Nana & Papa's Visit

So, Karla's parents (Nee Nee & Papa) are arriving for a visit soon. Tomorrow actually. I figured I had better post about my parents' (Nana & Papa) visit, which happened 3 weeks ago, before I get too far behind.

The weather forecast for Karla's parent's visit looks terrible. Cool and rainy . . . all weekend. My parents were much more fortunate. Perfect weather. Of course we took them to some of our favourite spots in and around Vancouver.

Burnaby Mountain, one of our favourite places to take visitors. We go frequently even without visitors. I've posted pictures before, but here's what my Mom and Dad saw . . .

The next day, we went to the market at Lonsdale Quay for lunch and ice cream.

Unfortunately, my camera battery died at this point, so I didn't get any more pictures that day. After lunch at Lonsdale Quay, we went for a short hike at Lynn Canyon, over the suspension bridge and to the "30 foot pool". Whenever we've gone before as a family, it has been later in the day, so it's been fairly empty. Well, this time is was prime time - Saturday afternoon, good weather - so it was absolutely packed with people.

The following day, Nana and Papa took the girls to the Vancouver Aquarium and Karla and I spent a few hours by ourselves for the first time in a long time, shopping on Commercial Drive and having a fantastic lunch at Cafe Deux Soleil, which is, ironically, a vegetarian restaurant. It was ironic because my Mom is vegan, and she wasn't with us, not because it was fantastic and vegetarian. That wouldn't be ironic, that's just unexpected.

Karla says it's like Stella's in Winnipeg, but after smoking pot.

There's a really odd store on Commercial Drive called "Beckwoman's". If you can't make out the tagline underneath it reads "Because My Father Didn't Open a Store and I'm Not a Man".

That's not what makes the store odd though. It's what's for sale and how it's all presented. Ever watch the show "Hoarders" on A&E? This storeowner is a hoarder. The aisles were hardly wide enough for one person to squeeze through, never mind trying to let someone pass by you. If you are walking one way and meet head-on with someone else going the opposite way, one of you has to concede and back up to the nearest intersection. The store sells really weird things too. Belly dancing supplies and radically left-wing bumper stickers. Disco balls and scarves. Jewelry and beaded curtains. Eclectic. Eccentric. Odd.

For supper one evening, my parents took us to a B.C. institution: White Spot. Yummy.

Hannah, my Mom and I played Banagrams, which my Mom kicks at because she's a Scrabble buff. AI, EM, XU . . . these are words?! Come on! I tried to make a rule that if you did't know what the word meant, you couldn't use it, but that hurt me more than it hurt her I think.

Thanks for the visit Nana and Papa!