The first full day in town was mostly spent visiting with John’s grandma, who is the entire reason for our trip down to Kansas City. In the late afternoon we had some time to walk around the fancy-shmancy shopping district of KC called The Country Club Plaza. This is where you will find Saks, Coach, Burberry and of course my two faves: the Apple Store and Victoria’s Secret.
You can view photos and video from our trip on my Flickr set, or John’s.
For years the guys over at Raincity Studios have had my back when it comes to social media in this town so naturally when I hear they’re making waves across the globe, I’m happy to report on it.
They’re all about outreach, community, and spreading the gospel of digital media along with the power of the citizen journalist and they’ve taken Beijing by storm, despite the obstacles of great firewall proportions.
If you’ve been following Kris Krug’s Tweets or his amazing Flickr stream (side note check out his new tattoo) you’ll know that he and Robert Scales (CEO) have been spending much time in China.
As a result of their photos and microblogging about the events unfolding around them, they have garnered much attention from mass media outlets around the world, especially in the days leading up to the Olympics and their involvement in the International Symposium on Olympic Studies.
Blogosphere guru and our good friend DaveO has a list of all of kk+ and scales coverage over on the Raincity Blog including links to YouTube videos and Flickr sets.
If you’re wondering what the summer games are like from a civilian perspective enhanced with social media know how, stay tuned to their Twitter [scales / kk] and Flickr [scales / kk] feeds for coverage. Additionally, I hear Kris (also of Static Photography) is looking to get into the men’s basketball event and in exchange he’ll trade off some photography, which I think would be well worth it to anyone.
comments are closedWell we’re pretty much two for two coming to the Midwest; our baggage missed our connecting flight and is somewhere in the Denver Airport vortex (here I thought ORD was bad for that). Not entirely DEN’s fault though, our first flight was late and that only left us 20 minutes to connect.
Landing in KCMO (Kansas City Missouri) we got a rental car from my favourite place – by favourite I mean we’ve rented from them so many times at so many locations and they always have a free upgrade or some type of add-on for us.
Tonight we enjoyed probably the tastiest room service I’ve had in ages and we’re settling in for a night of rest before big eventful family times for the rest of the week. It’s tough to disconnect and not reply to emails however I’ll spare everyone the auto-reply for now and address things as soon as I’m able. As for tonight, our 10 hour journey with no food breaks has come to an end on this king size bed, with this bottle of 2005 Merlot. I’ll definitely be making the disconnect very soon on one of these medium down pillows where I will be “cradled in its feathery support” until morning.
Despite going through a painless “random agriculture check” we’re soaking up some of the free public wifi here at YVR. It’s is a pretty great airport (actually it’s one of the best in the world) but getting here in the months before there Canada Line opens up is a bit of a challenge if you don’t know your options. If you do not have access to a car you’ll have to rely on shuttle services and taxis to get you to YVR and back so allow me to lend a hand and share some of the options for locals and those visiting our fair region.
The YVR Airporter
This is the most convenient option if you are traveling alone and have extra time to get to the airport. Purchase a round trip ticket from one of many departure hotels in downtown Vancouver for $28. This will get you to the airport and secure your way home when you return to Vancouver. This does make many stops at other hotels along the way (you don’t necessarily need to be a guest at any of the hotels) so it takes about 1.5 hours. [website]
Taxi Service
In non-peak hours (afternoon rush hour) this could be a quick 20 minute trek across town. This morning we got from downtown to the airport in 30 minutes and our total far was $29.00 for the two of us. Many local cab companies have shiny new cars (YVR boasts they’re all 6 years old or newer) and some operate hybrids, in case you’re concerned about adding to the smog. [YVR Taxi Listing]
Public Transit – Bus
From downtown you can take the 98 B-line express bus (Burrard Station Bay 9) to Richmond’s Airport Station (Bay 2) from there you can connect to the 424 airport bus. After 6pm and on weekends this will cost you all of $2.50 and will take about 50 minutes from downtown depending on traffic. [Translink]
Of course my preferred option is having a family member drop us off as this is also conducive to plenty of hug time.
Update: View 2011 Outdoor Movies in Vancouver.
Update: View 2010 listings for Free Outdoor Movies in Vancouver.
Update: If you’re looking for 2009 listings, visit the Outdoor Movie Series Facebook page for all of the details.
Outdoor movies have taken Metro Vancouver by storm this summer, with sunny days outnumbering the wet ones, it’s a picturesque way to spend a warm evening. So far folks have already seen Mr. Magorium’s Wonder Emporium at Killarney Community Centre and E.T. at David Lam Park in Yaletown as well as at Hastings Racecourse.
There are several locations across the region that continue to show film gems after dusk (for FREE), here are some of the upcoming listings:
Monsters in the Meadow
Location: Ceperley Meadow – Stanley Park (near Second Beach)
Movie: Dracula – Friday, August 22, 9:00pm
Movie: The Creature from the Black Lagoon – Friday, August 29, 9:00pm
Rain date: Friday, September 5
More info: City of Vancouver
Movie Nights
Location: The Hastings Racetrack (McGill and Renfrew, Vancouver)
Movie: The Wizard of Oz – Tuesday, August 5, 9:35pm
More info: Fresh Air Cinemas / Facebook Group /Hastings Racecourse
Movie Under the Stars
Location: Fraser Heights (10588 160th St, Surrey)
Movie: Night at the Museum – Friday, August 8
More info: City of Surrey
Location: Holland Park (King George & 100 Avenue, Surrey)
Movie: Grease – Saturday, August 16 with BBQ starting at 4:00pm
Location: Station Tower at Gateway (West Whalley Ring Road & 108 Avenue, Surrey)
Movie: Nim’s Island – Saturday, August 23
More info: Downtown Surrey BIA
Prospera Great Outdoors Film Festival
Location: Central Plaza (1524 Foster Street, Uptown White Rock)
Movie: Viewer’s Choice – The Chronicles Of Narnia: Prince Caspian OR Speed Racer OR Ghostbusters – Friday, August 15
More info: White Rock BIA
Location: Five Corners 15208 Pacific Avenue at Johnston Road, White Rock
Movie: American Graffiti – Friday, August 29
More info: Fresh Air Cinema / White Rock BIA
Fresh Air Cinema has been moving across the province, popping up screens in parks for free public viewing all summer long. You can check out a full event listing on their site, which also include several dates on Vancouver Island.
