We have been staying pretty close to home lately, however today we headed to Gastown, another community in downtown Vancouver. There are several, original, cobblestone streets leading throughout the area, which was named after John Deighton, nicknamed "Gassy Jack". It seems Mr. Deighton was a long-winded fellow hence, the nickname. There are simulated gas lamps lining the streets and the focal point is the steam-powered clock, which emits a whistle every fifteen minutes with a louder blast on the hour.

We walked around the whole area, which borders on the waterfront harbour where the cruise ships regularly moor, enjoying ourselves by poking around in some of the many shops. There are a number of restaurants and coffee shops in the area to choose from and it made for a pleasant afternoon. Unfortunately, Gastown borders on a couple of less than desirable streets, ones you would most certainly not want to end up on after dark. However, I am sure there will be some significant changes here before 2010 when the Olympics are slated to arrive. There is evidence of some real-estate changes already as a number of the older, crumbling buildings are being demolished to make way for new condos or office structures.

The weather here lately, has been somewhat typical for Vancouver, rainy and overcast. The temperatures are still comfortable and the rain intermittent so it is quite bearable, however apparently the three local mountains experienced a dusting of snow last night. We find the forecasters to seldom have it right as it was supposed to be sunny today and there was no evidence of it anywhere. The interesting thing about this whole lower mainland is how there seems to be micro weather systems everywhere. We had a grey day downtown while at the campground less than 20 km. away, they endured drizzle all day so it seems we made a good choice by going downtown for the afternoon.