Brent & Rosalee van Staalduinen: August 2007

The City Chase

...or summer adventures Part X (X 'cause I've lost count).

Dennis and I, with the team name "Stooopid Dooodles" (don't ask), entered the City Chase (www.mitsubishicitychase.com) which is defined as an "urban adventure race" or, in our own words, a chance to run and bus all over Ottawa doing crazy things just to say we did 'em! In short, it's an urban scavenger hunt, where teams are given clues about locations around the city where they must complete tasks--in under 6hrs--to win "chase points." When the team has ten chase points, they head back to the start/finish line... the first team in wins.

Dennis and I mostly did it for bonding purposes, but ended up finishing rather well. The race organizers, after hearing that the 2006 race was too easy, beefed up some of the challenges: as a result, the winning team came in at 3hrs 24mins, which was almost an hour slower than last year's winning time! During the race, Dennis and I kept running into people with more chase points than us, so as we ran towards the finish after 5hrs or so, we reckoned we'd be lucky to finish in the bottom third (of 250 or so teams entered).

You can imagine it was quite a surprise when we crossed the line and were told that we had finished 22nd place! Plus, the organizers had toughened it up so much that only 144 teams actually finished, so it was a double surprise, considering how slowly we thought we were going.

Rosalee, Jeanette, and the kids came out to support us, so thanks again for that, guys, even though the race took longer than expected and the kids had to go down for their naps right about the time we were finishing chase points 7-9.

This pic was taken at the finish line... I think we look pretty good, eh?

Dennis and I after receiving the news of our placing... surprised? Uh, yeah...!

Rosalee, Jeanette, Rachel, and Elliot were able to meet us just after we deciphered our clue sheet and decided to grab a bus from downtown Ottawa out to Westboro (bus pass provided for the event). Photo credits: Rosalee "Da Shuttahbug" van Staalduinen.

Good spirits as Dennis and I took off to complete our chase...

The purpose of CityChase is to have a ball, but also highlight some urban issues such as recycling and public transit... at one of the checkpoints, we had to complete a scavenger hunt where we had to trade an incandescent bulb for an energy-efficient one, find a bruise as big as a fist (on a squash, as it turned out), answer some questions... this was my favourite: trade shirts with a non-participant. The organizers encourage use of mobile phones, so I was glad I had my little Motorola Razr to capture our evidence of the swap.

Quick... and fantastic!

Wow, it seems as though we've only been in Canada for a few days, let alone almost six weeks! But you know what they say: "Time flies when you're having fun, visiting friends and family, recreating, resting, fishing, and enjoying a thorough dose of rocks and trees and oh-so-much greenery..."

...or something like that, anyhow. :-)

We've had such a great visit, so thanks to all our friends and family who have entertained and boarded us. We'll be in Tavistock until we fly out of Pearson on Thursday night, but will have our cell phones with us and switched on, should you need to contact us before we depart.

B&R

Romania (Finally!)

It's an amazing thing to go to a place where tourism hasn't quite taken hold. Most of the time we were in Romania, we felt as though we had the place to ourselves, which was quite a nice change from places like Egypt, where massive unemployment means assive hassles for anyone who chooses not to be carted around in group buses and organized tours. We loved it.

Our plan was simple: arrive a week before our professional training, rent a car, and see as much of Romanis as we could. It was great, and we'd recommend Romana as a destination.

This picture kind of sums up the balance/tension between old and new in Romania, and was taken in Cluj.

Enjoy the photos!

We were involved in a fender-bender when this guy failed to stop at a stop sign (see front bumper) in Suceava. In a country like Romania, which has a reputation for corrupt police officers and officials, we were a bit nervous calling the cops, as is required for all collisions. Thankfully, the two young men were very professional, and quickly realized that the older man was in the wrong, charging him and suspending his license. The couple asked for money after we drove around looking for a copy shop to have all the related materials copied for the rental agency and our records. Interesting.

Rosalee and I were very fortunate that our school sent us for MYP training in Bucharest (the reason we were in Romania). This is Michael, one of the partici[ants in Brent's English workshop, relaxing after a long day of seminars and activities (and a late bus back to the hotel!).

Scenes from Bucharest, including the second-largest building in the world (after the Pentagon), the Romanian Parliament House.

Brent, enjoying a rural meal of wildberry-sauced steak and mugging for the camera, while Rosalee devoured a pair of brook trout from local waters.

One of the many incredible monasteries strewn about the Romanian countryside. Photos inside weren't permitted, but the frescoes were, quite simply, breathtaking.

The interior of Bran Castle, where the legend of Dracula began. If you're interested in a fascinating (but rather grisly) tale, Google "Vlad the Impaler," who was one of the theorized inspirations for Dracula.

Some other country scenes, including a picture of the primary method of hay-drying used in Romania, as well as sunflowers, which are a popular export.

Various country scenes from Romania. It was very cool to see such a raditiona agrarian approach to farming: apart from a few mega-farms near Bucharest and Suceava, most of the farms were small, family-run operations. We also saw a stragely passive funnel-cloud from a distance.