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Back to business...
There's nothing like going out of town for two weeks and coming back to lots of work to catch up on and, even better, blood work results from the doctor. No, don't worry, I'm not pregnant, but my alcohol consumption has been curtailed a little -- but only a little -- by the fact that I'm screwed on both sides genetically for high triglycerides. For those who don't know what that means, triglycerides are a form of fat stored in the body as well as free-floating in the blood stream, and higher levels have been shown to be linked to coronary artery disease, which I also have a family history for. The worst part? They're elevated by consumption of sugar, alcohol, and animal fats. Blah, especially since I eat already pretty healthily and exercise 3-4 times/week.
Never fear, however, I have a plan. I've cut out all sugared soda and most juice, and I'm working on being much better about desserts and sticking to the average of 1 glass of wine/night. Aside from this holiday week, fish and chicken have become our primary sources of protein. Yeah, Hubby, whose cholesterol and triglyceride levels were insultingly low in spite of him eating a worse diet, drinking more, and having a higher BMI than I do, is hoping for some secondhand weight loss.
So, going back to a time when we were blissfully unaware of my triglycerides, our Pacific Northwest trip continued from Victoria to Vancouver. That ferry wasn't quite as early, and it was even bigger than the one we'd taken from Port Angeles to Victoria. We drove on to the boat, parked the car, went up on deck, and found that several passengers had already taken their places on the sunny side of the boat (the other side was closed off for cleaning and painting), where many of had turned a lovely shade of pink by the end of the trip. No, sunscreen awareness and use did not seem to be big concerns among our neighbors to the north.
Hubby found that driving in Vancouver was not to his liking because the pedestrians there, even more than in the rest of the Pacific Northwest, showed a surprising amount of insolence, even to the point of darting out into oncoming traffic. So we parked the car at the hotel and left it there for two days. It was nice to walk around, and after some effort and having to pay $2 (Canadian) for a bus route map, we sort of figured out the public transit system.
I'm not going to go into all the details of what we ate where, so here are the highlights:
1. The Mill, a waterfront pub with beautiful views of the bay and the mountains across from it. Hubby was intrigued by the seaplane dock, although he was disappointed that he didn't get to see one take off. We just stopped in for drinks before going to dinner, but the menu looked like a step above ordinary pub food, and I wouldn't mind giving it another visit.
2. Floata Seafood Restaurant bills itself as "Canada's largest Chinese restaurant." We went for the Dim Sum because we had enjoyed it so much on our last trip. We arrived after the lunch rush, so the carts weren't going around anymore, and we ordered our Dim Sum on sushi-type lists. The timing could've been a little better, and they did forget one of our veggies, but overall, it was still a very good experience, and the food was excellent.
3. Yaletown: a neighborhood with a great collection of restaurants and bars. We hopped around a bit, starting at George for drinks and where we sat next to a lovely young woman who was in the process of being stood up. Then we went to the Hamilton Street Bar & Grill for some B.C. wines (not sure about web site, also lost my notes, sorry!).
I hope everyone had a great 4th weekend! That will be my next post, promise!
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