Today's weather forecast was for sunny skies with cloudy periods into the early afternoon, followed by rain ... well, the sun came out at 5:30 am and disappeared soon after ... now here it is 2:27 pm and no rain ... guess the weatherman isn't perfect ...
Today's gathering wasn't perfect either ... two of our group had previous engagements, one couldn't be reached by phone, one didn't show and we missed connecting with the other ... so we were back to the "three musketerettes" - Flora, Linda and Virginia (me) ...
We caught the #20 bus to Richards and transferred to the #6 Davie bus which dropped us off at Davie and Denman, our scheduled meeting place at English Bay ... Flora and Linda brought cameras and took several photos of us at the three triangular tulip beds there ... these tulips were large, brilliantly crimson, bordered by diminutive, lavender alysum blossoms ... in the centre of each bed stood a single tall dark purple tulip ... Our walk continued along the beachfront to the edge of Stanley Park where we followed a narrow pathway between highrise apartments and gardens of just blossoming rhododendrens ... the path took us to the end of Nelson Street where we found a small plot of ground filled with tall rhododendren shrubs, some in bloom, others just budding ... across the street at the pitch and putt golf course were more clusters of rhodo bushes as well as the hollow stumps of very old trees ... more photos and the walk continued around the tennis courts to the tea house where we made a pit stop ...
Returning to English Bay Beach we passed a man with a very entertaining dog carrying a large piece of driftwood ... the man had recently moved from Maple Ridge and his dog was having a heyday romping at this great beach with the breakers, floating flotsam, soft sand and expansive lawns to run in ... further along we met a tanned fellow with long gray hair tied at the back of his neck ... he was on a park bench taking a break from his job in a Denman Street gallery ... beside him on the bench were two carvings in progress: one was an orca in gray-white Italian soapstone; the other was a skull in white alabaster that he was carving for a biker ...
The bus ride home was temporarily delayed on Seymour Street while two huge metal cages were being removed from a building under demolition ... the cages were lowered by a 30 foot narrow crane, then laid on their sides on the long deck of a low-boy tractor trailer in the middle of the street ... so much demolition and construction doing on downtown ...
Vancouver is literally being transformed into a glittering array of reflective glass towers ... I wonder what the citizens of 1909 Vancouver would think of the city now ...
Have a great week and until next time, keep your stick on the ice - if for no other reason than to cheer our Canucks as they win the Stanley Cup !!
Contributor Virginia
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