Sunday: A Walk to Wreck Beach

Sunday was a day like the best summer day so I decided to walk to U.B.C. and down to Wreck Beach. And I did something different—I listened to music. I never listen to music when I walk; I prefer to think but on Sunday I chose to listen to the CDs I bought in Africa and it was just wonderful because the music plus the heat of the day had me blissfully reliving wonderful memories of my trips to Tanzania, Botswana, Morocco, Egypt, South Africa and Namibia.

First I walked over the Granville Street Bridge. The smell of
the sea always takes me back to 1957 when I first learned
to sail.

My version of a selfie has always been in a
reflective parking meter. I have several.

From the bridge, I turn right. It ends at Fir and 8th Avenue.
I walk along Eighth all the way to Blanca. It's a long
straight walk. There are several row-house type developments
with no front yard along the way.

This yard is full of roses.

The back of the famous thatched house on
West Ninth.

The long straight uphill section of Eighth is
brutal in the heat.

There are hints of Fall everywhere.

The panorama view from the top of the hill on Eighth Avenue.
This is where I once saw half the sky filled with a magnificent
display of the Aurora.

Where Eighth ends, the original Chancellor Blvd. continues...

…. and I turn on College Highroad. On the left is this... 

…on the right are houses that enjoy one of the most private
and quiet sites I know of in Vancouver.

At the end of College Highroad, into the woods.
A dramatic change in microclimate.

And I emerge near The Village in the heart of U.B.C.

I pass Main Mall and I think about how lucky I am to have
been born in Vancouver and attended a university with, perhaps,
the loveliest campus on earth.

There is a fruit tree orchard growing on the
south-east part of the campus.

To the top of the cliff down to the beach.

It's a long way down.

Coming up is brutal.

My destination: A very private spot on the beach surrounding
the campus.