A dry November day ride around Stanley Park November 4, 2009

I have set a goal of trying to cycle around 60 KM a week so when I see a dry day in the forecast I am going to get out on the bike. Wednesday was forecasted to be sunny with clouds in the afternoon and rain overnight.

I headed down Hornby towards the waterfront taking a few images along the way. Then it was on towards the Bayshore and Stanley Park before stopping at McDonalds at Davie and Cardero for a bite to eat and a read of the morning paper. Then continue along the seawall until I reached Hornby and the short two block uphill ride back to the Condo.

One thing that was amazing me was how much color there is still in the trees until I realized that for the past two Novembers I have been on a cruise ship enjoying the sights of the Caribbean and have missed a lot of the local color.

Thursday I went and did a little XMAS shopping - tonight its in front of the TV for a Canucks game and then tomorrow it's off to the Medical lab for a few tests - the DR at my walk in clinic is a little worried about my blood sugar level - it is near the point where the alarm bells should start to click in - it has been this way for a couple of years so this is not news to me but he wants to do some more detailed testing - means an overnight fast - 10 hours - should be to bad as the lab is only a block away and they open fairly early.

Cheers

D.

100 days from today we welcome the world

Innushuk is the symbol of the games and this one located at English Bay was one of the first signs of the Games coming to Vancouver.

Today marks the start of the 100 day countdown to the opening of the Olympic and Para -Olympic Games here in Vancouver - while there is a small but vocal minority that won't accept the fact that the games are going to occur the reality is that the City is started to show its support - many businesses are sprucing up their premises and creating jobs doing it - the City is finally getting around to finishing Granville St which should be a great people place when finished - the eyesore along Expo Blvd where Concord Pacific has been storing all it its unused cranes and building materials is being clean up to make way for there own Expo - they are selling space to companies who want to either entertain or promote their products.

Today the City officially turns the Olympic Village over to VANOC and the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall will be here this weekend to tour the project.

The only drawback at the Olympic Village is that the nice new seawall through the area is closing for security reasons shortly and won't be back in use until after the Games.

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Canucks continue to amaze me - another victory with a make shift lineup and another possible injury to a key player.

Heading out for a bike ride - the rain is scheduled to return in earnest tomorrow and be with us for a few days so I am going to take advantage of it.

Cheers

D

After the H1N1 shot a walk around the downtown core Nov 3, 2009

The first thing on my list of to-do's today was to see about getting a H1N1 flu shot - I qualify because a family member is in long term care - I also decided that if the wait was too long I would talk around the West end and downtown - well it only took an hour to get the shot - what the clinic was basically doing was taking those wanting just a flu shot in between the Dr's regular patients.

So after I was finished at the clinic I walked down Davie Street towards English Bay and was rewarded with this scene at the old Rogers Mansion and former Macaroni Grill location - don't know what the plans are for mansion which sits vacant at the present time.

At English Bay some of the City's Art Deco is on display and the next two images shows what is there.

It is sunny and pleasant and this was the sight looking west towards Stanley Park from English Bay.

The downtown core is started to look like an Olympic outlet store - well the Bay is an official supplier of clothing to the Games so they have decorated their downtown store to promote the Games.

At the old Hotel Georgia site which is being redeveloped there have put up this monster Canadian Flag for all to see and it is hard to miss.

After stopping at my fitness club for a shower, steam and shave I was on my way home when I saw this scene from the public area of the Wall Center plaza on Burrard St - I thought that the colors of the Eagle blended in quite nicely with the water fountain and the hotel building.

From the far end of the Wall Plaza was this colorful tree - the crane in the background is for the Patina project which also includes the new YMCA building - there are about 37 stories up with 5 more to go. The Y will open in May of 2010 and the tower some time the following year.

And I will leave you with this color from the courtyard of my condo complex.

Tonight in front of the HDTV for the Canucks and Rangers game. Always an interesting match up.

Cheers

Dennis

Ridge Meadows Ramble Sunday November 1, 2009

November is the wettest month of the year here on the West Coast averaging about 7" of rain so any time you get a cloudy or mostly sunny day you want to get out and enjoy it while you can.

So I put the bike in the back of the truck and headg out Pitt Meadows way where the entire area has a series of dykes protecting the area from the Fraser River, the Pitt River and the Aloulette Rivers - the area in Pitt Meadows is basically a broad flat river plain and very rich in agriculture uses including cranberry farming.

It was also a chance to check out the new Pitt River bridge and changes to the Mary Hill by-pass which use to be a real bottleneck for smooth traffic flow.

Starting on the east side of the Pitt River I following a series of connecting trails for some 22 kms before coming back to Harris Road which I followed to the Lougheed Highway and stopped at the McDonald's there for lunch. This has got to be one of the worst service Golden Arches anywhere - at least a 10 minute wait for service and another five for the meal to arrive and it is not the first time that I had that kind of service at that location.

From the restaurant I followed a parallel path to the highway back to my truck but before retiring for the day I biked up the new bridge to center span - it is nice to have a dedicated north side separated path on the bridge to cross the river.

I ended the day with 33 KM on the odometer and then it was back to Vancouver and home to relax before putting a roast in the oven and settling in front of the TV for the evening.

Hike to Whyte Lake, Oct 31, 2009

With the upgrade to the Sea to Sky Highway the main access points to the western terminus of both the Baden Powell and Trans Canada trail has been changed and so today I set out to follow one that originates on Woodgrove Drive adjacent to the Upper Levels highway - after a couple of false starts finding the parking area I set out for a hike to Whyte Lake - until recently officially off limits because of watershed concerns - the District of West Vancouver has opened up the area to recreational use and built a newer trail that connects with the existing TCT and BP trails - it was a pleasant 2KM walk to the Lake following first Nelson Creek and then Whyte Creek to the lake - the trail was busy with people out trail running, dog walking, and a hiking group of older person who were just reaching the lake as I started the trip back.

In all only about 2 hours on the trail and then it was into Park Royal for a bite to eat before heading home to get ready for Halloween and a coffee with Jim and dinner with Tom who was eating downtown before heading to the football game.

Cheers

D