BJP 2011 October - Vancouver

I love to break my own rules! Here's another 'State' that wasn't in the original lineup for my Bead Journal Project.

My cousin Patrick once again treated me to a spontaneous trip by asking me to join him on an awards trip that he won through his employer.

Patrick at the SandBar
Granville Island, Vancouver, BC

Needless to say, he didn't have to ask me twice. So at the end of September, I hopped on a plane and flew across the country and in to Canada to explore a new city - Vancouver, British Columbia!

At some point on our trip, I was given a Vancouver quarter as part of my change. NICE!

Here are the inspirations (in no particular order) for my October piece:

Glorious Sunrises

Glass Galore - every building was just encased in glass!

Stanley Park Beach

Stanley Park Rock Formations

The forest in Stanley Park

Cloud banks that swallowed the mountains

And here's how I interpreted the essence of Vancouver:

Lush Forests and Sherbet Colored Skies

Glass Buildings

Beach meets Rocks
(I actually found that shell with the barnacles on it on the beach in Stanley Park)

Ringed with Clouds

It was truly amazing to see how the clouds would come in and the mountains would completely vanish from view. We were so lucky to have a few days of sparkling sun before the clouds came in.

We also headed up north to Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains. Took an amazing ride on a glass-bottom gondola between the two peaks. I do have another Vancouver quarter......just might have to break another rule so I can use up some of this inspiration: