Summer's last gasp delivers blue skies to Vancouver
Smoky skies have cleared and the sun is out, but many are already emotionally preparing for summer's end
After an August marked by hazy, smoke-filled skies and air that often came with a flavour, Vancouverites were breathing a sigh of relief on Monday. The clouds parted, an air quality advisory was lifted, and the big blue sky finally made an appearance.
The dose of proper summer weather came as people were out and about, trying to wring the last drop out of summer before the season shifts to autumn, and people return to school or work routines.
Denise and Tony Veltri were playing tourist in their own town on Monday at False Creek along with Liv, 7, and Sapphira, 8.
"It's like you can feel fall a little bit in the air. It's changing, so you know you're heading into a new season now, so you've just got to enjoy the last few days of our beautiful summer," said Denise Veltri. "Once kids go back to school, it just feels like fall."
"We're just taking the girls down to Granville Island to have some lunch, wander around, and hopefully take the ferry," she said.
Liv, who is about to start Grade 2, was happy to see the clear sky.
"I couldn't breath with all that smoke," she said, adding that she'll spend the rest of her time off before school starts just chilling out, enjoying time with her grandparents.
But the stress of the new school year wasn't far away. Liv said, despite practicing math over the summer, the prospect of harder Grade 2 math and increased homework was making her a little nervous.
"It's sometimes hard for me," she explained.
Over at Queen Elizabeth Park, Aleesia Chow was idly walking her three dogs, Kirby, Mochi and Meow Meow.
"I'm just out walking today. We're trying to enjoy the blue sky since the smoke was covering it for the most part," said Chow. "I've got a day off, which is fairly rare for me and I've got all day to do nothing."
Not far away, Makanaka, 5, was helping her father do some sculpting, before he could take her to another park to ride bikes.
"We're not going bike riding until you fix my bike," she said to her dad, Patrick Sephali. "The seat is broken and it's going up and down."
"It just needs a little tightening up," said Sephali.
Harlow, 4, was roaming Queen Elizabeth Park with a camera, her little sister Arwin, and mother, Alana Frost.
Frost explained that the three of them were doing "mommy camp" throughout the week.
"Mommy camp is what you do when you don't have your act together, and you didn't sign your daughter up for camp," she said. "So you make up mommy camp. Today is photo day, so we're walking around and taking photos of whatever's interesting to Harlow."
Frost and her daughters were taking advantage of the clear weather, after spending lots of time indoors last week. However, school was front-of-mind.
"Harlow's starting kindergarten, so it's going to be a new routine. So we're going to have to figure out our daily schedule," said Frost. "We're excited, yeah. I think we're feeling good."
Christine and David Lesmeister were heading to the Bloedel Conservatory with their grandchildren Angus, 9, and Clara, 7.
For Christine Lesmeister, the fresh air was a welcome change from the smoke she'd been breathing in the province's Interior.
"It was unbelievably bad. It's like living in a smoker," she said. "It's been depressing. Everyone's been saying that ... It's been really, really tough."
Clara, who was eager to see the birds in the conservatory, was also thinking about starting up Grade 2 next week.
"I feel excited," she said. "I'm excited about who my teacher is."
Follow Rafferty Baker on Twitter: @raffertybaker