Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary Relay - Part Two

Erin and my mom with the medal after the relay
A while ago I wrote about my niece Erin being a part of the Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary Relay. The relay went through their area a few weeks ago and she did her part. Unfortunately, Rick Hansen himself wasn't able to be there for the day - even when that happens the day goes ahead as planned because of the tight schedule. Still, Erin says it was a great experience.

The relay goes right by our front door here in Richmond on its way to the finish in downtown Vancouver, and I was so impressed with Erin that I applied to take part out here. You can see the whole route and find out more about the relay here: Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary Relay.

Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary

The ducks get a bit carried away in the parking lot
Last weekend Debbie and I went to the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary. It is right across the river from us, which is one reason why we have so many snow geese flying over Steveston - the sanctuary is one of their wintering grounds. We saw plenty of other birds there too, including a bald eagle, a woodpecker and yes, plenty of ducks. Debbie posted some more pictures on Flickr.

The sanctuary was quite accessible, all the paths we took were hard-packed dirt or gravel, it's all flat, and one of the observation platforms even had a ramp for me to go up. We will definitely be heading back regularly. Ironically, even though it's right across the river, it's quite a drive to get there as we have to go out to the highway, through a tunnel under the river, and back.

We Made It!

The view from our balcony


We have moved back to Canada! Debbie and I are now in Steveston Village, a subdivision of Richmond BC, just south of Vancouver. Fittingly, it was a beautiful autumn day when we showed up and the leaves on the street were very colorful. We are still getting our bearings and doing plenty of exploring, especially along the river and in the village proper. We've already found some great restaurants, walking/rolling paths along the river and the old fishing village - and we haven't even been into Vancouver proper yet. Loads to see and do for a while yet!

Vancouver

Granville St. in downtown Vancouver
The area of Vancouver we are moving to is called Steveston Village, which is a suburb of Richmond, just south of town where a branch of the Fraser river empties into the sea. It's an old Japanese fishing village that still has a lot of the buildings and docks left from that era. The canneries were working until as late as 20 years ago.

Check out the area on Google maps: Steveston. We will be living in a nice condo just east of the "downtown" area of Steveston. From the balcony out front we will be able to see the mountains, while we can walk/roll out the back door and down some paths right to the water

Canada!

A view from Stanley Park in Vancouver, BC


Although I haven't posted in ages, a lot has been going on. A number of things have come together and the end result is that Debbie and I will be moving to Vancouver, British Columbia, at the end of October. Returning to Canada has quite a few benefits for us, most importantly for my long-term health and care. We had heard a lot of good things about Vancouver, and just got back from a week-long trip there to see for ourselves what it's like. After just a couple of days there we found a condo to rent in a nice area, and decided to take the plunge. I will explain more in a couple of follow-up posts later in the week.

Swimming Update

The big-kids' pool at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center
At my swimming lesson last week, I went into the big pool at the Aquatics Center for the first time. It's one of two Olympic-sized pools at the facility, used for lessons, lap swimming and diving. It has a ramp at one end so I could shuffle in easily, although I think it's easier to use the steps - which we did on the way out. The pool is usually set up with lanes across, I managed to do one length (25 meters, or about 75 feet) using front crawl (freestyle), and one length breast stroke. My instructor figures I'm ready to do lengths on my own now, although we will still practice in the therapy pool for a bit.

Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary Relay

With my niece Erin at Santa Monica pier
Twenty Five years ago, Rick Hansen circled the world in his wheelchair and raised $26 million dollars for spinal cord research. Next week, he will start a cross-Canada trek to mark the 25th anniversary of that tour. People can enter a contest to be a part of the relay, and walk, wheel or run with Rick Hansen as he goes through their community. My niece Erin called yesterday and said she entered and was chosen to be one of the medal-bearers as the relay goes through her area in November. I'm very proud of her! Find out more about the relay: Rick Hansen 25th Anniversary Relay.