I went to Vancouver for a Business Intelligence technology conference. It was only for 1 day, so it was more of a Seminar, but it was still interesting, and I had a good time driving up and back, of course!

Early Start
Since the conference started at 8am, I had to head out pretty early... my favorite time of the day to drive.

Foggy Drive
As the sun was coming up, the fog became more apparent.

Nearing the Border
As I neared the border, things cleared up, and seemed to be shaping up for a nice day

Construction
Vancouver is hosting the Olympics, and most of the traffic is expected to be into Vancouver and Seattle, with a fairly sizable crowd expected to head across the border between the two cities... both sides are fixing up their customs stations, to accomodate heavier traffic.

The Peace Arch
The Peace Arch, and the pillar next to the road, marks the actual border between the US and Canada

Canadian Customs
The Canadians are quite a bit ahead of the US in their construction... the new checkpoint looks great!

In BC
In no time at all, I was through the border. I'd left early enough to allow for an hour lag at the border, which used to be common... I didn't have to wait at all.

Surrey
This was the first time I successfully got a decent picture of the 'Welcome to Surrey' sign.

Canada Place
It wasn't too long before I was at the site of the Conference, 'Canada Place', on the waterfront in Vancouver.

Nice Scene
Since I had some extra time to kill, I stood outside, and watched a cruise ship come in

A bit odd
I was soon joined by a Canadian fellow who was a bit odd... he spent most of the time we watched the ship come in warning me about a CIA plot to enslave visiting Americans by brainwashing them to help kidnap Canadians for some purpose he hadn't figured out yet.... since I didn't have anything else to do, I asked questions to get more info, and enjoyed the conversation as much as I could, and watched the cruise ship come in

Enjoying the morning
The view was pretty fantastic.

The Conference
For the conference itself, and some of the pictures of the city afterwards, walking to where I parked, I somehow set my camera to take pictures at 160x120... this is one of them blown up to 'standard' size

Historic Bridge
This is (I think) the Burrard St Bridge. It was build in the 1930's, which makes it even more impressive, because its 6 lanes, and has two wide sidewalks... unfortunately for me, it meant I was going the wrong way, and had to turn around...

Heavy Traffic
Once I was going the right way, it seemed that everyone else was going that way, too. Rushhour traffic in Vancouver certainly isn't in much of a rush.

Not very visible
The signs pointing the way to the border weren't very visible... luckily, I've driven it a few times, and knew what to look for. (which makes me wonder why I took the wrong turn to send me over the bridge, but that's another story.)

The Peace Arch
Once out of town, I made pretty good time, and was soon crossing past The Peace Arch again, and into the USA.

The US Side
The US side of the border is considerably less prepared for the crowds... the facilities aren't nearly as modern or impressive as the Canadian side.

Waiting for security
There wasn't a long line, but with the security checks required at the US border, it moved very slowly

Next in line
When I was next in line, it struck me at the electronics that were set up... I counted 7 cameras, and I'm sure I missed some. Once I got through, I made pretty good time getting home... it was a long day, but I had a good time, and got some interesting and helpful information.

 

< Back to Currently