Hello Canada!

Two days ago I arrived in Canada, a country I had only ever been to once previously, and that hardly counted since it was only for a couple of hours to see the Canadian side of Niagara falls. So far everything has been wonderful, the weather is not too hot with a good breeze and there is so much biking. Though this trip is very bike centric, there are some other reasons this trip is going to be really special for me.

Let's be real, I have a slight obsession with the Olympics. I think part of this is my mom's fault. After giving birth to me, we sat in the hospital with the tv constantly on to the 1988 Winter Olympics, my first exposure to the new outside world and lots of it. Aside from planning to visit 3 Olympics host cities, Vancouver, where we are now, hosted the most recent Olympics and Calgary with the host of those very Olympics that brought me into this world, the 1988 Winter Olympics. Also special about the Calgary Olympics is that it was the sight of the infamous Jamaican bobsled team. And yes, Cool Runnings is a great movie.

So aside from the insane amounts of biking we'll be doing here in Canada and how beautiful everything will continue to be, this trip is almost like a homecoming of sorts.

So far, Vancouver has been awesome. We're staying with my sibling's friend from college whom we have hosted in LA before and he lives on a bike boulevard which is very convenient. There are numerous bike boulevards and bike lanes and raised bike lanes and separated bike lanes and they go everywhere. We got some nice bike maps which are handy and today we went on a bike this morning through downtown Vancouver and then all around Stanley park which is like a peninsula and back through downtown, and all on some sort of bike friendly way. There are plants everywhere and lots of sweet art too. All in all it makes for a really nice ride and quite a beautiful city. Plus we got to see the beluga whales at the aquarium for free from the back side. Woot.

I love LA

Coming back home is always a weird feeling. Knowing I could run into people I don't care about randomly and have to pretend I like them or just being in a city full of people I have nothing in common with anymore. And so I retreat to Los Angeles, where my sibling lives, to the county of my birth and where I feel less out of place.

Though it recently came to my attention that in this setting, and I guess in most outside of Oberlin, I would be considered a hipster, I really do love it here. There are all sorts of people and all sorts of delicious food, with beautiful weather year round, perfect for growing things year round. I guess it's hard to describe. But in my hometown in the suburbs, it feels like just about everyone is trying to make a statement with their outward appearance and I never feel comfortable, but in LA that's not entirely the case. Yes, there are people for whom that would be true, but then there are other people just living their lives or just trying to get by and it makes me feel better.

And hey, you can't beat a place with In N Out, the beach, mountains, and sunshine.