Tag Archives: Vancouver

Floatplanes Since I’m In Vancouver Anyway!

Our November visit to Vancouver was about us doing some fun stuff with friends and enjoying what a great city has to offer.  However, when staying so close to the waterfront, it was improbable that I wouldn’t spend a little time watching the floatplane operations.  Even non-enthusiasts find the floatplanes enjoyable to watch so I am not standing out too much here.  The weather wasn’t ideal and the early evenings meant flying would be curtailed before it got too dark but I was happy to get a little bit of flying to watch as part of my weekend away!

Seabus

While in Vancouver in November, we made a trip to North Van to see some friends.  That meant a trip on the Seabus.  The tricky thing about getting images of the Seabus is that you can’t really do anything if you are traveling on it.  The dock is enclosed and the views are restricted so you don’t really have any options (or at least I haven’t worked out what they might be).  However, I did go to the heliport which is very close by and this does provide a better view of the comings and goings of these ferries.

It’s not the most elegant of vessels but it does the job effectively.  Back and forth without turning since it is a bi-directional vessel.  It’s all about shuttling across the harbor as efficiently as possible.  I did also shoot some video of it but it is safe to say that there is nothing terribly dynamic about it that makes for an exciting video!

Unusual Shaped Buildings in Vancouver

There area few buildings in Vancouver where the architects have been a little adventurous.  Some of them are visible from the shore as you walk around Stanley Park and I grabbed some photos from a distance.  There is one that is near the bridge as you drive towards Granville Island.  You can see part of it from the Island but a good view is on the road as you drive by.  I asked Nancy to try getting some shots as I was driving.  The tapered edge makes the building feel like it is hanging over the road.  Very interesting engineering!

Gull’s Crab Lunch Under Threat

As we walked along the shore trail in Stanley Park, we came up on a gull that had just caught a crab.  The gull was intent on eating the crab, as well you might imagine.  However, its lunch had also caught the attention of a bunch of crows (could hardly call them a murder).  Consequently, the gull was trying to find a way to avoid the crows and eat its food.  It was not going to escape them, of course.  Instead, it had to do the best it could and accept that they were going to get a few scraps.

 

Arriving Container Ship

Nancy and I were walking along the shore in Stanley Park in Vancouver during our visit over the Thanksgiving weekend.  As we got closer to the lighthouse, I saw the prow of a ship start to come into view.  A quick switch to video and I recorded the arrival of a container ship to the harbor.  Large vessels like that coming through a narrow entrance to a harbor look cool to me.  Once the harbor opens out a bit, it is just another large ship in open water so the scale is lost.  In that phase when it comes into view, though, it looks as substantial as it really is.  Get close and you are left in no doubt about these ships.

 

Vancouver Christmas Market

We took a trip up to Vancouver at the end of November.  They had set up their Christmas market near where we were staying and our hotel rate included tickets.  It was only open at peak times while we were there but I think the hours were expanding not long after our visit.  These markets are always interesting to walk around but they rarely have anything that I would actually want to buy – other than food and booze!  In this case, we were heading out to dinner with friends afterwards so we even skipped that side of things.  They are always a colorful and popular place so you can just enjoy watching everyone enjoying themselves and occasionally wonder at some of the strange things people will buy!

My Boat In Vancouver

There is a very nice boat that seems to be parked up in the marina along the waterfront on Vancouver.  I have seen it there on all of my recent visits.  I think it is one that I need to be careful not to show off too much in case friends start asking to borrow it.  Let’s say it isn’t really my boat – honestly!

Every City Has One of These Buildings

Old streets in cities were sometimes at odd angles.  This resulted in someone squeezing a building in to the available space.  New Year is most famous with the Flatiron Building which appeared here.  Oakland also had a building which I covered here.  Vancouver has a similar building.  I guess, if your city is of a certain vintage, you may well have something similar.

Gastown Steam Clock

One of the tourist attractions in Gastown in Vancouver is the Steam Clock.  Sitting on a street corner, this looks like a giant grandfather clock with steam whistles on the top of it.  It was surrounded by tourists and the number of selfies being taken was substantial.  We were there close to the top of the hour so we waited around to see what happened.  Below is some video of the lock striking the hour if striking is the right word.

Cruising Out Under Lion’s Gate Bridge

Cruise ships are a regular feature of Vancouver Harbour.  Pacific Place has a terminal where two ships can be berthed at any one time.  One evening, as I was hanging out on Stanley Park, one of the ships set sail – presumably for a trip up to Alaska.  I watched it pass close by where I was and took a look at what I could see happening on the decks facing the shore (including one chap in a bathrobe on a rear balcony who probably didn’t think he was visible.  Then the ship headed out under the Lions Gate bridge as the sun was beginning to go down.