WC Bean Photography

I decided a year or so ago to try and accompany Judy on some of her business trips this year and the announcement of an offsite to Vancouver seemed like the perfect one to start with. A little planning, some discussion on how to accommodate Heather, and we were off. Judy flying to Vancouver, Heather to Phoenix, and me to Seattle. Things at DIA went a lot smoother than our 2005 trip to Alaska and we were soon off to our appointed destinations.

You're probably wondering why I flew to Seattle instead of to Vancouver with Judy. We talked it over and decided to take a few extra days and make it a mini-vacation. My old college roommates still live in Washington State and one of Judy's close pals from Anchorage now lives in the Seattle area. What a great opportunity to spend some time with some dear old friends. That decided, the plan was for me to fly to Seattle, rent a car, and meet Judy in Vancouver. After her meetings we would head south to spend a little time playing tourist and visit with the chums before flying back to Denver.

I arrived in Seattle right on time, got my luggage and rental car and headed north on I-5. The first thing I noticed was how everything was GREEN! Not just green but GREEN! I drove past a plowed field and even the dirt was green or at least it seemed that way. After a brief detour to Edmonds to spend a few minutes catching up with my friend Tim and get some phone numbers from him I was back on the road to Vancouver. It was a pretty familiar trip, one I'd made many times when I lived in the Seattle area and learned that in Canada you can buy alcohol at age 19 while in Washington state the age was still 21. Lots of road trips during the college years. No problems on the road, nothing more than a cursory conversation at the border thanks to my newly acquired passport, and I arrived at the Westin Grand Hotel in Vancouver where Judy was waiting. It was suppertime but neither of us was very hungry so we walked a block to the nearest 7-11 and loaded up on snacks and sodas to last us for the 3 days then it was off to bed. I was planning on being up early to shoot the sunrise and Judy would be in meetings all day.

Wednesday, 4/5/2006

The plan today was to be in Stanley Park for sunrise then back to the hotel for breakfast with Judy. The first part went off without a hitch and I was in Stanley Park with 20 minutes to spare. The sunrise was a bit overcast and less than spectacular so I spent a little while exploring and shot some images of the rain forest environment before heading back to the hotel. Judy and I had a nice breakfast then went our separate ways. I whiled away the day exploring Vancouver. I spent some time in Stanley Park before heading over to Granville Island to see what that was all about. Leaving there I took a drive around the perimeter of the city and found a perfect location to shoot the sunset. Making note of the place I headed back to the hotel. Judy was participating in a supper/meeting so I had to fend for myself. I took a short walk and had a decent supper before returning to the hotel and hitting the hot tub. I use the term "hot tub" generously. It was a bit cool and could probably be better termed "tepid tub."

Thursday, 4/6/2006

I was pretty much on my own today. Judy's meetings started with breakfast and wouldn't end until nearly 10pm since the group was going out for supper. I was up early and in the car headed north across the Lionsgate Bridge. My destination today was Whistler, the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics. The route from Vancouver to Whistler is called Sea to Sky Highway and is quite scenic. There was a lot of haze in the air which made landscape photography kind of tough but the overcast light was perfect for some photography in the rainforest just north of Horseshoe Bay. I sort of ambled my way up the highway stopping often to see the sights. When the road left the coast and headed into the mountains I continued a little way before saying to myself "I live in the mountains and can see this stuff everyday. I'm heading back to the water."

Back to Horseshoe Bay where I was able to get some shots of the BC Ferry pulling in. Someday I'll head back that way and take the ferry up the Inside Passage towards Ketchikan, Alaska. Leaving Horseshoe Bay I headed back into Vancouver and after spending a couple of hours walking around Gastown I headed out to my previously selected sunset location. The atmosphere cooperated and I got some shots for the panorama that accompanies this journal. This was the last night in Vancouver for us so I took a walk from our hotel down to the waterfront on False Creek. I was looking for the water taxi terminal in order to ride over to Granville Island and have supper but was unable to locate the terminal so I headed back to the hotel stopping along the way for supper at a little Irish Pub on Robson Street.

Friday, 4/7/2006

Last day in BC and I decided to sleep in for a while. First time on the trip so it was much appreciated. Judy was up early for a breakfast meeting so once again I was on my own. Went to the local bistro for a coffee and cinnamon roll they. offered free wireless Internet so I was able to catch up on e-mails and remain in touch with the world. Back to the room to finish packing and meet Judy to check out. We left the hotel right at the 11:00 check out time and had some time to kill before arriving at our hotel for the next 2 nights in Mount Vernon, Washington. Since Judy hadn't seen a lot of Vancouver we decided to stop off at Granville Island for some quick shopping and for lunch.

At the US/Canada border we encountered our first resistance. A young US Customs official decided there were some unusual things about us. First, he found it interesting that Judy had flown to Vancouver and I had flown to Seattle. I explained to him that it costs a lot more to fly to Vancouver than Seattle. Enough to more than cover the car rental. Plus we wanted to spend some time with friends in Washington state and didn't want to drive back to Vancouver to fly home when we were going to be in Seattle. Mostly, though, he was incredulous that we had nothing to declare. "You've been in Vancouver for 3 days and bought NOTHING?" "Nothing" I replied. "You didn't do ANY shopping?" he said. Finally I gave up. "You got me" I said, holding up the insulated coffee cup I'd just purchased at JJ Bean's House of Coffee on Granville Island.
Nice young man but very serious about his job. Lighten up, guy. Terrorists typically aren't 50+ Caucasians.

Having successfully avoided a body cavity search at the border we took a detour through Bellingham and came down Chuckanut drive to Mount Vernon. If you ever have a chance to travel between Seattle and Vancouver, this is a must. Some marvelous vistas along the road and if you're an oyster fan there are 2 neat little oyster bars on the drive.

We arrived in Mount Vernon, checked into our hotel, and made our afternoon plans. We watched a little TV, then went out for supper and a movie. Great times on a vacation, eh? Back to the room to get a good night's sleep and be ready for tomorrow.

Saturday, 4/8/2006

A fairly uneventful day as vacation days go. I was up at sunrise to scout and photograph the Skagit Tulip Festival. I drove around the valley and was able to photograph some really nice images of the tulip fields. It was overcast which is great for colorful subjects like flowers, and around 9:00 it started raining. I got back to the hotel a little before 8:00 and after a shower we headed out for breakfast before taking Judy on a quick tour of the tulips. Judy got in touch with her friend Marla and they set up a time and place to meet on Sunday for some shopping and antiquing in the small town of LaConner. Since I was in no mood to be a 3rd wheel, we took a drive over to Anacortes where I signed up for a whale watching tour for Sunday while the gals were shopping. I was able to finally reach my friend Dennis and though they were busy Saturday night, we arranged to meet for breakfast Sunday morning before I headed for Anacortes. Back to the hotel, another nice supper and some rest for the big day ahead.

Sunday, 4/9/2006

Second day in a row of rain. All in all, not bad for the northwest corner of Washington. I mean heck, everyone knows it always rains in Seattle, right? Judy and I arrived at the restaurant a few minutes ahead of the appointed time and after being seated, started speculating on whether I'd recognize Dennis or not. We hadn't seen each other for over 10 years so I had no idea how much he'd aged. First couple was obviously not them…the guy was way too tall. Second couple, maybe….but the guy was waaaaay overweight. Third couple, no way it was them. The guy was 15 years younger than us…but wait! I recognize that smile! It WAS Dennis! Holy cow man, how is it that Tim and I are the only ones that have aged. Life is NOT fair!

We had a great visit and at the appointed time I had to leave for Anacortes. I dropped Judy at the hotel where she would meet Marla and headed down the road. I got to the tour office right on time, paid for the cruise and got directions to the pier where we boarded the ship. I was hoping to see Orcas but this day it wasn't to be. The captain pulled out of the harbor and told us we would be heading south in search of some gray whales that had been spotted several days in a row. The high point was when we cruised under the bridge at Deception Pass. This was one of the favorite spots of my parents when they lived in Seattle and a favorite of mine as well.

The cruise continued south, determined to find whales. Finally, nearly 3 hours after we'd left the dock we found the first whale of the trip off the town of Everett. I was wondering why I'd never known about the whale cruises when I lived in Everett. Did they have the whales imported from somewhere? Anyway, the photo opportunity was marvelous. Similar to the experience I'd had on the day trip out of Seward on the Alaska trip but this time the whale was much closer to the boat. The photos made the rain and long boat ride worth every penny.

Judy and Marla met me at the whale tour office and we made arrangements to get together Monday evening for supper with Marla and her husband. Then back to the hotel for a relaxing night before heading into Seattle in the morning.

Monday, 4/10/2006

I wasn't able to connect with my friend Tim on Sunday evening so I called early Monday after we'd checked out of the hotel and finished breakfast. We agreed to meet at Tim's house for lunch before checking into our Seattle hotel. Judy and I spent a little time shopping in Mount Vernon before heading south. We arrived at Tim and Kristi's home and were treated to a great lunch and some good conversation. I'd spoken to Tim previously and knew he takes a fishing trip to Alaska every year and eventually the conversation turned to that. An invitation was extended and tentatively we agreed to have a room mates fishing trip in 2007. Tim, Dennis, me, maybe a couple of our other roomies would meet in Alaska for fishing. I'm really looking forward to it.

After lunch, Tim had to get back to work and Judy and I headed to our hotel on the south end of Seattle. We settled in and relaxed for the first time in a few days before getting ready to meet Marla and Mike for supper. They showed up at the hotel and we headed for Anthony's Home Port which is one of my all time favorite restuarants. Good food, good friends, a very pleasant ending to the last evening of our trip.

Tuesday, 4/11/2006

On the flight home I had a chance to organize my thoughts and reflect on the past week. On one hand, I was able to spend 3 days in one of my favorite cities on the planet…alone. I saw Judy for 1 supper, 2 breakfasts, and for a few minutes before we went to sleep at night. I love Vancouver and don't misunderstand.I had a great time and shot some nice images but I'd much rather have shared it.

Beyond that, I'd spent some time with 2 of my closest friends and had a lovely supper with one of Judy's best pals and her husband at one of my favorite restuarants. I spent some time on a boat in areas familiar to me but never explored from the water and shot some terrific images. We spent a week in the Northwest during one of the rainiest periods of the year and had marvelous weather save for 1 ½ days of rain. All in all a successful trip.

Read about my 2003 Lake Powell Vacation here

Read about my 2003 Estes Park Vacation here

Read about my 2004 Moab Vacation here

Read about my 2005 Arizona Vacation here

Read about my 2005 Crested Butte Vacation here