July 5 - Exploring Vancouver

I woke early, eager to explore all Vancouver had to offer. My traveling companions prefer a more laid-back start to the morning, so I had to be patient. In their defense, it was 5 am Vancouver time...but it was past 8 am in Ontario and I was excited to go!!

We did get breakfast quite early at our hotel - very overpriced but it was convenient and hot! We set out to Stanley Park by 8 am. Dave agreed to drive the monster truck for me...big mistake. My MIL was not happy about it because I was responsible for it...and should be driving it. I thought we would be ok...but should have known that I live under an unlucky cloud!!!

We pulled out of the hotel parking garage, and were happily discussing our options for the day. Dave slowed for a red light...and bang! A motorcycle behind us lost control of his bike and plowed into the back of the pick up...with Dave driving! My stomach dropped and MIL was very mad. I should never have asked FIL to drive...my responsibility...you know the drill. The driver was ok...he sustained a broken light and some scrapes and our pick up was perfect and unharmed at all. But it set a tone for the morning...not a good thing to have the first day out.

We got to Stanley Park without incident and decided to take a horse drawn trolley ride thru the park. The ride was 1 hour and a very enjoyable way to see the entire park. Our horses, Newman and Aces fought amongst themselves the whole way, nipping and biting at each other. It reminded me of Don and I! Our guide Katie, was friendly and very knowledgable.

The trolley's easy pace made taking pictures a breeze and my new camera was great. We stopped at Stanley's Park's collection of totem poles for a quick photo op and the best espresso that I have tasted!

We passed by some of the devastation that Stanley Park suffered in the storm of 2006 - whole trees were uprooted during the high winds. It was sad to see the huge trees laying on the ground but there was new growth all around - evidence that life goes on in the rainforest.

The girl in the wet suit statue was really cool...and the Vancouver teens love to dress her up for special occasions...today she was au natural...but legend has it that she has quite the wardrobe! The seagull on her head was funny!

Don really wanted to see the Aquarium so we headed there next. We saw lots of tropical fish, some I had never seen before. Don and Dave marveled at the size of some fish...having only seen the shrimpy Ontario versions.

My pics of the gelly fish turned out pretty cool!!!

We really wanted to see the dolphin, excuse me, porpoise show but were disappointed when it started to mist. We thought that the show would be cancelled for sure, once the mist turned into drizzle about 10 minutes before the start time. Jan and I made our minds up that rain would not stop us from experiencing the whole travel experience. We secured a spot at the rail, hoods and umbrellas up to protect us. Little by little, the crown grew, until it was 3 deep around the viewing tank.

To my surprise, Vancouverites are completely unaffected by rain...most don't even try to stay dry! And their version of rain differs greatly from my version of rain. Water falling from the sky...to me that's rain. In Vancouver, they distinguish it...mist, drizzle, sprinkling and rain (by then I have hunkered in somewhere warm and dry)! Their version of rain is a monsoon to me!

Due to the rain & porpoisessalt water tank, I did not get pics of the show. Too bad, cuz these little guys can fly thru the air - fast and furious into the sky! The West Coast dolphins are much darker than our grey versions at home...and kinda resemble orcas. This is a protection for them as killer whales feed on them!

The Vancouver Aquarium is also much different than our Marineland back home. All the animals at the Vancouver Aquarium have been rescued or are rehabilitating - many have been injured by nets or other larger fish and can't survive in the wild. There were many animals with missing fins/flippers as proof of their hardships.

After a quick visit to the Aquarium gift shop, we headed out to the Scrapbook Warehouse, Vancouver's #1 store for scrappy supplies. (Like I would not hit one LSS). I found some great Vancouver embellies and a couple acrylic travel stamp sets. I was in happytown!!!

We headed back to our hotel for supper. This time, the restaurant exceeded my expectations. I had the liver, bacon and onions and it was melt in your mouth good! Don had bacon wrapped meatloaf and mmmm'd at every bite. What a way to end the day...bumbleberry pie for Don and I indulged in chocolate mouse cake with p. butter cup ice cream. Delicious!

We hit our beds early again because we expected a busy day on Sunday, boarding the ship. Don and I quickly re-organized the suitcases and carry-ons and fell asleep.

If we had only known what Sunday would bring...we might have stayed in bed!!!

Anticipation...

Anticipation – We booked our cruise to Alaska over 6 months ago in January and waited half a year for the day that we would set out on our journey. We spent countless hours searching on the Internet for the right cruise, booking excursions, researching port cities and looking for hotels and attractions in Vancouver. We made lists, crossed things off those lists and made more lists again. The excitement simmered until May when it soared off into a feverish pitch until yesterday. July 4, 2008 – the day were on VACATION!

Our trip started off well…on time to the airport, cleared customs (well Dave practically had to strip!!) and boarded the plane.

The flight was long – poor Don’s back gave out after 2 hours…and he had to go 8 hours without a cigarette! I never saw a man collect luggage so fast…could it be that he could see outside just beyond the baggage claim doors and was jones-ing for a fix?? We had so much luggage that we needed to upgrade our car from a teensy Taurus to a Sport Trax (pick up with king cab), which I hate. Well it’s pretty enough (fire engine red with a box thing on the back)…but I am intimidated by the size. I plan to get Dave to drive it from now on!!!

Vancouver is nothing like I imagined looking at maps for 6 months! There is a lot of construction getting ready for the Olympics and it is a busy city! On our first glimpse along Granville Street, it was beautiful. The street is lined with huge evergreen hedges…nothing like the hedges in Ontario. These hedges put privacy fencing to shame…some of them are 2 storey high. You can imagine how old this neighbourhood is to have trees stretching into the sky. As we crossed the bridge into the downtown area, you could see the bay and mountains partially covered in fog. It was gorgeous, how mountains meet the sea. I can’t wait to see it when the fog lifts. Hopefully on Saturday.

Vancouver’s downtown is made up of MANY one-way streets…it is worse that Oshawa…and that’s saying something. We pulled into our hotel on the second time around the block – I missed it on the first try and had to double back!!! Oh, yeah…for those who know and love me…the fur was flying! Since our room was not ready and it was suppertime for us (3pm Vancouver time = 7 pm St. Kitts time), we drove around the downtown core looking for some grub for the “menfolk”. Most downtown restaurants that we found in our online searches were not open for dinner until after 4 – but low and behold…a Denny’s. Good enough…good food, reasonable price, and great service.

Downtown Vancouver is a melting pot of business meets buskers, unemployed mingle happily with the busy working class. Everywhere you looked, there was activity and some more strange than others!!! It’s eclectic meets Wall Street but after dark, it’s not the best neighbourhood to be in. Not a problem for us…since we were all asleep before it was dark here! After 18 hours, the traveling, the excitement turned into exhaustion and we are looking forward to Saturday.

We hope to take in the sights in Stanley Park, cross the Capilano Suspension bridge and find a scrapbook store. Come on…did you think I wouldn’t try to get my fix? All in all…a great start to the trip. Can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings.

MIA for 6 months...

Ok...for anyone still checking in to see if I post...I sincerely apologize. I am a bad bad blogger.

However, since I am venturing out west and up north to Alaska tomorrow...I am going to try to journal as I go. My hotel and cruise ship have internet cafes and I will do my very best to pop in here and keep the blogging going.

The past six months have been tough for Don and I...busy with work, kids and usual stuff...combined with some very "unique" family stressors. So we are in grave need of a vacation together to re-connect.

More about the trip in later posts. For now I will say that we are putting Jan-June behind us and hoping that the last half of this year is better for us. With a positive attitude...and fingers crossed, I enter July!!!