Ashley Chow dot Com

Saturday was… interesting, to say the least. The plan WAS to go to see the South Africa fireworks (“Tapestry of Colour”), but that took a turn for the worse (or better?) when the rain and thunder and lightning started happening. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

The day was looking pretty good actually, nice and sunny, maybe a few clouds here and there. No one would’ve expected a thunderstorm. The weather forecast mentioned no such thing. But sooner or later, the sun disappears and the clouds turn grey.

Nevertheless, my friends and I made it to Kits Beach and ate dinner @ the Watermark Restaurant. Check out the food.

Fried Calamari

Seafood Chowder

Classic Caesar Salad w/ Chicken Breast

Herb Chicken Breast

Delish. Soon after we left the restaurant was when it started raining. Then the thunder and lightning started. Yet we still walked along the beach in search of a spot not too gross, but after maybe half an hour of sitting and standing around, having rain blown in our faces and seeing large strikes of lightning and claps of thunder, we decided it wouldn’t be worth it to wait another two hours for a 25-minute show. And despite the fact I’ve heard that the fireworks were so worth waiting in the rain for and that the lightning made it that much better, we went on to have an absolutely awesome night. Plus, South Africa’s Tapestry of Colour show is viewable online, so I was able to watch it in the comfort of my own chair sitting right at home, and you can view it too!

This is Global BC’s video feed showing raw footage of both Canada and South Africa’s shows: http://bit.ly/woWte

Also, check out this time lapse video of Saturday, July 25: http://bit.ly/e2vgJ Take note of 0:50. Seeing that was my favourite part of the day.

Next up will be the UK’s fireworks show tomorrow (July 29)! It should be a steaming hot day tomorrow. That’s summer for you.

On impulse, I decided to hit the beach and watch some fireworks this past Wednesday. Some friends and I wound up at Kitsilano Beach, much emptier than English Bay although not as good of a view, but I prefer less crowds over a better view any day of the week.

The Celebration of Light is an annual fireworks show, basically, and is free to watch from beaches and parks. This year, there are 4 teams in the competition: Canada (July 22), South Africa (July 25), UK (July 29), and China (Aug 1). The shows start @ 10pm on the night of and last about 25 minutes long (at least Canada’s did).

This Wednesday was Canada night, and Canada’s fireworks display had the theme of The Wizard of Oz. Music can barely be heard on Kits Beach (will bring a radio tomorrow) but the fireworks were still a sight. And the ending was awesome, complete with loud blasts and colourful poofs of sparks and light.

I don’t have very spectacular photos of the fireworks. Just photos.

Well, I’m off to New York in a few days and I just spent about 4 hours today finishing off my itinerary. Needless to say, I am very detail-oriented. The hardest part about planning a trip to a place like New York is figuring out how to get to all of the destinations. I mean, I could easily just list out everywhere I want to go and leave it at that, but no one really wants to waste precious time in a foreign city, lost.

The biggest challenge is “deciphering” New York’s subway system. I know how it works and everything, but trying to figure out how to get from one place to another can be quite a pain. It’s a good thing there’s Google Maps. Google Maps has been a god.

In any case, I have not started packing yet. But I’ll get to it tomorrow morning. Before I go to school. For the final time.

Now, I discovered something pretty cool a few years ago. I took a gazillion shots of the Brooklyn Bridge the last time I was in New York and one was actually pretty neat that I developed and have hanging up in my room. I also have a 2007 New York calendar from the Empire State Building and one of the photos was surprisingly similar to the shot that I took. Check it out.

Taken July 15, 2006 @ 8:44am NY time. I just grayscaled the photo.

This is the April 2007 photo from the NY calendar that I have. Sky is obviously photoshopped?

I just found that pretty interesting. And I’ll be there again in no time!

My 1st part to Dinosaurs Unearthed featured the T-rex, feathered T-rex, and a bunch of fossils. If you’d like to know how fossils are made as well as find out more about other fossils, pay close attention. (Note: Again, various pieces of information have been taken from the signs and displays.)

The word “fossil” literally means “dug up”. Fossils are very rare as it takes special circumstances for fossils to be in the state they become. They only form in sedimentary rock, so when a dino dies, it has to be quickly covered by mud, sand, or silt to keep air away and to slow down decay.

Most tissues disappear over time, so what are left are bones and teeth to be covered by more layers of sediment. Water that goes through to the bones carry rock minerals that replace calcium and other minerals in the bones. Soon enough, all of the original bones disappear and what’s left are exact copies made of stone. There are also times when mudstone sediments save impressions of dinosaurs’ skin, feathers, fur, and footprints.

This claw is from the Plateosaurus (PLAY-tee-uh-SOAR-US), or a flat lizard. They were discovered in 1834. Plateosaurus’ hand bones were very big and had five digits, the large ones probably used for feeding and defence.

Another cute sign.

These are ferns and tree fossils found right here in BC. As you can see, they don’t look much different than today’s plants. As a matter of fact, some specimens like sequoia and ginko trees are still alive today.

This scapula comes from the Omeisaurus (oh-MY-ee-SOR-us), a Mount Emei Lizard. What’s a scapula, you ask? Well, it forms part of the shoulder girdle in both humans and animals. In other words, it’s the shoulder blade.

This is yet another scapula, this one clearly larger, from the Supersaurus (super-SOAR-us). The entire scapulacoracoid (fused scapula and coracoids portion of the shoulder blade) of an adult Supersaurus could be as big as 8 feet in length. The Supersaurus could have stood 18 feet tall at the shoulder.

This is the horn of a Triceratops (try-SER-uh-TOPS). The horns were probably used for mating rather than for defence. Triceratops were herbivores and may have traveled in big herds. As much as Triceratopses look like modern rhinoceroses, they’re not related.

Remember that 24 foot tall T-rex? Here are some additional facts to give you some more insight into them.

• Scientists used to think that T-rexes had an upright posture like a kangaroo. Now, it is known that its posture was almost parallel to the ground with the tail extended behind the body to balance the weight of the head.
• T-rexes were once thought to be cold-blooded, but based on evidence of growth rates in young T-rexes, we know that they were warm-blooded because their metabolism was comparable to mammals and birds.
• T-rexes are actually more closely related to birds rather than lizards. Tissue that has been found in fossils has been previously found only in ovulating birds.
• As evident from the little T-rex, it is thought that T-rexes actually didn’t have scales throughout their lives. Instead, they had a downy covering of feathers that were lost as they grew.

This dig site represents a small portion of the discoveries at Dashanpu Quarry Zigong in China. Right now, scientists are working there, an area that could contain the single greatest concentration of dinosaur fossils ever found. Plant-eating dinos like the Sunosaurus and Omeisaurus have been discovered there as well as predators like Yangchuanosaurus and reptiles, mammals, and prehistoric fish. Nice.

Well, that’s all for dinos, folks. Hope you found it interesting to learn about the T-rex, fossils, how they’re made, and everything else I talked about. I sure found everything entertaining and blog-worthy.

Oh, and someone wants to say hi.

Dinosaurs Unearthed. That’s what’s been going on @ Metrotown since June 12 and will continue all the way until September 20.

Here in the Grand Court stands the 24 foot tall T-Rex, an animatronic model that roars, moves its little hands, and blinks every ~ 10 minutes.

It just stands there, glaring at you as you mosey on down the escalator to see what else is new. Or… old.

This sign is particularly amusing.

There’s a lot to see here, and this dino exhibit isn’t just in the Grand Court of the mall. The other side of the mall in the Atrium Court features other fossils and things about these million year old creatures. (Note: Various pieces of information in this post are partially taken from the signs and displays from the mall, not things I’ve written up.)

Tyrannosaurus rex, King of the Tyrant Lizards, was the last great carnivore of the Cretaceous Period. Fossils have been found all over North America in places like Alberta, Colorado, and Montana. Its nose structure let it deliver crushing bites to capture prey and to fight others. The lower jaw of the T-rex could deliver force like that of a semi-trailer. Yikes.

The feathered T-rex here is on display for the first time ever in Canada. Research shows that juvenile T-rexes had a down covering that resembled a hair-like structure. All of this was shed before adulthood, and feathers developed most likely to regulate body heat. As the dinosaur grew older, it had to quickly shed any stored body heat.

This is a life size poster mounted on the wall of one of the panels to the exhibit. I compared myself to these dinos and obviously, those things were huge. The T-rex’s foot was probably taller than me!

This skeleton can be found in the Atrium Court. This is a Yangchuanosaurus (Yang-chew-ON-uh-SOR-us), which means a Yangchuan Lizard. They were found in China and resemble the North American Allosaurus. The head is long, flat, and heavy and jaws are full of sharp teeth. Its huge claws were probably used to bring down its prey, and the blade-like teeth were then used to slice through the flesh.

The skull of the Allosaurus (AL-uh-SOR-us) can be seen here. More fossils of this dinosaur have been found than most other ones. They used their serrated teeth for slicing through flesh, and it is likely that Allosaurus’ ambushed their prey as opposed to running after them.

The skull of this belongs to the Hadrosaur (HAD-ruh-SOAR). Its beak-like snout had no teeth but the jaws did. Some species had up to 960 teeth! These dinosaurs are known as duck-billed dinos because of how similar their head shape was to ducks nowadays.

Look how huge that forelimb is! It belongs to the Mamenchisaurus (mah-MEN-chih-SAWR-us), a Mamenchi Lizard. They were found in China 150 to 145 million years ago. The foot, ankle, and limb bones of this dino resemble the North American Apatosaurus. The full name, Mamenchisaurus constructus, refers to the fact that the first fossils were discovered during the building of a road.

The last one I’ll show today are dinosaur eggs. This is Placoolithus, or flattened fossil eggs. Fossil eggs are not named after the dinosaur, but for their shape or structure. There have been fossilized embryos found in some fossil eggs before. A giant Apatosaurus hatchling wasn’t much bigger than a modern day ostrich hatchling.

Upcoming…

Do you know how fossils are made? Do you want to see more fossils? Stay tuned for more!

The Vancouver Lookout offers some of the best views of Vancouver from 130 metres (430 feet) high. I mean, the Shangri-La probably has even more superb views, but not everyone can conveniently hop up to the penthouse of the Shangri-La. Neil Armstrong (first man on the moon) opened the Lookout back in August 1977.

Poor little Harbour Centre gets dwarfed by some of the tallest buildings in the world, but nevertheless, seems to be a perfect fit for tiny Vancouver. The Vancouver Lookout is the distinguishable top part of the Harbour Centre and looks a tad bit like the CN Tower.

Above (or maybe below) the Lookout is the Top of Vancouver Revolving Restaurant, which revolves once every 60 minutes and serves amazingly delicious yet extremely overpriced food. (I spent $24 on a grilled chicken sandwich there.)

An old photo from back in 2007 of the Top of Vancouver.

Glass elevators whisk you up to the top where you can enjoy a 360 degree view of Metro Vancouver.

There are also tours available when you’re up there as well as loads of informative displays about various places including Stanley Park, Chinatown, and even the Vancouver Lookout itself.

Enjoy the following photos taken from the Lookout (not that the previous 2 weren’t from there too).

The Vancouver Sun and The Province newspapers are 2 of the main newspapers read by locals and the building is seen here right by Canada Place.

This should be the Port of Vancouver. Loads of shipping containers get shipped to and from here every day.

GM Place should be the white roof building next to the colourful condo.

Yes, that is indeed GM Place. The bigger building is BC Place. The ginormous road to the right of BC Place is the Cambie Street Bridge. I don’t know what the building with the green dome & pointy roof is, but I do know it’s close to the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Gardens.

The Scotiabank Tower, one of the tallest buildings in Vancouver, can be seen here. Holy Rosary Church can be seen by the bottom left corner. It reminds me of all the churches in New York.

Here’s a better perspective as to just how small the Harbour Centre is. It may look a teensy bit like the CN Tower (pictured on the very left), but obviously, it is nowhere near the same height-wise.

It is completely evident in this photo that the Shangri-La is the tallest building in Vancouver. The Bell building can also be seen here.

Construction looms around Vancouver’s waterfront. Stanley Park, the cluster of dark green trees, can be seen in the background. The Convention Centre, mentioned in a previous post with the lighter green roofs, is also seen. The Chevron gas station sits in the middle of the water. Of course, the Lions Gate Bridge, connecting Vancouver with the City of North Vancouver, is just barely visible behind Stanley Park over the water. The mountains are called the Lions.

Just a side note… there’s actually a difference between North Vancouver and the City of North Vancouver even though everyone refers to the City of North Van as just North Van. North Vancouver is more industrial whereas the City of North Vancouver is more developed.

To the left are railroad tracks which are for the West Coast Express, trains that go all the way out to faraway places like Mission and Maple Ridge. This looks east, so in the distance is the rest of Vancouver and into Burnaby. The middle to bottom of the photo is of Gastown, distinguished by the “322 Water St” painted on the building.

And that about wraps up my Exploring Vancouver posts. Hope that was at least a bit informative and worth your read. I know I didn’t talk about the Aquarium, but I go there just about every week, so I’ll be sure to blog about any random things that come up.

BTW, the new baby beluga was born a few weeks ago to Aurora, mother of Qila and grandmother of Tiqa! (Basically, this new beluga is the half-sister and aunt to Tiqa. Read about their twisted family tree here.) The little one doesn’t have a name yet, but the Aquarium will definitely put out a baby-naming contest sometime in the fall.

The new beluga and Aurora swimming with Qila and Tiqa in the background. Photo taken yesterday (Saturday, June 20th) in the underwater viewing gallery (before the Aquarium even opened ).

Stay tuned for some dinosaur talk!!

Canada Place opened the world’s first IMAX 3D theatre and is also home to the Pan Pacific Hotel among other sites and attractions. I did go to see an IMAX film one of those days. It was about space and Mars, narrated by Tom Cruise.

So the Pan Pacific Hotel was where I had lunch. It was the first time I had lunch in a hotel. Pretty high class.

The cutest puffs of butter I’ve ever seen!!

Bread was good, glasses were nice, flower was cute.

And here was lunch. Fish and chips. There was one chunk of salmon, 2 pieces of shrimp, and another type of fish. I never actually expected different types of fish.

Okay. I promise the next blog post will be much more interesting. I hope.

Upcoming…

Look at just how tiny the Harbour Centre is compared to a building like the Empire State Building! Views from the Vancouver Lookout coming up next.

The Westin Bayshore is its name. It was by far the nicest hotel I ever went into during the Tourism Challenge.

Had a bit of trouble finding the entrance though. There are condos and whatnot in the surrounding area, so the hotel entrance and everything is pretty close to the water, not by busy W Georgia St.

When I finally found the entrance, it looked lovely and very peaceful.

This is the lobby area. It’s beautiful when you look outside.

One of the views. The water is past the bushes and everything.

Another hotel I just walked into was the Hyatt.

The outside didn’t look very promising, but the inside did justice.

This is the outside of the Fairmont Waterfront. I was in there for 2 seconds to get my stamp. I hear the Fairmont (the “regular” one in Downtown) has a haunted 14th floor with a lady in red.

And that concludes 3 of the 4 hotels I went to. Not very interesting, but maybe the photos did more justice.

Upcoming…

Mmmm, this restaurant was delish. Know which hotel? There’s also one up in Whistler if I’m remembering correctly.

So this circular building with the shiny king crab welcoming all visitors is the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre.

There may also be a museum or something in there. I’ve been there before the last time I went, but the times are too far back in my life to remember. I really only spent 15 minutes inside before I found it much too boring to continue looking around.

Don’t get me wrong. Space and astronomy is really cool. I love it, but I guess the way they show and display things and how dark it is in there makes it somewhat boring. I do believe people usually call it the Planetarium; at least, that’s what I call it. One of the cool things in the Planetarium is the motion simulator ride. However, it didn’t seem to be open the day I was there, so who knows what’s going on with it.

Now, there’s the False Creek Ferries. It offers commuter and sightseeing service at various parts of False Creek, such as Yaletown, Science World, Granville Island, and Vanier Park (which is where the Planetarium is). I don’t have a photo of the ferry, but I do have photos of what can be seen while on the ride. First, a few photos of Granville Island.

Granville Island is a little island in False Creek across from Downtown’s peninsula. There’s a public market where you can buy groceries, lots of funky stores selling funky things, and theatres and hotels among other things.

It sits by the Granville Street Bridge, pictured here.

The Burrard Street Bridge can just barely be seen near the middle-bottom left of the photo. That was what I rode on during my Big Bus ride. The high rises are facing the West End (could be Yaletown for all I know) and the large crowd of people is part of Granville Island. Now for the ferry views…

BC Place (white roof) can be seen as well as the Cambie Street Bridge.

Science World is seen here as are 2 Aquabuses (one is closer and by the rock of the viaducts; red top and colourful; the other is farther and a bit to the left of Science World, not the flat boat below Sci World). Aquabus Ferries are similar to the False Creek Ferries but are just more colourful. I don’t really know the difference. (Wow. Blogging about Vancouver really makes me realize just how little I seem to know.) I rode on the Aquabus once last summer.

I do believe this is the Olympic Village, still under construction. Apparently they need even more money or something.

I snapped this soon after I got off the False Creek Ferry. There were a million people there for dragon boat racing. You should know what the buildings are by now.

Upcoming…

I couldn’t think of a good question, so I’ll just tell you that the next feature is a hotel that is on Bayshore Drive (most heavenly street name ever). Wanna attempt a guess?

The Vancouver Convention Centre is of course, a convention centre in Vancouver. The old name was the Vancouver Convention & Exhibition Centre (I believe… or else Vancouver Trade & Convention Centre) but everyone just refered to it as Canada Place. An addition to the Convention Centre, the West Building (which is more commonly known as the Convention Centre), was completed this year.

If that was confusing…

OLD Section: Canada Place (real name: Vanc Convention Centre ; East Building)
NEW Section: Convention Centre (real name: Vanc Convention Centre; West Building)

Yes, they’re both called the same thing, differentiated by what side of the earth they face in relation to one another or whatever. Oh how I hate these names. Forget the formal names; just go by what everyone calls them.

In November 2004, construction of the expansion began. It was partly built to be the media and broadcast centre for the 2010 Olympics although it will be used as a convention centre (of course) after the Games.

Here’s a funky photo… The sails of Canada Place are seen here.

This one’s taken from Vancouver Lookout (will be featured soon). Again, this is Canada Place with its famous 5 sails.

This isn’t a great photo, but if you look at the green patch (no, not Stanley Park; the brighter, smaller patch of green), you’ll see that the roof of the Convention Centre is in fact green. It’s a “living room” with native plants and apparently a bee yard.

The expansion of the Convention Centre consists of 340 849 square feet (31 665 square metres) of space.

What a modern design. The building was actually built over 40% water (therefore 60% on land).

As you can see, the inside is just HUGE. I don’t even know what’s what. The escalators are super tall and it all just looks really cool. There’s definitely more to the building than just what’s shown here.

Of course, that’s what you’d expect from a building that plans to host thousands of the best events ever.

The Tourism Vancouver Info Centre is right by Canada Place and the Convention Centre. There’s really nothing interesting about it (for locals) except for the fact that you can buy discounted tickets to random plays or something. I do like to go there from time to time and pick up some tourist magazines and brochures and whatnot. You can also book hotel rooms among other things.

Upcoming…

I find this place awfully boring compared to Science World, but it has this cool king crab sitting outside its entrance. This is the H.R. MacMillan ________ Centre. What’s the blank? (Hint: Maybe the shape of the building will help you out…)