Treasure Hunt

So today I am heading off to Granville Island in search of treasures with my pal Sandy. (Sandy, by the way, has a new blog. You can check it out here.)

I love Granville Island. It's this neat little shopping mecca undearneath the Granville St. bridge, on the Burrard Inlet. You can shop for all kinds of wonderful foodstuffs in the Public Market or you can wander around the little shops-there are tons of artisans there. I plan to go to the Net Loft and hit Paper Ya, Postcard Place, Kroma and Beadworks. (My favourite stores there.)

A couple years ago, another friend and I rented a kayak and paddled Burrard Inlet. It's a really interesting part of the city. There are little Aqua busses that cross the inlet, transporting commuters and tourists from one area of the city to another. There is a sea wall that wraps around the inlet that you can walk. There are some wonderful house boats moored there. We also toured around the marina in the kayak, looking at all the beautiful boats moored there.

Awhile back, there was some fuss on Granville Island over a beaver. The city had planted some little skinny trees. (The kind they prop up with poles till they take hold, so we're talking baby trees.) One night, some beaver swam in, climbed out of the inlet and wandered around Granville Island sawing the new trees as well as some older, larger trees down. People were really mad about it, but secretly I was cheering for this renegade beaver. It strikes me as odd that people would be so upset that wildlife was encroaching on an urban community and that the beaver was under fire for simply doing what beavers do! I love beavers. I think they are incredibly resourceful and beautiful animals. You would think the national animal of Canada, the one with whom we have so much history would garner just a little more respect. In any case, there is wildlife all in and around the Island so it's always an interesting place to visit.