So today, I relaxed by taking an hour and a half walk, enjoying an erratic journey past the new 10-screen cinemas in the New Westminster Station to check on currently playing movies. An enormous crane was being erected at the huge hole that'll one day be the downtown civic center. I continued on to Columbia Square, then over the tracks at Hyack Square and up to peek at the entrance to future Pier Park. A large sticker on the informational sign indicated that the official opening will be June 16, 2012 at 11:00 am. It's unfortunate that I'll be working all day on that Saturday. I have, after all, been following the construction progress in photos over a few years.
An old tug was tied up along the edge of the Fraser River.
It's fun to walk around a commonly-visited area as if one were a tourist. I try to do this to try to see familiar old places with new eyes. I have to admit the environment of downtown was busy and a little abuzz. The sidewalks were full, the sales office for the new Trapp-Holbrook condo towers seemed to have young, potential buyers milling about. The shops along Columbia seemed a little less sad than in the previous decade.
If we were on vacation here from far away, I think I'd consider downtown New Westminster a little cool and trendy. I'm glad to live here.