Another one off the list…

What a weekend!  It was so gorgeous, we just couldn’t sit inside all weekend.  Besides, it was hot as fuck!  We saw a movie Saturday night and spent Sunday at Stanley Park and the Vancouver Aquarium.

We started off with the day at the Aquarium.  Lots of fun stuff to see there!  First was the Treasures of the BC Coast, an exhibit of sea life from all over the coast.  Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see the octopus.  Those things sure can hide.   Outside, we actually got to stick our fingers into the “touch tank” full of Anemones.  That was so neat, the way they grip onto your fingers, it feels really weird when you pull your hand away.  We watched the otters swimming and playing around for a bit.  We even got to watch one float around cleaning itself.  We were outside in time to see the otter feeding and the dolphin show, which was absolutely awesome.  They can jump so high!  The training is just amazing.  I’m really glad we got to watch that. 

The line-up to go underground to view the belugas was too long due to the new baby beluga being so sick right now.  They were taking everyone in very small groups and no one was able to even get close to the glass, so we skipped the underwater viewing there, but we did get to watch from above as one beluga was being trained to fetch his lunch box.  It was quite cute.

Another big attraction was the Tropical Zone.  The first thing in there as soon as you enter the Graham Amazon Gallery is a tank that houses two large fish that almost look like dinosaurs.  They are called arapaima and the biggest one there is about 7 ft. long.  Pretty damn cool, I think.  There was also a tank that had a whole bunch of Jamaican Fruit Bats.  We could see a few hanging against the glass eating pieces of apple.  That was really neat to watch.  There was even a camera set up with night vision so that we could watch them on a screen and actually get an idea of just how many were in there.  Continuing into the Amazon Gallery, we walked through a rainforest with beautiful scarlet colored birds, and even a two-toed sloth sleeping up in a tree.  There were also some marmosets, one of which was so tiny it looked like it would fit in my jeans pocket.  Very cute!  Another display had a bunch of cocoons hanging and if you were lucky, you could even watch a butterfly hatch.  Of course, I wasn’t so lucky.  but the stick bugs next to that were neat.  They even had some nice big snakes and an alligator.

Downstairs, and the last thing we checked out, there was an exhibit called Frogs Forever, set up to raise awareness of a dying species.  There were all kinds of frogs and different amphibians there.  I think the coolest thing in there was the axolotl.  This thing was so cool.  It looked like it could be quite vicious if it wasn’t living in a tank at the aquarium.

 
After enjoying all there was to see at the Aquarium, we ventured out into the park.  We couldn’t resist a ride on the miniature train.  And we were just in time.  They were about to take the last trip of the day when we got there.  Definitely worth it!  I remember being on the train there once when I was younger for Christmas.  It’s great all lit up.  I’m sure Halloween would be cool.  We’ll have to check that out. 

We walked for a bit back to the car and then went over to Third Beach.  Finding parking there was almost impossible, but with enough patience, we ended up finding a spot up the road.  We walked out along the beach and waded along the water.  It was great on a long, hot day.  By then, we were ready to get out of the sun an off our feet, so we called it a day and headed home.  It was an absolutely awesome day!  I am so happy that we were able to get out and take advantage of such a beautiful summer weekend.

 

Today, we enjoyed Canada Day (Cannabis Day) at the Vancouver Art Gallery.  Gotta love them big pot rallies!  After that, we went over to Lonsdale Quay for some beaver tails.  Those things were actually pretty damn good.  We’ll definitely be going back for more of those in the future.  It was even worth the hour long wait to get back on the Seabus downtown so that we could get ourselves home.  So, it’s back to work as usual tomorrow, but I’ve had such a great time this past few days, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to sleep!  I guess it’s time to try though…  But first, I need to make sure I update my list – I’ve got something to cross off.  Sweet!
 
 

Granville Island

Well, we did it!  We actually took something off the list and crossed it off!  We did originally had other plans to paddle up Widgeon Creek, but the rain in Maple Ridge made us change our minds.  The alternate idea that everyone decided on was a mini-train ride through Centennial Park in Burnaby.

But, due to indecisiveness on the part of our friends - and an unexpected trip to Starbucks while we sat around waiting for them - we instead spent the day on Granville Island, just the two of us.  We thought about taking the mini ferry over, but when the walk is less than fifteen minutes, really, what’s the point?  We parked by Stamps Landing and walked out along the seawall there, which was wonderful, because it was perfect for the weather we were having – not too hot, but definitely nice enough to be out enjoying the day. 

 

It was really neat seeing all the shops they have there.  Number one was the Model Trains / Model Ships Museum, which was pretty cool.  Unfortunately, they only had two of the three trains running, but I had fun trying to find the animals hidden around the diorama.  We also checked out all the awesome artwork and the carved masks in the Eagle Spirit Gallery, where we had to be buzzed into the store and ended up keeping them into their lunch break while we slowly took everything in (oops). Next, we stopped to watch a street performer attempting to make a few bucks from all the spectators at Triangle Square.  We only caught the last ten minutes of the show… as he juggled his knife, a plunger and a flaming torch and then managed to squeeze his body through a tennis racket, all while teetering on some balancing apparatus atop a very wobbly table.

 

We saw this really cool aparatus that moves balls through an obstacle of automation. This thing sits out front of the gates to the Ocean Concrete Factory.  With a little research, I have discovered that this kinetic sculpture is called Ocean Commotion and was actually only unveiled in February 2007.  This thing was so intriguing, I can’t explain it.  It was like some kind of demo of a cement factory, with balls representing the cement, water and gravel that make up the concrete all falling into trucks and running along conveyors and chain pulleys that all ran in a continuous circuit that was actually made up of several different circuits.  It was so awesome, we must have stood there watching this thing for at least 15 minutes.

 
We snacked on some perogies from Perogy Place in the Public Market, and wandered some more.  We came across a place called the Wood Co-op, which had lots of neat things… wooden boxes, furniture, decorations, jewelry, even hair accessories.

 
We went back out along the water a bit more and sat atop the hill where the flagpole is in Ron Basford Park, what used to be called the Mound, for a toke.  Returning brought us to a place called New-Small & Sterling Glass Studio, where we got to watch glassblowing, which was something I’d always wanted to see.  Too bad she just kept making the same ordinary round balls over and over. It would have been neat to see her do something a little more interesting.  We did stop at a place called Dragon Space or something that was a spiritual shop - perfect for people like me.  Although I am not necessarily religious, I am wiccan and I always love the atmosphere in a place like that.  I guess maybe not something I should have dragged my boyfriend into, but I enjoyed all the stuff they had in there.
After that, back to the Public Market for a couple slices of PizzaPzazz, some tea for my man from the Granville Island Tea Co. and we were off.  It was now about 5:30 or close to and time to call it a day well spent.  We toyed with the idea of hopping on the Aquabus back to Stamps Landing, but again, with the walk being so short – and need for an opportunity to smoke some more before hopping in the car - we decided the walk back would be a good way to end the trip, sore as we were from the 5 hours of walking we’d already done, but worth the walk either way.

 

I know there are a lot of things that we didn’t see or even stop to check out, but all in all, I had such a wonderful day, I couldn’t ask for more.  Thanks for another awsome day hun!

The List

So, my boyfriend and I decided to actually make a list of all of the things we want to get out and do together – everything from going for a walk in Stanley Park to camping at Grace Lake.  Although I’ve lived in the Lower Mainland all my life, there are so many things I’ve never done and so many places I’ve never seen.

This past weekend we were actually supposed to pick something off the list and go do it, but when we looked at it, it seemed nothing we’d been talking about recently actually made it on there.  I guess we need to do some updating.  So, I’m going to actually make my own list so that I can keep track of all the awesome things I want to do this summer.  I just hope he’s actually going to want to do them all with me…

As you may see, I have created a page titled The List.  I will keep this updated and cross things off as I get to do them.  My plan is that by the end of the summer I will not only have a much bigger appreciation for Beautiful BC and the place where I grew up, but I’ll also be able to say “I’ve been there” and “I’ve done that” when people talk about all the awesome stuff that they’ve done.

So keep posted and lets see just how much fun we can have this summer…