Our Town ~ Tuesday 4

Hello!  This is Toni Taddeo's Tuesday 4 where we ask just 4 questions each week in an effort to get you blogging, thinking and learning about others.

Maybe we can discuss the town  you live in.  It might be nice to find out more about where you live and why you live there. Sometimes we just fall into a place and other times we choose. 

Here's a chance to sing the praises of your town or uncover it's faults.. have at it!

Michelle Byrne painting

1. What are the good points to living in your town? Could you interest us in moving there?

The best part about living here is the scenery and the somewhat mild winter compared to other places in Canada.  It rains a lot over winter but we get a little snow.  The rain helps keep everything nice and green and that is plus. 

There are many places to visit in the area with local sites and towns and villages that are within a short commute.  The city is also very close to the border of Washington State, USA if you wish to travel across the line though Canadians haven't been travelling south much since early 2025.

2.  Are the things you need convenient to your home? (shopping, library, schools, entertainment?)

I chose my neighbourhood because it's convenient to everything. It's reasonably close to downtown if you need to go there. It's close to the train station, city transit services and also convenient to get to the airport. All the necessary amenities are in my neighbourhood like schools, libraries and various community centres. If you want to shop you can find virtually everything you need close by although you have to go further afield to downtown or one of the larger malls if you're looking for a variety in clothing choices.  The neighbourhood also has a variety of churches, public parks, one small movie theatre within walking distance and several more theatres a short commute away.

3.  Did you choose your town or did you just end up there? 

I chose to live here because there aren't too many larger cities in my province and it's really only our larger cities that have everything I want and need.

4.   Is your town known for any special foods, activities, places or people? 

My city is known for having a very diverse array of restaurants featuring foods from all around the world. I notice every few years that the trends in popular restaurants changes. When I first moved to the city it was Italian and Greek foods, then it was health foods (as in Vegetarian), then it was Chinese, Japanese, Indian and Vietnamese & Mexican in that order. More recently there is a newer trend toward Middle Eastern restaurants and a few African restaurants, mainly featuring Kenyan & Ethiopian foods though in some nearby municipalities there is Nigerian food. I love all of it.

The city is also known for its beautiful parks, particularly Queen Elizabeth Park & Stanley Park, whale watching tours, beaches and spectacular mountain views.  If you like to ski in winter or like to go hiking we've got you covered.

My city is not perfect by any means. We have lots of issues with which to contend but it is home and it's where I choose to live. I hope you get a chance to visit if you haven't already. Most people who travel here love it.

A Walk Around Lake Lafarge

 Hello friends and fellow bloggers,

How are you all doing today?

I spent much of the day at Lafarge Lake with a dear friend of mine. We spent the time walking around the lake and sitting and admiring the ducks.  I was so busy catching up with her that I didn't do a very good job of taking photos but I did manage a few.

It was a fabulous day for an outing. The sun was shining brightly even though some of my photos look like we were expecting rain.  We weren't but it's still a bit windy and chilly in the shade.

The remaining days of the week are expected to get progressively warmer.

Lafarge Lake is a 5 hectare man made lake located in Town Center Park in Coquitlam. It is very easily accessed via the Skytrain and adjacent to the Douglas College campus.  In winter there is a fabulous light display which you can partake of for free. I meant to go with dear hubby this past Christmas but he got busy with work and I didn't wish to go alone. Perhaps it will work out for Christmas 2024. 

I've read that it's a very popular and crowded event. I suppose because it's a free event and there is plenty of parking. There is also a fabulous Evergreen Cultural Centre nearby and a brand new community centre will open in a few days. This is a great place for one but I think families with children would especially appreciate the convenience factor.

Recent Outings Near Vancouver in Beautiful British Columbia

I have a photo dump today. I spent a bit of time travelling further out than usual to enjoy some sunny days and some picturesque scenes. I hope you enjoy.

I went to Porteau Cove just over a week ago and shared a few photos here. But we also stopped at a place called Cypress Bowl Lookout which is on the way to Cypress Provincial Park.

The first photos are taken on the Lion's Gate Bridge on the way to West Vancouver and North Vancouver.

These next photos are the lookout point and some information about Cypress Park.

When you get to the top of the mountain you can see for miles. But often there is haze. On that day you can see a bit of haze over the Vancouver Skyline.

We didn't carry on further into the park itself as we were going up to the small town of Squamish. 

On the drive up there you will see some spectacular scenery but there are hardly any places to stop and actually take photos. It's one of those times you should just forget about the camera and enjoy the scenery. I did try to get a few photos but it isn't very easy due to the forest lining the highway.

You can see the town of Squamish in the valley below.

There isn't much to do in the actual town. We mainly went to catch some sun rays and see the scenery. We stopped at what appears to be a new McDonald's nestled into a nice spot on the outskirts of the town. We also took a drive through the town but I didn't take any photos since there isn't much to see. The surrounding mountains are the main attraction though not far away there are two popular attractions.  One is a very popular hiking spot for serious hikers, called The Stawamus Chief.  Click here for more information. Also close by is a newer tourist attraction called the Sea to Sky Gondola which I've yet to experience. The truth is I'm a little afraid because this popular attraction has been the subject of sabotage on 3 separate occasions over the past several years. Someone or several someone's, keep cutting the cables on the gondola cars This has cost the company a lot of money to repair and escalate more security features over time.

On the return journey.  We stopped off at for fish and chips near the site of the Britannia Mine Museum, an award winning tourist attraction.

I hope you enjoyed the scenery. Thanks for stopping by!

The End of My Week

Hi friends and fellow bloggers,

Today's post is filled with photos. I am joining up with Skywatch Friday, Friday Foto Friends and Saturday's Critters. Thank you to hosts of all these memes. I know it takes commitment and reliability to keep these memes going.

My niece has been here having a short holiday and she will return home tomorrow. We managed to go and see a movie, Christopher Robin (a cute movie), do some light shopping, watch TV, colour, listen to a lot of music on YouTube, go for walks and ice cream and go for a car ride up to Squamish. On other days she went with her brother to spend time at the waterfront.

You can see Squamish on the map below (to the north of Vancouver).

We had dinner in the small town though there wasn't much selection.

We tried to get some photos but I didn't get any good ones of my niece and I. 

For some reason I am not very photogenic at all.
Top it off my niece is not very patient when it comes to posing for photos and she always has her head too high or too  low or never looking at the camera and so on.

The main thing then is to enjoy the ride and get some scenic photos.
(Click on photos for a larger and better view)

On the way to Squamish

This ferry is leaving Horseshoe Bay. Not sure where it's going but probably to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.

We continue north on the Sea to Sky Highway.

I'm afraid I didn't get photos of the small town of Squamish.

 I wanted photos of the famous rock cliff where many do mountain hiking. 

It is a challenging trail on the rock called Stawamus Chief.

You can read more about it by clicking here.

The view of Stawamus Chief from the main street of Squamish.

After dinner we were in a rush to try and get some coastline photos while the sun was still up.
Access to the ocean was not possible in town so

we headed south back to Vancouver on the Sea-to-Sky Highway.

Not too far from Squamish you get to the Britannia Mine Museum & the Britannia Mine.

I've never been inside. In fact I've only ever been in this direction for 4 complete round trips over the many years I've lived in Vancouver.  Usually it was to Whistler Village.  Many of you may have heard about it because it is a very famous skiing village where celebs from all over the world visit for winter vacations.

The coastal scenery is spectacular.

I captured the following photos at a view point area near the Britannia Mine.

As we continue south we find a new to me park called Porteau Cove Provincial Marine Park.

It is a lovely little spot with beautiful scenery, a secluded swimming beach, clean toilets and plenty of picnic tables. 

It is definitely on my list of places to return for a lovely picnic on a hot summer day.

The sun was setting at the same time the moon was showing it's face.

Beautiful clouds

Sky gazing

I snapped this photo of  the ferry en route to Horseshoe Bay from Nanaimo. I almost missed it.

Another drive by shot. This one over the Lion's Gate Bridge from North Vancouver into Vancouver. Spectacular colour.

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From my garden

 Friday Foto Friends

Skywatch Friday

Saturday's Critters