Stanley Park

The grand plan for Thursday was to get up early and head to Stanley Park, Mother Nature had a different idea. We woke up to rain and decided to delay our departure in hopes of better weather.

Kristin and I set out around 10 AM, caught the Skylink and headed into Vancouver. We made our way through the city and along the seawall stopping for a quick brunch. Nothing to write about that place, bad food, bad service, not such a good view but we did get to watch some curling while eating so it wasn't all bad.

We strolled along Coal Harbour Seawalk and made our way to...

Stanley Park

Stanley Park first opened in 1888 and is a 404 hectare (1000 acre) peninsular oasis surrounded by English Bay and Burrard Inlet. Hectare, now there's a good Scrabble word, I need to jot that down in my Scrabble book.

A little splash of Spring! Crocus are one of my favorites.

Tall, beautiful Red Cedar trees were every where.



A view of the West End, Vancouver from Stanley Park



Totem Pole at Brockton Point

Between 1920 and 1936, the city purchased a number of totem poles from First Nations people in Alert Bay, the Queen Charlotte islands and the River Inlet with the idea of constructing an "Indian village" display in Stanley Park.

The originals have since been sent to museums as they don't last long in the weather conditions, these are reproductions.

Girl in Wetsuit

This sculpture of a woman in a scuba suit was inspired by Copenhagen's famous "Little Mermaid" sculpture, and created in 1972 by sculptor Elek Imredy. Can you guess why I liked this sculpture, some day maybe I'll share my mermaid story.

Empress of Japan figurehead

The Empress of Japan was a clipper-bowed, steam-driven ocean liner that made 315 trips between Vancouver and Hong Kong from 1891 until 1922, carrying passengers and mail.

These were the most friendly swans and ducks I've ever met Trumpeters, Mallards and a variety of others came to visit

After leaving the park we continued our walk along the seawall...

The Inukshuk
Abstract human forms with outstretched arms, inukshut have long been used by the Inuk as landmarks and navigational aids. More recently they've become regional symbols of hospitality and are used as the emblem of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games!

Those damn red mittens have shown up everywhere!

Mole Hill

This block contains the only intact stretch of houses dating from the original development in the West End. Built primarily as rooming houses for laborers, the blocks 36 are now run as a joint venture between BC Housing, the city, and the Mole Hill Community Housing Society, providing 168 rental units for low and medium income residents. The modern four-story building at the end of the block is the Dr. Peter Centre, BC's only day-health program and care residence for people with HIV/AIDS.

The Hobbit House! I stopped for the name, noticed a sign reading coffee and asked Kristin if she wanted to stop for coffee, maybe grab a snack.

What a fantastic idea that turned out to be. We entered the building and were greeted by a very nice woman welcoming us and offering us coffee, snacks, sandwiches, hot chocolate and the hockey game on big screen. The house was being run by the Salvation Army and they were offering free lunches, snacks and beverages.

The Salvation Army has been all over Vancouver during the Olympic games, you can find them offering hot chocolate and coffee outside every event. They have been awesome! I cannot tell you how wonderful it is to have someone offer you a hot beverage after being in the cold drizzly Vancouver rain waiting for the train. A huge shout out to the Salvation Army! Thank you so much for everything you do!