Category Archives: Day Zero

Holidaying in Hawai’i with the family was awesome on so many levels, not least because I got to tick another item off my Day Zero list. Although I always envisioned going whale-watching in Vancouver, this was definitely a very acceptable change of plans.

According to our on-board naturalist, humpback whales go down from Alaska to breed in warmer Hawaiian waters from December to April. Although we wandered the decks diligently for some time, we slowly concluded that we weren’t going to see any whales this early on in the season.

Just when my family and I’d given up, though, the naturalist caught sight of a mother humpback whale and her calf.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t get any pictures as they were a fair distance from us, and it was hard to time a shot, but I did get to see them blow spray and the baby’s beautiful tail came up a couple of times.

I think I would love to go whale-watching again, but the sobering sight of this plastic bag in the middle of Pacific blue has got me wondering about the ethics and environmental impact of this activity. Did I just help to make the world a little better or worse?

GUESS WHAT I DID YESTERDAY!

Well, that’s actually not too hard, as my title gives it away. My brother and I finally made use of our LivingSocial coupons for two races at TBC Indoor Racing, and brought our dad along for a bonding experience.

When I look at my Day Zero list now, it’s blatantly obvious to me that I wrote this item down before I started learning how to drive.

At first I was excited for go-karting.

Then I watched the safety video and started stressing because it reminded me of my biggest fear when driving: that I’ll crash into other people. (Also why driving is truly one of the most upsetting activities I’ve ever had to do.)

I also got stuck when making a U-turn in the same spot twice, because hey, I still don’t know how to turn properly, but after the staff member assisting me out of my personal Bermuda told me to ‘Turn harder’, that’s what I did — and was fine thereafter.

Oh yes, I took some 50-odd seconds to make it around a lap when other people made it in 35, but whatever. I beat my personal best of not crashing in the second race. Woohoo!

Baby steps are key to a happy mindset. ♥

In the afternoon, I also brought my mother to watch The Nutcracker as put on by Alberta Ballet at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre this season. (Activity not in blog post title!) It’s quite a splendid and sparkling production, so do go if this kind of thing interests you!

All in all a pretty lovely way of wrapping up my year, eh?

Back in January, I took it into my head that I was going to visit 50 new places in Vancouver this year as part of what I termed my ‘Resident Tourist’ project.

Well, I quite forgot I’d set a quantitative goal until I found this old post on my other blog today. Oops.

At any rate, the one and only item I consciously listed on my New Places Found in 2010 is the Vancouver Aquarium, where I dragged a few friendly folks to spend my birthday with me earlier this year. Because that is clearly how college kids celebrate their birthdays these days.

Located in the middle of beautiful Stanley Park (another place I’ve yet to sufficiently explore!), the Aquarium has quite the extensive, impressive showcase of marine and non-marine life. Particular favourites of mine were the jellyfish, the beluga whales and the sea otters.

Photo taken by my friend-turned-personal photographer for the day.

I wish now that I’d been to see the beluga calves last year when they were still babies! They were still very sweet and desiring of love and attention, despite being larger when I saw them. All the time I was watching them, they were rubbing against their trainer for attention, so she ended up dedicating a hand apiece to patting each of them.

Funnily enough, it was only after I went to the Aquarium that one of my friends — who’s not even in Canada! — introduced me to the VanAqua sea otters famous on YouTube for their hand-holding (or, I suppose, paw-holding would be the correct term).

It’s a really adorable video and worth watching the whole thing if you haven’t seen it. (I’m told this is a small chance, but it’s a chance nonetheless!)

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epUk3T2Kfno]

The Vancouver Aquarium is open 365 days a year; it’s currently operating under winter hours, which means 9:30 AM-5:00 PM. Tickets are $21 for adults, $16 for seniors, youths aged 13-18 and students, and $13 for children aged 4-12 (HST not included).

It’s definitely fun for the family, and I wouldn’t mind going again!