Four days in Vancouver

Thursday 9 March

We're all set for our trip to Vancouver.  We leave on time with a bit to spare, just to make sure we won't miss the ferry.  Unfortunately I notice too late the expiry time for the parking fees, after I have selected 4 days and paid, and I can't do anything about it.  We'll have to wait and see what happens.

It's not the best day for a ferry crossing, as it is very overcast and we can hardly see the mountains for the low hanging clouds.  I have a few impressions of the trip though (Departure Bay, Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay, Vancouver).

At Horseshoe Bay we catch the bus to downtown Vancouver and walk from there to the railway station where Dianne has to catch her train for the next part of her trip, starting in Seattle.

Our shared holiday has come to an end and we have to say goodbye.  We won't see each other again until after the 9th of April, when Dianne will return home.

I can't check into our airbnb until 3 pm, so I walk the streets to find the railway station where I have to catch the train later in the day to the airport to pick up Wim.  It's raining cats and dogs, I can't find the station and Google Maps is not much help as the location marker keeps shifting from one street to the next, so my GPS can't find its bearings and neither can I.

Killing time for nearly two hours in the rain is not much fun, so I find a Starbucks and shout myself a nice cup of coffee.  Coffee and lunch on the ferry have long been forgotten.

Finally it's time to find the airbnb, check in and drop off my luggage.  The hostess is friendly, but just businesslike friendly.  I get a cup of tea and then I can rest my poor legs, and back!  I read a while until it's time to catch the train to the airport.  The station entrance was well hidden, but I manage to find it and I am well on time as Wim's flight is delayed by 45 minutes.  I have a bite to eat and sit and wait, and wait, and ...... finally, there he is!  I should've taken a picture, I know, but forgot it in the excitement.

It's still raining and when we finally make it to our address at W Georgia Street we are happy to sit, rest, and chat until it's bedtime.

Friday 10 March

To our surprise it's cleared up outside and the even the sun shows itself now and then.  We make the most of our day and start early with a walk up to the Waterfront. As I generally keep an eye out for geocaches I find there are two within easy reach.  The first one is on a boardwalk, but it's still wet everywhere and I am guessing that I have to kneel down to look for this one.  Not on a wet boardwalk though, so we skip this one after a cursory search.  At home I have a handy mirror on a stick, but not when I am travelling.

The next one is at Canada Place. That's an easy one and in a fairly dry spot:

CPC (Canada Place Cache)

We keep walking along the waterfront for a while and are being entertained by the coming and going of a number of seaplanes:

Next we turn towards Gastown where we see a most entertaining steam clock:

A boot store

Inner city private gardens

Vancouver's power supply

Then we walk back to the waterfront and enjoy a bit more of the sights and the seaplanes:

Sculpture (unknown)

Orca whale - sculpture

Finally we need to turn off towards our B&B, but not before I search for a cache:

Shipwreck

And a few more pictures before we are back 'home':

Stanley Park in the distance

No idea what this is...

We return home to have a rest and dinner and after dinner we make the most of a pleasant day and walk towards, and through, Robson Street.  Shops and restaurants galore.

Not the best of pictures, but it will have to do

Saturday 11 March

The day doesn't look promising and we are looking for something to do indoors.  The day before we'd passed 'FlyOver Canada' and it sounded very promising.  We walk again to the waterfront and find the ticket booth.  After a short wait we're let inside and then the fun begins.  We're all seated in special chairs with seat belts fastened and loose objects stowed away.  And next..... we're flying!!!  We find ourselves in a kind of flight simulator, complete with wind and moist air and the actual movement of manoeuvring and flying.  Fantastic.  In just over half an hour we have seen the length and breadth of Canada and if it wasn't so expensive for such short period I would definitely go back again!  Of course you can't take pictures, but have a look at the website: FlyOver Canada.

The weather hasn't improved, so we walk back to our B&B after having done some shopping so that we can have dinner and we spend the rest of the afternoon inside.

Sunday 12 March

The weather has even more deteriorated and it's raining heavily.  We walk to the train station where we get a ticket for the Expo line which will drop us off near the Science Museum.

A beaver dam

It's a surprising place with lots of interesting things to do and see, but most surprising is the number of children present.  It looks and sounds more like a childrens' daycare centre and I would say that the average age could be around five years old, if at all.

Luckily it keeps us occupied till closing time and we have been able to avoid the dreariness of the rain for most of the day. We decide to walk home instead of taking the train.  The fresh air will do us good and we also get to see a bit more of Vancouver.  I have to forego the find of a cache near the museum as neither of us carries a pen or pencil.  It also starts raining again, but we won't let it spoil the fun.  We finish the day with a quick visit to the local shop and at home we sit down with an easy meal.

The three Wise Men

One of many walkway decorations

Monday 13 March

It's time to leave Vancouver.  We have packed and all we have to do is wait for the bus to deliver us at the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal.  Waiting for the bus proves to be the understatement of the year.  Buses were supposed to arrive very 6 minutes from 9am onwards, but we have to wait for close on 45 minutes before the 250 arrives.  Luckily we allowed for plenty of extra time so that when we finally arrive at our destination we are not only just in time but can board straightaway. 

The crossing is quite uneventful and poor vision doesn't allow for any photographs.  

We arrive at Nanaimo where we collect our luggage and walk to the car, only to find a violation notice under the windscreen wipers.  Well, that was to be expected.  We're nearly three hours past the expiry time....

We drive to Lantzville, get our groceries and then are finally 'home' where we will stay till the end of the month.  I will tell you next time what happened with the violation notice. :-)