A Few Pictures From The Trip To Vancouver Island

I was initially hesitant about taking my camera gear with me on the trip to Port Alberni—as a rule, funerals are rather sombre affairs, not exactly chock-full of Kodak moments. To boot, the forecast called for rain. But came along my Pentax did.

I took this picture of Third Avenue from just outside the Chinese Canadian Society building, where the reception was held. Nothing special, just a shot of the town's main drag. Almost makes the place seem like a big city and not the dying town it really is. I was surprised to see so much traffic for a Monday afternoon.

The mountain to the north is part of the Beaufort Range.



This is the ferry terminal at Departure Bay, Nanaimo. I took this shot for two reasons, the first being the magic and dreams the terminal once promised a younger version of yours truly, the bay being the gateway to Vancouver, the "big city". The second was to show Diana Krall fans who've never been to Nanaimo what the place looks like (at the very least, the congested part of it).



Here's the money shot, the reason I decided to lug my camera along. These are the mountains northwest of Vancouver, captured with a telephoto lens (at a 200mm setting) from aboard an undulating ship in fading light, and shot through a thick, non-optical quality bow window. I figure it turned out okay.

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Betty took the bus this morning and sat behind a lady who had her hair tied up in a bun. Unfortunately, Betty spent the better part of an hour staring at the lady's linty, flakey, and obviously never-washed hairless area behind her ears.