Pacific Northwest Road Trip 2016 - Vancouver

Our Vancouver days began with a ferry ride from Vancouver Island to the mainland.  I had been looking forward to this ride, as the journey through the islands is pretty and I had hoped to spot some whales.  Unfortunately, it was a rainy day, so we spent most of the journey inside and didn't have the best views.  Still, it was a little adventure when we went outside for better (wet) views!  Eric and I took turns taking the kids outside.  I had Ashlynn, and he had Carter.

Look!  Eric took a few pictures!

 It was a little windy.  I like to call this one "Adventures with Cousin It".

 Lots of BCFerries!

 The BCFerry experience is more civilized than the Black Ball Ferry from Port Angeles. I understand they hold a monopoly on ferry service in British Columbia, but they actually do a good job!

While in Vancouver we stayed at the home of my good friend Katie's sister, Lauren.  What a gift to have a free place to stay and some space to spread out a bit!

Having stayed up late the night before in Victoria and anticipating a late night out for Canada Day fireworks, we all took an afternoon nap.  Some members of our family were less cooperative about this idea.  The one pictured was the least happy about it but finally knocked out on the floor, apparently halfway under the couch, for two hours.

We left for a very late dinner in Gastown, with the intention of eating and then walking to a nearby park to watch the 10:30pm Canada Day fireworks show.  First, we needed to see the iconic Gastown steam clock.

After dinner at Spaghetti Factory, we walked to Crab Park, arriving about 20 minutes before the fireworks.  That was an interesting experience that educated our children on why they shouldn't take drugs (and what people who do/did behave like).  Despite the profanities and smoke from various kinds of smokable substances, we enjoyed the fireworks and the nice view of the city skyline.

The next day we drove to Stanley Park to spend a big part of our day.  Wow!  Vancouver has sprung up a ton since I was last there at the end of 1997!  There are so many high rises, most of which appear to be glass covered apartments.

We stopped on our way for some lunch at a Tim Hortons, but came across another reminder of what we TOTALLY joke as our "Plan B",

 It was our first time at Tim Hortons, which seems to be Canada's version of a combination of Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, and Panera.

 We found a parking spot in Stanley Park, paid for three hours of parking, and headed out on a walk along the seawall.

 We came across a game of cricket and were lucky that a couple who understands the game came along and tried explaining it to us.

Not far from there, we came to the Totem Poles that are apparently the most visited spot in Stanley Park.

Carter was not feeling very cooperative with picture taking.

 We walked quite a while along the seawall.  There are pretty and interesting views along the way.

 Canada Geese

 Park and city

For dinner that evening we ate on Granville Island.  I had been there before but discovered this time that it pretty much shuts down in the evening, except for the cool restaurants and entertainment places, like the comedy club.  It was fun to walk around the artsy area, and we had a delicious dinner at Edible Canada.

 Eric got a flight... because it's good to try new things!

 I got the poutine.  Yummy, but I can't make a habit of it!

At bedtime prayers I discovered that the highlight of both kids' day was going on the seesaw with each other at a little park we found after dinner on Granville Island.  They were so excited to go on play equipment that "we don't really get to have in the US."

 We noticed this on the way home. Pretty cool!

 The next day of outings started at Burnaby Village Museum, which is set up like it is the 1920s.  It was interesting to learn how the trolley going out to Burnaby, which is outside Vancouver, helped it grow from a farming town to a city.

 For the afternoon we drove to the Capilano Suspension Bridge.  It is actually a pretty expensive activity, considering your main activity is walking across the bridge. Adults are over $40 Canadian!  We decided to go for it, since Eric had been to Vancouver before and hadn't gone, and the rest of our Vancouver activities were pretty much free, except for parking.

There was quite a lot of information about the bridge, the First Nation people (Native Americans) who lived in the area, the plants and animals that live in the area, and the engineering that went into building the bridges.

 We knew from the parking lots that it was crowded, and the bridge sure was!  I do not like heights, but the crowded bridge and the desire to take a cute picture distracted me from worrying about the height as we crossed.

 On the other side of the bridge there are paths to follow.  One path led to a place where we saw a red tail hawk and a barred owl.  The caretakers were very informative.

 My favorite part of the place was the Treetops Adventure, which involved seven suspension bridges that were high up in the trees.

Checking our wingspans

Back across the big bridge.

 Before we left, we did another attraction at the park, Cliffwalk.

 We had fun!

 We wrapped up our time in Vancouver with a trip to a gelato place with Lauren and her family, who had returned from their weekend on Vancouver Island.  This place has over 320 different varieties of gelato and ice cream.  Yes, I wrote that right.  Anyone might have a tough time making a choice (fortunately, they let you sample), so for people who struggle with decision, it is pretty tough to pick one!

 Here's the case of weird flavors, like roasted garlic, aged balsamic vinegar, and sour cream and chives.

We had a good visit to Vancouver but were happy to get back to the US for the 4th of July.

One more country to add to the list of countries visited by our kids!