Whistler Day

When we were still in Vancouver, I collected every brochure the hotel had to offer. 

There were two purposes for collection the brochures. One: To know what we could do while we were in Vancouver and since the hotel's wifi was so slow, paper brochures still work fine for me. Two: The kids are doing scrapbook/journals documenting their trip. 

The scrapbook concept was something that my folks "made" Cindy and me do when we went to England and also in our motor home trip out west. We hated it at the time but I love my scrapbooks now. I love remembering the things I did and the seeing it from my adult eyes brings me right back to the moment. It's really funny how that mental time travel thing works. I remember...I mean I REALLY REMEMBER writing each entry. It is because of these books I am able to relive those special times:  When I taped British pence onto the page; held the paper out to catch late April snowflakes and then I circled the wet marks in the page; a four leaf clover my grandpa found for me and a little "poem" he wrote in the page next to where I taped the good luck charm; postcards I asked my folks to buy for me; stickers from each country; and so much more. 

Like good grandparents, my folks bought scrapbooks for my kids for the purpose of inflicting the same torture they did to Cindy and me.  And like a good parent, school teacher and victim of said torture, I promptly took them to Michael's to buy tape, glue, and some stickers to whet their scrapbooking appetites.  There's no breaking the cycle of "abuse" here in this family. Not only do I support the journals, I've one upped it by returning to my blog after having had a year long temper tantrum whith technology.  ;)

And so...we rented a car and decided to drive to Whistler, British Columbia, Canada!  We could have taken a train for a gazillion dollars but I had to ride in a car and look out the window and listen to my mom read facts about the location and I made them do it too.   Shawn was the DD but the scenic (read terrifyingly high) drive proved too much for him. So, I took over driving.

Conveniently though, the really hairy driving was over and now I had the wheel!  Move over Daddy, I'm the head Mommy in charge here!  (That line was intended to be read in the voice of Morgan Freeman.) So, I was the driver, my mom assumed the role of navigator and factoid reader, and the "kids" in the back were forced to look out the window. (If Cindy was here, we would have cracked up when my mom said, "Do you kids need to go to the bathroom?"  That's ALWAYS been code for "Stop acting so hyper."  And it was said multiple times during the ride.)

And off we go!  

First stop: "Shanaynay Falls". (Actually Shannon Falls but that's what Summer thought it was called.)

We walked up the path, starting at the bottom of the riverbed, and worked our way up to the overlook. 

Just looking...

Perfunctory:  "Smile kids!"

I love taking pictures through tree limbs. 

Wow!

Double wow!

What more is there to say?  Sometimes no words really work. (A picture is worth a thousand words.)

Cautious

She's using "the force" to push him into the water.

Through her gritted teeth she's chanting, "Fall. Fall. Fall...."

Sorry, Summer, he didnt fall. 

But... seconds after this shot, he fell!  Nicholas fell in!  Only his foot and about half of his calf got wet.  But, he did fall! 

The next stop was in a tiny town where we had lunch at a really unique restaurant. When we turned off to see the little town that boasted some sort of quote about the most eagles...!!! We had no idea what to expect. We got to the fork in the road.  The town's "Welcome" sign showed that to the right were several points of interest.  Naturally, I choose to turn left where we found the cafe and post office.  

The menu had pierogies!  Score one for Grandpa!  And for my 9th grade English teacher who made us memorize Robert Frost, "Two roads diverged in a wood. And I, I took the one less traveled by."  We had some of the best comfort foods: Ruben, French toast, pancakes, hash, pierogies, and Canadian beer.  (Strange combo but it all worked out.) 

After a brief nod to Robert Frost, "...and that has made all the difference", we were back up on Route 99 and headed for Whistler. 

Whistler was a big ski town and the journey was far better than the destination!  The only picture taken in Whistler was of funny sign about dog poo. 

Aquarium, Japanese, and Beach Walk

The last day in Vancouver was to be a visit to the Capilano Suspension Bridge (minus Shawn and possibly Summer, and by default probably minus my mom too). However it was misty and just too wet for a day long adventure through the tree tops. So, the Vancouver Aquarium made for an excellent second choice that all would enjoy.

We took two taxis from the hotel to the aquarium. Our taxi was driven by (according to Nicholas) a Chinese Santa Claus.  The driver wore a turban and a long white beard and very kindly explained to us that he was Indian (from India) and that their tradition is to not cut their hair. To avoid looking like (his words--->) "an old balding hippy" the men in their culture choose to wear turbans to wrap up and cover their long hair. Then he went on to explain how people assume he's "Arab" and then referenced misconceptions perpetuated by Hollywood movies. 

I think of myself as well travelled*and I try to expose and educate my kids about people who are different than those they typically see, but I clearly need to do a better job!  I was surprised that Nicholas thought the man was "Chinese" and I also was surprised by my own lack of info. 

(*Since I'm in a country that uses the doubled final consonant rule, I've purposefully chosen the British/Canadian spelling.)

Once we had our much needed lesson, we went on to learn more about the marine life of the Pacific Northwest.  First stop:  Anything cute!

We all wanted to take him home!  

But, this is what we get to take home instead. And in my opinion, he's quite a nice house pet!

Sadly, that's it for the pictures I took at the aquarium! 

We saw a 4-D movie, A beluga whale show, fish galore, invertebrates, frogs, a snake, porpoise, jelly fish and the gift shop where Grandma purchased post cards for the kids' scrapbooks, a Maple Leaf's jersey for Nicholas, and the ever typical purple sloth knee socks for me.  (No sloths in Canada but how often does one have the opportunity to buy purple sloth knee socks?!  And so, a must for any visitor to the Vancouver Aquarium!)

For dinner, we went to a Japanese restaurant called Dang Po Po. This is where the locals go for sushi and was well worth it!  OMG!  Amazing!  But, no pictures. 

Since we were only two blocks from the opposite shore from the location of our hotel, we walked on Denman Street down to the beach.   The shore line was rocky and quite wide due to the spring tides caused by the Summer Solatice and Super Moon. The kids, my dad and I walked the beach while Shawn (ever the gentleman) stayed on the blacktop path with my mom. 

Tiny human life form is Nicholas. 

Summer on the jetty. 

Another shot from farther away. 

Nicholas (as a typical 10 year old would be) did not pay attention to what Grandma read during our drive to Whistler about this rock man. Luckily, this particular "Inukshuk" had a plaque to read. Handy iPhone means...snap a picture and voila: instant photographic memory. 

Alaska: Here we come!

After having spent three days in Vancouver, it's time to set sail!  Our ship has come in, docked, and she is readying herself for our arrival.  

Under the Lions Gate bridge (no apostrophe in the name).

Passing the sulphur docks.

Spring line being set.

Spring line being hauled onto the dock. 

Watching the dock hands work sure does make a young man hungry for fresh croissants, cinnamon buns, and Gatorade!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

During the three day stay in Vancouver, I woke up at about 4:30 or 5:00 a.m. which is my normal school day schedule but what is remarkable about that is that I'm three time zones away.  (How does my body know?)  However, this early time of day allowed me to go on some cool walks along the sea wall. 

While photographing things I thought that it would be fun to have a "subject" that was different than my typical Bahamian themes. And...voila...letters!

So, these are some of the letters I saw and some of the other sights along the way.

Our hotel, Canada Place/Pan Pacific, also nicknamed "Five Sheets" (see picture for the sails/sheets) is the Convention Center and cruise ship terminal. So, when we are ready to board the vessel, we take the elevator to the correct level and off we go. 

However, until it is time to board...

This sculpture is meant to look like a giant rain drop and on the rainy days during our visit, it's quite a fitting focal point. 

To the west down the sea wall walk, is the seaplane terminal. 

A little farther...

Houseboats are always so funky and they certainly stand out in the marina. 

I walked the entire stretch of the Burrard Inlet during my two morning walks. On the journey out, I was only along the sea wall. And, because I think that it is important to keep in mind that "you can't always go back the way you came", I returned through the streets and admired the neighborhood and architecture. 

After a while of looking for letters in the surrounding area, I got confused on which direction letter G goes. Oops. Hopefully, the mirror image editing tool button will work to fix this boo boo. 

This was along the dock. I have no idea of its intended purpose but it sure is a perfect K.

I love these giant floats and just couldn't resist the black marker on this one. 

The far away shot is actually so much more beautiful!

"B is for bicycle" and this town is full of cyclists who are using this as their sole method of transportation (rain or shine).

Looking through the hole in a cleat on a public dock. 

X marks the spot on the gang plank. 

The public water park meant for kids is brought to you by the letter Y. (I couldn't resist.  This whole theme is so Sesame Street.)

Parallel to the sea wall is a linear park which features a concrete Art Deco-ish V. 

The mnemonic device, "Never Eat Soggy Waffles" reminds me of the amazing breakfast/lunch we had when we stopped along the way to "Whistler", the site of the 2010 Winter Olympics. (I'll include the Whistler pictures in another post.)

I absolutely stopped to smell the roses!

And took a picture for a FORMER co-worker. (Sniff. Sniff.)

Is it Canada Geese or Canadian Geese?  This one is high steppin'

Letter F or E?  What a cool shot!  This is why I like to do these themed pictures. You never know what you're going to get. 

A sandwich board sign advertises sailing lessons at the yatch club. 

A very Jetson's era D is actually part of a big metal and wood sculpture of wings or a bird in flight. 

As I was searching for letters, I found someone else who was also looking for something. 

I love that someone placed fresh flowers in her lap.

The art in this city is amazing!  On every block there are several pieces on display!  And the number of water features... It must not snow or freeze here as much as I thought. But, the lack of free wifi has stifled my Googling for answers. 

Ya see what I mean?  Water is everywhere!  

This letter P is actually a handrail for the steps at a condo building. I had to work hard to not get the yellow security car or the orange mailbox. But they're there if you look. 

I had intended for this to be a letter R...

But I think it also makes a lovely cursive Q too. 

S carved into a log. 

This sculpture is a "ship wreck" carved by thousands of people. It looks more like a cactus until you see it up close.  Then, is us strangely soothing and smooth. If it wasn't a wet day, I would have enjoyed just sitting there and admiring the curves and how the effort of so many ordinary people could have created such an elegant single piece of work. 

The walk wrapped up with the Olympic torch.

This was a "whale" of a walk!  

Our cruise hasn't even begun!  "Life is a journey, not a destination."

Thank you Vancouver!  What a lovely experience!!