Cruisin’ Canada: Vancouver, B.C.

Another Ferry ride off the island today meant sun, fresh air, peace and quiet, and an hour of alone time with Bill. Leaving from a new port (Swartz Bay), we had promised the boys they could use their DS on the boat in an attempt to help William with his sea sickness. We sat them just inside the window and Bill and I sat on benches on the other side of the glass. They were in heaven and so were we. The water was much calmer today, and no one had any queasy feelings. The sun was out the wind was light the sky was blue, the scenery of tiny pine covered islands as we drifted by was spectacular and the company (as well as lack of it for a few minutes) was perfect. We are all enjoying being together experiencing all these new things as a family. So far any annoyances have been minor and short lived. However, 10 days of 24 hour togetherness later, Bill and I enjoyed a moment of silence together out on the water.


We arrived at Tsawassen Quay just outside of Vancouver and drove through downtown getting a first look at the city. Vancouver lies at the base of some spectacular snow topped mountains like Salt Lake City. However, Vancouver has the edge (in my opinion) beauty wise because of the water that surrounds it. (And the funny signs they post at lunch counters.)


We grabbed our bikes, after checking in at the RV park (and it is an RV park with all the visual connotations that come along with that-- tightly packed RVs on a gravel lot). We picked our “parking” spot in Vancouver because it was backed up onto the bike paths that meander through the city. Those paths will lead us all over Vancouver, from downtown to Stanley park and all along the water. We biked over famous Lion’s Gate Bridge and found our way to Stanley Park to check out the Aquarium. A very nervous Bill locked up our bikes on the rack so we could enjoy a couple of hours watching the boys watching fish watch them.

The Aquarium is really lovely and well done. We all enjoyed checking out the section of aquatic life native to this part of the world, as well as their amazon section, the sea otters, the beluga whales and our favorite, the dolphins. The boys thought the dolphins leaping up out of the water for the dolphin show was awesome.


Romney enjoyed talking through the glass to a giant sea turtle and watching him sift his food out of the gravel on the bottom of the tank. The octopus was a big hit with both boys as were the sharks. The sloth hiding in a tree was a nice surprise, one that was hard to find. All in all, a great couple of hours roaming through an underwater world.


Back onto the bikes we found our way out of the park in a maze of miles and miles of trails that lead off to every imaginable corner. We rode along the water looking at baby ducks, cranes, Canadian geese (of course!) and a plethora of birds I have no idea what the names of are. We rode past a lake completely filled with lilly pads. The most amazing part was watching both boys cruise on a gravel path uphill for quite a ways-- Bill and I were both stunned by their stamina and unwavering effort. They both felt pretty proud of themselves as well.


We made it to the top of the hill and enjoyed a moment at lookout point before crossing back over the Lion’s Gate bridge to drop the bikes and hunt for some dinner. We ate at a “chain” restaurant that uses local fresh foods and had a good laugh at the 3 TV screens all showing the exciting sport of .... Curling. Oh, Canada! How thee makes me laugh! Really, curling, eh? The uninspired sport of choice was balanced out with the most amazing fresh, personal sized blueberry pie that came as part of our dinners. Your sports may be bad Canada, but your food is oh, too good! I am going to have to keep riding my bike many, many, many more miles to make up for it. (Thank goodness this city has the trails to provide all those blueberry pie burning miles.)