Photo credit: john bollwitt on Flickr

Last summer I was mentioned in a Metro Vancouver news article about being a local blogebrity. While the story was very flattering and had good intentions at one point the writer mentioned I took photos at Wreck beach. Of everything, this disturbed me the most as I know proper beach etiquette and would never do such a thing. This afternoon while at the very same beach John and I witnessed a bit of a scuffle regarding said etiquette.

6. Get nude! Respect nudity and the privacy of others and experience the joys of naturism! Gawking, staring, or making rude comments is not appreciated! If nudity offends you, please check out Vancouver’s many other beautiful beaches instead of mocking our naturist lifestyle. Ask prior permission to photograph. No unauthorized film-making! [Wreck Beach Etiquette]

A man had come down to the beach and was taking general photos of the beach, people and scenes with what was described as a “telephoto lens”. As he made his way down the beach some regulars took notice and decided to let him know that the community does not appreciate having their picture taken.

This escalated and about 6 males from the beach confronted the man, they asked that he please delete the photos he just took since a) he didn’t have permission b) the community frowns on such things and c) he could have been taking photos of children and that’s simply unacceptable. As the man refused, the accusations that he was doing something “creepy”, “dirty” and “sleazy” especially in regards to children started to fly. He defended himself saying he was just a photographer out on the beach for a day but the men from the beach refused to accept this and repeatedly asked him to delete the photos in front of them. At no point did it get any more violent than this but from the mumurs around us up on shore, apparently this wasn’t the first time a photographer has been given a hard time.

After about 20 minutes John and I got up to play frisbee, the police had been called and we don’t really know how the rest panned out.

There are pages of Wreck Beach photos on Flickr that I can find, and 98% of them are of sunsets, sand, tidal pools and the forest. The others are direct photos of other people, e.g. if John would have just taken my photo sitting at our blanket. I can definitely see how people would get on edge and how there must be rules to help a society like this survive. Thinking about yesterday’s situation, you’d think it would have been solved if the man would have just opened up his bag, taken out the camera and deleted the pics. But it doesn’t seem as simple as that.

In this new age of Facebook, talking to other bloggers, we’ve all noticed that traffic seems a little slower than it used to be. Well either I blame Facebook or the sun, because who wants to be inside on a day like today? I think it was Corinna who told me I just need to post my boobs and I’ll have instant traffic. Well, not that there’s anything wrong with that, I just don’t think it’s Miss604.com style…. except… there was this one time when I wrote about how a photo I took of Tod Maffin began to outrank my own bikini photo on my Flickr account. It had to do with the fact that it was from Northern Voice, and nothing against Tod at all, it just struck me as funny.

Well, on a nice sunny beach day like this, I’m going to do it - I’m going to post another bikini photo and this time… there’s another girl in the photo as well. Happy Weekend.

Photo credit: Keira on Flickr (Read Keira’s write up about our day)

Although this isn’t nearly as courageous as Corinna’s venture across the Cambie Bridge - that is awesome.

When I look back to a year ago I think of everything that has happened and how far John and I have come. Last year was monumental in terms of us getting married and spending the following twelve months on an incredibly tough roller coaster. 2006 was certainly a challenge, emotionally and physically but we’ve been able to grow so much from that experience - of course I say that now…

Thanks to an event last August, I have met some amazing people and had the pleasure of getting more acquainted with them over the last couple of months. One of which is Keira, whom I’ve been able to hang out with a bit more recently - I am very thankful to have a new female friend in town.

Photo Credit: John on Flickr

Tonight Keira, John and I decided to drop by Duane’s to hang out a bit since he’s been sick and we haven’t seen him for the last couple days. After some food we picked up ‘the boys’ and headed out to Spanish Banks, as ‘the boys’ need a good dog-friendly off-leash park to play in. I haven’t been over to that side of town in over a year as John and I usually walk to our favourite beach. Planning entire day trips across town and looking up bus routes takes a little more time to put together.

Sunset Keira & Casey

We had fun along at the beach, wading in the crashing waves of the incoming tide and throwing little sticks for Casey and Benji to chase after. Casey being the stick-master and Benji being the ‘guard dog on duty’ barking and confronting any other animal (usually 3 times his size) that would come near our little group.

Good food with friends followed by beach times and a sunset is a fantastic way to spend an evening, this is something I could really get used to.

Last night John traveled to the USA for the first time since 2005 to pick me up from the Bellingham Airport. With PR card in hand he had no troubles making the border crossing and met me inside the terminal with, “you’re right this is a small airport, Cedar Rapids, Iowa is even bigger than this.” I have to say it was a pleasure to end my journey in the Pacific Northwest. Aside from the evening at Matt’s I ran into nothing but rude people full of attitude who were always looking at you, and speaking to you as though you were out to get them. I guess this is why I don’t go to Vegas often.

Today we had our second official beach day of the year. I took it easy and applied 15 sunscreen, although I’m not showing much colour now for being out in the sun for 2 hours earlier in the day. I do however have one spot on my ankle that I must have missed when applying the lotion because it’s beet red.

Sitting at home now and chatting with Keira, about to enjoy some lovely Belgian beer (complete with sediment) John and I can finally sit back and relax for the first time this weekend.

We’re now moving out to the balcony (and bringing my laptop so I can publish this post). Someone a couple floors above just dumped some water (I hope it was water) off their balcony and just barely missed us sitting here… sheesh.

I really need to get to that sediment beer so I’ll polish off this post with a You Tube clip of a commercial I caught on TV shortly after my Muffin Top post last month.

It’s been a tradition for 87 years in Vancouver and this year, just maybe, I’ll be able to get John to go. I mean, we’ve been enjoying the beach all year, right? What’s a quick dip in English Bay… on January 1… after a night of drinking… I mean the Polar Bear Swim Club does it all the time.

Costumes and the Peter Pantages Memorial 100 yard swim race are the highlights of this event. To be a club member you must register before the swim. Registration takes place in front of the English Bay Bathhouse from 12:30pm - 2:30pm each New Year’s Day.

You may also register by clipping out the coupon in the Province Newspaper and presenting it at the registration desk the day of the swim. Your free membership includes a commemorative button after you take the plunge [PolarBearSwim]

Basically you show up, get in the water, then get the hell out. It’ll wake you, shrivel you, and will probably be a kickass time with thousands of other people in the city.