I wonder how many of you have the same good fortune to have friends who you can rely upon for the tricky decisions in life? When I want to know a trendy tasty place to eat, I have several foodie friends to turn to. When I want help with buying clothes, I have a niece who is a fashion savant to rescue me from my middle-age faux pas. When I want to know what to do in cities I haven't been to before, there's always one among my friends who has been there and can tell me about more things to do than I have time to do them in. When there is an impending break up among the ranks, I have many girlfriends who can tell me what to say and what not to say to the heartbroken party.
I can face the truth that while I am a avid cook, I don't always know a dive from a good eatery. My wardrobe looks like it belongs to at least four eccentrics, some of whom like to sew their own ill-advised frocks, who were asked to share a closet. My tourist skills are so lacking, I'm amazed if I find my way out of the foyer of a hotel let alone to an actual point of interest and this is in the age of GPS. I also have a bluntness to my communications that is off-putting. These reasons and many more are why I need friends to function.
Luckily, my spouse was born with a compass in hand which has saved us from certain starvation and death by tourist exposure on many occasions. On pre-GPS car trips, I drove and he navigated, which is the only way we would make it out of the parking space. He also has a diplomatic skill that can smooth over the stickiest of situations usually of my creation, but for when I'm out of his range I need fashionable friends to keep me from throwing good money away on fringed V-necks and hip-widening skirts.
Which makes me reflect upon the question, what on earth do I bring to friendship table? I recently went glass frame shopping with one a friend, who is gifted in all three areas of where to eat, what to where and what to do and I was absolutely useless in the task of exercising discriminating taste. I thought she looked as amazing in every pair of frames she tried on as she does without glasses on. All I could do was lounge on the store's velvet chaise and exclaim how she could choose from any of the frames in the store and still look smashing.
Afterwards, we went to a bakery that had just been brilliantly renovated (I had overlooked that fact, of course) and she read out the daily soup, split pea with goat cheese and mint and pronounced it sounded delicious. I ordered the soup--wow! I rushed home to reproduce the soup it was so good. A previous shopping trip for glasses for her, she had introduced me to another exquisite coffee shop where the chocolate croissants are made in another dimension of deliciousness, or at least that's what my taste buds thought.
I can't really think of any contributions I'm making on the practical side of friendships, only a willingness to be schooled in all things sophisticated and divine?
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Monday, August 16, 2010
Things I Miss
In making sense of Vancouver--OK, I know it's not technically a town as my blog title would indicate, rather it's a sprawling metropolitan city, but my neighbourhood of Fairview feels like a small town. I expanding my territories to neighbouring Kitsiliano and Point Grey to the West and East Vancouver as they also remind me of towns. When you grow up in a civilization town-sized or smaller it's easier to make the transition to a big city by thinking it's just a cluster of streets, that form neighbourhoods, that cluster into towns, then are part of small cities that unite to form the Lower Mainland.
I've taken a long time to make the adjustment from rural to urban living and just when I learned to stop looking at all the strangers passing me by hoping to see a familiar face, I start seeing familiar faces wherever go and the city doesn't seem so anonymous anymore. However; there are still some things I miss about simpler less metro places I've lived as follows.
TOP 10 THINGS TO MISS ABOUT SMALL TOWN LIVING
#10 - OPEN PARKING
Pay parking wasn't something I had to worry about in Raley, AB. Raley was a grain elevator surrounded by three houses. Didn't have to pay to park in front of our own house or anyone else's for that matter. Plenty of room to park your car, RV, tractor, semi or locomotive in the yard. Neither did I have to worry about it in the quaint burb of Tsawwassen, with our RV-sized carport, driveway that would fit two cars, plus a parking spot in front of our hedge. There still isn't a parking meter to be found there, which is great because I still go there to the doctor.
#9 - HAVING FUN FOR FREE
While fees for recreational activities, aside from downhill skiing, are reasonable here, they were FREE in Raley. In the summer, the lake was our swimming pool, in the winter it was our skating rink. There were miles of flat fields to cross-country ski through in the winter--no pass required. If we had those modern snowshoes back then, we would have been tripping through the surface of the snow at no charge too. Something you can only do here out-of-bounds--some OOB trails being more safe than others.
#8 - SOLITUDE
Adolescence was an angsty outcasty kind of time for me--sort of like being a vampire but without the teeth and blood lust. I loved to go on midnight wanders by myself on the "triangle", three roads that formed a triangle walk of about a mile, at all times of the year. I didn't know fear then. I could see anyone or anything approach for miles. Now, there are women that walk through the city bravely at all hours, but I was never one of them. Even when I was unaffected by arthritis and could run and cycle fast, there were too many dark places for baddies to hide and I was realistic about how much stronger an attacker can be.
The only place I felt confident and safe in the dark was on the water, but my paddling days are over, so there really isn't a outdoor place that I can think of where I can get that kind of solitude and the peace that comes with it as I did back in the yellow house on the prairies.
#7 - LIMITED TV & NO INTERNET
Having three channels and the fact that the Internet hadn't been invented and computers were the size of well, grain elevators, meant I wasted less time. More reading, more studying, more cooking, more gardening, more life as the alternative was boredom. Seems like these days, it's not real until it's in my status update--ha ha. But I do offset wasted hours in front of the TV with crafting, so perhaps it's not totally wasted.
#6 - SELF-SUFFICIENCY
We needed that storeroom filled with everything we needed for the household with the closest store nine miles away. Not that nine miles was that far, but before we had a drivers' license and with our parents working in a city forty miles from the acreage, we had to be resourceful and prepared for bad weather havoc. A few times each winter, my sister and I would be sealed into the house by snow with the roads closed, so totally on our own coping with a frozen well and no electricity. That's why there were oil lamps and matches in every room, a storeroom downstairs that took hours and hours of cleaning, mouse-proofing and organizing every month, and a huge fireplace to keep us warm and to melt snow for water.
In Vancouver, we don't have enough space for a storeroom, if there's a prob with electricity, natural gas, water, etc. we just dial the phone and have hot and cold running service people to restore it immediately. Nice but it worries me that I won't be prepared for something like "The Big One" earthquake if that happened in my lifetime.
#5 - SLOW FOOD
I didn't like seeing a pig butchered and hung up in front of me for cleaning, nor did I enjoy watching my dad chop the heads off our chickens, but I do miss picking up fresh eggs, honey, milk, meat, fish and produce at the West Raley Hutterite Colony two miles from our Raley house. There's something pure about getting your food from the source, that can't compare to the finest dining experience in the city.
I did enjoy our veggie patch in Tsawwassen, but there's no room for that in our duplex's micro-yard, but that's what farmer's markets are for, right?
#4 - SEEING HIGH-SCHOOL FRIENDS ONLY AT REUNIONS
Well, technically I've only attended one reunion and that was my husband's 10th high-school reunion. But Oak Bay High had such a huge graduating class no one remembered each other, so I just went with the flow and met lots of interesting people who I had no prior judgments of. I do plan to attend my 30th reunion next summer in Cardston, AB. A quaint border-town with good people--the entire population of which would fit in the Telus HQ in Burnaby. A fact I discovered when I worked in this boot-shaped building a long time ago--it was very like a town with its own bakery, drycleaner and other amenities.
If it weren't for FaceBook, Classmates.com and email I would have lost touch completely with the exception of one special friend, who toughed it out with me through the snail mail years (yes, that's you ERO).
I had a mini-reunion in Victoria and was overwhelmed with emotion to see a high-school bud after nearly 30 years. She looked gorgeous and hadn't changed a bit since high-school even after four kids and one grand-kid--wow! Me, well, I don't at all resemble my 100 lb self, but at least I still sound the same--ha ha.
#3- ONE MOVIE THEATRE & DRIVE-INS
Yes, the multiplex, 3-D, omni, Imax theatres are great and offer a plethora of entertainment options, but I miss the one theatre where the whole movie-loving community packed in on cheap night. No worries about gang hits in a one-theatre town.
There was nothing that said family entertainment more than dressing in our PJs and going to the drive-in with our parents. We nodded off after the first feature, leaving my parents to enjoy the second feature without our bleats for popcorn, pop and the bathroom. Waking up in our beds the next morning and not remembering how we got from the car into bed was pure magic.
#2 - CHARACTERS WHO OCCUPY SMALL PLACES
Small communities take care of their own--it's true. They know to be kind to the ones with special needs, the ones with bad luck, the ones with poor health, the ones with broken hearts, the ones who were having a hard time, which pretty much included everyone. Global TLC seemed the status quo.
Perhaps, that's why my parents are offended when they visit Vancouver because people don't smile at them in the street, or stop to have a friendly chat with them when they say "Hi." I try to explain that in the city people are rushing from point A to B and if they're approached they assume you are an aggressive beggar. This doesn't seem a satisfactory explanation and I suppose it is pretty snotty of us not to pay attention to people from out of town. Well, we did the best we could during the Olympics being friendly and helpful to tourists and now we're tired out.
I do have to be viligant and teach out of town family and friends not to give money to the prevalent street people as they are often addicts or alcoholics and we're just perpetuating their addictions. Or, they are mentally ill and we really should take care of them but just don't know how. We don't know how to tell the difference between the opportunistic and truly needy--it's complicated and something we struggle with. Also, we have laws that the experienced street people are well aware of that they aren't to be pan-handling aggressively. You can tell the transient panhandlers by how aggressive they are compared to our locals. We're not proud of the number of street people we have and hope that those who want to get off the street will take advantage of the programs we have to do so. The warm weather and relatively mild winters keep attracting them to this very expensive place.
#1 - LIVING CLOSE TO FAMILY
Like most families, there was that beautiful time when we all lived under one roof within shouting distance of each other. But then my sister and I grew up and moved away from home and home disappeared--sold to another Raley family of redheads and their livestock. My parents moved to Kelowna, which I tried on for a year and found my journey wasn't over and I needed to Go West young woman, Go West. So for decades it was harry scary trips over the Hope-Princeton highway and then later the Coquihalla Connector--shorter, not twisty and no rockslides to worry about, but breathtakingly foggy, stormy and fast.
My sister and her family and recently my parents have moved to Powell River, so while they are geographically closer to us, it takes two ferries and five hours to visit them--seven to nine hours if you have bad ferry karma, which I've experienced a few times. But it is a beautiful trip, especially the Earl's Cove to Saltery Bay crossing on a clear day.
Don't get me wrong, I dearly love Vancouver and all it offers and hope you feel that same way when you visit. I will no doubt be writing more about the quirks and delights of Vancouver, but I'm not one of those people who think city living is the end all and be all--it's just where I'm happiest at this time and that may change.
For example, stopping in at a bakery in Ladysmith on Vancouver Island this summer, made me want to move there for its brightly-coloured homes and the best cinnamon buns on the planet. Also, I love my little home in Yuma, Arizona that my parents let me plunk on their snowbird plot. It's when visiting in Yuma that I satisfy that need to live close by my family, even though it's a four hour plane trip including connections to Yuma airport or a three day RV ride. I'll write about Yuma in future--it's beautiful in an unconventional unWestcoast way.
I've taken a long time to make the adjustment from rural to urban living and just when I learned to stop looking at all the strangers passing me by hoping to see a familiar face, I start seeing familiar faces wherever go and the city doesn't seem so anonymous anymore. However; there are still some things I miss about simpler less metro places I've lived as follows.
TOP 10 THINGS TO MISS ABOUT SMALL TOWN LIVING
#10 - OPEN PARKING
Pay parking wasn't something I had to worry about in Raley, AB. Raley was a grain elevator surrounded by three houses. Didn't have to pay to park in front of our own house or anyone else's for that matter. Plenty of room to park your car, RV, tractor, semi or locomotive in the yard. Neither did I have to worry about it in the quaint burb of Tsawwassen, with our RV-sized carport, driveway that would fit two cars, plus a parking spot in front of our hedge. There still isn't a parking meter to be found there, which is great because I still go there to the doctor.
#9 - HAVING FUN FOR FREE
While fees for recreational activities, aside from downhill skiing, are reasonable here, they were FREE in Raley. In the summer, the lake was our swimming pool, in the winter it was our skating rink. There were miles of flat fields to cross-country ski through in the winter--no pass required. If we had those modern snowshoes back then, we would have been tripping through the surface of the snow at no charge too. Something you can only do here out-of-bounds--some OOB trails being more safe than others.
#8 - SOLITUDE
Adolescence was an angsty outcasty kind of time for me--sort of like being a vampire but without the teeth and blood lust. I loved to go on midnight wanders by myself on the "triangle", three roads that formed a triangle walk of about a mile, at all times of the year. I didn't know fear then. I could see anyone or anything approach for miles. Now, there are women that walk through the city bravely at all hours, but I was never one of them. Even when I was unaffected by arthritis and could run and cycle fast, there were too many dark places for baddies to hide and I was realistic about how much stronger an attacker can be.
The only place I felt confident and safe in the dark was on the water, but my paddling days are over, so there really isn't a outdoor place that I can think of where I can get that kind of solitude and the peace that comes with it as I did back in the yellow house on the prairies.
#7 - LIMITED TV & NO INTERNET
Having three channels and the fact that the Internet hadn't been invented and computers were the size of well, grain elevators, meant I wasted less time. More reading, more studying, more cooking, more gardening, more life as the alternative was boredom. Seems like these days, it's not real until it's in my status update--ha ha. But I do offset wasted hours in front of the TV with crafting, so perhaps it's not totally wasted.
#6 - SELF-SUFFICIENCY
We needed that storeroom filled with everything we needed for the household with the closest store nine miles away. Not that nine miles was that far, but before we had a drivers' license and with our parents working in a city forty miles from the acreage, we had to be resourceful and prepared for bad weather havoc. A few times each winter, my sister and I would be sealed into the house by snow with the roads closed, so totally on our own coping with a frozen well and no electricity. That's why there were oil lamps and matches in every room, a storeroom downstairs that took hours and hours of cleaning, mouse-proofing and organizing every month, and a huge fireplace to keep us warm and to melt snow for water.
In Vancouver, we don't have enough space for a storeroom, if there's a prob with electricity, natural gas, water, etc. we just dial the phone and have hot and cold running service people to restore it immediately. Nice but it worries me that I won't be prepared for something like "The Big One" earthquake if that happened in my lifetime.
#5 - SLOW FOOD
I didn't like seeing a pig butchered and hung up in front of me for cleaning, nor did I enjoy watching my dad chop the heads off our chickens, but I do miss picking up fresh eggs, honey, milk, meat, fish and produce at the West Raley Hutterite Colony two miles from our Raley house. There's something pure about getting your food from the source, that can't compare to the finest dining experience in the city.
I did enjoy our veggie patch in Tsawwassen, but there's no room for that in our duplex's micro-yard, but that's what farmer's markets are for, right?
#4 - SEEING HIGH-SCHOOL FRIENDS ONLY AT REUNIONS
Well, technically I've only attended one reunion and that was my husband's 10th high-school reunion. But Oak Bay High had such a huge graduating class no one remembered each other, so I just went with the flow and met lots of interesting people who I had no prior judgments of. I do plan to attend my 30th reunion next summer in Cardston, AB. A quaint border-town with good people--the entire population of which would fit in the Telus HQ in Burnaby. A fact I discovered when I worked in this boot-shaped building a long time ago--it was very like a town with its own bakery, drycleaner and other amenities.
If it weren't for FaceBook, Classmates.com and email I would have lost touch completely with the exception of one special friend, who toughed it out with me through the snail mail years (yes, that's you ERO).
I had a mini-reunion in Victoria and was overwhelmed with emotion to see a high-school bud after nearly 30 years. She looked gorgeous and hadn't changed a bit since high-school even after four kids and one grand-kid--wow! Me, well, I don't at all resemble my 100 lb self, but at least I still sound the same--ha ha.
#3- ONE MOVIE THEATRE & DRIVE-INS
Yes, the multiplex, 3-D, omni, Imax theatres are great and offer a plethora of entertainment options, but I miss the one theatre where the whole movie-loving community packed in on cheap night. No worries about gang hits in a one-theatre town.
There was nothing that said family entertainment more than dressing in our PJs and going to the drive-in with our parents. We nodded off after the first feature, leaving my parents to enjoy the second feature without our bleats for popcorn, pop and the bathroom. Waking up in our beds the next morning and not remembering how we got from the car into bed was pure magic.
#2 - CHARACTERS WHO OCCUPY SMALL PLACES
Small communities take care of their own--it's true. They know to be kind to the ones with special needs, the ones with bad luck, the ones with poor health, the ones with broken hearts, the ones who were having a hard time, which pretty much included everyone. Global TLC seemed the status quo.
Perhaps, that's why my parents are offended when they visit Vancouver because people don't smile at them in the street, or stop to have a friendly chat with them when they say "Hi." I try to explain that in the city people are rushing from point A to B and if they're approached they assume you are an aggressive beggar. This doesn't seem a satisfactory explanation and I suppose it is pretty snotty of us not to pay attention to people from out of town. Well, we did the best we could during the Olympics being friendly and helpful to tourists and now we're tired out.
I do have to be viligant and teach out of town family and friends not to give money to the prevalent street people as they are often addicts or alcoholics and we're just perpetuating their addictions. Or, they are mentally ill and we really should take care of them but just don't know how. We don't know how to tell the difference between the opportunistic and truly needy--it's complicated and something we struggle with. Also, we have laws that the experienced street people are well aware of that they aren't to be pan-handling aggressively. You can tell the transient panhandlers by how aggressive they are compared to our locals. We're not proud of the number of street people we have and hope that those who want to get off the street will take advantage of the programs we have to do so. The warm weather and relatively mild winters keep attracting them to this very expensive place.
#1 - LIVING CLOSE TO FAMILY
Like most families, there was that beautiful time when we all lived under one roof within shouting distance of each other. But then my sister and I grew up and moved away from home and home disappeared--sold to another Raley family of redheads and their livestock. My parents moved to Kelowna, which I tried on for a year and found my journey wasn't over and I needed to Go West young woman, Go West. So for decades it was harry scary trips over the Hope-Princeton highway and then later the Coquihalla Connector--shorter, not twisty and no rockslides to worry about, but breathtakingly foggy, stormy and fast.
My sister and her family and recently my parents have moved to Powell River, so while they are geographically closer to us, it takes two ferries and five hours to visit them--seven to nine hours if you have bad ferry karma, which I've experienced a few times. But it is a beautiful trip, especially the Earl's Cove to Saltery Bay crossing on a clear day.
Don't get me wrong, I dearly love Vancouver and all it offers and hope you feel that same way when you visit. I will no doubt be writing more about the quirks and delights of Vancouver, but I'm not one of those people who think city living is the end all and be all--it's just where I'm happiest at this time and that may change.
For example, stopping in at a bakery in Ladysmith on Vancouver Island this summer, made me want to move there for its brightly-coloured homes and the best cinnamon buns on the planet. Also, I love my little home in Yuma, Arizona that my parents let me plunk on their snowbird plot. It's when visiting in Yuma that I satisfy that need to live close by my family, even though it's a four hour plane trip including connections to Yuma airport or a three day RV ride. I'll write about Yuma in future--it's beautiful in an unconventional unWestcoast way.
Enjoying Kits Pool
Those of you who know me, know I live for that short season that Kits Pool is open from Victoria Day weekend in May, when it is at it's clearest, cleanest and coldest to September 12th, when you wish it just wouldn't ever close.
Canada's longest pool at 135m is as long as five blue whales nose to tail. You can spot the first-timers as they stand up about mid-way, put a hand over their brow and utter the words "Am I there yet?" Or, they stand up several times to spot their way to the end.
It can be intimidating, but let me assure you that it's not just the hard-core swimmers that enjoy the pool, and I'm not talking about the ample kid's pool on the other side of the rope. No, there's people like me. I use a snorkel and I'm not ashamed of it, without it I wouldn't be able to swim as long or often as it hurts my neck doing the front crawl without it. One young man said, "Why is it when I see a snorkel I want to put my hand over it?" A thought that had never occurred to me before, as it seems equivalent to holding a swimmer down under the water. I just said it was because he was "twisted", but in a joking way.
Snorkeling makes me feel like I'm snorkelling in the tropics. OK, I don't see tropical fish, (if only it were possible to stock KP with fish but the sea water, chlorine mix of the water isn't habitable for fishies), only the occasional flash of pretty toenail polish, but there are interesting (if not gross) things to see. Like the band-aid burial ground--a spot in the deep end of the pool where all the sloughed off bandages gather. Things like, lost nose plugs, costume jewellry, hair elastics, are uninspiring but more exciting are the tattoos on the swimmers. I don't go looking for them, but the body art emerges especially at the far wall where the water is so shallow, you have to stand up if you're going to rest or adjust your goggles. There you will catch glimpses of tribals, dolphins, flowers, fairies, butterflies, script--all so colourful and beautiful. Makes me covet one--maybe a water sprite on a shoulder blade, if it weren't for the fact that it would mean I couldn't swim until it healed--some six weeks. I swim or attend Waterworks arthritis programs almost daily year round, so that's not an option.
The guards do a phenomenal job of keeping the pool clean and safe both in the pool and in the surrounding areas, including the grassy hills, waterpark, deck areas. There are a few behaviours of patrons; however, that I'd like to to see change.
TOP TEN THINGS THAT WOULD MAKE KITS POOL MORE ENJOYABLE
#10 - Remember to peel off your band-aids, dressings, bandages, etc. before you go into the pool, or they will end up in the ever-growing band-aid burial ground, which is unsightly not to mention unsanitary.
#9 - Breast strokers please don't use your powerful kicks at the ends of the pool. I got kicked by a strapping young man in the gut one day and it knocked the wind out of me. So much so that I couldn't let him know my displeasure. That goes for you too--flipper people--swimming shouldn't be a contact sport--at least on a non-race day.
#8 - Kickboarders, backstrokers, water-runners, there IS a lane for you. It's called No Man's Land on the deep end on the pool along the North or far wall.
#7 - Those using the far wall (see #8), please, please, please don't use the far end to turn and swim in the WRONG direction into oncoming lap swimmers. I can see very well with my prescription diving mask, but not every swimmer can see well enough to avoid a head-on collision, thus jamming up the turn area.
#6 - Never ever ever stop to chat with your friends or hang out in the YELLOW ZONE. That's for the continual swimmers to do their flip or touch turns. That isn't to say you can't take your time before you do that next 137 m length. I have to walk at the end of each lap myself to prevent painful foot and leg cramps. I'd prefer to continual swim, but when I do I can guarantee myself cramping up and it never happens in the shallow side where it's not so panicky, only the deep end when you can't walk it out.
#5 - Keep the waiting line at the entrance one person/object deep for those of us with passes who can zip by the scanner. You might want to get yourself at least a 10 time pass to beat the lines yourself.
#4 - Get in the pool quickly, it just congests the ladder and launch area if you are inching yourself in slowly, plus you look like a wussie. Better to slide in right away--it's a bit of a shock for a few seconds but then you're good to go.
#3 - Wear a wet suit if you get chilled easily. The pool was 76 degrees last time I checked, which is colder than some lakes, so for your own comfort if you own a wet suit and it's cloudy, windy or raining you'll be far more comfie and won't be plugging up the turn areas complaining about how cold the water is if you have one on (myself included). I hate the suiting up process and talk myself out of bringing it along, but then suffer an icy swim on those less than perfect summer days. The pool is set on a point with no wind breaks except in a few seating areas so there's always chilly marine air which is OK once you're in the pool, but makes you not want to leave the pool ever.
#2 - Follow the guards' instructions immediately. For example, when we were swimming one evening and it started to thunder and lightning, you didn't have to tell us twice to exit the water, but one sole swimmer refused to leave the pool until they blasted the sirens at him. Perhaps, he was wearing ear plugs or had a hearing impairment, but he might have just been a single-minded triathlete trying to get in a full workout and willing to risk electrocution.
#1 - Shower with SOAP before you enter the pool, that's why the showers with endless hot water and soap are there. Kits Pool has mounted soap dispensers beside the showers this year to encourage it. The cleaner you are when you enter the pool, the cleaner the pool will be and the less chemicals will be needed to keep us safe. Yes, I know it makes for a bracing walk across the deck to the pool while dripping wet but it grosses me out when I see people jump in dry. If you want to swim without showering first, the ocean is right next door and it's self-cleaning--pools are not.
See you at the pool, although I go on off-peak hours to avoid the crowds. I'll be wearing a yellow diving mask and blue snorkel with an orange tip. I'll be in a blue one-piece suit, pulling a blue granny cart, or what I call my portable locker stuffed with my street clothes, wash bag, towel, sports drink (an important part of my anti-cramp strategy, a few sips every lap), keys, glasses, snorkelling gear and paperback book. I love my granny cart as I don't need to go near the busy problem areas in the change room anymore and it makes for a much faster entry and exit time from the pool.
Canada's longest pool at 135m is as long as five blue whales nose to tail. You can spot the first-timers as they stand up about mid-way, put a hand over their brow and utter the words "Am I there yet?" Or, they stand up several times to spot their way to the end.
It can be intimidating, but let me assure you that it's not just the hard-core swimmers that enjoy the pool, and I'm not talking about the ample kid's pool on the other side of the rope. No, there's people like me. I use a snorkel and I'm not ashamed of it, without it I wouldn't be able to swim as long or often as it hurts my neck doing the front crawl without it. One young man said, "Why is it when I see a snorkel I want to put my hand over it?" A thought that had never occurred to me before, as it seems equivalent to holding a swimmer down under the water. I just said it was because he was "twisted", but in a joking way.
Snorkeling makes me feel like I'm snorkelling in the tropics. OK, I don't see tropical fish, (if only it were possible to stock KP with fish but the sea water, chlorine mix of the water isn't habitable for fishies), only the occasional flash of pretty toenail polish, but there are interesting (if not gross) things to see. Like the band-aid burial ground--a spot in the deep end of the pool where all the sloughed off bandages gather. Things like, lost nose plugs, costume jewellry, hair elastics, are uninspiring but more exciting are the tattoos on the swimmers. I don't go looking for them, but the body art emerges especially at the far wall where the water is so shallow, you have to stand up if you're going to rest or adjust your goggles. There you will catch glimpses of tribals, dolphins, flowers, fairies, butterflies, script--all so colourful and beautiful. Makes me covet one--maybe a water sprite on a shoulder blade, if it weren't for the fact that it would mean I couldn't swim until it healed--some six weeks. I swim or attend Waterworks arthritis programs almost daily year round, so that's not an option.
The guards do a phenomenal job of keeping the pool clean and safe both in the pool and in the surrounding areas, including the grassy hills, waterpark, deck areas. There are a few behaviours of patrons; however, that I'd like to to see change.
TOP TEN THINGS THAT WOULD MAKE KITS POOL MORE ENJOYABLE
#10 - Remember to peel off your band-aids, dressings, bandages, etc. before you go into the pool, or they will end up in the ever-growing band-aid burial ground, which is unsightly not to mention unsanitary.
#9 - Breast strokers please don't use your powerful kicks at the ends of the pool. I got kicked by a strapping young man in the gut one day and it knocked the wind out of me. So much so that I couldn't let him know my displeasure. That goes for you too--flipper people--swimming shouldn't be a contact sport--at least on a non-race day.
#8 - Kickboarders, backstrokers, water-runners, there IS a lane for you. It's called No Man's Land on the deep end on the pool along the North or far wall.
#7 - Those using the far wall (see #8), please, please, please don't use the far end to turn and swim in the WRONG direction into oncoming lap swimmers. I can see very well with my prescription diving mask, but not every swimmer can see well enough to avoid a head-on collision, thus jamming up the turn area.
#6 - Never ever ever stop to chat with your friends or hang out in the YELLOW ZONE. That's for the continual swimmers to do their flip or touch turns. That isn't to say you can't take your time before you do that next 137 m length. I have to walk at the end of each lap myself to prevent painful foot and leg cramps. I'd prefer to continual swim, but when I do I can guarantee myself cramping up and it never happens in the shallow side where it's not so panicky, only the deep end when you can't walk it out.
#5 - Keep the waiting line at the entrance one person/object deep for those of us with passes who can zip by the scanner. You might want to get yourself at least a 10 time pass to beat the lines yourself.
#4 - Get in the pool quickly, it just congests the ladder and launch area if you are inching yourself in slowly, plus you look like a wussie. Better to slide in right away--it's a bit of a shock for a few seconds but then you're good to go.
#3 - Wear a wet suit if you get chilled easily. The pool was 76 degrees last time I checked, which is colder than some lakes, so for your own comfort if you own a wet suit and it's cloudy, windy or raining you'll be far more comfie and won't be plugging up the turn areas complaining about how cold the water is if you have one on (myself included). I hate the suiting up process and talk myself out of bringing it along, but then suffer an icy swim on those less than perfect summer days. The pool is set on a point with no wind breaks except in a few seating areas so there's always chilly marine air which is OK once you're in the pool, but makes you not want to leave the pool ever.
#2 - Follow the guards' instructions immediately. For example, when we were swimming one evening and it started to thunder and lightning, you didn't have to tell us twice to exit the water, but one sole swimmer refused to leave the pool until they blasted the sirens at him. Perhaps, he was wearing ear plugs or had a hearing impairment, but he might have just been a single-minded triathlete trying to get in a full workout and willing to risk electrocution.
#1 - Shower with SOAP before you enter the pool, that's why the showers with endless hot water and soap are there. Kits Pool has mounted soap dispensers beside the showers this year to encourage it. The cleaner you are when you enter the pool, the cleaner the pool will be and the less chemicals will be needed to keep us safe. Yes, I know it makes for a bracing walk across the deck to the pool while dripping wet but it grosses me out when I see people jump in dry. If you want to swim without showering first, the ocean is right next door and it's self-cleaning--pools are not.
See you at the pool, although I go on off-peak hours to avoid the crowds. I'll be wearing a yellow diving mask and blue snorkel with an orange tip. I'll be in a blue one-piece suit, pulling a blue granny cart, or what I call my portable locker stuffed with my street clothes, wash bag, towel, sports drink (an important part of my anti-cramp strategy, a few sips every lap), keys, glasses, snorkelling gear and paperback book. I love my granny cart as I don't need to go near the busy problem areas in the change room anymore and it makes for a much faster entry and exit time from the pool.
Parking in Vancouver 101
You never realize how complex the parking rules and logisitics are in this city compared to others until you have to try to explain it to someone new. While waiting in line to purchase yearly parking permits at City Hall, I heard frustrated newcomers fanning handfuls of tickets trying to understand how this terrible thing happened to them.
There were some pretty basic no-nos, like don't park in the wrong direction, even if you have a permit and are in front of your house. In this town (if not the entire country), it's not allowed as it confuses drivers and can cause accidents, even though I admit it is tempting to pull in the wrong way in an available spot instead of doing a three point turn in an alley to go back and claim it. I've seen it done in European countries so it must not be that problematic, but that's just the way it is here. Also, don't park an uninsured car on the street--it's illegal and City Hall won't issue you a parking permit until you have proof of insurance.
A few weeks ago while we were watching the fireworks from near Lighthouse Park this summer, we spoke with a cheerful Norwegian family, who were laughing at themselves for parking incorrectly at Kits Beach that day and spending half the day trying to find their car after it had been towed away. I felt badly for their unpleasant initiation to Vancouver parking.
Actually, given that I'm a very reluctant parallel parker, I have to look even harder for any spots. So I thought I'd share a few "rules" or guidelines that might help you avoid being ticketed or worse yet, towed. Although, the best advice I can offer is to take transit wherever possible.
RULE #1 - STUDY THE SIGNS CAREFULLY
After 25 years in this city, I admit I still have to puzzle out some signs while parking. It seems there are plenty of unmined parking spots due to confusing multiple signage, so if you just slow down and pull in to study the clusters of signs growing out of the poles, it's usually the case that you CAN park there as many spots are available between rush hours. When in doubt though, you can ask a local for help for sign interpretation.
For example, this weekend we were leaving Kits Pool and just outside the Starbuck's on Cornwall a woman who said she wasn't from here asked us to explain the signs to her. In front of us were two signs bolted together: NO PARKING EXCEPT WITH PERMIT and NO STOPPING BETWEEN 9:30-5:00 Mon-Fri and a TEMPORARY NO PARKING EVENT sign zap strapped to a pole. So my husband, explained patiently that this means that if you HAVE a parking permit, (issued by the City for $50/year for the privilege of parking on your own street), you can't stop/park there between those hours. Except on the dates indicated on the event sign, which was leftover from the Festival of Lights and wasn't valid anymore. So we pointed out that she COULD park further up the street where the signs indicated 2 HR. PARKING EXCEPT WITH PERMIT, which means you could park there for two hours unless you own a permit for that area in which case you can park there as much as you like. Unfortunately, unless he owned a SmartCar she wouldn't be able to squeeze into the available spot.
Since she said she wasn't from here, I didn't mind telling her where we were about to leave our parking spot in one of those coveted secret spots that only locals know about, but she declined saying that it was too far for her and her kids. So we suggested she move her car from the PARKING WITH PERMIT ONLY spot, which would guarantee her car to be towed shortly (presumably without the kids inside) to the paid lot and for $2.50/hour or $10 for the day, she could park stress free. We neglected to tell her about the metered parking up and down Yew Street which is only $2.00/hour and great if you're not going to be there more than two hours as there's nothing available in the afternoon. Also, telling her getting to popular places before noon pretty much guarantees you parking, Granville Island being the exception, would be pointless because it wasn't quite noon yet and she had a small window of time left before there would be no parking spaces available.
We didn't tell her that sometimes the parking machines wouldn't take credit cards, or coins and sometimes the ticket printer was out of paper and that paying by cell phone was a 5 to 10 minute ordeal, nor did we tell her she'd better decide quickly before she got a ticket and/or the lot filled up--too much pressure. We walked to our secret spot (no, I won't reveal where that is or it wouldn't be a secret anymore) and there were plenty of spots still available for up to two hours of parking.
My husband pointed out as we were pulling away, that on rainy weekends the residents haven't yet got up for the day clearing the 2 Hour PARKING EXCEPT WITH PERMIT spots, but on sunny days there are more spots available in the morning before the afternoon risers start making there way to the parks and pools.
RULE #2 - WALK A FEW BLOCKS
If you're not willing to walk a bit you're not going to find free or possibly any parking here. There are, in fact, sign-free streets, which means there are no time or parking restrictions, but you're going to have to be prepared to walk a block or two from a main street, like Broadway or West 4th, or even Granville Island. This doesn't include downtown, although there is metered parking that frees up after 6 pm and plenty of parkades. I do know of one parkade that doesn't ticket but I still pay and that location is a deathbed secret.
The way I find some free spots is from merely paying attention to the signs when I walk and make a mental note of where and when parking is available, or when I'm driving to a paid parking spot I might veer off a few blocks and explore for any free potential.
RULE #3 - USE NOTES
We offer a free parking spot to friends and family behind our house. We can do because we have two permits and can park one car on the street. It's a critical spot for when work is being done to the complex we live in. We've never had anyone park there unauthorized but we wouldn't hesitate to tow someone if they did have the nerve to park there. Unless they posted a note on their windshield explaining their transgression. We live near the hospital, so we'd probably be kind-hearted to someone who had to park there because there was nowhere else and their loved one had just been rushed to hospital. To which we would reply, "There's always parking at the Diamond Centre!"
This is what I'd like to remind all those hospital workers who habitually park along our alley along the fences clearly marked NO PARKING ANYTIME. It's quite a hazard as the alley is narrow made dangerously narrow with their SUVs. Every now and again, someone gets annoyed and I admit to a little bit of glee when I see the tow trucks arriving. Seriously, if you can afford a BMW SUV or a sports car you can afford to get monthly parking at one of the two parkades specifically made for hospital parking.
Seriously, I have got out of ticketing by leaving a note when the ticket machine has not operated properly. If you have a valid reason why you haven't purchased a ticket, leaving a note explaining the problem can save you a $40 ticket. Always carry paper and pen in your car for this and many other reasons.
RULE #4 - CIRCLE AND STALK
There aren't any secret overlooked spots on Granville Island anymore so don't bother looking, but there were several hidden behind sheds that were torn down. Granville Island parking is not for novices if you don't get there before 10 am, but circling can yield a prime spot as the best ones are at the entrance to the GI which you can only access once you've gone around the entire Island counter-clockwise and are exiting. There's usually plenty of paid parking past the False Creek Community Centre or in one of the several parkades on your way out. You could resort to stalking, just like you do at mall parkades at Christmas, but be warned that with a three hour parking limit, you could just be wasting time following someone back to their car to find they are just putting away bags so they can go buy more stuff.
Any questions? There are some good explanations on the City web site and little known facts concerning NO PARKING ANYTIME signs. I didn't know that disabled people can park there for 30 minutes for loading and unloading purposes! Check it out at http://vancouver.ca/engsvcs/parking/enf/parksmart/parkstop.htm
It doesn't hurt to bring your personal parking fairy/god/goddess with you.
Happy ticket free parking.
There were some pretty basic no-nos, like don't park in the wrong direction, even if you have a permit and are in front of your house. In this town (if not the entire country), it's not allowed as it confuses drivers and can cause accidents, even though I admit it is tempting to pull in the wrong way in an available spot instead of doing a three point turn in an alley to go back and claim it. I've seen it done in European countries so it must not be that problematic, but that's just the way it is here. Also, don't park an uninsured car on the street--it's illegal and City Hall won't issue you a parking permit until you have proof of insurance.
A few weeks ago while we were watching the fireworks from near Lighthouse Park this summer, we spoke with a cheerful Norwegian family, who were laughing at themselves for parking incorrectly at Kits Beach that day and spending half the day trying to find their car after it had been towed away. I felt badly for their unpleasant initiation to Vancouver parking.
Actually, given that I'm a very reluctant parallel parker, I have to look even harder for any spots. So I thought I'd share a few "rules" or guidelines that might help you avoid being ticketed or worse yet, towed. Although, the best advice I can offer is to take transit wherever possible.
RULE #1 - STUDY THE SIGNS CAREFULLY
After 25 years in this city, I admit I still have to puzzle out some signs while parking. It seems there are plenty of unmined parking spots due to confusing multiple signage, so if you just slow down and pull in to study the clusters of signs growing out of the poles, it's usually the case that you CAN park there as many spots are available between rush hours. When in doubt though, you can ask a local for help for sign interpretation.
For example, this weekend we were leaving Kits Pool and just outside the Starbuck's on Cornwall a woman who said she wasn't from here asked us to explain the signs to her. In front of us were two signs bolted together: NO PARKING EXCEPT WITH PERMIT and NO STOPPING BETWEEN 9:30-5:00 Mon-Fri and a TEMPORARY NO PARKING EVENT sign zap strapped to a pole. So my husband, explained patiently that this means that if you HAVE a parking permit, (issued by the City for $50/year for the privilege of parking on your own street), you can't stop/park there between those hours. Except on the dates indicated on the event sign, which was leftover from the Festival of Lights and wasn't valid anymore. So we pointed out that she COULD park further up the street where the signs indicated 2 HR. PARKING EXCEPT WITH PERMIT, which means you could park there for two hours unless you own a permit for that area in which case you can park there as much as you like. Unfortunately, unless he owned a SmartCar she wouldn't be able to squeeze into the available spot.
Since she said she wasn't from here, I didn't mind telling her where we were about to leave our parking spot in one of those coveted secret spots that only locals know about, but she declined saying that it was too far for her and her kids. So we suggested she move her car from the PARKING WITH PERMIT ONLY spot, which would guarantee her car to be towed shortly (presumably without the kids inside) to the paid lot and for $2.50/hour or $10 for the day, she could park stress free. We neglected to tell her about the metered parking up and down Yew Street which is only $2.00/hour and great if you're not going to be there more than two hours as there's nothing available in the afternoon. Also, telling her getting to popular places before noon pretty much guarantees you parking, Granville Island being the exception, would be pointless because it wasn't quite noon yet and she had a small window of time left before there would be no parking spaces available.
We didn't tell her that sometimes the parking machines wouldn't take credit cards, or coins and sometimes the ticket printer was out of paper and that paying by cell phone was a 5 to 10 minute ordeal, nor did we tell her she'd better decide quickly before she got a ticket and/or the lot filled up--too much pressure. We walked to our secret spot (no, I won't reveal where that is or it wouldn't be a secret anymore) and there were plenty of spots still available for up to two hours of parking.
My husband pointed out as we were pulling away, that on rainy weekends the residents haven't yet got up for the day clearing the 2 Hour PARKING EXCEPT WITH PERMIT spots, but on sunny days there are more spots available in the morning before the afternoon risers start making there way to the parks and pools.
RULE #2 - WALK A FEW BLOCKS
If you're not willing to walk a bit you're not going to find free or possibly any parking here. There are, in fact, sign-free streets, which means there are no time or parking restrictions, but you're going to have to be prepared to walk a block or two from a main street, like Broadway or West 4th, or even Granville Island. This doesn't include downtown, although there is metered parking that frees up after 6 pm and plenty of parkades. I do know of one parkade that doesn't ticket but I still pay and that location is a deathbed secret.
The way I find some free spots is from merely paying attention to the signs when I walk and make a mental note of where and when parking is available, or when I'm driving to a paid parking spot I might veer off a few blocks and explore for any free potential.
RULE #3 - USE NOTES
We offer a free parking spot to friends and family behind our house. We can do because we have two permits and can park one car on the street. It's a critical spot for when work is being done to the complex we live in. We've never had anyone park there unauthorized but we wouldn't hesitate to tow someone if they did have the nerve to park there. Unless they posted a note on their windshield explaining their transgression. We live near the hospital, so we'd probably be kind-hearted to someone who had to park there because there was nowhere else and their loved one had just been rushed to hospital. To which we would reply, "There's always parking at the Diamond Centre!"
This is what I'd like to remind all those hospital workers who habitually park along our alley along the fences clearly marked NO PARKING ANYTIME. It's quite a hazard as the alley is narrow made dangerously narrow with their SUVs. Every now and again, someone gets annoyed and I admit to a little bit of glee when I see the tow trucks arriving. Seriously, if you can afford a BMW SUV or a sports car you can afford to get monthly parking at one of the two parkades specifically made for hospital parking.
Seriously, I have got out of ticketing by leaving a note when the ticket machine has not operated properly. If you have a valid reason why you haven't purchased a ticket, leaving a note explaining the problem can save you a $40 ticket. Always carry paper and pen in your car for this and many other reasons.
RULE #4 - CIRCLE AND STALK
There aren't any secret overlooked spots on Granville Island anymore so don't bother looking, but there were several hidden behind sheds that were torn down. Granville Island parking is not for novices if you don't get there before 10 am, but circling can yield a prime spot as the best ones are at the entrance to the GI which you can only access once you've gone around the entire Island counter-clockwise and are exiting. There's usually plenty of paid parking past the False Creek Community Centre or in one of the several parkades on your way out. You could resort to stalking, just like you do at mall parkades at Christmas, but be warned that with a three hour parking limit, you could just be wasting time following someone back to their car to find they are just putting away bags so they can go buy more stuff.
Any questions? There are some good explanations on the City web site and little known facts concerning NO PARKING ANYTIME signs. I didn't know that disabled people can park there for 30 minutes for loading and unloading purposes! Check it out at http://vancouver.ca/engsvcs/parking/enf/parksmart/parkstop.htm
It doesn't hurt to bring your personal parking fairy/god/goddess with you.
Happy ticket free parking.
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