Boats
By amount of time, so far on this trip we have done most of our traveling by train (Davis to Seattle, Boston to Rockport and back). By distance, we have done most of our traveling by plane (Vancouver to Toronto to Boston). By choice, and not based on a need to get from point A to point B, we have tried out a few different boats.
The first boats we took in Vancouver were perhaps the most impressive -- impressively tiny, that is. They look like slightly overgrown bathtub toys:
In addition to the sheer delight of puttering about in a toy boat, the half hour to the Maritime Museum and back (plus a pause to change boats at one dock) gave us great views of the city and some nice close encounters with some birds.
Some city pictures are in Some architectural comments. Here are a few more:
And a few more from the trip back:
We also saw an array of other boats. A fake pirate boat:
A genuine taxi boat:
A pretty boat:
A pretty boat named Ella McKenzie (which reminds me, there are a lot more Irish and Scottish names in Vancouver than I had expected):
And a little boat pulling a big boat:
The barge will show up again in a later post about art around town.
Meanwhile, the birds were completely unfazed by the presence of boats, allowing for some nice close views:
Meanwhile, the blog's star bird got to drive the boat:
The next boat was not available for birds to drive, or even to see the driving apparatus. On Friday, our last day, we took the aptly-named Sea Bus to North Vancouver. I forgot to take a picture of the boat itself -- probably because we approached it from inside the terminal -- but here's a stock picture of it from Wikipedia:
Although Dev was disappointed that he did not get to drive a bigger boat, the trip did allow us a view of another common Vancouver bird in flight:
We also had some views of both cities, Vancouver and North Vancouver, and also a few other boats.
The gentlemen were less captivated by the scenery than Dev was.
I expected those to be our only boats on this trip, at least in North America, but I was wrong; during a post-lunch amble in Gloucester (Massachusetts) on Sunday we saw signs for a ferry ride around the harbor, so off we went for an hour-long putter.
I love the chance to see the big working boats up close.
54, 56, 58, 60, 63, 65, 83, 84
Our captain, Peter Favazza, is the grandson of the couple who started Gloucester's famous five-day St. Peter's Fiesta.
My favorite part of Fiesta when I was little was the greasy pole.
Dev's favorite part of Gloucester is that he got to drive a boat again.
As for me, I kept thinking about the last time I saw Gloucester from the water, in 2000 when I "raced" in the Blackburn Challenge. Conditions that year were a bit bouncy -- 5-6 foot breaking waves off Bass Rocks -- and I was lucky to finish the race, albeit half an hour after it officially ended. (Even finishing that late, and as the second-to-last boat in, I still got third place in my class, because only two other people in the class also managed to finish.)
This trip was a lot more tranquil. Even so, Dev held on tightly; unlike his cormorant cousins, he does not care to swim.
The first boats we took in Vancouver were perhaps the most impressive -- impressively tiny, that is. They look like slightly overgrown bathtub toys:
In addition to the sheer delight of puttering about in a toy boat, the half hour to the Maritime Museum and back (plus a pause to change boats at one dock) gave us great views of the city and some nice close encounters with some birds.
Some city pictures are in Some architectural comments. Here are a few more:
And a few more from the trip back:
We also saw an array of other boats. A fake pirate boat:
A genuine taxi boat:
A pretty boat:
A pretty boat named Ella McKenzie (which reminds me, there are a lot more Irish and Scottish names in Vancouver than I had expected):
And a little boat pulling a big boat:
The barge will show up again in a later post about art around town.
Meanwhile, the birds were completely unfazed by the presence of boats, allowing for some nice close views:
Meanwhile, the blog's star bird got to drive the boat:
The next boat was not available for birds to drive, or even to see the driving apparatus. On Friday, our last day, we took the aptly-named Sea Bus to North Vancouver. I forgot to take a picture of the boat itself -- probably because we approached it from inside the terminal -- but here's a stock picture of it from Wikipedia:
Although Dev was disappointed that he did not get to drive a bigger boat, the trip did allow us a view of another common Vancouver bird in flight:
We also had some views of both cities, Vancouver and North Vancouver, and also a few other boats.
The gentlemen were less captivated by the scenery than Dev was.
I expected those to be our only boats on this trip, at least in North America, but I was wrong; during a post-lunch amble in Gloucester (Massachusetts) on Sunday we saw signs for a ferry ride around the harbor, so off we went for an hour-long putter.
I love the chance to see the big working boats up close.
54, 56, 58, 60, 63, 65, 83, 84
Our captain, Peter Favazza, is the grandson of the couple who started Gloucester's famous five-day St. Peter's Fiesta.
My favorite part of Fiesta when I was little was the greasy pole.
Dev's favorite part of Gloucester is that he got to drive a boat again.
As for me, I kept thinking about the last time I saw Gloucester from the water, in 2000 when I "raced" in the Blackburn Challenge. Conditions that year were a bit bouncy -- 5-6 foot breaking waves off Bass Rocks -- and I was lucky to finish the race, albeit half an hour after it officially ended. (Even finishing that late, and as the second-to-last boat in, I still got third place in my class, because only two other people in the class also managed to finish.)
This trip was a lot more tranquil. Even so, Dev held on tightly; unlike his cormorant cousins, he does not care to swim.
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