Posts by: WantsToTravelMore

If you are in Vancouver on a fine summer’s day and want a busy beach with lots of sightseeing (people or geography) you can’t go wrong on Vancouver’s Kits Beach.  This past weekend there was Kits Fest [Aug 20, 21, 22 2010] which had beach volleyball and basketball tournaments plus a variety of tents ranging from local agencies (Kits Chamber of Commerce, Kits Community Centre, Kits House) and it was reasonably child-friendly.   But honestly, who cares?  It’s the stunning visuals that matter.  If you are people watching the variety of people ranging from the artificially beautiful to the naturally […]

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In the summer of 2010, I lived in an apartment hotel in Vancouver’s West End.  (Specifically 910 Beach Ave Apartment Hotel.)  I was enjoying Stanley Park’s Second Beach which has a good playground and a marvelous pool as well as the ocean.  My ride back had left and I was happy, during a warm stunning sunset, to walk along the Stanley Park Seawall, which leads to a waterfront walk along English Bay. Vancouver’s West End is known for its eccentrics.  So, people-watching is great.  Somehow with a stunning sunset and warm conditions even the more erratic people have a (relatively) care-free […]

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This summer I had the chance to visit the Farmer’s Market on Homer Street near Thurlow in Vancouver‘s West End.  When you think of farmer’s markets, I have a picture of an empty parking lot with a pile of tables and random stalls of produce. In the West End, it’s a lot different.  The focus on organic produce is huge as well as vendors of everything from crepes to lattes to stuffed animals.  But, it’s a small selection, but frankly quite tasty.  The folks selling lavender had the most wonderfully stinky lavender imaginable.   A further difference was the number […]

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On February 11 2010, my family took to Burrard Street to try to catch a view of the Torch Relay.  The atmosphere on the street was fun, relaxed and rather full of police.  But the police on bikes, motor cycles, horses and on foot were having a good time too.   Our glimpse of the relay was too short, so we headed north over the Burrard Bridge into Yaletown just in time to see the cauldron lit up on the big jumbo tron screen. We were treated to a few fireworks before heading back home.  (The under-age-2 set don’t like […]

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I got a chance to walk right under the robotic lights in Vanier Park three nights ago.  I was with my 8 and 2 year old children and we approached Vanier Park with the goal of answering the question “just where are these things?” The reaction to the 20 lights that were in continual movement was hugely positive from the kids.  There are ten search lights in the West End and 10 in Vanier Park.  Even on a rainy night they look great as the light makes the moisture in the air shimmer. When I got home I looked up […]

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I got in trouble for my last entry on grumpy Vancouverites, so I thought I’d give some practical suggestions for visitors.   I imagine someone involved in the Winter Olympics might only have a day or so to play in the city.  So I tried to think of my five favourite things that Vancouver has to offer. 1.  Walk the Stanley Park Sea Wall.  It’ll take a couple of hours, but even in the rain, the vistas of both nature and man-made facilities are unique. 2.  Go to Hamilton Street Grill for a steak.  It’s at 1009 Hamilton Street in […]

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In the last few days some mainstream newspapers have reported that a fellow named Dan Poppoff found an odd looking 1.2-metre-long carcass in June 2009 while kayaking Lake Okanagan, where Kelowna sits. www.theprovince.com/Ogopogo+washed+Okanagan+Lake+shoreline/1768656/story.html Speculation is that this is Ogopogo, the lake monster that’s similar in both sightings and improbability of the Loch Ness Monster. OK, if he took a picture, why is it not in the hands of the press? I also frankly don’t believe the so-called native legends because I have the distinct feeling that any existing lore was skimpy (e.g. fairy tale stuff) and then, to annoy the […]

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Local and foreign news has been covering the birth of eagles in Sidney BC, on Vancouver Island, that has been on a live web cam provided by the Hancock Wildlife Foundation.  This is a remarkable way to watch bald eagles. In Vancouver, however, you don’t need to go further than Vanier Park, which is on the north side of English Bay and is right next to the Burrard Street Bridge.  It’s not exactly a peaceful in the summer down there.  The tree the birds nest in is close to where cars park when they come to the annual Shakespeare Festival, […]

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If you are from other parts of the world, or even other parts of Canada, you will find Vancouverites a strange bunch of drivers. When I first came to Vancouver I had inherited a set of aggressive driving tendencies from elsewhere in urban Canada. Therefore it came as a shock when trying to pressure Vancouver drivers to hurry up; it actually confused them and they slowed down.  There seems to be a certain disinterest in driving.  Clouds?  Imaginary friends?  I could not tell what was distracting Vancouver drivers.  With the advent of cell phones, the distraction became directly observable.  If […]

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A lot of attention is paid to Vancouver‘s downtown, but just over the Burrard Street Bridge in the Kitsilano neighbourhood is a bike/walk that allows visitors and locals to enjoy beaches and views. The best place to start is at the corner of Cypress and Cornwall where the No. 22 bus, which goes to/from downtown, stops. Once there, head north on Cypress St. and walk by the homes and look for the big totem pole in front of the Marine Museum. You will see a walking path that heads west and then curves to the south. At this point you […]

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