Two Golden Months

While waiting for the elevator on our floor, a neighbor asked how was I enjoying the weather?Enthusiastically I replied, it is perfect--not too hot, nor too cold. His reply was a good one. Ah...these are our "two golden months" before the gloom sets back in. Sadly, we will only be experiencing a few weeks of those golden months as this time next week we will begin our journey home. Wow! It's almost over? Yes, Gail, it is.

In that spirit, I'm taking advantage of the weather, going hither and yon. I will so miss this view that at this time of the year is entertaining with constant boat traffic, the sun sparkling on the water, cyclists and walkers on the seawall, and the list goes on. Curiously, about the middle of the afternoon several times last week, the water color became different in the middle. Any ideas why that is so?

As you probably were expecting, I made another trip to Stanley Park for some trail walking, this time on the Tatlow trail. The map indicated there were some really big trees on that trail. Well, I did see some big trees, but on this occasion what really interested me were not so much the upright trees as those that were downed. The exposed roots in particular.

But half of the root system, as my camera lens doesn't open any wider, these were hardened, while a nearby bunch, and I do mean a bunch, looked as if the tree had toppled just yesterday.

I am certainly no expert but I'm thinking that the green stuff growing on the trees are lichen? According to the Wikipedia article linked to, it is estimated that 6% of the world's surface is covered by lichen, which seems pretty astonishing to me. Anyway, the forest is covered with many types of growing stuff on the trees, including this burl which Jackie tells me is something people cut off and use slices of them for tables. 

I suppose it is easy for some folks to walk through a forest and while enjoying it, miss lots of interesting things which I know I am often guilty of doing. That said, once a person really starts looking, well there is a lot going on. For instance, this stump which has an entire trunk growing sideways out of it. Not to mention all the cool layers of wood and moss. Or is that lichen? Or, are they one and the same? Help!

There were many small branches weighed down with this green stuff.

It was a very different experience walking in the bright sunshine instead of the overcast day when the three of us, Dale, Gail, and Jackie, went walking. One of the days when I was looking for the sculpture, a fellow who knows the park well said it was particularly fetching when a soft rain was falling. I think I see his point now.

In a complete change from my forest experiences, I went to Metrotown, taking the Expo Line, to see some pandas. The station is probably eight blocks from home affording me opportunities to see the city in action, including this noon time concert on that day.

Pandas,? Pray tell.

Perhaps there is lots of publications in Orlando with details of all the daily happenings but if there is, I'm not aware of them. Here, there are loads of them that I take advantage of, learning where to go and what to see.

Reading this article, I still could not wrap my head around pandas made of paper mache. (I know there are marks above mache, however, I don't know how to make them.) Turns out, unlike what I was remembering, they are strudy as can be, and cute too!

I suppose if they are on a world tour, sturdy is the name of the game.

Another day I took the bus to visit Trout Lake, a place that Ellie had repeatedly told me I might like. Turns out she was right.

Whereas lakes are super common in Florida, here they are an anomaly. Why, after living here almost a year, it takes me by surprise seeing the mountains from everywhere, shows you how silly I really am. Set in a neighborhood, where there are plenty of single family homes, rather than apartment buildings, it did my heart good to see clothes hanging out to dry.

Someone got very creative with paint.

This house reminded me of many of the houses found at home in Thorton Park.

The one difference, however, is the near constant sound of the passing overhead trains about two blocks away. I suppose you could tune it out like we once did while living under the flight path for OIA? Walking to the source of that noise, the Sky Train station, I finally came across the RIO, which has been the object of a big campaign to save it from destruction.

Heading back to downtown, I got off at Waterfront so I could roam a little bit and kind of relive the memory of our arrival in Vancouver when we stayed at the Pan Pacific for a few days.

After twelve days of driving, it was both a relief to finally get here, but also one fraught with anxiety as this is a very busy part of town, especially during the summer months when it is filled with tourists from the cruise ships. Just parking the car that day was daunting!

Having a camera in evidence is not out of place here! The few streets nearby are often all that folks see of Vancouver which has made it even more fun for me to write about our experience. Giving you an idea about the whole city has been great. Then too, I'll remember it as well.

This will give some people a chuckle.

Saturday we both played tourists, visiting Burnaby Village Museum. For a long while Bruce was not hip to riding the buses, but he's finally gotten into it and likes it as much as I do. We took two buses and the Sky Train to get to the museum, and it was well worth it. Surprisingly, there is no charge for admission. Made of old homes from the area, it looks like what you see at Disney on Main Street. We learned it is often used in movies and it is easy to see why. The living room in the farmhouse!! That wallpaper.

Unfortunately, with no volunteer to open the house, we were not able to enter. In the pharmacy, this caught my eye.

Lithiated? What the heck? For hospital or home use? What the heck?

The bank,

and this bathroom found in the 1920's home, once owned by an executive with the Canadian Pacific Railway. Very chic indeed.

We saw so many cool things that I'd love to share, however, in the interest of short attention spans, I will show but one more taken on the grounds. The hydrangea blooms are crazy big which doesn't surprise you I suspect.

Sunday, following church we visited our favorite place because both the food is good, and the servers are really special. Ashley has been serving us for months now and while on this day she was working in the office, once she was done there, she insisted on coming over for a chat.

Spending many a cold and rainy afternoon there, the servers and the place will be on our "very much missed places."

A get together for the construction department was organized for Sunday afternoon while Kirsten, one of the project managers from Toronto, was in town for meetings. Held in her airbnb place,

without air conditioning, a common practice here, it was hot as the dickens.

Having open window was not cutting it so Kirsten and I walked the five blocks to our place for those little fans we used last summer. While I'd intended to leave them in the apartment, I've since learned they could be of use to some of the office folks. Along with the spices (thank you Bonnie!), oils, vinegars, that sort of thing, we'll take things over to the office on Sunday where it will be up for grabs.

Such a great group of people, they have each contributed to this amazing adventure that will soon be coming to a close. Nancy, one of my sisters asked what in the world will I write about once we are home again? to which I replied, "well, I've been at this blogging thing for a long time, undoubtedly, something will come up". 😁

And it will, but in the meantime, we will savor what we can of the "two golden months."

Off now, in search of a few last Vancouver adventures.

your friend,

Gail

Day One and Day Two

It felt like forever before Matt and Tom came out of the incoming passenger corridor at the airport, but finally, after a lengthy wait at immigration, their exhausted faces came into view, and what a welcome sight it was. London is eight hours behind Vancouver, so their arrival time was, well you can do the math. 8:30PST. Oh the sweet energy of youth!

Our first order of business the following morning was a trip to Urban Fare, the closest grocery store. Thinking it would be nice to walk along the seawall to get there,

I was surprised to find patches of ice along the way. Tom put on his coaching hat, guiding me to avoid my slipping and breaking something. Not to mention spoiling their visit! Bruce had a meeting at the office in the morning, so once our shopping was complete, we walked over to meet him there. It was nice for them to meet some of the women Bruce works with as well as seeing where Bruce spends most of his days. We must have eaten somewhere, however, that memory already escapes me! Good grief it is a good thing I have a blog to remind me of my days!

Although they showed no signs of jet lag, I thought a low key day was best, and we had just the activity planned to accomplish that mission. Bruce, along with his whole department, went last week for a Christmas event, to an attraction I'd often seen but never visited,  Fly Over Canada. He came back full of enthusiasm, saying it was super cool and he wanted to go again once the lads arrived. And so we did, but first we took a big step, going to the office where I now have a BC resident card which will be helpful in setting up a bank account, as well as possibly getting a library card. Bruce's mission was to obtain a valid driver's license, however, he was unsuccessful but now knows what documentation he needs to make it happen. From there we walked to the Christmas market for a look see.

Did I mention it was cold? Well, I should have! Hard to believe how good they look after their long flight!

Canada Place is just down the street from the market and when we arrived the light was just magical.

On the left is the West part of the Convention Center and the trees in the distance are Stanley Park. The year is nearly up for the big Canada 150, their nationwide anniversary celebration. I'm wondering how many people have been photographed in front of this lighted sign because every time I've ever been here, someone is having an Instagram moment.

It makes me wonder if they will just leave it there. I suppose time will tell. Fly Over Canada is way at the end of the promenade which is lined with decorated trees and lights.

You won't be surprised to learn that at this time of year, the attraction makes the most of Christmas, theming it like you are riding with Santa in his sleigh over the length and breadth of Canada, a country full of scenic vistas. Here's a little video of what it is like although I did not watch it beforehand and had no idea what to expect. In an overused word, our reaction was, AWESOME! When Bruce is enthusiastic about something it generally proves to be worth every penny and it most certainly was that. My only disappointment was that the end of Canada Place, where there are some large light displays, was closed due to ice.  I sure won't be writing about that next year at this time will I?

From there we walked home along Burrard Street, stopping for an early dinner at Joey at One Bentall Center where the food was great, as was the view through the window at one of my favorite water features in the city, especially at night when it is lit with ever changing colors.

Letting the open crosswalks be our guide as to a route home, we found ourselves walking by the very busy skating rink with real snow remaining on parts of the roof.

Day one in the books.

I went out before sunrise Thursday morning to take a few photos of the lit boats from ground level,

and what was left from the snow in the park. Plus, I always want to remember the lit Christmas tree that has brightened these dark nights.

Thursday we went to the mall, after collecting Bruce at the office. We rode the Skytrain out to Metrotown in Burnaby where we shopped at Uniqlo for additional warm undergarments for me and Tom bought a sweater. The food court was a mad house, filled with Christmas shoppers. Although we forgot to watch it, a newsman interviewed Bruce for television!! Of course they may not have used "his" segment, but maybe they did? Tom had fun at a store that sells what look like giant filled bags, but in reality turn into comfortable places to lounge.

Christmas movies!! When we are not out and about they are running full time here. At this point we have watched so many that we know all the phrases the characters will speak and, of course, there is the "kiss", solving all problems!

Emily, from the office, wrote up a list of vegan restaurants for Matt to try, so while we went to the Earls Christmas party at the nearby location, they went for vegan Mexican on Davie Street. We walked to the party and had a marvelous time. Every single one of these folks have been so nice to me! I was asked to take the design and construction group photo, and did what I could with my limited skills in that realm.

For the record, I wore neither heels nor a black dress, instead opting to go for comfort by wearing those goldish shoes I bought during our first week here. Bundling up for the walk home we arrived around midnight, far too late for this old gal especially because we had a grand adventure slated for day three.

I'll get to that in another post, but let's just say that it was just as grand as we were hoping for.

Here's hoping everyone had a lovely Christmas!

yours truly,

Gail