Roller News: Vancouver-BC That Is-The Other Vancouver

Christopher has been in Bellingham for two years and hadn't been to Vancouver, BC yet. It has been a really long time since Bill and I have been there. We went to Vancouver a couple of times while we were dating. We got engaged there 29 1/2 years ago when Expo was there in 1986. Besides Expo, we had gone up to Grouse Mountain on the Skyride, Stanley Park, and the Aquarium in the past. We were having a hard time deciding what we wanted to do. We just wanted to go to Vancouver.

We arrived on Friday night by plane to Bellingham. It was IFR the whole way so no pretty views. Christopher picked us up and we had dinner at Boundary Bay Brewery before heading to bed to rest up for our adventure into Canada.

So off we went Saturday morning bright and early to get through the border crossing without too much waiting. Once you get to Vancouver, there are no freeways which is kind of strange. It is such a big city. It takes awhile to get through it. We were looking for someplace to have breakfast and tried to find some place but realized we had no Canadian money to put in the meter. So that was a little stressful trying to find a place to eat, trying to find nearby parking and finding someplace to get change before we got a parking ticket. After eating a fast food breakfast at Tim Horton's, we decided to get out of downtown and head to North Vancouver.

We saw advertisements and signs for Capilano Suspension Bridge Park and thought it looked interesting. So decided to stop. It was pretty expensive--$37 per person Canadian. But it was kind of a cool park. The original suspension bridge was built in 1889. It has since been replaced with a newer one. So many people there and on it at the same time. It sways a lot as you cross it--very disorienting. Chris and I did okay but Bill didn't like it at all. Gave him motion sickness. After getting across, he wasn't looking forward to going back.

In addition to the suspension bridge there were some newer "attractions". The Treetops Adventure and the Cliffwalk. The Treetops Adventure had bridges suspended between trees to walk above the ground and look down. The Cliffwalk was built along the cliff on the other side of the river and part of it curved away from the cliff all together. They also had a raptor exhibit with an owl, raven and hawk. It was pretty neat to get up so close to them.

Grouse Mountain was nearby and Bill and I remember being impressed with the views so we decided to do it again. It was pretty expensive as well. Around $50 per person Canadian. We went up on the Skyride which was pretty cool. Takes just 5 minutes to get to the mountain plateau. We had lunch on the patio looking at the view of Mount Baker and the North Cascades, the city of Vancouver and Vancouver Island off in the distance. I had poutine for the first time for lunch. It is a Canadian dish that originated in Quebec--french fries, cheese curds and brown gravy. It was actually pretty good. Chris says that they serve it in Bellingham too being so close to Canada and I did see it at a food cart there at the brewery we went to after we got back. The rest of the time we just walked around the plateau a bit to look at the wood carved sculptures, the views from various locations and tried to see if we could spot the bears in their enclosure but we think they were sleeping for the day. They have lumberjack demonstrations and other things at various times but not while we were there. By that time, we were tired and ready to head back to Bellingham.

After winding our way back through Vancouver for an hour, we made it back to the border after about another half hour drive. We didn't stop at Peace Arch Park but Chris took a picture of the arch for me as we waited in line to go through U.S. Customs.

Bill wanted to go to Wander Brewery for some beer. Luckily they had some cider on tap. No beer for this girl. I had some black currant cider which was quite yummy. It was early but we were all pretty tired. Chris took us back to his apartment to show us as we hadn't been there yet to see the inside. I haven't met his roommate yet either. But Luke and his girlfriend were leaving as we arrived so I didn't get to meet him this time either.

Had a yummy breakfast at Mount Bakery then back to the airport to fly home. I was thinking as we were driving back to Bellingham yesterday that it would have been the perfect day to go up to Mount Baker and it would have been a great day to take pictures from the air. Today was pretty good but I usually am disappointed by my pictures--not the same as what my eyes see. But here they are. We truly live in a beautiful state.