Like walking in the rain, writing can require overcoming intertia

Thoreau by the fire: why would I want to leave?

I stare out the window as the autumn rain pours down, washing yesterday's slate clean.

I am thankful for the needed rain.

However, the deluge is enough to discourage all but the most dedicated walker.

I love the rain; its sound always seems to comfort me. 

Further comfort arises from the crackling fireplace. I am in a cozy cocoon, from which I do not want to stir. 

Nevertheless, as I sit reading, like a larva whose time has come to metamorphose into a butterfly, I struggle against the boundaries of my unseen prison, unconsciously at first, then more attentively

I am reading Thoreau's "The Maine Woods," and more than once he tells of trekking in the rain. Finally I put the book down, my mind made up.

Why leave this...

...for this?

Rain or no rain, I will walk.

Motivating myself to walk in the rain is much like motivating myself to write. There is an inertia that chains me to my comfortable chair, preventing me from acting on my conscious thoughts. Yet, in either case, once I shed those chains, there is little that brings me greater pleasure.

As I pull out my rain pancho, I think this trek through the torrents will transcend a stroll in the sunshine. There will be fewer people in the park where I walk, so I may see more wildlife.

I am not disappointed. As the rain slackens, the wildlife stirs from its mid-day meditations. It seems I have the entire park to myself. I am Adam, alone in the world with no one but the animals for company. I spy a pair of deer, then a pair of ducks. Two geese wing their way overhead. I hear, then see, a downy woodpecker going about his business on a tree trunk.

Nature's magic is not limited to chance wildlife encounters. Each time I inhale, my senses revel in the fresh, clean scent of rain-covered forest.

Pecking away, despite the rain.

Half an hour into my jaunt, the rain ceases and I find myself missing the very element that kept me chair-bound earlier. The sun wakens from his mid-day slumber. 

As he wipes the vanishing clouds of sleep from his face, I awake also, to the fact others are walking the park's pathways. 

With that realization, twinges of regret begin to coalesce inside my rain-hungry soul. After hiding inside from it for much of the day, I now want the rain to return, and with it the solitude and serenity of a wet, wild world.

 

But I realize that for today, the winds of Aeolus have banished the rainclouds of Zeus from the skies.

I do not dwell on this realization for too long, for I know the rains will return. And that happy knowledge stays with me, adding a spring to my step as I wend my way home, ready to shatter those other chains, ready to sit down and write.

As I conquered the rain that kept me inside, so have I conquered the inertia that kept me from writing.

Rainy days shouldn't stop you from having fun

Rainy days are a fact of life on the Wet Coast, so it surprised me one morning last week when I read how U.S. day visits to B.C. are down this year, and our rainy, cool summer is being fingered as one of the reasons, especially when we're talking about people who live in this same region, with essentially the same climate.

Personally, I prefer cooler weather for my outdoor activities; it's nicer to hike or paddle in 20 degrees C than say, 28 or 30 C. And there are lots of things for visitors to do in Vancouver and area even when it's raining.

I think the weaker U.S. dollar has more to do with it than anything; it takes more American greenbacks to buy the same products and services than it did a year ago.

That being said, I thought, "What kinds of activities and are available for day-trip visitors to the Lower Mainland who want to stay out of the rain? Or for those who don't mind a bit of a sprinkle?" Bear in mind, I'm an outdoor type who is usually unfazed by any kind of weather, so to me, unless it's a monsoon, I don't usually let it stop me. But I'll try to restrict this "top five" list to stuff you can do inside - or outside with very little exposure to the elements. At a later date, I'll probably write a list of cool "outdoor" stuff to do - and there's plenty of that in B.C.

So it's raining; life still goes on ...

I won't include details about obvious things like shopping, theatres or movies; this is a list of other activities, some fairly typical, others not so much.

And armed with this list - there should be no reason not to come visit here. No excuses - at least not the rain, please...

1. Visit Bloedel Conservatory. This is probably as close as you'll come to experiencing the outdoors - while staying dry and warm indoors. Set atop Queen Elizabeth Park in central Vancouver, this geodesic dome is home to hundreds of tropical and sub-tropical plants, as well as dozens of free-flying birds. One of the main draws is its small collection of parrots - macaws, a cockatoo, some Amazons and an African grey. They are not free flighted, but very easy to see and photograph. It's a great way to spend a few rainy hours. Just minutes away by foot from the conservatory is Seasons Restaurant, where you can eat lunch or supper, before or after, your excursion. And if it stops raining, check out the surrounding gardens in the park - and the view of the north shore mountains; you can see across to North and West Vancouver from just outside the dome, if it's not raining or cloudy.


A green-winged macaw,
one of the many colourful birds you'll see at Bloedel.

 2. Visit a day spa. There are numerous wonderful day spas in and around Vancouver. Raintree Spa is just 10 minutes south of the Vancouver International Airport, down Highway 99 and into the village of Steveston. There are several Eccotique Day Spas located around the city, including two in Metrotown Mall and one in the Richmond Centre, allowing you to do some shopping before relaxing at the spa.

If you don't mind going a bit further afield,
head north of the city toward Whistler, and you can enjoy another type of spa experience: the kind you'd find in Europe at Spa Scandinave. Alternate immersions in cold pools and hot pools/steam rooms/dry saunas, throw in a Swedish or Thai yoga massage, grab a bite to eat in their dining area and you're guaranteed a good night's sleep that night.


Of course, those above-mentioned spas all offer full spa services including different types of massage (many have RMT's on their staff), waxing, pedicures, manicures and other esthetic services. But if you want a really different, once-in-a-lifetime experience at a spa in Vancouver, the place to go is the Miraj Hamma Spa on Sixth Avenue and Granville Street. There you get a full Moroccan-style day of pampering that includes a steam bath, exfoliation massage, and full body deep tissue massage all topped off with Moroccan tea and cake in private salon afterward.

Spa Scandinave: winter or summer, a great experience



3. Do a Canada Line Rail Tour. This does involve getting off and stopping, and yes, you will be outdoors at some point, so bring an umbrella. This is not a packaged program; it's simply a way of getting to know different parts of the city. Start at the SW Marine Drive station at the foot of Cambie Street. Then head north. You can be right downtown at Waterfront Station in less than 20 minutes. But that's not the point; there are plenty of interesting places to get off along the way and explore the neighborhood. You can get off at Cambie and 41st to shop in the Oakridge Centre. Further along, there's a stop at King Edward Street. Granted, if you get off here, you will need an umbrella if it's raining. But there are some really cool stores, shops and restaurants between King Edward and the next stop, Broadway-City Hall. While the King Edward stop would involve a north-south exploration of Cambie Street, the City Hall stop gives you the opportunity to go north-south along Cambie, or east-west along Broadway. Vancouver City Centre is pretty self-explanatory as is the Waterfront Station (which gives you the option of taking a water ferry across to North Vancouver - there are plenty of cool places to explore within a 15-minute walk of the ferry terminal.)

4. Visit Granville Island Public Market. Located on Granville Island, this will allow you to stay dry if you decide walking in the rain with an umbrella is not your cup of tea. There are plenty of food vendors, food kiosks where you can buy lunch, coffee shops, vendors selling crafts and other non-food items. Of course, if you do venture outside, there are lots of other attractions, including Granville Island Brewery, which gives tours (and samples!) daily.

5. Visit a museum. Any museum. There are plenty to choose from in Vancouver. One of the more unique ones is the Vancouver Maritime Museum, which features an ongoing, ever-changing line-up of exhibits, permanent collections, a heritage harbour (featuring a Viking ship) and some interactive events and activities. Other interesting museums include the Vancouver Police Museum, the Museum of Anthropology, and the Beaty Biodiversity Museum. These are just a few examples of some of the museums you can visit in Vancouver, I've barely scratched the surface. Tourism Vancouver can supply you with additional ideas.

So really, the rain is no excuse. You can do these things during a day trip to Vancouver and the surrounding area, rain or shine, but for the most part, you can do them on a rainy day, and stay reasonably dry.

Like Mark Twain said, "Everyone talks about the weather, but no one ever does anything about it."

 Well, this is one way of doing something about it: go out and have fun no matter what the weather.