We walked along Vancouver’s marvelous Seawall from Granville Island to the attractive suburb of Kitsilano. The Seawall is a much-used, 30-kilometer, paved pedestrian and bike path along Vancouver’s shoreline from Downtown’s Coal Harbour around Stanley Park and False Creek to the University of British Columbia in Kitsilano. We can’t wait to accomplish more of it by bike while we’re here. Happy to see so many people outdoors enjoying this beautiful weather!
view from the Granville Island side
This 3-D mural painted on concrete silos at Ocean Concrete on Granville Island is part of a non-profit public art project dedicated to exhibiting art “where people live, work, play, and transit.” They were painted by twin brothers from Brazil and decidedly liven up an otherwise mundane canvas. There are so many tourists snapping photos of the “Giants” that a security guard has to keep the entrance clear for their trucks to be able to enter and exit the grounds. I’d say the art project was a success–quite the attention-grabber!
view across False Creek from downtown Vancouver
Had a blast walking around Granville Island, one of Vancouver’s true urban gems. Although not quite an island (a thin strip of land connects it to the south shore of False Creek), the 35 acres is almost completely surrounded by water and offers great views of Downtown to the north and east. It is jam-packed full of artisan studios, theaters, buskers (street performers), a marina, and one of the best public markets we’ve ever seen. This is peak season for local fruit, and the market was bursting with color and fragrance.
at the Steel Toad Brewery
You’ve got to love a pub that has a soft, cozy blanket folded over each chair on their outdoor patio! These Floridians have found that no matter how brilliant the sunshine in the Pacific Northwest, the moment we step into the shade we’re a wee bit chilly. We love being outdoors and appreciate the thoughtfulness of The Steel Toad Brewery in acknowledging that no matter where you’re from, a toasty blanket is a comfort when sipping on a nice cold beer on a patio in Canada. Excellent lunch here, by the way!
We’re in Vancouver! Love this city. We can’t get over how friendly and helpful people are here. The weather is gorgeous–even got a bit of a sunburn on our walk from Granville Island to Kitsilano yesterday.
sunset somewhere near Bellingham, Washington
Beautiful sunset as we took the train from Portland, OR, to Vancouver, BC. Note: You’ve got to remember to say BC when you’re talking about going to the Canadian Vancouver from Portland, or everyone thinks you’re taking a little trip across the Columbia River to WA!
It’s no coincidence that the two cities have the same name. The Hudsons Bay Company abandoned their fur trading post at Fort Vancouver in what would become the American state of Washington to build a new post in what would become British Columbia at the same time Britain and the US were negotiating the Canada/US 49th-parallel border in 1846. I guess the HBC could see the writing on the wall. However, it’s interesting to consider that the US and Britain “shared” the Oregon Territory for almost 20 years, with citizens of both countries lucratively, and relatively peacefully, trapping beaver despite tenuous political relations back home.
The eight-hour train ride–which took more like nine–was very pleasant, and we saw some terrific waterfront scenery.
girl on a train
iconic Haystack Rock
Love this cute little town full of quaint shops, scrumptious restaurants, and craft breweries! I want to live here–IF I could afford it and IF they didn’t have all those dang Tsunami Escape Route notices all around. Living on the edge…of the Cascadian Subduction Zone. Check out this exciting read: after-the-big-one
gorgeous dunes
windswept trees
my dream house
the. Columbia River
Took a ride with the fam up the Columbia River Gorge. Marcus and I were here just last Fall for an extended visit, but I never get tired of some of the most beautiful scenery on Earth.
Multnomah Falls
Took a bit of time out to escape across the Cornelius Pass to Hillsboro. Destination: the Cornelius Pass Roadhouse, one of some 50+ McMenamin’s brewpubs/resorts in the Pacific Northwest. We had visited their Edgefield location, east of Portland, to see Bonnie Raitt in concert last September, and wanted to check out some other ones. Their MO is to turn old, interesting properties into casual eating and drinking establishments. Edgefield was once a 77-acre poor farm in the days before welfare. It now offers a hotel, a brewery, a distillery, several restaurants and pubs, and a great music venue. Cornelius Pass Roadhouse was a six-acre farmstead. McMenamin’s still maintains the apple orchard, has a music venue in their meadow, and hosts special events in the octagonal barn. Today we enjoyed the outdoor patio of their restaurant on a perfect Oregon summer day.
the restaurant
the brewery
the house
Just spent a wonderful week with my four sisters and brother and their spouses, two nieces, a nephew and his wife, a great-nephew, and my son and his wife. We rented a beautiful house outside of Portland, Oregon, and had this gorgeous view of three of the Cascades. Great times!
View from the deck. Three Cascades: Mt. Rainier, Mt. St. Helens, and Mt. Adams (off to the right). The Columbia River is in the foreground.
me and my sibs
