Today Linda called in sick ... I met Flora at Britannia Seniors Centre and we relaxed with a cup of coffee waiting for anyone else who might decide to join us ... as no-one showed up by noon, we left ...We chose to walk down the Drive toward Broadway where Flora bought a bus pass at the drugstore ... we headed east to Victoria Drive and crossed over to North Grandview Highway which follows the Millennium Skytrain route ...
A brief stop at the Chinese Buddhist temple on Victoria and Broadway where we rang the gate button ... a lady came to say the temple was closed for lunch so we decided to return another time ... visitors must book an appointment to tour the temple ... behind the circular wrought iron gate and up three wide steps, the entrance to the temple is perfectly symmetrical ... a tall sculpture like an oversize incense burner stands in the centre, surrounded by two steeply curved stairways to an upper landing ... behind the sculpture are bonsai shrubs and flowers ... the atmosphere is serene and stately in spite of heavy traffic just 10 feet away.
The Grandview walkway (Central Valley Parkway, route for cyclists as well http://vancouver.ca/ENGSVCS/streets/greenways/city/central.htm) meanders along the north side of the skytrain canyon and is bordered by well groomed lawns, shrubs, maple, birch, fir, spruce and cedar trees ... ferns grace the gardens between the shrubs ... the leaves have disappeared from the wild rose bushes, but the bright red rose hip berries still cling to the branches.
In Vancouver, the Central Valley Greenway is being developed in several phases, with the first phase complete on Grandview Highway North between Commercial Drive and Slocan Street. This phase of the greenway opened in 2001 and includes several innovations and public amenities including: bike streets which are closed to vehicle traffic, improved lighting, native habitat restoration, recycled materials, drinking fountains, a butterfly garden, a bocce court, seating areas and public art.
At the intersections along Grandview are a variety of seating structures covered in bright multi-colored tiles: the Victoria Drive structure is a three-level stepping platform; at Lakewood is a large low circular bench; at Nanaimo Street, a park-type bench completely tiled from the back down to the feet ... just west of Nanaimo is a large rough-hewn stone seating area resembling an ancient druid circle within which lie long thick slabs stacked on top of and perpendicular to each other ... the top slabs are connected by steel plates with a three-inch opening between them ... in that narrow space, an inscription reads that this sculpture was a Translink Project 2000 and a SOFA CUNAIT Project 2002 involving several community groups ... two of the lower slabs have bowl-shaped hollows for catching rain (perhaps as drinking water for dogs) ... the designer of this very interesting piece was D.S. Fushtey and the granite slabs were brought from (-- can't remember the name --) Inlet up the BC coast.
Beyond Nanaimo Street, the gardens gave way to simple lawns as the area opened up near the Rona Centre at Renfrew Skytrain station ... we made a pit stop at Rona and munched on free popcorn as we admired the Christmas decorations.
As our feet were tired and our stomachs empty, we rode the skytrain back to Broadway Station ... the #20 bus pulled in at that moment and we climbed on board where we met a retired former coworker of Flora's who is interested in joining our Saturday morning walks ... after a light bag lunch at Britannia Centre, Flora joined other seniors for card games and I joined the computer to make this log entry.
At the intersections along Grandview are a variety of seating structures covered in bright multi-colored tiles: the Victoria Drive structure is a three-level stepping platform; at Lakewood is a large low circular bench; at Nanaimo Street, a park-type bench completely tiled from the back down to the feet ... just west of Nanaimo is a large rough-hewn stone seating area resembling an ancient druid circle within which lie long thick slabs stacked on top of and perpendicular to each other ... the top slabs are connected by steel plates with a three-inch opening between them ... in that narrow space, an inscription reads that this sculpture was a Translink Project 2000 and a SOFA CUNAIT Project 2002 involving several community groups ... two of the lower slabs have bowl-shaped hollows for catching rain (perhaps as drinking water for dogs) ... the designer of this very interesting piece was D.S. Fushtey and the granite slabs were brought from (-- can't remember the name --) Inlet up the BC coast.
Beyond Nanaimo Street, the gardens gave way to simple lawns as the area opened up near the Rona Centre at Renfrew Skytrain station ... we made a pit stop at Rona and munched on free popcorn as we admired the Christmas decorations.
As our feet were tired and our stomachs empty, we rode the skytrain back to Broadway Station ... the #20 bus pulled in at that moment and we climbed on board where we met a retired former coworker of Flora's who is interested in joining our Saturday morning walks ... after a light bag lunch at Britannia Centre, Flora joined other seniors for card games and I joined the computer to make this log entry.
PLEASE TAKE NOTE
Our walking group now has a name, selected at last Thursday's potluck luncheon ... we are now called
"BEST FOOT FORWARD, Britannia Seniors 55+ Walking Group" ... starting in January the group will meet every TUESDAY and SATURDAY at 10:30 am (please note new time) and we look forward to having more people join us for either or both of these days.
Contributor Virginia B
Contributor Virginia B
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