Hey y’all. Here are some photos taken near Waterfront in Vancouver, on Canada Day. There was a special fireworks show in celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday. Aren’t they pretty?
Photos are taken with a Canon 7D, by my dad. However, yours truly edited the pictures, so you can just call it a collaboration.
Sorry that my posts are very sporadic. I am currently travelling in Shanghai, and soon I’ll be moving to Ontario for university!! Oh my! Exciting things are coming my way and to this blog.
Wow. A trip to Yellowknife for a city girl like me was very different, but still very fun. For my whole life I’ve lived in urban cities and suddenly going to a place where the weather is below freezing and no bustling shopping malls are in sight, I felt quite displaced. Nonetheless, I had a great, unforgettable holiday in Yellowknife with friends and family. (Yes, just wait for my “Yellowknife (Night) Adventures”. You’ll see why. Heehee.)
Let me tell you, you definitely do not go to Yellowknife for masterchef food, luxury hotel, or shopping (because you probably wouldn’t get any of those). You go there for the experience! The cold that was in Yellowknife was none like I have ever experienced. It was dry and chilling. My eyelashes froze up often. The air I breathed out froze in my nostrils. But if you cover up properly, the cold should not be a problem. The greatest advice I received prior to my trip was to wear two pairs of gloves: fingered gloves beneath fleecy mittens. Trust me, you do not want to expose bare skin to the sweeping, slicing winds, not even for a second.
The vastness of land was also very different for me. Standing on the frozen Great Slave Lake, I felt miniscule. The sun is rising from the horizon that is invisible to the eye. The farthest I could see from all around me was endless snow and trailing winds picking up snow particles. You really understand that the world does not revolve around you. I mean how can it when you are so tiny and the world is so gigantic?
One of the things I learned from the locals was the evident presence of global warming. The weather in Yellowknife has already changed over the decades, as it got warmer and warmer. Climate change is real, and we need to address this pressing issue with more seriousness and formality. I want to contribute more to our battle against global warming. If you aren’t convinced to join, go watch the video of a poor polar bear trying to climb atop a thin, global warming-ridden, floating piece of ice. It is heartbreaking.
The local (or as local as I could get as a tourist) attitude in Yellowknife was incredible. Everyone treated me with kindness, showered me with smiles. Their positivity, motivation, and courage are monumental and truly inspiring. Shoutout to everyone in Yellowknife who made this trip great!
Stay tuned for night adventures! They are the highlights of this trip. Hence, I saved the best for last (winkwink).
Hope this inspires some people to take a camera to an ordinary place and gain a whole new perspective on something you take for granted or got sick of. Burnaby Lake Trail is an extremely standard trail for Vancouverites, but my camera definitely lent me an alternative perspective on a place I pass by every week.
Stream with camouflaged ducks. Crackling White Barks.Tiny Bird Houses.Not Monet’s Water Lilies.
Aghhhh, I love Lightroom! Hahaha. Stay lucid peeps.
This past weekend, I got the opportunity to visit the Eastern coast of Vancouver Island. What a wonderful place with hidden gems inland and by the sea shores. The island is cozy and speckled with populated, busy towns- all of which have their own unique features. I went to all of these places:
Nanaimo, Parksville, Coombs, Duncan, Victoria, and Chemainus.
The BC ferry, from Vancouver Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo, marked the beginning of my weekend adventure. I can totally see why Derek from Grey’s Anatomy has a thing for ferry boats. If you stand near the bow of the ferry, watching the ocean waves rush past you, you get surge of motivation and inspiration (starts the day a good way, am I right?). Plus, the view was spectacular and the lighting was on point.
BC Ferry
Next stop from Nanaimo, where I stayed overnights, was Parksville, which was a homey, welcoming town. The lunch stop at Bread & Honey Food Company was delicious (praise the spicy tuna sandwich!). I had to visit Parksville beach because it looked so pretty on google images! The precise location of photo below is not 100% because we simply typed in “beach” into a GPS, and the robotic woman did all the navigating work. I am sure the various seashores near Parksville Community Beach all have spectacular, serene sceneries such as this one:
Parksville Community Beach
Little QualicumFalls, near Parksville,was a tourist attraction that entailed a small hike. Basically, it was a loop, going up and down, along the waterfalls that ran down the streams from each other. Near the lowest portion of the waterfalls, you see this view below. And near the upper most portion of the waterfalls is a steady, tranquil stream that small children were playing in.
Little Qualicum Falls
Definitely stop at Coombs if you are passing by. The Old Country Market not only has a fruitful collection of everything you need in a kitchen and in your stomach, it has fricking GOATS ON THE ROOF. Now that’s something you don’t see everyday.
Coombs Old Country Market
Next day, I hit Duncan. It was a friendly, cultural town. The historical museum was cool. And the totem poles that were scattered around the busiest streets of the town were extremely beautiful. The craftsmanship of these storytelling art pieces were top quality. The Sea to Sky totem pole (featured image), by Harold Alfred, is a representation of BC’s best elements, water and air.
Next was Victoria, BC’s capital. I have previously visited Victoria, so this time I went for 2 things: Red Fish Blue Fish and Parliament Building Tour. The fish and chips at Red Fish Blue Fish was AMAZING-no wonder I had to wait one hour to order. The Parliament Building is an architectural wonder. If you think the exterior is awe-ing, wait till you visit the inside of the building. Gold molding, mosaic flooring, and velvet draping make the parliament building truly formidable.
On the return trip from Victoria to Nanaimo, I made a pit stop at Chemainus, where I found the cutest ice cream shop- Baby Bear’s Ice Cream Shoppe. You are given a coin upon your payment and order, and they make the waffle cones right in front of you! Then, you can lounge in the three bears/fairytale themed garden. So cute! Just curious, anyone else a super big bubblegum ice cream fan? Ahahaha.
Baby Bear’s Ice Cream Shoppe
Nanaimo, my homebase for the weekend, was an excellent place to take long walks on the beach or go kayaking. I had a lovely stay in Nanaimo! Some good food places would be Gabriel’s Gourmet Cafe for brunch and Power House Living Food for creative, raw, vegan food.
Venturing Vancouver Island was very fun! And I know I will be back one day to explore the islands more! Highly recommend to everyone. Thanks for reading! Ttyl.
PS. I got Lightroom, and I am obsessed with the way my photos are turning out! The application is very pricy but the results are so worth it.
Whenever people ask me , “Wassup?”, I always feel the need to please them. The question “Wassup?” builds anticipation for a supposedly clever and impressive reply. Especially now that it is summer, people expect more from me.
Sadly, my reply isn’t very impressive. My summer mainly entails of summer school and RCM History. Pterophytes and bryophytes and Bach and Berlioz. #nerd. But I embrace my inner nerd. What is wrong with wanting to learn and expand your horizons on biology? Haha.
Spend your summer however you like. Don’t ever feel the need to go carousing or be frivolous to impress others. It is your summer, your time, your life.
I sincerely want to apologize for my sporadic schedule of posts. Biology is amazing. Summer school isn’t particularly fun, but the time I spend learning the material myself has been wonderful. Biology is truly a masterpiece of our intelligence and our endeavours at trying to understand the natural world. I have been busy with class, studying, and volunteer, so sorry once again!
Recently, I went to Lighthouse Park in Vancouver, BC. The feature image speaks for itself. It is a thousand words of beauty and purity. I highly recommend everyone to visit this place for the scenery! To jazz up the photo, I added lines to give the image a geometric, hipster vibe. I am still trying to figure out Inkscape. LOL.
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