Through My Lens: Float Planes
There was a wee bit of excitement in Vancouver today about a couple of visitors. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are in British Columbia for an eight-day visit and today was their whistle-stop tour of Vancouver.
What I find amusing about the media coverage of the Royal Tour is how every story highlights that the Royals are being flown around the province by float plane. Float planes are, to put it mildly, a way of life in coastal BC. For some communities, it’s the only way in or out.
I took this photo of the planes docked at the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre (aka Downtown Vancouver’s seaplane terminal) last summer. The Duke and Duchess arrived here from Victoria this morning ― by float plane.
Through My Lens: Trincomali Channel
Another mini-break on Salt Spring Island means another photo of a spectacular view. I took this from Channel Ridge where my friend and I went to walk her dog. We’re looking east over Trincomali Channel towards Galiano Island.
And here’s a cool bit of trivia: Trincomali Channel is named after HMS Trincomali, a British warship built in 1816 that is now docked in Hartlepool, England. What’s the connection between HMS Trincomali and BC? The ship was stationed at the Esquimalt Royal Naval Dockyard near Victoria in the 1850s. The dockyard was an important station of the British Royal Navy from 1842 to 1905 and is now home to the Royal Canadian Navy’s Pacific Fleet.
Through My Lens: Herbs, Herbs, and More Herbs
And … it’s that time of year again. Tomorrow I head off to Salt Spring Island for my “island fix” ― and it just so happens that it’s also the weekend of the Salt Spring Island Fall Fair. It was during my visit to the fair two years ago that I snapped this photo.
I don’t know if my friend and I will make it to the fair this year, but I do know I am looking forward to some island time.
Imagine
Imagine there’s no countries
It isn’t hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people living life in peace, youYou may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one
― John Lennon
Inukshuk at English Bay
One of the most surprising discoveries from my research about the legacy landmarks of Expo 86 was when I learned about the origins of the inukshuk at English Bay. Turns out this iconic sculpture is the same one that stood in front of the Northwest Territories Pavilion at Expo. The territorial government commissioned Alvin Kanak of Rankin Inlet to create the sculpture made of grey granite. After Expo, it was given to the City of Vancouver, and it has stood in English Bay since 1987.
Pileated Woodpecker
Here’s someone I met on one of my walks through Stanley Park this month.
This is a Pileated Woodpecker, the largest (about the size of a crow) of the four species of woodpeckers found in the park. This particular woodpecker loves forests and the best way to find him is to look up.
Way up.
Check out that grip.
Through My Lens: Coal Harbour Sunset
Same sky, different direction. I took this photo a few minutes before the one in yesterday’s post, but I’m looking west instead of east.
Through My Lens: Moon Over Coal Harbour
All right. Enough already with the whinging about the waning of summer. Let’s get outside.
I took this photo on a long walk one evening last week. Those are the condos of Coal Harbour and the Coal Harbour Marina.
Through My Lens: Sunset Beach Paddlers
It’s the middle of August already. There are only a few weeks left of what has been a fabulous summer in Vancouver.
Sigh.
What else is there to say?
Through My Lens: Granville Lights
I have no particular reason for posting this photo, except that I think it’s kind of cool. Granville Street is the heart of Vancouver’s entertainment district and it can get a little zany at night ― especially on weekends.
Those white vertical lights you see in the photo were installed to dress up the street for the 2010 Winter Olympics, as a nod to its neon past. At one time, Granville Street was said to have the highest concentration of neon in the world.
There and Back Again 