Third full week in Vancouver over, and these are some things that happened, and things that we've noticed:

1. Early in the week we went to pick up some free flower pots that were advertised on Craigslist and saw a lady round the side of the house. We said hello and ended up getting a tour of a beautiful early 1900's house Alex and Lauren had bought and are renovating. Lauren is from Australia and met Alex - a Canadian - while he was on a working holiday in Melbourne. They kindly asked if we needed anything and when we mentioned that we could use a dining table they gave us a spare one they had. It fit perfectly into the space we'd hoped to put one in.

We also ended up going over there later in the week to do some weeding and other stuff around the garden, which because Lauren payed us was our first job in Canada. Dan cut some branches from a hazelnut tree that was starting to obstruct the view, and now wants to be an arborist. 

2. Alex and Lauren recommended Lynn Canyon, so on Saturday evening we took a 30-min Northerly drive to check it out. Driving over the bridge into North Vancouver felt like we were heading into Middle Earth - the various hues of the trees, the misty mountains in the background, and the North Vancouverites walking around with their loping, orc-like gait all made it seem magical. Heading up the mountain, trees in suburban streets had moss-covered trunks. We arrive at the canyon 40 mins before the gates closed for the day, so quickly made our way across the free suspension bridge spanning the gap between two cliffs above the raging waters of the modestly-named Lynn Creek. 

3. When you turn on the tap in Vancouver, or at least in our house, the temperature of the water is satisfyingly extreme. When you ask for hot water, it's really boiling - you can cook two-minute noodles without using the microwave. When you ask for cold water, it's feels like it's come from a water cooler. So good.

Till next week.

The raging waters of Lynn Creek

Brianna on the Lynn Canyon suspension bridge

Public toilets with grass growing on the roof

This week we moved into our new place in Burnaby. It's near what several people have told us (with not a little pride) is the second biggest mall in the country - Metrotown. It sounds like the name of a comic book city doesn't it?

Here's what the first dinner in our new home looked like:

First meal: Cup of noodles and something else on a plate.

This week we took a couple of trips to Ikea, another to Walmar(t), did some shopping at thrift stores, payed a guy to bring us a bed, and picked up a free couch from someone. We didn't have a way to transport the couch so a nice member in our ward - Dan Lawlor - offered to come and pick it up with his car. Few people have trucks here because it's in the city. We thought Dan had roof racks but he didn't, so he tied it straight on the roof of his car. He'd done this plenty of times he said. Good example of how there are other ways to get things done than you might first think.

The living room now looks like this:

The bathroom looks like this:

The kitchen looks like this:

And Brianna standing in the kitchen with the spoils of our first grocery trip looks like this:

It feels good to have somewhere we can call our own (even though we don't own it), somewhere to hang our  hats, a place to look after, and a free month-long subscription to Netflix.

Finally, we did not take this picture but here's another example of how beautiful Vancouver can get in the spring:

Till next week.

Mon 8th April - Sunday 14th April 2013 'Vancity'

This week was pretty productive. We now have social insurance numbers (like social security or tax file numbers), a working mobile phone, bank accounts, credit card applications submitted, and a nice place to live. We also have a tube of toothpaste that was not designed to but does taste like root beer.

The suburb we've been staying in (Langley), has some nice walking trails, so we walked on them. A group of mallards were having a bachelor party that got broken up when a couple of females arrived. We also saw a couple of Canadian geese! 

Just down the road from Langley we found Fort Langley, which has been called 'the birthplace of British Columbia'. This is because 150 odd years ago the Hudson Bay trading company, a huge fur trade organization, established a trading post (or posts) there, which eventually led to the creation of the colony of British Columbia. The suburb has a very historical feel to it, and unrelatedly many of the the buildings have strings of little lights hanging along their walls. It also has Wendel's book store/cafe, which makes delectable mac 'n cheese, and a 50's style diner that gives you two milkshakes worth of milkshake for the price of one!

Fort Langley

This week also marked our first foray into downtown Vancity (as it's known among the local hip hop community). The town has lots of food trailers which compete for good spots and sell delicious food. We found one called 'Wild-Local-Fresh' which we had previously seen reviewed on the Food network and were excited to pay a visit. Their BC seafood poutine was nice. Poutine, as well as being a fun word to say (to Daniel), is a Canadian dish comprised of fried chips smothered in gravy. 

BC seafood poutine

Vansterdam (so-called because of its relaxed attitude towards recreational drugs) is also known for its seafood, and the guy at Wild-Local-Fresh said all their stuff was caught yesterday. While wandering the city we also saw a man smoking a pipe while reading a book, a guy rollerblading along practicing his hockey moves, and a building that looked like a viking longhouse with steam billowing from the roof (steam seems to come out of a lot of places here). Another thing we liked about Vancouver was that the whole city seems very 'woody'. There are trees everywhere, even in downtown. In spring the cherry blossom trees are especially pretty.

Vancouver Harbour

Cherry Blossom trees in Vancouver

While house hunting we took a detour to Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Burnaby, which sits atop a mountain at the north east corner of the suburb. What's cool about this is that it can be snowing at the top of the mountain, even when it's not in other places. 

Perhaps the best thing to happen this week was that we found a nice, affordable flat to live in. A Muslim man named Ruby, originally from Fiji, and his wife wanted people who aren't going to party, and we told him that we hate parties, so he was happy to have us. We feel we've been very blessed to find a place so quickly and are excited to get moved in. Ruby said he would leave the back driveway gate open for us to move our stuff in and we didn't tell him our suitcases would fit through the side gate fine.

Our food storage. Hopefully we can find room for it in the new place.

At church today we met our new bishop - Bishop Iwaasa, who was previously president of the Japan, Fukuoka mission. He and everyone else in the ward were very welcoming, and people wanted to help us find jobs, get furniture etc. It felt great to come into the chapel and hear familiar hymns playing and feel the same spirit and longing to become better that we feel at church at home. 

Next week: 'The Move in. Brianna Gets a Job. Dan Wanders Aimlessly Around Burnaby.'

On Wed 3^rd April 2013 Brianna and Daniel got into Brianna’s mom’s Impala and started on their journey to Canada and freedom (to work). Shortly thereafter they returned to the Bagley home when Brianna realized she’d taken her mom’s key. After another quick stop at Chick-Fil-A they were on their way.

First stop was Egin, Idaho, home of Brianna’s grandparents, Marvin & Karen Bagley, and their cat, Buster. Grandpa and Grandma Bagley live in a lovely log home they built themselves. They took Brianna and Dan four wheeling on their beautiful property, where they saw a [huge] bald eagle, a couple of trees felled by beavers, other trees scratched by elk horns, and a fresh deer print.

Brianna and Daniel, sitting in a tree...

On Thu 4^th April Brianna and Daniel saw a moose during breakfast, then continued North through Montana, across Idaho’s panhandle, and on to Spokane, Washington. Nothing memorable happened on this day, except Dan’s first experience at Denny’s (restaurant), and second experience with bacon and maple syrup on an ice-cream sundae. That evening they stayed in Spokane with friends of Brianna’s sister Lindsay (Justin & Stephanie, and Stephanie’s brother Eric and his wife Charlene). They are great people, and really know how to take care of a couple of fugitives attempting to flee the country.

On Fri 4^th April Brianna and Dan continued their journey and on advice from their kind hosts of the previous day took the scenic but slightly longer route through the Wenatchee National Forest. The way went through lush valleys covered with acres of apple trees and warmed by springtime sun. Green daisy-spotted hills ramped up away from the valley, and even higher and further back rugged, snowy mountains clothed with pine trees disappeared into the mist that hung around up there. The hills truly seemed alive with the sound of music. Leavenworth is an Austrian-themed tourist town along the route. Regulations there stipulate that all the buildings must look like the von Trapps could be lounging around inside, even the McDonald’s. Apple strudel and traditional bratwurst served with sour kraut made a nice lunch.

This place didn't properly read the memo about Leavenworth's stores needing to be AustrIAN themed,.

Apple strudel

 That evening Brianna and Dan reached the Canadian border, crossed it, then got their work permits from an immigration official. Surprisingly (to Brianna), they were not required to drink a glass of maple syrup in order to be allowed into the country.

First impressions: Daniel liked the long, straight road they arrived into the country on. Brianna thought Canada is a lot like the USA.

That evening they stayed at “Celestial Sleeps” (celestialsleeps.com), affordable accommodation for people wanting to visit the Langley (near Vancouver) temple, provided by LDS couple Gary and Letitia Neisner. They would be staying here until they find a place of their own. Luckily it’s very nice.

Sat 6^th April

Brianna and Daniel bought groceries and held Canadian money for the first time - more papery than Australian money, and more plastic-y than US. They also watched the Saturday sessions of the 183rd general conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It’s nice coming into a new place to be able to start things off listening to the words of the prophets.

Sun 7^th April

Brianna and Daniel watched the Sunday sessions of general conference at Langley chapel, which is right near the LDS temple.