HERE IS A RECAP
I didn’t get a chance to post in September before leaving. Our weather from the end of August through the first 10 days of September was hot and humid. We lost electric on the hottest day in August, right when my kitchen was being painted. Flash forward to Labor Day weekend, we had family visit and then the next day we had to pick our wine grapes and start the process of making wine. It was a hot, hectic time leading up to our departure for Vancouver. We had tried two times to take this trip, the last being during Covid. So here were finally were leaving on September 16th.
We arrived in Vancouver around 5 pm, checked in and walked to the beach area. We were staying in the West End and not too far Stanley Park. Vancouver was having a heat wave. It was 80 degrees when we arrived. The beach was teeming with humans. I was surprised to see on a Tuesday late afternoon, so many people on the beach and in the water. There was a cute little beach club packed with happy hour revelers.
I had chosen Hook Seafood Bar for us. It was directly across from the beach and had a good view to watch the sunset. We ordered wine and watched the scene unfold.
Right outside our restaurant, were two doves. One flew out from under the overhang area where they had been to a small perch. He or she called out to the other dove to join on the perch. The other dove flew out and squawked at the partner, then abruptly flew back to its protective area. Of course, this set me off into imagining what the two were saying. First dove, “join me on the perch. It’s a beautiful sunset tonight.” The second dove scolds the first dove saying, “It’s out in the open, no protection, and too many humans around.” Second dove flies back under the overhang, and first dove stays for a while, but finally goes back to the overhang as well.
There were so many different kinds of birds here. We saw flocks of Canadian Geese crossing the roads. I might add, Vancouver drivers are very polite when the geese are crossing the road, and even when humans are crossing, stopping immediately. This is an active town. People were on bikes, running, walking, moving non-stop. The town is set up for it. There are separate bike lines with little cement risers to keep cars out. And along the seawall area, there are no cars whatsoever. You have a pedestrian lane or a bike and scooter lane. There was a hub of activity day and night. It probably didn’t hurt that the weather was fantastic. Our whole week there was sunny and warm – not 80 every day, but in the 70’s mostly or high 60’s with bright sunshine.
If you haven’t been to Vancouver or Stanley Park, I can highly recommend it. Just know you will be walking a lot. There are tourist buses that go to the first stop in Stanley Park, but then you are walking. We walked the whole time because we didn’t pay for tours. It wasn’t necessary. The east side of the park has more attractions or sites to see – the Aquarium, the Totem Poles, the rose gardens, the Shakespeare gardens. Lots to see or you can walk further out to the point.
The west side is mostly the beaches, the sea wall walkway, and about half way up is the Tea Garden Restaurant. It’s a lovely restaurant at the top of the hill. They even served tea in the afternoon. We just went up for the viewpoint and sat down a while to read our books. So quiet up there. The park is mostly peaceful but the amount of runners and bike riders can be overwhelming at times; even on a week day in mid-September. There was even a swimming pool right next to the beach which was now closed for the season. There are frequent benches, a lot of them in shade, which was nice.
I mentioned about birds earlier. Along this walkway were the friendliest crows I have ever seen. They were not afraid of humans at all and they were not aggressive. I was sitting on a beach eating an apple when a crow came down and sat next to me. I talked to him for a while and I could see he was eyeing my apple. So we made a deal. I told him when I got to the core, he could have the rest. He came over and sat next to me and waited. I put the core out and he took it and flew a few steps away, holding it with his one foot and eating it. I have never had such a docile crow experience before. We have a lot of crows in our yard at home. I speak to them all the time, but they are not friendly to the point of approaching me. I do feed them nuts, which they love.
This walkway became my place to be. We would sometimes bring some light food to eat and our books just to sit by the water. There were little ferries to take across to other small islands or big ferries to take to the islands off the coast. We didn’t have a car so walking or ferries were basically it. We did take a ferry to Vancouver Island, which is where Victoria is and lots of other wonderful spots. Victoria has an easy laid back vibe to it. On the way over we passed a lot of little islands but didn’t see any sealife at all. However on the way back, two Orca’s followed in our wake for a bit and then disappeared. I just caught the end of them as I came on that side of the boat. We were lucky the weather was good both ways. It is very calming and beautiful.
We returned at the end of September, and just like that September was gone! Farewell.
Reflections Outside My Window 