Silver Star, B.C., Canada
Silver Star is living up to its reputation of a snowy, snowy wonderland. We woke up to a couple of inches of fresh snow and walked from our condo to the ski trail for a nice skate ski.
Here is our home until the 19th when we drive back to Canmore for the World Cup races (looking up at it from the ski trail). We have the second floor and the basement. Like almost every house in Silver Star it's painted a bright and unnatural color and has a hot tub on the back porch.
Arduser noticed when we were grocery shopping yesterday that people here are much healthier/fitter than in the states. Yep, Arduser is a fountain of wisdom and insight, it's good to have her around to Notice Things. It is remarkable to travel in a different country and notice that there is actually a distinct difference in average body sizes. I acknowledge, of course, that Vernon is probably a pretty active city even for Canada but still it's eye opening to see that the rest of the world manages to stay healthy when America is failing.
The Norwegian WC team is also getting in an altitude training camp here before the Canmore races. I haven't seen them yet but rumor has it that there's 12 guys and 2 girls here. Anders was pretty bummed out about that but I say... nice!
Here is our home until the 19th when we drive back to Canmore for the World Cup races (looking up at it from the ski trail). We have the second floor and the basement. Like almost every house in Silver Star it's painted a bright and unnatural color and has a hot tub on the back porch.
Arduser noticed when we were grocery shopping yesterday that people here are much healthier/fitter than in the states. Yep, Arduser is a fountain of wisdom and insight, it's good to have her around to Notice Things. It is remarkable to travel in a different country and notice that there is actually a distinct difference in average body sizes. I acknowledge, of course, that Vernon is probably a pretty active city even for Canada but still it's eye opening to see that the rest of the world manages to stay healthy when America is failing.
The Norwegian WC team is also getting in an altitude training camp here before the Canmore races. I haven't seen them yet but rumor has it that there's 12 guys and 2 girls here. Anders was pretty bummed out about that but I say... nice!
posted by LAV at 14:18
2 Comments:
Having grown up in Vernon, I don't know that I'd say it's more active than any other city in Canada I've lived in... But I do notice when I go south to the states the size difference. There's people of all shapes in Canada... But there's certainly more of the round shape visible in the US.
From my unscientific observations, I'd say Canadians get bigger as you move toward central Canada and thin out again as you hit the coasts. I don't have anything to base that on other than personal experiences though.
The States however... there's a big shift from West to East. Living in Silicon Valley I didn't see as many big people as I did living in the DC area. And in DC you'd drive from one end of the shopping mall to the other rather than walk. It was kinda depressing.
I'll admit, I became guilty of the gluttony and laziness when I was in DC, gaining 15lbs in 10 weeks on Chipotle wraps alone.
The infrastructure in the Maryland area was totally geared toward drivers. There were no incentives to walking or riding bicycles. I lived less than a mile from work and could not walk because the highways in between home and work were not pedestrian-friendly.
In Ottawa and Montreal where the winter temperatures drop to -50 deg C (-58F) with wind chill (not this year thank goodness) the residents still walk and try to maintain some level of activity year-round. It's just a different mindset.
It's what make each of us unique.
It's good to see you're one of the ones out there staying active!
As an aside... I hope you're skiing Sovereign Lake opposed to the SS cross-country trails. I always liked Sovereign Lake much better...
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