Day Nine of Vacation 2011: Stanley Park and Home

August 8 continued

   After visiting the Vancouver art museum we took a stroll through Stanley Park along the seawall.  There were a lot of people walking or riding bikes, and the seawall had a lovely view of the ocean, and a stretch of green with yellow flowers on the other side.  My family hopped down onto the sand beside the sea wall for a bit.  There was a man throwing a ball for his dog to receive from the water, and bits of broken shell all along the beach.
   We left the park to go for lunch at Aphrodite's, one of Ginny's favorite restaurants, then Gin and I walked down 4th street to look in shops.  I didn't find anything I wanted, but Ginny got a cool jar and some plates. When we returned to the B&B, we put swimsuits on and the four of us walked to the Kitsilano saltwater pool.  It was a pleasant temperature out (though all the Vancouverites think this is a heat wave!)  There's an amazing view of the mountains from the pool, and swimming was quite refreshing.
   Mom, Dad, and I went to Indian food for dinner at the same place that we had dinner the night before, and the staff recognized us.  They laughed :)

   I said goodbye to Marmalade, the friendly cat who adopted us.  He's sweet but I really miss our kitties.  I'm glad to be going home.

***

This concludes the "Vacation 2011" portion of my blog.  I'm not sure how the blog will evolve from here, but I hope to continue postings.  Thank you.

Day Nine of Vacation 2011: Mirrors

August 8 continued

I continued to look around the surrealism exhibit, and Dad showed Ginny and I a "hall of mirrors."  It was very disorienting -- you really couldn't tell which way was real and which way was just mirror.  Mom thinks it was a metaphor for depression: it makes the person going through it understand how it's possible to feel trapped and uncertain, like there's no way out.  I liked this part of the exhibit more, probably because, even though it was strange, I could understand it.  I believe that good art can tell us something about ourselves or the world, and this exhibit did both.

Day Nine of Vacation 2011: Surrealism

August 8

   This place reminds me of somewhere people go to be insane.  I'm in a Vancouver art museum, and the theme is surrealism.  I learned something about myself today: I hate surrealism.  Or at least dislike it.  It's... disturbing.  The 3-D art and photos and video scare me more than the paintings.  I can appreciate paintings, I can appreciate the unreal.  It's when the unreal steps out of the painting that I feel its fingers on my arm, its breath on the back of my neck.  Some artists would call that a successful piece of art, one that haunts the viewer.  I call it creepy.
   Wandering through this building, I feel like I'm in a surrealist painting myself.  It's a classy old building with ornate architecture, marble staircases and a vaulted glass dome.  However, there are also escalators, which contrast oddly with the building.  Then there's the exhibits themselves.  Riding on the escalators is like being shuffled through a different world.  There're plastic sculptures with no heads, a giant painting of a man behind bars, and a whole room full of lights that move oddly, glowing and receding to create the illusion of movement.  Then, through it all, is the hum of the air conditioner, the irregular squeak of the escalator, and the occasional far-off, indistinguishable babble of human voices.  I feel like I'm in the Department of Mysteries.
   Right now I'm in a room full of mirrors.  Wedged into the mirrors are photos, new and old -- I think this exhibit is about memory, how individuals are full of these random snapshots of life that come to reflect who one is.

Day Eight of Vacation 2011: First Nations Museum and Granville Island

August 7

   This morning we had breakfast and found out that a British couple we met last night at the fireworks are staying at our B&B!  Small world.  We're currently at the UBC First Nations Anthropology museum.  It's full of totem poles and First Nations art.  I'm sitting outside by the pond that reflects the sky.  It reminds me of the pools in Howls Moving Castle, sort of fantastical and lovely.  I love the water here in Canada.  Even the ocean has incredibly clear water.

   After we left the museum we ate lunch at one of Ginny's favorite Italian delicatessens, then we walked to Granville Island, with is a shopping district.  I was admiring a simple red dress made out of this stretchy material, then I glanced at the price -- $285 -- and I backed away slowly.  Fancy stores intimidate me.  I used to think I hated shopping, but now, though it's still not my favorite thing to do, I enjoy going to thrift stores and places I feel I can afford something.  Upscale stores have the aura of a museum to me, a sort of look-but-don't-touch feeling and a pray-you-don't-break-anything aftertaste.  Needless to say, Granville Island was not my type of place.  We took a False Creek Ferry (a tiny little boat!) back toward our B&B, then Mom, Ginny, and I marched back down to the beach in our bathing suits.  It was cold and rocky, but fun.  We lounged for a bit, reading on the beach.  It stays sunny so late here!  We left the beach at 7:30, when the sun was just starting to lose its warmth.

Day Seven of Vacation 2011: Fireworks

August 6 continued

   We walked to Sophie's diner for dinner, one of Ginny's old haunts, then in the evening Mom, Dad, and I went down to the beach to watch some fireworks.  We sat on a bench, watching the sun sink behind the hills, turning the sky orange and purple.  There were tons of people out to see the fireworks, people of all ages and ethnicities, laughing, walking, riding bikes.  The water was crowded with boats readying for the show, and I found myself fascinated with all the activities.  It was the ultimate spot for people-watching.  With my old camera I'd always take close-up nature shots, pristine landscapes undisturbed by human presence (Ansel Adams style).  Now, however, I find myself drawn to the human element.  Portraits and people in nature interest me -- I like to see how people reflect and interact with their environment.

   Before and after the fireworks I took lots of photos of the crowd.  The fireworks themselves were different than any I've seen in America.  They were lower in the sky, some seemed to be directly over the water, and they made interesting sparkles and shapes.  We walked back to our B&B after the show (around 10:30)

Day Seven of Vacation 2011: City of Vancouver

August 6

   Today was a travel day.  We said goodbye to the farm and Aunt Caity early in the morning, I played one final game of frisbee with Apollo, then got on our way to the city of Vancouver.  We stopped to admire the trestle (the largest freestanding structure in Canada!)  then drove to the ferry.  After a two-hour ferry ride and a long drive we arrived at our dinky basement room at our B&B in Vancouver.  I suppose I shouldn't blame it for not living up to expectations -- anything would be dull compared to the farm.  Oh!  But there's a cat, so that's cool.  He's (she's?) orange and white with golden eyes and a stumpy tail, and he's as friendly as Calcifer.

Day Six of Vacation 2011: Sandsculptures and the Ocean

August 5 continued

After the fun of the mystery (Dad was the murderer!) we explored the garden for a bit, then drove to a beach in Parksville where there were giant sand-sculptures.  There was a band playing some really upbeat music that could be heard all across the beach, and I danced down to the waterline.  We waded into the water -- shallow for up to a mile out, and warmer than your average swimming pool -- and with a whoop I dunked my shorts, swimming past my belly-button.  We were all laughing and smiling and enjoying the light of the day -- it was, as Aunt Caity phrased it, "the perfect bubble of happiness."

   I would definitely return here and stay for much longer.  Spend a week at the beach, a week on the farm, a week roaming around.  I want to play with Apallo again, pick raspberries and swim in the ocean.  Next summer...

Day Six of Vacation 2011: Milner Gardens Murder Mystery Tea

August 5

   Today was another lovely day on Vancouver Island, our last full day on the island.  The sky was already a cheerful blue with thick puffy clouds luxuriating in the mid-morning sunlight when we set off towards Parksville and the murder-mystery tea.  The tea was to celebrate Karinna's birthday (13!) and was set in a beautiful garden.  Trees with thick, winding roots and delicate vine flows created a lovely combination of grandeur and grace.  The tea was held in a quaint house with fairy-tale windows and ivy over the walls.  The back windows looked over a grassy meadow and the ocean -- it looked like the ideal place to get married.

   Inside, the tea was a delight.  We were all given booklets to play out the suspects and the murder scene.  They served us soup and then high tea with tea-tray sandwiches, biscuits, and sweets.  I really liked the table settings -- the tea cups were all different and authentic, and the whole cottage exuded a grandmotherly charm.

Day Five of Vacation 2011: Pickling

August 4 continued

We spent today on the farm.  I picked raspberries and helped Ginny with her pickling.

"Natually Grown Garlic For Sale" This is an endangered garlic stand on the side of the road.  
Ginny got garlic for pickling.

This evening we went for a stroll up the hill, visited the baby buffalo, and admired the scenery.

Recap

 So, Ginny just gave me her photos from our trip.  I forgot my charger, so my camera only has photos from the first half of the trip (which I've already posted).  This post has photos I and Ginny took from the first half of the trip on her camera (they're events I've already covered).  Soon I'll continue with the later half of our trip.

Rexville Grocery

We were really excited about pie :D

Exploring the beach, waiting for the ferry to Vancouver Island.

 Caity and Will took a nap while we were waiting for the ferry :)

 View from on the hill.

Hockey mural in Chemainus. 

More murals.

 Ginny feeding Vincent, 4-day-old calf.