Wednesday 2 July 2008

Summer's here!


Ahhh, summer... here at last.

A few days ago, we had a family luncheon in West Vancouver. The day was so nice that I thought I’d take the scoot and meet the family at my brother-in-law’s newly renovated house.

The ride was pleasant and warm from Maple Ridge to Vancouver. Once I was downtown, the traffic increased but was fine.

To get to West Vancouver, the road goes through a causeway in a huge park called Stanley Park. After the causeway is the famous Lions Gate Bridge which connects West Vancouver (part of the North Shore) to the city of Vancouver.

The causeway is three lanes so there was one going to West Van on the day I was riding. I was a bit worried about keeping up but the traffic was a bit congested so I had no problems.


The most exciting part was when I was on the Lions Gate Bridge. (Above picture from here) I’ve been on a few bridges already but not one so scenic and so high! It was a bit windy which was a bit scary but the thrill of being up on top of the world was amazing!


When I reached my brother-in-law Rob’s place, my little nieces and my year-old nephew were very excited by the Vespa. I didn’t take them for a ride but they had a blast posing on the seat.


Then I did what I always do when people admire my Vespa - I invited Rob to take it for a spin. He was gone for about 15 or 20 minutes (I was just a little bit nervous) and returned with a large smile on his face.


There were some beautiful views off of their deck. In the picture above, there is a great photo of the Lions Gate Bridge. Behind the bridge are the trees from Stanley Park. The city is beyond that.


After a great time,. I headed back through Vancouver, taking this photo of a couple of Vancouver’s tourist attractions, Christ Church Cathedral and a tour tram. Unfortunately, when putting away the camera in my pocket (as the light turned green) I jammed the lens and now my new camera from Japan (which isn’t covered by the warranty in Canada) is kaput. Oh well, at least summer’s here!

4 comments:

Kano said...

Sorry about the camera! Vancouver is a beautiful city. You'll have to get another one so we can see more of it as seen from the saddle of a Vespa.

Unknown said...

yikes, sorry about your camera. I too miss taking a lot of photos while riding so I was looking into one of those models with internal focus, such as Sony T-70, then you don't have to worry about the lens extending outward. at least you weren't trapped on the North Shore as I was the other day when they closed the 2nd narrows bridge. Welcome to our traffic nightmare, we always enjoy our rides out in Maple Ridge or the Valley to get away from traffic.

Baron's Life said...

Dave,
It's terrible about the Camera...especially since you acquired it on your last down memory lane trip to Japan which you enjoyed with your friends and daugther.
If it's any consolation....you took some wonderful pictures here. I think you can probably sell these to a magazine and buy another camera with the proceeds.
Cheers mate. Happy Riding
Berge
http://baronsview.blogspot.com

Dave Dixon said...

To all
Thanks for the concern about my camera. Luckily my youngest daughter figured out that if you turn on the macro setting, it works fine! Go figure..

Kano
Vancouver is a nice place - my only problem is that I don't live right in the city! Sometimes, an hour away is just too far...

bobskoot
Actually, I don't mind the traffic too much. Don't have to go too fast that way!

baron's life
Thanks for the kind words on my photos - I do try but I don't think I'm quite there yet. But keep the comments coming!