out the side of my mouth. Soon I came to a road construction site where there was one lane traffic. I had to stop at the red light. I put my foot down and felt a mushy feeling in my boots. What a thing to find out now that I am over 600 kms from home that my boots aren't waterproof. I ponder the thought of stopping to let the water out but then I thought what use would this be as I can't be stopping every 15 minutes. I continue on and wiggle my toes in the water filled boots.

Then I am trying to think if I have any plastic bags to wear in the boots or should I stop and put on dry socks which would only get wet in minutes anyway. I decide to wait until I need to refuel. An hour and a half later at 9:30a I stop in Kelso . For a quick breakfast of sausage & eggs and a chance to

wring the water out of my socks. There seems to be more water in the right side.

Since my boots were wet anyway I decide to put on the wet socks and continue on my way. From Kelso I have enough fuel to make it all the way home, but since gas is cheaper on this side of the border I decide to gas up again in Bellingham

I leave Kelso around 10am and ride straight up I-5. The rain is on and off, but more on than off. At times it was torrential with rooster tails from the cars ahead making it hard to see the lines on the road. From Burlington to Bellingham it was like the heavens opened up. I was warm from the neck down but during the 4 hours I was getting hyperthermic from the cold and wet socks. I was wearing shorts under my riding pants but the cold was working their way up my legs. I decide to turn on my heated grips. With warm hands it made me feel warmer.

I needed to use the washroom but I held on for my gas break. Soon enough, 4 hours later I arrived at my Chevron on Sunset drive (Bellingham) and went directly to the kiosk and asked the girl for the keys to the washroom. She handed me

this bottle. I said "I don't think this bottle is large enough"

she gave me that embarrassed look and said that the keys were attached. The bottle was only the key ring. I wanted to take a photo of the bottle but she offered to pose for me

Standard procedure: 1) washroom, 2) refuel, 3)squeeze water out of my socks

In the meantime customers are coming and going and I am there removing my boots and squeezing the water out. I should have worn my Pink Crocs, at least they have holes to let the water out. Soon I am ready to continue my trek home .

Seven days on the road with great friends and I have arrived home safely .

I got to ride on some great roads and made new friendships along the way. Thank you to Dom, Martha & Richard for putting up with us at the Cabin in Martin City, MT and to Kari & Ron for their company for the past few days. I think being in a 100 year old rustic cabin with one washroom for 9 people has brought us a lot closer than you think. And the couch was really, really comfortable

Thank you to my V-strom for not missing a beat. For over 2,400 miles my V-strom averaged 54.6 MPG (US gallon) ie: 23.08 kms/litre. It is a great machine for touring, it is capable, smooth, reliable and gets nearly 300 miles on a tank

Spiral Highway, Lewiston, Idaho

2011-07-16T20:43:00.000-07:00

When we first discussed planning for our Montana trip, the main purpose was to meet Dom, Martha & family. Since we were so far away from home, it also gave us a chance to search out talked about, motorcycle roads. We see them mentioned on all the m/c forums. Names such as Lolo Pass, Going to the sun highway, Beartooth Pass and the famous Spiral Highway

We left Orofino, ID early on Friday morning after a hotel supplied continental breakfast of waffles and boiled eggs and headed west towards Lewiston. An hour later we were there wondering where this road was but we eventually found it

It is officially known as Lewiston Hill, with the nickname Spiral Highway

since the road spirals its way up the steep hill. The road climbs 2,000 ft in 10 miles

we chose to ride this road from the bottom up as it is easier to negotiate the corners under acceleration, rather than using brakes and compression braking.

we spent a lot of time here, as we are all photographers we had to stop anyplace we could for better perspectives

(BlueKat (Kari) in action)

I even found a moment to snap their family portrait

another photo of my V-strom

Here's Ron on Princess, his Honda Nighthawk 750

another photo of my Wee at the viewpoint on the top of the hill, with Lewiston in the background

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today we arrived in Stevenson, WA to spend our last night together and Ron & Kari generously offered to treat me to a belated 65th Birthday meal at one of my favourite restaurants.

to celebrate we all ordered the special blended strawberry lemonade

notice the PINK straws, they must have known we were coming

(Ron ordered this)

(Bluekat/Kari had that)

(and this is what I had)

Friends, food, riding & photography. It was a great week that seems too short. In the morning, after breakfast we will go our separate ways. Thank you for photos and memories of a great week together. I can't wait until next time . . .

Time flies when you're having fun

2011-07-15T21:44:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Abbott Valley, Montana on Monday evening and spent two action packed days with Dom and his family and headed south through Idaho, Washington on our way to eastern Oregon. Dom has already posted a detailed report of our activities complete with photos so no use to duplicate his efforts. You can read about his days 5 & 6 Here and Here

I also took photos of my bike in similar settings

(Leaving Two Medicine viewpoint)

(on the way to St Mary's)

(final approach to St Mary's)

The absence of cell phones and internet access forced us to experience the simpler things such as talking and enjoying huddling around the fire and imagining how things must have been during the "old days" without proper plumbing or electricity. I mentioned before that this homestead cabin is 100 years old .

After dinner on our last night at the cabin there was a spectacular sunset and all of us ran to grab our cameras to capture the light before it was gone. Here is my version

Morning came too soon, and after breakfast, it was time to say our good byes

We wanted to get an early start as it was a long way to Orofino, ID via: Missoula and Lolo Pass. After a quick lunch we finally made it to the Visitor's Centre

After a short rest we continued on our way and had to stop for the "sign photo"

Here you see the "Princess" and my Wee. We take turns riding lead and Bluekat was going too fast to be able to stop on the gravel approach . The speed limit on the Montana side is 70 mph, but as soon as you enter Idaho it changes to 50 mph and this area is heavily patrolled . She admits that she has gotten used to Montana speed limits

I think that the Lolo Pass route is closer to 120 miles, it is only 99 miles of twisties on the Idaho side and follows the river most of the way

(notice gravel surface)

All of the scenic viewpoints are gravel and during these past two days Dom has weened us onto gravel, most likely on purpose. Even the driveway into the cabin is a steep downhill gravel driveway. His famous words of wisdom is to use only your rear brake. Pretend the front brake doesn't exist.

It was another long day in the saddle with few photos. We left at around 8am and didn't pull into Orofino until nearly 6:30pm with minimal stops.

(low sun angle and gravel pullout)

This is typical of the scenery we have been seeing all day. The road just winds its way along the river for hundreds of miles. If you like twisties then these are the roads for you but does get fatiguing after hours on the road. We will be glad to get to our hotel where we get to cook our own steak dinner.

Only 12 miles to go . . .

A full day on the road

2011-07-14T22:18:00.000-07:00

After a quick continental breakfast in Ritzville, WA our plan was to get on the road quickly and make the fewest stops possible in order to get to our destination in time for dinner. Just before we left I sent a text message "eta 7 hours" to our gracious hosts who were intending to wait until we arrived for dinner. Preparations were underway and we didn't want to be late. Of course we forgot the time zones and another lost hour, and we also didn't count on getting lost while trying to find our way. The miles rolled by

and soon we were in Idaho . We also took the longest scenic backroads along the way which also conspired to make us late . Before long we had made it to Montana

There are three of us travelling together; Bluekat (& Ron) and myself . (Ninja, Nighthawk & Wee). It felt like a long day. We only stopped for fuel and a quick snack at Subway and only one overlook

the Moyie River Canyon, for photos of the stunning bridge

Bluekat was riding lead and her sharp eyes noticed the "overlook sign" . The stop was a welcome relief from the heat where we could shed our riding attire and take a short refreshment break, and stretch our legs.

When I sent my text message at 8am ("eta 7 hours"), the intention was to arrive at around 4pm, give or take a bit. With the time zone change, and our getting lost, and taking the longer route we were nearly given up for lost. It seems that our host Charlie6 (Dom)
had been waiting by the roadside, waiting to guide us in.

We had finally made it, and this is our first glimpse of Dom and Vikki

I feel it was an honour to have been able to spend a few days with him and his family while they were on vacation near Kalispell, MT . This was to be our home for the next few days. An isolated homestead cabin over 100 years old, retrofitted with electricity and indoor plumbing.

It was not an easy place to find had Dom not been waiting for us. There is no internet service, nor was there any cell phone signals. We had been cut off from the outside world for the duration of our stay, unless we went into town and snagged some free wifi from somewhere

with our bikes safely tucked away for the night we could focus our attention to our marshmallow roasting bon fire and generally just chatting the night away as we admire the moon and the stars above.

early to bed and early to rise. No visual distractions, no electronic gizmos to fuss with. Back to the simple life of times past. Dawn will bring a new day, and a new adventure

All is well in Abbott Valley, Montana

An early start

2011-07-10T22:26:00.000-07:00

I rolled out of my driveway before 6am and headed south down the highway towards the US/Canadian Border. Traffic was light and I was the first bike in line. I got through in less than a minute. The Border guard said that in an hour the line would be backed up the hill. I made my first pitt stop just north of Everett to check emails and have a quick bite

Because I was so close to home I didn't take any photos but I kept rolling along and soon found myself in Leavenworth. From the weather forecasts I knew that it was going to be very hot so I only wore my T-shirt and shorts under my riding clothes. I was nearly freezing as I rode over Steven's Pass

My plan was to have a quick bite and pitt stop but I didn't want to waste time for a sit down meal, so I mounted my V-strom and kept rolling down the road. I was really getting hungry and an hour and a half later I was really, really getting hungry. This was a Sunday and I noticed that all the eating places in these small towns were not open. I wanted to take Hwy 2 then switch over to Hwy 28 taking backroads to my intended destination for the night . All the while I was getting farther from civilization I was in continuous scan mode for places to eat. There were lots of fruit stands but I wanted real food

I even headed north for about half an hour so I could take less travelled route through farmlands. Luckily as I exited east towards Waterville I noticed the gas station had a Subway attached

Needless to say I stopped for nourishment before continuing my journey East

Even though I have never been to Kansas, the landscape has that Kansas feel. There were violent gusts of wind which nearly blew me off the road several times. I had to slow down below the speed limit when I noticed those dust swirls

For about the last 50 miles I only noticed a couple of vehicles going in the opposite direction, and a handful of bikes. Going my direction, I was the only vehicle. I got to thinking that if something went wrong I would have no help. There is also no cell service on these lonely roads. I decided to play it safe, gear down and slow down a notch, and be more aware of the wind.

I also noticed a few abandoned buildings along the way but most were in places too dangerous to stop. There is little shoulder and they are cambered too much

I did manage to stop at the Dry Falls Viewpoint. The last time I was in this area it was just after sunset and drove right past. Today I stopped for a few photos and to use their facilities. During the times of the Glacial Ice Age this was the largest waterfall in the world, and carved this canyon which is many miles long .

I arrived in Ritzville, WA just before 4:30 pm, so that makes over 10 hours in the saddle with barely an hour for stops . I was chilling out on the bench outside enjoying the warmth of the sun and downloading my photos when

BlueKat and Ron show up on Sam and a very dirty Princess

Resetting life's trip meter

2011-07-09T15:57:00.000-07:00

Today is a special day for me. It is my BIG birthday, a day where in the past, a person was put out to pasture and live to do nothing. Last week a friend sent me an email because he had somehow remembered that my BIG birthday was coming up and asked if he could take me for breakfast. We could go anywhere my heart desired and order anything that I fancied. Because it was my special day I decided to dust off my 'Vette and wear my normal summer attire. I just didn't feel like ATGATT

I don't like to ride with the top down during the heat of the day, the morning felt cool and it was refreshing to feel the wind in my face. When I got there Robert asked me where I wanted to go . Last year I remembered we went to a Cuban Place on "The Drive" It's not always about the money or the price of things and we ended up at

this fast food place where you are served on paper plates

I am a sucker for bacon & eggs. After we finished socializing and getting caught up on world events I headed home. Today our family is coming over for a BBQ and I am the BBQ'r, so I will be the one who has to cook my own meal. I just didn't feel like going out to a restaurant. I am also off work next week and I have been getting my bike ready for my trip. By having my special meal at home I can continue to tweak my packing. I did purchase a new magnetic tank bag for more storage which came with two, stacked compartments but it was so high I didn't feel comfortable having to peer over to see my tach and speedo so I am only using the bottom base. I really like the map pocket on the top

I think my bike is more roadworthy now with the Richland Rich fork brace and I also have my new Gear Indicator to eliminate the false 7th gear syndrome. I also relocated my RAM mount for my GoProHD sports cam and simply attached it to the Madstadt windshield bracket. This eliminates the ugly tethers I needed when using the Fat Gecko suction mount.

I am still learning to travel with less. I think I have everything I need and my side cases still have room should I purchase anything along the way.

so here my bike sits, waiting for the morning tide when we will cast off on another 2-wheeled adventure . I hope I made the right decision about my tires. In anticipation of this trip I purchased a set of Michelin Anakee2 tires (front & rear). I have 12K kms on these OEM tires and I thought that I should put new ones on. My mechanic at EMS said they still had good tread so he suggested that I just use them and replace the tires when I get back, so that is what I am doing.

nearly forgot to reset my Garmin. I like to keep track of my mileage and start off with a clean slate

It seems so easy. A couple of clicks and the trip has been reset to Zero, like it never happened.

I wished that we could do this with our lives, a couple of clicks to rewind us back 20 or so years. I will be up at the crack of dawn and be rolling down the highway. New sights to see, new roads to conquer, and new people to meet.

I should be able to post a few postcards along the way

see you on the road . . . back next week

"Do Nothing . . . " in Vacaville, CA

2011-07-05T19:31:00.000-07:00

We have a habit of exploring historic places and so we found ourselves in the heart of historic Vacaville trying to snag a place for breakfast

We circle around the downtown area and find a refurbished town centre. There are not many places serving meals and we prefer local outlets as opposed to chain restaurants. Then we spotted the Heritage House Cafe, photos of which were posted on an earlier blog entry.

It is a spartan place reminiscent of the 50's , not updated as evidenced by the restroom facilities, but it is clean and the food is honestly prepared

The kitchen is old-style, excuse the "blur" I was trying to be discreet and in stealth mode

There is a small counter area with booths on both sides. I appears that most of these customers are locals

You never know what to expect when you come into these small towns but the food is usually made from scratch instead of pre-prepared. The coffee also had a lot of flavour, not watered down like some places

While we were waiting for our meal I noticed this sign on the signature table behind me

When we arrived the table was empty but I was pondering the meaning of these simple words. I think we could have sat down on this table if we wanted. Eventually someone came in and sat at the table. Then another . . . and another until they were now a group. I turned around and spoke to the person at the head of the table as he seemed to be in charge. I asked about the sign and he said that he was very good at "doing nothing" . Another person from the table chimed in and said that he was so good at "doing nothing" that they made him President of the "DO NOTHING CLUB"

We chatted for a while and eventually I mentioned that I could be very good at "doing nothing" too, with a bit of practice but I didn't live locally so couldn't attend their meetings. I said we were from Canada and could we start a Chapter of the "Do Nothing Club" up here, and he said why not ?

Before we went on our way I asked if I could snap a photo of the Do Nothing Club, Vacaville Chapter, and they said Okay

The President was the fellow in the front with the white shirt . Below is another photo of the Do Nothing Club, taken in 2002. As you notice, he has been President for nearly a decade. He must excel in "doing Nothing" . From the 2002 photo I notice that they have many more members . I can only surmise that No One let them know they were meeting for breakfast today

I am looking forward to Doing Nothing as a future pastime

Diners, Drive-ins or Dives

2011-07-02T22:18:00.000-07:00

During our flash trip to California, one of our objectives was to have a meal from a Food Truck. We knew that there were many trucks in SFO area but we were staying south around Saratoga/San Jose area and not knowing our way around didn't know where the business district was. We had to go to the Triple A to get some maps and it was there that they recommended a sort of food truck in their area.

The kitchen is located in a stationary food truck and they have a small building on the lot with tables where you can either sit inside or outside

You place your order at the counter on the right

and we chose to sit outside under the canopy

the food is prepared in this stationary food truck on the other side of the lot with more seating under a tent canopy

It appears that one of their staff has purchased a new white Triumph Tiger 800

We did not have a full meal here, but rather had a sample fish taco as our host did not eat Mexican food and our plans were to have lunch elsewhere

You had lots of choice if you like your taco spicy

It was a hot day so we left her in the car with the A/C running so we quickly ate our Taco and returned to the car and headed to

it seemed to be a busy place so we had to park around the corner

it is more of a take out place but there were tables inside as well as outside. While we were waiting for our order I was looking for things to point my camera at when I noticed this poster

It is a show that we look at often back home on the Food Channel about good eating places all over the country. We somehow managed to stumble our way into good food

I must say that our sandwich was tasty

This was our last full day in Saratoga and we decided to have a meal at this great Mexican restaurant that our friend was raving about called Casa de Corbre

It was very busy and nearly a full house. The service was very good and our meals were very tasty

Mrs Skoot had a beef something or other

and I had a seafood enchilada with lots of sauce & cheese

As you will notice, we even slurged for a dessert which is very unusual for us

along with three spoons .

Did someone mention food ?

2011-06-29T21:19:00.000-07:00

With reference to my recent posts of our trip to California, even though I take photos of most of our meals, I decided not to post them but upon reading the recent comments I am flattered that you actually missed "my food porn" photos. It all started on Sunday morning whilst on our flight south

(Westjet snack)

On short haul flights you are lucky to get anything but we did managed to get a soda and package of cookies, courtesy of WestJet

When we were in Santa Cruz we had lunch on the pier at East Beach

it was a warm day so we opted for outside seating on the deck

I ordered the seafood casserole, it was very tasty and well presented

Mrs Skoot had the seafood salad, mainly shrimps, crab and scallops. I managed to sample some as she left some for me

Our friend had the grilled chicken salad

It was a very pleasant experience and I think I would come back again

At Alice's Restaurant I was busy taking photos and looking at all the exotic cars across the street so forgot to snap a photo of our meal until it was nearly too late. Here are the last remnants of our Burrito and Reuben Sandwich. We sort of shared the two

We decided to take a road trip to Lake Tahoe and on our way we stopped in Vacaville for breakfast. We like to frequent local places and ended up at the Heritage House Cafe. Inside it was like you stepped back into the 50's. Nothing has changed, nor been updated. Even the locals seemed transported back in time. I will have more to say on a future post.

the lady cook made the most exquisite, tender, melt in your mouth pancakes to die for. You just have to try them. (Two thumbs up kind of breakfast)

I am stuck in my routine ways and order the standard bacon & eggs breakfast

and it came with special layered toast

While we were visiting our friend in Saratoga, CA we never had a home cooked meal. Breakfasts were just an assortment of bakery sweets and fruit which we picked ourself from the Pomello and Orange trees

Back home in BC we don't have the luxury of vine ripened fruit so we had to enjoy this while we could

In Stinson Beach we ate at the Breakers

and settled for another Burrito and Quesadilla lunch

complimented with a glass of iced lemonade

We find that when we travel we try to avoid the major cities but as we had to travel over the Golden Gate Bridge we stopped at the usual tourist spots like Ghirardelli Square, Fisherman's Wharf & a quick tour through Chinatown down Grant Avenue. While down in this tourist area we looked at all the trinkets and dust catchers and my eye noticed these

If I didn't have to endure endless winters of snow and ice, that would be me year round . It was time for a snack so we checked out the eateries on the dock. Not many locals down here, just people from all over the country trying to get a taste of SFO and enjoying their vacation somewhere warm, just like us. They were eating seafood of all types, but I must say that they did not look at all appetizing being mostly deep fried and all that. Also the shrimp cocktails looked tired and dried up in their display cases. It was hard to plunk down our hard earned $$ for this stuff, after all we are from Vancouver, another seaport with better offerings. Eventually we had to have something to tide us over for our late scheduled dinner down in Saratoga 50 miles to the south.

Nothing fancy, crab chowder and fish & chips, but these fish and chips looked better than the others which looked like flat freezer filets. At least we can say we ate something at Fisherman's Wharf

soon we headed back to San Jose for a custom prepared gourmet Hamburger from THE COUNTER. It is a very popular place with the younger crowd and even though it was nearly 10pm it was very busy. You fill out a questionaire of what you want and they make it for you. This is just a sampling of our meals and I hope I haven't bored you too much with this food porn

You can get anything you want

2011-06-27T19:22:00.000-07:00

at Alice's Restaurant

No trip to this area would be complete without having a meal at this iconic eatery which is a magnet for enthusiasts of all kinds . From our base in Saratoga we decide to have a teany snack to tide us over until we get there for a late brunch. I wanted to take Skyline Drive which I had heard so much about.

As we approached the restaurant we noticed these . . . parked across the street

enthusiast cars which I can only drool over as I have a thin wallet. Lamborghini, Mercedes, two lotus' and a Red Ferrari

I find it frustrating to look at unaffordable cars and just then a bug eye Sprite pulls in. It looked like it was restored but the current owner said the previous owner took good care of it and it was original condition

I get my first glimpse of Alice's Restaurant

As it is a weekday there are not many bikes parked in the lot . They even have their own gas pump

It was a very warm day, perhaps in the high 80's and we decided to brave the heat and sit on the deck

they have a nice menu selection and I decide to have something Mexican

The hamburgers look good but I can have a hamburger back home. I need to try something different

" You can get anything you want, at Alice's Restaurant "

(Interior: Alice's Restaurant)

Getting there is half the fun, either in a sports car or on two wheels, either way you get to experience the challenging roads