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| The fun part of travelling from Atlanta to Vancouver on Delta is that you get to visit 3 olympic host cities in 1 day! Delta has a hub in Salt Lake City and often if you're flying out west you have to stop there. It's actually really pretty, but the lake itself is really ugly and uninteresting. I didn't leave the airport at all because it was 25 degrees outside and I had only an hour connection.   
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| I am posting some of my snow pics! 
The street where I live! "I have often walked, down this stree before, but the pavement never really seemed so white before!"? - ok sorry, show tunes! 
backyard 
White Rock Beach    
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| On Thursday, Jan. 4th I went to the Georgia Aquarium with Lacey. It was pretty cool I do have to say. But then I don't really go to aquariums that much. I haven't been to the Vancouver one in well over 15 years probably. Elementary school field trip probably. The GA Aquarium is supposidly the largest in the world. It is pretty impressive. 
Two of the featured animals have unfortunately died recently. One was an ailing beluga whale and the other was one of the four whale sharks that the aquairum has. The Beluga was put down on Jan. 2nd, two days before we visited. That was kind of sad because they're such happy animals. Vancouver had a beluga die recently as well, well last summer I think. Here is a photo of the beluga tank: 
Here is a photo of one of the whale sharks: 
Whale sharks are reasonably endangered and they're the largest fish species alive today. It's a shame to lose one but I think they're possibly depressed in their tank at the aquarium. They're so large that it seems that they may get bored in the tank. The smaller fish seem very lively, but the whale shark seems a bit depressed as it just goes back and forth in what for it, is a rather confined space.  | | |
| During this trip I have picked up a few currency oddities as I am always on the lookout for new and interesting pieces of money.  
One of my goals was to find a US $2 bill. Now the US is different from Canada in the way that the $2 denomination of currency is not used much. However the government still produces them for public circulation. In Canada $2 has always been a widely circulated denomination having been switched from bill to coin form in 1996. I would encourage any Americans to come to Canada and experience the convenince of $2 coins. It not only reduces the weight of your pocket change, one coin is lighter than four, but it helps to make handling smaller transactions easier, such as paying $4.25 for something. I find $1 bills to be awkward and inconvenient, especially when you have about 8 - 12 of them in your wallet and you are trying to pay for food at the drive thru.  
A second goal of mine was to find a US half dollar (or 50c) coin. These have always been pretty scarce as well, however the US mint still produces them in the millions every year. The coins are now the largest piece of circulating currency and have been in continuous production, unlike the silver dollars. The half dollar in the US is currently graced with a rather attractive portrait of JFK. I'm surprised they're not more popular as he is by far the most attractive person on any piece of US currency. I am also surprised at the number of quarter dollars you get in your spare change here. So heavy...  
I have also obtained several of the new Sacagawea "golden" dollar coins that debuted in 2000. The US mint has been trying to force the American people to give up dollar bills for quite some time. The first attempt was in the 1970s with the Susan B. Anthony dollar. The coins are now "golden" in color and look a lot like loonies. I think the US mint is trying to copy the Canadian one. The US also has state quarters now which are a lot like the Canada 125 quarters from 1992. The US mint is about to embark on yet a THIRD attempt to popularize this coin. They are started a presidential dollar coin series that will feature each dead president, 4 per year. These will also be "golden" in color. I am pretty sure that Canada is not going to start a prime minister or monarch series, however I don't know if we're necessairly obliged to portray the reigning monarch on our coins as we have been gradually reducing the number of bills that she is on. The queen used to be on the 1, 2, 20, and 1000 dollar bills but now the 1, 2, and 1000 have been discontinued, so she is only on the 20. | | |
| This is a random opinion post... Atlanta like many US cities has a defining characteristic that Vancouver lacks - freeways. Atlanta is home to the widest freeway in the whole Interstate system, the "Downtown Connector" which at current count is about 16 lanes wide. Nathan and I have been known to discuss this sort of thing at length as Nathan is currently fighting a project to expand the Trans-Canada across the Port Mann bridge into Surrey and Langley. Vancouver has already turned down several downtown freeway proposals. Atlanta is a good example of what a city looks like when highway expansion is allowed to go ahead unabated. I am more of mixed opinion now that I have experienced this first hand. Although traffic density here can be overwhelming, it is only so during peak hours. During the daytime and on weekends it's not really THAT bad. The highways are constructed so that they can handle the volume with the current widths. It does make getting around an otherwise poorly designed city a lot easier. Granted, Atlanta has more problems that just freeways. Grid layout seems to be something that is only heard of in fairy tales around here. The streets are narrow and curved and lead no where. It is even hard to find the freeway onramps sometimes. I always get lost on the Buford highway thing. So, as it stands now, the freeways do help people get around however the most ideal situation would be to blow up everything and start over again... This city's heart and soul is very divided up. It takes a long time for a visitor to get to know this place. But now that I have been here a while I am starting to enjoy it a lot more. Once you memorize your way through the labyrinth it doesn't seem so bad anymore. There are some nice neighborhoods here and there is often very little reason to leave your little pod of suburbia, that is unless you need to go to work... 
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