Every morning Bailey and I take a walk along the river. With spring definitely here, there is always something new. Lately it’s been the changing levels of the water: The tides have really been low last few days, but today they are back up high.
Hope you’re not getting sick of seeing the Great Blue Heron! It’s a cool bird to watch, very slow and deliberate moving while walking in the water.
This video shows the heron taking over the log on which it is pictured in the photo accompanying this story. There are a couple seconds of some of the many other birds in the general area – and note the ducks scrambling to get off the log the heron wants.
We have been walking “south” along the Fraser River towards Burnaby lately, and every day is like a new journey. I put the south in brackets because when we start walking we are heading east, naturally, but the river slowly bends to the south.
The river is affected mightily by the tides – way more than I ever imagined – and when the river is close to the shore, the birds are much closer to shore, of course. And that makes them much more intriguing to Bailey!
I’ve posted another video of her chasing seagulls across a field, so you know she might not be the brightest bulb in the candelabra. Her latest attempt at bird capture is with the Canadian Geese. She will charge them whenever she gets the chance. They simply retreat to the water squawking at the her, but won’t fly away. Now Bailey has taken to swimming after them!
She gets so muddy, I let her get in the river to rinse herself off and she does a great job!
In the morning, Bailey and I take a little walk along the Fraser River. There are lots of ducks, Canada geese, eagles, herons – just what you’d expect along a river near the coast, of course.
Today, was very bright, and the river was very calm. Standing on a log, this Great Blue Heron was amazingly well camouflaged. As soon as I turned on the camera, it started to move, and the sun was so bright, I really couldn’t figure out where it was in the view finder. When I got home and viewed the film, I see I managed to capture the bird grabbing breakfast!
Pam and I went to the Vancouver Canucks – Nashville Predators hockey game on Saturday night. One of her work buddies has season’s tickets and couldn’t go so off we went to Roger’s Arena. It’s been a while since we’ve been to a game so it was fun to be there.
The Canucks won 4-2, which was good. Our seats were quite high, behind the Preds goal for the first and third periods. The Canucks played very well the first period outshooting the Preds 14-4 , so lots of the action was in our end of the rink.
We thought we might see the new Russian Tank, the basketball player sized defenceman Nikita Tryamkin. He took the pre-game skate, got some advice from Henrik Sedin, and didn’t play! Rats.
First time seeing Jake Virtanen play live was impressive. He looked pretty good, a little wild still, and sometimes seemed not quite lost, but needs to find out where he is on the ice sometimes. I don’t think he’s really comfortable out there all the time, quite yet, but you really notice him out there. He certainly looks like the real deal.
The beer was 8 bucks or 8.75 for premium, quite normal for beer in a bar-type setting and I wasn’t outraged, just resigned. I also wanted a hot dog, $5.75 which I figured was reasonable. I ordered “A hot dog and a beer please.”
The hot dog arrives and I get my beer and she says “That will be 21 bucks.” I ain’t the best dude at math, but that seemed a tad out of whack, so I said “uh that’s a pack of taxes on that 15 buck bill eh?” She said, “oh no I gave you the double, saves you money!”
First off, I didn’t order a double, second off, it’s not even on the menu, ok? What scam is this? My other complaint about the place was how many people are drunk! I don’t mean fun to be around good times dudes, who have had a couple, but flat out, barely able to stand, bright red-nosed, drunk. And no wonder. Young guys are thinking they are getting one beer, pounding back 4 or 5 and actually having consumed 8 or 10. Who functions well with 10 beers in them?
Last little complaint – I’m sure this is associated with the over serving of alcohol – the three young men behind us, used the f-word every third or fourth word, sprinkled liberally with the c-word, and then they’d throw in the odd n-word for good effect. Seated beside me was a young family, three young girls, and a boy 5 to 11ish – all dressed in Canuck hats and stuff. I turned to the dudes and said, “c’mon eh, young kids don’t need to hear that constantly.” Two guys apologized, and one said, “f-off, it’s a hockey game.” sigh
I have been surprised by how few people there are here. When we’ve been in the Caribbean for Christmas in the past, it’s been very busy. This year I’d call it dead! One day there was only ONE person laying on “the point,” a normally very busy section of the resort that has bar service. Is it the economy? Fear of ISIS, as one restauranteur insisted? I don’t really know, but it is concerning.
In the casinos, most of the people used to be visitors, having a bit of fun on a night out. There is precious little night life here on Bonaire (one of the things we like and dislike) and the casinos are a nice diversion. The other night, we were in the casino, and there was only one other vacationer – all the rest were locals. Used to be us tourists injecting the cash! That can’t bode well can it?
But what keeps people coming back, of course, are the diving and snorkeling opportunities. If there is no dock, entry into the ocean is often very difficult here, due to the mostly rocky coastline. But somehow Bonaire has allowed it’s best coastline to be gobbled up by individuals who restrict access to the sea, as if it is their private playground. On Bari Beach, some one has constructed a rock wall barrier right on the beach to block people from using the only sandy entry point to the bay. They have even put up No Trespassing signs!
It is unconscionable that this is allowed to go on. For the most part, Bonaireans don’t seem to care that this is the case. And people like Pam and I are wondering why bother coming back? If you’re going to go the route of Aruba and lose your soul for the all mighty dollar, then you deserve your fate. And maybe empty hotels, bars, and beaches will impress upon them the need to change. But I’m not holding my breath…
Do I want something for free? Not at all! Do I mind paying to enter the ocean if someone has constructed a dock? Absolutely NOT – I’ll gladly help pay for any infrastructure.
We pay fees at a lot of the bays in Curacao – Jan Thiel, Blue Bay, and others have parking fees, as well as beach chair fees. Not a problem. You’ve created something for which you should be paid.
Places like Captain Don’s resort say they have a fee for snorkelers to use their facilities, but every time we try to pay it, they tell us to go ahead and jump in. As a result, we grab our lunch in their restaurant after our snorkel – it is a win-win situation. They get way more of our money, and we get an easy entry into the ocean.
Here’s a brief movie just to put the focus back on the ocean, which is why we come here!
I have been surprised by how few people there are here in Bonaire this year. When we’ve been in the Caribbean for Christmas in the past, it’s been Continue reading Ocean vs Dock entry→
I have been surprised by how few people there are here. When we’ve been in the Caribbean for Christmas in the past, it’s been very busy. This year I’d call it dead! One day there was only ONE person laying on “the point,” a normally very busy section of the resort that has bar service. Is it the economy? Fear of ISIS, as one restauranteur insisted? I don’t really know, but it is concerning.
In the casinos, most of the people used to be visitors, having a bit of fun on a night out. There is precious little night life here on Bonaire (one of the things we like and dislike) and the casinos are a nice diversion. The other night, we were in the casino, and there was only one other vacationer – all the rest were locals. Used to be us tourists injecting the cash! That can’t bode well can it?
But what keeps people coming back, of course, are the diving and snorkeling opportunities. If there is no dock, entry into the ocean is often very difficult here, due to the mostly rocky coastline. But somehow Bonaire has allowed it’s best coastline to be gobbled up by individuals who restrict access to the sea, as if it is their private playground. On Bari Beach, some one has constructed a rock wall barrier right on the beach to block people from using the only sandy entry point to the bay. They have even put up No Trespassing signs!
It is unconscionable that this is allowed to go on. For the most part, Bonaireans don’t seem to care that this is the case. And people like Pam and I are wondering why bother coming back? If you’re going to go the route of Aruba and lose your soul for the all mighty dollar, then you deserve your fate. And maybe empty hotels, bars, and beaches will impress upon them the need to change. But I’m not holding my breath…
Do I want something for free? Not at all! Do I mind paying to enter the ocean if someone has constructed a dock? Absolutely NOT – I’ll gladly help pay for any infrastructure.
We pay fees at a lot of the bays in Curacao – Jan Thiel, Blue Bay, and others have parking fees, as well as beach chair fees. Not a problem. You’ve created something for which you should be paid.
Places like Captain Don’s resort say they have a fee for snorkelers to use their facilities, but every time we try to pay it, they tell us to go ahead and jump in. As a result, we grab our lunch in their restaurant after our snorkel – it is a win-win situation. They get way more of our money, and we get an easy entry into the ocean.
Here’s a brief movie just to put the focus back on the ocean, which is why we come here!
Every morning Bailey and I take a walk along the river. With spring definitely here, there is always something new. Lately it’s been the changing levels of the water: The tides have really been low last few days, but today they are back up high.
