This afternoon a grey whale (probably the one spotted in Howe Sound this weekend) wandering into False Creek. The whale swam right past Science World, the Olympic Village, and Granville Island where a few lucky onlookers were able to snap some photos.
If you were able to capture the grey whale in a photo please consider adding it to the Miss604 Flickr Group and I’ll showcase it here (with credit of course).
If you are trying to spot the whale I’ve been told to scan the horizon and keep your eyes peeled for air and water coming up from the blowhole. That big splash will immediately catch your attention.
This Sunday is not only the Vancouver Sun Run but it’s also a special time of year to let the mom in your life know how much you appreciate them. This gesture, which should in fact be made year-round, is still a treat so shops and restaurants around the city have some special offerings in honor of Mother’s Day.
Brunch Open Table has a great list of brunch spots for you and mom this weekend. The list includes brunch at Bridges where they are serving up a 3 course $35 prix fixe menu, Elixir’s $38 brunch buffet (10% of which will be donated to BC Children’s Hospital), r.tl in Yaletown will have an $18 set brunch menu, or have dim sum at the Red Door Pan Asian Grill.
Grouse Mountain will also host Mother’s Day brunch although several of the time slots are already sold out. Reservations are recommended for all brunch spots listed here.
Chocolate Purdy’s Chocolates has a special selection of goodies just for mom, wrapped in lovely blue paper. Daniel on Robson also has heart-shaped boxes ready with mother in mind.
If you have something special planned for mom around Vancouver this Sunday I’d love to hear about it. If you care to share what you’ll be up to, please leave a note in the comments.
We saw The Black Keys at the Commodore two years ago and it was one of the best shows I’ve been to. The amount of sound that comes from the two band members is unbelievable. My nostrils tickled, my head bobbed, and shot glasses vibrated right off high top tables as the music engulfed the entire audience. The group’s latest album Brothers will drop May 18th.
Yesterday our friend Henry, who works Chile but was raised in Vancouver, was in town briefly so we went out to dinner to catch up. Since Dine Out Vancouver is still going strong, I made arrangement for us to check out Regional Tasting Lounge (r.tl) in Yaletown.
r.tl is currently only featuring its Dine Out Menu which is at the $28 price point. To start, there were four options including a wild mushroom & truffle risotto, an organic quinoa salad (roasted corn, avocado, fresh herbs, lemon dressing), the oak house smoked duck (toasted pecans, greens, served room temperature) or the wedge salad (romaine lettuce, blue cheese dressing, crispy shallots).
John and Henry had the risotto while I tried the smoked duck – both were delicious.
The main course options were a portobello tacu tacu (black bean fried rice, onion salsa), maple & mustard glazed wild salmon (with warm potato salad), flank steak (with shallots & pommes sautee), or the alderwood bacon wrapped breast of chicken (with braised leek and garlic & chive potato puree).
Anytime you wrap something with bacon it makes it that much more awesome. Henry and I had the chicken while John got the steak. John’s steak portion was appropriately size and considering this was the $28 prix fixe and not $38 it was a good value.
For dessert we all went with the chocolate brownie.
They had a great selection of wines that included many Okanagan and Vancouver Island options (such as Venturi-Schulze), which made me happy.
Once Dine Out has wrapped up r.tl will be changing to a menu featuring South American classics (you can get a taste of the feature by ordering the quinoa salad with Dine Out in the meantime).
You still have a chance to check out Dine Out Vancouver at over 200 restaurants before it wraps up for the year on May 6th.
The Vancouver Sun Run, one of the world’s largest 10km road races, rolls through town this Sunday. A springtime staple in Vancouver since 1985 this fun run welcomes competitive runners, wheelchair racers, joggers, and walkers. They also host the Shaw 2.5km mini Sun Run.
Run Details
If you have signed up for this year’s event, stop by the Sun Run Fair at Concord Place May 6th, 7th, or 8th to pick up your race package (team captains can stop by Sun Run head offices on the 5th as well). You may also register last minute on those days however there is no race-day registration. Hours for the Sun Run Fair are 10:00am to 7:00pm (May 6th and 7th) and 10:00am – 5:00pm (May 8th).
Along the course there will be entertainment, water stops, and walking breaks for those needing a rest. The course itself winds through downtown Vancouver, across the Burrard Bridge, alongside False Creek and back over the Cambie Bridge.
Road Closures
The following road closures will be in effect this Sunday.
Georgia Street:
Seymour to Bute (start area) 5:00am – 10:30am
Bute to the Causeway (including all streets crossing Georgia) 8:00 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Lions Gate Bridge:
Access from Pender Street only 8:00am – 10:30am
All streets within Dunsmuir/Melville to Robson, Seymour to Bute: 5:00am – 10:30am
Denman: Georgia to Robson 8:00am – 10:30am
Robson: West of Denman to Stanley Park 8:00am – 10:30am
Beach Avenue: Stanley Park to Hornby St. 8:30am – 11:30am
Stanley Park:
Stanley Park Dr at North Lagoon Dr 6:00am – 11:00am
Ryan Rd at Park Lane/South Lagoon Dr 6:00am – 11:00am
Pacific Boulevard:
Burrard to Hornby (eastbound lanes) 6:00am – 12:00pm
Nelson to Abbott 6:00am – 1:30pm
Abbott to Quebec 7:30am – 9:00am
Bridges:
Burrard Bridge – all northbound traffic closed 8:30am – 12:00pm
Cambie Bridge – closed to all northbound traffic 8:30am – 1:00pm
False Creek:
W 2nd Avenue – Burrard to Fir 8:30am – 12:00pm
Fir Street – W 2nd Ave to W 4th Ave 8:30am – 12:00pm
W 4th Avenue/W 6th Avenue – Pine to Cambie 8:30am – 12:00pm
Quebec, Keefer & Abbott Streets – closed to all traffic 7:30am – 1:00pm
Spectators are welcome along the route and if you’d like to view part of the run from the comfort of your computer, check out the KatKam which points down at the Burrard Bridge and Sunset Beach.
