Vancouver, Canada

Drive across our northern border and it doesn't feel much different from home. McDonald's is a given, but there's also Target, Wal-Mart, and I recently read that Nordstrom is planning to open a new store in Toronto. I'm sure they'll tack on a maple leaf somewhere on their logo like every other U.S. corporation, but they don't need to. It took me one visit to conclude that a Target in Canada will never be like a Target in America -- they sell British chocolate. Long live the Queen indeed.

Crunchie, Aero, Maltesers, my friends were everywhere (you better believe I smuggled each one south of the border). Forget Canada's untapped oil, in my eyes, a country that stocks Peanut M&Ms and Maltesers on their impulse counter displays is rich beyond comparison. And Vancouver, simply sumptuous. Imagine glass skyscrapers greeting you as you enter its harbour, only to be humbled by the mountains towering behind them... Even though we're in a different country, alas it's still the Pacific Northwest. Yes, that means fog and rain with the occasional parting of the heavens.

I wish I had more shiny and sparkly pictures of Vancouver, unfortunately I don't because of my arrogance. Oh, it's only an hour away, I'll bring my camera next time. (This was B.S., Before Smartphones. Showing my age here, and sass ;-)) The first time I came to visit from Bellingham, WA I roamed the city like a true tourist, walking tours and all. Our tour guide was so good, I became a tour guide for my friends who came to visit.

To our left we have one my favourite public art sculptures, "Public Service/Private Steps" by Alan Storey. The metal cubes in the foreground are in sync with the elevators in the building behind where public officials work. Oh, to be as clever. And to the right, another display of ingenuity. Built in 1977 to hide a steam vent, this clock's steam whistle now lures tourists every fifteen minutes to revitalize the appropriately named neighbourhood of Gastown. 


I thought I had seen and captured it all. So next time became special occasions, like the city's Chinese New Year's parade. The largest in Canada and rivaling that of San Francisco's. Personally, the spotless and organized stores in Chinatown were more fascinating than the dragon's dance moves. I've been to my share of illogically shelved and categorized Asian stores, in Vancouver however, they're on a different par entirely. Note the gradual shift in colour of the produce displays. Someone was paid to do that in the third largest Chinatown in North America. From those majestic mountains, Vancouver's resplendence trickles down into details.

Writing this post, I realized I didn't like many of the pictures I had first taken. Have I improved as a photographer? Has my perspective changed? Who knows, but a lesson has been learned. The past may not resonate with the present. So don't be lazy in life, be a tourist. 

I'll end with my favourite picture of Vancouver. It's not a glamourous one as you would expect, nevertheless, beautiful. I love how the light sheds light on a problem. As gorgeous as Vancouver is, you have to wonder at whose cost.

Length of Stay

A little under three weeks while living in Bellingham, WA for four years. 

Docking Index

       

Eight anchors. The high cost of living may leave me with no disposable income to manage my incorrigible hair in Vancouver's humid and misty weather. That is, if I'm working in the first place. Tough to land a job as U.S. citizen -- I gots to find me a Canuck!