While on a business trip in August, I had a bit of downtime in Vancouver, British Columbia's largest city. I was awaiting a non-red eye flight back to the East Coast by spending an extra night, and noticed an itch in my lens, so walked parts of the city, at low tide, to convert this downtime to click-time instead. Construction is evident EVERYWHERE, given preparations for the 2010 Winter Olympics. There is a considerable International population, a unique architecture, as if influenced by Asia and featuring mostly glass exteriors (very little concrete). The Native Indian culture is also well represented in the area. Although raining, as is fairly typical in Vancouver (but usually more so in the Winter), the lens froze some interesting views around the harbor waters. Even saw a fisherman gutting a freshly-caught salmon and tossing scraps to a playful sea lion. Would love to go back and spend more time (on Sunny days).
Being 110 miles long and up to 12 miles wide, Lake Champlain is travelled by many various boats. On each day you will at least see the Lake Ferries that carry people, cars and trucks across the lake to avoid a 2-4 schlepp by road around the Lake to get to the other side. But often, you will see many more boats designed for all purposes, including rowing, sailing, motoring, water skiing, cruising/yachting, dining/partying, fishing and more. Here are a few caught by the Ricer's lens now.
From the hills and shores of Burlington there are many great ways to capture the beauty of Lake Champlain, the Adirondack Mountains to the West (background to many shots above), from many walking pathes, streets, docks and more. The weather can be unpredictable and it can be sunny, then storm later in the day. In the morning as the sun rises behind you as you face the lake, many cool things become iluminated. In the evening, the sunsets from the Western shore of the lake will provide distinct contrast from the morning views. The lake appears differently every time I see it.
A day in Burlington is not enough to capture all that it has to offer, but I've been able to spend several days over several trips, witnessing the vast collection of historical archictecture that remains alive and part of the cityscape. Burlington is home to dozens of top class restuarants and so I am told, many chefs from Boston and NYC have escaped the big-city chaos to pursue their culinary dreams here amidst a peaceful lifestyle. If you get the chance to visit, head to Church Street, a pedestrian-only sanctuary where you will see some of the scenes above and enjoy relaxing, shopping and dining on the street in front of the restaurants.
