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updateing from the office/hallway

anyway, that's a little update for you...


Home sweet Home...

To start, a map of my trip:


It was a lot of fun, and I can't wait to do it again! I think a big part of our trip was planning a ski/biking vacation to Whistler... we found the best places to stay, the best coffee, and good side adventures to take! We started out in Vancouver, where we spent most of the day on Friday, and we mostly walked around the city, picked up some good tips of where to go while in the city, and some near by places of interest. It should be good advice for the next time we come to the city.

Then we moved up closer to the Whistler area, Friday night I posted from the Pemerton Valley Lodge, where we stayed for the trip. It was a nice place to stay because every night we could just relax in the hot tub and then go watch a little Canadian television until we went to bed. Also, it helped to save us some money on food because our room had a kitchen in it. Saturday, we went to Whistler! (as seen to the right). We hiked around the trails there to find that while the hiking trails are really meant for a family to use, the 200km of bike trails, and skiing runs were definitely something James and I were looking for. Although we did enjoy getting lost in the Lost Lake Park located at the North end of Whistler Village. Sunday, we went hiking in Joffri Lakes Provincial Park. It was a beautiful 15km hike. Here you can see the first lake (note the mountain in the background. At the second lake, we got a little closer to the mountain and the glacier on top... At the third lake, we thought we had gotten to the end of the trail, but then we found that the trail kept going... (P.S. Jaani is in the picture... I swear.) However, we found that we could just climb over all the rocks to get even higher... and here you can see the top lake from... The glacier at the top of the moutain! It was a great hike, up one of the most challenging trails I have ever hiked. Half the time, I don't even think you can really call it a trail really. It was more like climbing over a bunch of huge (8 X 10ft) rocks. I have to say it was one of the best trips I've taken. It is a shame I had to come home to Evelyn...

In short, the trip was great! There are way too many pictures of Beautiful British Columbia for me to post here, but I do have a lot of them. So... that's it for now, I'm home safe and sound... I will start work soon, and be back to my boring usual routine. (but that isn't completely a bad thing.)

Posted by Steven Farnell at 10/15/2007 08:51:00 PM


Live from BC!

Day one in British Columbia, and it's great! A much needed vacation in deed! We are in the small town of Pemberton at the Pemberton Valley Lodge. It's about the time that I am glad I could afford to spend a night or two in a hotel. This place was a little pricey ($124 Canadian, with pet deposit and 13% Tax), but about the cheapest place you can find within 50 kilometers of Whistler (that allows dogs) the cheap Motel in Mt Currie ($60 Canadian + Tax)... As apposed to to actually staying in Whistler which is about $199 Canadian + Tax.
As for how I got here... James and I took the whole day to get here... which is normally about a 6 hour drive. We stopped in Vancouver, and walked around the town from about 11:30AM, until about 5:30PM. It was fun... I will post the pictures soon. I forgot to bring my camera in, and I'm too lazy to go get it. It was interesting to find out that they sell Absinthe in Vancouver... actually, now that I'm at the Lodge, I had a bit of that to help me relax for the evening.
After a bit of driving, I started to figure out the reason the British Columbia license plate says "Beautiful British Columbia" first hand. This has to be one of the most Beautiful places I've ever been in my whole life! I can't believe I haven't been here sooner.
I guess in the end, it is unfortunate that all the camp sites are closed around here. Our original plan was to camp out. After all, it only gets down to about 40 degrees at night, but apparently it is too cold for the BC natives to want to camp in... oh well...

anyway... I'm on vacation!

Posted by Steven Farnell at 10/12/2007 11:14:00 PM


And I have a day off

So, today started a week that I have off. To be honest, I really don't know what to do with myself... I just get up, go to Renton, get a cup of coffee, and go walk along the trail. I think I'm going to leave on Friday and take a trip up to Whistler with James and Jaani. That would be nice... get out of the house... away from the Ev... and just have a nice vacation. I think I've earned it. I worked 1000 hours in the time most people only work 500.
I also got my side window deflectors in the mail today... $35 plus $15 shipping and handling. Which beats the dealership at $160. I guess they can only get away with charging so much because none of the stores carry 2007 accessory parts for the Honda Accord... anyway, it will be nice to be able to open my window without water coming in.
Other than that... Jaani is doing good. The new puppy has made him a little jealous, but I guess Ev doesn't leave the puppy here during the day, so it isn't a problem. I'm not sure what she does with the puppy, but I don't really care. I don't have to give her a ride to work, and in the process the puppy disappears somewhere.
well, it's not my problem at least... anyway, that's it for now. Until next time.

Posted by Steven Farnell at 10/10/2007 09:22:00 PM



Well, it's official that tomorrow is my last day at MS GTO (Microsoft Game Testing Organization). So, as of now, I have an orientation on Tuesday, and I start next Monday working on the Zune. Microsoft's version of the Ipod. As far is this weekend's activities, I finally got out to Bremerton to visit James. He was throwing a Oktoberfest/house warming party. We sat around and enjoyed some home made beer and moonshine! Also I got to see all the work he has been doing on his and his parents' houses. He has been keeping buisy. removing chimneys, walls, and stairs... as well as adding windows, doors, and painting.

After the tour of his house, I slept over there, and we went to the Staircase camp site in the South East corner of Olympic National Park (at the northern end of Lake Cushman). The car ran great all the way up there, and it was a fun and very scenic drive... although I must admit it was kinda rainy. But the car loved the curves on the road, and the rain did manage to wash most of the dirt off. I think it was only the second or third time that I had 4 people in my car. I have yet to actually fit 5 people in there, but I think it would be comfortable. Once we finally got up near the trail head, we found a rock that was nice enough to hold the camera for us to take a group picture.

Then we kept driving a little further until we got to the campsite... Right where the staircase rapids end, and Lake Cushman begin is a camp site, with a view of the edges of the Olympic Mountains. Here, you are just getting into the rain forest, and the real beauty on the peninsula starts to begins it's full strides.

This was the end of our journey this time, only because we spent so long getting there, we didn't actually have time to hike the trail at all... not that we would ever be able to reach the end of the trail in under a week... but still, it was neat to see the beginning of this great trail.

Here is a map of my weekend points of interest...
 Who is this you might ask? The newest member of the pack I guess you could say. When I got home on Saturday night, this little girl was at home waiting for me. Her name is Payal. She is really lovable, and pretty well potty trained for a 10 week old pug. Jaani is still jealous of her getting any attention, but the little guys is learning to get along with her. We were all tired today. I was tuckered out from all my walking around yesterday, so today we took a nap together.

So, in short, it was good to have a weekend off. when you've sold your soul to Microsoft, you really start to appreciate your time off as much as you can.

so... that's all a wrote.

Posted by Steven Farnell at 10/07/2007 09:32:00 PM
