|
|
Gatecon 2002 Post-Con: Touring |
Vancouver, B.C. Canada
September 12-15, 2002
Join
the Zone!
Last Updated 11/12/2002
All photos are copyright to Ann Wortham, All Rights Reserved. Do not copy, reuse, alter, or manipulate in anyway without prior permission. Permission is given to link to the main Gatecon 2002 page but not to individual photos. Please do not link without a proper credit. Please do not repost elsewhere without permission.
I
often get asked if reprints of my photos are available. If you are interested
in Photo Reprints, the details can be found on the main Gatecon 2002 page.
Photos with code numbers on them are not cropped or changed from the original
print.
Remember to click on the small pictures below to bring up a larger version of the photo.
I
won’t bore you all with too many comments about our post-con touring, but I
wanted to share a few anecdotes, make a few thank yous, and show you a few more
photos (if you’re not completely tired of them yet!). Being the “geek” fans
that we are, of course we had to do a few “Stargate” things even outside of the
convention. Judy, a local to the area, kindly agreed to drive us all over
creation on the Monday after the convention. She had told me that the inside of
the Bloedel Conservatory (where Gamekeeper was filmed) had tropical birds and
plants, so that was our first stop. It was a bit rainy on and off all day
Monday (the only day of our entire eight day trip where the weather wasn’t just
about perfect!).
You
can see from some of my bird and flower photos below that a trip through the
inside of the Conservatory was indeed a pleasure! Apparently, a lot of locals
like to have weddings in the outside gardens and we actually saw a bride and
groom down by a stream getting their photos taken. When we got home from
Vancouver, my Season 2 Stargate set had arrived and the first episode I watched
was “Gamekeeper.” It was great fun spotting all of the familiar spots in the
gardens and the Conservatory itself in the episode!
There
was a wishing well inside and I tossed a penny in and made a wish. Come on,
campers. I bet you can guess what I wished for, me being one of those
well-known Daniel fans and all. <g> Judy teased me that I didn’t think
Daniel was worth more than a penny…so I threw in more coins!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Our
next stop was Stanley Park and the Vancouver Aquarium. It was fun driving
around town now after having been around on the City Tour the previous week and
on various excursions. We were recognizing all of the shops and streets. The
aquarium is just beautiful and they have some wonderful habitats set up
demonstrating the underwater flora and fauna for different areas in the Pacific
Northwest. They also have a Beluga whale who has a baby. They were just
adorable. There is a whole section on frogs from around the world (very
interesting facts and a nice display and collection) and a tropical rainforest
habitat where the butterflies literally surround you and flit around.
Afterwards,
we headed up towards the Capilano Suspension Bridge. We had wanted to see
Grouse Mountain but because the weather was so rainy, Judy advised us that it
would be completely fogged in at the top of the mountain. We stopped along the
way at a lovely place called “Earls” for a nice leisurely lunch and then
carried on to the bridge. There’s a nice little park to tour through at the
bridge, so we wandered through that for awhile, checking out the wood carvings
and totem poles. There were wishing wells all over the place (or so it seemed),
so I stopped at every one and threw some more change in. We were leaving Canada
in a couple of days, anyway, so I needed to get rid of it! At one point, an
older gentleman from England was watching me and kept laughing every time I’d
say “Bring back Daniel!” We could only figure that his name was Daniel!
Afterwards, I kept running into him everywhere and we chatted a time or two. He
thought he’d “ruined” one of my totem pole pictures by walking into it (I didn’t
tell him that he hadn’t), so we kept teasing each other about it.
We
finally made our way across the long swaying suspension bridge. The view of the
Capilano river with the mountains in the background from the middle of the
bridge is quite awesome. Sadly, we found a tourist stuck in the middle of the
bridge, frightened to go either forward or back. Judy could see the woman was
terrified and she ended up helping the lady to the other side where her sisters
were waiting. Later, we met the lady in the gift shop and told her she needed
to have her sisters buy her one of the certificates they were selling that
certified you had crossed the bridge. We met up with them in the parking lot as
we were leaving. Her sisters thanked Judy for helping her across the bridge and
showed us that they had bought their sister the certificate!
Anyway,
on the other side of the bridge, there are all sorts of trails through the
woods, winding around little lakes and the like. We were amused to immediately
find “MacKay Trail”! Yeah! Bring back MacKay! <g> We didn’t go very far
down the trail, though. It was getting late and it had been a long day and a
long week. Hiking wasn’t on the agenda!
After
the suspension bridge, Judy was kind enough to take us to visit the shop I had
mentioned in one of my earlier reports: Warriors and Wonders. We bought quite a
lot of Egyptian stuff there and would have liked to buy more. Unfortunately,
some of the items I wanted were either very breakable or too difficult to get
home (an Egyptian themed sword). I’m going to have to have a look around online
to see if I can find a closer place to order them. Otherwise, the shop owner up
there in Vancouver will be happy to hear from me again, I’m sure! He gave me
his card, just in case we wanted to mail order. His website, again, is http://warriorsandwonders.com.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
At the Aquarium (of course!)
6830_36
On Tuesday,
we made the last excursion of our Vancouver trip by taking a Gray Line tour up
to Whistler Mountain. The weather was beautiful again, although a little bit
cooler than it had been the week before. The resort town of Whistler was just
charming (I wish I could see it in the winter, all covered in snow) and we
wandered among the shops, making our way to the gondolas that go up the
mountain. We found a great bookstore full of books on the flora and fauna and
history of the Pacific Northwest. Of course, we spent some money there! We
decided to go up the mountain before having lunch…and it was a good thing that
we did. The trip up took quite a long time. It was a loooong way up to about
6,000 feet. There were tons of people with dirt bikes going up to ride their
bikes back down on trails. The mountain was still all green and it was only a
little nippy, even at the top. The temperature right up at the top, where you
could see glaciers and snow on adjacent mountains — we were way up in the
clouds — was only 58 degrees Fahrenheit. We ran into some German fans who
recognized us from the convention while we were at the top!
We
checked out the view for a bit, but we were really hungry. It was after two
o’clock by this time and we had to meet our bus by three thirty. So, we took
the long trip back down. We could see birds peeking out at us from trees as we
went past on the gondola and Leah even saw an owl. On our way back through the
town, we saw a candy place, and I just had to pop in. Since my birthday was
coming up, I grabbed a box of dark chocolates and made eyes at Leah. <g>
While she was paying for them, the clerk was eyeing the tote bag I had her
carrying. It had pictures of Daniel on it. The clerk finally pointed at it and
said “Who is that?” Leah explained who Daniel and Michael Shanks
were and told the clerk to watch out for Stargate. There was some kind of
chocolate and marshmallow kabob in a jar behind the counter and Leah was
drooling over it in the course of further conversation. As we were leaving, the
clerk winked at us and slipped the kabob into Leah’s bag. So, thank you,
Michael Shanks! We got some free candy. LOL. I guess all those coins in the
wishing wells paid off. Sort of.
After
lunch, it was finally time to head back for Vancouver. Along the way, we
stopped to visit Shannon Falls. You can see by the photos below that it was
just beautiful.
|
A Whistler local! |
The quest for the moose
continued! |
A looong way up |
At the top of Whistler
Mountain |
Carvings at the top of the
mountain |
|
Cove on the way |
|
Shannon Falls |
Shannon Falls |
|
Well,
another year, another Gatecon. Everyone was great. The guests gave of
themselves tirelessly. There was never a dull moment. We met so many wonderful
people: guests, staff, volunteers, attendees, Vancouver locals, bus drivers,
shop owners, waiters and waitresses. It was a blast. I don’t know if we’ll make
it back next year since we’re planning a three week trip to Australia next
spring, but if we don’t go, it will be purely due to lack of time! Here’s
hoping we see some of you at upcoming conventions around the world!
Sarah Douglas with Leah and Annie. What a great lady!
Featuring pictures of Brad Wright, Alexis Cruz, Virginia Hey (from Farscape), Jay Acovone, Jay Brazeau, Tony Amendola, Erick Avari, Gary Jones, Teryl Rothery, Don S. Davis, Dan Shea, Amanda Tapping, Colin Cunningham, JR Bourne and more!
Featuring pictures of Michael Shanks,
Amanda Tapping, Tom McBeath
and Lexa Doig (from Andromeda)
Click to subscribe to ashton_press
Announcements only group for our websites,
fanzines, fan fiction, Ebay auctions, etc.
Come visit a Stargate Forum by and for
the fans of “Classic” Stargate: Our
Stargate!
Stargate
Season 7: Seventh Heaven! Daniel’s Back!
Check out the Ashton Press home page for more artwork, zines, links to photos from Highlander conventions, pictures from Blakes 7 conventions, pictures of soap opera stars, fan fiction and much more!
Comments
about the pictures or the site? Please sign our guest book!
|
|
Ashton Press/Ann Wortham |
Ashton Press Home | Donan Woods | Hellhound | Bizarro | Photos | Fanzines | Ebay Sale
Artwork | Submission Guidelines | Book Reviews | Fun Links | Bizarro Cattery | Fan Fiction | ASJ Fiction
Copyright © 2002 Ann Wortham & Leah Rosenthal
All Rights Reserved
Join the Zone!
Visitors since September 25, 2002
Free counters provided by Andale.