What's a little fog?

Well, the blog is really late today! Yesterday was a whirlwind day filled with MANY Plan Bs, and I just went with it. But I didn't get to bed too early, and I was exhausted, so I just luxuriated in bed this morning, and I'm OK with that. I'm in a different bed again! But one that I was in before on this trip - more on that in a second. I'm here to stay until I leave for home. 

I finished knitting my cowl - at least the flat part - it's folded in half in this photo, but there is a neck hole from which I'll pick up some stitches with the fancy circular needles I have at home. Then I'll make a turtle neck on those stitches, and it will be toasty warm!!

Part A of the knitted cowl

The wool was too thick to wind on the yarn ball winder at the store, so I had to place the skein carefully on a chair to use it. All was good until the very end, when I was winding the remaining yarn into a ball to transport it home. When I got up to do something, it slipped off the chair, and I had a bit of a struggle to get it sorted, but it's OK. 

My yarn holder

My aunt is knitting a vest, and for the life of us, we couldn't figure out what the heck was happening with the pattern, but she soldiered on. Then I asked the question about the ribbing on the bottom, which she had not done. What is that all about? 

Then we had a deep dive into the pattern, and the darn vest is knitted from the neck down. WHAT??? I've never seen a pattern like that before, but it makes sense because it was narrow - too narrow to go around your hips. Once you knit the back, then you knit the ribbing or the hem, as they call it in the pattern. 

That was the first time I'd ever seen it, and I was surprised that it wasn't mentioned in the pattern that it was done that way. At least we figured it out, and now it makes a whole lot more sense!!! 

However, a bad thing happened. My aunt was going through some of her patterns and showed me this. OH NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Knitted log cabin blanket

Sorry for the sideways picture, but I have this project at home. I've made all the blocks - MANY years ago. And I am in the process of knitting the sashing, which I haven't done much of. Hmm -- this should become my priority when I get home. I might just throw that bag (I know exactly where it is - Studio U), and I could do that while at the retreat. It's garter stitch for heaven's sake - so nothing complicated at all. I MUST get that done. Check out this block from 2014 -- (oh god!!!) for more details on the log cabin blocks. And this one is good for a laugh as well. Do not laugh, but I don't think I ever finished that orange toque!!! That is also in Studio U. I will have to make a fleece liner for it, as I don't like just a knitted one. The wind blows through it! 

The sad part is that with all this talk about knitting, that project did NOT even come to mind. I had totally forgotten about it. So that gets dug out when I get home!!! Work on the UFO before you break out the good stuff!! And my afghan is made of the good stuff - I bought fancy NORO yarn for it. It's gorgeous. 

What I want to make are some leg warmers - those ones were for M in the link. But I think it would help keep my knees warm when walking the dogs. So I must find some "fancy" yarn and a pattern, or not, and make some leg warmers. I also like the ankle or boot liners, but I don't wear boots, so I'm not sure that would look great with running shoes!!!!

I decided I should knit a pair of mittens to match my cowl, so when I was getting ready to leave by seaplane, we stopped at the store to get one more skein of that yarn. Let's just say that my suitcase was a bit heavier when I left than when I arrived. 

Now for the trip back to the mainland. My initial thought was to take the ferry back. I could have a nice leisurely trip home on the ferry, despite having my backpack and one small suitcase. However, taking the ferry would have meant getting to the Tsawwassen terminal, which is quite far for M to pick me up. Hmmm - I could take the seaplane back - it's not that expensive. 

So that was the plan, and thank goodness for her, because she then told me how to cross the Vancouver Harbour to the north shore. More on that in a minute. OH - the plan also was to fly into Vancouver Harbor, not the airport. It's a beautiful site when you come in over Stanley Park, and I was looking forward to it. 

However, the weather had other thoughts. While we knew it was raining, we hadn't really seen how foggy it was until we were almost in Ganges. Yikes --- are the seaplanes even flying? 

FOGGY!!!!!

So my aunt dropped me off at the dock, and I went down to chat with the fellow. Well, yes, they are still flying, but whether they reach the island is another story. And as he watched on his tracker, he saw our plane turn around. NO!!!!!!! 

That's when Plan B began to take shape. I needed to get back to the mainland last night. But how? Another plane was coming, but it was only going to Richmond, not downtown. But would that pilot brave the fog and land? That pilot was Paul, who had flown me over a couple of days before, and I knew he was an older gentleman, so he probably had more experience. Come on, Paul -- you can make it!!! 

There was a younger guy also waiting for the flight to downtown, and then two young girls came, as did an older couple with a cockatoo in a cage. Yikes -- will there be enough room for all of us in the plane to get back? The attendant did not seem worried. 

The young girls were there to greet someone from the plane, and Ken (the younger guy) and I walked to the plane. When we were boarding, we realized the older couple was not there, but the cockatoo was! So we had an unaccompanied cockatoo on board. The bird was 40!!!!!!

When we finally saw the plane through the fog, it was skimming the surface of the water and wasn't even close to the dock. Oh boy -- will the pilot want to take off? 

Plan B was to get to Fulford Harbour, take the ferry to Victoria, then to Vancouver. Then I would have to get the shuttle to the Skytrain, the Skytrain to the Waterfront station, then the Seabus, and wait for M to pick me up!! It was going to take a lot of time, and we had plans for the evening. 

But Paul came through, and Ken and I got on the plane. Besides the cockatoo, we were the only ones on the plane. It was a bit turbulent as we went over the islands, but we were low. And look how foggy it was. 

A little fog!!!!

It was insane, and Ken (who sat up front) said we didn't go higher than 300 feet the entire way! We were skimming the tree tops practically as we went over the islands. It wasn't quite so foggy in Vancouver, but at least we were on the mainland, although we were in Richmond, NOT Vancouver Harbour. Ken asked Paul if that was bad, and while he said it was, he had flown in much worse!!!

Ken's truck was parked downtown, so he was insistent on getting there and asked the airline to pay for a taxi. I was going to take the shuttle back to the main terminal and then take the skytrain. So I invited myself along with Ken, and we got a taxi to the convention center. That saved a considerable amount of time. 

Then I had to find my way to the Seabus, which was pretty straightforward, but how the heck did we manage before Google Maps? Once I saw the entrance, I had to buy a ticket and hustle, although the seabus is very regular. I just followed the signs once I was inside the transit system. 

And at last, I popped out the other side on the north shore!!!!

The SeaBus terminal on the north shore

It was an eventful trip, but it all worked out and didn't cost me anything more than what I had anticipated. That was $3.30 to take the Seabus. 

M and Bear were a wee bit late, but arrived shortly, and by this time, I was chilled. I had warned M, and when I popped in the car, she had the heat on high, and the seat warmer was hot!!! That felt so good. And of course, the little guy could help warm me up, although he's so little and all he wanted to do was look out the window!!! It was cold waiting on the dock for the first plane, then the second. But at least we were in a shelter, with open ends and no heat. All is good! 

Mister Bear!!!!

Why did I need to get back last night? Dillon had planned an adventure after dinner. And this is where we ended up!!!! Oh boy -- heights!!!!

One of the suspension bridge parks on the north shore

I wore my Christmas headband!!! The weather didn't cooperate too well, with a fine mist, but all was good, and these Vancourites just go with the flow. Everyone has a raincoat, and rain is nothing to them. I did ask for an umbrella because I have my orange down jacket, and it's lost all its water-repellent/proofing, and if it gets wet, it's like a down pillow. But it didn't rain hard enough, and I didn't get wet enough for it to come through, so I tucked the tiny umbrella into my pocket, and we were good. 

I have no idea how many lights they had in the canyon, but it was spectacular. Just stunning and so much to see, 

Here are the lights on the suspension bridge, and they changed colors, so you never know what you will see. And yes - we walked across the bridge. It wasn't scary, but it was so wobbly, I felt like I had been drinking heavily! It all depended on how many people were on the bridge and if someone dared to rock it! It wasn't so bad on the way across, but on the way back, there were a lot of younger kids on it, and it was swaying back and forth! We all did very well!!!! No sign of vertigo at all!!! Can that open-door helicopter ride in Hawaii have cured me? Actually, I think it was the day we went ziplining in the trees that cured me of my discomfort with heights. 

Capilano Suspension Bridge at night!

I think Dillon and I had a competition to see who could take the most pictures. We both took more than 100 photos, but the displays were spectacular. This one was stunning, and because it was dark, the lights just seemed to hang in the air and reflected in the water. By the way, did you know the bridge was originally built so the loggers could cross the canyon? 

Light display at Capilano Suspension Bridge park

There is a path above the ground between the giant trees. Those support trees were lit up like pillars on a bridge. The lights on the walkway changed, and that is VERY high above the ground!!! Spectacular and so well done. 

The skywalk

Once we got off that walk, we went down many steps, and that's when you could really visualize how high you were on that treetop walk. There was a tunnel of lights, and M and Dillon were silhouetted in it. 

A tunnel of lights

There were some holograms of forest creatures with sound. It was so well done. 

Holograms

And then there was the cliff walk. Yep—this narrow pathway was supported by metal supports from the side, driven into the side of the cliff. And we walked the entire way, and no issues with heights. Granted, it was night, so you didn't get the whole feel of how high you were, but still. It was terrific, and all lit up!!!! There was even one spot with an open grill to walk on, over the canyon. NO problem!!

The cliff walk

As we were leaving, of course, you have to walk through the gift shop, where I asked M and Dillon to pose with the nutcracker, and they proceeded to pull his arms off. Sigh.......  Children!!!! But it was all so much fun. Thanks to M and Dillon for a great evening. I'm happy it worked out because while we could have rescheduled, the weather is supposed to get rainier, which wouldn't have been that much fun. 

Put his arms back on!!!!

At one point, we had stopped for hot chocolate, apple cider, and otter tails. Do you know what that is? I didn't take a picture, but they are tiny pancakes soaking in maple syrup. They were good, but very sweet. 

I spotted this in the gift shop. Does anyone remember those oversized pennants we used to buy? Well, this one is tiny!!! A new trend? I don't know, but I bought a fridge magnet to remember the magical evening. 

A tiny pennant

And this is the tow of them outside the front gate with the giant tree in the back. The lighting display was stunning, and we spent a couple of hours there!!!!

Dillon and M

Then, we went home and fell into bed. M and Dillon live very close to that park and now have season tickets. A magical place at any time of the year. It was a long day. Not stressful, but there were a couple of dicey hours in the afternoon, when I wasn't sure what was going to happen. All part of travel. 

So I am back in my little suite on the main floor of the house they rent, and it's pretty cozy. We have nothing significant on the agenda for today, which is why I took the opportunity to just luxuriate in bed. Now I'll get dressed and go upstairs to see what little Bear is doing, and perhaps we can go for a walk!! 

Have a super day!!!!! Always keep an open mind when traveling, because, while it was a crazy day, it was a lot of fun and so much more interesting than if the plans had gone as planned!

Ciao!!!!