Vancouver, Part 1!
Yes! I still exist! :D Been a bit crazy, so I haven't had much time to update...
muldy's done an awesome job with the story so far! We drove up on Friday morning... I got TOTALLY grilled by the customs guy. He looked cranky. Who'da thought an Aussie and and American going into Canada would be strange? ;) Anyways, Norco Studios was on the way, so we drove past, expecting it to be deserted...only to find that SG-1 was shooting there!! :D I totally squeed at the "SG-1 Crew Park" signs on the road! :D We headed over by Bridge Studuios, and pit stopped at the cafe across the street for bathrooms and a late breakfast. As we were sitting there, they wheeled out something that looked like maybe a big piece of an X-303! EEeee!
After that, we'd heard on GW that the Stargate had been set up the day before in Central Park, so we stopped there to check it out. Just as we headed into the park, we heard equipment running and a what sounded like a truck backing up... we followed the noise, and lo and behold, they were JUST hauling away the last piece of the gate! Agh! But we saw the base of the gate on the truck! We wandered around for a bit after that along the park trails. OMG, that is one PRETTY park. Very woods-y, and a great spot for photo-taking! And the squirrels there have NO FEAR. Seriously, they're so habituated that they'll run right up to you. And pose for photos.
A bit more sightseeing after that! We stopped at Queen Elizabeth Park and wandered and looked at X-Files and Stargate filming locations. I didn't like that one as much as Central Park - I'm not a big fan of gardens, but they were pretty. They had what looked to be a really cool greenhouse thing that was a big tropical garden with exotic birds, but it was like $4 to get in so we just skipped it. We also saw evil!Daniel's mansion from "Absolute Power", and then ended up downtown at rush hour because of all the "no left turn" streets. But eventually we made it back out and checked out the observatory from "1969." It looks so much smaller in person! :P There was also a museum next to it that looked freakishly like the top of the Space Needle.
We stopped to see muldy's work, and they talked her into helping them out for a bit, so I wandered down the street to a coffee shop/bakery (Capers) to get something to drink and peoplewatch while I waited. VERY nice cafe, I really loved it - great food, and the people working there were really nice.
We headed back to Fi's place, where I finally met Sab and Jess! Yaaaaaaay!! :D Very, very cool! disco_dollie dropped by, too, and she, Fi, and I headed down to the beach to watch the sunset. Absolutely GORGEOUS. And a perfect spot for twilight/night shots of the downtown area! We walked back, and spent a long time eating pizza and watching YouTube Torri videos, and then we all watched SG-1 and Atlantis together. SO much fun! :D It was really a blast to watch it all together like that. I'll save the spoiler-y review for a separate entry! Sadly, I had a really NASTY headache all night, so I headed to bed after that.
Got up this morning and headed back out! After breakfast, we wandered down to Fi's work to see if her check was in... and we saw Gary Jones walking down the street. Eeee! I was a good girl and didn't get all scary fangirly... at least until he was out of sight. :P
We drove a bit around Stanley Park, then headed up to the North Shore and drove past Sam Carter's house! :D We stopped at the house of a friend of Fi's, and then Tim Horton's for iced cappuccinos and doughnuts. OMG YUM. And since we were in the area, we drove past the studios where The X-Files used to film. Awwww!
After that, we headed up to SFU to meet disco_dollie!! OMG, that campus is absolutely GORGEOUS. It's like the USD of Vancouver, but even prettier. It's way up on Burnaby Mountain, and has gorgeous views of the mountains! It was fun, too, to see it as the "Tollan Homeworld" from SG-1. :P We all drove up to Burnaby Mountain Park, where the two Stargate locations ("O'Malley's" and the totem poles from Upgrades) were totally eclipsed by the view. Seriously, if you're ever in Vancouver, GO THERE. You will not be disappointed. Stunning views of Vancouver, the mountains, and the inlets. Some BEAUTIDUl photos from that one!
We headed back down to Vancouver after that and stopped at Dairy Queen for dinner. They had the UW-UCLA game on TV in there! Got there just in time to see the last few minutes and see the Huskies win it. We headed back down to Spanish Banks to watch the sunset and chat about Stargate and fandom and all sorts of fun stuff like that.
We decided to check out the downtown nightlife, so we headed back downtown and wandered for awhile. I saw a book about the Vancouver Aquarium at a book shop there that I MUST HAVE. It's got all sorts of history of the aquarium, with a TON on its whales. I want it, but I can probably find it elsewhere for cheaper. Moby Doll pics!! Eee! /whale geekiness We wandered down to Yaletown and had a drink at a bar there... OMG, that was good. Like an alcoholic Frappuccino, almost. :P We wandered around Granville looking for a place with good live music, but we didn't feel like waiting in lines, so we just headed back. It was a nice walking tour of downtown, though!
Yes, I've taken a ton of pictures, but being the brilliant person I am, I didn't bring the cable for my camera with me. :P So I'll get them uploaded when I get back to Seattle! We've had AWESOME weather, though. Bright and sunny yesterday, and it was totally cloudless today! T-shirt weather, even!
I'm also amused that I'm listening to Wicked now that I'm sitting here on the computer, 'cause we've been listening to it and singing to it in the car endlessly. It's just too much fun! :D
muldy's done an awesome job with the story so far! We drove up on Friday morning... I got TOTALLY grilled by the customs guy. He looked cranky. Who'da thought an Aussie and and American going into Canada would be strange? ;) Anyways, Norco Studios was on the way, so we drove past, expecting it to be deserted...only to find that SG-1 was shooting there!! :D I totally squeed at the "SG-1 Crew Park" signs on the road! :D We headed over by Bridge Studuios, and pit stopped at the cafe across the street for bathrooms and a late breakfast. As we were sitting there, they wheeled out something that looked like maybe a big piece of an X-303! EEeee!
After that, we'd heard on GW that the Stargate had been set up the day before in Central Park, so we stopped there to check it out. Just as we headed into the park, we heard equipment running and a what sounded like a truck backing up... we followed the noise, and lo and behold, they were JUST hauling away the last piece of the gate! Agh! But we saw the base of the gate on the truck! We wandered around for a bit after that along the park trails. OMG, that is one PRETTY park. Very woods-y, and a great spot for photo-taking! And the squirrels there have NO FEAR. Seriously, they're so habituated that they'll run right up to you. And pose for photos.
A bit more sightseeing after that! We stopped at Queen Elizabeth Park and wandered and looked at X-Files and Stargate filming locations. I didn't like that one as much as Central Park - I'm not a big fan of gardens, but they were pretty. They had what looked to be a really cool greenhouse thing that was a big tropical garden with exotic birds, but it was like $4 to get in so we just skipped it. We also saw evil!Daniel's mansion from "Absolute Power", and then ended up downtown at rush hour because of all the "no left turn" streets. But eventually we made it back out and checked out the observatory from "1969." It looks so much smaller in person! :P There was also a museum next to it that looked freakishly like the top of the Space Needle.
We stopped to see muldy's work, and they talked her into helping them out for a bit, so I wandered down the street to a coffee shop/bakery (Capers) to get something to drink and peoplewatch while I waited. VERY nice cafe, I really loved it - great food, and the people working there were really nice.
We headed back to Fi's place, where I finally met Sab and Jess! Yaaaaaaay!! :D Very, very cool! disco_dollie dropped by, too, and she, Fi, and I headed down to the beach to watch the sunset. Absolutely GORGEOUS. And a perfect spot for twilight/night shots of the downtown area! We walked back, and spent a long time eating pizza and watching YouTube Torri videos, and then we all watched SG-1 and Atlantis together. SO much fun! :D It was really a blast to watch it all together like that. I'll save the spoiler-y review for a separate entry! Sadly, I had a really NASTY headache all night, so I headed to bed after that.
Got up this morning and headed back out! After breakfast, we wandered down to Fi's work to see if her check was in... and we saw Gary Jones walking down the street. Eeee! I was a good girl and didn't get all scary fangirly... at least until he was out of sight. :P
We drove a bit around Stanley Park, then headed up to the North Shore and drove past Sam Carter's house! :D We stopped at the house of a friend of Fi's, and then Tim Horton's for iced cappuccinos and doughnuts. OMG YUM. And since we were in the area, we drove past the studios where The X-Files used to film. Awwww!
After that, we headed up to SFU to meet disco_dollie!! OMG, that campus is absolutely GORGEOUS. It's like the USD of Vancouver, but even prettier. It's way up on Burnaby Mountain, and has gorgeous views of the mountains! It was fun, too, to see it as the "Tollan Homeworld" from SG-1. :P We all drove up to Burnaby Mountain Park, where the two Stargate locations ("O'Malley's" and the totem poles from Upgrades) were totally eclipsed by the view. Seriously, if you're ever in Vancouver, GO THERE. You will not be disappointed. Stunning views of Vancouver, the mountains, and the inlets. Some BEAUTIDUl photos from that one!
We headed back down to Vancouver after that and stopped at Dairy Queen for dinner. They had the UW-UCLA game on TV in there! Got there just in time to see the last few minutes and see the Huskies win it. We headed back down to Spanish Banks to watch the sunset and chat about Stargate and fandom and all sorts of fun stuff like that.
We decided to check out the downtown nightlife, so we headed back downtown and wandered for awhile. I saw a book about the Vancouver Aquarium at a book shop there that I MUST HAVE. It's got all sorts of history of the aquarium, with a TON on its whales. I want it, but I can probably find it elsewhere for cheaper. Moby Doll pics!! Eee! /whale geekiness We wandered down to Yaletown and had a drink at a bar there... OMG, that was good. Like an alcoholic Frappuccino, almost. :P We wandered around Granville looking for a place with good live music, but we didn't feel like waiting in lines, so we just headed back. It was a nice walking tour of downtown, though!
Yes, I've taken a ton of pictures, but being the brilliant person I am, I didn't bring the cable for my camera with me. :P So I'll get them uploaded when I get back to Seattle! We've had AWESOME weather, though. Bright and sunny yesterday, and it was totally cloudless today! T-shirt weather, even!
I'm also amused that I'm listening to Wicked now that I'm sitting here on the computer, 'cause we've been listening to it and singing to it in the car endlessly. It's just too much fun! :D