May 2: Lots of Walking

I got earlier than usual, determined to get through more of the sights on my list. Tina gave me a drink bottle to keep myself hydrated.

First up once I arrived in the CBD was the Gastown Steam Clock. This is located in Gastown, one of the older parts of the central city. It was built in 1977 to commemorate Gastown’s origins. The clock is electric, but it “chimes” with its steam whistles. While I was there, its whistles blew out the Westminster three-quarter-hour chime, five minutes late.

Next was Woodward’s Spiral Staircase to Nowhere. It’s inside the old Woodward Buildings, a former department store now converted into shops and community centres. The staircase doesn’t quite take you nowhere; there is a link to a mezzanine floor three-quarters up. But the top of the staircase ends in just a viewing platform.

Walking east down Cordova Street, I went through an older, poorer part of town, with many homeless and destitute people around. Ironic, then, that this is also the home of the Vancouver Police Museum, located in the former Coroner’s Court/Police Laboratory building. This contains displays of weapons, dog and horse units, pictures of famous murder cases, and the original autopsy room. Lots of gruesomely fascinating stuff.

I headed next through Chinatown. In a local school, some people were practising a dragon dance, accompanied by big bass drums. Another attraction there is the Sam Kee/Jack Chow Building, apparently listed by Guinness Records as the narrowest commercial building in the world. Despite the big Jack Chow Insurance neon signs and the stuffed pandas in the windows, I couldn’t actually go in.

After a tasty tofu paleo-burrito (that’s how the café advertised it), I walked back into the central city to find the Marine Building, a large art-deco building that’s appeared in many movies. Unfortunately, it’s currently swathed in aluminium scaffolding and not particularly photogenic (although the businesses inside are still running). Its former main entrance is a beautiful revolving door, but no-one’s allowed to use it now.

The sun was getting brighter, so I bought some sunscreen (from an IGA, no less) and started off towards Granville Island. My assumption was that, if you follow Granville St and go across the Granville Bridge, you’d wind up in Granville Island. No such luck: after very much walking, I discovered the bridge takes you over the island and quite a way off to the side. Decided to leave the Island for another day.

At this point, I discovered one of Vancouver’s big deficiencies: there are few public toilets around. The nearest train station had none; neither had any of the central stations. (Apparently, the city council “doesn’t have the money.”) After several increasingly-desperate minutes searching, I found one open in a food court, but it was bloody annoying.

Pushing on, I finally arrived by train and foot to the VanDusen Garden, a large botanic garden full of all manner of plants, flowers and ponds. (My mum would love it.) My aim here, though, was the Hedge Maze, supposedly one of only six in North America. It’s fairly small and I found my way in and out in about 10 minutes, but it was fun.

A bus across to Main Street and on to The Shameful Tiki Room. There was already a small queue when I arrived just before they opened. Space is limited but, being only one person, I got the last available bar seat. The Shameful Tiki Room is a dimly-lit bar decorated in the kitsch “tiki” style from the 1960s (little in common with New Zealand tikis). There’s tropical music in the background and Magnum PI playing on the TVs. I ordered a couple of their strong cocktails and very nice they were. Quite a few locals make the Room their regular visit.

Stepping out later, many shops along the street were still open and I was in the mood for an impulse buy, so I picked up a second-hand Buddy Holly CD and a second-hand book about Joss Whedon. I then took bus and train back to Richard and Tina’s place. Halfway there, I realised I’d left Tina’s water bottle behind at The Shameful Tiki Room, but she wasn’t upset about it.

May 3: To the Beach

Woke up with furry teeth and a dark blister on the sole of one foot. After cleaning myself up, I made ready for a beach trip Richard and Tina were taking me on. Tina’s daughter Marissa joined us before we left.

Tina drove us south-east along highways dotted with fir trees around signs saying we were approaching the US border. We arrived at White Rock, just a few kilometres north of the border. It’s a small coastal city, originally set up as a customs post in former times; reminded me a little of Sorrento near Melbourne.

Applying sunscreen, we walked out along White Rock Pier, one of the longest in Canada. It was originally built in 1914, but had to be restored after a storm damaged it in 2018. At the end of the pier at the rock wall, we tried to follow all the tiny fish swimming in mass schools in the water below, and took turns with the binoculars looking out to the sea and islands beyond.

After walking back, Tina and Marissa looked for shells and rocks along the beach, while Richard rested in the shade and I sketched a little. Around us, dozens of people and families were taking advantage of the fine weather and the low tide. While there, a long goods train passed through, blocking the pier entrance for several minutes.

We tried some of the sweet wares at one of the many gelato shops, then went to the White Rock Museum, located in the former railway station. It shows historical photos and a reconstruction of the old station office. It has a few interactive displays, too. I saw one on the wall and tried it out. Turns out that was not an interactive display but the switch for the actual fire alarm, which was now ringing very loudly. I apologised to the curator, but she said this was third time this year that this had happened.

Scurrying out, we walked along the beach path again up to the White Rock of White Rock. A huge boulder left behind by glaciers from the last ice age, it was originally painted white as a navigation aid, but now just as the symbol of the town.

By this point, we were all flagging a bit, so we headed back home. Marissa said goodbye, and Richard, Tina and I went inside for a nap.

Later that evening, we were watching another movie from Richard’s collection when we heard what sounded like screaming. Richard and Tina’s apartment block is separated from the neighbouring apartment block by a shared driveway. Looking out, we say ambulances, fire engines and police cars parked on the driveway. The ambos were putting someone on a stretcher into an ambulance, and a man(?) was repeatedly screaming somewhere inside the neighbouring apartment block. The fire engines left shortly (in Vancouver, all three emergency services turn up to 911 calls), but the ambulance and police cars remained. We watched for several minutes as the repeated screaming became more periodic, then stopped. One ambulance blocked my view of the apartment block entrance, so I’m not sure if anyone else was taken out. Eventually, the ambulances left, followed by the police. We went back to watching the movie.