Little sister made her brother his birthday cake from scratch.
Our crazy neighbour popped in to help celebrate the birthday of one of his favorite young people. He brought his own beer. Good thing, since we only had tea!
The real fun started right after I took this shot! Really it did!
Birthday boy's older brother and dad(aka my hubby).
You would think after a couple of months of no posts I could have come up with something more exciting to post!!!
This is Canada Place. If you take a cruise to Vancouver, your ship will dock along side "the sails" as they are referred to by locals.
Once you leave the cruise ship terminal, the first sites you will see are those of Gastown, an historic area of down town Vancouver.
This area is full of old time charm and character, With well maintained, old brick buildings, and colourful facades. Streets trimmed with wrought iron barriers.
Mature trees line this street. Even the street lights are victorian style.
All this old time treasure is just steps from the towering buildings of modern day Vancouver. The "space-ship" on top of Harbor Center is actually a revolving restaurant that affords fabulous views of the lower mainland.
Right beside the cruise ship terminal is the train station. This is the hub for the West Coast Express train, ALRT, and Seabus. Convenient access to transportation to other parts of Vancouver and the lower mainland.
Red brick with white plaster trims and embellishments on the outside. The inside of the train station is a really gorgeous old architecture. The detail in here is so pretty.
The arches, coved ceiling, and marble floors will have your head on a swivel.
In Gastown, you will find an abundance of giftshops, where you can stock up on all your Canadiana bling. Get all your souvenir shopping done here. Then enjoy a meal in one of the many wonderful restaurants and cafes.
A band of fog hung over the beach, enveloping the view of the ocean and the famous Haystack Rock . Crashing waves could be heard but not seen. Shadowy people could be barely seen, like ghosts on the sand. We were told that the rock was a leisurely mile long stroll southward along the beach.
If you did not know that this gigantic rock was out there, lurking in the fog, you would completely miss it. As we got closer, we could make out a dark shadow on fog. At first I wasn't sure if I was just imagining I could see it , by wishful thinking. There was something mystical about this pilgrimage to the rock. Then suddenly, it jumped out right in front of us by a combination of the fog lifting and our closer proximity
Then, we could also see out to sea, finally able to see the crashing waves that moments before could only be heard.
All around it were smaller rocks, making a great place to view tidal pools.
The one wet day on this trip. It wasn't actually rainy so much as very misty. There was such dense moisture in the air, that it would bead up on surfaces, leaving everything feeling wet.
It was so very windy that the flags were flying straight out and the sand was blowing along the beach. Earlier that week there had been a Kite Festival here. I can see why that would be a successful event in these parts with the unrelenting wind.
The town of Long Beach is a nice little touristy village. With brightly coloured shops filled with touristy souvenirs. This was a kite and wind sock shop. We ate a fabulous lunch of Fish n Chips made with rockfish which was delicious. Washed that down with the most incredible fresh chowder I have ever tasted.
On the beach and dunes we ended up having to bundle up as the wind got so strong and was blowing sea spray on us. We saw pelicans huddling on the sand.
Cars were permitted to drive on the beach. Something that I have never seen where I live. I wonder how often they get stuck?
We have recently returned from our trip down the coast of Washington and Oregon, USA. We left the Vancouver area, headed south of the boarder down the I-5 as far as Tacoma. After crossing the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, we went north on hwy 16 to begin our drive around the Olympic Peninsula.
Our first glimpse of the open Pacific Ocean. No more Juan de Fuca. No more islands to block the view or tame the waves. What a wonderous experience to smell that fresh ocean air and hear those crashing waves! But this location was too high up on the cliffs to even attempt accessing the beach from here!
A short distance to the South, we pulled over again to walk to the beach. A short hike through the Sitka Spruce Burl Trail to Third Beach. I have never seen burls this big! They are thought to be a benign sort of tumor. The cause is not truly known, but is thought to be triggered by something wafting up from the sea on the wind. Perhaps a virus?Once they get too heavy, the burls sometimes fall off, or if they develop on a limb, it will sometimes cause the branch to drop off. After a short walk, the trail ended at a gorgeous, misty beach! A bit of a magic forest, if I do say so!
On Tuesday night we saw Adele in Vancouver at the Orpheum. What an amazing show. Originally scheduled for May 31st, but postponed to now, due to her having lost her voice. During that time, her popularity here has skyrocketed. When I first got the tickets in spring, many people I mentioned Adele to, had not heard of her. By the time we were going to the concert, she had become the talk of the town!
Her performance was incredible. Every song was as good or better than the CD.
'Remember Me' brought me to tears, she dedicated it to Amy Winehouse, who went to the same school as her.
The set was lovely with an oriental rug and old fashioned lampshades giving an air of comfy homeyness.
Lyle Robertson, the pianist played beautifully. The whole band was awesome. The only thing I could say surprised me though was that Adele did not introduce the members of the band. Maybe just nerves?
Between songs, her chit chat was so funny, Adele could be a stand up comedian if she ever got tired of singing.
The Orpheum is a gorgeous theater.
With a European style of pained ceilings, alcoves and archways. It really was perfectly suited to Adele's voice. Being her just added to the over all magic of the evening!
An amazing venue. At the rate Adele's success is growing, she will likely be performing in arenas on her next tour.
When she comes back to Vancouver, I'll be first in line for tickets!
Yesterday, Keith and I went into Vancouver to one of our favorite shopping places: Granville Island Public Market. Under the Granville Street Bridge. It is such an interesting place. Once, an industrial area. It has warehouses and former factories that have been remodeled into shops, art galleries, theaters, a church restaurants and market. There is even the Emily Carr University of Art and Design.
It makes a fabulous backdrop for photography. Our good friends Len and Carla had their wedding reception down here many years ago.
There are also little old shops that are still as quaint as the day they were built. Some house photographers studios, art and craft suppliers. I know my Grandfather used to shop here for his matts and paints when he was alive.
The market is always brimming with every fresh food imaginable. The seafood section is a bit pongy though!
Fresh fudge made right before your eyes. Congratulations to Keith who resisted buying fudge for the first time in my memory!
Granville Island is on False Creek. Vancouver Yacht Club is right across the water and the inlet is filled with boats of all kinds moored all along the creek. False Creek is not actually a creek but an inlet of the ocean extending up from English Bay. The city of Vancouver began redeveloping this entire area
in 1986, following Expo 86, if i remember correctly. Prior to that, none of these apartment towers were here. Now the entire false creek is lined with beautiful residential buildings. What a wonderful area to live. A bicycle ride distance to any where downtown, the beach, Stanley Park and this shopping area! It has a real sense of community. The Island also has a canoe club, tennis courts and children's playgrounds and sprinkler-water parks in the summer.
We enjoyed a lunch of curry, honey mustard chicken. I had Yam and spinach salad with mine, and Keith had red potato salad with his. Sooo yummy. We ate it out on the dock which surrounds the market. There is always a talented musician giving a live performance at any time of day. Buskers are interview, trialed and if accepted, they have scheduled time slots. The are several performers throughout the island at any given time. So the atmosphere of fun and relaxation permeates the entire place.
I know I have posted about outings to this place before, and I probably will again. I never get tired of it.
Red brick with white plaster trims and embellishments on the outside. The inside of the train station is a really gorgeous old architecture. The detail in here is so pretty. 
The arches, coved ceiling, and marble floors will have your head on a swivel.
A band of fog hung over the beach, enveloping the view of the ocean and the famous Haystack Rock .
As we got closer, we could make out a dark shadow on fog. At first I wasn't sure if I was just imagining I could see it , by wishful thinking.
The one wet day on this trip. It wasn't actually rainy so much as very misty. There was such dense moisture in the air, that it would bead up on surfaces, leaving everything feeling wet. 
It was so very windy that the flags were flying straight out and the sand was blowing along the beach. Earlier that week there had been a Kite Festival here. I can see why that would be a successful event in these parts with the unrelenting wind. 
The town of Long Beach is a nice little touristy village. With brightly coloured shops filled with touristy souvenirs. This was a kite and wind sock shop. We ate a fabulous lunch of Fish n Chips made with rockfish which was delicious. Washed that down with the most incredible fresh chowder I have ever tasted. 
On the beach and dunes we ended up having to bundle up as the wind got so strong and was blowing sea spray on us.
We saw pelicans huddling on the sand.
Cars were permitted to drive on the beach. Something that I have never seen where I live.
They are thought to be a benign sort of tumor. The cause is not truly known, but is thought to be triggered by something wafting up from the sea on the wind. Perhaps a virus?
Once they get too heavy, the burls sometimes fall off, or if they develop on a limb, it will sometimes cause the branch to drop off.
After a short walk, the trail ended at a gorgeous, misty beach!
A bit of a magic forest, if I do say so!
On Tuesday night we saw Adele in Vancouver at the Orpheum. What an amazing show. Originally scheduled for May 31st, but postponed to now, due to her having lost her voice. During that time, her popularity here has skyrocketed. When I first got the tickets in spring, many people I mentioned Adele to, had not heard of her. By the time we were going to the concert, she had become the talk of the town!
Lyle Robertson, the pianist played beautifully. The whole band was awesome. The only thing I could say surprised me though was that Adele did not introduce the members of the band. Maybe just nerves?
Between songs, her chit chat was so funny, Adele could be a stand up comedian if she ever got tired of singing.
The Orpheum is a gorgeous theater.
An amazing venue. At the rate Adele's success is growing, she will likely be performing in arenas on her next tour.
When she comes back to Vancouver, I'll be first in line for tickets!
There are also little old shops that are still as quaint as the day they were built. Some house photographers studios, art and craft suppliers. I know my Grandfather used to shop here for his matts and paints when he was alive. 
The market is always brimming with every fresh food imaginable. The seafood section is a bit pongy though!
Fresh fudge made right before your eyes. Congratulations to Keith who resisted buying fudge for the first time in my memory!
Granville Island is on False Creek. Vancouver Yacht Club is right across the water and the inlet is filled with boats of all kinds moored all along the creek. False Creek is not actually a creek but an inlet of the ocean extending up from English Bay.
