Moody Park & Port Moody

‘The truth I do not stretch or shove,                                                                                     When I state that the dog is full of love’                                                                                                                                                                                 

Train to Vancouver take II

So once again I head off from Mountlake Terrace on the bus to Everett, to get my train to Vancouver (this time Vancouver BC). I arrive early, check my luggage and head to the cafe. The girl there recognises the strange English woman from the day before and suggests I get a loyalty card. I have to explain that, no, this will be the last time (this year, let’s hope) that I will be here and then explain the whole farcical – two Vancouver’s – story. To my astonishment (and delight) the cafe girl didn’t know there was another Vancouver in WA either? (and she works at the station!) Maybe I wasn’t such an idiot. The train arrives and all is well. It turns out that the journey hugs the coastline and goes through very dull unspectacular scenery. After all that effort, what a shame:

 

The beautiful majesty of the west coast up to Canada

Moody Park

You may be quite relieved to hear that on my arrival in Vancouver, my Air BnB host Hayden, had no elaborate welcome involving clinically insane friends or car accidents. (Let’s think of this week as a palette cleanser, a breather, or a short seaside break in respite care). But to make up for the lack of life-threatening-excitement I was thrilled to find my stupidly named place on my very first day in Canada.

The not-so Moody Park 

My first visit to Moody Park was really just a passing-by-to-get-to-supermarket-glance, not so much a visit but a nod towards one. However it was only two blocks from Hayden’s flat so I ventured out again the following day, but this time I had company. Tia. Now Tia is Hayden’s dog and we got on so well at first meeting I was allowed to take her for walks. He got her as a puppy from the dogs home, not quite sure of her unique pedigree she is American Staffordshire terrier mixed with what must be greyhound or similar because her legs are so long now you could practically put a saddle on her and ride her round the flat. She is a supermodel of the dog world. All long legs and sideways glances. I wanted to film her putting on her harness as from experience of a certain border terrier I know called Dexter (who when presented with his harness goes into a frenzy of scurrying about like a demented Ewok) I couldn’t believe my eyes. Tia simply raises one leg at a time and steps in, like she’s popping on her stilettos. (But the challenge of holding the camera and harness and collar proved a bit tricky). However with my new dog friend we went to seek out the ‘moodiness’ of Moody Park.

 

The spring-green Moody Park

There was no moodiness that we could see. Possibly the mood here was a sort of smiley-happy-spring-day mood and made more so because apparently Kenny Rogers was here! We paparazzo-ed him. (Is clearly Kenny) (I think I could hear Islands in the stream playing on his iPhone too)

Kenny Rogers sharing denim-on-denim style tips with friend Willie Nelson

It seems Moody Park was named after a Colonel Moody who established New Westminster in 1863. (New Westminster is the area I was staying in and now a suburb of Vancouver city) The towns council declared a space ‘no less than 20 acres should be reserved in the suburbs as a legacy of public space for citizens and to commemorate the founder of the township’. Moody it seems was an important land owner and town planner who we may hear of again later.

So after a thorough investigation of Moody Park, Tia and I headed to the dog play area. Unlike our parks at home, here you are only allowed to let dogs off the lead in an enclosed area, tricky for the anti social pets but at least they are not going to run into the road. It would be fine. Wouldn’t it?

 

Tia the supermodel

 

Tia: ‘THROW THE BALL!!!!!’  . . . . . . And : ‘Don’t even think about touching the ball’

After playing nicely (sometimes) the playground started filling up with friends and new friends until it resembled a mixture of circus dog act gone wrong with backstage at ‘Crufts’.

 

Tia and pals Bob, Mollie, Colonel the terrier and everyone else!

It reminded me of the Hairy Maclary books by Lynley Dodd. (If you’ve never read them just find Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s dairy, it’s great) With his dog pals like: Schnitzel Von Krumm with a very low tum, Blitzer Maloney all skinny and boney, Hercules Morse as big as a Horse and Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s dairy.

One of the most hilarious for her pals is Bob who is possibly trying to challenge ‘Digby the biggest dog in the world’ for his title. Bob is a cross between a black Labrador and a Great Dane. He’s like a very cheerful pony. From a distance, when she’s walking him up to the park, his owner looks like she’s running the donkey rides at Blackpool beach.

Tia and I walked quite a few times down to not-at-all Moody Park. It was refreshing to do something normal, something day-to-day amongst all my crazy travel, I got to chat to other dog walkers and hang out like a regular Canadian. Albeit one that would say things like ‘oh lawdy, gosh I’m terribly sorry, she’s not my dog!’ ‘Is it your ball? Oh do excuse us!’ ‘could you glue it back together?’ ‘Oh it’s alright look, I can see the other part of your sandwich!’ whilst Tia would delicately step into a harness and we’d both flounce off.

 

Port Moody

Yes. Vancouver is quite a Moody place as it happens, so on another bright morning I found myself crossing town and heading for Port Moody. Maybe this time I would find frowns and huffs?

 

Moody Centre train station and Moody street

What I did find was the belly button of the Moodys, ‘Moody Centre’ train station. I didn’t even try to hide my chuckling this time, no, I stood quite happily laughing and most probably snorting and audibly saying things like ‘oh come on, oh how brilliant Moody central hahahaha’ etc… whilst taking pictures of signs on a train platform. (Yes it is a surprise I haven’t been arrested. Yet…)

But as I walked down Moody Street (we’ve all been there) and crossed the bridge into Rocky point park and Port Moody itself I was greeted with yet again, the polar opposite of what one imagines a Moody port to be. A wide expanse of lush green grass set against a rocky bay, rippling water crossing to pine clad forest with a backdrop of white peaked mountains and bright blue sky. Awful. And in the middle of this scene a large outdoor bandstand with orchestra playing to an audience of picnicking, dog walking, fresh faced Canadians enjoying the weekend while the Canadian flag waved jauntily in the breeze. It was almost sickeningly lovely.

 

 

Port bright & breezy Moody

And it just got worse, I was forced to buy some award winning fish ‘n’chips and sit on the bay with a ginger beer. The performances on the outdoor stage continued throughout the day. There were a collection of local school and youth orchestras playing, and as background noise very pleasant. However this group I loved for their perfect imperfections and joyous rompinous through various tunes. Here is the rousing 76 Trombones from ‘The Music Man’:

 

 

Port Moody was named after a certain  ‘Colonel Richard Clement Moody’ of the royal engineers who with his regiment helped defend the area from the threat of American troops in the mid 1800s. (Yes. It’s the same Moody)  In 1879 there was a new surge of interest in the port as it was declared the terminus of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The first transcontinental train arrived on July 4th 1886. Real estate prices soared, the area boomed until a branch line was built to Vancouver in 1887 and businesses moved with it to the real end-of-the-line and the port of Vancouver. So this is when perhaps Richard and pals got proper Moody. Many people lost a lot of money and the town was passed over for richer pickings. Yet that is probably what makes it so delightful today. It’s a quiet functioning little port, not too industrialised or built up but with enough civic pride to have a large outdoor performance stage in its most beautiful of parks. I liked Port Moody very much.

I could also see why it was a hit with our canine friends as the very popular ice cream shop has its own doggy sized entrance and dog friendly ice cream. This lucky black Labrador called ‘Hunter’ was being looked after by friends and in an obvious desperate attempt to gain his affection they were spoiling him with his own doggy cone. It totally worked.

 

The dog sized door that children could also use was very tempting but just as I felt myself giggling towards it I could suddenly see the headlines ‘English tourist gets stuck in doggy door’ ‘serious adventure for fat bottomed girl’ ‘Teacher can’t read height sign’ ‘Firemen scoop women out of ice cream blunder’ etc, etc, etc…

And anyway, I reminded myself, I needed all limbs in tact. I still had, after all, a shady island to find. . .