About Me

My photo
Delta, British Columbia, Canada
I took very early retirement from teaching in '06 and did some traveling in Europe and the UK before settling down to do some private tutoring. As a voracious reader, I have many books waiting in line for me to read. Tell me I shouldn't read something, and I will. I'm a happy, optimistic person and I love to travel and through that believe that life can be a continuous learning experience. I'm looking forward to traveling more some day. I enjoy walking, cycling, water aerobics & and sports like tennis, volleyball, and fastpitch/baseball. I'm just getting into photography as a hobby and I'm enjoying learning all the bits and bobs of my digital camera. My family is everything to me and I'm delighted to be the mother of two girls and the Gramma of a boy and a girl. I may be a Gramma, but I'm at heart just a girl who wants to have fun.
Showing posts with label Sunshine Coast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sunshine Coast. Show all posts

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Sunshine Coast Adventure - Part 2

When we left Gibsons on Sunday afternoon, we drove directly to our "Inn" to check in. To be honest, we weren't impressed because the two-bedroom "suite" with kitchenette we'd booked had no microwave or kettle and the teapot was grungy! There was less than half a roll of toilet paper in the bathroom (which I must say was spotless) but only one tiny bottle of Pantene (you know the kind that has shampoo & conditioner in one). *sigh* But, we checked out the beds and they were great albeit with only one thin blanket so I pumped up the thermostat to warm the room. The view from our balcony was lovely, though, and we decided we'd make do.

We then decided to head up towards Porpoise Bay, an area inland from the coast. It was a nice drive and we pulled into the Porpoise Bay Provincial Park to check it out. I walked through the picnic area that was full of tables including some covered areas and headed out to the beach. What a marvelous view! I can imagine it in the summer full of families having a grand time. Be sure to click on all the photos to enlarge them.




Back in Sechelt, we drove to the beach downtown. We walked along the pier there (photo at left) and I spied a massive contraption out in the water with what looked like pipes going to the mainland and disappearing under the road. It then reappeared up the side of the mountains. Upon inquiries and research on the net since coming home, I discovered the following information about LeHigh's connection to the current Oakland Bay Bridge project in San Francisco.

It has been almost three years since Lehigh Pacific's Construction Aggregates Ltd.- Sechelt operation started supplying quality aggregates to this project's supplier in California. To date, the loading facility at Sechelt has loaded 61 ocean going ships, the largest of which carry approximately 70,000 M tonnes. They are called Panamax class ships because, at up to 115 feet wide, they are the largest ship capable of navigating through the Panama Canal. Suppliers have done an excellent job of marketing the aggregate coming from Sechelt. One example of this success is the Skyway section of the multi-billion dollar San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge project. The Skyway section is a precast segmental bridge almost 2 miles (3.2 km) long, which is part of the new East Span. The Skyway section will require the highest strength concrete ever used by CalTrans. Due to the massive foundations, the concrete has to perform to tight control restrictions related to heat released during the curing of the concrete.


The sand from the Sechelt area is a hot commodity for Hawaiian golf courses, California beaches, and around the world where other building projects require this particularly special aggregate. Later on, as we were driving around, we found the entrance to LeHigh and I took this shot.

On Monday morning we awoke to brilliant sunshine and headed into town for brunch. After a hearty breakfast of pancakes looking directly out onto the sunny beach, I headed outside to take some photos. The trees were naked of their summer clothing but the sun glistened through the branches creating intricate designs. The benches lining the beach were empty of tourists, but I just thought this made for more natural and unhindered photos.







This is the beach right outside "Pebbles," the restaurant where we had brunch at the Driftwood Inn in Sechelt. I think we might stay there next time we go over. The following two photos are looking left and right just above the beach line.




















We turned away from this stunning view to drive all the way to Egmont to see the Skookumchuk Narrows. That will be Part 3, so stay tuned.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Sunshine Coast Adventure Part 1




Click to enlarge. Photo taken from the ferry as we left Horseshoe Bay heading towards the Sunshine Coast. Grey skies here but we were hoping for real sunshine when we got there.









As I mentioned in my ABC Wednesday post below, I had three lovely days away on the Sunshine Coast of BC. My friend and I drove from our little village of Ladner (see "Tsawwassen" on the map) through the city of Vancouver to Horseshoe Bay to catch the Langdale ferry to this remote coastal area of BC. The ferry took us into Gibsons where we stopped to look around and have lunch at Molly's Reach, the restaurant. Perhaps one of Gibsons biggest claims to fame is as the site where the long-running TV series The Beachcombers was filmed.







Although the film crews are long gone, Molly's Reach restaurant and the pier (where much of the filming was done) are still there, and several of the cast, notably the late star of the series, Bruno Gerussi, chose to make their homes here. After all, they knew there was more to Gibsons than The Beachcombers.

We drove the lower road into Gibsons and I was so excited to finally see this famous place. Around the bend suddenly appeared the bright yellow facade of Molly's Reach Restaurant and I took a shot right through the windshield of the car. Later, however, I took a "proper" shot and Cathy took a photo of me standing in front. We entered and found a spot near the back of the restaurant that overlooks the marina and studied the menu. It was a day for soup. Hearty soup. So we both had a big bowl (I had the thick, stew-like white clam chowder and Cathy had the thick, stew-like pea soup) and we shared some fantastic sweet potato fries. Yummy!

Then it was time to stroll around to see a bit of the town. After wandering the pier for a few minutes to admire all the boats, we headed into Molly's Lane where we found lots of artistic shops with zany names like the "Waltzing Whippet" and a fence covered in amateur art opposite a more professional fence depicting water, waves, driftwood, and seabirds. You can see a portion of this fence on my ABC post below. There was also fantastic signage showing what you'd find down Molly's Lane.











Click to enlarge and see the names of the shops and services. Which is your favourite?







Then we discovered the Persephone! This was the main character Nick's boat on the show. Read more about the The Beachcombers here. Here are a few shots of the boat. Be sure to click to enlarge, especially the photo of the sign because you should be able to read it.
























































After that, we decided it was time to head up to Sechelt where we were staying. So off we went and checked into the Bella Beach Inn (don't stay there!) before heading off towards Porpoise Bay.

I'll leave you today with another shot I took from the ferry as we were heading towards Gibsons, but do stay tuned for more photos of our visit to this scenic part of British Columbia.






Click to enlarge. You can see there's blue sky ahead!