Brisas and Fog

I promised in my last Blog to mention an event on October 26th - it is the last time you will be able to see a Cuban music group called El Grupo Cubano Brisas Del Palmar.  I went with a small group a couple of weeks ago to hear them and dance to them.  They performed at the Billy Bishop Legion in Kits Point - just across the water from the West End.  The place itself is a little bit of a dive - well, it reminds one of a completely different time.  They have photos of flying squadrons and memorabilia from the world wars.  And of course the patrons have been going there for years, that is why the "stage" was pretty informal - a cleared space with stacked chairs on one side of the "stage" and chairs in facing.  There was a little bit of room between the chairs for seating and the 6 gentlemen performing....this was the dance floor.  Mostly it was Salsa and the audience produced some hardchore dancers as well as some just out for a bit of dancing fun.  The music was terrific, the guys authentico and the evening memorable.  If you want to see them perform for the last time tickets are $20 and they perform at 7 pm on October 26th at the Peretz Centre, 6184 Ash Street, Vancouver - Pay at the door.

October weather has been odd this year.  For the past few days the weather has been very foggy and for our Korean and Louisianana guests it was cold.  For Vancouverites and folks from the Pacific Northwest it wasn't particularly chilly...but it was a little spooky.  The photos I took yesterday were from Stanley Park near Lost Lagoon.  The racoon family I took photos of were very interested in the crunching of the paper bag in my pocket - I was more nervous than they.  Fortunately they went back to hunting for worms and grubs.  I also took a photo of a Gunera plant.  I couldn't get a pic of me and the plant but I can tell you it was about 7 feet tall - they are huge, obviously something the dinosaurs used to eat!  As it said yesterday was foggy - fog horns all night but today it was very warm and sunny...the sun is still shining on my office at 4:40 pm!  I am sure the sunset will be amazing tonight.

I am working on some packages for guest to buy over the winter and the summer.  It isn't ready yet but they will be on the Specials page or when you make a reservation so keep checking.

There were 4 in this family but they wouldn't get into a group shot.

There is something so enchanting about water foul on a pond - this photo was taken by the stone bridge on Lost Lagoon.

Gunnera over 7 feet high on the left and a Princess tree with huge trees on the right of the path.

Masked Bandits...but too lazy to do any thieving for this photo op!

Fall Outings

It has been a whacky autumn this year.  In September the rains came down and it really felt like we would be into winter in a very short time.  Then October came along and the weather began to change - as much as it does on the West Coast.  We'll have really warm and sunny weather one day and then can be cool the next but still sunny.  It hasn't been horrible is what I am trying to say, so I thought I'd be a tourist at home.  I'm doing this post about a couple of activities I've done in the past week or so.

Last Saturday was one of those really wonderful west coast days.  It was warm, I kept having to take my layers of clothes off, that's what happens when you live in the basement - it is cold down there so you think it must be cold outside as well.  Anyway, dressed in a shirt and taking a sweater along just in case Ron and I went with our two dogs - Persia and Friday - to a part near the Vancouver International Airport.  I've never been there before - never, it seems incredible that I'm this old and experiencing something new like this.  If you check out the pictures you will see that it is very scenic - I wish I would have made a picnic lunch and stopped for a bite to eat and a nap while I lay in the sun.  BUT I didn't, we walked the dogs along the Eco trail...probably has another name but it was a trail where dogs needed to be on-leash (ours were but no one elses was), where there might be some foul in the bushes and other things like a snake I saw slither away as we approached along the path.  After a wander up the path we found a place to get down to the Fraser River.  There was a little beach area - so cute, I felt like Robinson Crusoe.  After a short rest we headed back to the designated dog park so that Persia could fetch the ball for 20 minutes or so.

The next park was 3.5 kms away and there we bumped into a group of people doing a wedding shot.  It was very picturesque there and if we hadn't spent so much time at the first park we would have wondered along the shore.  At this point there isn't much more land.  It sand and scrub with River on one side, the Airport sort of beside and behind and the Gulf of Georgia ahead.

We were no more than 25 minutes from the Guest House.  Vancouver is big but nature is nearby.

My next post will be about Billy Bishop's Legion and the Cuban band we went to see and hear....and dance to.

Pond, part of the Fraser River.

Hmm, a little dark in the foreground, but this is our little Robinson Crusoe Beach beside the Fraser River.

North Shore Mountains, Reeds and a long wooden path.

Say Cheese! What a great location for a wedding shoot. Looked like a happy day!