Loving Vancouver..and a new Canon lens

 You may have read me going on about AirBnB. A great place to check out if you are travelling.   www.airbnb.ca    A website hooking people up...those that are renting a space and those looking to rent.  Lots of non-main stream rentals...houseboats, VW vans, lofts...and we are currently in a condo within 1/2 block of the sea-wall in Vancouver. Between Cambie and Granville Bridge, the Granville Island Market is a short hoof...as we are going to do this morning...

So..what sets this place apart from any other place I have even been in? 



A home-made. charged and filled beer fridge/spigot set-up. And with GOOD beer..not some schlock....

Sharon's brother Gary and his gal pal are with us for a couple days and last night we went of for some Filipino food. Never had that before and it was some good. Even had some goat on the menu, which I just happen to like....and all of it was really yummy. Oh..right...she is Filipino, so took care of ordering dishes.

So then....we had to go for a bit of a walk....did a some of the seawall. Just enough to be able to remember why I loved Vancouver so much.

 

 We are going to be downtown for New's Years Eve. Once we knew we were going to be here, we went looking for what to do....and there are no..NONE..public New Years Eve happenings. I mean...really? No fireworks...nothing. Okay...went looking and from the days of my mis-spent young adulthood I remembered a joint called the Railway Club..a blues/rock 'n roll place. Damned if they still don't exist and I was able to score 4 tickets.

http://www.therailwayclub.com/

Even getting the tix became a story...Railway Club doesn't sell tickets...but they guy on the phone gives a couple numbers to try. Local shops in Vancouver that do ticket sales. The second one..Bone Rattle..a music shop on Commercial Drive had six...I 'splained I was not in town..but arriving the 30th..and he says "sure, I'll just leave them here on the front desk for you to pick up". This was on the 25th or some such...I was amazed. No big deal, he says...just call if you aren't going to pick them up. I offered to pay over the phone...nawww...see you on the 30th.


 http://www.bonerattle.com/

And that' what happened. We rolled up about 4:30..walked in and there they were...right by the cash/front desk.

I had decided to buy a new camera lens and did as much research as I could do on-line. Being up in the remote area of BC, doesn't provide for a plethora of hands on testing opportunities. In fact...none. So, I was relegated to reading and seeking others opinions. bah. Still, I had brought the selection process down to two lenses, both Canons. A 300mm 'prime' and a 100-400 zoom. I opted for the 100-400. If I had a boat load of cash I might have bought both..or the 300mm and a 600mm, but that's just overkill. Anyway...part of the on-line researching was about the cost and let me tell you...the pricing was all over the place. I find that most items, if new, are similarly priced, whether at B&H in New York or a local (Vancouver) store. In this case...B&H lists the lens at $1,699. Another on-line retailer is at $1,499. In Vancouver they are at $1,399. But...they are hard to locate. Sellers offer the price but don't have it in stock. 'Back ordered'. I think it's a case of Canon clearing out their old stock, making room for a new offering, perhaps this year..maybe next. I considered waiting...hahahahahaha..like nooooo...I want it now. 

Ultimately I found one at London Drugs....yayayayayayyyyy.