Maggie Heading West: Day 26 Vancouver

So cool to head to a Vancouver destination and have Cliff and Liz “show up”!

Yesterday, Nancy talked to her zipline guide about other cool things to do. While we are staying at the Capilano RV Park, under the famous suspension bridge, he suggested that Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge was a better find. It’s a bit of a local spot so the “tourist factor” isn’t as strong. Not being big fans of the “tourist factor” we were sold. Since 1912 this 48 metre long suspension bridge has swayed 50 metres above the creek. The bridge was just enough to be a bit of a thrill! The scenery, like most all of BC was gorgeous and the hiking was, again like most of BC lovely! The trees are so tall that they command attention but the undergrowth quickly presents some interesting feature to draw your attention back to earth.

Quite the bridge with quite the sway!

... and quite the view.

Everyone but David who was back at the trailer working!

Incredibly tall trees everywhere!

A lovely morning hike through the Canyon led to a more urban afternoon pursuit as we went downtown to explore Granville Island Market. It was a happenin’ place with harbor views, fascinating crowds, random entertainment and the most incredible selection of delicious foods that I have ever seen assembled in one place! After lunch Cliff and Liz suggested we take the Aquabus. They are little colourful vessels that taxi folks from one spot to another along the harbor. For $8.00 though they will give you a round trip tour of Vancouver harbor. Now the fact that our “captain” looked 15 didn’t really concern me, after all we are always in sight of land, it’s a little pontoon boat and the sign says he’s Transport Canada certified. I did have very little faith in anything other than a pleasant little ride though – shame on me! This kid knew tons about the architecture and history of his city! We had a 45 minute private tour of Vancouver harbor for $8.00 each!! Here is some of what we saw …

Aquabus water taxi that gave us a harbour tour.

Water houses. Apparently the basements don't have windows - go figure!!!

One of several harbour sculptures - "The Paintbrush"This free floating piece of art changes direction with the tide. It has solar panels along the shaft of the brush and at night when the tide is high the lights create a calligraphy pattern on the surface of the water. Very cool thinking!

Another art work called the UFO - for obvious reasons. What's cool here though is that the artist created it and then dropped it to the bottom of the harbour for 2 years to allow the ocean to detail it appropriately before establishing the display.

We also learned about the 51’ yacht, owned by an Edmonton businessman, called After Eight – because the man had eight children!! It apparently costs $10,000 to fill it with fuel … and we thought we were paying a lot for gas! We saw a downtown three floor condo worth more than I will make in a lifetime! And we saw the various waterfront Olympic venues. This little boat tour is a super idea for anyone visiting Vancouver!

After shopping through the Granville Market and picking up delicious treats for a beach picnic supper, we were off to Kitsilano to meet up with Joanna and her friends. Tonight we had the beach to ourselves, since according to locals the weather’s not great. This Newfie girl loves these cool evenings (and no crowds) so it suits me fine! Joanna’s friends are delightful and the potluck picnic was a gastronomic delight! The evening faded to laughter and the makings of yet more wonderful memories!