Happy Halloween! And One Hundred!

For my Hundreth and Halloween post, enjoy some pictures of the creepiest
and coolest, most Halloween-y place I've ever been. 

And then a gift at the end .

Happy Halloween!

30B430 #20: Where I Stand

So number 20 on my Dirty Thirty list is to read at least 80% of the BBC Best Loved Books list. I recently found the list and discovered that I have 46 of the books read. That means I have 34 more books to read to hit my 80% (which I might increase depending on how it all goes). There are some that I KNOW I will not read but there are some that I already own and am really excited to get into. Wish me luck!

1.       The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien

2.       His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman

3.       The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams

4.       Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling

5.       To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

6.       Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell

7.       The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis

8.       Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë

9.       Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë

10.    Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier

11.    The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger

12.    The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame

13.    Great Expectations, Charles Dickens

14.    Little Women, Louisa May Alcott

15.    Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling

16.    Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling

17.    Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling

18.    The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien

19.    Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy

20.    Middlemarch, George Eliot

21.    The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck

22.    Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll

23.    Matilda, Roald Dahl

24.    Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding

25.    Lord Of The Flies, William Golding

26.    The BFG, Roald Dahl

27.    Black Beauty, Anna Sewell

28.    Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky

29.    A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens

30.    The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett

31.    Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl

32.    On The Road, Jack Kerouac

33.    The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel

34.    Holes, Louis Sachar

35.    The Twits, Roald Dahl

36.    Brave New World, Aldous Huxley

37.    The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho

38.    Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck

39.    The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins

40.    Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery

41.    Watership Down, Richard Adams

42.    The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald

43.    Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh

44.    Animal Farm, George Orwell

45.    A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens

46.    The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot

47.    Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy

48.    Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian

49.    Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

50.    The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher

51.    The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett

52.    Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne

53.    The Stand, Stephen King

54.    Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy

55.    A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth

56.    Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome

57.    Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer

58.    Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman

59.    Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden

60.    The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough

61.    Mort, Terry Pratchett

62.    The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton

63.    The Magus, John Fowles

64.    Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

65.    Catch-22, Joseph Heller

66.    Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett

67.    Perfume, Patrick Süskind

68.    The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell

69.    Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres

70.    War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy

71.    Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell

72.    Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks

73.    Night Watch, Terry Pratchett

74.    A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving

75.    The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson

76.    One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez

77.    David Copperfield, Charles Dickens

78.    The Secret History, Donna Tartt

79.    Ulysses, James Joyce

80.    Bleak House, Charles Dickens

81.    Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson

82.    I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith

83.    Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake

84.    The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy

85.    Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson

86.    Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons

87.    Magician, Raymond E Feist

88.    The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett

89.    Katherine, Anya Seton

90.    The Godfather, Mario Puzo

91.    The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas

92.    Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer

93.    Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez

94.    Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson

95.    Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson

96.    A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute

97.    Persuasion, Jane Austen

98.    Dune, Frank Herbert

99.    Emma, Jane Austen

100.Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie

Day-Tripping and Trip-Endings...

One of the day trips out of Vancouver I had researched was to Bower Island, a small isle off the coast near Horseshoe Bay. We weren't sure how the fog was going to act but we couldn't stay inside or too local just because of a bit of fog so it was off to the ferry terminal at Horseshoe Bay. The drive across the Lion's Gate Bridge was terribly foggy but a few minutes after hitting North Vancouver, we were blessed with bright sun and blue skies. We were a bit on the late side so while I dealt with parking, Cindi hurried in and picked up tickets for our ferry ride across. We literally rode through a huge patch of fog but luckily on both sides, it was sunny and bright. Bowen Island was decently well-signed and we decided to do a bit of hiking first (well, as well as you can hike in combat boots with a big purse that's holding everything you need for the day....)

We walked through the Maple and Alder paths to the fish hatchery and Briar Falls, and then over to Killarney Lake. The views were simply stunning- there was hardly anyone else around and the large maples left a carpet of large, colorful leaves on the ground. The lake was large and placid and especially in the sun it was so warm. It was lucky that the natural part of Bowen Island was so gorgeous because of the rest of the town was a bit of a disappointment. Nearly everything was closed, including the little Artisan Village and the museum, and the only thing that was open was the coffee and tea store and the beer and wine store. Well really, though, what else do you need? Cindi and I ended up getting some coffee from a little local joint and sitting in the sun playing cards for about an hour while waiting to catch the ferry back to the mainland.

Next we headed to one of my favorite places in Vancouver: Cleveland Dam. The last time Kirbi and I were here, ti was really cloudy and foggy but on the plus side, the water pressure going through the dam was so high. It was so loud listening to the waterfall of water. This time, the lack of water was compensated for by the stunning views. The water dammed up by the dam is Vancouver drinking water and because NOTHING gets into the water, the water is so absolutely still that it's like a mirror. Absolutely gorgeous and if we had the time, I could have laid out on the grass with a book and never left.

Cleveland Dam Supernatural Style ep 2x5 (another favorite)

But we had to move onto Lynn Canyon Ecology Park where there was a free suspension bridge that took you over a beautiful waterfall. Free is nice, especially when Capilano Suspension bridge is a good $30. When Kirbi and I were here last, she was NOT a fan of the suspension bridge so I didn't go too far but this time Cindi and wandered down to the river, past a staircase of natural roots, several large rock outcroppings, the 30-Foot deep pool that reminded me of Deathwater Island in "Dawn Treader" and a hidden waterfall. Lynn Canyon was also pretty empty and it was nice to just wander and enjoy the beauty of nature without loud chattering people. I would have loved to have my running shoes to go on a run through Lynn Canyon, even with the uneven ground. At this point, I think I could be very happy living in Vancouver or the surrounding area...

That night we hit the almost jackpot. We were in the room watching another Supernatural episode when I found out where Supernatural was filming over Twitter. We threw on some warm clothes and sped-walked through some SUUUUUUPER shady part of town to find the set. When I say super shady, I mean it. There were police cars on nearly every street, lots of dirty bars, and at one point, I saw a guy shooting up meth. Holy bananas, people. But we lucked out! We found it! We were half a block away from Jared Padalecki and Curtis Armstrong, who plays Metatron. It was unreal! The sad part was that Jared went out the other end of the alley so we missed meeting him but Metatron was driven out our direction and he waved at us. He might be a pretty terrible person on the show but he will forever have a special place in my heart. I can't wait to see the first half finale and spot the scene we were half a block away for!

while running around downtown we passed the Hotel Patricia- featured in 4x12

Our last day was going to be a relaxed wander around downtown Vancouver, playing things by ear. Cindi really wanted to see the cathedral so we went down to Holy Rosary and she wandered around taking pictures for a while. It was a lot plainer than we thought it would be but still gorgeous, especially with the sunlight coming through the window. Then we went to what would be a version of heaven for me. MacLeod's books had limited shelf space but what seemed like unlimited books. They were literally everywhere. So amazing. I picked up a Madeleine L'Engle book and a Jostein Gaarder book I hadn't read yet. I would have stayed there all day if I could have.

from ep 8x8- Holy Rosary is on the left side

McLeods was featured in an early ep of SPN (you can tell by Sam's hair)

the antique store was featured in ep 8x12

We meandered over to Canada Place again and sat in the warm sun reading for a bit before hunting down a place for lunch. We wound up at a restaurant near the water and the food was so good. My chicken club sandwich was to die for. Man, I ate well on this trip, thanks to Cindi and to the local restaurants! We had a great view of the water and there were some lovely Irishmen sitting nearby. We thought to go across to Sunset Beach to read but halfway there, we realized that side of Vancouver was covered in fog. Cindi headed home but I decided to go sit and read and it was lucky that I did because I ended up spotting Jewel Statie who, along with starring in "Firefly" and "The Killing" was also in a show called "Flash Forward" I used to watch in middle school on the Disney Channel and, most importantly, as Amy Pond in an episode of Supernatural. I kind of ran up a hill to catch up with her and the friend she was with but she was so nice and gracious and he took a picture of us and she is just lovely. Vancouver is a cool place, it really is.

After getting back to the room, it was still a bit light and I was still energized so while Cindi finished up her work, I headed out for a long run around the seawall. I also run better when I'm in another city or another country because it gets me to see the city in a slightly different way. We ran past the filming of the TV show "Rogue", which I know nothing about, but it was cool nonetheless, and the fog against the dying light around the seawall was just beautiful. And then it was getting things ready for the drive home, packing up, organizing, watching one last Supernatural episode before getting some sleep for the LONG drive home.

But before we left the country, we had two more stops to make. First of the convent where "Playthings" (maybe one of my favorite episodes) was filmed and then the original Winchester house. It lifted our spirits before the VERY long nearly 11 hours drive home.

our shot of the Playthings house

from episode 2x11 (a FAVORITE)

our shot of the Winchester house

taken from ep 2x20 (a favorite!)

This was such a fantastic trip! I'm already ready to go back!