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Just went to Nanaimo to try watching Fahrenheit 9/11 with Anna, Brian, Kara, and Robin, but it was sold out. That's pretty impressive for such a little Canadian town. Plus, the film opened five days ago. I guess I wasn't really that surprised (I'd heard how well the movie was doing in the US), but Brian was pretty dumbfounded, and really glad.

Will try again soon.

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Yesterday I went with Danika and Kara to Newcastle Island, a small island close to Nanaimo. We took a small ferry to get there. The island is really just a big provincial park with trails. On the right is a picture of Danika (left) and Kara (right). Kara is my cousin Robin's girlfriend and she's living and working on the farm. Danika's family has been very close to my aunt's family for a long time, as they also used to work on the farm.




There's a very stagnant lake on this island with fallen trees in it. Some logs seem to have been there for so long that they're breeding their own little ecosystems, as seen in the photo.

For such a small island, there's lots of wildlife.
We saw an owl (right), pretty tame deer and a raccoon.

Looking towards Nanaimo from the island.

Newcastle island used to be mined for coal and quarried for sandstone. This is an abandoned sandstone quarry.

After completing a tour of the island, we wandered around downtown Nanaimo for a bit. Then we ate at Gina's Mexican Cafe (right). Their food is so good! I don't think I've ever had such interesting Mexican food before.

After that we watched Super Size Me, which was excellent! So much fun. You should go see it and take everybody you know.

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I rode my bike to an abandoned logging area near the river and took more pictures. Most of them are of wildflowers. The mountain is Mount Arrowsmith (I know I have too many photos of it). There are lots of wild berries growing around there - especially raspberries and blackberries. I picked a handful of raspberries.

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On Friday my friend Danika and I went hiking to Englishman River Falls and Little Mountain. That evening there was a very nice sunset at home. Here are the pictures:

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I rode my bike through the forest near the Englishman River and took these pictures.

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I got a mountain bike today! A Rocky Mountain Fusion. It cost about $900. I needed a lightweight and durable bike that was in very good shape and had good reviews, so I couldn't settle for a used one; that's one reason this one was so expensive. The other bike that the bike guy recommended for me was only $550, but when I tried it out the chain was rubbing against everything, and it just didn't feel as smooth as the Fusion. The Fusion is built with higher-quality, more durable (and more expensive) components. Reviews by owners of this bike said it was very resilient and low-maintenance, and they were very impressed with it overall. I'd like to never have to buy another bike for the rest of my life.

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I took a little "stroll" on my bike this afternoon. That is, I rode my bike in a strollish kind of way - just exploring and going nowhere in particular. I packed my camera and tripod - and the GPS, of course. It was sunny with cloudy periods, windy and mild.

I crossed the Englishman River the usual way (across the orange bridge) and started going down streets. There are some nice little properties around here. Many, many tall trees surround everything, it seems. It's nice to have this rural feel so close to town. I met some dead-ends, so I decided to pursue a geocache near the railroad. To get there I had to pass through some pretty ghastly new residential developments - almost as ugly as Oakville's. So I held my breath and finally arrived at a trail that paralleled the railroad.

And so I mountain-biked. Here are a few photos I took along the way:


I trudged through the dense forest where the geocache was supposed to be, but I couldn't find it. My GPS was taking me in circles (it fails to be accurate in enclosed places). Then it took me longer than it should have to return to the trail (I lost my sense of direction, even with a GPS!), but I eventually made it. I'm a bit concerned about predators (cougars, wolves, etc.) when I'm on my own in an isolated place. My cousins and their friends here don't joke about them; many of them never hike alone. My cousin Robin reportedly saw a cougar on the Cormie Farm when he was very young, but his dog reportedly chased it away. But that was long ago. I'm not sure what to make of the whole shebang.

After that little fiasco I went to the Parksville public beach. There I tried to photograph a wondrous layering of clouds, rain and mountains in the distance, but my camera battery ran out before I managed to record the impression to my satisfaction. Here's what I did manage to snap, however:

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I should have posted these a while ago. I took these photos when Jon, Meta and I went to Victoria on May 28. We stayed there overnight at a hotel in downtown for only $65. They thought only Jon and Meta were staying in the single room, but I snuck in as well.

That evening Jon persuaded me to put on eye makeup. Meta said I looked like a goth. Whatever. I'm sure some people will enjoy the photo. The second photo is of an alleyway that had shops down it. The last photo is one of Meta that I took at a restaurant the following day. We enjoy observing people in restaurants, particularly the waitresses, and invent names for them.

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Lalala... Jon left for Toronto today (he has to go to convocation). My aunt wanted a photo of us three just before he left, and here it is:


Also, today I gave my cousin Robin the chainmail bracelet that Jon and I made for him. He loves it. (Thanks to Derek for his very helpful tips.)

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I thought I'd include a few pictures of the stand (and my wonderful aunt Anna) so you have some idea of the main attractions at Cormie Farm. The farm seems to be really well known around town. That's a nice thing about living in a small town like Parksville - there's a strong sense of community and people easily get to know one another. Anna says that people sometimes visit to have their picture taken in front of the Cormie Farm sign - as if it's a great landmark or something!

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Here are a couple more time lapse videos: one of Jon and me hoeing the field and another of Jon and me painting the Cormie Farm sign.

I highly recommend that you do not download the first one (570 KB) unless you have a fast Internet connection and you are outstandingly bored. It didn't turn out well because the time taken between shots was too long, we were way outside of the view for the first part, and we were behind a hill for the last part.

The second one (1.1 MB) is pretty cool, though. The Cormie Farm sign that's right on the Island Highway hadn't been painted in ten years and was looking really faded. So Jon, Kara and I repainted both sides of it, and the time lapse video is of Jon and me painting the second side from start to finish. Now the sign looks incredibly bright in the sun. (And hopefully it will draw some more attention to the Green Party sign posted nearby.)

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