Hola, Sneakers! Welcome to Sneaky Dragon – the podcast that exists
This week: feed the torpor; fast company; what can brown do for you; searching for sugar, man; Dave’s lit; school books; enjoy the silence; comic relief; past tense; Cleese encounters; give the bird; across the border; pop sharp; Rogue opinions; moron choir; suite farewell; dinosaur spot; fox love; piggies; canyon folder; golden Arches; clam up; high steppin’; gone dead train; super trooper; pass away; the shape of water; cave in; milk shaken; alone on the range; pee coupling; the Zionic man; Western town; Question of the Week – Sneakers respond; Monkee man; rock star; think pink; and, finally, quitters ink.
Question of the Week: Have you ever been some place that is totally different than where you’re from?
Sub-question of the Week: Do you prefer a shower or a bath?
Thanks for listening.
A selection of holiday snaps:
Arches
Not falling rock in Arches
A couple of crazy kids in Wild Kicking Horse Canyon
Wild Kicking Horse Canyon
Climbing to the Goblin’s Lair
In the Goblin’s Lair
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I took some time and looked at Lezah’s Facebook photos from the trip, absolutely mesmerizing! Looks like a cross between a Road Runner cartoon and a John Carter book cover! Only BETTER! I’ve never been anywhere like that but I’ve known quite a few who’ve shared yours and Lezah’s experience by taking in the beauty of western America it’s a beauty to behold. I confess I’m not much of a traveller and I’ve only flown over Utah and Montana but I’d love to see some sights like you did someday.
I have been to Nassau in the Bahamas back in the late 90’s and it’s probably the most transitional trip I’ve ever been on, like nothing I’ve ever seen. We left on a cruise out of Miami and I’ve never been that far away on the water like that, nor had I ever been to an island like Nassau before. It was like being in a 007 film and there were cigars and fresh fruit everywhere. The Norwegian cruise line actually had a private island we travelled to and there were these guys just cutting all this fruit up I’ve never seen before with machetes for us to eat. There was plenty to do both on and off the boat but mostly we just relaxed with our large group. I was married to my first wife at the time and she worked for 7UP, so this trip was organized by her office as a large group trip.
If I had to pick a close second and equally as beautiful, it would be Colorado in the summer. I’ve never skied but Susan used to ski and wanted to take me to Colorado during the summer to see the mountains. We drove there, so we took our time and rose in elevation as we climbed higher with every mile, I really enjoyed it. Now I felt like I was in Middle Earth and in no hurry to destroy the ring…
I’ve been known to take a hot bath only when it gets extremely cold here but I feel the same way Dave does about sitting in a tub of dirty water. For that reason above all, I’ve been known to hop from the tub to the shower and rinse with fresh water. I sometimes feel itchy after a bath and my mind keeps telling me it’s just recycled dirt on me. Have you ever showered anywhere with soft water? Or at someone’s house who uses water softener? It’s like you can’t rinse off the soap and your skin feels slippery no matter how much you rinse. It’s maddening to me, give me fresh, hard water.
Sneakin’ Down South
It’s hard to read a book in a shower so I prefer a bath. Plus our house rules say you must assiduously squeegee the shower doors and tiled walls to prevent mold growth. That makes for a rather squeaky coda to your otherwise refreshing shower. By the way, I’ll take a hard pass on hard water. Vancouver’s water is soft and that’s the way we like it. They serve it at restaurants, so flavourless and odorless it is. If you ask a waiter for a glass of water, they might ask, “Is tap okay?” in hopes perhaps of selling you some pricey bottled water, but usually they’ll just bring you the free stuff. Where was the worst tap water you ever tasted? For me, it was probably Orlando. They draw their water from a sulfurous aquifer so the smell is reminiscent of taking a dip in a hot spring.
One area very unlike here is the far north. I once flew the arctic route from Vancouver to Europe which went over Baffin Island and Greenland and vast stretches of ice. It was sunny out so I could see blue sky above and nothing but frozen whiteness below. You don’t want to crash land there! Another alien environment I encountered was when I went snorkeling in a sponge bed off Key West. Unlike a colorful coral reef, the area had this monotone pallet comprised of a taupe-coloured sandy sea bottom dotted with bizarre bulbous beige blobs.