John and I just walked over to Duane’s house so he’s officially the “D” for my A-Z of Metro Vancouver. Since the next post will be his “meet the participants” entry I’ve decided to feature some of his photos here. They’re not his typical HDR shots and that’s kind of why I felt showcasing them here – instead they’re of his friends, which makes them even more special.
It’s no secret, I love me some hockey and my team of choice since 1980 has been the Vancouver Canucks.
Instead of giving a rundown of our organization that appears to be rebuilding at this time, here are some links to some of my favourite Canucks blogs.
Canucks Hockey Blog – By JJ, our co-host from The Crazy Canucks Podcast
Canucks and Beyond – By Alanah, our other co-host from The Crazy Canucks Podcast
Canucks Outsider – By DaveO, our co-host from The Crazy Canucks Podcast (notice a theme?)
Waiting for Stanley – By Zanstorm, super entertaining and insightful blogger from Northern BC
Sure, we have quite the challenging season ahead of us but this town has been with this team through thick and thin… although we’ve seen more of the “thick” in recent years. We haven’t seen the Cup since the Millionaires won it at the Denman Arena but we’re not giving up hope just yet. Go Canucks Go!
Okay, I know this is the second bridge post in the A-Z of Metro Vancouver series but it sure adds a nice element of alliteration to my site.
The Burrard Bridge was opened July 1, 1932 with an official ribbon cutting ceremony with Mayor Louis D. Taylor. “At a civic reception later, in the Hotel Vancouver, a replica of the bridge was unveiled. It was made of sugar.” [VancouverHistory]
Apparently up on the giant concrete arms (that mask all of the steel holding the structure) “the arms of the City of Vancouver are carved, flanked by windows which overlook the bridge deck. On the two piers which support the gallery are molded the prows of boats with figureheads to represent Captain George Vancouver and Captain Harry Burrard.” According to my favourite Vancouver History resource however, all the hubub about Mr. Burrard is slightly misplaced. “Harry Burrard never came within 5,000 kilometres of this area. He’d been an acting lieutenant with Vancouver on the Europa in the West Indies; George was just honoring an old chum.”
With about 65,000 people passing over the bridge daily, it’s a prominent landmark in Vancouver – and viewable any time of day on one of the city’s best webcams, the KatKam (from which you can see tonight’s fireworks display in English Bay).
For future plans involving the Burrard Bridge and its infamous bike lanes, check out this post on Urban Vancouver. I also recommend the following for Vancouverites and anyone visiting the area a) take a water taxi under the bridge, heading over to Granville Island or b) walk across the bridge if you can, it’s a pretty neat experience.
Kicking off the A-Z of Metro Vancouver I actually had a tough time getting started but I’m sure the rest will just come to me… right?. This is the first “A” name that came to mind and it’s a pretty good one – here’s a brief history of the Alex Fraser Bridge and the man behind the name.
Opening in 1986, the bridge connects South Surrey and Delta to Richmond and New Westminster with Highway 91 spanning the Fraser River.
Alex Fraser himself was a Minister of Transportation in BC that died of throat cancer and he also has the Alex Fraser Research Forest in Quesnel and Williams Lake named after him as well.
I’m back home now sitting on my couch and reflecting on the last 48 hours. I’ll be starting my full (for real this time) live Blogathon now so if you would like to pledge to keep me going please fill out the contact form on the Blogathon page. You can also donate directly on the UGM website by choosing “Miss604 Blogathon” from the drop down.
My theme for the next 26 posts will be the “A to Z” of Vancouver… here’s hoping I can come up with something for each letter and please feel free to leave me a comment with any suggestions.
