#73 – create our own ‘masterpiece’

So after the big triathlon I’ve been resting a bit and taking it easy for awhile. I still wanted to complete some items on the list but I decided to tackle something on the easier side.

Having just moved back to Vancouver I realized how bare my apartment actually was and decided that it was time to spruce it up a but. My Mom and I set out on a mission to add some colour to my place and cross off an item on the list while doing so.

Not knowing where stores are in Vancouver and not having a clue what to buy didn’t hep us very much when it came to doing a painting. As we were heading out to IKEA for the 5/7 time, we decided to stop off at Michaels craft store to purchase our paints and canvas!

A side note: Michaels has to be the most exciting store there is and I end up spending about 3 hours in there even if I know exactly what I’m looking for. Don’t take me there unless you are willing to spend some time there!

We finally get to the paint section and couldn’t believe how many different types of paint there were and different qualities of canvas were available to us! This was looking harder the further we dive into this.

After about an hour looking at the different paint, canvases, and paint brushes we were ready to check out. I was excited to start our arts and craft project, my mom on other other hand was having creativity overload in her mind – she didn’t know what to do! I think the night before she didn’t sleep very well because she was busy planning what she would paint.

Eight o’clock rolls around and I’m getting antsy. My Mom was leaving early the next morning and we had about 100 projects left to do before she went home. I thought she should have stayed longer but we worked with what little time we had together.

I started before my Mom because she was busy cooking supper and finishing other projects. It took me about 20 minutes to make the first paint stroke. Finally, I got up the guts and did it.

A few hours in and my Mom was really starting to get into it.

My Mom ended up painting two different pictures for my place. Thanks for the extra colour!

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One more item off the list and I have to admit this one was pretty fun to finish! All the art work was finished at 1 in the morning and we tried to hang them on the walls but the neighbours weren’t that pleased with us.

Quote: A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament – Oscar Wilde

#23 – Suspension Bridge (Capilano)

 

Well I’m back in Vancouver for yet another year of my undergrad, six is the new four right?!

Anyways, my Mom and I thought that it would be nice to have some fun and cross another item off the list of things to do before I die. I’ve lived in Vancouver for a few years now and have had spent thousands of bus rides staring at the same Capilano suspension bridge advertisement. I knew it was something that I wanted to do while I was in Vancouver but hadn’t had the time to do it. I did make it over to the Lynn Valley suspension bridge for a hike (aka a nature walk in Alberta) but I didn’t think that was big enough to really knock the item off the list.

My Mom and I took a drive over to Capilano Canyon to experience the suspension bridge. I need to add here that we didn’t get honked at during this drive either – thanks BC for being nice to us Albertans for at least this one drive! We were waiting in line to pay to get in (yes it’s quite expensive if you are thinking about heading over there) and this lady hand us a two for one coupon. Although the coupon didn’t mean anything to our new friend, it meant that we didn’t have to pay an arm and a leg to cross the bridge!

We wandered around the visitors centre and learnt a lot about the history of the bridge and the people that were a part of it. The park was quite cute and was a great tribute to the people that brought the bridge into existence.

So how long is the suspension bridge you might ask? 450 ft or the length of two Boeing 747 airplanes wingtip-to-wingtip (taken off of the sign)

How high is the bridge? 230ft high (four full sized T-rex’s to reach the bridge from the river) – also taken from the sign.

 

Although the bridge was really neat (and pretty large) my favourite part was the rainforest with the treehouse! If you know me, you know that I’m a bit of a tree hugger with a love (sometimes obsessive) for the environment. I can’t help but love my cedars!

Can someone please build me a treehouse like this?! It’s two stories and looks like you could permanently live in the treehouse and be quite comfortable. The architecture of the house is stunning and their use of natural resources is impeccable – Santa can I have a treehouse for Christmas this year?!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although this picture is pretty blurry, it gives you a sense of how high the bridge is. It doesn’t seem that high when you are on it but it’s pretty decent. I wouldn’t want to go bridge jumping off of this one.

 

Didn’t really want to buy the t-shirt but for memory sakes:

Pretty easy item on the list but it was really great to experience another piece of Vancouver!