rock-solid sunny days when I visited Vancouver, Victoria, and Seattle from August 14th - 19th, 2004. I had never
been to the Pacific Northwest before, so this trip was about time. I flew in to Seattle the evening of the 14th, lost
some money at some casinos that same night, then spent my first full day of the trip north of the border.
urban than I expected it to be, and perhaps a little more polluted as well. Sort of disappointing. I just wanted to get a feel
for the area and not go to any specifics sites. I started off walking around downtown, which certainly had its nice spots,
then went to the sports arena area. That included B.C. Place and G.M. Place, the home of the Vancouver Canucks who
LOST to the NY Rangers in the '94 Stanley Cup Finals. The sports arena area also wasn't anything special; it was more
industrial with a lot of construction going on around it. I was kind of surprised the area around BC Place seemed as dull
as it was. Here's an NHL team tucked away in the Pacific Northwest, far away from home for me, and it plays in
this...neighborhood. It was a prelude of things to come as I walked next towards Chinatown, which had its really
depressing spots, to say the least. Finally, I walked towards "Gastown" which is pretty much a single street with lots of
shops and entertainment. It probably could be called "Old Vancouver" and maybe it is for all I know. Gastown was a
welcome site compared to where I had been around Chinatown (Stay away from Carrall Street). This was not a
depressing day at all, mind you. I realize every city has its poor neighborhoods, but what surprised me was how close
these neighborhoods were to the main downtown. I came out here to see what this area was like, and I saw both the
good and bad.....but the important thing was that ... I saw.
picture fool you.
The backdrop of
the "Gastown"
section of
Vancouver may
look absolutely
beautiful and lively,
and it is, but just a
couple of short
blocks to my right
closer to
Chinatown are
some of the
smelliest
unliveable areas of
any city I had ever
seen. Drugs run
rampant and the
side streets smell
like your typical
public restroom in
a park. Enough
said.
the first places I
visited on this trip
was a sports
stadium.
This was taken
outside the home
of the BC Lions
CFL team.
To the right of
the BC Place
sign is the Terry
Fox Memorial.
Inside the
stadium is the
only museum I
visited on this
entire trip -- the
"BC Sports
Hall-of-Fame."
Victoria ... finally got there at 12:20 p.m. Those bastards I made the ferry reservation with told me the trip would take
90 minutes from the hotel. Well, it's actually the ferry ride that takes that long, but I had no idea I'd be on a bus for
nearly two hours -- one way. But as soon as I hopped off the bus, I could see the beauty of this city. I quickly hopped
on a tour bus and was given a 90-minute tour of the area. Of course, the tour guide was British, I wouldn't expect
anything less. I have a new appreciation with tour bus rides as this one gave me a feel for the Island and told me
where I would want to spend the day. After walking around a very scenic downtown, I rented a bike for a couple of
hours and headed straight towards the shoreline. What a view. Finally at 7:00, I hopped on the bus to trek back to
Vancouver, where I would spend day three, finally returning to the hotel at 11:30. If I could do this over again, I
would've spent day two in Vancouver, then took my rental car on the Victoria ferry. Then I could've spent an evening
in Victoria. Six hours in Victoria was enough time, but when you're at a place for a first time, what exactly is enough???
from
Vancouver
for a day in
Victoria, the
Capital of
British
Columbia.
Victoria.
The
Empress
Hotel is in
the
backdrop.
taste after day 1. After renting a bike that morning, I biked around Stanley Park. It was absolutely gorgeous. No other
way to describe it. I must've stopped about five times to just sit and enjoy the scenery. Then, when I was leaving
Stanley Park, I was left on the south shoreline, where the bike path kept me along the water. I would hate to ask how
much it would cost to have a home along that route, because it would probably leave a jealous taste in my mouth. Then
as I was continuing my ride, I was headed towards the Vancouver Science Expo (I think that's what it's called). That is
near the sports stadiums. Well, after my experiences from Sunday, I decided after that to do a U-turn and head back
towards downtown...I wanted to keep the day positive. Then it was time to check e-mail, so I headed to the Vancouver
Public Library. Even that was a site to see, with a shopping mall underneath it. I must've passed that building about
three times before, but would never have recognized that as a library. Yup, something is very strange when a library is
a more glamorous place to visit in a city than the hockey arena. Then finally, it was time to start thinking about driving to
Seattle, so I headed towards the car. More on that trip below.
impression of
Vancouver compared
to my Chinatown
experience when I
biked around Stanley
Park, then along the
shore line near the
heart of the city. This
was taken from Stanley
Park overlooking
downtown Vancouver.
Vancouver, also from Stanley Park.
the office, searched my car, and gave me a complete interrogation. They kept asking me, "why are you travelling here
by yourself? You don't know anybody? You're not here for any purpose but pleasure?" I guess how many people do
you see travel somewhere they've never been to before, where they don't know anybody, and they wear their socks up
to their knees? Yup, I was a suspicious character.
hardly a cloud in the sky during my two days in Seattle. The Needle made sense to be my first stop in Seattle. From
there, I walked towards downtown, took advantage of the free downtown bus, then took a ferry ride around the Harbor in
the afternoon. The Needle is in the Seattle Center, which is an absolutely brilliant idea. It's pretty much a year-round
tourist attraction with museums, an amusement park (which doesn't open up early enough), concerts, and KeyArena --
the home of the Seattle Sonics (one of two NBA teams I've never seen play in a game). But just being in and around the
Space Needle fulfilled me; I mean, how many times do you see that on TV when seeing the Seattle Skyline. And the
Harbor Cruise allowed me to see Seattle from that same TV shot...Late in the afternoon I drove to Redmond, Washington
to see what the big deal is with Microsoft. Well, the first thing I saw was the Microsoft baseball fields...the whole complex
is like a college campus. At least 40 buildings, and plenty of amenities to help its employees get through life in the
corporate environment. I finally rounded out the day by walking around the University of Washington.
overlooking downtown Seattle. Trust me, it was
complete sunshine outside.
Ferry. Downtown Seattle is behind me.
All the way to the right of downtown is
a building with some white on the top.
That is QWest Field, home of the
Seattle Seahawks.
in the same way I saw Vancouver's. There was a one block park not far from my bike rental shop (and from downtown)
where there were about 20 people in their sleeping bags. I think what struck me the most on this trip was how visible the
urban problems are...even being this far away from New York City. After I rented the bike, I didn't initially do much biking.
I just went a couple of blocks to start to go around QWest and Safeco Fields, the homes of the Seahawks and Mariners
respectively. From there, I continued a little further south to the corporate home of Starbucks. When you first walk in to
the complex, you get an instant smell of coffee, and of course, there's a Starbucks cafe right at the ground floor lobby.
What is curious is Starbucks doesn't actually occupy the entire building. Then I biked up the shoreline, passing the
entrance to the Ferry ride I took one day earlier. The Seattle shoreline doesn't compare to Vancouver's, but it does
have more tourist attractions and is definitely a much busier marketplace. Then I got my only workout of the trip as I
decided to go uphill...back towards the Seattle Center, then even further East (more uphill) towards some of the more
neighborhood streets. Finally, I finished my bike ride in the downtown area where I had a quick snack at....where else?
Starbucks. The rumors are true; there is a Starbucks, or some other coffee house, on probably every block of the city.
Then it was off to the library again to check e-mail. This main branch of the Seattle library actually just opened up about
three months earlier. I'm just trying to figure out why the entire fourth floor was all red -- red lighting, red walls, red floor.
After a venture up to the observation deck of the Bank of America building, I finally finished my day at the Pike Street
Marketplace, the home of the "Original Starbucks." Finally, I drove to the airport to grab my Red-Eye flight back home.
Fortunately, there was only a 40-minute delay and no more, because I had to be at Yankee Stadium on the night of the
20th.
in 12 years) but I do like Starbucks.
That's because the company (whose
corporate office is in the background)
uses a vendor which is the competitor to
the company that laid me off back in
2001. Good for them. This was once
the largest building West of the
Mississippi. Someone told me while I
was there that it still is...I find that hard
to believe.
played baseball in the American
League in 1969 before becoming the
Milwaukee Brewers in 1970. This hat
sits in the Safeco Field gift shop.
deck at the Bank of America building.
That IS a real background, not some
phony picture that makes it look like I'm
suspended in mid-air.
