Chicago Calling

September 2019

Chicago – the windy city. A wedding in the family took us to this architectural style icon and we added a few extra days to explore the city. The trip started with first forgetting to load the stroller into the taxi and next forgetting to collect our luggage from the carousal at Chicago. We had to go back for our luggage and ended up buying a second hand stroller for the trip. Definitely not good notes. On the plus side, we had the best weather we could have asked for. No wind cutting in our eyes; no heavy jackets needed. Unheard of weather for the city.

This picture is one of my favourites from this trip. I love her little hoodie and that cat like instinct. It reminds me of the scene in Lion King where Mufasa is teaching little Simba to hunt. All through this trip, she was on the prowl and not a pigeon was safe.

We are booked at the Wyndham Grand on the riverfront. It is conveniently located and the river facing rooms have delightful views. This takes the edge of the mornings disasters. We check-in and immediately head out to lunch. All of us are starving. A short walk and we find ourselves eating deep dish pizza at the very popular Pizano’s. The weather is so good, we are seated outside. The food and fire engines keep the LO occupied.

We are minutes away from the Millennium Park. I am to take Amma and the LO to the park and keep them entertained while the husband goes and collects our luggage. We skirt around the fountain that spits water at you and go all the way across the park to the play structures at Maggie Daley Park. On the way we take our time to chase pigeons around the very shiny Bean and enjoy the shrubbery at Lurie Garden. All three of us are close to exhausted by the time we get to the park. I had to first persuade the LO to go on the play structures and then it took our combined cajoling and an ice-cream bribe to get her back to the hotel.

After a quick nap for everyone, we get to important task #2 – pick up stroller. This is done in a completely different, very residential part of the city. There was one more thing we forgot – Amma’s phone charger. After picking up the stroller, I venture into the dangerous Chicago night in search of a type of phone charger that was nowhere to be found. Luckily, the husband’s charger fits and they are able to share.

I’m picking up the draft after two years. The human memory is fallible, mine more, but I will tell how I remember it. The waterfront is front and foremost in my memory. We had an excellent view of the river with its many bridges and boats from our room. I recall walking along the river side promenade where the LO chased pigeons and tried splashing in a fountain. She spent most of her trip chasing pigeons and I spent mine chasing her. Then there was a boat cruise. We floated up and down the river, admiring the beautiful architecture on either side. The Shedd aquarium was another highlight of our trip. The touch tanks were a big hit with the LO. The Sky Deck was not such a hit with her. The poor darling was terrified and nothing we said could reassure her.

The main event of the trip was a wedding in the family. My first NRI wedding. When I came back and described it my friend, she was nonplused. This is how they happen, she said. Wow! Run away, darling. Elope. Come back and tell us you are married. We’ll have a lovely party to celebrate.

A tulip a day

April 9-12, 2019

One of the big reasons we chose Vancouver for this trip were the cherry blossoms, and then I found out about the tulip festival. The outskirts of Vancouver are more interesting than the little town itself. We drove for about an hour to get to a tulip farm. Strangely, there seems to be no clearly marked entrance. So, we took a side road and then a back road and somehow got close to the farm. Other cars follow us. We are now at the side of the farm, but are not sure if we can go in. We stop for pictures when an angry looking lady stomps towards us and accuses us of trespassing. We try to explain that we couldn’t find the entrance and she very rudely tells us it’s because they are not open yet. They will open for the festival tomorrow.

We drive a little further to Chilliwack Farms. This one is open and has fields of daffodils. There are no tulips to be seen. We take our time to stand and stare;to run around and smell the daffodils. We are ready to head back when we notice the hyacinths. A cycle with a little basket stands close. A perfect photo prop. It is then that we find out that the tulips are at the back and there is a tractor that will take us there. We hop on. Close to 20 acres of around 30 varieties of tulips await us. It certainly is gorgeous. Turns out that this is the Lower Mainland’s original tulip festival and Western Canada’s largest. The flowers have been planted in extra wide rows for easy viewing and convenient photo opportunities. The mountains in the background and strategically placed swings make it ideal for those insta-worthy shots. 

Bloedel Conservatory

April 9-12, 2019

This is Vancouver’s most affordable, value for money and semi-hidden gem of an attraction. It was cold and rainy outside, but inside we had the month of May – bright, warm and vaguely humid. Set inside a glass dome, this is indoor attraction is a lush green tropical paradise with free flying parrots of different kids and other small exotic birds. With all the birds flying around, it is remarkable how un-smelly the place is. The space inside is divided into three distinct biomes: tropical rainforest, subtropical rainforest, and desert. At the entrance the kids got scavenger hunt maps and spent the rest of their time excitedly filling them out. The LO insisted on grabbing one too, though she quickly lost interest in it.  The conservatory is incredibly small for the two happy hours we spent inside. Because it’s so small and enclosed, it is easier for parents to let kids run free like the birds. The place is well lit, and the dark greens and vibrant birds make a great backdrop for pictures.

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Without doubt, this was the best rainy afternoon in years. Not once did I hear – “I’m bored.” “I’m tired.” or “Can we get sushi for dinner?”.

Grouse Mountain

April 9-12, 2019

I had dropped Grouse Mountain from our itinerary as the hiking trails had not opened but somehow it found its way back in. The gondola ride is fun, but like most of British Columbia’s attractions, it is grossly overpriced. It is only early April and the snow at the peak has not melted away yet. Unprepared and not properly outfitted, we crunch our way over to the bears. Grinder and Coola came to the Grouse Mountain’s Refuge for Endangered Wildlife in 2001 after being orphaned during separate incidents. Now bears are not true hibernators. During winter they go into a deep sleep known as torpor. Hibernation is a voluntary state that an animal enters into in order to conserve energy, survive when food is scarce, and minimize their need to face the elements in the cold winter months. Torpor is another survival tactic used by animals to survive the winter months. It also involves a lower body temperature, breathing rate, heart rate, and metabolic rate, but to a lesser extent than hibernation.

After meeting Grinder and Coola, we had lunch and then the kids went out to play in the snow. After spending some quiet time admiring the views, the LO and I joined them. The kids were sledding and having a blast. Their happiness on the slope was even more precious than the panoramic views and it made the trip up completely worth it. Since the LO is too little to go by herself, we go together – me on the sled and she on my lap. After a few moments of astonished silence, her shrieks of laughter could be heard all the way up the slope. Her joy going down that slope, her first attempts to copy her cousins and throw snowballs – while she may never remember this day, the sound of her laughter will always echo in my heart.

The spot I dropped from our itinerary turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip. Goes to show that sometimes, even the best laid plans can be improvised and improved.

Victoria – Chinatown

April 7-9, 2019

Today we are going to a castle. It’s not a real castle, not one with knights and ladies. The girls, I think are excited; the boys are nonchalant, but mum – she’s very kicked. Despite her knees, she climbs all the way to the top, inspects every room, and reads every last plaque. She even wants to get a copy of a book chronicling the family’s history, till she finds out it costs $30 (CAD). “If they want us to read about them, they should be giving it out for free! They should be happy someone wants to know about them.” They obviously do not agree. A family picture is taken and it’s time for lunch.

Post-lunch, we head out to the Butchart Gardens. If there is one thing everyone recommends you do in Victoria, it is this. By the time we get there the rain has picked up and the LO has settled in for a nap. We leave the older kids and adults to enjoy the gardens in the mist and rain, and head back. If the gardens are beautiful in fair weather, the mist adds a magical quality to it. Running around with umbrellas is a joy only childhood knows. In the evening, the husband and I step out to buy the LO some dinner and take mum around Chinatown.

Victoria’s Chinatown is oldest Chinatown in Canada and the 2nd oldest in North America behind San Francisco’s Chinatown. The gold rush, draught, famine and war brought encouraged the Chinese to leave their homeland and sail across the Pacific Ocean all the way to Victoria, and not always in the safest or most sanitary conditions. Nor were they always treated well. They have been disenfranchised in British Columbia (BC). Canadian federal government has imposed heavy taxes per head on every Chinese person entering Canada. In 1923, the Canadian federal government passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, prohibiting the immigration of Chinese people to Canada. Today however, British Columbia recognizes the contributions of the Chinese Canadians and how the community has helped to build British Columbia’s rich and diverse heritage.

We’ve walked these streets before and have appreciated the color and kitsch. Today, I am eagerly looking forward to taking mum to a souvenir store I stumbled into yesterday. I know she will love it. But keeping with the theme of the vacation, the shops in Chinatown are closed.

Capilano Bridge Park

April 10, 2019

The tourist attractions at both Victoria and Vancouver are expensive, but there the one place I felt was completely worth the money was the Capilano Bridge Park. Initially, I had planned to combine it with a visit to Grouse Mountain, but further research indicated it would be too rushed to enjoy either place. So, I dropped Grouse Mountain in favour of the park because it seemed to have more to do in this season, and the name said park. When you have five children in your party, one only 18 months old, it makes a difference.

 

It is a rainy day and the LO is napping so we opt to stay back in the parking lot while the others go ahead. When she wakes up, we are still doubtful. Then it stops raining. There is a light drizzle,but we decide to take our chances. I load the LO on my back and wake my way to the famous bridge.  I’ve been on suspension rope bridges before, am fairly stable and not afraid of heights so I was not expecting any thrills. However, it’s a whole different experience with a baby on your back and an umbrella in one hand. Unlike the rickety suspension bridges of my past, sometimes with a plank missing, open sides and just ropes for railings, this one is wobbly but undoubtedly safe.450 feet below, the Capilano river gushes through the evergreens. On the other side is the treetop adventure that takes guests 100 feet up in the coastal rainforest. You walk through the dark green foliage on narrow walkways attached to old-growth trees. At the other end of the bridge, starts the tree top walk and the real adventure. We climbed into the trees and walked through the lush green canopy.  The best part is that the viewing platforms are attached to an innovative tree collar system that is adjustable and moveable and has no nails or bolts penetrating into the trees. No trees were harmed in the making of this walkway. Yay!! At the start of the walk, a park official gave the kids scavenger hunt sheets and it was as much fun for the adults as it was for the kids. We are a mad family like that.

The last piece was the Cliffwalk –  a cantilevered and suspended walkway jutting out from the granite cliff face above Capilano River. In some sections you are walking on glass, so you can see the canyon far below.

To sum it up, everyone in our motley crew, from 18 m to almost 70 years, loved this park. As for me,  at the end of all the climbing and walking, with a baby on my back, I realized I truly am stronger than I think!

San Diego Life – Safari Park

November 2018

We could have gone to the zoo, but A picks the Safari Park instead. We know we want to feed the lorikeets, go one the carousal and take the Safari train. By the time we get into the park, the LO has settled in for a snooze in her stroller. We have to wait for her to wake to do any of the above. The first thing we see is an armadillo. I never imagined them to be that small. The sister and Big Bro make a detour to the Ranger Station to return a $5 bill we found. The LO is comfortably asleep as we push her through the tiger trail. We hike up to see the condors. The California condor is the largest flying bird in North America. Their wings may stretch nearly ten feet from tip to tip. This enables them to glide on thermal currents 15,000 feet up in the air, but makes it very cumbersome to hop over a couple of feet. The LO wakes up sometime in the Australian Outback. Strollers are not allowed in the kangaroo (+wallaby) exhibit, so the LO stayed out with her aunt. After lunch we go to feed the Lorikeets. Before that Big Bro and the husband go to the bat house, while Big Sis gets her carousal ride. She picks an Okapi and insists it’s her pony, petting and nuzzling it. Everybody loves the Lorikeet feeding experience. What is not to love! The follow up is petting the goats. The line to get on the Safari Tram is now an hour long. We collectively decide we don’t want to stand in line that long.  Instead we have another go at the carousal, see the flamingoes again, but a blue ceramic gecko at the gift shop, watch a cockatoo go berserk and go home.

 

Butchart Gardens

April 7-9, 2019

The older kids are going hiking before we head back to Vancouver. The husband and I were going to take the LO to the bug zoo. Mum cannot decide which is less appealing. Luckily for her, things take an unexpected turn. The others cannot stop raving about the Butchart Gardens, forcing us to go back, even if just to see what the fuss is all about. The scene is very different when we arrive. Today, the skies are clear, sun is shining brightly and it’s neither too hot nor too cold. Yesterday, we were the only ones in the parking lot, today the place is teeming with cars.

We follow the path Akash had asked us to take and come up to a striking bird’s eye view of the sunken garden. Walking further, we reach the carousal. The LO can’t wait to get on. After a fun ride on a lion, we foolishly decide to let her explore the garden by herself, on foot. Little feet move faster than you think, and in directions of their choice. After scrambling after her down a grassy slope and somehow convincing her to run back up, we manage to get her into our trusty carrier.

Lunch, is a picnic under a flourishing cherry tree.

The gardens are beautiful and well laid out.

Our unanimous favorite is the Japanese garden. Japan is a misty island and the traditional Japanese gardens are designed to take advantage of this. It is no wonder therefore that the rest of our group, who saw it in shrouded in mist yesterday, came back so impressed. In Japan, the garden is created as a confluence of nature and artifice. Japanese gardening strives to recreate the raw majestic of nature in a small enclosed space. Highly sculpted plants are made to suggest windswept trees or rolling hillsides. Stones are strategically placed to represent islands and craggy mountaintops. The sea is simulated by carefully raking gravel. There are many different styles of Japanese gardens – the stone or Zen gardens, hill gardens, tea gardens and stroll gardens. The Japanese garden at Butchart Gardens seems to have elements of almost all of them. The dense green foliage, the rustling of the maple and beech, the soft gurgling water, the quiet little ponds and the tap-tap of the sōzu – it works both as individual parts and as a sum of the parts.

There is a little icecream parlour in Butchart gardens, but before you get there, a small window has been cut in the hedge for the best view ever of the harbor. The icecream parlour, to my surprise and delight had a couple of vegan flavours. Usually that means getting a sorbet, but not this time. We spend the next three quarters of an hour in the plaza outside the gift shop where the LO runs about and “smells” flowers. It is almost time to leave when I realized my purse is missing. I retrace my steps frantically with no success. With fingers crossed I show up at the information desk hoping someone has turned it in, and what do you know, someone has indeed turned it in. Life is beautiful.

Vancouver – Day 1

April 9-12, 2019

PC – Mahesh Raju

It’s a rainy day, what should we do? Granville Island with its covered markets seems like our best bet. The kids have a field day playing in the Kids Market. The boys play video games, the girls play in the play structure with its two-story high slide and the LO enjoys the ball pit. The adults have nothing to do beyond some perfunctory supervision. Yet, other than mum and my sister, none of us could explore the market.

We headed back into downtown for lunch as the market has limited vegetarian/vegan options. It doesn’t take an Einstein to figure out an address on a map, but downtown Vancouver is a tight grid of one-way streets. The lunch spot I had picked was a chain, and we landed up different locations. SMAK is a quick service restaurant serving healthy, locally sourced food in compostable containers.  Totally my kind of place. Last night we tried Caribbean food at Calabash. The downstairs serves as an art gallery for local artists and a club with a live DJ. The food was excellent, the vibes  friendly, and  staff  great. However, if you choose to walk down to the restaurant, know that the neighbourhood is the opposite.  Downtown Eastside  is one of the city’s oldest neighbourhoods, and  is infamous for its levels of drug use, poverty, crime, mental illness, prostitution, and homelessness. Two blocks on every side, the city is very different.

Homelessness is a social crisis that has been rapidly accelerating over the last decade in Vancouver. The husband and I were unaware of this and were certainly not expecting to walk right into the thick of it, with our mother and child in tow. I went from being surprised to alarmed to wary. It was very disturbing. It is one of the things I will remember about this city, along with all the beautiful experiences we had hear.

Victoria and Vancouver through the eyes of a child

               My Vancouver trip     

                    By: Akash Roy

   This spring break, my family and 2 of my cousins with their families took a trip to Victoria and Vancouver, Canada. My aunt from the east coast planned an extremely fun vacation. I was not really that excited because I had to leave my pet tortoise Flash with our friends in San Diego, CA, but I was really looking forward to seeing my cousins. Also this time I got a new phone to take pictures with on our trip.

   

We first went to Victoria. We had to drive our car onto the ferry. It was a huge ferry. Nearly 200 cars could be parked on it. The ferry had lots of entertainment. You could go outside on the deck or the top deck, you could go shopping, or you could play in the miny playground. What I liked the most and I recommend that you see in Victoria is Butchart gardens. It is beautiful and magical, especially with a light drizzle.

We went to Fisherman’s Wharf  where we saw floating houses. We then took a long walk on the sea wall where we saw an awesome Otter and lots of giant kelp. We also took a water taxi to our hotel. A water taxi is a boat painted black and yellow that takes you to different ports. Another thing I really enjoyed was hiking to a waterfall. The hike was very green. When we got to the waterfall there was a viewpoint of the waterfall. There were stairs leading to the bank of the stream. There was also a mini waterfall next to the bank of the stream. It was all together quite a spectacular sight.

We also visited a castle called the Craigdarroch castle and learned that my sister and my cousin sister are so suckey at races!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There we learned about the artifacts and how people lived in the castle over 100 years ago.

    Vancouver is a fun and popular place to go to for summer break because the weather is warm and sunny. We went in spring because it is not as crowded. It was raining half the trip but it was a blast. What I enjoyed the most was Grouse Mountain and the aviary at Queen Elizabeth park. At Grouse Mountain we played in the snow, we saw bears that had just come out of hibernation, l also enjoyed sledding the amazing slopes they had. At the aviary we saw lots of birds. I also liked the bird hunt at the aviary. We saw all sorts of tropical birds. I really liked matching parrots along with the Australian King Parrot.

On a rainy morning there was nothing to do. So we went to Granville Island and saw a lot of shops which was my least favorite part of the trip. When we went to the kids market there was a game arcade which was awesome. That same day we went to capilano suspension bridge. It is a 435 feet long hanging bridge that is 230 feet above the ground !!!!!!!!! The bridge was shaky but I was not scared even though my dad was shaking with fear and I could sort of feel it.

There was a very lucky accident that occured. One of our friends from Seattle the home of the Seahawks spent their vacation in Hawaii. Except when they were coming back we were able to meet in Vancouver on our last day in Canada. I was very happy to see them.

    The weather in Vancouver and Victoria was very wet. What I mean is that it rained every day but only in the mornings and nights. Luckily, we had packed all the jackets and stuff we needed. Although, we should have brought more socks. Also luckily all the hotels we stayed at had umbrellas we could borrow. We ate a lot of cuisines like a new version of sushi, indian food, Jamaican food, vegan food. Vegan food was fine with me because I hate cheese.

What I loved that we had on our trip was something called a butter chicken samosa. I wish I could get it here. Guess what? We got gelato 3 nights in a row at 10 pm!!!!!!!!! My favorite gelato flavor was lemon sorbet. My mouth is still watering from that first taste.

In total I had a superb vacation with my entire American family. I can’t wait for the next one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!