kites, grind & sleepless nights

Being from Vancouver, we Vancouverites complain when about the weather A LOT. For example, June wasn't too warm and all of Vancouver was complaining about the lack of sun -- but, as it turns out, the rainfall levels for June was actually a lot lower than previous years. We Vancouverites complain about all the rain, but we live in Vancouver, of course it rains! Hahaha. 

Oh yes, trying something new, that is having XL pictures, tell me, do you like the XL pictures more or the L pictures?

So on a sunny and hot day somewhere in June, I went kite flying with the bf in Richmond.

 Random field in the park, filled with purple flowers -- made me feel like I was in the countryside. 

 

That was our $8.00 kite from Zellers...he looked cute and all, but made a terrible kite. The wings were too small and didn't have enough support, so he kept on kamikaze nosediving into the ground. No unsuspecting bystanders were injured though.

Well the bf was successful in getting the kite in the air...only to have it come crashing down moments later. As you can see, a bunch of other people were also flying their kites, we felt so noob with our sucky kite. 

We eventually got bored of being silently laughed at by the other kites and went I went cam-whoring instead. This is an "artisy" shot. 

Well then we got hungry, well actually, I got hungry and we went to get some fish and chips! Actually, that was my plan all along. I picked that park to go because I wanted fish and chips from Pajo's. I know, I'm sneaky. The location that I went to is not at Steveson, but it's actually the one in the park beside the docks. Not as quaint as the one on the docks as it's actually a floating building, but the food between the two is no different.

Mmm...paradise (that's what my friend and I called our gr.8 business project!). Halibut fish and chips. Look at that grease...deliciousness. I'm a big fan of deep fried anything, so I was in love with already. And they used fresh oil to deep fry these babies! And in my opinion, compared to salmon and cod, halibut makes the best fish and chips! Great, I'm craving some the fish and chips now. Just great. 

Fast forward another weekend in June, a not so sunny one, but perfect for hiking! Got some friends together and went to do the Grouse Grind, a popular hiking spot. 

Here's 3 out of the 6 (I'm in the teal). C and B2 were already far off ahead and B was taking pictures -- just realized that I have two friends with names starting with "b"s! So B shall be the friend from Taiwan while B2 shall be one of my token white friends. Note to self, don't wait until 11 am to do the grind, there are way too many people! Must go earlier next time! 

After 1.5 hours (I know, I should have done better!), we were hungry and what better thing to do after doing something healthy? Eat some fish and chips of course! That's right, we went for fish and chips after our hike. 

Way to negate everything that the hike did eh? (O look! Canadiana!). This time, we drove out to Horseshoe Bay as we were already half way there. We went to Troll's for their fish and chips. Is it just me, or does it seem like every fish and chips place claim that they have the best fish and chips? But I must say, these were pretty good. The batter isn't as greasy as Pajo's. 

Afterward, we spotted a playground and we did what any twenty-four year old would do, we ran and started terrorizing! Haha, no, we waited for the kids to be done with the swings then we laid claim to them. 

P and I getting ready to swing. I believe we and B2 were going to have a swinging competition. B2 won since hes taller and stronger.

We got tired and sat around on a whale, I think it's supposed to spray water. 

With two of my closet friends. 

Then on Canada Day (July 1st) we headed down the states to do some shopping and eat at Crab Pot! I know, how patriotic right? But the HST set in and I wanted some tax exempt shopping! (But as it turns out, a county court in the Washington put a temporary halt to the tax exemption for BC residents, but many retailers were giving us sales tax exemption anyways). I dislike the new tax (HST) for BC, in the long run, it will probably be good for us, but not right now -- things are more expensive now! 

After a 3 hour line at the border, that's right, 3 hours at the border, we headed over the premium outlet to do a bit of shopping, I didn't really buy much, only a pair of wedges from Nine West and some workout clothes. Then we headed over to Alderwood because B2 needed jeans and then finally to Seattle for some Crab Pot!

We first saw Crab Pot on Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives about a seafood place that dumps the seafood on your table and you are given wooden mallets to go at your seafood! Besides the amusement of being to hammer our own food, the seafood looked like it was cooked deliciously, so we decided that we will head for some seafood. Although Vancouver does have tons of seafood, actually, the same type as Seattle, we don't have restaurants like that here. 

I love neon signs.

We ordered two Pacific Clambakes and two Alasakans. 

Our foooood. King, snow and dungness crab; mussels, oysters, clams, shrimp, potatoes, sasuages and corn. Before I dove into this pile, I briefly wondered if any of the crab on the table was caught by the people from the Deadliest Catch. Everything was seasoned, some was more heavily seasoned than others. Maybe it's because I'm used to seafood prepared the Chinese way, but after eating this massive amount of seafood,  I found that I prefer my seafood  prepared steamed with garlic, the garlic seems to make the crab meat a lot sweeter. I also had the same with the clams. 

One out of the two pots that held our garbage, with a mallet placed on top for good measure. We got mallet happy and projectiles were flying everywhere. They also give everyone bibs, how awesome is that? 

I would post actual pictures (like ones where you can see their faces) but I'm not too sure whether or not they want the pictures to be posted on the interweb, so until I find out, no picture of me wearing a bib (since my friends are the picture too).

Until next time, <3 ya!