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This is the final part of the holiday and it's image heavy just to warn those on dial-up; 5 photos.
Okay, so we're in Vancouver...
Vancouver, in some ways, is like Toronto; all cities are alike in some ways these days and the stores, the smell, the traffic; all very familiar.
But then you'd look up and a mountain would be visible at the end of the street, snow-capped and close, or you'd drive over one of the bridges and the sea would be spread out, blue and wide, with Vancouver Island a misty blue shape on the horizon, and, no, not at home...
The first day we spent the morning on Granville Island, which is and isn't an island; I mean, it is, but it's part of the city and you can drive to it without really feeling that you're going anywhere. There's a kid's market there and a brewery, and we wandered around before going in search of two book shops, one devoted to SF, one to mysteries, which were very close together. I had fun but the girls were bored and then L decided she needed a washroom NOW!
That was one of the recurrent themes of the holiday; making sure we took advantage of every washroom break possible as odds were good someone would have to go when there wasn't one available.
So we bought a can of Coke in a Mr Sub as that way we got to be customers with washroom privileges and went to find Bridge Studios.
Long drive. Long. I'd been reading the latest Tanya Huff, set on a vampire show in Burnaby, where Bridge is, and mentioning it quite often, so it was fun actually being there. It wasn't that far in terms of distance, but for the cast and crew's sake I hope their early start means they miss the traffic because even mid afternoon, mid week, it was hellish.
David, who was remarkably tolerant about my determination to see some Stargate related stuff, kindly drove past the studios three times slowly so that I could get some pictures.
It was so weird seeing the entrance, just like you see it in Wormhole X-treme, and I got very, very eeeeee when we saw the sign on the wall.
After that we went to Queen Elizabeth Park and the conservatory featured in The Gamekeeper, followed by Eleanor and David squaring off in a pitch and putt contest. So hot that day but it was fun to relax and not be rushing places. The gardens were spectacular.
The next Stargate trip was to Daniel's apartment. They used the same exterior, corner of Mainland and Helmcken, for Fire and Water and The Light. It's actually a clothing factory or something:
And then we went to the Plaza of Nations, where 2010 is filmed; couldn't get inside, where the elevators are that they all get killed on, but we wandered around:
It wasn't all Stargate; we drove half an hour out of the city and went on a walk up Dog Mountain. The views at the top (totally empty up there; just us) were stunning, all over the city, the sea and the mountains, but the walk itself -- oh, boy! I had a book; Easy Hikes Around Vancouver. This one was supposed to be an easy family hike. 'Easy' defines a lot of the walks in Canada; they're well-marked and maintained, often have boardwalks... this one was so challenging I honestly thought we'd gone off trail. Strenuous, way long, quite a drop off in places, an overgrown, boulder-littered track...
We ate at a posh place the last night down by the water: A Kettle of Fish; very nice. Would've been nicer if it was just David and me but I'm resigned to eating to the soundtrack of children and ours are pretty restaurant trained; far more so than I was. Eating out just wasn't something we did and neither was staying in hotels.
One really weird thing; on the ferry over from Vancouver Island, Eleanor struck up a friendship with a young girl her age, Emily, and spent the trip playing Go Fish with her. Ships that pass, right? Or not. Three nights later, we were wandering up Robson Street, heading for the Chapters (not a single Stargate book, can you believe it?) when we bumped into Emily and her family and there was much excitement for ten seconds before they went one way and we went another.
It is a small world.
And on that original note, I'll end.
But I'm going back. Mountains and sea together? My ideal place.
Okay, so we're in Vancouver...
Vancouver, in some ways, is like Toronto; all cities are alike in some ways these days and the stores, the smell, the traffic; all very familiar.
But then you'd look up and a mountain would be visible at the end of the street, snow-capped and close, or you'd drive over one of the bridges and the sea would be spread out, blue and wide, with Vancouver Island a misty blue shape on the horizon, and, no, not at home...
The first day we spent the morning on Granville Island, which is and isn't an island; I mean, it is, but it's part of the city and you can drive to it without really feeling that you're going anywhere. There's a kid's market there and a brewery, and we wandered around before going in search of two book shops, one devoted to SF, one to mysteries, which were very close together. I had fun but the girls were bored and then L decided she needed a washroom NOW!
That was one of the recurrent themes of the holiday; making sure we took advantage of every washroom break possible as odds were good someone would have to go when there wasn't one available.
So we bought a can of Coke in a Mr Sub as that way we got to be customers with washroom privileges and went to find Bridge Studios.
Long drive. Long. I'd been reading the latest Tanya Huff, set on a vampire show in Burnaby, where Bridge is, and mentioning it quite often, so it was fun actually being there. It wasn't that far in terms of distance, but for the cast and crew's sake I hope their early start means they miss the traffic because even mid afternoon, mid week, it was hellish.
David, who was remarkably tolerant about my determination to see some Stargate related stuff, kindly drove past the studios three times slowly so that I could get some pictures.
It was so weird seeing the entrance, just like you see it in Wormhole X-treme, and I got very, very eeeeee when we saw the sign on the wall.
After that we went to Queen Elizabeth Park and the conservatory featured in The Gamekeeper, followed by Eleanor and David squaring off in a pitch and putt contest. So hot that day but it was fun to relax and not be rushing places. The gardens were spectacular.
The next Stargate trip was to Daniel's apartment. They used the same exterior, corner of Mainland and Helmcken, for Fire and Water and The Light. It's actually a clothing factory or something:
And then we went to the Plaza of Nations, where 2010 is filmed; couldn't get inside, where the elevators are that they all get killed on, but we wandered around:
It wasn't all Stargate; we drove half an hour out of the city and went on a walk up Dog Mountain. The views at the top (totally empty up there; just us) were stunning, all over the city, the sea and the mountains, but the walk itself -- oh, boy! I had a book; Easy Hikes Around Vancouver. This one was supposed to be an easy family hike. 'Easy' defines a lot of the walks in Canada; they're well-marked and maintained, often have boardwalks... this one was so challenging I honestly thought we'd gone off trail. Strenuous, way long, quite a drop off in places, an overgrown, boulder-littered track...
We ate at a posh place the last night down by the water: A Kettle of Fish; very nice. Would've been nicer if it was just David and me but I'm resigned to eating to the soundtrack of children and ours are pretty restaurant trained; far more so than I was. Eating out just wasn't something we did and neither was staying in hotels.
One really weird thing; on the ferry over from Vancouver Island, Eleanor struck up a friendship with a young girl her age, Emily, and spent the trip playing Go Fish with her. Ships that pass, right? Or not. Three nights later, we were wandering up Robson Street, heading for the Chapters (not a single Stargate book, can you believe it?) when we bumped into Emily and her family and there was much excitement for ten seconds before they went one way and we went another.
It is a small world.
And on that original note, I'll end.
But I'm going back. Mountains and sea together? My ideal place.
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