Viva, Vancouver...

I haven't been to Vancouver for a while, so I figured now was as good a time as any to get back up here. Normally I would fly straight into Vancouver, but I decided to fly into Seattle on Friday, instead, and drive to Vancouver on Saturday.

I've only made the drive once, and it was a rather eventful experience. I was travelling with guitarist Marc Seal, and we were on our way to a show in Kelowna, British Columbia. Our flight out of Seattle got cancelled, so we made an eight hour drive from Seattle to Kelowna in the rain, at night, on unfamiliar roads and with a rather sketchy GPS unit. We made it, but it wasn't exactly a sightseeing trip.

This trip, however, was far different. The weather has been gorgeous, and it's supposed to stay that way until I leave Seattle on Thursday (I'll drive back down there next week).

Downtown Seattle, Washington. That's Qwest Field, home of the Seahawks, on the left...

I'm goin' left...

Now, it's no secret that I love to drive, and that's one of the reasons I decided to do this trip the way I am. Aside from that, though, you would be amazed at how less expensive the airfare was to Seattle as opposed to Vancouver, and how less expensive the rental car is (I have a Ford Escape). For me, though, the biggest benefit is that I don't have to deal with Canadian Customs in an airport. Only rarely is it a brief endeavor. Driving across the border, though, it's nice and quick. It's also a lot more picturesque than Canadian Customs at Vancouver International.





Peace Arch Park at the Canadian border...

Welcome to Canada...

I hate to say it, but the 2010 Winter Olympic Games came and went since I've last been here. It's evident, though, that having the world show up on your doorstep had a positive impact. The city seems nicer. It seems cleaner. And it's sure as Hell a lot more fun than I remember it being the last time I was here.

According to one bartender I spoke with, the city closes down Granville Street every Friday and Saturday night during the summer for "Viva, Vancouver". As I had an appointment on Granville in the afternoon, and dinner planned in the evening, I figured I'd take the 5D and get some shots between the two.

Granville Street in Vancouver; shut down to traffic...

Apparently, there was some sort of skateboarding demonstration earlier in the evening, but I missed that. What I got to see, though, was something I'd not seen before. Howzabout some roadside karaoke?

A girl sings Shirley Bassey's "Hey Big Spender", and she was good...

This is just PART of the crowd that was enjoying the karaoke...

Now, whenever you close down the street in a major metropolitan area, people are going to come out, and this was no exception. And, when people are going to be coming out, you get that segment of society which earns its' living on the street. They may be beggars or buskers, but they're out there:

Part of a trio of buskers...

Another member of the trio...

And this girl completes the trio. They said they were trying to raise money to buy tickets to see Santana. Godspeed...

Some people, however, lack the creativity gene, and just ask for money...

Now, whenever this many people end up in the same place, there's bound to be a degree of "freak show" happening. There was a real cast of characters out there today and, honestly, I don't know that any of them can be adequately explained:

He wasn't only feeding them, he was carrying on a conversation with them...

Yeah. I got nothin'...

This guy berated his umbrella before hanging it off his pocket...

I bet his mother is, oh, so proud...

There were plenty of food vendors, as well. Most of it was what you would expect in this area; a lot of seafood offerings, but the old standbys, as well; burgers, hot dogs, etc. And, if you looked long enough, you could even find something which you probably thought only existed in a ZZ Top song:

I wish I could say this is Photoshopped but, sadly, no. Bon appetit...

The tube steak girl putting way too much catsup on something which, undoubtedly, needs it...

And, of course, whenever you get a large mass of people busking, singing, begging, tube steaking, and what have you, you'll also have that element which comes out to try to earn some real money. Whether they're successful or not is unknown:

I think she's calling her broker...

Only able to stand so much of a good thing, I decided to head out to parts less crowded, so I drove down to Stanley Park. Right on the water, crowds gather along the banks of English Bay to watch the sunset. I got there a few minutes after sunset, but I could tell, just by what I saw that followed sunset, that it must've been quite a site.

English Bay, right after sunset...

Despite being an urban park, it's actually pretty serene, and there's even some wildlife. Okay, we're not talkin' bears and elk here, but a family of raccoons did find their way down a rather large tree before retiring into the brush:

This little guy was moving slow and steady...

Scopin' out the tourists...

Four of the five raccoons...

As I don't have a tripod with me, it was getting a little bit difficult to take pictures that I would be happy with. When I got back to my hotel, though, I stepped out onto my 16th floor balcony and braced the 5D against the railing to get some night shots of downtown Vancouver:

Vancouver at night...

I look at that picture of Vancouver, and I have CNN's coverage of Hurricane Irene tuned in on the flat screen. I just hope everyone back there is able to hunker down and be safe. It's kind of amazing to think that I honestly can't recall the last time I was here when the weather wasn't crappy. It seems like it's always cold or rainy (or, on a good day, both).

The weather is supposed to be perfect while I'm here, and when I travel back to Seattle, so I'll be sure to have the batteries charged...