Mt Seymour Hike - First Peak (Pump)

Since I have not been able to go snowboarding this year I figured I might as well make use of this amazing weather and hike Seymour. The path after Brockton chair was solid ice at points but luckily they were in spots with safe alternate paths. I made it as far the the First Pump and enjoyed lunch on the peak while taking in the beautiful view. In the Panorama shot below, the far mountain ranges span from Golden Ears Provincial park to Garibaldi Provincial Park. Since some of the path was icy I decided not to test my luck for the last two peaks since I didn't have any spikes. Now I just need to get some and push on to the next two peaks.

Gold Creek Falls

Took a quick hike up to Gold Creek Falls in Golden Ears Provincial Park, with my sister and her friend. After our hike up the river we headed down to Alouette Lake before heading home.

Seattle 2014

I took a day trip down to Seattle with \Amanda and our friends Carlon and Taylor. We had a beautiful yet crisp day exploring the city. It didn't feel right being in Seattle and not going to see a Seahawks game though. The last picture of the deer running through the grass was taken at my grandparents cabin at Lake Samish, WA.

Ladner Creek

On a drive up the Coquihalla to Kelowna, Amanda and myself decided we would check out Ladner Creek trestle bridge. It's a quick hike but starts with a pretty steep loose rock hill that eventually meets up with a trail that leads you onto where the old Kettle Valley Railroad used to run. Even though the tracks are gone the path is so wide it's easy enough to figure out where they where. Eventually we ran into the tunnel which was collapsed by the property owners due to it being unsafe. There is steep path that has a rope of assistance up the left hand side of the tunnel and that we took to go see the trestle bridge! We stopped at the lookout for a photo op. After debating climbing down the sketchiest part of the hike we decided against it because I wasn't wearing the appropriate shoes for the job and didn't feel like falling to my death. So we turned back and walked back to the car and looped back to Kelowna.

Euro Trip 2013 - Germany - München & Neuschwanstein

Munich was the only city where we stayed in a hostel. Luckily for us, most places in Europe have an option for three-person hotel rooms which actually ended up being cheaper than staying in a hostel! Our first day in Munich was overcast, partially raining and cold. So we did some shopping and visited a Brau haus for some Mas Beer (1L)! 

We had an early second day of travelling as we jumped on a train from Munich to Fussen, then bused from Fussen to Hohenschwangau where we had a horse drawn ride up the Neunschwanstein Castle. We basically covered all methods of transportation that day, minus flying. We took the guided tour through the gorgeous castle which was definitely worth the line and money. After that Carlon and myself hopped the "beware of avalanche" sign and walked out to the Marienbruke bridge which gave us a full view of the castle. On our hike down the sun started to break through the clouds and gave us an awesome view of the Alpsee and Hohenschwangau Castle. After that we enjoyed a bit of the town then walked down to start our journey to Munich.

Our final full day in Munich was spent walking around seeing the sights. We watched the Rathaus-Glockenspiel play at 11am at the New Town Hall. Then we headed over and check out the Frauenkirche and its onion topped towers. We got a better view of them from the top of St. Peter's Church which was a fun tight staircase to walk up its 91m tower. The next day we boarded a train for Paris, which would be the worst train ride of my life. 

Viva Las Vegas!

My family got invited to a destination wedding in Las Vegas so we turned it into a vacation. We had a good weather for the 3 days we were there and did a whole lot of walking. Hope you enjoy my shots of the strip and the always delicious In-N-Out.

Euro Trip 2013 - Germany - Nürnberg

After staying at Elisabeth's for the week she drove me down to Nürnberg to meet up with Amanda and Carlon. Who we randomly bumped into each other crossing the street! Our first day in Nürnberg we spent wondering the town and visiting different monuments around the city. Our second day involved a little more traveling as we visited Reichsparteigelande (Nazi Party Rally Grounds). It was a close transit ride but we spent the entire day walking through the museum and touring the grounds.

Euro Trip 2013 - Germany - Coburg

On my last day with Elisabeth we went to Coburg. This town is beautiful and has a cool tie to the English Royal Family. After lunch and a very delicious Scheidmantel Bier we went to Ehrenburg Palace which was built in 1543. This castle held many famous Royalty; in 1860 Queen Victoria (whose mother and husband grew up here) met Austrian Emperor Franz Josef for the first time in The Hall of Giants. Also in 1894 many of the monarchs of WWI found themselves in Coburg for a wedding: King George V, Kaiser Wilhelm II and Tsar Nicholas II.

After, we had to bomb over to the Veste Coburg, which is a massive fortress on a hill overlooking Coburg. By the time we arrived at the castle we found out it was closing early and we had 30 min to explore. So Elisabeth took me to see the little church Martin Luther lived in for a couple of months during the Diet of Augsburg in 1530. Also the floor to ceiling wooden rooms in the castle were amazing and I could have spent hours in those rooms alone looking at all the carvings. I would love to visit this castle again and take some of the guided tours.

Euro Trip 2013 - Germany - Kornbach & Gefrees

On my way back to Gefrees with Elisabeth, I had her drop me off at my oma and opa's hometown of Kornbach which is about 10 min away from Gefrees. I had a beautiful hour to myself to explore the snow covered town, and the sun actually made an appearance for the first time in week! Last time I was here in 2006, the temperature was bordering on 40 C; this time it was well below 0 C. I walked from my oma and opa's house, through the forest, down a snow covered field, by the old school houses, visited the WWI & WWII memorial sight, through the town (40 houses) back up to my oma and opas house.

After that Elisabeth picked me back up and drove back to Gefrees. She dropped me off at the church that my oma and opa got married in; unfortunately this time it was locked. After that I told Elisabeth I would walk back to her house so I walked around the town and enjoyed the afternoon taking pictures of places I've heard stories about.

Euro Trip 2013 - Germany - Schloß Seehof & Theresienstein

On our way home to Gefrees from Bamberg, Elisabeth took me to see Schloß Seehof. During the summer months this castle is surrounded by beautiful gardens and fountains which lead down to the Altsee. The day I was there was a little different the flowers were in greenhouses and the fountains were turned off and drained so they wouldn't freeze. But the castle sitting on the hill of snow really made the castle's colours come alive.

The following day Elisabeth took me to her work in Hof. On our drive it the temperature was -18 C but minus the cold it made for a beautiful sunrise. We were at Elisabeth's work for a couple of hours. She toured me around the grounds and introduced me to co-workers then we headed into Hof for lunch. After lunch we stopped off in at a park called Theresienstein which is one of the oldest citizen parks in Germany. It also won the most beautiful park in Germany award in 2003 so I plan on a summer visit of Theresienstein next time.

Schloß Seehof

Euro Trip 2013 - Germany - Egerquelle & Bamberg

On one of my first days in Gefrees, I visited my Uncle Herbert and my Aunt Gabi. Uncle Herbert took me out to see the Weißenstadt,  the Egerquelle and some of his hunting spots. The Egerquelle marks the source of the Eger River which is a tributary of the Elbe River in Bavaria and Bohemia. It rises at Weißenstadt in the Fichtel Mountains and flows into the Elbe at Leitmeritz. Because of the ease of accessibility, the source had already been marked in 1850 with a single stone that read "Egerquelle 1850". In 1923 the monument you see in the pictures was erected. The head stone was kept slightly larger with the word "Eger" and the coat of arms of the old imperial city. The other stones of the source version bear the names of the places that helped to finance the project. The water flows through the little drain that starts the Eger on it's 325 km long journey. After our trip around the snow covered country side and some 4x4ing we went back to my uncle's house for some lunch, which was when I first found out my power converter didn't work. The next day and half I took four pictures. Thankfully my Aunt and Uncles daughter Silke drove to a bigger town and picked me up one!

With a fully charged battery Elisabeth and myself set out for Bamberg which is 75km South-East of Gefrees. We visited the beautiful Bamberg Cathedral which has the only Pope buried outside Italy and France. Then we had lunch at an old pub which served a Bamberg original Rauchbier which is a smoked beer. After that we froze our butts off by the river and then headed back to Gefrees. 

Bamberg

Euro Trip 2013 - Germany - Dinkelsbühl

After a wonderful visit with Heidi, Jasmin and Daniel it was time I headed south towards Gefrees and Kornbach (my Oma and Opa's hometown). So Heidi loaded me on a train in Hanau to go see Elisabeth, another one of my moms friends. So we said our goodbyes and I loaded myself onto the train, found a spot, pulled out my book and got comfortable. After sitting in the ICE train for 10 min without it moving someone came on the intercom and announced in very fast and mumbled German that the train had broken down and we would need to transfer onto another train. When the next train arrived it was pretty funny to watch the people's faces as they saw the platform of people about to barge themselves onto their train. But we all got on and I was finally on my way to Würzburg! When I finally arrived in Würzburg 45min late I wondered how the heck I was going to find Elisabeth in the mass crowd of people and without her cell number. Lucky for me I spotted her right away! After hugs and hellos we headed down to Dinkelsbühl to meet her son Oliver and his family.

   Dinkelsbühl is a Medieval city in Bavaria along the Romantic Road. Surrounding the city is a Medieval stone wall with roughly 17 towers. There is also small patch of parkland which makes walking around the city so beautiful, even when it is starting to snow.  After having lunch at the Goldenes Lamm which was an awesome family run restaurant/hotel, Oliver took us to the church he works at. When we arrived at Heilig-Geist-Kirche (Holy Ghost Church) Oliver took us into the sanctuary to look at the beautifully painted ceiling as well as show me the old organ. On our way to out of Dinkelsbühl, Oliver took us to a graveyard that had these black and gold crosses. After that Elisabeth and myself continued down to Gefrees where we would be met by a fresh snowfall.

Euro Trip 2013 - Germany - Ronneburg

 Probably one of my favorite things about Europe are the castles. I've always loved everything Medieval, so when Heidi took me to go wander around a castle for a few hours I felt as if I was on cloud 9. Ronneburg castle is located in the Hessen region of Germany and was built to protect trade routes throughout that region. The castle was first mentioned in 1231 AD and was originally named "Raneberg" or "Roneberg" which means a mountain fortified with old tree trunks. The tower has 143 steps to the top and the view is worth the little climb up the narrow stairwell. Along with a beautiful view, the castle also boasts a 96m deep well which is the second largest in Germany. Ronneburg also hosts Medieval reenactment festivals which looked like so much fun, I guess that will have to wait til next time. 

View of the castle on the drive up

Euro Trip 2013 - Germany - Frankfurt

After writing my IP for plumbing I finally came through on a goal that I set way back in grade 12.  EURO TRIP!!! I started off my trip by visiting family in Obertshausen which is a suburb of Frankfurt. 

Concerning Germans: Germans are very hospitable, to the point you have to sneak around them to pay for lunch, gas or a train ticket. At times I think Heidi was more happy to have me there than ME! 

On Jasmin's day off work she taxied me out to Frankfurt in her little yellow Seat and we got to explore Frankfurt! We had a good time walking around from church to monument  That night Heidi took us all out for dinner in Aschaffenburg where had all you can eat Chinese food and I got to try Kangaroo for the first time! When we were all stuffed we walked through the beautifully lit streets of Aschaffenburg where we saw Schloss Johannisburg and a nice courtyard. After that we drove back to Obertshausen and had a few more beers before bed. 

View from the top of a mall in Frankfurt

Bugs!

So I have never been a huge fan bugs and generally would go out of my way to avoid them (especially spiders... yuck). But the more pictures I took of them the more I started to like and enjoy their different colours and traits. The most difficult part about trying to get a clear picture of a bug is the fact they always seem to be constantly moving which makes it hard to focus when so zoomed in and on macro settings. Well hope you enjoy the first round of bug pictures!

Bug chilling on a flower

Flowers

I love taking pictures of flowers that have so much detail and come in a variety of cool colours and shapes. So here are some from my parents backyard and The Rose Garden in Queens Park in New Westminster, BC.

Crocosmia in my parents backyard 

Vancouver Skylines

My Fiancee and myself like to go on photo adventures around town and often we find ourselves at different view points of Vancouver. So here are some pictures I took from North Vancouver, Stanley Park and the Lions Gate Bridge.

 

Sunny's 2008 Honda Civic Si

Well Since today is July 27th its my best friend Sunny's Birthday! So a couple of years ago we went out golfing and on the way home we had a little photo shoot with his car Veronica. So Happy Birthday Sunny hope you enjoy the pictures!

Dubberz Whistler Cruise 2012

Coquitlam Center Mall - Whistler Village

British Columbia, Canada

This was my third year on the cruise and it was the first time it was actually sunny! Even though you don't need sun to make that drive beautiful it was awesome to watch all the freshly waxed Volkswagen's roll up the Sea to Sky Highway. This is a charity event with the money going to the Surrey Food Bank.The rolling shots of the dubs were taken by my friends Carlon and Paul who passed the camera back and forth in the backseat of my car.

Lighthouse Park

Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver, British Columbia

First time I was at Lighthouse Park I was on my way to a wedding with Amanda and we stopped by for a little look see but never managed to get down to the lighthouse itself. So this summer we packed our bags and went for a nice day hike around Lighthouse Park.

The lighthouse