Getting Serious

Instead of exploring on Monday, after writing my blog post, I spent a good deal of the afternoon with trip planning. Not that I got very far, mind you, but the time is drawing nigh, so getting serious about the massive drive ahead only seems prudent. Or does it?

A few weeks ago I stopped into the BCAAA office, adjacent to the Canada Line transit station on Davie Street, to pick up a few maps of the Canadian provinces. Our trusty atlas, used so extensively on the journey here, is only for the states, and since we are starting here in Canada, relying only on the iPad is not much to my liking. I want the big overview for one thing, and another is that in the mountains, connection is not always guaranteed. Beginning with Kelowna, our first stop,

a place nearly everyone has insisted we see. Booking a hotel, six weeks in advance, turned out to be a bigger deal than I'd anticipated and with the map above, I've since discovered that the place I booked is not ideally located, being outside of town on the highway. Seeing it online it seemed okay, but now that I've seen the whole picture, I'm disappointed. Then again, it might just be great.

One reason planning takes so long is because I am trying to plot a course with about 300 miles a day of driving, and in this part of the country, finding places to stay is not as easy as finding a hotel room in Orlando.

Seriously, I had about four big maps, along with the atlas, strewn around our living space. I've gotten as far as Cody, WY, only a fraction of the trip. Because we are heading North to visit Banff, deciding when to head South, AND find a room, has not been easy. All that said, we will prevail!!

This week there is a youth soccer camp in the park below which has proved entertaining, as has most of what we've seen from our twentieth story perch. Very early Monday morning I looked down and saw a pretty strange sight, so much so that I actually got dressed before 6AM to check it out.

To tell you the truth, I still have no clue why someone encircled some of the large stones with cloth napkins, while covering others with white tablecloths. Bruce thinks it has something to do with Druids, while the only clue I found otherwise, were lots of packages of wet wipes from a Chinese restaurant. Later on I watched a man collecting them into a pile and carrying on with his dog walking. Another mystery, for sure, is how does one attach this yarny thing on a pole?

The light, on this now very familiar scene, was nice this time of the morning.
Yesterday morning also saw some drama. As Bruce was looking down, just before 6AM, he saw a woman (who he believes might have been topless) bobbing and weaving, before collapsing on the ground. From amongst the trees a man darted out, carrying her out of sight. Worrying she might be in jeopardy, he called the police, followed by going down himself, where he discovered that she was wildly drunk and living in a tent with the fellow he saw. Life in the big city folks.

After hours of sitting, I needed to take a walk, and because Bruce was going out after his meetings, I had all the time in the world. One thing about city life that has been very interesting to witness is how people live so much of their lives in public view. I tried to imagine a young woman in a bikini lying on the grass in Orlando, adjacent to a busy street, and I just couldn't.

It was very warm, and in spite of the latish hour, the beach on English Bay was packed with people enjoying the bright July sunshine, probably because it be but a distant memory in a few months time.

I wonder, had we stayed here longer, if I would have gotten used to seeing the big logs on the beach?

By the way, pictured on the right side is the path for folks in wheelchairs. Nice.

Walking back home, I stopped by a few of my favorite gardens where there are lilies in full bloom.

And here are a bunch of seriously pink Echinacea.

If you can imagine, last Friday Bruce asked me about being a downtown tour guide for Zarita and her Aunt who is visiting from South Surrey, England. Me, a tour guide in Zarita's home city? Sure honey. Well, I promptly forgot about. When Zarita phoned, just as I was returning my last two books to the Vancouver Public library, she said they were on the SkyTrain, heading into town. Although she has lived in the area for fifteen years, almost all of that time has been in Burnaby, about ten miles from downtown. Perhaps you've heard of Burnaby as the place where Michael J. Fox went to high school?
Anyway, I was delighted at the opportunity to show them a few things, however, complications loomed. There was to be a showing of the apartment at 2 in the afternoon and I had the keys. I told you it was getting serious! Before leaving for the library I'd tidied everything nicely and had planned to have lunch and then turn over the keys to the concierge. Plans changed. I walked as fast as I could to reach home, put on some socks because my feet were hurting, and then turned in the keys. I next walked over to the Canada Line, taking it to Waterfront Station, and finally met up with them on Water Street. Whew!

And then we walked. And walked. And, seriously, by the time I arrived back home, my tracker told me I'd walked 7.9 miles. Entirely too much. Here's the kicker...her Aunt rarely had to stop, in spite of the fact that she is 78!

Every bit of the green pictured behind them is Stanley Park, our destination. We walked along the seawall allowing her to soak everything in.

Does every city now have these cool water play areas? This is the first I'd seen this, probably because it remained chilly for so long and had not been activated!

I have to admit, it is a pretty nice walk, and as this was her first visit to Vancouver, why not go the long way?

The bright red and yellow in the middle are two little houses on the water. Can you say, adorable? I so wish when Matt and Amanda were here it had not been so dreary, allowing them to see Vancouver at its finest. Actually, although I was wearing sleeveless, I was super hot and did my best to dissuade them from walking all the way to the totem poles. No such luck.

I had to laugh, seeing all of the tourists with their cameras because soon I will be a tourist myself. As you well know, one of the reasons I so wanted this time here was to experience seasons. What is it like for the same scene to change drastically during the calendar year? Now I am no longer wondering as this post shows you the last time I visited the totem poles. Quite the difference indeed.

We found a trail so she could see some of the big trees, followed by a little fun in a tree. That digital camera of hers must have been first generation as it had a crazy tiny screen like the one I remember Bruce once had.

I don't know if they could have gone on much longer, but I was pretty ready to call it a day, so I took them past my favorite house,

and on to the bus stop where the #23 bus was waiting for us. I got off on Richards, while they carried on to Main Street, next boarding the SkyTrain to Burnaby. Later on I learned that Greg was picking them up at the station so they could go home and rest their weary feet. Smart.

Walking home through the park, one dog was chewing up a caution marker, while another was just coming out of the fountain. City life indeed.

And while I am naturally sad to leave all of this behind, I suspect we have other exciting adventures in our future. That is my hope anyway.

your friend,

Gail

Early Spring

Tom asked me, while we were in Orlando, how did I feel about missing some of the early days of Spring in Vancouver? Let's just say I was glad that there were so many beautiful trees and plants blooming in Orlando to make up for the time we were not here!

Obviously I would not want to miss our son's wedding for anything in the world, but I will say that the morning following our evening arrival, I went out on a walk as soon as possible. It was ugly, but I was bound and determined to see how those hillside daffodils were doing, and it was not long before I got my answer.

At the outset, let me just say that I have seen bulbs before, but I have never watched the magic happen over time. What looked to be just an open grassy area for all of the time we've been here, suddenly is filled with bright yellow flowers. And not just daffodils either. I am seriously crazy about the Crocuses! Small, but they carry a big punch, what with scores of them, seemingly, coming from nowhere.

Because of all the rain, and in spite of having snowed, a good bit of Vancouver stays green year round. Not  all of the trees, of course, but lawns and bushes remain green and vibrant, especially so against the drab sky. I walked a long way in the rain because I don't want to miss a thing as this will be my only experience with a Northern Spring.

I traveled to Orlando with a mostly empty suitcase, returning with some new things, including a terrific coat Irene lent me. Actually I was meant to take it with me when we moved, however, I could not wrap my head around the need for such a coat, that is, until I experienced this rainy weather! Having lived in Portland for ten years, Irene knew a thing or two about what was in store for me. It is still difficult for me to imagine that I go out walking in the rain, something I would have never done in Orlando. Perhaps because of lightening, I don't know, but here it isn't too bad at all.

There are some cherry trees coming into flower along Beach Avenue, the route I take to get home. For the record, this is my bus when I choose to take it. The #23. Speaking of cherry trees, it turns out that there are over 40,000 Japanese Cherry trees in Vancouver, not to mention another 50,000 other trees that bloom. I am going to be busy!

How ugly was the weather? Pretty ugly, especially having just returned from sunny Florida!

So, here's a little photographer's trick. Sometimes you want a sunny flower photograph,

and sometimes, (more often than not), you don't.

What you do is shade the plant with your body. These adorable Crocus flowers are planted in a flower bed right next to the Granville bridge. Such an odd location for a flower bed, but that's a different story. At any rate, the colors are generally much more vibrant when not directly in the sun. Another flower photography trick is to go out when it is super cloudy; in effect, letting the clouds do the shading for you.

It was super sunny the following day, so of course I had to go back out and see what I could see. Also, having just been surrounded by family and friends, it is no fun for me to stay indoors all day by myself. With temperatures in the mid 50's,  everyone who could, was out walking.

Here is a cool plant I saw on my way into the park. Any plant people know what it is?

What is so thrilling to me is how the bulbs burst through the ground in unexpected places.

To think that I've been walking on flowers is just astonishing to me. There are some flowering plants we have in common with Vancouver, including Camellias and ferns, however, the upright flowers that are everywhere are new to me.

These, too, are new to me. Going from spikes to those little green cups, they put on quite the show.

As it turns out, Crocuses come in a variety of colors, including these vibrant one in a certain persons favorite color.

I've come across large beds of heather in a shocking pink color, as well as white and light pink. The photograph below is near the rose garden in Stanley Park which I imagine will be quite extraordinary once they come into bloom.

Snowdrops! How have I lived my whole life and never known about these little charmers?

Three full days of sunshine, including yesterday when the temperature rose to 60 degrees, has been such a blessing. This is one heck of a beautiful city when it is sunny, that's for sure!

An outstanding adventure was had by Mr. and Mrs. Peck this past Saturday which I will share in my next post. Got to get out when the getting out is good!!

yours truly,

Gail

p.s. I am seriously jealous as Bruce has gone a team building event to Squamish where they will ride the Sea to Sky gondola. There is meant to be rain again today which I'm praying does not come to fruition!