We would have all day to explore Vancouver so I thought a rental car would allow us to be flexible. We could pick it up right at Canada Place (where the cruise ships dock) and then return it to the airport. I reserved a car with Enterprise and that was that.
I should have spent a bit more time investigating the sights around Vancouver, but because spending the night was an afterthought I didn't. Yes, I briefly glanced at a few of the interesting things we could do for the day, but I didn't track down the details that I usually do in trip planning.
Friday morning we peeked out the window to see the Vancouver suburbs. Tall buildings began to appear and we knew the cruise was over. We wrapped up the last few items to pack and I stopped by Cafe al Bacio one last time for my peppermint mocha. The Oceanview Cafe was bustling with cruisers preparing to depart the ship. Amazingly, we managed to find a table for breakfast. One last freshly baked croissant, one last customized omelet. A sadness always comes over me when I realize a trip is about to conclude.
A light rain was beginning to fall, which made navigating the unfamiliar streets even more challenging. Stanley Park was just a few blocks away. We had no trouble getting in the right lane and proceeding into the park. It is a lovely, wooded park surrounded on three sides by water. We drove by the Totem Poles and checked out the Vancouver Aquarium, which didn't open until 10. No problem, we'd just circle the park until then.
After circling the park we pulled back into the aquarium parking lot to find it packed! Oh well, I should have known it would be crowded on a Friday morning. Standing in line for tickets we realized we could have purchased them online and then used the Express Ticket kiosk. I should have known that too. The cost was $38 CA each ($28 US). Sounds about right for an aquarium. Once inside we realized how small the aquarium was.
Here's the butterfly exhibit and another sea lion who was barking at the crowd. He didn't like all the noisy kids either. Do we sound like old people? Ha!
We decided to head on up to the Capilano Suspension Bridge, just 10 minutes up the road. The traffic was substantial so it took a bit longer, but once we got there we didn't see any buses so maybe we had beat the crowds.
Again we paid to park and walked across the street to the ticket counter. Here we discovered the ticket price was $53 ea. Wow, that sounded like a lot of money, even after the currency conversion ($40 US). Brian knew it was highly unlikely that I would actually cross the bridge (again, my fear of heights) so he balked. He didn't want to pay to cross a bridge, take a few pictures, then head back up the road. I had to agree. A little more planning would have kept us from wasting the time to drive there, and the money to park.
Up the road was Grouse Mountain, a ski resort with beautiful views according to what I'd read. We decided to check that out. Here we discovered 1) the mountain was covered in clouds so no panoramic views, and 2) $53 a piece for tickets. Bummer! Why hadn't I investigated all this before the trip? Oh well...
We drove down the hill to the Cleveland Dam, which backs up the Capilano River to create the Capilano Lake. The lake is the primary source of water for Vancouver so no recreational activities are permitted here.
We walked across the dam and decided to hike down one of the trails in the park. The rain had stopped, but everything was still damp. Fortunately the path was solid and the forest was magical. I think we saw one other person the entire walk.
We spent over an hour here just soaking up the peaceful richness of the pine trees, ferns and moss. Our souls were refreshed and the day was saved. If I had just spent a little more time researching Vancouver I might have discovered this lovely place first.
By this time we were hungry and ready to drop our bags at the hotel. We followed Google maps on our phone to find the Accent Hotel (highly recommend), which was right near the airport. You know how Google can sometimes take you the long way around? Well it did. We drove through Asian neighborhoods, down farming roads and around illogical back streets until we finally found the hotel. By now it was 2:30 and we were really hungry. After a week of feasting your body becomes accustomed to regular feedings.
The desk clerk suggested the Eggspectations restaurant right next door. He even gave us a card for a discount. Two greasy cheese burgers (with fried egg on top) and fries later we were good to go. Since we planned to use the hotel airport shuttle in the morning we needed to return the rental car. If I'd realized returning the car would be so easy we might have just kept it until morning, but we had a 7 a.m. flight. That meant being at the airport by 5 a.m. Knowing Brian he would have wanted to be at the airport by 4:30 just to be sure we had no problem with the car return.
On the way to the airport that evening we decided to stop by Costco (on the way) for a bottle of wine. We walked through the store and finally asked one of the stockers where they keep the wine. She looked at us with horror and said, "we don't sell wine!" You would have thought we asked for heroin. I had no idea Canada only sells beer and wine in liquor stores. We found one just down the street and discovered that wine in Canada is very expensive! A bottle of merlot was twice what we pay in San Antonio. So much for that. We continued on to the airport, returned the car and caught the hotel shuttle back.
Our flights the next day were uneventful, which is always nice. Given how much planning went into this trip, and how many details I had to keep track of, one off day didn't see too bad. We have so many wonderful memories to look back on. Just writing this blog has let me re-live the moments. I guess that's why I like to plan. First I get to live the trip ahead of time in my mind, then I get to experience the trip, and now I am reminiscing about the trip – squeezing the last drop of pleasure before beginning my research on the next one! Thanks for reading my musings. If you have any other questions or suggestions please send them to me. I'd be happy to respond, or add your suggestions to the notes here.
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