blankets

Yo-Yo Ma and the New York Philharmonic playing live at Lincoln Centre on the tele have wooed me into a state of wonderful relaxation. What better use of this time than to put away the remaining memories of my summer to save for a rainy day.

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We arrived early enough to pick up a lunch from a sandwich place down the block, and grab a parking spot right in the lot. Neither of us had been to this particular park before, and we were slightly confused by the name of its centerpiece. Trout Lake, to us, appeared to be more of a pond or slough than a lake, and we were more than doubtful on the probability of actual Trout living in such a stagnant, muddy mess. Did that stop us? It sure didn't. After touring around a corner of the lake, we set up our simplified picnic on a small dock hovering above some lilly pads, cattails, and rats. There was a small yellow duck toy as well, but it proved much less entertaining than our rodent friends. Before long we were back on the trail making our way around the rest of the lake, scoping out fellow event-goers setting up their domains for the evenings festivities. We found a spot on a good plot of grass, threw down the blankets, and got to reading and people watching.

The Illuminaires Lantern Procession is a yearly event in Vancouver. Despite this being its 19th year, I had never come out for it, and Mark hadn't even known of its existence. Regardless, there's a first time for everything, and what an evening it was! Children chasing bubbles in the low sun offered free entertainment until the costumes appeared. Costumes of all sizes and colours, body paint, stilt walkers dressed as fairies and butterflies and fantasy characters, and a delightful woman dressed atop an ostrich in full on safari gear. Fire throwers, roaming bands of musicians, donation jesters, and everyone else, from newborn to elderly, come to join in and witness the event, made for quite the sight. Lantern borders defined blanket spaces until the sun finally set and the real show appeared.

There were lanterns of all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some small enough to carry, seen floating around the lake in the procession, others hidden amongst the trees and shrubs. We watched from our blanket for as long as we could handle before we packed up and joined the tour. Lights. Smiles. Shadows. Colours. Joy. The atmosphere was absolutely palpable. It was pure magic.

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The Simpsons Movie, pirated, and projected in a public park, for anyone and everyone.
A solitary moment spent enjoying fireworks from afar, and a much more crowded time enjoying them right up close.
Scones, coffee, an English Mastiff, and a chance to catch up with a good friend.
A show of comedy and video humour in the back corners of 1181.
Strolling along Commercial, Venables, and other unknowns, in search of poutine and midnight gelati.
West van beaches, the old highway, both ways on the sea to sky, music, whyte cliff park, and a setting sun.
An outdoor concert complete with viva puffs, camera lenses, pleasant sights and Wonderwall.
Dinners with friends. Movies with friends. Beaches with friends. Wanders with friends. Drives with friends.

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i heart(ed) summer.