joyeux anniversaire

It's now been a year here in Vancouver. How time flies!! To celebrate the anniversary I've compiled a few Vancouver top 5's to share with you.

Experiences:

1. Driving the Sea To Sky highway for the first time.
2. Picking local blackberries then making jam later the same day.
   
3. Riding world renowned mountainbike trails from my doorstep.
4. Being a stay at home dad with Nash for six months.
5. Working all day and then doing a spot of snowboarding in the evening.

The City:

1. The mountains.
2. The harbour & the seawall.
3. Local wildlife (skunks, raccoons, bears, cougars... exciting stuff!).
4. The Skytrain & Seabus.
   
5. The forest at the city's doorstep.
   

Good things:

1. Bike lanes & bike-aware drivers and employees - drying room, bike lock-up and heated change rooms at work.
   
2. The mountains. Beautiful, and you always know which way is North.
3. 4 distinct seasons, each with their own beauty & character.
4. The multitude of outdoor activities available, and the amount of people that do them.
5. Boutique beer sample 12 packs.

Bad things

1. What is it with using cheques for everything? What century is this?
2. Internet services (banking, paying bills etc) that lag behind the rest of the first world.
3. Organised crime & targeted murders.
   
4. Everything is "awesome", whether you're 5 or 85.
5. Did I mention the thing they have with cheques?
6. OK, the real #5 is all the coffee chains, instead of proper local coffee shops.
   

Around and about

1. Whistler - Summer and Winter.
2. Popping across the border to Portland, Seattle, Bellingham.
   
3. Travelling between Banff & Jasper, possibly the most gobsmacking piece of road in the world.
4. Salt Spring Island.
   
5. Deep Cove (OK, that's still in Vancouver).

Honourable mentions

1. The friends we've made and become closer to.
2. Living in "the world's most liveable city".
3. Still thinking your hometown (Melbourne) is still more liveable.
4. Lynn Valley.
5. The stream of summer visitors that shared and helped us explore Vancouver and it's surrounds.
   

It's been an interesting twelve months - we've been on great highs and endured some lows. We've become closer as a family and richer though our friends and experiences. While we most likely won't be seeing a second anniversary in BC, Vancouver will always have a special place in our lives for how much it shaped us in such a small space of time.