Beaches

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Travels Without Miranda, #8: Tybee Island, Georgia

I finally made it to Savannah in the spring of 2008, six months before I left Ottawa with Miranda. This harried road trip featuring bad motels and restaurant food convinced me that there had to be a better way to travel.

After spending a sticky day exploring Savannah’s historic district, I decided that the next day should be spent visiting the environs, my expedition culminating at Tybee Island, Savannah’s ocean playground.

It was the first week of April and still bitter cold back home, but on Tybee the sun was shining and it was hot. The Atlantic ocean beckoned me and I heeded its call, wading in carefully, then plunging in head first when I discovered, to my delight, that the water was warm!

Tybee Island lighthouse

Tybee Island lighthouse

view of Tybee beach from the top of the lighthouse

view of Tybee beach from the top of the lighthouse

Swimming opened up my appetite and I went off in search of lunch, finding it at a shack-type restaurant right on the beach called the North Beach Grill. I decided to take a chance on it since it was packed. It was a fantastic experience; a cruddy little restaurant open to sea breezes, salt shakers rusty from the sea air, rum flowing liberally, and Caribbean-style music booming from speakers. I ordered ‘grilled shrimp’ which was nothing like what I expected. I got whole shrimp, still in the shell with the legs on ’em, swimming in a cajunny-style sauce with a helping of freshly cut fries. It was one of the most undignified, delicious, and fun meals of my life. It took forever to peel those suckers using my fingers! It was there that I realised that coastal Georgia is a world unto itself where sweet tea runs freely, huge mountains of sweet shrimp big as a thumb cost less than a burger, and the people know how to take the time to breathe and enjoy a moment. It’s not paradise, but came pretty close to that for a sun and warmth-starved gal who had just fled winter!

That day in the water reminded me that when I am drained, water can renew me. I remembered this my first day in Edmonton.

(As a side note, that night I received an email that changed my life forever. But that’s another story, part of which you read whenever you visit this blog.)

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Ah, That Bracing Ocean Air!

I woke to rain this morning but, as mostly usual, it cleared up by mid-day. Needing to get up at, gasp, 5AM tomorrow I decided that a long walk in the bracing ocean air might be what I need to tucker myself out enough to go to bed at a reasonable hour. Norma left me a little project that requires a trip to the hardware store, so I decided to walk to the Rona, about three kilometres away. The store wound up not having what I needed, but I did get a few things for myself. It was an amazing walk and there were moments that made me feel that I was in either or both an alien world and a Harry Potter novel!

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there are wizards in Campbell River!

there are wizards in Campbell River!

I thought this was William Tell at first, but turns out it's Eve!

I thought this was William Tell at first, but turns out it’s Eve!

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The first of several fantastic wooden statues all set up in a park. They are available for 'rent' by local businesses and I had fun spotting them throughout the village.

The first of several fantastic wooden statues all set up in a park. They are available for ‘rent’ by local businesses and I had fun spotting them throughout the village.

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Oscar!

Oscar!

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Willowpoint Village has a grocery store, coffee shop, restaurants, pharmacy, pizza place, and just about any other service you could need

Willowpoint Village has a grocery store, coffee shop, restaurants, pharmacy, pizza place, and just about any other service you could need

this whimsical seaside cottage is almost a cliché

this whimsical seaside cottage is almost a cliché

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Driving down the highway, I saw Cookie Monster from the rear and knew I had to walk down and take a look at all the statues!

Driving down the highway, I saw Cookie Monster from the rear and knew I had to walk down and take a look at all the statues!

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first time I've seen a wooden inuksuk!

first time I’ve seen a wooden inuksuk!

a jetty

a jetty

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this burn pattern caught my eye

this burn pattern caught my eye

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I wear a size nine shoe, if that'll help with scale

I wear a size nine shoe, if that’ll help with scale

it also looks like that writhing mass of snakes at the bottom of the Well of Souls in Raiders of the Lost Ark

it also looks like that writhing mass of snakes at the bottom of the Well of Souls in Raiders of the Lost Ark

this is pretty much what I imagined Devil's Snare (from the Harry Potter series) looks like

this is pretty much what I imagined Devil’s Snare (from the Harry Potter series) looks like

yellow dogwood next to seaweed

yellow dogwood next to seaweed

that is some serious seaweed!

that is some serious seaweed!

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Seawalk-ing

I stayed in yesterday as it just poured and poured and poured, but this afternoon the rain finally stopped and blue sky started to peak from the clouds. I bundled up against a blustery wind and went for a short walk of a couple blocks along the Sea Walk that passes in front of the house.  It’s going to be a great place to go biking and running; my only quibble is that crossing the highway can take forever!

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lighthouse in the distance

lighthouse in the distance

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this boulder is the bane of my existence as it blocks my view

this boulder is the bane of my existence as it blocks my view

blackberries

blackberries

at first, I thought the sea gull was a weather vane!

at first, I thought the sea gull was a weather vane!

I really like this statue

I really like this statue

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Journey to White Rock Across the Bottom of the Ocean

Today, all the elements came together to make a hike to White Rock possible. The weather was perfect, I was limbered up from all my hiking and walking, I knew what I wanted to see and do, and the tide was out (meaning that I could walk on sand instead of stones). It was a roughly 20km (12.5mi) expedition (according to my pedometre) on foot through Peace Arch park and down to the beach. It would have been much quicker to use the land route via eight avenue, but not nearly as scenic!

For the visual folk out there:

Google route in blue, my route in red

Google route in purple, my route in red

White Rock is a seaside resort town that seceded from Surrey, which surrounds it on all four sides, in 1957. The population is roughly 5,o00, but that number grows exponentially in summer. The community has a reputation for being balmier and sunnier than neighbouring towns and pilots actually call it the ‘hole in the sky’ because it often lacks cloud cover when the rest of the lower mainland is blanketed in fog! Walking Marine Drive with the ocean on my left, houses carved into the hillside on the right, and palm trees all around never fails to make me feel that I am back in southern California!

My mother has been to White Rock and was quick to advise me to try out the fish & chips at the Moby Dick restaurant. I figured that a 20km walk would mean a guilt-free indulgence in such a greasy treat, so I planned my day to have an early supper at this restaurant. I found the meal excellent, but it wasn’t quite the best fish and chips I’ve ever had (hint: the Lobster Barn, in York, Maine). The French fries were fantastic, the coleslaw was rather disappointing, and the fish was very good (not too greasy, light on the batter), but it needed lemon, which they don’t offer. I do highly recommend this place for fish and chips!

Today’s photo gallery tells the rest of the story. Pardon the French; I’ll be making my photo galleries bilingual from now on to save myself some work when telling my relatives about my adventures. 🙂

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Riding the Knight Bus

We got a late start on an absolutely beautiful Easter Monday. I’d suggested walking through Gastown and my friend found a jump on, jump off bus tour that started there, so we decided to do that.

After parking, we strolled down Water Street to the ‘Big Bus‘ tour headquarters. As it turned out, there would be a bus leaving momentarily, so our timing was perfect. The 35$ tickets are valid for two days. We would only use them this afternoon, so we were offered a free gelato as compensation, which was appreciated (and very delicious!).

The tour was excellent in that we got a chance to pretty much see all of Vancouver–Gastown, Chinatown, Stanley Park, English Bay, Granville Island, Robson and Davie Streets, and on, and on… We just did a full loop back to Gastown without getting off because of time issues. For someone with only a few days in Vancouver, this tour is a great way to see the city! My only complaints are about the jerky stops and the fact that the audio was often inaudible.

Gastown is historic Vancouver and it has really kept its old world charm, with cobblestone streets and buildings still showing their Victorian façades. The city of Vancouver grew up around this area, becoming Granville before taking on the name by which it is known today.

Vancouver’s Chinatown is the second largest in North America, after San Francisco’s. It is the least grimy Chinatown I have visited (compared to that of San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Toronto, and Montreal). It resides essentially a block away from Gastown, but is separated from it by the infamous Downtown Eastside. Our tour guide had very specific instructions for how to walk safely from Chinatown to Gastown. As an aside, I drove down Main all the way past East Hastings and I could not believe the difference in how the area looks when you approach it from Chinatown with a view of the water and mountains in the distance! One of the most interesting things we saw  in Chinatown was the Sam Kee building, which is the narrowest building in the world!

English Bay is on the northwestern tip of the city and boasts several palm-tree lined beaches. It is a beautiful area and host to the annual Vancouver Polar Bear swim!

Robson and Davie Streets are vibrant urban neighbourhoods filled with unique shops. The latter is also Vancouver’s ‘gay village.’ We’d already done Robson, so we ended our day on Davie Street where we tried another all you can eat sushi restaurant. It was quite good and I am now firmly convinced that spicy tuna cones are the yummiest thing ever concocted (vinegared rice, seaweed, raw tuna, and chili; who would think that would be so insanely delicious?!). My friend is now as addicted to sushi as I am and we’re having it for a third time on her last evening here!

I took lots of pictures, some of them of distinct buildings and others which simply captured the stunning diversity of Vancouver’s architecture. I never thought I would find a city more architecturally beautiful than Chicago, but I have. I hope you enjoy this wonderful photo gallery and warn you that Library Square will take your breath away.

I have fallen in love with this beautiful, vibrant, compact city that seems a part of nature, like it grew from the same soil as the redwoods and snowcapped mountains, rather than having these things regrow around it.