Diversions

A delightful evening at the Sun Yat-Sen Garden at the "Will Travel for Food" event on February 26. I hadn't been at this Chinese Garden for quite a while, and never at night - and it was magical. Walking through the lantern-lit garden at night was lovely and sampling the various vendor foods was delicious. Sam Shem brought us some special ice-cream that reminded me of green tea icecream but was more fruity. The lovely Olivia served amazing Hawthorne cocktails to those discerning enough to choose the alcoholic drink.

The first one.... you barely notice. Just like any other mark identifying the path as designated for bikers, hikers, rollerbladers.Then.... hold on... wait a minute... uno dos... it's time to go.... backtracking and checking, resolving the cognitive dissonance between the expected and the seen.

Barely visible, in a corner of a North Vancouver strip mall, hides a sizeable (1.5 acre) botanical garden with an astonishing history of over 50 years, which is free to the public. Flanked by the Starbucks and the JJ Bean (which has a very nice patio on the garden side), you can enter the gardens through the arched enclosure. The circular paths make for great wandering, the plants are labeled and there are a gazillion pokemon stops!

So get yourself a coffee, and explore!

We crossed the bridge from this reality to the next. Bob said it was okay: "tell them Bob told you so!". The rain had just started to come down something dreadful.... this was the start of the thing we've now learned to call an 'atmospheric river'. When I first heard Johanna Wagstaffe use the term a week or two ago, I thought she had invented a beautifully poetic expression.

Andrew's on Eighth, located at - as you may suspect :) - at the corner of St Andrews Ave and 8th Street in North Vancouver (maplink), is a super-cozy coffee and lunch place with some of the best breakfast croissants in Vancouver. Their Chai lattes are also pretty awesome.  The building has a fascinating history, see below!

At the corner of Georgia and Burrard, sits a Megaphone vendor. Since I had some cash on me, I bought the October issue.

"Where are you heading?" the vendor asked. I shared my planned destination. "The Art Gallery? If I may ask, why do you go to see Art? What do you like about Art?"

Walking the winding asphalt path through Grand Boulevard Park in North Vancouver, you may encounter the uplifting chalk art by artist Bren. This person has made my day so many times!

The picture below is from October 27th, when a pothole repair on the Second Narrows snarled the traffic... we decided to walk instead and were rewarded!

Autumn, pouring liquid honey sunshine over the seeds. Came across a 'community ephemeral art' project with artist Pierre Leichner in North Vancouver's VIctoria Park.