A Day out in Vancouver

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Wednesday June 26th

Today was so busy and we went to so many places and took so many photos that it will be a photo story. Ted dropped at as Sky train and we used a day pass to catch the sky train into down town Vancouver. We got off at Waterfront and caught the sea bus over to North Vancouver to visit Lansdowne market.

Views on trip on sea bus.

View to North Vancouver

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Seabus looking back towards Central Vancouver.

Back from there and we took 2 stops on the Canada line to Yaletown to catch an aquabus to Granville Island. However on the way we saw what looked like an old railway turntable and it was. Crossed the road to discover the Roundhouse community Centre completer with Locomotive 374 which was the first locomotive used to pull a passenger train into Vancouver in 1887.

We took a little aquabus to Granville Island. This was once a hevy industrial area but it has reinvented itself with a large fresh food market as the centrepiece and many specilist shops selling handcrated goods. 

 View from Granville Island back towards Burrard bridge

On the way back we had a delightful whistling boatman. He was whistling intricate classical melodies, so mary ased him which instrument he played . Turned out he was a masters major of clssical violin at San Francisco. Interesting way to practice. He has driven the aqua buses for 8 years in the summer to fund his studies. Eventually he hopes to have a symphony orchestra job.

 Houses on the water.

While we were away a huge private super yacht had berthed.

Super Yacht from the Isle of Mann sailing the world!

We walked to Canada Place to check outwhere the cruise ships leave from and there Greg gave us a guided walk of historic buildings ramining in the CBD on the way to Gastown.

Central Station.

 Super sized lego?

 Flame 2010 Winter Olympics

Vancouver was born in Gastown. It was a rough and tumble neighbourhood that was once the city's commercial and shipping hub and the brick workhouses that helped build the city. Saved from demoliton and redevelopment, it is now thriving diverse urban community.

 Steam Clock in Gas town.

 “Gassy Jack” John Deighton arrived with a barrel of whiskey and set up his saloon here.

 Boot Saloon. Cowboy boots in every colour (even turquoise Amy)

Stewarts Farm, White Rock and Langley Fort

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Tuesday June 25th

This morning Greg's friends Randy and Delores came and picked us all up and took us on an adventure. Mary and Alan enjoyed catching up with them. Randy had visited NZ and spent Christmas with them when the boys were little and came back again a few years later with his new wife Delores. (Message to Hamish and Craig: Randy is still wearing his fireman's belt, even though he is now retired!)

Well when you go out with Randy it is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you will get. So everyone climbed into his seven seater and we came to Stewarts Farm. British Columbia was settled at the same time as NZ so the lovely old farm house there was very like a NZ colonial house. It was quite large and had been restored to look as it would have at the time. The grounds had been planted with cottage and kitchen gardens and went right down to the rivers edge. The river had been a great source of crabs and oysters but they are no longer a commercial operation. This charming farm was about a 20 min drive from where Greg and Randy grew up but they had never been there. 

 This is the whole cast on the porch of the Stewart Farm homestead.

Alan, Randy, Mary, Kathleen holding me, Ted, Delores and Greg.  Please note this is an international cast.

Back into the van and onto the coast to Cresent Beach where bachs and cribs now share space with mansions. These charming little seaside villages were where you once went for a stroll along the pier to remind you of the mother land. 

At White Rock beach, the pier is still there and so is the white rock. Over the years the white rock suffered from a lot of graffiti damage. It all got too much when overnight someone painted it black with a skull and cross bones on it. The authorites decided to paint it white! Of course it still gets tagged and they still keep painting it. They even had to move it to put the railway line in, and it is not a small rock. But it is important as the place takes it name from it. Looking straight across the beach was the USA. We were right on the border. 

THE white rock at White Rock.

Randy decided to drive along Avenue 0 where the houses on the right were in the USA and the ones on the left were in Canada. There was a huge queue of trucks lined up at the border crossing. Randy eventually turned off as we weren't going to the Niagara Falls as that would have taken days.

The lunch stop was at Otter Coop in the outskirts of Aldergrove. It was like a huge general store but it had a small cafe set amonst the clothes and shoes. Mary did not get time to check out the shoes which were all on sale.:-(

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Fort Langley was founded in 1827 as a fur trading post. The furs were sent back to England to make fur coats and beaver top hats. 

 Making some new friends.

 They also made barrels at the cooperage on site to transport salted salmon and cranberries. There was only one original building left on site, the rest been very realistic reproductions. In the Big House, which is now a reproduction, British Columbia was proclaimed a colony at a ceremony in November 19th 1858. 

 Alan getting into character with an appropriate costume.

The whole site was originally surrounded by a palisade wall. A small section has been reproduced with towers. 

This blog is brought to you by free wifi in Starbucks yet again.

Out and About Locally

 

Monday June 24th

Wow those big people took ages to get up today. Finally they appeared and they were off in the car to The Pantry to have breakfast. Well brunch really as they didn't get there till 10am. Mary got very excited to see that Monday was seniors days and senior was 60 and over not 65. So we all had pancakes and maple syrup which is apparently what you have for breakfast in Canada.

Even more exciting: free wifi! So that was a good chance to catch up on email and send a few messages to say everyone had arrived safely.

Then it was off to the supermarket for the big shop. After it was all packed away They finally took me out walking around the local area. Mary was amused by several signs and took photos. 

How many flavours do you need?

We have joined this club.

Finally got to Starbucks where they have free wifi, So a chance to get some blog up, clear mail and check FB.

Greg and Alan spent the late afternoon making plans for the real sightseeing. So we are off out tomorrow.

We made it to Vancouver

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This is me intrepid little traveller Patariki off on my adventures again. I wonder where thay are taking me this time?

I only found out yesterday that I was the lucky kiwi chosen to go with Mary and Alan on this trip. Why me I asked? Well there was only room for one and I can curl up in my rugby ball. And they said I can come to Paris as the little tour guide for Hamish and Louise as I have been before and know my way around. Heck I nearly fell off the back of a boat into  the Sienne last time. More about that later.

So it was off to the Wangaui airport and up to Auckland where Craig and Amy rolled up outside the domestic terminal and drove us across to International. Only time for a quick chat and drink and for me to have a photo with Amy and then off to departure. Who should we bump into up there but Kathleen and Greg. Nobody told me they were going to be there. So off to the plane and here we all are sitting together after a late dinner, smooth flight, good sleep and now breakfast.

Arrived on time along with six other planes so we had really long queues in customs. We were picked up by friends of Kath and Greg's and Greg's dad Ted and whisked off to Surrey where we are staying with Ted. It was still Sunday. 3pm in the afternoon. Mmmm same time as we left to go to the Wanganui airport someone is going to have to explain this to me.

Now that we are at the top of the world things work differently from down under. The light switches switch up to go on and down to go off, and you pull taps rather than push them to turn them on.

It's wet here but so much warmer than NZ.

Well it's 10pm on a very long Sunday and time for all the kiwis to go bed.

 Here I am saying goodbye to Amy at the Auckland airport.