The hotel was on the UBC campus, and seemed like it was some sort of converted dorm, but everything seemed very new, so I think it had only been around for a few months. Once we checked in, we explored campus at night a bit and wound up seeing the Perseid meteor shower on the edge of campus. I had no tripod, so I couldn't take any pictures of shooting stars, plus it's mostly a matter of luck. Still, we probably saw a dozen of them over the course of a half hour.
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A neat looking building across the from the library whose name I don't know and...(more)
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Night, with a mostly full moon by the Museum of Anthropology at UBC. This was...(more)
The next day we took a bus into downtown Vancouver to explore the city a little.
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The "Gastown" area of Vancouver. This is a statue of John Deighton, also known...(more)
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Vancouver has a strong film industry, since it's a big city, but a lot easier...(more)
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Just outside of a restaurant. I have some friends who appreciate the "swine...(more)
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Cruise ships are are common sight in the the Burrard Inlet. Note the helicopter...(more)
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The forward angle on the disc (seen head on) formed by the line of the forard...(more)
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A panoramic shot of the northern Vancouver area, with the beach in the...(more)
Mowgli and I explored an area by the water near the convention center that had fountains that shot up from the ground. It took too many tries to get a few pictures. We also had to wait at points in time, since the area wasn't clear because lots of people were walking around. AND the fountains kept going on and off in different locations.
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A picture of me in front of the fountain. Totally not what I was going for. ...(more)
Seattle isn't the only place with cool looking modern buildings.
We wandered around the False Creek area seeing various water features, including beaches, the water from a water taxi to Granville Island, and the bridges that cross it.
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Looking out where False Creek opens into English Bay, with neat looking hills...(more)
Granville Island is a small island in False Creek that is connected to the other parts of Vancouver by two large bridges as well as water taxis. It has a public market (farmer's market), restaurants, and some other stuff (like a concrete plant).
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A view of one of the bridges from the balcony of a restaurant on Granville...(more)
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The underside of one of the bridges that connects Granville Island to the rest...(more)
After a day spent in downtown Vancouver, we returned to the UBC campus. I took a few night shots. And then a few the next day on our way to the Musuem of Anthropology.
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Columns that list sponsors. It looked cool. If I adjusted the brightness and...(more)
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A panoramic shot of gardens at UBC. I left it as is, rather than do a...(more)
The Museum of Anthropology at UBC has a collection of art and culture from around the world, but focuses on the native cultures of the Pacific Northwest. The main gallery is what appears in pictures I took during the Perseids above.
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The musuem has free guided tours of the exhibits throughout the day. Some of...(more)
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A totem pole in the main gallery. This was a modern hand-made one made in the...(more)
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The Raven and the First men sculpture by Bill Reid. It represents the creation...(more)
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One of the cool things about the scrupture is that it is not symmetric and it...(more)
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Looking out from the MOA to the area where we watched the Perseids two nights...(more)
The
Nitobe Memorial Garden is a traditional Japanese Teal and Stroll
garden, located on the UBC campus. It is regarded as one of the most
authentic Japanese gardens, among the top five outside of Japan. See
the link for details about Inazo Nitobe, whom it honors, and details
of the features, such as the Koi pond, stone lanterns, and more.
There is much symbolism and meaning in the each object in the garden,
as well as the objects location and placement. I can't begin to describe
it (a UBC professor spent 15 years studying it). So I can only give
mundane descriptions. It is a very beautiful, serene, green place.
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In a sparser, more brown area, the cable-like tree roots look as if they are...(more)
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While the trees in the background are a bit blown-out in the picture, the grass...(more)
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Actually, it's not grass, more of a sort of moss. This area has the feel of...(more)
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The "7-storey pagoda" stone lantern in front of the 77-log bridge across the...(more)
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A view of the pond, with the right side in the foreground bathed in light, and...(more)
Wreck Beach is a well known beach, with access from UBC. It is a clothing-optional beach. When we went, there were a couple of naked, old dudes sitting there, and a few other people in the area walking around, but that was about it. There is a WWII tower nearby that was used to look for Japanese planes. We went there via Trail Number 3. There are a bunch of steps down to get there, but it wasn't too bad.
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A sign warning that nuditity (M*A*S*H reference) might be present. It was. ...(more)
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The captain has turned on the clothing required sign. Please return to your...(more)
After the tour of campus and the beach, we headed to the collegetown area for dinner. Not tons to see, but we saw some trucks with portable dressing rooms there for some show. In this picture above, I mentioned the Vancouver film industry. It really is a big thing here.
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Actually, this was on the UBC campus. There was a colorful (colourful?) piano...(more)
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Venkata and Frank. He works at UBC. I hadn't seen him in about 10 years. We...(more)
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While walking back from dinner, we passed a row of trucks containing portable...(more)
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Names on the portable dressing rooms include: Mack, Brie, Taylor, Lizzie, Twin...(more)