Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Vancouver - May 2018





 26MAY/Saturday

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






27May/Sunday

We were up early since it is a 2-hour time difference for us.  Joe prepared our pancake breakfast to fuel our day.

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



















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