The state of Stanley Park (and other things)

Spring is here. The cherry blossom has already been and gone, and the weather has been much drier the last couple of weeks, which is great news as the end of the Winter was very wet indeed.

Last weekend (the Easter weekend) we mostly took it easy. We got our bikes out for the first time since last October. They hadn't been stolen (yay), although my helmet had disappeared (boo). They didn't take Steph's though, even though it is better than mine. Perhaps it didn't fit their big head. Anyway, after a quick wash and some tire inflation we had a quick ride in Stanley Park. We tried to follow the seawall route, but it is blocked off before you reach Prospect Point because of winter storm damage, so we had to detour through the park and out the other side at Third Beach. The whole route took about an hour but it was enough for our first cycle of the season I think.

Even on our quick ride, we saw a surprising amount of damage to the park from the winter storms. We took a few photos which I've uploaded here. This afternoon I've been for a walk through the park while Steph met up with our friend Jo. I walked up to Prospect Point and then West around the park until I could get down onto the seawall. I was quite shocked at the amount of storm damage I saw up there - it is much more extensive than I'd imagined. Along some parts of the road down from the point, there aren't many trees standing on either side. I expect it will be a long time before the park starts to look normal again.

This next week will be a short one at work for us, as on Thursday we fly to Fort Myers in Florida for Steph's friend Holly's wedding. We stay there until Sunday, and then drive to Miami before returning home on Wednesday. It's quite a lot of travelling but it should be worth it - we are both looking forward to the trip (though I'm not so looking forward to driving in Miami - yikes). We might drive down to the Florida Keys too if time permits.

So right now I have my feet up, but when Steph gets back we are going down to the basement pool as I am trying to learn to swim (or at least tolerate water) so that maybe I can do some kayaking this year. After that, it really will be feet up for the rest of the evening with home-made turkey stew and a rented movie to look forward to. Nice.