REPORTING FROM VANCOUVER

Reporting from West Vancouver on June 23/2009 at 7:06 PM, and in Ontario 10:06 PM

The weather is warm and sunny and the first thing I did this morning was wake up!!

Smart of me eh? Then I got dressed and decided to head over to Stanley Park, when it’s not busy, and see if I can find myself around before the crowd begins to take over every nook and cranny.

Of course, I got lost, which is nothing new. However I had my trusty GPS, who has a female voice and we call her Jill. Well, her favourite word is “recalculating!” and  after failing to take her driving instructions,(quite often) she begins to say it in a really crusty sounding voice, like she’d like to stick her fist out at me!  She didn’t know what to say, when I drove onto roads, I wasn’t suppose to be on……like one ways!! Not many people in the Park itself, but many people must make short-cuts through the park on their way to work, and driving the speed limit as posted, sure didn’t stop everyone from impatiently passing me!

This is Prospect Point and the picture looks like Vancouver’s version of Stonehenge, but in fact, it’s a sort of monument to all those who gave huge amounts of money to restore Stanley Park after the huge wind storm about two years ago, which resulted with great damage to many, many huge 100+ year old trees.

The view from Prospect Point, to where we live, in West Vancouver. We live a 2 short blocks up from that pier you see just a little right of the middle of the picture .

One of those buildings is where we live.

 

Maintenance was being done on the look-out, so this is all I could get a picture of in the opposite direction. That’s the morning traffic going over the Lion’s Gate Bridge.

Some more views as I stopped and quickly took pictures. That old tree they keep trying to save. The sea planes that taxi back and forth to Vancouver Island, many times a day, beginning very early in the morning.

Swash Rock….I think that is how you spell it. See the sea wall on this side of the shore.

Some pretty big trees in this park, some sadly had to be cut down.

A view of the city from Stanley Park

Looks like a nice trail to walk down….with somebody with me!!! They have a bike rental store near the park that looks like it does a fabulous business. It must be beautiful riding a bike through these many, many trails!!!

The Aquarium was my ultimate goal when I started out this morning. I was anxious to see the new baby Beluga whale that was born last week. I had to wait 20 minutes until it opened, and then this tour bus full of people from Australia arrived. They headed off to look at the Totem Poles first, and I just took some pictures of this and that, and then the dreaded thing happened….my battery was sooo close to being dead!!! So, I gave up going to the Aquarium for another day with a fresh battery. 

This is a big carved sculpture of I think a dolphin, just outside the Aquarium.

Scary looking face eh?

So, now, I’m trying to following Jill's instructions to get out of the park and onto the Park Causeway, and over the Bridge. Jill’s hollering at me.”RECALCULATING!” over and over!!

Arrived home safe and sound!

This following picture is of a gift from our friend John and Mavis of a broken piece of a Lily plant that broke off, when still in buds. I brought it home, placed it in warm water and the buds opened up. Since this picture was taken only one bud is left to open. Isn’t it beautiful!!!

I downloaded today’s pictures before I remembered to take the latest picture with all but one bud open!!

 

And “NOW, YOU KNOW THE REST OF THE STORY!!!!!”