A Summer Walk in Vancouver – Second Beach to the foot of Hornby St.

In the summer of 2010, I lived in an apartment hotel in Vancouver’s West End.  (Specifically 910 Beach Ave Apartment Hotel.)  I was enjoying Stanley Park’s Second Beach which has a good playground and a marvelous pool as well as the ocean.  My ride back had left and I was happy, during a warm stunning sunset, to walk along the Stanley Park Seawall, which leads to a waterfront walk along English Bay.
 
Vancouver’s West End is known for its eccentrics.  So, people-watching is great.  Somehow with a stunning sunset and warm conditions even the more erratic people have a (relatively) care-free attitude.  You can see every kind of attire, body type, stereotype, gender, tattoo, piercing and more.  I discovered a unique busker:  she was a contortionist who — at the time I walked by — was folded up like a pretzel and had asked a cute muscular guy to pick her up pretty much the way he’d handle a large suitcase.
 
Cyclists, inline skaters, skateboarders and other wheeled humans have a separate lane from walkers.  However, when leaving the walking path, look out for them!
 
The route I took roughly parallels Beach Ave and is about 2.5 km long.  For a nice distracting walk, you can’t beat this Vancouver walk.