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Post by Barnacle on Oct 30, 2006 19:38:46 GMT -8
And I've been of harassing the interior of your fair province for the last week. (Great heavens, after a week of working off someone's laptop, it's nice to be back typing on my twenty-five year old IBM ratchet keyboard.) Watched hockey in Chilliwack, Kelowna, Cranbrook (x2), and Kamloops. I tried to take the southern route between Cranbrook and Kamloops, but it would've been an extra two hours on a loooooong drive--as it was, barely made it in time for the game. Too bad; the route I chose would've covered Needles-Faquier and Kootenay Bay-Balfour...
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Post by SS San Mateo on Oct 30, 2006 20:20:19 GMT -8
Hi there Mr. Barnacle and welcome aboard  I see you're a hockey fan. I used to go to quite a few matches (including a few in Tacoma when they had teams (Sabercats and Rockets... Sabercats folded and the Rockets relocated to Kelowna)). |
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Post by Barnacle on Oct 30, 2006 20:24:33 GMT -8
LB-- I can now say I have been in 17 of 22 buildings in the WHL. I'm still missing Prince George, Spokane, Tri-Cities, Everett, and Portland's Memorial Coliseum. (Yet I've covered all of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and the lone WHL city in Manitoba... go figure!). It's kind of become a mission for my friend and myself to visit all the buildings in the WHL. It pains me greatly to admit, as a long-time Thunderbirds season ticket holder, that Kamloops has one of the top three all-around. Bonus points for hot mini-doughnuts.  |
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Post by sgrant on Nov 1, 2006 22:48:39 GMT -8
Since the etiquette on this forum is to introduce oneself...
I am just a citizen and user of BC Ferries. I've never been a BC Ferry employee, and don't know anyone associated with it.
I've been using BC Ferries since 1973 and have been on probably all the routes with the exception of the Mid-Coast. In addition to BCF, I've also used ferries in other areas, such as BC's interior, the Alaska Marine system, NWT (Peel R. and MacKenzie R), Bahamas, Newcastle -> Stavanger, and other ferries in Europe. As a child, I crossed the Atlantic on an ocean liner.
Besides some miscellaneous curiosities about BCF operations, my main areas of concern are:
- safety, obviously
- how bicycles and cyclists are handled
- demand management / waiting times
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Post by Low Light Mike on Nov 1, 2006 22:53:33 GMT -8
Welcome:
Let me throw out a welcoming obscure-reference-comment (it's a US Civil War reference...).
.......With a username like "S.Grant", your favourite Irish ferry is likely the Ulysses.
All my strangeness aside, welcome. I look forward to reading your contributions.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Nov 5, 2006 11:06:01 GMT -8
Mr. Cascade: ....I just have 2 more sessions with my specialists, and then I should be cleared for a return to internet-society. In the meantime, I've been given a temporary day-pass. The tablets are expensive, but have few noticeable side-effects (other than the grammar-obsession). ps, re: .....good thing that I just got my back waxed yesterday... |
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Post by Barnacle on Nov 5, 2006 22:09:23 GMT -8
.....good thing that I just got my back waxed yesterday... How'd that go for you? I was thinking about having it done but I realized it's November and really, I count on the excess foliage for warmth. Perhaps next April... |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Nov 6, 2006 7:31:55 GMT -8
If you find a good weaver, you can get some fabric made....which you can use to knit a toque.
===============
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Post by Barnacle on Nov 6, 2006 9:16:13 GMT -8
I just consider it my spare patch in case I lose the hair on my head.
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Post by WettCoast on Nov 6, 2006 18:13:36 GMT -8
If you find a good weaver, you can get some fabric made....which you can use to knit a toque. =============== Barnacle, being a citizen of the USA, may not be familiar with that word 'toque'. Perhaps, Mr. Horn, you will have to explain. |
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Post by Political Incorrectness on Nov 6, 2006 18:17:58 GMT -8
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Post by Balfour on Nov 6, 2006 20:39:33 GMT -8
Indeed I can. I wear a lot of toques, including the peruvian one that I wear in my avatar
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Post by Barnacle on Nov 7, 2006 7:14:52 GMT -8
Ahem. I know you aren't all lumberjacks or fur traders. I know you don't live in an igloo or eat blubber or own a dog sled. I don't expect you to know Jimmy, Sally or Suzie from Canada, regardless of how nice they may be. I understand that you have a Prime Minister, not a President; that you speak English, not American; and it's still 'about,' not 'a boot.' You guys can still proudly sew your country's flag on your backpack; you get to believe in peace keeping, not policing; diversity without assimilation; and, yes, the beaver is a truly proud and noble animal. I know that a toque is a hat, a chesterfield is a sofa, and I know the difference between a 'zee' and a 'zed.' You're the second-largest landmass, the first nation of hockey, and consider yourselves the best part of North America. (Hard to argue.) But at least I acknowledge that Molson is good beer on your side of the line. (My name isn't Joe, and I'm not Canadian. But I periodically wish I were.) |
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Post by Barnacle on Nov 7, 2006 7:18:46 GMT -8
Oh yes. My coffee, whenever possible, comes from Tim Horton's. ;D
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Post by Low Light Mike on Nov 7, 2006 11:54:36 GMT -8
Well done, Mr. Quartermaster.
ps: What's your interest in the WHL?
- a particular team?
- a passion for multi-city road trips?
- recapturing memories of youth?
- joy of travel?
Who's your favourite WHL player that you've seen play, or who's the best player that you've had the privilege to see?
Pat Faloon in Spokane?
Peter Nedved in Seattle?
Joe Sakic in Swift Current?
Darcy Tucker in Kamloops?
Stan Smyl in New Westminster?
- did you attend the 1991? Memorial Cup tournament in Seattle, where Kamloops won the final in overtime?
so many questions for a popular guy...
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Post by Barnacle on Nov 7, 2006 17:44:28 GMT -8
(Doesn't anyone remember that Molson campaign?  ) WHL: season ticket holder for Seattle Thunderbirds, 1995-2003, until my relocation to Anacortes. Never skated, but I'd like to learn how. There is a certain amount of pretending I'm still in college while on the road, but the main mission anymore is to visit all 22 buildings in the league. (Portland has two, and I'll have to go back to Moose Jaw when they replace the Crushed Can.) I didn't get into the WHL until the 1994-5 season, so I missed all of those outstanding players. I did, however, get to watch Jarome Iginla (Kamloops) play against Patrick Marleau (Seattle) for a year. I also have watched Jordin Tootoo (Brandon), and I had the privilege of watching him in Brandon in 1999. I think. Might've been 2002, but I doubt it. My favorites that didn't or haven't made the show would include Tony Mohagen (assistant coach in North Battleford these days), Bret DeCecco, Cody Rudkowsky, Tyler Metcalfe, Aaron Gagnon, Darren McLachlan and Zack Fitzgerald, all of Seattle. I was known as the "Kiss of Death" among the season ticketholders in my section because any time I got a program with a player's autograph (signifying I won a prize), said player would be traded within two weeks. (For example, I got Brian Ballman's 'graph on the Sub Shop ad, then won his road jersey two days later--he was traded by the following weekend. I promptly attended the next game with "FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS" taped over his name on the jersey.) I did not attend the Memorial Cup in 1991, as I wasn't paying much attention to hockey at the time. I do not have any intentions to attend in Vancouver this season, as it's rather difficult for me to get vacation time anytime other than winter. I'd like to go some year, though, when it gets out this way again. And not that you asked, favorite buildings: Regina Agridome (hot mini-doughnuts!) Riverside Centre, Kamloops (seats 6,400) Keystone Centre, Brandon (seats 5,102) Moose Jaw Civic Centre, aka "The Crushed Can" (seats 3,146? Come on, guys... I'm not buying that.) Also, I tend to put out a nightly report of the trip... in recent years it's been less about the hockey and more about the exploring, like Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump (Fort MacLoed, AB), the Lancaster Air Museum (Nanton, AB), Cranbrook Rail Museum (Cranbrook, BC), Parliamentary Campus (Edmonton, AB; Regina, SK; Winnipeg, MB). The 'What's That?' stops often turn out to be the highlight of the trip. I enjoy your beautiful country, even the flat parts... this year's trip was covering the BC interior, and the Great Canadian Road Trip VIII has since been labeled Coqui-Holiday. I'm a geek with broader spectrum, y'see... ;D |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Nov 7, 2006 20:13:08 GMT -8
Barnacle: I actually did "get" your perfect recitation of the Molson "Joe Canadian" campaign.....and that's what my "Well Done, Mr. Quartermaster" comment was specifically intended for....but I should have been more specific in my praise.
re the WHL: Nanaimo had a team for 1 year, in 1982-83, which was called "Nanaimo Islanders", with a logo ripped-off of the NY-Islanders. The team was the Billings-Bighorns the previous year, and then moved to become the NewWestminster Bruins the following year (the 2nd incarnation of the Bruins, that later became the Tri-City Americans). I never saw any Nanaimo Islander games....I was in Grade-9, but didn't really care.
What was the fan-support like in Cranbrook for the Kootenay Ice? Was there a good crowd? Cranbrook seems to be a "typical" WHL small-city, ie. isolated smaller town....similar to MooseJaw or Swift Current or Prince Albert.
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Post by Barnacle on Nov 8, 2006 9:14:20 GMT -8
Well, I confess, I have the t-shirt with the Joe Canadian soliloquy on it. (I picked it up in Medicine Hat.) The first time I heard it I just about (aboot?) fell off the bed in the hotel laughing. I periodically wear it when I'm brassed off at my country's leadership. (Speaking of... winds changed last night, eh? ;D )
Cranbrook usually turns out about a 70% capacity crowd--which I think works out to about 3500--for the games. The empty seats are usually in the non-alcohol section. Speedy Creek, Moose Jaw, and PA turn out similar quantities. In fact, slightly higher in MJ. I'm already looking forward to next year's trip... maybe I'll be able to wear my Seattle jersey to a game without feeling national shame for a change. (I haven't worn it on the road since 2002.)
I hope.
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Post by SS San Mateo on Nov 8, 2006 11:59:10 GMT -8
On the subject of hockey in Naniamo, when I was up in Naniamo in 1988 (which was the last time I rode a BC ferry), my family and I ate at a restaurant that had hockey stuff and waiters dressed in referee uniforms. Anyone know the name of the place and if it's still around?
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Post by Coastal Canuck on Nov 8, 2006 15:12:32 GMT -8
Probably Boston Pizza
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Post by Ferryman on Nov 8, 2006 17:51:15 GMT -8
On the subject of hockey in Naniamo, when I was up in Naniamo in 1988 (which was the last time I rode a BC ferry), my family and I ate at a restaurant that had hockey stuff and waiters dressed in referee uniforms. Anyone know the name of the place and if it's still around? Can you remember anything from around the location of the Restaurant, that sorta sticks out in your mind, such as Malls, Signs, Buildings, Stores, Cars, Lakes, Roads......? |
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Post by Scott (Former Account) on Nov 8, 2006 18:19:39 GMT -8
On the subject of hockey in Naniamo, when I was up in Naniamo in 1988 (which was the last time I rode a BC ferry), my family and I ate at a restaurant that had hockey stuff and waiters dressed in referee uniforms. Anyone know the name of the place and if it's still around? Ah, the old NHL resturant, on Stewart... The building is still there, but it is now turned into a boating store... |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Nov 8, 2006 19:25:51 GMT -8
On the subject of hockey in Naniamo, when I was up in Naniamo in 1988 (which was the last time I rode a BC ferry), my family and I ate at a restaurant that had hockey stuff and waiters dressed in referee uniforms. Anyone know the name of the place and if it's still around? - It's now closed, but the building is still there. It was called Nanaimo Harbour Lights restaurant (NHL, get it?). Owned & operated by Lloyd Gilmour, former NHL referree, and a Nanaimo resident. For more on Lloyd Gilmour, here's a link to one of his most famous on-ice moments: www.bchhf.com/Inductees/gilmour.htm - Jazz singer/pianist Diana Krall started her performing career in that restaurant, as a dining-room piano player, when she was in high school. Here's a supporting article: www.nationmultimedia.com/search/page.arcview.php?clid=18&id=63572&usrsess= |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Nov 18, 2006 17:35:46 GMT -8
A welcome to our new member "qoa". Caps-key lessons are available, at a reduced-rate for new members Welcome Aboard |
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Post by Political Incorrectness on Nov 19, 2006 10:18:21 GMT -8
cascade, I am not liking that "mr. negative" comment, might whom you be reffering to? It begins to worry me and hurts others to keep it inside. If you want to insult someone, call em out and get it overwith. Better to let it come out than hold it in and get slapped twice.
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