Trip Day 4

Oh my gosh, already day 4. Today was a tour of the north and a chilly one at that! We started out with a drive up to North Vancouver to the Lynn Canyon Ecology Park. We went first to the visit centre where we learned about the animals, bugs and plants of the area and also what humans can do to continue to preserve the area. We also got to play with puppets. Then we headed down to the suspension bridge. Kirbi did not like it so took a seat up at the top but I walked all the way down to the river on both sides, saw some gorgeous views and of course crossed the suspension bridge several times, as well as took pictures from the bridge itself. It was pretty sturdy for a suspension bridge (hardly any swing even when walking) and the incredible views were totally worth it. The forest was quiet and it was very misty because of the low clouds and the atmosphere was haunting. I got some awesome pictures.






Next we drove a short way over to the Cleveland Dam at the top of the Capilano River. The dam holds back the river which creates a reservoir which provides drinking water to the people of Vancouver. The dam caused water to just crash down like a thick waterfall and the mist came up over the dam. The other side provided views of a clear, still lake with gorgeous mountains and clouds in the background. Cleveland Dam is also close to my heart because it is the location of the closing scene in Simon Says where Andy (Andy!) and the Winchesters are trying to counter the mind games of Anton, Andy's twin. I love Andy. One of my favorite SPN characters. It was great to see this location live after watching Simon Says so many times.

From the Dam, we drove to the Capilano Salmon Hatchery. Here they basically breed and raise salmon before releasing them back into the wild so that they will spawn. Apparently only about 66 salmon will survive to spawn in the wild but over 300 will when raised in a hatchery. It was interesting to walk through the areas and see all the tiny salmon swimming in their "cages". It was right on the Capilano River which gave us some incredible views of the river and some small waterfalls. Again, the beauty was breath-taking.

After leaving the Fish Hatchery, we tried to see the Capilano Suspension Bridge but it was too confusing and there was a long line of cars behind us so instead we drove across the Lion's Gate Bridge back through Stanley Park and found a place to park. We rented ourselves some bikes and used them to bike around SP. We got to see the Totem Poles on the east side, rode through the Sea Wall, saw the lighthouse, several interesting statues and a cool little tall island with one lone tree on it. It wasn't the easiest place to talk and ride since some of the areas were really narrow (and there was this guy whizzing past us a few times) but it wasn't too chilly and the ride was actually quite nice. It would have been nicer with the sun shining but at least it wasn't raining and we had some beautiful views of the city.







After the bike ride, we went to Starbucks for some coffee and cookies to warm up since we were frozen to the bone! We decided to end the day with a walk around Kitsilano, a little neighbourhood bustling with shops and restaurants just east of Granville Island. We parked and walked up and down the streets, stopping into several Thrift stores, a few chotchke stores and a second hand bookshop called Canterbury Tales. Such a creative name. We had only fed the meter for about an hour so we headed back to the car at the end of our time (plus it was raining) and headed over to Metrotown for dinner. This was a HUGE mall like SouthCoast (not as posh), more like Boise Towne Square. We got ourselves some dinner- since there was free parking- and then wandered aroudn the mall. Our favorite place was the Everything for a Dollar store-- except that was a lie. There were things for $1.25. Lies. Tomorrow we head out of Vancouver with plans to stop at Fort Langley and a winery and then back down to the US of A!

Trip Day 3

Also known as the day we walked 9 miles.

It started out with a walk from the house/hostel/whatever to the Skylink Train. Super easy to ride and took us straight ot Granville. Unfortunately, not the island like I had thought. So, after some directions from a security guard in the station, which was ignored since it wasn't what we wanted, we walked down Granville. We stopped once to get batteries because a guy was walking really close to us and we wanted to lose him but otherwise it was an uneventful trip down. We crossed over the massive Granville Bridge and probably added half a mile to our walk getting down off the bridge and back over to Granville Island and the incredible Farmer's Market with the fruits, veg, bakeries, chocolate shops, flower shops, coffee stalls, nuts and maple syrup stalls and several little restaurants. My first market of the trip and it was totally worth it. Plus, it's all inside so perfect for a chilly March afternoon.

After waiting about fifteen minutes, we boarded this tiny little ferry which took us through False Creek and over to the Science Centre. While riding, we saw some of the new buildings of downtown Vancouver, Olympic Village, the one remaining manufacturing plant on the south side of False Creek and some floating apartments. We were dropped off at Science World and headed up Quebec Street to Chinatown. Our first stop was Dr. Sun Yat Sen's Garden which was a beautiful, peaceful re-creation of a Chinese Garden. Chinatown was easily recognized as Chinatown and my favorite thing about it were these beautiful murals painted on some of the walls.

We continued up through Gastown, one of the older sections of Vancouver, stopping into several stores, Blood Alley (where Dean and Sam get shot at by Gordon and Kubrick in "Fresh Blood") and observing the pretty cool Steam Clock. We continued along the water front to Canada Place which overlooked the harbour. While there, we saw the location of the Olympic Torch from a little more than a year ago. There again were some gorgeous views of Stanley Park, Northern Vancouver and the clouds covering the mountains. We walked along Coal Harbour (another Supernatural location- this one being my favorite part in Red Sky At Morning when Dean can't find the Impala) and all the way around to Stanley Park. There were also some bizarre statues in Coal Harbour. But what would a city be without their bizarre statues. We began our way around the park but ended up deciding to head back to downtown Van to find some dinner and tomorrow, after we do North Vancouver, pick up some bikes to rent and ride around instead, so we can be there to listen to the canon at 6 pm. After a lot more walking, we finally came to an Irish pub where I had fish 'n chips. It wasn't a very good Irish pub though- we later went into O'Doolins, a location for Criss Angel is a D-bag, and that was much better. Lights were lower, music was more authentic and the vibe was a lot better. Oh well.

We finished off the evening with a walk back up Seymour Street (we didn't want to walk Granville a third time) until we reached the Waterfront. Slight mishap on the Skytrain home- I got on the train to read the map and Kirbi did not. Then the doors closed. With me inside and Kirbi on the outside. The train headed down the tracks. With me inside and Kirbi outside. Oh dear. Kirbi turned to the people next to her and said "I just lost my travel buddy". I meanwhile got off at the next stop, as you should always do when you lose your buddy on the train and crossed my fingers that Kirbi would get in the next train. She did and we easily met up again at the next stop. All was well. Exhausted after 9 miles of walked, we headed home to the hostel and crashed. Again, no rain and hopes for tomorrow to be the same!