Where DID the summer go?!? Part 1

I can barely remember back to the beginning of summer - luckily I do take snapshots along the way to remind me!  (Some of these have been posted on Instagram, but I'll post them here as well)

 I've been thoroughly enjoying sailing the beautiful boat that the wooden boat club built!  Through the summer, I was sailing it most Saturdays after our work sessions, often taking another club member or two who wanted to learn to sail it.  Other than that, I didn't have much competition for reserving the boat, and was able to take it out pretty much whenever I wanted, including some weekday evenings after work - a great way to unwind from the day!

 In June, I went on a site visit to the prison that I was working on.  The visit coincided with a 'team building' event with people from the Ministry of Justice, the contractor, and other members of the design team.  The project is in the Okanagan, which is an area heavily populated with vineyards and wineries.  The group boarded a small bus, and went to visit 3 of the wineries for a taste of their products.

 The view from this winery was gorgeous!  Hard to tell in this photo, but we had a great view of the valley, the lake at the bottom, and the vineyards circling the lake shore.  The tour ended at a restaurant where we were treated to an amazing multi-course meal. 

 My coworker and I stayed at a wonderful resort, run by the Osoyoos Indian Band who owns the land for the prison, and is leasing it to the province.  Sadly, by the time we got there, it was too late to enjoy the pool, and then we left early the next morning to go to the prison site.  I would have loved to have stayed longer!

 The prison visit was very interesting, and sobering.  The location is stunningly beautiful, in a desert setting, with distant views of the hills and cliffs.  The view inside is not so beautiful.  The construction is progressing very well though.

 Back in Vancouver, it was time for the jazz festival, with lots of music happening all over the place.  This sweet little restaurant opened up the front windows, and drew in a bit of a crowd on the sidewalk - very nice!

 I enjoyed some more music at the old railway roundhouse with it's rugged wood structure.

 We got some very thick smoke for a week or so from forest fires further up the coast.  Made it very unpleasant here, but not as unpleasant as it would have been for those directly affected by the fire, and those who were fighting to get it under control.

 Also in July, I made a couple of trips to Toronto, for meetings about the next project that I'm working on - a resort in Dubai.  Our Toronto office is in charge, and we're helping out with part of the work.

I enjoyed being a tourist in my off-hours - I made a very quick visit to Toronto Island one evening, taking the passenger ferry across.  

 Back in Vancouver again, Jenn and I took this little ferry over to Bowen Island, which is just west of Vancouver.  We boarded the ferry at Granville Island, and the trip was a pleasant 1/2 hour.  We spent the day exploring the island, hiking around a lake, poking around in some shops, and enjoying lunch in a great old restaurant.

 On the ferry back, we passed close to Lighthouse Park, a prominent point in West Vancouver.  Very cool to see it from that vantage point!

 My second trip to Toronto was during the Pan Am Games, and I got to experience a few of the evening festivities.  This is City Hall, where they had the medal ceremonies (I didn't make it for that), concerts, and fireworks.

 I never get tired of gazing out the window on the flights - this huge bank of clouds was incredible!

 Back in Vancouver once again, Jenn and I visited a Buddhist Temple in Steveston, in the south edge of Metro Vancouver.  We've driven by it a number of times, and learned that they do welcome the public, so we made a point of going.

 It was incredibly ornate and lavishly decorated!  The aroma of incense set the mood nicely.

And, to end off that day's activities, we enjoyed fish & chips on the dock in Steveston, with the fishing boats all around. 

That's it for this post - I've got a couple more to go to fill in the rest of the summer, starting with my visit to Manitoba, and some great family times!