VirtualTourist Member Carmanah
| Page Views: 50,932 | Welcome to my world! by Carmanah - last update: Mar 10, 2008 |
| Summer at Third Beach, Stanley Park, Vancouver |
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| Juan de Fuca Provincial Park, Vancouver Island |
|  | Strange but true I grew up in a fishing village but have never fished.
I have been playing guitar since the age of 12.
I started taking ballet lessons at the age of 27.
I'm currently taking modern, jazz and hip hop dance classes (never would have dreamed I'd find myself in a hip hop class, but I seem to enjoy it the most!)
Je parle français, mais je ne suis pas vraiment à l'aise.
I have a younger sister who has travelled more than I have. She has a VT account but never uses it because she finds it too structured. |
| Van Dusen Botanical Garden in early May, Vancouver |
| | I am the only person in my immediate family who has never lived in Australia for one full year.
My dad's mother was a war bride who arrived in Canada after WWII from Yorkshire, England.
My dad's father was born in Canada to a family of Swedish immigrants living in rural Alberta.
My mother's parents were both born and raised by Canadians of Ukrainian heritage in small town Manitoba before moving out west.
I have had my photography published, but am very much an amateur photographer, just like the rest of us.
I still go to live music gigs way too frequently.
I love drawing and painting, but rarely do either activity on a regular basis.
I am a bit of an iconoclast.
I'm surrounded by ski resorts but I don't ski.
I have been addicted to the internet since 1995.
I don't have pierced ears, but I have one tattoo. |
| The Bluffs, Galiano Island |
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Mount St Helens erupted on the 18th of May, exactly 18 days before I was born. My relatives heard it explode from almost 475 km (295 miles) away!
I find John Lennon inspirational. He died 6 months and 3 days after I was born.
When I was two, I used to dance around in circles to America's "You Can Do Magic".
When I was four, my childhood friend's mother got us to jump anytime Van Halen said so.
As a five year old we'd dress up in wacky costumes and lip sync to David Lee Roth's "Just a Gigolo" to amuse guests at my parents' dinner parties.
As an eight year old I vividly remember listening to "Somebody" by the Beatles in Seaside, Oregon, USA after a day at the beach and thinking how perfect life was.
I used to be completely and utterly obsessed with U2 when I was 13, during their Achtung Baby/Zooropa tour.
I used to be a die hard Skinny Puppy/industrial music fan at the age of 18 and wore combat boots all the time.
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| | I am sad I missed the chance to see Michael Hutchence perform with INXS in 1997, but skipped out because I thought I'd see them the "next time". Michael Hutchence killed himself 2 months later. I have since seen the new reincarnation of INXS twice, but it's not the same.
I worked for a whale watching company where we'd see orcas (killer whales).
I worked in a film studio making special effects for TV and film.
I am an amateur botanist and tend dozens of plants, including my own constructed bog ecosystem!
I am a bit of an amateur astronomer and a big Carl Sagan fan.
I can watch the film Once over and over again.
I used to make maps for a junior geological company.
I have just been offered my dream job as a tour coordinator for an amazing little travel company here in Vancouver!
If you rate and comment my VT pages, I will rate and comment on yours!
Roast beef with Yorkshire pudding is my signature dish - strange for somebody who eats mostly seafood and vegetables.
I baked a perfect cheesecake upon first try! The second try? Not so perfect. Funny, I'm not a big fan of cheesecake.
I actually like Vegemite, and I'm not Australian!
I'm Canadian but I don't like hockey, I don't say eh, and I live where it rarely snows. |
| Long Beach, Pacific Rim National Park |
| | Where have I been recently? Victoria, BC - My umpteenth visit to BC's capital city. Each time I visit Victoria, I like it even more. I came here with an old childhood friend during the first weekend in March 2008 and we took advantage of the Empress hotel's 100 year anniversary $100 a night special. We also happened to be there during the "Be a Tourist In Your Own Home Town" weekend, so for $10 we purchased passes that got us into many attractions for free!
Tofino, BC - On the last weekend of February 2008 we escaped the city for Tofino. This place is heaven. We ate delicious food, played guitar on the beach, stayed at the beautiful Long Beach Lodge, and walked through boardwalk trails through the rainforest in the Pacific Rim National Park. Despite it being storm season, it only rained one morning during our 3 days there!
North Vancouver, BC - On a sunny February 2008 afternoon a friend of mine and I took the seabus to North Vancouver and took the bus up to Lynn Canyon Park. Lynn Canyon is a beautiful park located at the base of the mountains covered in lush, temperate rainforest, boardwalk trails, waterfalls, and a very bouncy suspension bridge!
Richmond, BC - On a sunny February 2008 afternoon I joined a friend in Richmond to visit the Gogo Tea Café. This is a restaurant in Richmond's "Asia West" shopping district which may as well be a part of Hong Kong. The Gogo Tea Café's a restaurant serving Taiwanese, Japanese, and Korean food but the best part is that the waitresses dress like maids and Sailor Moon!
Galiano Island, BC - For one week in August 2007 we stayed with friends in a rustic cabin on northern Galiano Island. We hung out at the white shell beaches, rode our bikes through Dionisio Point, had BBQ's, explored sandstone caves, and had a relaxing time.
Sooke, BC - During a July 2007 weekend I went to the south-western end of Vancouver Island to visit an old friend of mine. We went horseback riding on the beach, hiked through temperate rainforest on the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail, and uncovered a path to a secret lighthouse! |
| Nitobe Japanese Gardens at UBC, Vancouver |
| | Where do I want to go next? Honestly? I'd love to travel everywhere, so I find it somewhat frustrating for me to highlight areas on a map to indicate places I want to visit. For financial reasons and time limitations, there will probably be places I'll be able to visit sooner rather than later.
In the meantime, this might give a hint as to why I'd like to travel to these particular places. Let's first start with where I'd like to visit in Canada and the USA:
Alaska, USA - I live just south of Alaska, and yet it's still at least a 3 day drive to get there from Vancouver. So while it's still faster for me to drive to Mexico (24 hours) than it is for me to drive to Alaska, I'd love to see why millions of people each year flood my city and spend thousands of dollars to take cruises there.
Saskatchewan, Canada - The underdog province of Canada, overlooked and underrated. People think it's boring because they think it's just flat and covered in wheat fields. But any local there will tell you that over two thirds is covered in forest and lakes and that, for the most part, you'll have it all to yourself. |
| A smoldering Mount St Helens |
| | Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada - The most eastern province in Canada. It's closer to England than it is to the Rockies and has more in common with Ireland than the rest of the continent. Rugged, rocky, and friendly. They have their own accent and culture and a unique history that even includes the Vikings!
Texas, USA - While this big state is actually smaller than my home province, (shhh, don't tell them!) I know you don't mess with Texas. I'm particularly keen on seeing San Antonio after my father came back from a conference there with pulled pork sandwich recipes, strange Tejano music and a huge smile on his face.
Florida, USA - Canadians from the east (Ontario/Quebec) escape winter here, but for this west coast girl, it's about as far away in the USA as you can get. The surfing, the space history, and Miami intrigue me the most. I guess Horatio Caine's partially to blame for that.
Hawaii, USA - My parents honeymooned here in 1975. My grandparents owned property here up until the mid-1980's. A tropical paradise 5.5 hours away from where I live, and I haven't been there yet. That alone is worth the reason.
... to be continued... |
 Carmanah's Albums | | | |
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 Comments for Carmanah | | | | |
Redang Thu May 1, 2008 18:13 UTC
Lucky you, heading for Golden and the Rockies! | wilocrek Wed Apr 30, 2008 22:40 UTC
You have a great homepage! Excellent photo's and I love the description of yourself. It's fun to read about people who understand who they are and what makes them tick. | Nemorino Fri Apr 18, 2008 15:55 UTC
You're the first VT member I have come across who has an entirely green map -- except for the places that are blue or red. So you want to go everywhere! Good idea! (It must have taken a lot of clicking to turn all those countries green.) | annwag Sat Apr 12, 2008 11:54 UTC
Thank you for your great textes on VT about Canada. I really enjoy it, I feel how I would be there |
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