Here and There Blog

Sunday afternoon, in-between the rain showers. To me Auckland feels like polar bear country but I exaggerate. Blue sky even appeared for a couple of hours.  Penguins too. And then this...A Turkish rally of some sort. I couldn't tell if it was pro current government or anti. I think pro and they were denouncing attempted coup. Main talking point was Turkey for the people. Since this was taking place in the center of Pokemon Go Pokestops, not many people listened.

Auckland 9:00 am. In a matter of minutes my view went from this (looking at rain and lightning) To this: full on hail storm, fog and high winds. To really? Blue sky emerging? 14 minutes in all. Glad I wasn't outside and will take note of this weather pattern. Now it's time to sleep a couple of hours to make up for lack of sleep on the flight.

End of July, hot even at the beach. By the time I finished the walk I was ready for an ice bath. I'm sure as soon as I'm cold I'll want the heat and beach. This was a good last look before I head out to New Zealand's winter.

At last after random night of waking up to false firm alarms, I had a new system put in. Now in addition to the siren a voice calls out "Fire!" Here's hoping for no fire. And why stop at 1 thing? Time to replace broken motion sensor lights, front and back. And while I'm okay with the silence it was time to get a working doorbell. That's it for this round. Fence and trim paint still on the list. I've been playing too much Pokemon. This looks a lot like a Pokeball.

Yes, I am part of the fun! Best game ever.

That's not a cloud, it's a brush fire. On the marine base nothing threatened. Super hot day and sign of the season. 

Steveston Fishing Village in Richmond, Canada doubles as the film set for "Once Upon A Time's" Storybrook. The new season was about to start filming and I missed the action by a day but I did get to watch the film crew set up the signs to transform the street. The below flower is real from a nearby park. At "Granny's" all the flowers and plants here are film crew fake. The Cannery Cafe was open for the season so we got to eat where the Cafe scenes are filmed. Sadly the ice cream shop you see in the TV show is totally fake. Inside the building were only film props, not a single scoop in sight. No changes to the harbor but I was half expecting to see a pirate ship. Guess that's done on studio. The Library signs came out of storage and went up on what looks like a deserted building. Some of the other props covered up dental offices, law offices, and building facades. There was a fake gas station and fake butcher shop in town. This store is reall...

10 Ghost statues are in downtown Red Deer. Each is a real person or animal depicting a part of local history. Most are on the locations of the original building or activity. All the sculptures are in bronze and created by Alberta artists.  Here's Julietta Sorensen having gotten of her shift at a local restaurant and waiting for her husband, to arrive with the last bus of the day. The team started the bus service in 1933 and her husband was the driver. I'm not sure why she has suitcases around her. I guess she's my kindred spirit in another life. Sound the Alarm - the plaque on the wall let's us know the original firehass was located on this block in the early 1900's. The depiction is of the volunteer firefighters having a harnessing wreck while responding to a call. Fires at this time could quickly wipe out a community. Reverend Gaetz, one of Red Deer’s early founding fathers, hung out on the street talking to the community. Today he talks to tourists and keep...

Made a brief trip to Red Deer today. Even though it was raining and this was a work trip, there was still time to stop by City Hall to see the garden. Pretty impressive for a small place! I guess lots of snow and rain help keep it lush! Looking for the Pollinators.

Working is South Edmonton is boring. From the hotel I can see the city with life and restaurants. In my area there's not much around. At the end of the day it's a late dinner at the hotel. I'm looking forward to leaving here and going to Vancouver. 

Until next time. Let's leave with St. George slaying the poor dragon who was only doing what dragons do.  And a look at everyday life tools in the world of Vikings. No swords in the kitchen!  View of Aarhus Cathedral from the top of the library.  And the final street art photo of the trip. This was taken close to the harbor/library/train tracks.