A walk along Vancouver Harbour
July 26th, our first full day in Vancouver, started early – Cathy had an angiogram scheduled for 07:00. It was a pretty quiet day for me, but I did take a walk along the harbour on a spectacular day.
Staying at the Sheraton Wall Centre hotel right across the street from St. Paul’s Hospital turned out to be a very good idea. Getting a taxi is easy but walking across the street is easier.
I stayed with Cathy for an hour or so, and when I was asked to leave, went back to Cafe 1 at our hotel for an excellent West Coast Benedict, which is eggs bennie with smoked salmon. Cafe 1 was really nice – a huge open space with few people, nice music, and great service – and the meal was superb.
I went out for a walk after breakfast but didn’t get very far – my head just wasn’t into it. I got a few photos I like, though. The “hidden” north side of St. Paul’s Hospital facing Comox Street is the most impressive side. This North Wing was completed in 1931.
The Sheraton Wall Centre has 3 towers – our room was on the 11th floor of this tower, on the right-hand corner in this photo.
The historic First Baptist Church at Burrard and Nelson Streets has some major renovation work being done, and new buildings are being added to the property (see more information about that project here). The plaque to the left of the door denotes is as a City of Vancouver Heritage Building. The church was completed in 1911, and the Gothic Revival styling is significant for its rarity and fine detailing.
I went back to the hotel to await word about Cathy. The hotel isn’t doing room servicing and cleaning for guests as a result of covid. The bag at the door in the next photo contains fresh towels that the occupants of that room requested. People staying longer than 3 nights can request a move to another room that has been cleaned and has been empty for at least 48 hours. I’m sure looking forward to the day when the world is normal again.
I got a call at about 10:30 that Cathy was about ready to leave the hospital. The angiogram showed no problems, which is both good and bad. It’s great that the large blood vessels are clear but bad that we still don’t know why she’s sick. Her cardiologist says that about 70% of angiograms show no problems – that was a huge surprise to us. It was interesting to see the cardiac unit at St. Paul’s – it’s a virtual assembly line of very complex work.
After getting Cathy, I didn’t go out again until almost 4:00, when Cathy told me to get the hell out because watching me in our room was like watching a caged animal.
This particularly large and wonderful water feature is in front of the Sheraton. With lots of lawn and benches, it’s a very calming place to sit.
The harbour was my destination for this walk – I planned on about 8 km, and actually did just a bit under that (see a map of the walk route). The historic Marine Building, once one of the dominant buildings in Vancouver, is disappearing among the ever-larger towers.
This particularly large water feature is behind Christ Church Cathedral at Burrard and Georgia streets.
Vancouver brings out the inner raven in this country boy, getting attracted by shiny things 🙂 . This is Commerce Place at Burrard and West Pender Streets.
With many stops, it took me half an hour to reach the waterfront – this is Canada Place, the cruise ship dock in normal times.
The main container port, Centerm, is just to the east of Canada Place.
I love watching the float plane traffic in the harbour. Cathy and I discussed taking a flight, either simply flightseeing here or taking a flight to Nanaimo for lunch or dinner, but decided not to. There are two, possibly three, flights I want to take in the Yukon yet this summer. This shows a couple of Harbour Air’s planes, Turbo Otter C-FODH in the foreground and Beaver C-FEBE behind it.
The Harbour Air docks are usually busy.
I spent a while among the boats – there are some very impressive ones. The big one in the background, the 150-foot Nova Spirit, was built in 1999 by BC businessman Jimmy Pattison (who I worked for for many years). His Great Pacific Capital Corp. now officially owns the yacht, valued at $25 million. It accommodates 12 guests and a crew of 9.
I did a long wander back to the hotel, through a largely residential area that I lived in twice back in what feels like a previous life, in the early 1970s. Cathy’s caged animal was feeling better when he got back to the hotel 🙂
About The Author
I read your posts in the latest to oldest for once and missed this one when the dinner bell rang that night. Should have known you would not have missed an opportunity to talk about the seaplanes! Sure is a lovely setting for a bustling, big and growing city.