Put Your Stick in my Wheels!

If you haven't been down to Grandview Park since they renovated it, take a stroll down and you might catch a bike polo match. As stated in the Georgia Straight, it's the first court built to bike polo specifications in the world, and with the new seating, you can enjoy a strong Italian coffee in the sun and watch players expertly maneuver their bikes to make a pass. Bike polo is not a new thing, the East Van Bike Polo Club have been playing there since 2006,  but it was new to me when I was there yesterday. It was pretty exciting to watch and I really like the fact that there seemed to be a nice diversity of male and female players. Takes some major skill. I'm sure they've heard this a millions times, but I really don't know how they don't put sticks in each others' wheels. Pun intended.

Dirty Lanes

I love Vancouver lanes. It's amazing what you can find. It might be partly because my mother lives on the West side and she has to walk her dog several times a day that she can find almost anything in her lane. She has this weird knack for it. If I say, oh, I wish I had a coffee table, the next day, she finds a coffee table. It works for toys, books, furniture or plants. It's limitless. Her last find was a bag of mystery bulbs.  She planted them and now we have daffodils!

On my side of town, I don't usually find such treasures, it's dirtier, rougher. But I still find surprises. Here's what I found yesterday while trying to avoid the traffic on Kingsway.

East Van Sesame Street

I'm sure it's because of the lack of reasonably priced condos bigger than a closet situated on a quiet street that the complexes in our neighborhood are full of babies and kids. Brix 1, Brix 2, The Works, and Stories are packed. Every time a childless family moves away, a family replaces them. There are 40 units in our complex and I can count 16 kids. That's a lot! My neighbors and I joke that we live on Sesame Street (partly because we face the street and have no yard). It's also not uncommon to find parents still in pajamas, coffee in hand, sitting on the front steps and watching kids play on the sidewalk.

Our neighborhood is seriously under construction. There are two 2 bedroom condo complexes being built on Commercial Street ranging in the $550-560,000. Another coming behind Gloria Cafe on Stainsbury St. Next to the Works, the old Danica commercial building is turning into "East Van Boutique Condos". A huge complex on Victoria called the "Porter" with 192 units and 10 live-in artist studios is slowly pushing it's way out of the concrete pit. There is also the 8 new, 3 bedroom town houses across from the Trout Lake ice rink now priced at $738,000.  There are also quite a few new detached homes/duplexes/laneway houses being built all around.

It's seems it's all in time for spring. All in time for more pregnant couples living in their noisy Kitsilano closets to move our way! Come on over to Sesame Street, the more the merrier! We've got sidewalk chalk!

Top Playgrounds on the East Side

Now that Baby is semi-mobile, meaning I hold his hands while he walks, he shown much more interest in playgrounds beyond the swing set. While training for the Sun Run, I happen upon some parks I had not explored before. Here are some of my favorite so far rated based on do-ability of a 15 month semi-mobile boy from best to worse.

Tecumseh Park (Commercial and 43rd): This is my new favorite spot. The park itself is just a green square, but the playground is awesome. It's brand new, has the newest swings, teeter-tooters, a farm tractor, a smaller slide for the little ones, and a tall twisty one for older kids. There's a great sandbox with a water station for messy fun. There are lots of benches for tired moms and a big picnic table. Definitely worth many visits.

Clark Park (Woodland and 14th): It's a good park for younger and older kids. There's a ball hockey and basketball court, which is different. There's a beautiful view of the mountains as most of the park is on a slope with amazing old trees.

Victoria Park (Victoria and Kitchener): This park and playground has received a wonderful facelift. I remember this park mostly because of the Italian men playing Bocce, but also because it seemed a bit shifty. Now, the playground is brand new, has lots of slides, climbing ropes, a gorgeous sandbox full of toys, and swings. It's always well used by the community and seems to have banished the shiftiness.

Trout Lake: It's such a beautiful spot with a super view of the North Shore mountains, so for mom, that's a bonus, but the playground....nah. Not that good. Unfortunately, the small playground is one of those older wooden ones and the slide and tire swing is for bigger kids. There's no designated sandbox. Dog owners are pretty lax about leashing their dogs and I've had big dogs barreling through and scaring Baby a few times. Great place for looking at ducks though.

Sunnyside Park (Inverness and 17th): This park adjacent to Dickens Elementary is not bad. There are two sections in the playground one for older and another for younger kids. There is no designated sandbox and only one swing for babies. Overall the play area just pales in comparison to the super amazing stuff on the Dickens playground which is only for older kids. Poor Baby just kept pointing at it.

General Brock Park (Brock and 29th): This grass square has a small but new playground. Worth stopping if you stumble upon it, but not to make a special trip for it.

Renfrew and Renfrew Ravine Park (Renfrew and 22nd) This park is interesting, I like the ravine and it's handy to have the community center and library there, but the playground is little. Nothing to write home about.
 
Brewers Park (Victoria and 26th): This small park is bit noisy being right on Victoria and small playground seems a bit rundown. Some moms have told me that they like it because of the small water pool which is open in the summer. Hum...

Broadway and Commercial- Today’s Rant

I can’t help it. Every time I have to walk through Commercial and Broadway I cringe. I feel like all of a sudden I’ve walked into the middle of a performance in a sideshow circus. Beggars in rags, teen age moms with kids in strollers hanging out with young men seemingly unemployed, professionals in suits, binners laden with bottles, immigrants, teenagers skipping school, students, and retired low income seniors with various range of mobility. 

Plus, it seems that all the smokers who have been socially banned from the posher “western” neighborhoods, have decided to congregate here for a smoke break. Without fail, every time I’m there with Baby, some drunken person starts to talk loudly and blow smoke at us: “Oh, I ‘ave 3 kids, but I don’t get to see them no more…” Just yesterday, I was standing at the corner waiting for the light to turn and a mom behind me was telling her son: “Your dad’s a prick. He’s been in jail since you were born….”

It’s not just the people; the businesses are unappealing: walk-in clinics, dollar stores, fast food joints, check cashing stores, a liquor store, banks and various pharmacies. Did these businesses pop up because there are lots of poor disenfranchised folks in the area, or do all those poor folks take the skytrain to come use these services? I don’t get it. Okay, so you’ll say, it’s not that bad and I admit there are some interesting places: Bandida’s Restaurant, Toby’s Pub and Grill, Uncle Fatih’s Pizza, The Rio Theater, The Latin Supermarket, and The Unity Yoga and Tea House. BUT overall, why does this major intersection in our beautiful city have to be so unattractive? 

I recently read an article in the Vancouver Sun "East Van Rules, Ok?" which stated:

"A shift in the public perception seems to be afoot.  In many eyes, East Van has become the cool part of town, the cultural heart of Vancouver. Lum says this is nothing new."East Van was always the cultural heart of the city," says Lum, an internationally acclaimed artist who grew up in Strathcona and around Knight and Kingsway. "It was never a case of 'becoming' the cultural heart, unless I missed something about Dunbar or Quilchena becoming the cultural heart." 

Okay then, if East Vancouver is the Cultural Heart of the city, shouldn't Broadway and Commercial, they key intersection and transfer point, reflect that? Money Mart, CIBC and Dollarama doesn't scream culture to me! Oh, and apparently "culture" and smoking go hand in hand... forgot about that. 

Those who know me will say: "Oh, it's because you lived in Kitsilano too long, you'll get used to it." Kits is a shinny bubble filled with well-to-do, trendy young people, and it has lost it's soul to the chain merchants, but I do miss the predictability of walking calmly without having to dodge smokers and drunken beggars mumbling. I won't get used to it. It's sad and depressing.

Okay, enough with this rant. I just wanted to get it off my chest.