Harbour Cruise Continued

Hello friends,

A few weeks ago I posted part one of the Vancouver Harbour Cruise which my friend invited me to join her on. If you missed it you can find it here. Today's post is the conclusion of the Harbour Tour Cruise. 

 The cruise is just one hour long and so it's easy to fit into a busy touring schedule. The departure point is conveniently located between the downtown Vancouver core and Stanley Park just past the Westin Hotel.

Vancouver Yacht Club located a few steps from the Harbour Cruise office.

The old fashioned boat named the Constitution is the boat that takes us on our journey.

I rode this boat many years ago when I took my youngest sibling on a journey up to Indian Arm.

I was surprised to see the boat is still in operation.

That's how long ago I took the last tour!

My friend poses before we board the boat.

I was looking for a map of the cruising route but couldn't find one so I am sharing a map here that gives a good idea of where we were in relation to the City of Vancouver.

If you look on the map below our departure point was from Coal Harbour near Denman Street.

The cruising route was roughly in a circle across the harbour to around Lonsdale Ave in North Vancouver and back.

In case you might be interested in one of the cruises offered by this company you can see what other visitors here have had to say about it at Trip Advisor.

By and large people seem to enjoy their experience.

We're off!

You can see it is quite cloudy and it looks like we are going to get a deluge of rain.

However the rain held off and it became a bit clearer later in the afternoon.

We are heading eastward.

On the right we get a great view of the Vancouver City skyline and the two different buildings which make up the Vancouver Convention Centre.

This next photo captures a mountain view to the north.

The tower with the round observation deck on top is called Vancouver Lookout.

Once we finished our Harbour Cruise we went to the top of the lookout.

I've been there many times over the years.

Another view to the northern mountains and the city of North Vancouver.

I learned that these barges contain salt from Mexico.

The salt is what is used in our winter on icy sidewalks, parking lots, etc.

You might be able to make out the round sign (white and red) in the photo below.  That is the sight of the public market area called Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver.

The next few photos are of seals who are lying on the logs.

Below is a longer view of the seals and the City of North Vancouver in the background.

 Below is a close up of the boat mooring area in North Vancouver which is very close to where the seals are enjoying their leisure.

We are making our way back to Vancouver and this view is toward the northern mountains and North Vancouver. There is the circular Lonsdale Quay sign on the right and the sea bus on the left making it's way back to Vancouver's Waterfront Station.

These barges contain sulphur (yellow mounds). To be honest I'm not sure what sulfur is used for even though the tour guide did tell us.

After a brief google search I discovered that the sulphur seems to be owned by the only Canadian manufacturer and supplier of sulphur, Petrosul which has it's head office in Vancouver. Petrosul markets sulphur to North American and offshore markets.

Sulphur is also used in many other industries including non-ferrous metals, pigments, fibers, hydrofluoric acid, carbon disulphide, pharmaceuticals, agricultural pesticides, personal care products, cosmetics, synthetic rubber vulcanization, water treatment, and steel pickling. (Source: Sulfur Institute).

and

Today, it's most common use is in the manufacture of sulfuric acid, which in turn goes into fertilizers, batteries and cleaners. It's also used to refine oil and in processing ores. Pure sulfur has no smell. ... Rotten eggs and stink bombs get their distinctive aroma because of hydrogen sulfide. (Source: Live Science).

( Sulphur is spelled a few different ways as noted from the above quotations taken from different sources).

Who knew sulphur was so useful? 

I like this photo of the Vancouver City skyline.

This seagull seemed to follow our journey for awhile.

Above and below is a great view of the "sails". This building is the home of the original Vancouver Convention Centre and the Pan Pacific Hotel. Both of these sites remain but the convention centre is now referred to as Convention Centre East.  The low lying building to the right is the new addition and called Convention Centre West. 

Convention Centre East

Convention Centre West

Sadly the tour has come to an end.
I hope you enjoyed it.

I'll be linking up this week (once the linkys open)

Through My Lens

Friday Foto Friends

Skywatch Friday 

and 

Saturday's Critters 

Last Trip in December

My brother and I made the journey to spend Christmas with our mother.

We left early in the morning but not too, too early. 

The sun was rising.

But over the water there was a bit of fog.

Near the City of Chilliwack you could see the sun rays peeking through the clouds.

I always love the approach into Merritt as seen in photo below.

As we got north of Merritt, the sky was a glorious colour and the sun was brightly shining. It was a perfect winter day.

The weather was still nice as we arrived in Kamloops.

Here is the view from my hotel's breakfast room the next morning.

I enjoyed watching these ducks on the river while I read the paper and ate breakfast.

I also enjoyed the big bear and the beautiful Christmas tree.

On Boxing Day (December 26th) it started snowing in the mid afternoon.  It snowed all night long.
The hotel which was very quiet the day before filled up during the snow storm as travellers sought the safety off the roads.

The next morning after visiting mom one last time, we headed back to the big city.  The snow abounded everywhere.

Just outside of Merritt, this is what the sky looked like.  I like the way the sun is trying to shine through the cloud cover.

The overnight snowfall made everything look like a winter wonderland and it continued snowing for the entire return journey except for the last hour of our trip.

We were travelling on Sunday and the traffic back to the city was very heavy.  I guess most people had to work on Monday.

It was rather chilly in the mountains. The roads had just been plowed so all was good as far as driving was concerned.

Right around Langley City the traffic slowed right down and there was long line of immobile cars. We turned on the radio to find out why.  Fortunately the radio announcer immediately mentioned that there had been an accident and that the last of the line up was being cleared. Thankfully we were barely detained and the traffic started moving again.

I am always glad to travel; especially to see mom.  But I'm equally always glad to get home.

The next morning, I was greeting by a sunny snowy scene (final photo).
It has been bright and sunny since then and quite cold.

 I have a long faux fur coat and that has kept me warm. I don't get a chance to wear it often but now and then it comes in handy.

Over this coming week the weather forecast is for a bit of rain, a bit of sunshine and some snowy days too.

I've been enjoying the break in our weather.  Usually we get long rainy days which can sometimes last weeks without a break though the last few years the weather is not normal.  The national meteorologist says "expect the unexpected".

I hope you enjoyed my picture tour. 

I hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year.

I look forward to your visits and your comments and to visiting your blogs in the coming year.

Blessings.
Joining up with Our World Tuesday this week
and
for the first time, I'm also joing Mersad's Through My Lens meme.

Thanks for stopping by.

Note: All photos taken with my phone except for the last one taken with my Sony camera.