We arrived in Vancouver!
The walkway to customs was beautiful and showed off their love of the
natural beauty that is surrounds the city of Vancouver. We had to wait for Joe & Joanne to arrive
and that gave me a chance to wander their airport. They have a wide variety of restaurants to
choose from and they were all located outside of security so we could grab a
bit to eat while we were waiting.
Vancouver does have a train system and you can take the train for $7.85
into the city and approximately $3.00 to return. A great destination if you don’t want to
rent a car. On this trip we did have a
car and we soon found out the importance of their public transportation
system. Vancouver has horrendous
traffic and narrow streets.
Joe had to jump into the chaos of driving in traffic and no
chance to slowly adjust to it.
Our Airbnb was located in Barnaby (approximately 25 minutes
from the airport and the downtown area where we will depart on Wednesday for
our Alaska cruise. The Airbnb we rented
is located in an older neighborhood (not unlike South Minneapolis), but the
lots are very small and homes are very close together. Our temporary home was located on the 2nd
floor (we did have steps) but was absolutely beautiful and very spacious with
an open floor plan to accommodate us with 4 bedrooms and 2 baths.
We headed off to dinner at White Spot restaurant and then a
late night pick up to get Jackie.
Perfect for our needs!
Fun facts: Vancouver
is the 3rd most livable city and ranked the 10th cleanest
city in the world.
Steps: 12,350
Our first stop was to Queen Elizabeth Park - 130-acre
complimentary municipal park with outdoor garden, tennis, pitch & putt, and
walking trails. The flowers were
absolutely beautiful! It is between
seasons of Spring and Summer flowers.
I can’t imagine what the Summer colors would be like.
We headed back to our home for a quick lunch.
The afternoon plans were to visit Stanley Park (1,000-acre
park) located within the city of Vancouver.
To get there was a challenge maneuvering through a busy
downtown area on a beautiful day when everyone is out walking, biking and
enjoying the day. Stanley Park is a
fabulous green space with biking trails around the park. The totem poles located at Brockton Point
are the most visited tourist attraction in all of BC. The totem poles date back to 1920.
The park was opened in 1886 and is listed as one of the top
10 parks in the world Stanley park is
named after the Governor General Lord Stanley back in 1886. This is the same Lord Stanley that the
Stanley Cup is named for.
We headed back to our home for a rotisserie chicken dinner
and then back to the airport to pick-up Jaclyn at 730PM. We are now a party of 6!
Fun Facts: Vancouver
has the highest real estate pricing in all of Canada. An average single detached home is 1.2
million. The real estate cost rivals
that of London and New York City.
Steps: 10,500
May 28/Monday
We had a leisure morning with plans to head to North
Vancouver to visit the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park.
The original suspension bridge was built in 1889 at 450 feet
across and 230 feet above the Capilano river.
The original bridge was built with hemp and cedar planks that were
replaced in 1903 with wire cables. We
enjoyed our walk across the bridge (even those of us that have issues with
heights – we survived!).
Capilano Park has a part of their park called Treetops
Adventure which incorporates 7 suspension bridges within an old growth of
Douglas-firs. The Grandma Capilano (Douglas
fir) is known to be 1300 years old.
Amidst the walkway one of the Capilano staff members pointed out a
Banana Slug (approximately 6 inches long and has 27,000 teeth).
Our final challenge and newest walkway was the Cliff walk
located along the sheer granite face of the canyon. The walkway was narrow and the views were incredible.
A stop for a quick lunch and then on to Whistler (located 1
½ hours from North Vancouver). Whistler was
home to the 2010 Winter Olympics (they tried for the 1968 and 1976 Olympics and
finally succeeded in 2010). We wandered
through the Whistler Village that boasted hotels, condos, numerous restaurants
and shops. Whistler Village displayed
the Olympic rings and the award ceremony area.
The ski resort encompasses 4,757 acres with 38 lifts and the Peak 2 Peak
gondola connecting the Whistler Mountain and the Blackcomb Mountain. In the summer, Whistler is well known for its
Whistler Bike Park.
On our way back to Vancouver, we stopped to view Shannon
Falls. Shannon Falls is the 3rd
tallest falls located off of the Sea to Sky Highway. The waterfall drop is 1,105 feet.
We stopped in Squamish to have dinner at the White Spot
Restaurant. We enjoyed our previous
dinner so decided to take our additional travel members (Jackie & Jaclyn)
to try it out as well.
No airport pick-ups tonight for us, just a leisure night of
relaxation and games.
Fun Facts: Vancouver
is the third largest film production center in North America. They are next after Los Angeles and New York
City.
Steps: 10,000
May 29/Tuesday
What to do was the question of the day? We quickly found some fun ideas and off we
went.
The Capilano Salmon Hatchery is complimentary to visit and
is located just down the road from the Capilano Park. So back we went to North Vancouver! The Salmon Hatchery is unmanned, but truly
does a great job of sharing information on the life of a salmon. The Salmon Hatchery is located on the
Capilano River and besides the hatchery it has numerous trails through the rain
forest along with views of the Cleveland Dam.
The Lynn Canyon Park (a rainforest) is located approximately
11 miles from the Hatchery and boasts a complimentary suspension bridge and
views of the Twin Falls. Off we went
hiking along the trails taking us along the river edge. Lynn Canyon Park is one of the largest and
most popular parks within the metro Vancouver area.
Our last stop of the day was to Granville Island! In the 1900’s Granville Island was home to
factories, plants and sawmills that have now been converted into a shopping and
dining district. A fun stop to shop
along the waterfront.
Harry arrived in the afternoon and transferred to his hotel
for an afternoon and evening at leisure.
Our additional travelers (Janice, Myrna, Linda & Gary)
had a late-night arrival (1030PM); however, weather in Minneapolis delayed them
until 1250AM – a late night for all. On
top of that, their luggage was left on the tarmac and their clothes were
soaking wet. A travel wrinkle to
remember!
Fun Facts: 35% of
Vancouver residents are foreign born.
Steps: 13,646
Steps: 13,646
