Day 16 - Olympia WA to Vancouver BC

September 2017

September 20

So why did we come back into the States for a day? Mainly because John decided to knock an item of MY bucket list, the Chihuly Glasshouse and Gardens in Seattle!!


What a yucky morning as we started out.















But the weather or Chihuly gods are on our side and it clears.



Oh how we remember hilly Seattle from our 2008 visit. We pass the hotel we stayed in the last time. Our hotel preferences have changed, we now are very brand loyal for points! After all, this road trip hotels have been funded, in large part, by points!





After a lot few wrong turns we get to Chihuly Glasshouse and Gardens at the base of the Space Needle. We'd been up the Needle in 2008 that we didn't need to do that. Just a glimpse!

Or click here to see the Chihuly Exhibit in Toronto last year.




John's new profile photo!



The Needle and Chihuly.



MoPop or Museum of Pop Culture is also new to us. I would like to visit this but we have a schedule!





























It's about a two hour drive to Vancouver from Seattle and the weather is great.















































Once we check in we set out to explore. We decided on Gastown as we had been there together.



Vancouver train station has been totally renovation and looks fabulous. We stop for a glass of wine before continuing our rambles.




This is a working steam clock, one of only a few in the world.

Underneath Vancouver, runs a series of steam pipes connected to a generating plant at Georgia and Beatty Streets. The system provides heat to most of the downtown core, and provides the steam for the whistles of the Gastown steam clock.







Despite seeming like a remnant of the Victorian era and being located in Vancouver’s “Gastown” (which was the original townsite from which Vancouver grew in the 1870s), the Steam Clock is actually from a hundred years later, built in 1977 by horologist Raymond Saunders and metalwork specialist Doug Smith.
















The name Gastown came into use because a Fraser River pilot turned saloonkeeper with the name Capt. John 'Gassy Jack' Deighton was in 1867 the first settler on the site from which Vancouver was to evolve. (In Victorian times the term 'to gas' referred to talking a lot, something which Captain Deighton had become famous for.) It is said that Deighton had erected his saloon at Luck-Lucky which meant grove of maple trees close to Stamp's Mill (near what is now the foot of Gore) with the help of eager workers from the mill just 24 hours after arriving on the shores of Burrard Inlet. He called it the Globe Saloon after his former saloon in New Westminster.



Gassy Jack had come to Luck-Lucky from New Westminster in a dugout canoe with his Indian wife, her mother, and Big William, her cousin who was along to do the paddling. It was while in New Westminster that he earned his reputation for being "gassy" entertaining customers with stories at his Globe Saloon, according to a contemporary, of "desperate adventures and hairbreadth escapes from Sydney docks, Yankee road agents, Mexican bandits, grizzly bears, etc.".










A random piano.






Measuring nine square feet, each mosaic features a common border anchored with images of Vancouver’s natural environment, including an evergreen tree, the mountain skyline, billowing wind, and ocean waves.




Each mosaic has a circular centre with a different abstract design reflecting a dynamic theme – such as people, entertainment, architecture, music, logging and fishing -- that captures the essence of downtown from both historical and contemporary perspectives, contains between 3,500 to 4,500 hand cut ceramic pieces in a kaleidoscope of colours and takes approximately 160 hours to create.



Sea to Sky Artist: Kelly Cannell

This project represents all of what Canada has to offer in terms of natural landscapes, abounding wildlife, and rich cultural diversity. Located on traditional Coast Salish territory, the artwork represents a land where our ancestors lived and gained their livelihoods. The imagery shows Vancouver's surroundings in the heart of the city, while acknowledging the four directions (north, east, south, and west).








And we're ready to relax.

Day 1 - Toronto to Chesterton IN

Day 2 - Chesterton IN to Rochester MN

Day 3 - Rochester MN to Lincoln NB

Day 4 - Lincoln NB to Denver CO

Weekly recap with more photos
Day 5 - Denver CO to Rapid City SD
The Curtis Hotel Denver CO funky themed floors
Day 6 - Rapid City SD Mount Rushmore City of Presidents
Day 7 - Rapid City SD to Billings MT Crazy Horse and Little Big Horn
Day 8 - Billings MT to Driggs ID
Day 9 - Jackson Hole WY and Grand Teton NP

Day 10 - Yellowstone National Park

Day 11 - Driggs ID to Spokane WA

Weekly Recap

Day 12 - Spokane WA to Port Angeles WA

Day 13 - Port Angeles WA to Victoria BC
Day 14 - Victoria BC
Day 15 - Victoria BC to Olympia WA
Weekly Recap

inSPIREd Sunday

July 2017 - Toronto On

I recently learned that this church had a labyrinth and was open Monday to Friday from noon to 3 PM.

There are three churches in this area.
St. Michael's Cathedral Catholic 
Metropolitan United Church - outside. Today I am going inside.
St. James Anglican Cathedral
St. James Anglican Cathedral second visit

The trio of similarly designed churches are a striking Christian witness immediately adjacent to Canada's financial hub.
Metropolitan United Church is currently under renovations outside so this photo is from a few years ago.

In 1922, a 22-bell, 17-ton carillon was installed in the tower with money donated by Chester Massey.

The congregation, originally Methodist, was founded in 1818. It was originally housed in a small chapel on King Street West (now site of Commerce Court North).


There is a plaque on the Commerce Court building.

In 1833 a larger structure was completed on Adelaide Street and it moved to its present location in 1872 when the building was dedicated as the Metropolitan Wesleyan Methodist Church.

In 1925 the Methodist Church of Canada merged with the Presbyterians and Congregationalists to form the United Church of Canada. Metropolitan then acquired its current name. In 1928 the church was almost destroyed by fire, but it was quickly rebuilt keeping the same design with the help of the Methodist Massey family, of Massey-Ferguson fame.




Many of the windows are dedicated in memory of a family member or friend who has been a living milestone in the work and life of Metropolitan United. The scheme of the windows for the nave, prepared by Robert McCausland, depict on the west wall the “Miracles of Jesus", while the east wall depicts “Scenes from the Life of Christ".

I found the following at the Lusitania Resource website.

 image credit: Paul Latimer/Halifax Evening Mail, 11 May 1915. Alfred Clarke, 55, owned A. R. Clarke and Co. of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which made leather linings, vests, and moccasins. He was a British subject, married, and had a son and daughter. On the last voyage of the Lusitania, his ticket was 13105 and he stayed in cabin D-3. On the day of the disaster, Clarke "was on the top deck about 2 o'clock on Friday afternoon when [he] suddenly heard a crash and splinters flew around." He tried to get down to his D deck cabin, but was couldn't at the time because of all the people coming up the stairs. He watched the crew ready the lifeboats and decided to try again for his lifejacket in his cabin. Clarke finally made it and he found it "utterly dark." When he closed the door, it was stuck due to the angle of the ship. He finally escaped and made it back on deck. he had failed to get a belt until a man gave him one on deck. Clarke encountered a tablemate from the dining saloon and encouraged him to get into one of the last lifeboats. The man refused and Clarke jumped into one of the boats. No sooner did he do that, the ship went down and he found himself in the water. He was picked up by a collapsible that was helmed by Charles Lauriat. The Wanderer (Peel 12) came to pick up the thirty-three on the raft. Alfred Russell Clarke died in a hosptial in London, England on 20 June 1915.

In the chancel is a labyrinth based on the famous labyrinth in Chartres Cathedral.

Metropolitan’s Casavant Organ is not only the largest pipe organ in Canada, it’s an instrument used every day at the church, by visiting organists and by students from the University of Toronto. But time and use have taken their toll: the 75+ year-old-organ is wearing out.

Let's Chew the Fat

Grove City PA Spring 2014

July 2017 - Toronto ON

SATURDAY

Finally, a sunny warm day and we took the bus to City Hall for the Art Show.

We went up to the podium roof garden to get this view.

This is the city's largest roof garden, and it is surprising that more people don't come up.

ART! 

Just a sample here.

Colourblock by Janet Panabaker such fun ceramic pieces.

We also liked Brian Harvey's paintings. He really evokes a feeling of Toronto.

From his website Dundas Street 2010.

Another favourite Peer Christensen.

We stopped to have a drink in the shade.

There were three wedding parties doing photos within a few feet of each other.

University Ave on the steps of the Boer War Memorial.

Osgoode Hall

Osgoode Hall.

I have the bright idea we should take the subway home. John wanted the bus, the streetcars are not running due to track replacement.
Get on subway at Osgoode, go north change to westbound at St. George.


Settled in to hear announcement that their is no service this weekend between Ossington and Jane due to maintenance. Shuttle buses will be available.
Now in all my years as a subway rider I have never actually seen these "shuttle buses" I have always assumed they are a figment of the TTC's imagination.
It is absolutely chaotic at Ossington, with a bunch of volunteers standing around with their thumbs...No crowd control.
People are taking photos of the crowds and tweeting out. BTW, TTC, I have yet to hear a response from you...
 25 minutes and we finally get on a bus. Oh, look, a detour on Bloor due to a street festival. Finally get on subway at Jane to go ONE 1 uno stop to Old Mill to get bus home.

If we had gone John's way... 501 bus along Queen St. W short walk home.

Anyhoo...home to a well deserved beer!
Dinner was easy, cheeses, pate, bread and crackers.


SUNDAY
inSPIREd Sunday
One Word Sunday
Six Word Photo

After the debacle with the subway yesterday we decided we were not going anywhere today!

For dinner I did a roast chicken, mashed and roast potatoes and broccoli.

MONDAY
Monday Mural
Good Random Fun
Foto Tunes

We went out for a while with a couple of missions in mind.

The first was to find a mural at Jimmy's Coffee Shop on Gerrard at Bay. This we did and had a coffee. See a future post on this.

Here is a sample of the coffee beans for sale. Do you see a theme?

I also posted their sign in this week's Wordless.

Next up was to find some other sculptures at Bay and College. Click here to see the sculptures outside Toronto Police Headquarters.

We were surprised to see that there was a police museum! Who knew? We decided to visit it. Click here for lots of photos and fun tales.

Dinner was sweet and sour meatballs with a cabbage salad with this new dressing.

We tried this salsa and it is finally a salsa that is worthy of the adjective hot! And it was on special for 2.99.

As were their nachos.

TUESDAY
Tuesday Treasures

John went golfing and I picked up some stuff for baking.
First I made bread crumbs (gluten free) from frozen leftover bread.
Then I made raspberry cream cheese cake.
And an orange yogurt loaf.

Dinner was penne with vodka sauce, something I haven't made in a long time.

WEDNESDAY
I spent the morning "chewing the fat" with a neighbour. Then headed downtown with an idea of going to Chinatown and picking up some stuff.

But I got sidetracked with murals and sculptures and new buildings and never made it.
Financial District - Sculpture
Front St West - Sculptures

Here were some of the sights I encountered.

A mural I have walked passed thousands of times when I worked in the King/Front St. area. It is in the underground path in Metro Hall. We have miles of paths beneath the city that are perfect for hot, cold or rainy days.

I was surprised to see these lovely buildings still standing although the mural on its side is definitely worse for the wear.

This is the mural in 2010 when I worked around here. Painted in 1986 by muralist Bill Wrigley. The photo was taken on my Blackberry!

The Toronto list of heritage properties states that the house was built in 1858. 

In 1876, Henry Seaton Strathy purchased the property at 298 Adelaide Street, and the Toronto Heritage list states that a Mansard roof was added in that year. Henry Strathy was born in Edinburgh in January of 1833. He first lived in Montreal, where he was a founding member of the Montreal Stock Exchange. In Toronto, he was head of the Federal Bank of Canada at 17 Wellington Street West. 

In all the years I worked near here I never saw anyone coming or going into the New York Fur shop downstairs. But then who wears furs nowadays?

A new mural on the side of a restaurant Kiin, a new Thai spot on Adelaide.

I showed you the interior of this building a few weeks ago but didn't get a photo of the outside. Solved.

I was kept busy at the corner of Peter and Richmond. When I first worked in this area in the early part of this century, (my gawd, that makes me sound old) the eccentric intersection of Peter and Richmond streets,has been transformed from a lonely, bleak corner in a district of elderly warehouses to a hub of inner-city intensification.

During the 1870s, the site at the corner of Peter and Richmond Streets was the private estate of a barrister, Mr. Charles McGrath DCL, The estate contained several out-buildings for stabling horses and carriages, and living space for servants.

His widow remained in the mansion until the year 1900, when the property was sold to Judge Walter. In 1903, Mr. Augustus Walker II moved in and remained on the state until 1911. In 1912, George Weston purchased the property and demolished the estate to construct his new bakery. It is the walls of this structure that remain on the site today.

Tableau Condominiums so named for the table like four storey podium.

The colonnade is home to an artwork by Shayne Dark, called Nova, which pierces through the openings in the table top podium,

Directly across the street stands this historic building, I didn't find any background on it but did see that the yellow one has a proposal to the city to demolish it for a condo.

From there I went into 401 Richmond. 401 Richmond is a historic warehouse in downtown Toronto and home to over 140 cultural producers and microenterprises. Originally the site of the Macdonald Manufacturing Company, a tin lithography factory at the turn of the 20th century, 401 Richmond is now a thriving arts and culture hub.

The future of 401 Richmond, the arts and cultural hub inside an old factory building on Richmond at Spadina, is in jeopardy thanks to its climbing tax bill.

Spacing Store is the  retail offshoot of the magazine of the same name. I treated myself to a new book to go along with the sculpture book Creating Memory I bought a couple of weeks ago.

There are always ongoing changing art exhibits.

So I never did get to Chinatown. It was gone 3 PM by the time I got to Queen St. it was hot so I decided to head back home.

Dinner was a beef stew to use up a piece of meat we had.

THURSDAY
Thursday Doors
Where's My Backpack Travel Theme

The plan was to go for a mani pedi but it decided to rain. Postponed.

But we didn't change our plans for lunch since we grab the shuttle at our door and when we get to Union Station we can get to the restaurant underground. The temperature had also dropped from 28C when we got up to 18C once it began to rain.




We did our annual odyssey to Red Lobster for their crab fest.

The rain stopped when we finished lunch at 3 and the sun came out.

I took John to see Holy Trinity Church.

And the Labyrinth. The city's most popular labyrinth and the site of official events is tucked away behind the Eaton Centre at Trinity Square Park. It has a 73 foot diameter, making it one of the biggest in the city.

Labyrinths of this kind have one path that meanders towards the centre and can be found in parks, churches, wading pools, public spaces, and even traffic islands. Because they're usually just markings on the ground, sometimes the only way you'll spot one is to see someone doing a circuit.

A tourist family doing the circuit.

The new bridge between the Eaton Centre is taking shape. It replaces the 40 year old one and is much more appealing.

Then we checked out the brains at City Hall - will post next week.

Then I dragged took John into my favourite book store, a quiet spot amid the hustle and bustle of Yonge St.



Then we "needed" some chocolate so we were into FCP to Lindt.

And I found more brains as John used the ATM. Click here for this week's brains.

Home to tuna sandwiches for dinner...and chocolate.

FRIDAY
Friday Finds
Weekend Reflections
Weekend Green Toronto Peace Garden at City Hall

I headed out early for a mani pedi, it is so peaceful along the lake that early.

John went to play golf and I set off for a ramble with a few ideas in mind.

I checked out the sculpture outside the Sony Centre. I'll do a post on the sculpture another time.

Then I came across the brain at the Sony Centre, in the link above.

Then I thought I would head up to St. James Cathedral.

Cathedral Church of St. James is the home of the oldest congregation in the city. The parish was established in 1797. The Cathedral, with construction beginning in 1850 and opening for services on June 19, 1853, was one of the largest buildings in the city at the time. 

Side entrance.

Then I remembered I had read this week that there is a labyrinth in the Metropolitan Church.

Metropolitan United Church is a large neo-Gothic church. It is one of the largest and most prominent churches of the United Church of Canada.

I didn't take a photo of the outside because it is under major renovation.
My main reason to visit was to see the labyrinth.
This is based on the famous labyrinth in Chartres Cathedral.

Oh I found this mural in a laneway at Queen St. East Henry's is a fabulous camera shop.

I also walked through St. James Garden and managed to get some shops in as well before going to the market for vegetables and meat for the weekend.

Dinner is our weekly steak, baked potato and broccolini.

BOOKS

I realize I have not kept count of the books I have read, I will rectify that.

I finished The Decent Proposal it didn't live up to my initial feelings, in fact it left me rather deflated.

I started The O'Briens it has kept my interest because much of it is set in Montreal where I grew up. But, really, who could like Joe? Or some of the other family members. But I am a sucker for a family saga that extends from 1887 through 1960 covering three generations of the O'Brien family as I enjoy the history.


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