An Unexpected Tour Guide

Reluctantly, I left the aquarium and made my way to the nearby bus stop. Walking up, I saw no signs, so I asked the young man standing there if he knew when the next bus would arrive. Immediately he removed his phone from his pocket, cheerfully telling me about a great app I could install on mine to give me the bus schedule. Explaining to him that I was a tourist for only two days, would he be so kind as to share what his app told him? At that moment, never for a minute, did I expect the two of us would spend the next three or so hours together, all while he was enthusiastically pointing out sights along the way to Granville Island.

Who, pray tell is this young man of whom I speak? Well, in our time together I learned quite a bit about him, and how it was that he had three hours to spend with a stranger. His name is Quentin, and before moving to Vancouver a year ago, he'd spent the last seven years as a diving instructor on a 200 foot yacht. Yep, you read that right, 200 feet! I don't know how much I should reveal, but I did learn that the crew, including his now girlfriend, (former chef on the boat), and all the others needed to maintain a vessel of that size, moved the boat around the world to the greatest diving places, including the Galapagos, French Polynesia, the Adriatic Coast, and of course, all of the Caribbean. Once moored, the owner would fly in with his family to dive. If you're thinking you might just want to rent the boat for a week, be prepared to cough up $350,000 for the privilege. Out of your price range? Me too!

While waiting for his work permit, he volunteers at the Vancouver Aquarium, cleaning the pools for the seals and porpoise! As well, another day of the week he teaches children about sea life. So, from Stanley Park we took the bus, getting off somewhere I've forgotten, and he showed me around. I told him I write a blog, and had to have photographic proof of his kindness.

The bag you see on the ground is his dive equipment that he carted around like nothing! Anyway, he showed me some sights I'm certain I would never have seen, including the sculpture left in place that held the Olympic flame!

It was just lovely. This area is adjacent to their convention center, built for the Olympics as the broadcast center. The guard at the door nearly stopped him from showing me this gorgeous sight hanging from the ceiling.

There are a lot of ways people get around in Vancouver including sea planes parked adjacent to the center.

So, we are walking to the next bus stop and he asks if I eat ice cream. Sure, I say. Well, you can't come to Vancouver without eating the best in the city! So, we do just that. Salted Caramel if you're wondering.

A wall full of accolades that's for sure.

I did my best to purchase my own, but he was not to be dissuaded. Incredible, right? I seriously could not make this stuff up.

One thing about being a photographer is that generally it is best to be alone on walks. Or that's how I feel about it. I hate having to ask people to stop while I examine something, or want to run across the street for a better vantage point. As such, I would have liked to get a better shot of the Marine Building, now owned by the Guinness family, but it was not to be.

According to the link, it was once known for being the tallest building in the British Empire. Back on the bus again, it was about a twenty minute ride to Granville Island where Quentin was to pick up his car from the place his girlfriend works, teaching pastry at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts.

If you can imagine he asked if I might wait a few minutes while he put that heavy bag in the car! Duh! I can do that.

The entrance looks like this, with a poster below that might bring a chuckle to a few of you.

Vancouver is known as a place with a lively arts scene, and loads of films are shot there. In fact, while we were at the condo, we could not use the roof deck, or lounge, because they were shooting scenes for a show called Continuum. As everyone knows I'm a big fan of street art, and love finding it wherever I go. Unfortunately, the powers that be in Vancouver are not fans, however, after scouring the internet I did find one thing that looked really cool. Well, Quentin took me right to it on Granville Island, and it looked just as great in person. Well, better really. Please note the concrete truck painted like a corn cob.

I was unable to get a good shot of another truck painted like a Converse tennis shoe! If you think I'm an enthusiastic person, Quentin puts me to shame. Everything is beautiful, including the labels on the gin and vodka bottles at the local distillery. Of course, before the diving gig, he was in marketing, so he has a special affinity for labels. I thought of my son Matt when I saw this place.

Speaking of Matt, Quentin is a year younger than Matt, and I told him to be sure and tell his Mom how kind he was to me. Eventually he looked at his watch, and said he would take his leave; he had to meet up with a fellow volunteer who worked inside the market.

Apparently they meet once a month to clean up the shoreline, under water no less. They are quite serious about recycling in Vancouver--note the three bins. Let's look around the area, shall we? Inside there are vendors of food of all types.

By now it was nearly 3; starving, I bought a little pasta salad at a place that also had a beautiful olive display.

Because of the time. and I was unsure when Bruce would be done. I did not spend as much time inside as I might have liked, but I did look around more outside. There are great views from every angle.

Because of the lovely weather people were outside basking in the sun.

I thought to myself, the buildings look as if they could be in Miami Beach.

Another time, that is if I go back, I would most definitely take advantage of the ferries! And there is what is called the Aquabus.

The bridge is the very one we drove over via bus.  Again, because my time was limited, my exposure to the many art galleries was, of necessity, from the street.

Making my way back to the condo, following my bus ride, I loved seeing all the area has to offer. I don't need to tell you how seeing this kind of stuff excites me!

Although I did not get to try it, Meat & Bread is highly regarded.

Here's a view of the condo building that I'm including,

the one shaped like a V. By this time, Bruce was still at work, and I was hankering for a glass of wine. Although there is a grocery store on the ground floor, they do not sell any alcohol. I opted to go to the bar located at the point of the V. While resting, I chatted with two young men sitting adjacent to me. When I told them I was from Florida, one of them asked me if I had ever been to the Keys. Why, yes I have. Turns out, he has been watching the great Netflix series, (we finished it last night), Bloodline, set in Islamorada. Although there is murder and mayhem, the scenery is gorgeous. He's now dying to go there himself!

Finally, Mr. Peck called it a day and we set off to the Earls location in Yaletown. We enjoyed a lovely meal there, and the walk, although about ten blocks, was good, with lovely sights to behold.

I found this article on the web about how Earls develops their menu, and the same attention to detail exists in the building department, that's for sure! In fact, Bruce was in Vancouver to review many plans and details for the one he will build in Orlando, beginning in September.

One thing I discovered is that it is great walking home after dinner; a good way to rid oneself of that over-full feeling! It was a beautiful night, and the building looked magical.

Are you worn out yet? I sure was! Day one in the books. What did I do on Thursday? Coming soon.

Hope you enjoyed this little tour made even better because of the kindness of strangers.

Gail

p.s. I was encouraged by several to put as many photos as I want, so I did!

Mr. Peck Goes to Canada

but not for long. If you thought something was up, your intuition was spot on. Mr. Peck has taken a new job with a restaurant company based in Vancouver, British Columbia called Earls Restaurant.

Bruce will be looking more like this in the coming months, and less like you've become accustomed to seeing him! I showed you the inside of the restaurant in my Miami post, which was so hip, not to mention serves delicious food, but I did not show you what the outside looks like.

That huge overhang covers a two-sided patio, which I'm presuming is not available in the Canadian locations! Here's the scoop--he will be working full time, however, full time in this company, at least for now, is managing the construction of two restaurants a year, not eight. They made him an offer he could not refuse. :)

So, on Monday morning he will once again board an airplane for work, heading, for the week, to meetings beginning in Vancouver, including three, or maybe four days in Whistler, BC. He'll meet the folks he will be working with, as well as formalizing his employment. They plan to slowly expand into the United States, where currently they have five restaurants. Bruce will manage a job in Tysons Corner, outside of DC in Virginia, AND a place he is already familiar with, having built a restaurants in the area before. How about that for a change?

With that in mind, after getting the house and yard into shape on Monday, we took a little mini-vacation to St. Petersburg, FL. During a "ladies who wine" gathering at Cheryle's house, Kathy mentioned a cute hotel in St. Pete where she'd recently stayed. I, in turn, came right home, checked it out, and thought it looked like a winner for us. After dropping Baxter off at Bill's house, we hit the road, stopping first in Ybor City, the place where I took one of my most popular photos some years ago. This time I found nothing. Here's what one of the streets look like in the morning--mostly a night time hang out for sure!

If you are interested in history, this article from Wikepedia is very interesting regarding the settlement, decline, and current resurgence of this area.

From there Bruce drove us over the Gandy Causeway to St. Pete. Located just four blocks from the bay, we found the hotel with ease at the corner of 4th Stree,t and 4th Avenue. They actually let us check in at 11:30 in the morning. The lobby would be described as eclectic.

The Hollander Hotel was built in the 30's following Prohibition, and they are still going strong in the bar department!

We took these steps up to our room on the second floor, however, there is an elevator for those folks who need it.

The folks working there were just terrific, including the nice young man named Zach at the front desk. He gave us both suggestions for eating, as well as directions. We set off on foot to Central Avenue, the heart of downtown, which is not your Grandfather's downtown any more. If you've lived in Florida for long, that is what you first think of when you think of St. Petersburg, however, these days that stereotype no longer holds. This guy crossed the street in front of us.

After eating lunch at the Acropolis per Zach's suggestion, and it was a good one, we roamed the street. I'd heard that, unlike Orlando, there are street artists working there, and it wasn't long before we came across some good stuff.

Across the street from that large mural, I was delighted to see this:

There are multiple art galleries including the Florida Craftsman Gallery where we saw our friend Susan Bach's wonderful pottery for sale.

Her work is so distinctive you can spot it a mile away! LOVE it! There are multiple arcades to be found along Central,

with alleyways behind where we saw this:

Our niece Laura lives in the North part of St. Pete, so before leaving, I asked her if she, Jerry, and Sam could meet us for dinner. They joined us at the Hollander's excellent restaurant!

After dinner we went out onto the verandah to enjoy the lovely evening weather. Sam loves to have his picture taken!

What a smile! That verandah was just terrific, with outdoor dining on one end, and comfortable seating on the other. I got confused when the blood moon was to occur, so I missed the eclipse, but the night sky beforehand was beautiful nonetheless.

My only complaint throughout the day was that it was HOT! Our little cool snap from the weekend is already a distant memory. Before they came for dinner we drove around a bit checking out the waterfront park which runs for SEVEN miles!

We both were pleased as punch with Tuesday, how could Wednesday be any better? Tune in tomorrow and find out!

Better Late Then Never

I imagine you were expecting me to write this installment of Camera Crazy much earlier today and typically that is my pattern. Not so today as you've already discovered if you came looking for me earlier. Instead of writing, I spent almost the entire day reading a novel that I just could not put down. It was that good, or at least to my way of thinking. And really, why should I put it down? I'm all alone, unless you count Baxter, so instead of feeling sorry about that I went to New York in the middle to late 1800's. My friend Carol recommended, City of Promise by Beverly Swerling, a novelist I've had the misfortune not to have discovered until now. Talk about intrigue, ambition, greed, corruption, romance--it's all there in the early days of New York City. Read this novel!!! Or rather, devour it!

I convinced Bruce to stay home Friday night and so we did. Saturday, while he was visiting his Lakeland job I was vacuuming so as not to disturb his conference calls during the week. Until 3:00, the rest is a blur. After 3:00, I know just what we were doing. Last year on June 2, our friend Connie's 31 year old daughter was buried after committing suicide. Horrible, I know. The headstone was finally ready and friends and family gathered to commemorate the occasion. What a terrible choice of words, but other ones fail me at the moment, probably because the thought of it all is so darn disturbing. Connie asked if I might take some photographs which may sound weird. but I'm glad I was able to help in some way. Because I had my Olympus with the Pancake lens in my purse it was fairly unobtrusive.

That's Connie on the right and her former husband. Tragic.  Nonetheless, the family seemed to be holding up fairly well and we were glad to lend our moral support.

Now I remember what I did on Saturday morning--pick up some prints from Mr. Roger, however, the added prints proved to be unnecessary because the market was oh, so slow. Yes, it was hot, but not that hot and despite the 95 degree temperature, the humidity was so low it didn't feel THAT bad. Meanwhile, in London, Matt was braving the rain and cold to see the flotilla commemorating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. He got some really great shots that show the crowds lining every available surface despite the dreary weather.

Thinking about London, I came across this article about the mixed feelings the Brits have about Anish Kapor's Orbital. The article includes a very cool time lapsed photography segment on how it was assembled. You'll remember we visited the Olympic Park viewing area last summer when it was this size:

I'm sure I've said it before, however, it bears repeating--I CANNOT WAIT for the Olympics. I love the pageantry, the sports, and the stories, which are pretty much the main attraction. Although those venues looked pretty darn cool as well.

The other day Bruce was saying Baxter was getting on in years and of course I responded, no he's not. "Ask Siri" he said. So, I did and for once she was helpful, or as helpful as a robot can be. Anyway, turns out our little Baxter is 9 years old which may not sound too old but according to you know who, the life expectancy of a Yorkshire Terrier is between 12-15 years. Hmm.... Here he is as a little pup in my Mom's arms.

The occasion was her final birthday party. Seeing this photo for the first time in a long time, it's hard to believe she was dying of ovarian cancer. That crazy dark hair of hers,  which if things don't change any time soon, will be on my head at that age! Poor Lisa, I can't remember what was wrong with her hand.  And then there is this funny video Jonathan once took of Baxter as a youngster.  He used to love to walk on the curb, but no longer, he's such a lollygagger.

Because I've been riding my bike every morning instead of walking him, I decided to take him to the park today and oh my, the rose garden looked spectacular.

Every single plant just covered with gorgeous blooms as were the trellises.

Because the days are heating up so, I've been leaving the house around 7 and as it turns out, five miles takes me no time at all. I probably could do more, but Bruce cautioned me to take it a little easy, lest I lose any weight. I'll see how it goes. This morning on my ride a neighbor had these on their mailbox following a graduation party last evening.

I have no idea when Boone High School added blue to the mix, but there you go. They have. Not only Bruce, but all four of our sons graduated BHS. Maybe there were big graduation parties back then, but for some reason, I don't think so. Everything, it seems, is a very big deal these days.

Which makes this new graffiti I've found now around town in several places very curious indeed.

Maybe there is more to it than meets the eye, but really, how in the world can anyone be bored in this day and age, what with a million television channels, places to go, people to see?

Oh my gosh, that reminds me! Jonathan and Alissa went to some event in Austin this weekend where many of the young cast of FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS were featured. There is photographic evidence of them meeting them! Vince, Landry, Becky, Grandma Saracen and more!!! Honestly, those children of mine are always doing the most remarkable things. It is such a pleasure living vicariously through your children, particularly when you are not putting pressure on them to do things, such as sports. We are some lucky, lucky, parents for sure.

I finally washed my hair tonight after swimming today so it must be attended to if I have any hope of taming it into the bob. Good night my dears and stay tuned tomorrow for a look at my Mother's Day gift which arrived in the post from London this afternoon. You're going to love it!

Is This All the Same Artist?

Why yes, it is. Continuing the conversation, the woman said to me, "usually there is a theme, but you've got all kinds of things here. Why yes, I do. Can't help it folks. I just love taking photographs of just about anything. As if my regular readers needed reminding! If you're just stumbling across this blog you'll discover for yourself just what I'm writing about.

Friday night didn't go quite like we imagined when we left the house. Because the hour was getting late for the sleepy heads, we decided to go to a local Italian restaurant in a strip center. Perhaps I've mentioned Amalfi in the past. I won't be mentioning it in the future I can tell you that right now. Sadly, after trying to order pizza and being told they were out of dough on a Friday night, we knew something had changed. On any prior visit the food was quite tasty. These were two pretty miserable glasses of wine:

I think the glass she gave Bruce held about 3 ounces! Eventually the server returned saying they had only 10 inch dough prepped, as in most likely unfrozen? Turns out the chef retired, as did all the staff. I'm saddened that what was once a nice little local restaurant will be closing soon unless they get their act together very soon.

Winter Garden was slow for me however I managed a few sales and enjoyed myself nonetheless because the weather was SO nice after the initial chill wore off. On my way I had to stop and take a photo of Lake Gem Mary. I do so hope you can see what I saw.

The fog above the lake like that in a little line was a very fine sight indeed. On my way home I had to photograph this because two of my boys, not to mention my niece and her husband have all lived in Chicago at one time or another.

People always ask me if I carry my camera everywhere. I do. I'm still experimenting with phonography but I'm not there yet.

Saturday night I watched a little HGTV with Bruce, something I rarely do. He, on the other hand, loves that channel, leaving it on all day above his desk while he's working from home. I am now officially inspired to work some magic on my office. If only we could decide what to do with the floors in the bedrooms! The carpet, although not that old, has somehow become more stained than I'm happy with. New carpet? Wood? Decisions, decisions.

The opening lines came during the Lake Eola market which was jam packed with people, most of whom did not buy a thing from your favorite blogger. And then they did. The final hour was busier than the entire previous six. All in all, I sold 21 things making me very happy. A new buyer bought nine 8x10 prints!!! I think she kinda liked my stuff and I won't be surprised if I see her again. Nice.

I am super excited to show off the next photograph which if it hadn't been so darn foggy this morning I think could have been better. That said, how about seeing through the wings on Mr. Cardinal enjoying his breakfast at the Nuttery?

Before he flew up there he was hanging for a moment on what was supposed to be a baffler; in bird jargon, that means something slippery so you know who can't get to the feeder.

Since I mixed the two seeds, those pesky squirrels have given up on the Nuttery, leaving all the good stuff for our feathered friends.

As you're well aware, the winter so far has pretty much been a no-show, with only two cold days in the books to date. The flowers and birds are all mixed up. This morning while out watering I discovered the azaleas are already blooming.

I thought the sunlight and shadows on the front porch was so pretty I had to photograph it as well.

Mr. Baxter and I took a walk to see what we could see. The Chinese tallow trees, normally bare by now, are just changing and dropping their leaves.

Very pretty aren't they? The neighbor's tree has such interesting branches, all twisty like.

The day began foggy, the sky turned the gorgeous shade of blue seen above and now it's overcast.  I see here that the week should be nice with a little rain (we need it) and some chilly nights for the weekend. Is it any wonder Florida is now the 4th most populous state in the nation?

Spanish moss. Let's talk about how prevalent it is. There's a few globs in the above tree, but nothing like down at the other end of the street. You'd think I'd changed this to sepia but I didn't. Sunset is coming.

According to this, the moss migrated from South Carolina to Georgia to Florida, thriving in warm humid climates. We've got that in spades for most of the year! All the trees at the end of the street have tons of it, probably migrating from tree to tree.

Before I go for the day, let's talk a minute about the veggies from Jonathan and Amy at Lake Eola. Their big farm is in Belle Glade, but now they have a five acre plot to tend in Winter Garden as well. Don't ask me how a couple with seven, yes seven, children can do what they do, but there you go. They do it. The onions below are from their place, called Strawberry Onions because they are planted between rows of strawberries in organic farming.

Very cool, and according to Amy, they are sweeter than Vidalia onions but don't tell the folks from Georgia that. These tomatoes are enough to make anyone's mouth water.

Beautiful aren't they? There is another couple who sell hydroponic tomatoes they grow, which are lovely as well.

Certain times of the year they also have heirloom tomatoes in several different colors. Finally, Joseph Martens, our terrific entertainer, plays musical chairs with the children. The prize? A bag of freshly popped kettle korn from Larry and Dina. Normally I don't get to watch it but I was making a quick run around to get some photos as they were just getting set up.

Sleeveless and shorts in January folks. That's Florida for you.

p.s. One of my visitors yesterday was a photographer and his wife. Very nice folks who I met a few years ago when the city of Orlando wanted me in the annual calendar. He mentioned this blog, saying he could not believe how long I've been writing. My response was, well, unlike a sales venue, or a contest, no one judges me here. I can write and show whatever I like without repercussions.

Thanks so much for being a part of it with me,
Gail