Miracle on Robson Street

Wendy, Brian, me, Emi, Aya, and Etienne after lunch at the Cora restaurant on Robson Street last week. John caught us all looking good!

Before I started taking pictures for my blog, I would not have understood what's miraculous about this photo. The amazing thing? There are six of us in it, and everyone is smiling, or at least looking pleasant. No shut eyes; no grimaces. As I have learned from attempting group photos myself, it's virtually impossible to get everybody in one frame looking good. No wonder some professional photographers end up grafting heads from one group shot into another to create a perfect final product! (John promises he didn't do that for this one.)

The photo was taken during a big walking-and-touring day with my brother Brian and his wife Wendy when they were in town last week. Brian had cracked two ribs in a cycling accident and was having trouble with one foot, but he managed five or six hours of walking with us -- from the south side of False Creek, through the Olympic Village around to north False Creek, Yaletown, downtown, the West End and finally all the way home to Dunbar. We met our nephew Etienne, his wife Aya and daughter Emi for the Yaletown/West End leg of the trip.

It was a rare chance for me to spend time with my family, so I took photos along the way as mementos. Here are some of my shots from a lovely sunny Sunday in Vancouver:

We took transit to south False Creek, where there's a view of the glass highrises of the north side of the creek and the little ferries that connect the two shores.  

Lush garden boxes of vegetables on the south side of False Creek near the Olympic Village. The big round ball is Science World on the east end of the creek. 

Brian and Wendy were intrigued with CPR Engine 374, which is at the Roundhouse Community Centre in Yaletown. It pulled the first trans-continental passenger train across Canada and into Vancouver in 1887.

Brian was intrigued with the cab of the locomotive, and thought about the life of  an engineer on such a train. 

After our meal with Etienne, Aya and Emi, we walked across the Burrard Bridge and turned right to get to Kits Beach. The tide was out, but it was hot enough that people were wading in the ocean. 

The water was far enough out that we could make our way along the beach below Point Grey Road, which is often inaccessible because of the tide. We got a great view of a new metal breakwater fronting a couple of the multimillion-dollar  properties there. It's like a piece of sculpture; far more beautiful than the concrete structures that usually do the job. 

Just when we needed a jolt of sugar to get us up the Dunbar hill, we came across a house where s'mores were being sold to passersby. A persistent young man made sure everyone in the neighbourhood knew his mother had a fresh batch of them in the oven. Wendy and Brian dig for change to buy their treats. 

Yum! I'd never had a s'more before, but Brian and Wendy were veterans. After this, it was just a 20-minute walk up the hill to home. We sat in the back yard and put our feet up.