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July 22-27 /2008 Best camping trip ever.

This year has been amazing so far. I picked the little man up on Tuesday evening, and we spent the evening preparing for our camping trip. I took him grocery shopping with me and gave him as much input into planning our meals as I could without coming away with 4 pounds of sugar. We got our food and went home to pack the gear. I tried to add him into every part of the planning and preparing as I could. One day he will be doing this with his little one. The biggest goal i have made for myself as a parent is to teach him how to make decisions. After all life is nothing but a string of choices we make constantly. So with as much input as you can give an 8 year old we got ready.

In the morning we loaded the van with all our stuff and made our way to the forest. Just after we left civilisation and headed down the long road to the lake we saw a bear. Small black bear walking across a river right next to the road. I wish i could have taken a photo but I didn't want to stop and harass the bear. Bears aren't all that scary, they do their own thing. Sure they could tear a person to shreds if they were so inclined, but I think that's rare. Stupid people get attacked by bears. The bears should get an award for taking out people dumb enough to not respect a bears presence in the forest. (I'm full of opinions these days wow, yay me!) I took three days off this week to get out to the bush without the crowds. What a great idea that is, the campground was almost empty when we got there except for a pack of campers with kids. No real annoying party animals, rowdies etc. We picked a campsite and dragged all our stuff out of the van.

I had planned on having Jerry help me set up camp. My plans were thwarted heavily by a little blond girl riding her bike around. I'm not a total dick (no eye rolling!!) so I let the little guy take off on his bike while i set up camp solo. He really is the best kid ever, he spent a lot of time riding around the campsite. He never went to far away, always checked in after about 15, 20 minutes. i could see him riding around with a roaming pack of kids. Watching him be a kid hits me somewhere deep. It makes me smile ear to ear.

I took nearly 300 photo's and i love all of them its going to be hard to pick them out and post the good ones, but ill try. There has to be some kind of limit on this blogger site, lets find it!

My little man can hike anywhere with the best of them. Ive taken him through terrain most people wouldnt follow me. Trail or no trail lets blaze through. Again we hiked to lindeman lake. This place has always been special to me. I keep coming back to it. Its so beautiful.

Its also ball cracking cold, this water was once snow. Im guessing about 20 minutes before this photo was taken. But Jerry's Mom must be part polar bear because I sure dont do cold water well.

This kid is crazy, but who wouldnt love that smile. He has this ability to spread happiness where ever he goes. This planet needs his energy. I had so much fun hanging out with him and even the time i spent alone was really nice too. It was afterall my vacation too. I like to have my alone time to refect on things.

First day we hung out near camp. Hiked a bit near the lake and around camp to get to know the area. We rode our bikes up and down trails. Set up and got settled in.

Day two we hiked passed lindeman lake and back again from our camp site. We were gone for nearly 6 hours. Most of it hiking. When we got back he grabbed his bike and off he went to play with the kids around camp. I relaxed and made us some food, chopped wood etc.

Day three we relaxed more around camp, did some biking around. Hung out at the beach for a bit. hiked down to the bridge where you could see spawning salmon hanging out. That was pretty cool. About 20 minutes from camp there was a cool little beach and bridge to hang out on. We spent a couple mornings and evenings hanging out there. Just a beautiful place to be, i always feel so blessed when im out in the great wide open. Recharges my soul, the mountains, camp fire fresh air. Its worth having to sleep in a tent. I hate sleeping in a tent that part i could definatly do without.

In the afternoon i asked Jerry if he wanted to stay till sunday. I had planned on staying till saturday to give myself some time to take care of unpacking and stuff. Maybe hang with the boy at home or whatever. But we opted to stay an extra night. That meant we needed to make some phone calls. We drove to where we could use my cell and called his mom etc. We also invited my girlfriend to come up and hang out with us for a day and night. She met jerry the day we left at breakfast. They hit it off great. I always swore id take my time on letting my son meet any girls i was dating or seeing. She rocks, and Jerry and her had a great time picking on me at breakfast. Me and the little man went back to camp and did a lot more of nothing for the rest of the night. I got him chopping wood with me. Stressing safety and the fact he isnt allowed to do it without me or another adult holding the axe as well. We split a few pieces of wood. I taught him how to make a fire properly. I sat playing guitar alone while he followed the kids around and played at the playground. Its hard as hell to do but i try to let him do his own thing. Without Dad crawling up his butt following him around. I think i do pretty good, looking for the balance between letting him be independant and not being that parent that lets their kid get away with whatever they want. Id sneak up on him with my bike when he was at the play ground a couple of times to let him get it that i could show up at any time. He was always where he said he would be.

Day four, We woke up and were joined by yet another adventurer. My girlfriend showed up at about 9am. She brought me tea, one of the things i totally forgot. I had the cream and sugar but no tea. We had a nice morning giggling with jerry as he came and went till about noon. We packed up a day bag and wandered off to explore. I went to this park because i had spent alot of time there as a teen and young adult. I know the area pretty good but had not been to alot of these places in a while. We piled into her 4x4 and took the rough road around the lake towards an ecological reserve at the far end of the lake. When i was young it was a great place to party and go nuts. Now its all closed off, the road is blocked about a 30 minute walk from the best beach on the lake. So we all hopped out of the truck and made our way down the path in the hot sun. It was a ton of fun, as well as a great beach hidden at the end of the walk we were on. We were the only people there on an enormous beach covered in drift wood and cold ass water. We found sandy mud to sink in.

Of course i got in on it too...

After hanging on the beach, we went into the forest. There is supposed to be a trail through an old growth forest. We found what i think was more of an animal trail now. Really over grown and hard to follow we pressed on. Through bugs and prickles we managed to see some really nice scenery and have lots of sweaty bush whacking fun. Jerry will never forget the good times we have had. The three of us made a great team. Lots of giggling and goofing off. Bringing the humor to the forest. I was to busy making Jerry walk up front as our bait to snap many photos of the huge cedar and douglas fir trees. They were huge and im sure have been there for hundreds of years. Watching over the the mountains. We walked back to the truck, followed by a hungry pack of bugs growing by the millions hot on our tracks. We could stop for a minute or two then the hungry swarm would catch up. There are some well fed bugs laying on the beach back there. We all have the welts to prove it.

All in all a good time was had by everyone. There is so much more that happened and so many more great pics. I am so lucky to be me, to be here. To have great people around me that bless my life with these great times. I thirst for things like this. Without sounding like i have the largest ego on the planet Id like to state for the record it fucking rocks being me. I think the change I made from the person i was before was, becoming more aware of the important things and dropping the useless lust for stuff and money. Finding the greatest gifts hidden in the most simple mundane things. I make all this sound like an adventure but to someone that wasnt looking for it. They might describe the same experience as anything else. Attitude is everything, almost worth more than reality. It paints reality with color. The picture is the same but the feel can be totally different to whoever experiences it. I wish i could challenge everyone i know to go off and find their own treasure. Its there, it could be hiding well. But it is definatly there. Let the crap fall away and find the good stuff. You have to dig through a lot of dirt to find a diamond sometimes. As for me and my crew, we got some happy times ahead of us...

LIfe and its extraordinary chaotic beauty

OK I'm in a pretty good mood these days. I usually have more to write about when i feel shitty but i will give it a try.

For the last couple new years I have made resolutions that I want to stick to. Things I know I need, to better my life. Usually something sort of general like, "This year id like to better myself somehow" or face some fears that have been holding me back. Something positive that makes me get out there again. After suffering some bad times I kind of insulated myself from having it happen again. The problem with that is , it also keeps me from taking chances and tasting the random events that make life fun. I like to have stories to tell about things I have done. A lot of the best ones at the time are a bit scary or things i probably shouldn't be doing. There is risk involved with the best things in life. If you stop taking chances you more than likely wont get hurt but at the same time your probably not going to have much fun either. I'm not talking about cliff diving from a hundred feet up in the air. I'm talking about those things that make you immediately say " No way ill never do that" or " I don't like x so i don't even want to try" When really tasting a little bit of everything adds so much flavor to life. If you eat an apple and it tastes bad , are all apples from now on bad? I think that's narrow minded. Sure if you eat 50 bad apples chances are your not going to like the fifty first apple either but still there is a chance you might taste the best apple you ever had.
I have made all the declarations myself too. I will never...have a gf again, never go to another wedding again, never want to go out and meet new people again etc. I have made them all many times over. Last night I went to a wedding and I only knew one person there. I met tons of new people, and the girl I took with me asked if she could call me her bf. In a matter of one night I managed to do half my list of things id never do again. Topped off with it was a great time, she makes me happy and I'm glad she is in my life and we did things that were amazing. (no not that you perv's)
Was i anxious? hell yes i was. All week i knew i was going to a wedding with her and that id know, no one there. I think i lost sleep over it. Second guessing myself all over the place. Scared and anxious i went anyways. Am i a hypocrite? hell yes i am. That is ok too though. Things change constantly. To never sway your opinion is to stop growing. New information should have a chance to filter through past experience. Experiences that have left me drained and hating life in the past may not be the same the next time through.
I woke up on the wedding day a bit late. I was feeling sick to my stomach, couldn't eat. Did anyway. Got dressed in my new suit. Decided my hair needed to be cut so i went to my good friends salon. I showed up in a suit and she giggled, " Dale! Whats the special occasion?" I told her i was going to a wedding. "Who's wedding?" she asked. " I don't know who's wedding it is,' I replied. " Are you going as a date?" she starts giggling as i smile, " Didn't you say, you would never have another gf?" Wait a second i thought, why does going to a wedding as a date constitute me having a gf. (guys aren't supposed to know the rules i guess) "Well Dale if your going to a wedding with a girl as a date she must be your gf." I'm couldn't follow her logic but again I'm not really equipped to understand women. At least i know that much. Sandra giggles and begins cutting my hair singing "dale has a gf.." over and over with a place full of customers and her friends. I stand up and ask," Am i beautiful now? are there any tags on my shirt etc? is my tie on right etc etc etc" I raise my arms up and they begin primping me for a few minutes making sure i look good. I soaked that up, the attention was nice. I giggled as i left and they all had a good chuckle at my expense. I wear my emotions on my sleeve. They could tell i was nervous and that made it funny.... for them.
I get to her place and pick her up and we go to the wedding. The ceremony was neat. I'm still a bit cynical about weddings. It always makes me giggle when i hear the same old plop at every wedding,"You two are going to make it", " Of all the couples i know your the two that get along the best with the best chances for success".....puke! But after the i do's and the speech's it gave me a warm feeling inside. Its good to know that people are at least trying to spread love around.
Even if it only lasted a week. At least they had this week to enjoy the magic.
The wedding was located at minter gardens. I had never been there before. It was spectacular. the landscaping was breath taking. A great place to get married really. But after the ceremony it started raining and we had to hide from it. A few hours later when it stopped raining and was almost to dark to see anything the gardens were closed down for the night. They had security guards wandering around keeping people out of the gardens. Well, being told i cant do something and its harmless is like catnip. I grabbed her hand and said we should go wandering. We didn't make it far into the place before finding a gazebo nestled into a dark corner. Everything was surrounded by statues and flowers etc. Stunning place really. So we went in and sat down in the dark. Talking, giggling and kissing we were having fun. Security spies us on his rounds. I laughed and told him we weren't doing anything bad. He didn't seem to care much just that we had to go back to the party. She started walking back and he walked off. I stopped her and said," If he is in front of us then he cant really catch us can he?" I grabbed her hand again and off we went down a dark path through this enchanted forest type setting. Finding an opening we scanned for Mr security guard. He wasn't around so off we went through to the fountains and a walkway under this trellis, that went for about 10 minutes. Hanging flowers and statues hiding in the bush's. Almost like a dream or a movie really. We wandered around giggling like school kids, holding hands and kissing the whole way. Found a small hedge maze that led to a beautiful rose garden with more gazebo's nestled into dark places. For an hour at least we wandered the place in the dark. A bit of light rain added to the fun i think. Her in bare feet so her shoes didn't click and make noise and me running around tickling her and goofing off. We went back to the wedding and noticed we missed the garter toss and the pie cutting and the bouquet, but whatever. I think i will treasure that memory for a long time. It was truly magical and wonderful. The added excitement that security was out there with us was the cherry on the top. All in all i had a great time and i did a bunch of things i swore i would never do again. And in the end i had one of those nights ill never forget and it was all because i didn't chicken out and took the risk. For some that may sound like nothing but for me it was a huge step to taking back life, trying new things and generally growing as a person i think. If i could leave my existence knowing i helped one person have a better life i would feel accomplished. I hope if anyone reads this they do the same. Take risks, love yourself and live this short life we get to live on a today kind of basis. Id also like to thank the people and good friends i have that have helped get me here. I did the work but they helped and supported me when i needed it. You know who you are and the roles you have played in my life. I have truly been blessed, thank you all for making my existence here so colorful. Cheers, your friend Dale
This is a link to the place i was at http://www.mintergardens.com/

Songs for the wrong

I thought id start a blog that can be expanded. So today ill post one song. I have had this song stuck in my head for days now......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU5gA6IcIpk

enjoy.....
and.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPcP5DIkHac&feature=related

I just had to add one more to this before the weekend. Its another great song hehehe almost more fitting than the other two up here....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPcP5DIkHac&feature=related

And now for something completly random....

The last couple of posts I've had were a tad serious and full of meaning. Time for a change of pace. Something far removed from ordinary. I love music, I love it for many reasons. Some hits close to home, some is deep and thought provoking and some is well down right wrong on so many levels its hilarious....

NUBS!!!

Its kinda hard to wear high heels, or slip on banana peels

How does she get in an out of tubs

I hope she dont get mad, I hope she thinks this song is good not bad

Cause we think that she's totally rad, SHE'S NUBS!

No fingers, no toes

she doesnt own elbows

No phalanges, no knobby knees to knock

She dont need knuckles or hands

to go see punk rock bands

She's always in the stands. Shes nubs!

She cant pick up a phone

she cant get dressed alone

she's got no funny bone. She's nubs

No shoes, Or feet , but we sure do think she's neat

she's nubs,she's nubs she's nubs

I asked her if she want a drink, I asked her if she liked Toronto,

I asked her to go out to the bar, but all she said was no thanks, no and no

It was time for us to leave, so I grabbed and shook her sleeve

and told her I'd see her at the next club she got into a pack

and some guy put her on his back, she said goodbye and kinda waved her stub

She's got beauitful eyes, and breasts regular size,

but without calves and thighs, she's nubs

It's hard to give good head or get tied to a bed,

when all you've got is a body and head, she's nubs

She's nubs, She's nubs, She's nubs...

Oh she may not walk the walk, and she may not like to talk

but boy she sure knows how to rock, she's nubs.

Written by:Nofx

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQPGXpf8UZ8&feature=related this is the song on youtube. Its not the official video i doubt there is one. But if yea wanted to hear it. I think its great.

Here is a link to her myspace account! http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=5253348

I read her myspace and other things about her and for someone with many problems as i am sure she has. She seems alot happier than most people i know with all their arms and legs. Had a shitty day? Atleast you can scratch your nose if it itchs.....

Priceless

May 1/2008
Driving home from work Thursday afternoon anticipating my little man's embrace and his "Hi DAD!". I started to contemplate what we should do together on this special three day Father and son weekend. I had a hellish couple of weeks, I took on some pretty stressful situations, things that would have left me laid out under a blanket hiding from the world a few years prior. I had overworked myself doing side jobs as a part of it all too. Basically I was spent, but knew i had this little boy looking forward to being with his Dad. I consider our time together as our adventure, its my duty to help make it great. Even though i had already worked all day and was sick of driving, we would go to my parents place. I figured road trip or camping and camping involves driving anyways plus a lot of other packing planning etc... no thanks. My parents place is a bit of a road trip but i knew once i got there it would be relaxing, plus Jerry needed some face time with his grandparents. Little did i know how great this was going to be.


I picked my little man at about 7pm, after getting my stuff ready (laundry) and driving out to get him we had about 2 hours of light left to enjoy the mountains. When his mom's vehicle pulls up my heart always skips a beat. the last few seconds before i get my hug i been waiting for what seems like forever are quite long in fact. He dives on me and we giggle alot. I get him loaded up and off we go. As we go i hear all about the serious business it is to be a seven year old trying to keep in mind to him this IS serious stuff. We drive up the #5 highway enjoying the mountains. I have driven it many times and i still get pumped about going through there. When the sun goes down we spot the first star of the night and make wish's.( i wont tell you mine but it came true) He plays his nintendo and i concentrate on driving. Just being near him makes me beam, I feel as though nothing else around me exists or matters. As the road winds through hills and valley's it gets darker than he has ever really experienced so we pull over. We jump out and the sky is littered with stars. His gasps and squeals add to my already goofy grin. We sit in the dark in the middle of nowhere, sky watching contemplating aliens and pokemon. Not far now we are almost there.

After another 30 minutes or so we arrive at my parents place, My parents are ready for bed and so are we. Me and Jerry hang on the couch for a bit exhausted from the journey. We drag our stuff into our room and after about 3 minutes both sleeping soundly. I wake up to him poking me in the ribs at 8am. "Dad.... I'M LIKE RUBBER YOUR LIKE GLUE!!!" It a goofy game we play, who ever says it first each day owns it. So even when i phone him he answers like that. Little bugger. Juvenile i know but that just makes it more funner. (yea i know) Its earlier than i normally get up for work on any given day but i drag my ass out of bed. Grandma is at work cause its Friday but Grandpa is there. We all grab our morning gear and sit out on the deck in the sun. Its pretty warm up there so its nice. I got my tea and my guitar Jerry had his juice and grandpa with his coffee. All set to start relaxing. Couple hours go by and we all pile in to grandpa's truck to go visit grandma at the coffee shop. A proud grandma showing off her only grandson that she hasn't seen for almost 8 months was another sight to see. Jerry groans about her enthusiasm but secretly loves the attention. We leave after our lunch and go to the beach with my little sister. (my parents answer to their boys leaving home) Ruby loves the water, i think that's the lab in her. Jerry gets jealous and wants to go into the water with her but doesn't have shorts. So three seconds later he is in the water in his boxers. Splashing around throwing sticks for ruby and me skipping rocks on the water. Serene peace everywhere. Left the beach and went back to the house to be lazy. Jerry doesn't get to play video games all the time so i let him play his nintendo and i sat back and hung with grandpa. Not much more happened other than alot of over eating and laying about for the rest of the evening.

Day 2
I woke up to an elbow in the face, he was still sleeping. So i promptly poked him in the ribs and said," Jerry......." As softly as i could, when he started to stir i boisterously announced, " IM LIKE RUBBER YOUR LIKE GLUE!!!!!!" He awoke with a groan. Me with a smile. Jerry decided he wanted to go hiking today. Zombie hunting/treasure hunting/general chaos/hiking is more like it. Grandpa had a good idea to go see the Myra canyon train trestles.
None of us had ever been there so it would be a good thing to all experience together for the first time. Google is a wonderful thing its has the answers for everything. To bad i dont pay close enough attention to minor details like where exactly it is and how to get there. We got a bit lost on the way there. Amazingly enough we did ask for directions. Cept asking inbred red neck white trash isnt always all that helpful. But we managed to find the logging road we had to traverse to get there. 8 kilometers up a narrow gravel road to the parking lot.
This place was very cool. A few years ago an enormous forest fire swept through the area wiping out most of the trees.They called it a firestorm, It was an environment that neither of us had hiked before so that was another bonus. A bunch of the train trestles were burned down but had been restored and were about to be re opened and finished in a couple of months. It was the perfect time to go see them there wasn't a ton of people there. 15 kilometers of the old kettle valley railway was ready to be explored on foot or by bicycle. Its a great place to hike. Trains don't do steep inclines and neither do I very well. The side of the trail most of the way drops about 500' or more into a canyon. There is no guard rail along most of it and the view is great. So someone gets the great idea to start dropping huge boulders down the cliffs and we all have fun watching the carnage. A squirrel walks right out to all of us as if it was starving and we were its last hope. With a dog and everything it came up to me. I had no food for him so we snapped a couple pics and off it went

Further down the trail we explored the rocks and cliff side. It had become very brittle from the fire. The colors on the rocks were kind of weird in places too. I can only imagine thats another result of the fire, cool reds and oranges burnt right into the cliffs and surviving trees. The standing dead tree's made the landscape look like a war zone at times. We pressed on, gettin to the first tunnel was cool, the trail made a bend around a corner and hidden in the trees was a tunnel. Almost like a dragons lair it appeared spooky.

Not a very long one but still it added to the experience. Jerry spent most of the day running up and down the trail. I swear he hiked twice as far as we did. I told him what i knew about the history of the rail road and he seemed interested. We talked about the bandits that held up trains and the way the people had to blast the mountain side away to get the train through. I love watching his mind work.

Teaching my son to not fear life and to explore it voraciously. Years past he was afraid of heights and wouldn't have walked over these bridges. This day however we walked on the part that had huge gaps, so we could see through to the cliffs below.





Vertigo is a cool feeling, learn to go with it and everything is fine, Fear it and remain to paralyzed to enjoy the wonderful beauty that is being on the top of a mountain. Through the tunnels and over the bridges we walked a total of about 7 kilometers in 4 hours. Starving we left for home. The best was yet to come....

I found my spot on the back porch, from there we could see the mountain we had hiked all day. A beautiful lake nestled at the base, and a sunset in the mountains. Drinking my tea and playing my guitar again we all sat around talking. Then a little girl popped her head over the fence in the backyard. "Who is that over there?" she asked. We giggled and i yelled back, " That's Jerry, come on over and hang out with him!" His face turned red and he glared at me. But i knew he was cool with that idea. So two little girls from over the back fence came over to check him out. One was 7 , Jerry's age and the other was 5. Amanda and Allie and Jerry all stood in a small circle arms folded kicking the dirt introducing each other. I don't usually get to see my little man play with his friends. This made my heart melt. At first they were all timid and sort of shy, but they all wanted the same thing. Soon the squeals of joy were filling the air as they ran around the yard. Jerry managed to get Amanda to push the hammock for him. She was trying to flip him over in it. It was a great sight to see. I know he is partial to blonde's and he was in paradise. The innocents of a little boy and little girl meeting and becoming fast friends will stay with me forever. Its part of the reason i write this now, I never want to forget



Her mom popped her head over the fence and asked the girls what they were doing. So i introduced myself and told her it was OK with us if it was OK with her. They played down in the yard on the hammock. Shoes kicked off and toys littered the yard i never knew so much fun could be had with a hammock. It was dinner time so i called Jerry up and told Amanda that she had to wait for him. We washed up and sat down for dinner. Jerry was so not interested in being there. During the meal my Dad gave me a look motioning me to look in the yard. There was Amanda standing in the bushes sort of hiding, waiting patiently for Jerry to go back down and play. He didn't see her standing there but we did. I fed him a pile pretty quickly and let him go off to play. I know how it is. Food wasn't on his mind his new friend was. They played till it got dark then we all came inside to play cards. Amanda, Jerry, me, my mother and my grandmother all played a card game for 75 cents each. Jerry won two times in a row. He shared his winnings with his new girl. They were both hilarious to watch. Her mom called and she had to go home and it was close to Jerry's bed time so the game ended. Jerry and I played the rematch to our first tournament on mario cart. This time i won, which bothered him a great deal. hehehe i loved that, now we were tied. I stood in the hallway after tucking him in. He didn't know i was there. I watched as he played with his hands in the air. Laying there he looked so peaceful so innocent. His view of the world is untarnished. I stared as his eye lids became heavy and he drifted off. The perfect end to the perfect day. I found myself a quiet corner to sit in and soak up the day i just had. Savoring every detail of it. Money cant buy experiences like these.


"IM LIKE RUBBER YOUR LIKE GLUE!!!" my head is fuzzy, "Huh?" i ask not knowing what just hit me. But Score another point for Jerry. He got me again. I groaned and pinned him down. We laid in bed talking about yesterday talking about Amanda. He asked me 10 times if i thought she was cool. I giggled and told him he was the man. I wandered upstairs and Jerry went looking for his friend. Who just happened to be standing right next to the fence ready to hop over at 8:30am. They picked up where they had left off. I drank my tea with a birds eye view of the two of them in the back yard. The morning rays of sun beating down on me felt like a soft blanket. Sore from the hike and tired from trying to keep up with the energy of a seven year old i stretched and groaned. I eventually wandered down and chased the kids around a bit. Pushing them in the hammock of unlimited fun. The smiles and giggling continued.Soon after I packed all our things up. Jerry and Amanda said their goodbye's. She asked for his number, and being the little man that he is he gave it to her. Didn't get hers though so she will have to call him. I high fived him and we said good bye to my folks and hopped in the van for the return trip home. Jerry didn't talk much on the way home. All he wanted to do was play his nintendo. I listened to music and sang to him, he hated that. On the way home we decided to stop at another of our favorite hiking places the Othello tunnels. Its basically more tunnels and train trestles just further along the same line we had hiked the day previously. We wandered around dropping rocks off the bridges into the water below. we Hiked down to the edge of the raging river. I showed him how the currents were flowing around the rocks why the white water was dangerous. Tossing big sticks and logs into the white water. Watching them flow down the water falls and smashing into the rocks. We found a small piece of jade on the beach while we were rock hounding. Its all treasure to us, i have a pile of "treasure" that we have collected along our hikes. Little things we have picked up along the way in our travels. Meaningless to anyone else but priceless to me. We climbed out of the canyon back up to the trestles. Got back to the truck and made our way towards home. Stopped for a small lunch at McDonald's (blech!) He was happy though. I called his mom and told her we were close to town and that she could meet us at the 7/11 to pick him up.
The last 15 minutes of our adventure was again precious. His mom managed to be 20 minutes later to meet us 5 minutes from their place. I suppose being a day away from giving birth is a good enough reason to be as late as she wanted. I didn't mind, it meant more Jerry time for me. Jerry and i had an incredible weekend. This was a very special time for him and me. Not only was everything we did meaningful and fun but it was also the last weekend Jerry would be an only child. Tomorrow his mom is going to have a baby girl and Jerry is going to be a big brother. We talked about it lots and he was nervous/excited and not sure if he was ready. I held him while we waited for his mom. His eyes are so warm and his heart so big. I know Jerry is going to be a great big brother. That he will take good care of his little sister. I am so proud of him i could burst. My boy is growing up so fast i scramble to enjoy him as it slips away from my reach. Jerry if you ever read this I love you. Right or wrong, screwing up or doing the right thing I am in your corner for life. I will be there without hesitation. Together we will own this existence. So with Jerry driving away and me with another hour on the road home. I turned on some music and pondered the days to come.
Recalling the wish i had made on the first night of our journey, and the fact it came true. Made me realise again that to find the magic in the world you have to sort of help it along. Call me delusional but my life is full of magic. Peace.....

Who needs money when im wealthier than Bill Gates

I'm so happy lately,I'm sure people around me think I'm irritating. The world just cant get me down. I feel like Teflon these days. Today couldn't have been better from start to finish. All in all i made memories today that will definitely last a lifetime for me and Jerry.

Me and Jerry have this game we play. Whoever says," I'm like rubber , your like glue!" to the other person first, that's how it is. Juvenile i know but hey go be serious on your own time. So this morning when i sorta woke up at 6 am i poked Jerry in the ribs," Hey Jerry!!" "Yea Dad?" he mumbles through closed eyes grumpily. "I'm like rubber your like glue!!!" i say to him. He doesn't skip a beat "Oh Dad you always win." We both fall back to sleep and wake up a few hours later.

Laying in bed i rolled over and he was quietly reading a book beside me. He could have gone and played video games on my computer or done whatever but he wanted to be Right beside me. We wrestled for almost an hour . Laying there being goofy talking about life and stuff. Got up and i showed him the art my Dad had drawn in a sketch pad. The sketch book was almost 25 years old and there is plenty of blank pages left in it. For me and my son to draw in. So i got him working on that for me.

Look at his hand , that's a guy who gets into his art. Then after hanging out in our pj's for a couple hours we went for breakfast. Where i tried to con him into putting a big drop of tabasco sauce on his tongue for 5 bucks. No dice, which is probably a good thing considering i would have had to pay him and listen to him whine about it. then off we went. I didn't really have anything planned but recently at work i had driven past a cool hydro electric dam i had never been to. Me and Jerry buckled up and off we went. The park around the dam was cool. We walked to where the water was pouring out of the dam and looked. It was pretty neat, then of course someone got the great idea that we should throw really big Branch's off the side and watch them fall. So we did that for awhile. All these people standing around watching me and him do this, was to funny. People are weird, life isn't supposed to be taken so seriously. It wasn't like we threw the garbage cans from the park down there. ( might have if they weren't there)

Then just down the road from that there was another touristy attraction i had never been to before. The capilano suspension bridge, about a 100' up its a fairly sturdy bridge. Hard to get swaying, not to say i didn't manage to get it moving. We entered that park and found a lot more than just a bridge full of Asian tourists. When you cross the bridge you get to wander all around these wooden board walks through the forest. Plus a major bonus, some of them were high up in the tree's. Like the ewoks in star wars as Jerry pointed out. That was actually worth the price of admission. It was a lot of fun and i will be going back there. a friend of mine once told me she thought of me and Jerry as a couple of 7 year olds cept one happened to get a drivers license. Our a d d kicked in hard again so we left that park too.
He was whining for food but i knew better, we got a small snack and off we went to a favorite park of mine. If you ever get to go to Vancouver go to lighthouse park its worth the effort. Me and Jerry meandered through old growth to the beach. Where we came out of the forest we were perched on top of a rather rocky coastline. The view is great, but its a bit treacherous if your not careful. So we wandered around the cliffs laughing and giggling, making our way to the ocean down below. We looked in the small tidal pools at the critters and we found some good beach treasure. An old chain used for logging and some other precious things. I spotted a couple of my most favorite trees in the world and wanted to get a closer look and some pics.(arbutus trees) So off we went up the cliffs. Not on traditional trails or anything. We climbed all over the rocks, up ,down ,sideways and back again. I let him show off where he could and got serious when it was warranted. I taught him about the dangers of taking unnecessary risks. That it was OK to be a team and help each other. It doesn't mean your a bad climber, in fact it makes you a better climber. I snapped a ton a great pictures all day, and some little videos. The pics kind of made me want to write this blog. They were all taken today, the ones above and below.

All in all it was a fricken awesome day. One that i will not soon forget. I think its times like these that make me happy to be alive. I couldn't have planned a more perfect day if i had unlimited time and funds. Jerry is my partner in crime and my adventure seeking friend. Not just my son, my reason to be alive. As for what tomorrow may bring who knows, although its getting harder and harder to top these great things we do. I love you Jerry, here's to the future.

There is more pics posted at http://s230.photobucket.com/albums/ee105/souldoubtt/

PS: A puppy dies every time you read a blog and don't leave a comment, think about the puppies!

Thoughts like bubbles popping in my head

Like most people i complain about my job alot. It is a drag most of the time. Without it however i think i would go crazy.In a warped twilight zone sort of way it completes my life. It gives me a chance to view random madness on a daily basis.
Im a plumber. Most people when they hear that they immediately think of toilets then shit and then think eww what a shitty job, Pardon the pun. Sure i have seen the poop more than once but its not the norm for a day at work for me. Work starts at 9AM so being the morning person that i am i get up at about 8:55 on a good day (truthfully 9:06) then with my mind still asleep and my body hurling its self towards clothes i start my day. On more than one occasion i have worn my shirt backwards and inside out. I call my boss and get my first address and few other details and off i go. Off i go to where exactly? Thats just it, i spend my days going into peoples homes and offices. I get
to see places in peoples homes they dont even go into. Its always random. I see how people live, i get to snoop in their bedrooms, closets, secret hiding spots. One time an older lady and I were looking around her ensuite bathroom tryin to figure out what she had to do for a renovation. I had to poke around lookin in closets for access panels etc. She opened her one closet up and nothing special, then she moved a few things and opened an access panel up to see under the tub in the bathroom next to us. Low and behold if she hadnt forgotten thats where she hides the monster box of dildo's vibrators and other fun things to show strangers in your home. We both stopped dead in our tracks staring at this mammoth sized box of pleasure. No one said a word, not a giggle, nothing. Then she just started talking again about what we were doing. I continued talking about the reno but that moment of awkward ,oops omg what the fuck do i say now feeling was truely hilarious. Another time i was helping my boss fix a leak in an apartment building and the tenants were all sitting around the kitchen table smoking crack. "Hey man you wanna hit?" uhh no thanks i choose life. One of my all time favorites. I go to this non descript apartment building to repair a kitchen sink faucet. I get there and two little old ladies are sitting at the kitchen table. Two 75 plus years, cookie baking, virginal (I have to think that way) grandma's. After a few minutes i realised that quite obviously they have simply loosened the spray handle and called a plumber. Then they go into the benefits to having sex with older women who's husbands are long dead and all they want is a good shag. At this point I'm stunned, completely lost for words. Usually I'm a smart ass, i always have something sarcastic to say(Hard to believe i know but its true) So I'm standing in this kitchen lost for words and they wont let up. I tried to be as nice as possible but i did that call for free and got the hell out of there. My boss later laughed at me...asshole All sorts of random stuff happening to me all day long.It gives my life spice.The work i am doing is mindless usually its the people and places i get to see that make it intresting.

Then Wednesday happened. My boss and I went to an apartment building to look at what needed to be fixed in 8 fire damaged suites. We get there and start wandering around the building. We arrive at suite 102 open the door and it was like turning on a TV, life became surreal." He's not breathing call 911!" Is what i hear as the door is opening. Peering past my boss i see two feet sticking out from around a corner. We both start dialing 911 so i stop calling and let my boss call. Theres a guy laying on the floor receiving CPR from some other guy. Its all happening so fast, like a blur. My boss is closer to them than i am and the guy doing CPR tells him to take over for a minute. I decide i cant do much here but i can at least go outside and guide the ambulance to him when they get here faster. So i run to the front. In less that 5 minutes theres a fire truck and 2 ambulances. I run them to him and get out of the way. I turned into a door stop and held the door open for them to come and go. There was a small army of people in there. They worked on him for about 45 minutes. I stood there like i was made of stone watching. Watching them put tubes down his throat trying desperately to revive him. Deep inside it didn't seem real, for some reason it seemed like a no brainer that this guy would get up and be saved. I mean that's how it happens on TV most of the time right? It was shocking to see them put a blanket on him and stop trying. Not that they didn't everything they could. I felt sick, numb, removed from my body almost the whole time. I hung around in a daze for another hour and a half. Then when i saw the cops show up i decided that i had to leave before i got stuck there for another 2 hours. Told my boss that i was useless to him for the rest of the day.

What had happened wasn't abnormal. Where there is life there is death. A very inescapable, normal part of life. For some it would be simply another day at the office. I feel sad for those people. To me it jumped up inside me and festered for awhile. Its still rather fresh. At first i was kind of horrified but i decided if i have to accept the good in life i have to accept the bad as well. It has shaken me up but i would like to try and twist it into something good. Life is not cheap, its precious. I don't want to get so wrapped up in petty useless time wasting things that i ever forget that. Life is not meant to be great everyday that's not reality. Most things can be taken many different ways, proving that its mostly my reaction to whatever happens to me. Not what actually happened. Chalk it up to yet another colorful life experience and get me on my way. I'm sad for the poor mans family. But i hope this guy lived his life how he wanted and smiled as often as he could have. Id like to say that i hope that about all my friends family and random strangers that may read this. I hope life is colorful and with a variety of wild and crazy experiences. for now I take a second to brace myself for whatever weirdness i may encounter before i go for that fateful knock at the door. " Mom there is some weird looking guy carrying a tray full of tools knocking on our door should i let him in?"


PS: A puppy dies every time you read my blog and don't leave a comment.