Vancouver, B.C.

Last year when we were planning our wedding and honeymoon, I thought it would be great to go to Vancouver, B.C. because I had heard that it was so beautiful there with fun outdoor activities. The cost, however, seemed higher than our budget would allow so instead we chose the east coast of Canada and went to Nova Scotia. That's when this blog began! God, in His wisdom and generosity, knew that we would get the chance to go to Vancouver to celebrate our first anniversary instead and so this year we once again found ourselves in Canada at the end of June only this time it was on the opposite coast.

We flew up to Vancouver via the graciousness of Eric's parents. His dad had a business meeting up there and then rented a vacation home for a few days. Check out his companies website here. Eric's mom and older brother, Dan, also joined us for the stay. Our activities included roller blading around a beautiful park overlooking the ocean, kayaking up a fjiord, taking a ferry ride, walking through beautiful woods and hiking to the top of a mountain in the snow while wearing t-shirts and shorts. As you can see from the pictures below, Vancouver is one of the most beautiful places in the world, especially if you like to be outside. Our weather was perfect and every day was full of adventure. It was a great way to mark one year of marriage and it was cool how the activities we did reminded us of the same things we did on our honeymoon, including celebrating Canada Day! (To refresh yourself on our honeymoon, refer to the beginning of this blog).

We are very grateful to Eric's parents for giving us such a great vacation!

Celebrating our anniversary with fine seafood.

At a place called "Skookumchuck" which means "strong water".

Kayaking around the fjords. Double kayaks are called "divorce boats".

Ladies and Gentleman, I present the Dragon Fruit!

Canadians don't have Homeland security. They just have this scary bird that can see into your soul.

The family looking tough in our kayak skirts.

My older brother Dan gave a beautiful toast and prayer to our marriage.

The moment Dan was done my dad changed the subject to urinals which gave all of us a little chuckle.

We were on a budget in Vancouver because things there were quite expensize. The Canadians taught us that when you pay half as much you get half as much.

This was the view rewarded to us after a hike through the snow and swarms of bugs. (That's why I have my hood on.)

Technologic

If you have a device which you want to have on the internet but it is a huge hassle to plug into your router because it is in a different room, then this article is for you!

Technologic is the name of a very cool song. Look it up on YouTube. I call this blog Technologic because more and more do I seem to be the technology geek in GAP. I guess my father's blood runs in my veins because I am fascinated with solving computer problems. God bless my wife for putting up with me while I am hacking away at computer problems.

So I am writing this post because open source software (Unix) has broken into my life once again in a wonderful way. Open source software is programming that utalitarian super nerds somewhere out there in cyberspace decide to create and give away for FREE! Some examples of open source software are: OpenOffice, Firefox, and Thunderbird. Unix is code that everyone is required to share freely. Is there really anywhere else in the world that people just create things and give them away for free? Thanks to this open source unix firmware I have figured out how to do something so cool with a wireless Linksys router that I am compelled to share.

I installed DD-WRT firmware on a WRT54G.

http://www.dd-wrt.com/

This firmware allowed me to use my router (instead of my laptop) to connect to local wireless internet signal being broadcast at my apartment complex. Once I connected my DD-WRT router to the local broadcast it redistributed the internet signal through the hardwire ports in the back and wirelessly! This is useful if you have wireless internet upstairs and a desktop or X-Box downstairs which does not have wireless capabilities. This is also useful if you live in an apartment where free internet is being broadcast and you want to have it in your apartment.

Let me tell you how it works. DD-WRT firmware is unix based software which gives ordinary routers extra special features. First visit this website and see if you have a router which in on the list of approved devices.

Then go to the “Tutorials” section of the website and follow the instructions. There is a lot you can do with this firmware! Read up on it and see if there is any extra functionality you wish your router could do. Happy routing!

Note: If you install open source firmware on your router the manufacturer will not cover it with support or warrenties.

Grand Canyon

Bethany and I got to visit one of the seven natural wonders of the world for the first time, the Grand Canyon. Upon arriving at our lovely bed and breakfast, with serious emphasis on the breakfast. Our host, Casey, cooked a mad awesome breakfast which included strawberry crepes! But seriously folks, if all you have to do is provide a bed and a breakfast, why not do both well? Casey did both well. We stayed in Williams, AZ which also happened to have some cool Cowboys.

The first night Casey told us how to get to the canyon and what time the sun would be setting. We headed out for our first look at the massive crack in the earth. There were clouds that evening so sunset wasn't that spectacular over the west view of the canyon but our first sights of the natural wonder took our breaths away. It is simply stunning to see! The next day we took lots of pictures along the south rim and then ventured down for about 1.5 miles before we turned around, passing mules and many hardcore hikers. That barely gave us a taste of what it's like to hike the whole thing. We definitely want to go back and maybe try to make the 2 day hike to the hidden Havasu Falls. There is no road that leads to the falls and it is on an Indian reservation. Anyone up for a trip to one of the most photographed water falls in the US?

There is an amazing tourist town set up on the edge of the Grand Canyon with people visiting from all over the world. We ate at a restaurant (the food wasn't special, really it wasn't. I had turkey and cheese on wonder bread for more money than your average all-you-can-eat buffet) but we had a very respectful Chinese waiter who would bow every time he came by our table. I opened the door for an elderly couple and they responded, “Merci” sadly my French failed me and I simply smiled and bowed like my Chinese waiter had taught me. As we walked around the park we noticed that dozens of nationalities seemed to be represented. We saw Germans, Chinese, French, Hindus, Mexicans, and heard plenty of languages being spoken I simply did not recognize.

Bethany and I watched a 30 minute IMAX presentation of the Grand Canyon which was wonderful and awe inspiring. Multilingual translations were provided via headphones to those in need. The movie ended with a quote similar to this, “The transcendent beauty of the canyon causes humans to inwardly rise towards the infinite divine and reach for each other in bonds of peace.” This quote makes everyone feel included except atheists. Pictures really do not do the canyon justice (play the video clip and you will hear my wife's testimony). Even after visiting the canyon for two days and watching a movie about it we still felt we had just scratched the surface of this awesome canyon. It did make our thoughts travel upwards to the creative power of our heavenly Father.