People, Places, and Sky Watching

Living in Orlando, rarely would I have paid attention to this sort of news, however, witnessing it in person, it is hard not to keep your eye on the sky as the city is blanketed in smoke. The wind has been mostly nonexistent, so the smoke lingers, with no end in sight. The good news is there is no odor of smoke, just a haze that turns the sun completely red at sunset, as well as the moon, which does not show as such in this photo, so you will have to trust me on this.

The haze you see at the horizon line is trapped smoke. The moon should have shown as nearly the same shade as some of the lighted windows. Shows you my photographic limitations!

Bruce took all of yesterday off and we went on an excursion to Granville Island after spending a long time on the phone with Matthew. They were preparing dinner in London, whereas we were just finishing breakfast. The time difference with all our loved ones will take some getting used to! In the afternoon, after chatting with Matt about the Apple TV box we discovered in the condo, we watched movies, including Woman in Gold, finding it excellent. Have you seen it?

Facing the television, this kept grabbing my attention. Note the open windows as it is fairly warm here, at least by their standards.

We have been delighted being able to open windows; most high rises in Orlando have stationary windows, which I would find unlivable, actually. The sun reflects like crazy over the water, creating a shimmering show, in this case, reddish orange.

Within the hour, the sun looked like this before dropping out of sight into the smoky horizon.

Pinkish-red, like nothing I've ever seen before!

Saturday afternoon, and I never thought you would catch me saying this, I was in heaven when we drove over to Richmond to shop here.

Wide aisles, big selection, ample parking all added up to fantastic! We now have mayonnaise, ketchup, Oreos, and more. Driving back into downtown over the Granville Street bridge, you cannot miss the haze, nor for that matter, the electric lines that the city buses run on.

Our building is behind the second banner on the right. Those banners are advertising the "Celebration of Light" which I mentioned in a prior post.

Following our shopping trip, Zarita, Bruce's coworker, and her husband Greg, picked us up to go to dinner across the bridge at a Japanese steakhouse. They are both SO nice.

One of those places where they do this sort of stuff:

Our plan was to go with them to watch the fireworks, however, my stomach let me down in a big way, so back to the balcony for us where I watched the boats heading towards English Bay as the time drew near. Earlier in the day I learned there would also be a live broadcast on television, so I went between watching the two. The fireworks were so huge, and spectacular, I could see some of them from my outside perch. Note the people lined up on the bridge having a very clear view of the excitement.

The results of the competition come on Wednesday, and frankly, how they choose a winner is beyond me!

Friday night, to celebrate Bruce's first week in the office, we walked over a few streets to have dinner at the Earls,

where we had a wonderful time, made even better because we could walk home.

I suffer a little twinge when I walk past the MINI dealership located a few streets from here. :(

Earlier in the week, I found my Dad in the city...

Thomas Lee, but close enough. Weird that I saw the Anita flour and now this.

Walking on Granville Street towards the city center is an interesting experience with all manner of places including this at one end...

A pub called Morrissey which I could not resist photographing...

This is not the first A & W restaurant I've seen, although I've yet to try it.

The further you go, heading towards Coal Creek, there are more high rises along with hotels and theaters. When I was a girl we loved seeing Edgar Allen Poe movies at the Vogue Theater in Orlando. Any of you remember the place?

Back over in Yaletown, I saw this..

and, because I am walking most places, you can't help but notice this nice touch.

Friday afternoon I took a walk westward along the seawall, seeing what I could see.

This is the actual size of the path. I wonder if the guy on the wheelchair scooter wondered which lane to be in? Around the bend, under the bridge, you come to Sunset Beach. I imagine when the sky is clear this to be a lovely spot, and so close to us. Not that I will be swimming in the Pacific or anything but still nice to see.

The fireworks display was set off in the open water of English Bay shown in the distance. There are so many apartment buildings, and more being built every day. Sharing the same street as our building, I am wondering if they will be leaving the old gas station that once occupied the space, or tearing it down for yet another new building?

I can see no reason for me to ever be bored because there are fantastic people watching opportunities, whether I'm on the street,

or on the balcony.

I cannot say enough how wonderful it is to have the park on one side and the water in front of us!

Holy Cow!

yours truly,

Gail