going to Ainsworth Hot Springs Resort

Finally.  After years of wondering what the resort looked like, I’m here.  It was a long but enjoyable drive that started at 6:50am.  It was sunny for the first couple of hours, but then coming into the mountains it rained the whole time.  There was also a lot of road construction.  We sat stopped for 25 minutes at one point while a road crew repaired a bridge.  Nonetheless, the drive was really nice.

I finally got to the ferry terminal!  Yay!  But … there was a two-and-a-half sail waiting for the ferry to get across Kootenay lake near the end of the trip. \

During the wait, I talked with a guy taking his family on a camp trip with a trailer.  It was his first time on this ferry.  Suddenly my car alarm went off!  The horn blared across the parking lot and into the forest beyond.  I got hold of the fob to shut it up.  I asked the guy, “Uh … you didn’t hear that, did you?”  He just chuckled.

Three ajimas (Korean ladies) were looking at an information sign.  I came over to view the sign.  “Please…?” one of them said as she held out her phone / camera.  “Yes, sure.”  They all lined up for the shot.  I called out to them, “Hanna – dule – set -” (one – two – three) … click.  I gave the phone back to them.  “Hanna, dule, set?”  “한국어하세요?” (Do you speak Korean?)  “조금 어요…”  (A little.)  We had a brief conversation before I asked them, “이거 … 괜찮아?” (Is this okay?)  “아주 좋습니다. 감사합니다!” (It’s great!  Thank you!)  We bowed, and I left.

The sail was nice – cool and breezy and not much rain.  It lasted 40 minutes.

 

When I checked into the hotel, lots of people were waiting.  It was pouring rain.

More later!  I’m gone to soak.

Ainsworth bound

I’m off! First vacation in a couple of years. I’m off to Ainsworth. It’s a hot spring along the BC hot spring route in the Rockies. I booked a couple of nights there, in the hotel, but I’m also bringing the teardrop trailer. I thought I would leave yesterday, but everything took so dang long but I decided to wait for this morning. Wish me luck.

inversion table

I finally bought a new inversion table to replace the one that Hanyoung stole in 2010.  Canadian Tire in Brooks, AB, was the closest store that had one.  I left work late in the evening with enough time to purchase it before CT closed.  It was a heavy brute.  What they lacked in quickness finding the product and bringing it out to me, the CT staff almost made up for by loading it into the van.

When home, I assembled part of it before making a bowl of noodles and finally falling asleep in the living room holding the bowl half-full of noodles.

The next day, the assembly continued.

It wasn’t hard.  The instructions were very precise and thorough (and wordy).  Finally, it was time to use it.  Finally, some back pain relief.

I’ll let you know how useful it is.

cereal with coconut, cereal without milk

I really don’t like coconut.  So why did I but PC Organics Muesli, a cereal with coconut?  It’s a good cereal, one of the only ones without sugar (or some sort of sweetener) added.  Except this cereal has coconut, like so many others!  So I pick out all the coconut and give it all to Floyd.

I am also trying something new (to me) – non-dairy “milk” in my cereal.

I don’t see any problem with this.  I used almond drink (sorry – I have a hard time calling it “milk”), but, if you do some research, you’ll see that almonds consume just as much water to produce as does (dairy) milk.  So I’m trying soy and oat.  I can’t tell the difference between the two, really.  But neither of them has the taste or texture of milk.

You’re not supposed to see the bacon, eggs, bottled water, or Coca~Cola in the background.  It’s just there for decoration.  Just to be clear, I never buy bottled water (this bottle is continuously refilled) or Coca~Cola (left over from Christmas a few years back).  I bought the bacon, though – first time in years.  And, yes, I do eat eggs.

The Orville

I just finished watching The Orville, a spin-off of Star Trek (that isn’t really actually Star Trek).  They made three seasons.  I hope they eventually resurrect it and create more.

I got the impression from reading about it that it would be a goofy spoof, full of slap-stick and fart jokes.  Not so.  Sure, it has a bit of that, but mixed in was suspense, plot twists, intrigue, humanism, social commentary, and drama, along with great acting.  Hell, even Dolly Parton made a cameo!

Then again, I think they made a mistake by cancelling Enterprise, so what do I know?

ongoing renos

I’ve taken a day off working at 520.  I’m back at it tomorrow.  You can read about its progress here.  Being my first purchased house outright, I want it to be my own.  No shortcuts.  I’m scoring paint off beautiful hardwood and colour-match staining and polyurethaning, undoing renovations and restoring pieces to their original shape, and repairing broken, cut, or rotten structural joists, beams, king studs, and frames.  I know I won’t live there, but just the same…