Long awaited trip to the Aquarium

[Ashley's added comments in "handy-dandy Italics"!]
I finally got around to posting this. Hooray! Be prepared, this is a long read...

The entrance

Last weekend, the timing was finally perfect. The day started off rather swimmingly (pun intended). I met up with my friend HJ around 11:30am and we stopped for some Japanese ramen before we jumped on the #19 bus headed towards Stanley Park. The Aquarium itself is located inside, almost smack-dab in the middle of the giant park. Amidst the small group of excited children, we made our way into the heartland of the park itself before we encountered the small entrance into the actual Aquarium.

At first sight, the entrance, being shrouded in trees, was not very impressive in size. Outside the small two door entrance, was a large orca statue which boasted the native heritage of BC. (MY FAVORITES!! I WANT TO BE A KILLER WHALE.) Upon entering, we headed towards one of the three immediate exhibits. This was the Tropic Zone.

The Tropic Zone was exactly what it sounded like. As we stepped in from the chilly outside Vancouver Winter air (which is basically Spring air for the rest of the country), we were immediately hit by a blast of humid tropic air. I shed my coat. 

Tropic Zone

This area houses a large number of weird and amazingly LARGE massive fish found in the Amazonian rivers. There was a massive tank where quite a few of the specimen swam lazily around. There was a catfish that was large enough to ride like a small pony. And most of the fish had eyes the size of my fist. After we stood gaping at the massive fish in the first tank, we continued on, pressed by more children behind us who were clambering to get a view of the giant monsters.

The other tanks contained a myriad of different species of fish that were anything from extremely and obnoxiously colourful to dark, dull and "I-will-eat-your-eyes-in-your-sleep" disturbing. One of them was a small fish that was part of a tank that showcased a giant boa constrictor. I said small in relative size to the monsters we saw but it was about the size of both my hands put together. As I knelt down to stare at it, it stared right back, challenging me with its accusingly fishy eyes. It was not until I pulled out my camera to take its picture did it slowly (and GUILTILY I MIGHT ADD) swam away...backwards. (Tell him that I will eat him if he touches you.)

We continued on.

The great thing about this aquarium is that it was not just about fish but also tackled the discussion of ecosystems and other species as well. That brought us to the next exhibit...of parrots and birds. Yes...that's right. They also housed a few species of tropical birds in the aquarium and they were perched slightly out of reach on a large branch. Giant things they were. And as we made our way out the other side, we could hear the angry (hungry?) squawks behind us. My friend kept commenting on how they fed on the children who visited. (Birds do not belong at an aquarium, m'dear! This angers me.)

As we exited this part of the exhibit, I came across my favourite tank. Weird tiny sand eels!! These little buggers burrowed itself into the sand and stuck its head out. As trouble neared, they slowly retreated into the sand. But if the coast was clear, they slowly extended out again, as if they were grass growing at an insane rate. The two of us spent a great deal of time staring at them and giggling when the tiny fish in the tank approached them. They were small and insignificant, but damn if that was not my favourite exhibit of all time. (You spelled "favorite" wrong.)

Seahorse threesome?

As we continued, we came across a tank of seahorses. My friend seemed to like them a lot and I felt this was the first time I have ever seen a seahorse, swimming and alive, before (They are used as herbs in Oriental Medicine...so I've seen them dried up to be used for soup -- erm, ew?). As we watched, one of them approached another...and proceeded to wrap its tail around it possessively. To which, my perverted brain immediately squealed, "OMG THEY'RE HAVING SEX!". I didn't say it out loud obviously because there were children around us... The funny thing was that after that happened, another seahorse appeared and joined them, tangling its tail around the other two. My friend immediately pointed to them and spoke, rather loudly and clearly despite being an ESL student, "THREESOME."

Here's a picture for proof to show that no, I am not crazy. (This is, I believe, just how they chill. They do the same at the NEAQ)

In any case, we exited the Tropic Zone and found that we were just in time to catch the Dolphin Show. It was small and targeted at children, teaching them about dolphins, the nature of dolphins and spoke a little of the research the Aquarium was conducting on their use of echolocation and sonar. It was a pretty short presentation so after that, we explored the outside a bit where they had an otter tank (of which my friend scoffed and kept repeating that they were just TRYING to be cute --- but they ARE cute), and the beluga tank which housed two beluga whales that the Aquarium has brought up (sadly, the baby beluga that was born last year had passed away so it's still just the two now). (That's because everyone knows baby belugas belong in the deep blue sea. :'() After walking around, we headed back inside to check out the West Coast of BC exhibit which showcased the marine life on the BC Coast. 

.

Sushi?

Not much to say about this one except that my friend kept commenting on how tasty as sushi some of the fish might be. I kept praying that none of the marine biologists there heard her. (mmmm!) I also saw a starfish move. That was a new one. 

In the back of the exhibit, there were two things that were interesting. One was the large tank that showcased sharks and a giant turtle. The other, was the jellyfish exhibit. (I love jellyfish exhibits. They make me SO HAPPY)

It was eerie. There were tons of tanks of different types of jellyfish just floating around ghostily in a dark lit room. There's not much to say about this one except that in the back, there was also an interactive exhibit for children but they were having a story time thing so we didn't go in to bother them. 

We headed back out and trooped down to the second floor of the aquarium (yeah...it has two floors). The bottom floor is a part of the large fish tank that you can see from upstairs and also housed a bunch of frogs and strange salamanders and eels. One of my favourite was this species of eel which looked like it has a pretty strange and creepy face... though cute all the same. It looks a bit like someone has fashioned him out of a few bottles of playdough. The frog exhibit also had a tadpole-to-toad tank which had a bubble that you could pose inside of. Upon the urging of my friend, I crawled in on my hands and knees (since this was meant for kids half the size of me) and got my head into the bubble to contemplate this amphibious existence.

At this point, we were both exhausted and slowly trooped our way towards the exit but not before we stopped by the giftshop for all things fishy! True to my tradition of buying round fluffy stuffed animals from every visit to the Aquarium, I got my new fluffy-ball-in-crime, Dolphin-Ball! Armed with this new fluffy ball of death, we slowly made our way back through the park to the bus stop.

Walking through the park

Dolphin-Ball

In any case, before I conclude this entry, there was something else that happened that day that I thought was INCREDIBLY appropriate considering this was a challenge set by you and our whole history and all. When we got off the bus downtown to do some shopping, we walked up Granville street (the large clubbing/bar street Downtown Vancouver). Upon nearing an intersection... I heard bagpipes. So, just for you, I whipped out the camera and grabbed a picture of a kilted man, stalker style, just for you Ashley. 

All I can say about this is that it is pretty much epic. The whole damn day, up to and including the awesomeness of our kilted friend. While my initial response is, "Is he wearing it traditionally?" I know this is not an appropriate question to be asking, and so I won't even bring it up. I wish there had been more marine mammals, but that's just because I'm obsessed with mammals that live in the water. Like seals. 

How appropriate right? 

So that was the Aquarium. Here's your new challenge m'dear:

Last week, between the Canucks game and the celebration of the Canadian Mens Hockey gold medal game during the Winter Olympics, I have never felt more Canadian in my life (and you should too, being an honorary Canadian and all...though you really should just move here and get it over with). So here's your challenge because I'm feeling a bit less creative this week.

Do something that's very American. Show me that I have to do as a Canadian when I come visit you. Give me something that's historical and fun! Pictures are a MUST.

I know...that's quite vague but that's all I got right now. 

Have fun

With love, 

Jordan

PS CHALLENGE ACCEPTED

Day late, dollar short. (But my life was crumbling)

So I was planning on writing last night, but there was a down and dirty brawl last night after HomelessBoy left for the week.

But let me tell you about my art gallery experience. (They don't allow camera inside, my dear!)

The ICA in Boston. Saturday, HomelessBoy and I had a date in Boston, planned entirely by him, to be things I loved. He took me there. So we started with the ICA, which is a cool little building down on the waterfront. A cantilevered building, four stories over the edge of the water. The top floor houses all the art. Being contemporary, all the art is from, well, now. But I have this photo to make you smile:

Me, mimicking the architecture of the ICA

 So we had a really great time. HB kept trying to convince me that we weren't going to the ICA, but as soon as we got off the Silver Line at Courthouse and I looked around the station, having never been there, I figured it had to be the ICA. Courthouse is the coolest T station I've ever seen. Anyway, the art is really interesting there. The first time I had ever been there was for a Shepherd Fairey exhibit. Criminal, artistic, and vagabond, he's the genius who created "Obama: Hope" and the Andre the Giant "Obey" campaign.

This time, though, the main exhibit was a man named Mark Bradford and his work was what he called "decollage" and "collage." Paper. More technique than message, so I'm not sure how I felt about it. There was an interesting exhibit on consumerism in modern society, and perhaps the best piece I saw was a drill from floor to ceiling spearing receipts. Like they do with ice to study the weather trends down in Antarctica.

A portion of Boston's skyline, as seen from the ICA.

Afterward, Dan walked me to the Aquarium to see the seals. It is my absolute favorite spot in the city. I have spent hours watching these seals. One afternoon, I spent three hours just standing there, watching them. 

The side of the ICA, as seen by HomelessBoy.

HomelessBoy and I like to stand there and hold hands.

 Saturday, however, it was chilly. I was wearing a thin wool coat and a sleeveless blue dress that was, as you can see, fairly short. Black tights, tall boots. Did not spend terribly long by the seals.

The Aquarium. To the left is the seal tank, behind the ticket tent. To the right: the IMAX theater. Viewed from the sky, it looks like a giant metal fish.

THE SEALS

HomelessBoy at dinner. Yes, he kept the napkin as a bib all night. Excellent food. I love him.

The next step was hot chocolate and a canoli at Cafe Vitoria. My favorite. Then HomelessBoy surprised me with dinner reservations at a posh Italian place on Hanover Street, just two doors down from the cafe. He ordered for me (and I find that very sexy for some reason) -- lobster ravioli. He had free-form lasagna. Both dishes were epic. The hostess recommended a white wine that really complimented my lobster. Such a good find.

And then we went home to bed. Awesome time.
Now, Jordan, for your challenge: Same as before. :)

A Minor Setback

No VanAqua post just yet since there was an unexpected hindrance to plans (AKA, my friend stood me up...twice. :P) so look forward to the post about the Aquarium next week!


In the mean time, here's your promised challenge Ashley.


Last week, Lucas and I were looking through some of his books on his bookshelf and he showed me the first book that he had ever bought. It was a compilation of Western paintings from the Medieval to the Modern. So here's your challenge for this week.
Go to an art gallery. For every period or style that they are showcasing, you must choose one that epitomizes that period or style (of course, with yourself in the picture!) As a bonus, every time you encounter a statue, you must try to imitate the pose. What if the statue or display itself is not of a person?


Well that's the challenge isn't it?


Cheers
~Jordan

VanAqua

Dear Jordan:

I could not have put that introduction better, myself. I love you and miss our Scottish adventures. We were both very brave in the 'Burgh.

This week, I want you to visit the Vancouver Aquarium. And I want to see pictures of you with every marine mammal exhibit they have. Because if I'm going to live vicariously through you, I'm going to do it right.

Go ahead and challenge me to something in Amherst/Northampton. Look up the Pioneer Valley -- see what I can do for you.

Love,
Ashley

In the Beginning - An Intro

The story of Backyard Tourism goes quite far back.

Hah. No. I lied. This blog itself actually began a couple weeks ago out of sheer boredom on both our parts but Iskie and I first met each other a few years ago, all the way in historical Scotland in a wee town called Edinburgh. We were both there on exchange from our respective schools, hers in Boston, and mine in Vancouver. While the scenery and environment might have been romantic, our meeting was under much more stressful circumstances.

I first became aware of Ishkie's existence when we were enrolled into the same class: Literature and Politics in Early-Modern Scotland. It was an upper-level class with all the accompanying upper-level stress. Admittedly, I took the class because I was desperate for English Department credits back home and I figured, a History course with "Literature" in the title? Why the hell not? I could argue with the advisors that the course was largely based in literature to gain my credit. The class itself was interesting and entertaining enough. I learned lots but always felt I was not quite up to par with the others. 

But my academic insecurities are neither here nor there right now.

The first memory I have of Iskie was during one of the classes where it was her turn to do a presentation on that week's discussion topic. To the best of my ability to remember (which is not much), she was outside the classroom with her laptop when I came trumped down the narrow, possibly Victorian, stairs. She greeted me with what I thought was a sheepish smile (though admittedly, it could also have been tiredness) and told me she was nervous. A bit later, I found out that we had a mutual friend in the form of another Canadian girl by the name of Amandine. 

It was regrettable that it was nearing the end of the school year when we started hanging out. We would've gotten into so much more trouble (and by trouble I mean fun fun fun times) all over Scotland had we met each other. When I arrived, I was just coming out of my shell and though Edinburgh eventually did that for me, had I met Iskie earlier, the growing process would be exponentially faster. The time that we did spend together however, was something that would last a lifetime. From drinks, to stories and experiences involving chocolate, Scotsmen, Irishmen, sunrises, and mustaches... the next time we meet up will probably be an explosive melding of Scottish!Ishkie and Scottish!Jordan. 

From Iskie's camera

Through individually issued challenges, this blog will hopefully capture an essence of that curiousity (yes, I'm spelling it with a 'u' because that's how Canadians spell it. Damn you spellcheck) in our own respective cities to prove to ourselves, and possibly to anybody out there on the internets, that the places that we live in are equally as intense and insane as our own experiences half a world away.




Cheers
~Mycroft