Pride and Fresh Fruit

This morning could have been like any other.  We had two guests leave early so didn't join us for breakfast, we had a family of three and guests from Holland, New Zealand, Belgium and  a gay couple from Miami, Alexis and I were cooking and serving.  The menu was standard:  A blueberry, Carrot and Spinach Smoothie, fresh berries and yogurt and chopped mint from our mini herb garden.  The main course were crepes Alexis made with a stuffing mixture of mushrooms, spinach, onion and thyme, oregano and pineapple sage also from our herb garden.  The option was with or without ham.  And Cinnamon buns with vanilla icing which Alexis made yesterday and baked today.

Several of our guests were leaving the city, the family of three were going on a cruise to Alaska, the Dutch couples are using our bikes today.  After the dishes were done I ventured out to get some yogurt.  Today is Pride and Vancouver hosts a very big and fun Pride Parade.  One block from the house is where it starts at Noon...as I write this it is 11:45....I could hear some of the music and noise from those assembling for the parade.  I'm sure there will be several hundred thousand people watching.  When I got to the market for the yogurt I couldn't help myself.  It is August and the fruit selection is wonderful.  I couldn't buy everything I saw but I did stock with a few choice items that will make their way into tomorrow's breakfast.

Coming back I decided to walk Robson Street, the route of the parade where people were already camped out with umbrellas, cushions, chairs, and festive clothing galore.  It promises to be a pretty awesome day.  I'll take some photos and post them.  If YOU decide to come for Pride it is held on the BC Weekend and the Parade is on Sunday, rather than the holiday Monday.  It is a day after the last evening of the Honda Celebration of Light - fireworks competition which started on July 27 this year.  Three countries - UK, Canada and Thailand all competed for the coveted award of BEST Fireworks.  Everyone was impressed but particularly the Dutch Couples who told me there fireworks at home were not so spectacular....here they are projected from two huge barges in the middle of English Bay, about a 10 minute walk from the house.  The end of July and the beginning of August are prime times in Vancouver.  If you want to be a guest book early.

The lower mainland produces bountiful crops of blueberries this year. We had a wet start to summer and then lots of sun, so this year's crop is one of the best I've ever seen.

Mika our housekeeper, Ron and Me watching the Parade with the crowd.

Seems to be more about inclusion and so many different facets of society involved.

I took a pic of this bus because this is how the transit buses were when I was in highschool in the 1970s....times have changed.

Times have changed but there is still appreciation for a little buff and tan!

Who could resist putting this outfit on?

Something like 600,000 people came out for the parade...this is only some of them.

The barges for the Honda Celebration of Light.

Lawn Bowling and Currywurst

I have owned and operated 4 bed and breakfasts.  Each one had it's own theme, one was about world travel and exotic places, the other was olde worlde (picked that term up in England many years ago), the West End Guest House is about the Edwards family and early Vancouver.  Somewhere along the way I picked up a set of bowls - not cereal bowls but bowling bowls - yup that's what they are called.  Bowls not Balls.  Anyway, today was the first time I've ever Lawn Bowled...I didn't think to bring my bowls, so I used the bowls at the Granville Lawn Club on Fir and 15th Avenue.  I've known it for years but it took my SSAG group to properly introduce me.  We were met by Shirley a retired insurance broker - 40 years!  Makes my 23 years with the West End Guest House seem a little insignificant.  She went over the basics of the game and then introduced us to Pat who tutored us further, coached us further and applauded our efforts and improvements.  It was quite fun, I would definitely do it again and I know their members range from young to old so it isn't a game for old codgers like so many think.

It was a hot afternoon and the beer they had available went down well.  Only one beer and then back to two more Ends - it didn't necessarily improve things but we went from being behind at 5 to 7 to winning at 8 to 7.  Yay PECs.  Too Bad RRRs.  It is an inexpensive way to spend sometime with friends or colleagues - I noticed all the businesses that have their own tournaments.  I'm sure it would be good for morale.

What is also good for morale is good EATS.  After the Lawn Bowling we were pretty hungry but fortunately our SSAG captain arranged for us to go to Bestie in Chinatown.  Last October we were in Berlin on a tour being told at every turn about the Currywurst which Berlin is known for.  That was an expensive trip....to get all the way to Berlin but if you are in Vancouver and want to experience great - yummy - delish Berlin current cuisine go to Bestie at 105 W Pender Street.  My duck sausage with red cabbage pickle, potato and fennel salad for $12 was excellent.  I was driving so I had a lemonade which went down well since we were still pretty warm from having been outside in the sun all afternoon.  I finished off with a Gingerbread Cookie!  The two owners, Clinton and Dane have only been open a few months but are definitely a hit on the culinary scene.  They are open every day but Sunday and open for lunch, afternoon, dinner, afternoon dinner till 10 and 12 on weekends.  They even convert the table we were sitting at to a take out window!  That is clever.  I wonder how I could do something like that at the Guest House?  Probably not but that's okay.

The day was good all around AND on the way up the street in downtown Chinatown I found some bamboo blinds I have been looking for.  ACE!

Our group on the steps, just getting ready to have some fun....despite our talent!

It is a bit tricky....and we hadn't even started.

Bestie - 105 West Pender....tres cool chairs

Inside Bestie with Clinton in the stripped shirt.

Dane with my Duck Sausage...pretty yummy...I didn't have a thing to say till I was finished licking the plate!

Yaletown Tour

 I am a supporter of Heritage Vancouver!  There, I've said it...I've come out of the closet.  Heritage Vancouver is actually an old pal of mine, we once almost got me involved in a heritage house in Mole Hill - that's part of the West End, a site saved by resident activists.  If it had taken I would be operating a B&B Museum and Tea Room!  Wouldn't that be fun?

I was invited by my friend Arlene - I call her Arlenela and she calls me Evanala, which pretty much means we are special people.  And you'd have to be special to be invited to a walking tour of Yaletown.  The tour started out in the old Round House, part of the Canadian Pacific Railyards in Yaletown, named after Yale, British Columbia - you know there is more to tell, but I'm not going to.  If you are interested contact Heritage Vancouver www.heritagevancouver.org/‎, they will have all the answers.  The Round House was where the locomotives were repaired - look for the photo of the three garage doors, the locomotives would be driven onto a piece of railway that would spin around and then the loco. would be off loaded and driven into the garage - repaired and then back to work.

Yaletown is a busy section of Vancouver and I didn't realize how much planning went into it.  I just thought it grew organically from warehouse and streets with rail lines to a community of over 10,000 people.  When I was a teenager my Mother used to drive through this area as a short cut to get to our apartment on Beach Avenue.  I remember a couple of saw mills, bumpy roads, closed roads and fierce looking workers not appreciating the invasion of the lime green Toyota Corolla stationwagen - with a hatch back!  Then a decade and a half later there were some clubs down in this area and then a few years later than that we had Expo 86 and the whole area seemed to come alive but as soon as it did it died again and was kind of sad place for about 8 or 10 years and then in the early 1990s the community we know as Yaletown popped up.

If you are interested in some pretty good eats like Cioppinos - famous Italian Seafood, or BlueWater Cafe, Minami - according to Arlene, the best Japanese restaurant in Vancouver, Opus Bar - stylin' drinks, Rodney's Oyster Bar - fun and noisy and fun....did I mention that?, Yaletown Brewing Company - we make beer in Vancouver!  Oh, there are more and more.  And there is nice shopping - check out www.yaletowninfo.com for lots more information - anything from clothes to Minis.

The tour was about 90 long and was $12.  They do tours of the West End, Gastown/Japan Town and various other places but mainly Heritage Vancouver is the force behind preserving the earlier years of Vancouver.  I'm proud to to be a supporter. And I'm so glad Arlene asked me out!

This is a safe in an old warehouse building now used for offices.

These groovy houses would have been built after the great fire in 1886 and before my house was built in 1906. Very Victorian wouldn't you say?

Not the best photo of either the boxy building below which has been around for 100 years or the highrise which is considerably newer, but this marks the Western border of Yaletown. The street is Hamilton.

Stopped by Chintz & Co to look at some fabric for a new room I am going to do in the fall. And there was a stack of cook books by Sylvia Main, the host and chef at Fairholme Manor in Victoria...planning a trip to Victoria and want great lodgings and perfection on a plate...check out www.fairholmemanor.com/

Ziplining on Grouse Mountain

I get asked many questions in the course of a day and need to have many answers.  Often, but not always, they are tourist questions and I'm not very good making it up.  For instance Grouse Mountain, if you have been reading my posts I wrote about my experience a couple of weeks ago there but I didn't do everything and I wouldn't either because I don't sky or snow...anything.  It is cold in winter usually and I'm okay not getting cold.  So I haven't done Zip-Lining and needed to tick that off.  Grouse Mountain, looking to attract as many guests as possible want the tourism front line folks, such as myself, to experience what they do and that is why I got another invitation to visit the mountain.

Our weather this "summer" has been more like spring or a wet fall, it has been cool and rainy, our day on Grouse was no different except that on Grouse Mountain you might be in the clouds...and we were.  We drove up from the house in about 20 minutes, it is really close if you are driving but if you aren't there is a shuttle that goes, so it isn't difficult to get to.  Up the Gondola - lots of people talking so I didn't hear the stats they give (I always forget how high the mountain is).  Once on top we went to the orientation and then had some lunch in "Altitudes  Bistro"  I had Halibut and chips which were very nice and Ron had a burger which was as big as the mountain!  Both meant for a physical appetite.  We were squirming in our seats anticipating our 4 pm Zip Line experience.

at 3:35 we left the restaurant and walked the short distance to the Zip building - the cloud cover was pretty thick and we weren't sure we'd find it but we did, things are well signed/marked on Grouse.  We had to put on a body harness and helmet, sign a waiver and get a short orientation.  It was a team of 3 who took out 4 guests, not a big group.  And then the fun started.  There are 5 runs, the first is a short one, to get you comfortable with flying through the air.  We worked our way over the mountain on 2 more rides and then took the gondola up to the Eye of the Wind area where there was an incredibly high line.  So far I hadn't been afraid of the height but standing on the platform I was getting a little nervous.  It is all safe, so intellectually I am remembering that when I got harnessed up but standing there was a moment of trepidation.  Off I went - the cloud was so thick I couldn't see the end of the line, I couldn't see the mountain below me.  All I could see were some tree tops and maybe 50 feet of cable.  And it was doing what clouds do - it was raining in my face, I almost had to close my eyes but I wouldn't because I didn't want to miss anything.

That was line 4 and we had one more to go.  A very scenic climb up the mountain - on a clear day I am sure I would have posed for pictures - and then up a huge tower for the last platform.  I asked how high up the last line was.  About 300 feet I believe was the answer...no wonder I couldn't see the bottom.  But #5 is even higher..."how high?" I ask foolishly just prior to zipping.  Oh about 450 ft!  So equivalent to a 45 or 50 storey building!  Whoosh off I went.  There are various positions one can take to either accellerate or go slowly.  I chose to go slowly so I could enjoy the view - it was pretty amazing.  And I'd definitely do that again.  I had that feeling of adrenalin and good feeling one should get from being outdoors.  Thanks Grouse Mountain for sharing something pretty amazing..........I'll be back!

This was our group - 4 guests and 3 crew. EVOLUTION It starts with Egon from Estonia as the worm. I'm almost evolved at the end.....

Some construction involved with ZipLine Construction. The path to No Where... but FUN and EXCITEMENT and EXHILARATION

So Scenic along the paths

Me on the first Zip. Can you tell I am a novice....hands tight on the bar.

That's the spring at the end of one of the Ziplines. It is your best friend because it stops you at pretty high speeds. I think one of the lines you could go 50 km and hour!

Strawberry - Strawberry Tea - Strawberry Jam

It is Open Season on Strawberries!  Although with the rain we've had lately - okay not as bad as Calgary - but still unseasonably wet and cool - strawberries are liable to drown before they get picked.  But I found some to buy from a farmers market in Richmond.  When I told her they were for jam I got a discount because they were yesterday's pick - it pays to be honest I guess.  This year I didn't want to do a usual box of Pectin type jam so I scoured the internet and came up with my own recipe.

Jam preparation started on Friday afternoon and evening - you wonder what us exciting innkeepers do?  Now you know about friday night's anyway.  On Saturday after breakfast we started making jams.  I have always made all the jams for the house.  When I first bought the house in 1991 the former innkeepers used to buy jam in a jar.  I never felt that was the type of gift I wanted to extend to a guest so we somehow in that busy summer of 1991 managed to make jam.  Again I was in Richmond buying fruit and I had 100 lbs of blueberries that were going home to be frozen.  I was driving my sporty Celica - I loved that car but I realized on that shopping trip that it wasn't practical.  I became a Mini Van owner within a few weeks.  Sporty car gone but homemade jam every summer!

After making the jam we headed over to Barclay Heritage Square - we have our extra parking in their parking lot and I donated the parking to their cause - their annual Strawberry Tea.  It was quite fun - live music, a bizaar type set up with tents and local vendors - belts, scarves, hats, garage sale items, used books, paintings.  One of the booths was operated by the West End Hookers - the Strawberry Tea is put on by the West End Seniors Network and the West End Hookers apparently reside there!  Scandalous until I realized they sold crochetted and knitted items - tea cozies and such!  Gosh!  There was an old BC Electric trolley bus showing a movie of a train ride called the Interurban that used to go all the way from Vancouver to Chilliwack.  And according to my 87 year old Mom it used to pass within a 1/4 mile of where I grew up.....the service stopped before I was born though.  But I have heard about it from my Grandparents, Mother and others for years.  It was quite a treat to watch.  The House museum - Roedde House - was open to the public.  I had been there a few months ago for an event but this was the first time I have been upstairs in the house.  For its day this was a pretty interesting house with an 8 sided turret reaching 3 floors.  Worth a visit if you are staying at the West End Guest House as it is only around the corner and we have their brochure in our Guest Pantry.

It turned out to be a very busy day because in the evening I had purchased tickets for Bard on the Beach.  The production of Hamlet is in previews but the theatre was packed.  I won't say I know much about Shakespeare plays but I will say I thoroughly enjoyed this production.  It was set in modern day Denmark complete with hi tech gadgets.  It got a standing-O at the end, so I know I wasn't the only one pleased.  Visit them at www.bardonthebeach.com.

That's Ron stirring it up double! Right hand is rhubarb strawberry jam while the left hand is stirring regular strawberry. Good thing he has some dance training!

My berries sat overnight in the sugar. And in the morning became confiture!

From Pot to Jar. This jams a star. Okay, don't shoot me...I'm not a poet.

Barclay Heritage House Strawberry Tea

That Ron and Me and our local Member of Legislative Assembly Spencer Chandra Herbert and my Mom - Pat always has a hat! Gosh, I'm good....more rhymes.

Photography tour

I recently bought a new fancy-for-me camera and am slowly learning all the neat things it can do! When I met Suzanne at the Tourism Vancouver Expo and heard about her phototours I knew I had to check it out. So earlier this month, I had the wonderful opportunity to experience the evening photowalk tour through Gastown (http://www.vancouverphotowalks.ca/).

We started out at Canada Place with a brief introduction to camera basics and got some really nice shots of North Vancouver from the water ad Canada Place with 'twinkling star' effect at just the perfect time of dusk. Right away, I learned how to use my manual settings at night! This alone was worth going on the tour but it was just the beginning.

While it started to sprinkle during the first hour we managed to set up our cameras under Vancouver’s various rain hideouts and stay dry.

The beauty of the tour is that you bring your own camera, so you get more experience with how to get the most from your own equipment and can replicate great photos in the future to impress your friends.

Suzanne is a lovely guide, on the tour there was every level of photographer from beginner to expert and she was able to accommodate everyone's knowledge with ease and humour while even managing to teach us more than and thing or two. During the two hour adventure that ended in picturesque Gastown the basics of exposure, ISO, aperture, shutter speed, and composition were covered, as well as more advanced party tricks such as writing with lights!

This tour was a great help in learning how to use my new camera and no comparison for endless YouTube videos that I had previously been relying on to learn what it is capable of doing.

Tours are a great way to see the sights of Vancouver, meet new people, improve your camera skills, and capture some great shots. They are offered at various times of day in many of the city's popular stunning

settings: Granville Island, Canada Place, Olympic Village, Coal Harbour, Fisherman's Wharf, Gastown, Vanier Park, and Chinatown.

Car Free Day

In June each year we have a car free day on Denman Street.  The Street becomes a fair with loads of kiosks of food and drink and idea counters, business sign ups like the Zip Cars and Cars 2-go, pet parades, music and dancing, hop scotch for the kiddies, sit down counters for lunches for Seniors, things to buy like Air Plants in glass goblets, tea cozies made by the West End Seniors Network.  It is always a little mind blowing how much activity there is and how many participants there.  It is the one event, other than the Pride Parade that really makes a statement about the West End being a community of people who care for each other.

After the walk along the street Ron and I went to the SeaWall for a walk to Second and Third Beaches.  We walked past the man you stacks rocks on bigger rocks on the waters edge - I can't imagine what the specific talent is that he has to be able to do that.  Is it patience, luck, some kinetic understanding that only 1 in a million posses?  I don't know but we stopped to watch along with a small crowd of people.  At the successful nesting of each rock on another there was a round of applause.  I tipped him a couple of dollars as I felt this is street...SeaWall....entertainment at its finest.

Each year Stanley Park seems to change.  The walk back from Third Beach is best, in my opinion, along the trails rather than back along the SeaWall.  In 2006 we had a huge winter wind storm and much of the park was damaged.  It is in full swing growth now - places we looked for interesting pieces of wood for a garden we made years ago isn't even accessible anymore.  And new things are being made like a wood bridge path at Cathedral Trail and Ron pointed out the Face in the Wood - I don't know what it is called but it is really interesting - see the photo.

The Rhodos are done for the season but I still think the it is the prettiest path is through the Ted and Mary Grieg Rhododendron Garden which is along side of the Miniature Gold Course which is rustic and reminiscent of a simpler time.

Raincity Grill offering Fish and Chips during the Car- Free Day. June 16, 2013

Vancouver version of a Persian Bazaar! I'd really like to straighten those table clothes. Oh well, it looks homely.

English Bay. Some of it anyway. The buildings you see are on the a) edge of the beach and b) edge of the park. Superb.

Standing rocks like this along the beach from English Bay to Second Beach

Ah....I "heart" you....in the sand.

This corner of Lost Lagoon at Stanley Park is a 12 minute walk from the house.

Signs in the Park...we don't want to get you lost!