Last week I showed you some of the early delights of my dad's garden, which my dear husband and I toured with him our first evening in North Vancouver. We're home now (and, yes, the animals are all fine) but I thought I'd share with you some highlights of the trip, short as it was. I hope you can bear with me: I took quite a few photographs.
We spent a day in Steveston because my dh is slated to take a couple of painting classes there in a week or two, and since he'd never visited that community on the south shores of Richmond, he wanted to check it out. Even though I saw the Fraser many, many times when I was growing up, I'm always startled at how muddy and opaque it is.
This bit of Steveston has become quite touristy, and one pays a premium for dining on the waterfront. We had lunch literally on the river, right down at the water line, but the meal was so indifferent that I won't, out of kindness, tell you the name of the restaurant. I think the view was supposed to make one oblivious to the poor quality of the meal.
But we enjoyed exploring the wharves.
And the cannery, which is now a national park.
The counterbalance to all the touristy stuff is that this is still a fishing community, and the boats are there to work rather than for show.
And where there are fish, there are gulls.
And, unexpectedly, some charismatic mega fowl as well.
My dh found a subject to paint and a spot to set up that while chilly was at least out of the way of vehicles. He did, however, come in for some commentary from passersby.
I'm always amazed at how flat everything is in Richmond, and in Steveston the mountains to the north aren't visible. One looks across the Strait of Georgia to the Gulf Islands, with Vancouver Island behind them. Lots of sky, however.
It wasn't our best day ever on the coast, but dh got to see a part of the lower mainland he'd never seen before and I had a happy hour or two roaming around the village while he painted. I came up with two books from a good used bookstore, a kite for the grandson's birthday later in the month, and a tiny but delectable portion of sea salt and caramel ice cream. And saw these as I walked along the streets.
The next day was a Vancouver day: we headed across Burrard Inlet on the Seabus, dh snapping away with the little camera since he loves the activity of the harbour.
I love the cranes at the container port because they look so like long-necked animals of some kind, complete with a beaky head at the top. The morning air was full of moisture and thus rather misty, so dh took the opportunity of the return trip in the afternoon to photograph the cranes again in sunlight. I like the colour, but they're not nearly so mysterious.
At the same time, he caught these piles of sulphur on the north shore, rather small by comparison with what I remember seeing there as a child. Perhaps they were always this size, but they've been an icon of the harbour's waterfront ever since I can remember.
Once across the inlet, we went to Chapters and after three quarters of an hour found absolutely nothing we wanted. Was the fault ours or Chapters', we wondered? We had lunch at a Greek place, shopped for art supplies at DeSerres, dropped in to a fly fishing shop so dh could have serious conversations about spey casting gear, hopped a bus to a new-to-us used/new bookstore called Pulp Fiction, walked to another fly fishing shop for another installment of spey casting conversation, hopped the bus back to Granville for coffee and a restorative bite to eat, tried to see our favourite art gallery (Art Emporium) at 15th and Granville and, when it proved to be closed investigated Meinhardt instead, glorying in all the weird and wonderful food to be found there. Dh was amazed: "Who knew?" he kept asking. By the end of the day we were tired, my twisted ankle was throbbing, but we were satisfied with all we'd done. And we were appreciative for the nth time of Vancouver's wonderful transit system. For $9.75 each for a day pass, we took two Seabus rides and four bus rides and could have travelled much, much further than we did. Please, if you're a resident of metro Vancouver, find it in your heart to vote yes on the upcoming referendum on increased funding for Translink: it's a great system but it will need to be better as Vancouver's population inevitably burgeons in the future.
Day three on the coast was devoted to a ferry ride to the Sunshine Coast, another place dh knew nearly nothing about. I had a superb cup of tea at the 1902 Store and Tea House in Gibsons, revelling in the shabby chic casualness of the decor (which made dh uncomfortable, unsurprisingly). We drove up the highway, taking detours wherever I saw intriguing side roads on the map (dh drives, I navigate), looking for somewhere for dh to paint.
We stopped at Roberts Creek to explore. The tide was out, revealing the remains of pilings, like teeth, beside the creek's outflow into the ocean.
A long pier extends out into the sea.
And we had a picnic lunch at the Porpoise Bay provincial park, unremarkable for scenery but furnished with this convenient log, riddled with holes made by some sort of marine creature.
We meandered our way north, finally ending up at Madeira Park, where I was intrigued with this boardwalk that apparently leads to not much of anywhere.
The marsh drains into the sea a few feet away.
By this point, we'd had enough. We were disappointed in how few opportunities we found for getting down to the water and scenic places offering possible subjects to paint. So we drove back down the highway to Langdale, veering off to have a look at the mill site at Port Mellon before giving up and getting into line for the ferry back to the mainland. At Horseshoe Bay we drove directly off the ferry and into the village and had dinner at Olive & Anchor, where we ate a year ago. With light in the sky lingering as we left the restaurant, we decided to visit Whytecliff Park, one of the destinations for family outings that mark my childhood. The tide was now in, but the quiet sigh of water on pebble beach was peaceful and we watched the light slowly fade.
We drove back to my parents' home using the incredibly twisty and narrow lower road (Marine Drive) through West Van, watching the lights of the city come up. A lovely ending to an interesting day. And to our holiday, since we left for home the next morning.
Next week, I'll have a new quilt or two to show you, and also, if I'm really lucky, a completely overhauled studio, sleek and serene.
I was especially struck by the photo of Burrard Inlet, with the various shades of grey of the buildings, sky and water, and the red accents on one building and the ship. Would make a great art quilt, don't you think?
Myrna
Posted by: Myrna Charlton | 04/08/2015 at 01:20 PM
Hey, I think you're right, Myrna! It never occurred to me, but I agree with you: that view would be great translated into a quilt.
Posted by: Anne at Shintangle Studio | 04/08/2015 at 03:26 PM
Mum hasn't seen this yet - perhaps tonight. Having been walked through your doings while you were here, it is great to have visuals. So, thanks for that. (But the latest relevant happening is an unfortunate, but hopefully minor, spill in the outer harbour yesterday) Will you explore the suggestion below? Much love -- Dad
Posted by: geoff wilkins | 04/10/2015 at 05:56 PM