People have been telling me if I can survive November I can survive the rainy and grey climate of Vancouver and the Pacific Northwest in general.  This November must be an anomaly because while there has been a lot of rain there have been some spectacularly sunny days.  Yesterday was one of them and it was perfect for hiking and to get out and explore an area I haven’t seen yet: West Vancouver.

 

Coming from the topographically challenged Midwest, scenes like this put a huge smile on my face every time I see them.  

 

It was a perfect day for hiking but if I had a boat I’d have joined two kayakers I met.

 

Most of the day was spent hiking at the aptly, if uncreatively named, Lighthouse Park on Point Atkinson.  This will definitely be the place I’ll bring visitors.  It is easy to get to and the trails are nice and wide for people of all athletic abilities and the views can’t be beat.

 

There is a major street in Vancouver named Arbutus.  While many of the North-South streets are named after trees I didn’t realize Arbutus was a tree.  Common to the Pacific Northwest I’d never seen or touched one before.  It is ideal for burning because it burns long and hot.  Unfortunately I don’t have a fireplace but I’ll file it away until I do because they keep telling me how cold it is going to get.

 

After thoroughly exploring Lighthouse Park we continued on to Horseshoe Bay where many of the ferries leave and on to Whytecliff Park to take in the sunset which was a great way to end a beautiful day.

November 24th, 2008 | outdoors, photography | 1 comment

I’ve been saying I’d do it for a while but this post marks the start of my post-Chicago blog. Unlike Rideabout this will not be specific to my travels or a particular trip.  Although since I’m traveling now it might not seem that way initially.

Started my morning in Chicago on a beautiful sunny Fall day. While photographing “The Bat” in front of the Chicago offices of Social Security Department I was reminded of a disturbing trend of late when a security guard came out and warned me I could take pictures of the sculpture but was not allowed to point my camera at the building. I had this happen earlier this summer at another location and have seen it happen many times in and around the building of the Orbitz offices — none of which are federal buildings. But does it matter if they’re federal or not? It is no secret Social Security as it stands today is hosed. Were they afraid I’d uncover something?  It was quite obvious I was there as a photographer and not on a recon mission. I don’t think I look threatening or like I should be forced to wear an orange jump suit ala Ted Kaczynski. Maybe I’m wrong…

Anyone determined to get a picture of the Social Security or any other building downtown could do it without much trouble. It bothers me as a photographer in search of new pictures but it bothers me more in how this kind of attitude has begun to permeate American society. Not to mention I probably couldn’t count on my fingers and toes how many surveillance cameras captured me as I captured the bat from every angle which (mostly) didn’t include the Social Security Administration building.

 

I’ve always enjoyed looking at the city from this location.  For some reason it is quintessential Chicago to me –  I think it’s the El on Lake Street crossing over the river.  Of course the location where I’m standing is also where the Great Chicago Flood of ’92 started. And with that, my first trip back to Chicago as a non-resident was over as I was off to ORD to make my way to Central America for the rest of October. First stop, Costa Rica.

October 17th, 2008 | photography, travel | No comments