THE WANDERING CONTINUES

 POST # 518

This isn't the first time that footwear has been displayed on my blog, but being the wanderer that I am, they are an appropriate symbol.  The tattered looking pair on the right are shoes that I purchased about two years ago in Washington State.  They were so comfortable, that I wore them everyday, but now they are well and truly worn out.  As luck would have it, I found the shoes on the left only three days ago.  For the second time in a row, this died in the wool thrift store bargain hunter, purchased a brand new pair of walking shoes.  They were on sale, so instead of paying $99.00, I got them for the bargain price of $39.00.  It's certainly more than I would have paid at a thrift store, but when it comes to walking, it's good to have a reliable pair.  

With that as my starting point, one might expect to be reading about all  of the places that I have wandered in my new shoes.  The truth is, they came along for the ride, but I had the use of a bicycle during my stay in Vancouver, and so I took full advantage of it, and the lovely weather, to spend as much time as possible outdoors, rolling around on the many bike paths.  

Back when I lived in Vancouver, near Stanley Park, I would take a ride around the seawall at least three times a week.  I hadn't done this journey in years, so it was one of the first rides I went on last week.

After spending a very pleasant day riding around the park, I ended my day down at False Creek, my former place of work when I drove the Aquabus.  It was a magnificent sunset to close out a magnificent day in the saddle.

One of the advantages to being in Vancouver is that I have an opportunity to visit my storage locker, which isn't too far from where the above photo was taken.  There was a specific item that I was looking for, and I eventually found it in the very last box that I looked through.  I also found some old photos that were taken way back in 1978,  when I was wandering around the outback in Australia, with my friends Jim and Don.  So I decided to include them here.  It was a trip down memory lane for me.

That's me standing on a rock at a place called Devil's Marbles, located in the Northern Territory.  The sun had just set, so I put my camera on the timer, jumped up on the rock, and this is the result.  Further south on the same journey, we passed by this sign.  I said to the guys, that we should go back and take a photo, and so we did.  Jim took this photo of Don and myself.  And we most certainly were feeling grubby by this stage of our outback adventure.

So that's my trip down memory lane for today, but seeing as this blog is primarily about the critters that I care for in my travels, I couldn't finish today's post without mentioning these two.  Yesterday, after a wonderfully relaxed sit at my niece and her husband's condo in Yaletown, I had to bid farewell to Oliver the furball.  He's great, and I sure hope that I get another opportunity to spend more time with him.

My human brain likes to think that he's looking somewhat sad because of my departure, but the truth is, he's probably sad because he didn't get enough treats.

On to the ferry to Nanaimo, then a drive up to Qualicum Beach for round three with Trixie. 

 She's a bundle of energy, so I'll be doing much more exercise with her than I was doing with Oliver. It's only a short stay this time around, and by next week, I will be settled in a new location back on the mainland, with a new bonehead that goes by the name of Sami.  I'm looking forward to meeting him soon.  

Now I had better strap on those new walking shoes, and take Trixie out for a stroll around the neighbourhood, and when we return, I'm going to enjoy one of these ripe tomatoes.  When I was here in July, the tomatoes were just getting started.  Looks like my diligent watering has paid off.

grateful for every breath,

Paul

The Thoughtful Wanderer