I didn't think we would be able to do all the things we had planned to do today, but we managed to buckle down and get it all sight-seen. While it required us to get up a little earlier I have to say it was well worth it (as with many other things from this trip).
We had to drive into the heart of the city since we had to catch the ferry at the end of the day. While that wasn't necessarily the end of the world, Vancouver isn't necessarily the most drive friendly city in Canada. I think this is probably because they pour money into rapid transit of all sorts, and green alternatives to driving, so if you want to drive you have to pay for it I guess (And not necessarily with money, parking was actually quite cheap). The lanes into the city are fairly narrow (But that might have been the route we took).
However, just like every other day we plan for an action packed day of awesome, something went terribly wrong. As we were leaving the parking lot of the hotel we were staying at we discovered the rear left signal light was burnt out. I would have just not worried about it, but Geoff is a real jack of all trades, he may not be a car expert, but he was able to figure out exactly how to fix it. We rolled down to the local Canadian Tire (which was surprisingly open on Victoria Day), got the light bulb to fix it, and figure out how to pop out the rear tail light and replace the bulb. So we were good to go, with only 30 minutes lost. I don't know what I'd do without Geoff, probably get pulled over more for having problems with the car.
So we went all the way downtown, got a parking lot on the outer rim of the built up area and started walking. We started in Chinatown, which is apparently North America's third largest after New York and San Fransisco. It was a pretty neat area, lots of little shops and most intriguing, a large park built in commemoration of a local Chinese doctor from the turn of the century. Stepping into the park was like stepping into a little piece of China. It had lots of exotic plants and a large koi pond.
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| Also there were geese, but they're everywhere so they don't count. |
After hanging out in Chinatown for a while (And failing to find bubble tea) we decided to head down to the Granville District. I wasn't sure what to expect when we went down there but it was a pretty interesting district. Basically for those not in the know Granville was the old 'centre of town' but during the expansion phase of the city it moved further away from the water, leaving Granville to become the 'red light district'. After some beautification in the 70's, it became a prime tourist district. Including a really cool flatiron style of building.
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| When I approached the building from the side and didn't think it was anything special, but then you get to the corner and it was all 'oooooooooaaah' |
Down the street from that was a very awesome landmark. A steampowered clock! This thing was 100% steampunk inspired if it wasn't for the fact that it was built before steampunk was even a thing. Basically a big grandfather clock that is powered by steam, it whistled the time every quarter hour and it had the five steam exhaust at the top. The whole thing was amazing, I don't think I've ever seen anything like it and I don't know if I ever will again.
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| It's like Abraham Lincoln with a chain gun arm. |
After that we took a trip up to the Harbour Tower and saw the sights. So far we've been up the tower of every city that has a tower look out, so it's sort of like tradition now. Again, not as tall as the CN Tower, but it had lots of interpretive posts that let me learn quite a bit about the city without having to travel too much distance. As usual, it also had some pretty dazzling sights.
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| For 20 years between them, the building with the copper roof, and then the building with the green copper roof were the tallest buildings in the British Empire. Think about that. |
After the trip up the tower, we moved out towards Stanley Park, named after the same Lord Stanley that the cup is, I guess he was a pretty important guy. However, anyone who lives in Vancouver or has been there can probably guess our folly, we decided to walk from the Harbour Tower to Stanley Park. I seemed close at the time but it ended up taking about 40 minutes to get there. Once we got there though we made the most of it. On the way to the park, we passed what I dubbed a 'Minecraft Whale'
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| Minecraft: It's sort of like that (Minus the lady blocking the photo) |
At the park, there was an aquarium and giant trees. The aquarium was really great, it had a really wide collection of fish from all over the world. They had also expanded to have a bird and butterfly room and an amphibian room on top of all the fish. We only managed to spend about an hour and half there, but you could easily spend the whole afternoon there, but the whole day at the park itself. I have to say that I was impressed. They had a tropical section, and a really cool 'fish of BC' section. I never realized all the different types of sea life in the inlets, lakes, and coastal areas of BC.
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| Fiiiiiiiiiiiish! |
Then we took a look at the giant cedars that dotted the park. I have to say these things are huge! I'm hoping to see more of them on Vancouver Island, but it definitely redefines your idea of how big trees can get. It makes the trees of Central and Atlantic Canada look a little more piddly. Being in British Columbia forests feels like going back in time to an earlier time when trees were massive things and dinosaurs roamed the Earth. Maybe not that bad, but the trees are still pretty enormous.
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| This was shortly before Geoff was absorbed into the tree, that was the last I saw of him. |
Finally, we made our way down to the BC Ferries Horseshoe Bay terminal to get on the ferry over to Vancouver Island. I have to say, BC Ferries runs a pretty slick operation, but the charge quite a bit of money. I wish I could spend more time here, but we're probably going to end up spending only a day or two, and then forking over more money to the ferry company. Then we will be on our way back.
I guess this is the final leg of our trip before we turn around and start making our way back. I have to say, it has been a blast! But stay tuned! There will still be more blog postings daily until I get to New Brunswick.
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