A Lagoon, an Ocean Drive, and Driftwood Bird Sculptures!

A Lagoon, an Ocean Drive, and Driftwood Bird Sculptures!

Well, it's been just over three weeks since our last blog post... and, boy, have we been busy! 

Leaving North Vancouver, we took the ferry across to Nanaimo, on Vancouver Island, where we had booked an Air BnB for four nights.  After this, we traveled as far north as the road would take us, and stayed for several nights in Port Hardy, exploring the northern part of the island before heading south again to Ucluelet. We'll have to condense that adventure into a separate blog. 

Currently, we are two thirds through our house/pet sit in Colwood, near Victoria. Again, we've been exploring the area, this time with two gorgeous dogs on board. 

One of the places that we were attracted to was an ocean drive at the Cobourg Peninsula, which separates a lagoon from the ocean - barely ten minutes away from where we are staying.

We walked the dogs on the beach close to sunset, and they thoroughly enjoyed the occasional splash in the water, and the many places to sniff! 

Before parking, we were intrigued by several wooden bird sculptures by the side of the road. Apparently, a local artist, Paul Lewis, sculpted these massive driftwood birds on the Esquimalt Lagoon and they have attracted the attention of hundreds of beach-goers. More than 50 birds, including ravens, owls, eagles and hummingbirds dot the shore, celebrating nature and the nearby Esquimalt Lagoon Migratory Bird Sanctuary. They were fascinating!

Mark suggested that I should take care of the dogs while he would capture some of the sculptures with the intention of sharing them with those of you who kindly follow our adventures. 

OOPS - this one slipped in, by mistake!!   😉

A couple of days later, we took a quick drive from one end of the Ocean Drive to the other. 

An interesting place, well worth the visit. 

Granville Island Market

Granville Island Market, Vancouver

October 5th, 2019

A few years ago, we took a brief trip to the market on Granville Island. We were pressed for time, but what we saw caused us to vow to return during our next visit. On Saturday, we made good on that self-promise and spent a few hours there, which gave us a chance to capture the ambience of this alluring place. 

We met Kelly, a friend's son, for the first time, and had lunch with him on the patio, overlooking the waterfront and skyline of part of the city. 

After he departed for his next engagement, we were able to roam leisurely through the indoor market, and the surrounding area - a converted warehouse section of the city. 

The indoor market comprised of a variety of stalls ranging from fruit and veggies, cheeses, butchers, spices, candies/chocolates, and bakeries to pottery, florists, tools, and tea cosies! 

Warning: the following pictures may cause excessive salivation to occur!

I'm sure that, if we resided within a few kilometres of this place, we would be patrons every weekend! It's certainly a dangerously, delightful place! 

The sun came out and the warmth lured us outside to explore more of the vicinity. Here, we found blacksmiths, glass-blowers, carpenters, and a brilliant store selling an assortment of musical instruments from around the world. 

We watched this glass blower at work. Fascinating!

These painted silos, just off to the side of the market, were an example of how this warehouse district has been transformed into a tourist attraction. 

We stopped to watch and enjoy several live musicians including a Peruvian gentleman playing a single flute, and another guy playing a mandolin. 

Finally, we took leave of the area via the Aquabus, which took us to a part of Vancouver that neither of us had seen before. 

After an overcast arrival in the city, it was good to see blue skies, and feel the warmth of the sun in this beautiful city.