Anni Adventures

Ever since I saw my friends back in Ontario participate in the Tough Mudder, I've had my heart set on doing the same. Two things have always stood in my way. Timing and Team. It was harder than I thought to convince people to throw themselves in the mud with me. I also had to be in town for the actual event.

I am so happy to say that I FINALLY get to check skydiving off my bucketlist! This was weeks in the making. For my birthday present almost a month ago, my darling brother bought me a weekday skydive at Skydive Vancouver!

We initially planned to fly the day after my birthday. However, the  weather wouldn't cooperate and ever since then we've had to keep pushing it off. We finally found the time this week to go and the weather was just fantastic!

We took all of our pictures before and after the jump because to the photo/video package would have been another $100+ which was definitely not in our budget.

We got suited up and given quick tutorials of what positions we needed to be in before the jump, and right after the jump out of the airplane. I was overly excited so they had to repeat because I didn't actually take it all in. Once suited, we were brought to another waiting area. There we waited for the airplane to come back after dropping off the last load of divers. While we waited, we got to see the previous group fly in and it was just amazing to see. One tandem in particular did a near vertical drop until the last 15-20 ft I'd say before coming in for a perfect landing.

My instructor, Jesse, was very awesome. We had a quick chat going up and I told him I was up for anything exciting! Once we were up in the air and got to the right altitude, we were the second tandem of six to jump. We did a back flip as we exited the aircraft and proceeded to free fall. Let me just say that that feeling is indescribable. The wind is full on in your face and you see everything below you coming closer and closer. Before I knew it Jesse deployed the parachute. This is when I really got to enjoy the scenery. On a nice day like today Mt. Baker looked extremely majestic in the distance. We did a few spins and drops that just reminded me a lot of paragliding! We touched down for the most perfect landing too! The whole thing, from the plane taking off to landing took us maybe 20 min. It's also the best 20 minutes I've ever had. I told Jesse he had an amazing job, because right after we landed, he and the other instructors ran off to take the next group of jumpers. Imagine skydiving over 5-6 times a day and getting paid to do so!

This experience is one that will be hard to forget and I'm glad I got to do it with someone I love. That made this experience all the better. It's also another thing I can cross off my bucketlist and share with those around me.

Never be afraid to follow your dreams!

We had yet another weekend of beautiful summer weather this past weekend. I was invited by a friend of mine to join her and a friend for a hike up dog mountain. For those who don't know where that is, the trail is just off of a run at Mount Seymour, about a 45 minute drive from home (Surrey). Its about a 5 km hike roundtrip, which is about a 2 hour hike.

We met up on the mountain and started our hike around 1:45 pm. The trail is not particularly hard altitude wise, as you're already fairly high up in the mountain. However, it is rather technical. There are lots of rocks and roots on the trail that makes stepping very difficult. There was also a LOT of mud too. Just before we reached the first lake, which acted like a checkpoint, my friend and I both managed to slip on the same rock and fell in mud. We managed to clean ourselves off somewhat at the lake and witness some fellow hikers playing on the half frozen over lake. One of them decided to run across the lake and, as if I really needed to explain what happens next, without warning he falls through the ice. Luckily for him the lake is very shallow and he is alright, albeit a bit wet.


We continued on our hike and finally reach Dog Mountain after hiking for an hour. The view was amazing. Although we didn't have a unobstructed 360 view, the weather was so nice and clear we could see the entire lower mainland and as far away as Mount Baker. The feeling of climbing to the top really was amazing. It wasn't as crowded as Quarry Rock a week ago, which was awesome. You could just sit and relax and soak it all in.



The descent was equally long as the ascent. You would think it would be faster but because of all the technicalities on the trail, it took just as long. We made it back to our car dry but muddy. So a word of advice if any of you ever decide to hike to Dog Mountain. DON'T wear your nicest, cleanest sneakers/runners/shoes. You will get them dirty and they WILL be hard to clean. I learned that the hard way.

What a weekend it has been. It really feels like it ended before it even began. So what did I do? On Friday night niu's friend held a birthday party for another friend who turned 19 the previous week. We went over to drink and play games. I had to run back and forth between the party and church because my dad wanted to practice basketball for a tournament the following day. We played different Asian drink games that were simple but fun.

Saturday morning was particularly hard for me as I am really not a morning person. I don't like to wake up so early on my day off. But the tournament started at 9 am so we had to get there by then. I was very nervous for the day because I hadn't really played in years. The last time I played in a game was back in Waterloo with my friends. Our team was called "The Legends" and with good reason too because the age range for my team was the highest. We probably averaged around 40 years old. My first game was hardest as my body became accustomed to the intense stress I was putting it under. It was also because I tried my hardest. We were up against my ex. It gave me that much more motivation to try my hardest and beat them. I managed to score twice playing four on four (3 guys and 1 girl). My second shot was a nifty spin-around that I didn't even know I was capable of doing. I can still remember the crowd ohhing at my move. The rest of the tournament was lots of fun. We only lost two of the seven games we played, although we never really played to win. Just to have fun. It was really intense though because the games would come down to within a point or so of each other. The best part was getting to play with my dad who is 62 this year! I'm so proud of him, playing against people over half his age.

After the tournament ended, we went out to eat as a celebration at New lakeview Restaurant. After dinner, we went over to another friend's place to play board games and hang out. We ended up watching Suits, which I am now hooked onto and played Takenoko.

On Sunday, I went to church as usual, early in the morning for my nursery duties. I swear the kids get cuter as they grow up but just as rebellious. There was one girl who just refuses to do as she's told. After nursery, Sol picked me up and we headed for the GAME! I received tickets from work to attend the Sunday Canucks game against the Wilds. The seats were the best I've ever sat in. We were in the ninth row right behind the opponent's goalie, which meant we saw the Canucks attack twice! The goals made by the Canucks were a direct line from where I was sitting. It was such an amazing experience. The only thing that really clouded the whole game was my phone had disappeared miraculously in between, while I was at my seat. But it was eventually found by security in a completely different place. I'm not complaining, but even now I still find it weird. We lost the game 4-2 due to horrible reffing and an empty netter.




That night, to celebrate Aaron's 22nd birthday, we went out to Red Robin to eat as a family. It isn't very often we do this anymore so it was nice to just spend some quality time with them. And just like that the weekend was over.

What did you do this weekend?

It has been over a month since I've returned from my trip to Japan and Korea. Things have been just so busy that I hadn't had time to share. The trip was a three week vacation that I embarked on solo. It being the first time that I was doing so, I was frightened and didn't know what to expect. Had I prepared enough? would the language barrier be an issue?  Is it safe for me to travel by myself? All these questions and more ran through my head. Especially because the highlight of my trip would be my desired Mt. Fuji climb. I really wanted to climb to the top of Mout Fuji and watch the sunrise. Crazy I know, but as they say in Japan, "He who climbs Mount Fuji once is a wise man, he who climbs it twice is a fool."

The official climbing season for Mount Fuji is July and August but because I wouldn't be around. I pushed my climb to the latest date possible, June 29/30th. I had brought along my winter jacket and headlamp pre-trip. Everything else I planned on buying at the fifth station. The few days leading up to the climb was nerve-wrecking. Weather forecast for Mount Fuji for the chosen day was considered poor for climbing, especially for a night climb. At such high altitudes, weather was a key factor to the climb. But because my accommodations had been set already, I had to go and figure things out from there. I caught a morning bus in Shinjuku that took me right up to the Yoshida 5th Station. 

I arrived around noon and went straight to the information center to get as much information as I could regarding the climb. The man there recommended against doing the climb. 
There were so many things that could go wrong, such as the weather, the key component. It wasn't looking good. He also said even if I made it to the top, the likelihood of seeing the sunrise was small because of weather conditions. He recommended that if I absolutely had to do it, to book a stay in one of the huts on the way up. But for staying just a couple of hours, it would cost 80,00 yen. 

In the end I decided I was going to try and if weather didn't cooperate, I could always turn around. As luck would have it, another lady came into the center asking about the climb as well. We ended up talking and it turns out that she and her boyfriend, who were both intending on doing the night climb, were also Canadians! What luck that the only Canadians I would meet on the trip would be when I needed it most. We decided to do the climb together as on a climb like this the more the merrier. 
After we bought a bunch of food and supplies for the climb we prepared to set off. We ended up running into a European who was also planning on doing the climb. He had a lot of experience under his belt and agreed to climb with us. It was a good thing he did because he ended up being a lifesaver. 
We set off around 6 pm, even though it would still be 10 hours before sunrise. The climb would only take about 5-7 hours. As we started our climb, we could see a mixture of clouds/fog. As we made our way up, we encountered many that were coming down. They shared their experience with us and gave their encouragements. as we made our way past the sixth station and towards the first of many huts along the trail, the sun started to set. We stopped at the first hut that would sell us hot water for our instant noodles. As luck would have it, it starts to rain as we waited, so we took shelter inside the hut. We ended up waiting out there until 9:30 pm when they were closing for the night. By then, the rain had subsided and we could see the night sky. With seven hours still to go, we made our way up, taking small breaks at each of the huts we came along. Once we were above the clouds, we got to see the most amazing of views. The sky was filled with stars as far as the eyes can see. Because we were so high up, there were no light pollution to ruin the view. You could see the milky way and the occasional shooting stars. We sat in awe just taking it all in. You rarely get to see such a spectacular view. As we moved up higher and higher, the wind picked up, but we managed to stay above the clouds and any possible rain. If it wasn't for the European with us who had brought extra jackets that were windproof, I doubt I would have made it. But not only did he lend me his jacket, he was a great motivator. As we reached the ninth station, we found a few huts that allowed us to take shelter as long as we purchased some merchandise/food from them. The Japanese at the huts didn't give us the best impression of Japanese people though, although the language barrier would be the huge factor. They were very strict on time spent in their space and wouldn't allow us to do things the would seemingly be OK here in Canada. The final hut we stayed at, just below the ninth station, we stayed til an hour before sunrise. Climbing up to the summit, we could see the daylight breaking through the darkness. 
We were the first people of the day to reach the summit, and we made it with moments to spare. The clouds were low and we caught our sunrise that simply took our breathes away.
The wind at the summit was so strong could literally blow you away. But other than that, we were very fortunate. We trekked around the crater which was still half covered with snow and ice. We wanted to get to the highest peak of the summit but because of the snow and the route we took, it made it difficult for us to reach.
We started our descent at around 7:30. It proved to be a lot more difficult and painful on the legs. Climbing down in the daytime felt endless compared to the climb up. Going up it was dark so we couldn't really see how much more we had to climb, but on the way down, you see an endless path that makes you think how you made it up. I went on and on wondering to myself when it would end or when I could finally see the 5th station. We finally made it after 3 hours. 
On our bus ride off the mountain to kawaguchiko, even though we were all hungry and sore out of our minds, everyone was so exhausted we all fell asleep. Once we got to the train station we had a quick lunch before we parted ways. The climb up and down and all the breaks in between took a total of 16 hours. It was the longest 16 hours I ever went through but one that I won't forget for a long time. 

A while ago, a friend and I bought a Groupon for Paragliding in Harrison Mills, BC. After some unforeseen circumstances, she had to back out and I ended up going with another friend. I had been looking forward to this for MONTHS, no joke. Unfortunately, because I have such a busy couple of months coming up, we were really restricted on when we could go. This is because the sport is very weather dependent.

We decided on Mother's day weekend and honestly at first we thought our luck wasn't that bad. We stopped by in Aldergrove first at my friend's friend's cafe for breakfast. I had one of the best egg's benedicts I've had in a while! Although it was raining in the morning by the time we reached our destination, the rain had completely stopped. We signed our waivers and browsed their pamphlets. However, it was still cloudy up in the mountains where we'd be launching from, so we were told to wait even more. While we did so, we drove to a nearby lake for a stroll. After a half hour delay, we packed up the gears and headed up into the mountains.

How we made it up to the launch area, I'll never know. The road was so steep and rough, and the truck wasn't the newest and best looking thing. While we waited for the clouds/fog to clear, we suited up.


There was another person with us and he was first to go. It took maybe ten minutes for them to find an opening in the clouds to launch, but as they did, he was pulled back by the unexpected wind force and fell over. He ended up landing on his tandem instructor who was a lot smaller than he was and twisted her knee. Unfortunately for them, that would be it for them. Next up was my friend. they managed to get ready only waited for a few minutes before the opportunity came for them to launch. They succeeded and within seconds of liftoff were out of view from where we were standing.

It was finally my turn to launch. I was pumped and ready to go. We got our sail ready for launch and stood in position. We waited.. and waited... and waited. I honestly thought I stood for ages. All it took was maybe a ten second window for us to be able to launch, but the weather just did not want to cooperate. After an hour had passed, and all of us up in the mountains cold out of our minds, my instructor told me that if we couldn't launch in the next five minutes we would have to call it in and reschedule. I was super disappointed. I prayed up there that the weather would be nice to me just this once. Just when we thought all was lost, we found an opening! Even though it wasn't the best, we went for it. We succeeded in our launch and was up in the air! The ride lasted maybe 10 - 15 minutes, although it felt a lot less than that. The view was stunning and breathtaking. Once we had launched and moved out of the clouds, the entire valley was in view and was gorgeous. At one point, my tandem instructor even let me take over the reins, teaching me to turn right and left. I was awestruck at being in the air. But it ended so soon. My instructor told me on a good day and the weather was cooperating, you could literally be in the air for 5 hrs!


I could really see myself coming back on a good day to try again, although it is slightly far and if not for the groupon, a bit overpriced. But it is an experience I would never trade for the world! :)

For those that are interested, I really recommend this company! They have been in this business for almost 20 years! Check them out at: http://www.flybc.org/

PS Why it was also bad luck too was the power went out in the area due to an accident, and we are still waiting on our flight videos :( which we have yet to see.