Vancouver May 2023

 Every May/ June my mom and I go on a road trip together. Typically we stay in the Maritimes, but this year we decided to go bigger. We narrowed our choices between London or Vancouver. Last year I had managed to fly to Frankfurt around a similar time for a decent price. Vancouver is usually quite expensive to fly to from Halifax as it is literally on the opposite coast (and flights within Canada are horrible). This time however it appeared to be the opposite. London was $800 or more, and even more expensive when looking for a direct flight, while Vancouver was coming in at around $500. While not a direct flight, it was still better than flying to Toronto then to London for more money. So we went with Vancouver and booked it as a package through Expedia (so I'm not sure exactly how much the flights individually ended up costing us). London would have been amazing, but neither of us had been to Vancouver either, and Canada is a beautiful country! We knew we would have a great time seeing the West Coast of our home country.

Day 1

Why is there always something causing me stress on the days of my flights! Ottawa in 2020; I nearly did not get to go because of Covid, New York in 2021; I was delayed in leaving because of a blizzard, and for Iceland 2022; I was a few hours away from getting stuck in Halifax from a hurricane! So what was it this time? Pandemic? Weather? No, the Westjet strike! It got to the point where I had almost convinced myself we were not going. Thankfully the company and pilots were able to strike a deal in time, and luckily we booked to leave Saturday, as many of the Friday flights had indeed been cancelled! 

Strike behind us, we were on our way to Vancouver! Our flight to Calgary was not a full flight so we had the back two rows to ourselves. One good thing from the strike. Instead of one celebration cookie they gave us two. Living like buisness class in the back! We put our feet on the seat between us and enjoyed our extra space. From there everything went smoothly. We witnessed the smog from the Alberta forest fires on the way in (which eerily felt like foreshadowing of the forest fires soon to occur back home when we returned). You could even smell the smoke in the airport at times. We had a few hours before the next flight so I treated my mom to one of the lounges I had access to through my credit card. It was one of the nicest I had been to, with lounge chairs and food that you could order from your seat.

We landed in Vancouver at around 1730. We debated taking the train and then uber to the hotel, but uber has made me lazy, and we just decided to skip the train and uber to the hotel from the airport. I think it was around $20 or so. Not too crazy, and much more convienent. In about 30-40 minutes we had arrived to Holiday Inn Plus Sands. We could see the beach from our hotel and were excited. I knew we were close to the beach, but on a map it is difficult to tell how far things really are. We ended up really loving the location we had picked. We also immediately took in how green and lush Vancouver was. Nova Scotia was still coming out of a cool spring with leaves just starting to come out. Here in Vancouver it looked like we were in full on summer. It was quite warm when we arrived and the beach was packed! People lounging in chairs and on towels, people swimming and paddleboarding, some people even brought their own BBQ's down to the beach! This is one thing we really ended up loving about Vancouver. The locals really took advantage of the public spaces, from the beaches, to the parks, to the atheltic courts; basket-ball, tennis, beach volleyball. After our little walk along the beach trail, we returned with slices of pizza to rest up for the days ahead. NS is four hours ahead so it was way past when we would be sleeping! We also booked a couple things for the next few days. I had been hesitant to purchase too many tours/ activities as I was not sure we would make it!

Day 2

We started early. Not diffcult to do when your internal clock is set four hours ahead. My mom had scouted out a coffee shop a few minutes from us; Delany's, and it became a daily routine to grab a mocha latte for my mom, and a hot chocolate for myself (as I do not drink coffee). We took our drinks back to the beach to take in the sights without hundreds of people around. It was a beautiful morning and we could see some of the mountains in the background. After sitting for a bit, we went back to the hotel to grab some breakfast at the hotel. We had vouchers for $15 off for not having housekeeping every day. Today we had booked a free walking tour to get our bearings of the city. Somehow, on all of my travels I have never been on one despite hearing they are a great way to start your time in a city. 

Now ready to face the day we walked to the Canada Place to the right a ways past Stanley Park. Before making it there however, we came across the Olympic Torch, which was pretty cool to see. We now also had a closer view of the mountains. At present we could not see the peaks due to clouds. 

At Canada Place we found our tour guide with the red umbrella. There were about 20 others with us. The tour started at 1000 and would take us to 1300. I ended up really enjoying the tour. We got to hear stories about the mountains and got to hear recommendations from someone who grew up and lives around Vancouver. My mom and I really enjoy hiking but discovered a bit late that many of the trails are closed until June, or at least the guided tours we were looking at do not start until June. With grizzly's and cougars, we did not want to hike alone. Even the Grouse grind just 20 minutes away was closed! Our guide was able to suggest Lynn Canyon to us. A park that we could easily reach with the public transit.  We also went past a building that had been used as the Daily Planet in Smallville. Normally they would take us inside, but the building was recently subject to a fire and going inside was not possible. There was also a old church we stopped by. The building next to it had a funny story. Vancouver like Halifax had a clause that made it so you could not build too tall (to block mountain views). The church was not very tall and thus did not use all of its available "airspace". The building had already been rejected by the local government to build as tall as they had planned out, so they went to the church to buy the "airspace" the did not use and add it to the top of their availble building space. The government agreed to these terms. Our guide told us this story becasue the building number was 666, so it was like the church "made a deal with the devil". Another buidling we went to that we may have not seen on our own was the public library. It had a really neat architectural design as it took inspiration from the Roman Colosseum. This is where we took our break. We went to the top to enjoy the views while we waited to continue on. 

On our way again we went to the stadium where the Whitecaps play. I think I had looked into games but there were none that would have worked out. Outside the stadium there was a statue of Terry Fox. A local and national hero in Vancouver/Canada. If you are not Canadian you may not know who he is. He was diagnosed with cancer in his teens and ended up losing a leg. To raise money for cancer research he decided to embark on a Marathon of Hope. Starting in Nova Scotia he planned to run a marathon a day on his artificial leg in the hopes of reaching back home in Vancouver while raising a dollar per Canadian. Unfortunetly he never made it back home and ended up dying as the cancer had spread, but every year Terry Fox marathons are held across the country. From there we made our way to Gastown to see the steam clock, one of the only few in the world.

We finished the tour back at the Canada Place where we had begun. We said our goodbyes and split from the group. It was passed lunch at this time so we headed to the nearby Subway for a quick bit to eat. I decided against a meal with cookies in the hopes that our next stop would be fruitful with sweets (a bit of an oxymoron). 

Refuled, we began our walk to the opposite side of the downtown area. Our plan for the rest of the day was to make our way to the Granville Island Market. Google said it would only be 30 or 40 minutes to walk, which was suitable for us. It was a bit confusing at first. Google seemed to be telling us to go by ferry. I noticed a bridge and wondered if we could go that way and perhaps there would be a stairway down to the island since the bridge went directly over it. I should had trusted Google. We were able to find the bridge but quickly realized it would take us over Granville Island and over to the Kitsilano area. We backtracked and went to where Google was originally telling us to go. Now at the ferry port we bought our roundtrip tickets and boarded the incredibly small ferry. The ferry only held nine people. 

Within a few minutes we were at the market and we began our hunt for cookies. Our first cookie was not our favourite. It was thin and dry. Candidate number two was slightly better but still was not thick and chewy as we like them. There was one booth we did not even bother trying the cookie because it looked thin and dry like the first one. Third time is the charm. We finally found a cookie we both enjoyed at A Bread Affair. I believe it was the Valrhona chocolate chip cookie we got. It had dark and milk chocolate chips and was topped with sea salt and was thicker and chewy like we wanted. A very good find. After our hunt for cookies we took the time to check out some of the other shops around the island. Everything there seemed to be locally owned and made. A great place for souvenirs. 

We returned to the ferry to begin heading back to the hotel. We walked along the beachside trail taking in the beautiful end to the day. At this point I was debating if I wanted anything for supper. We filled our stomachs quite well with sweets. Since it was still quite early, around five or so, I decided to grab some chicken from A&W and my mom got some onion rings. We ate back at the hotel and rested up for another busy day.

Day 3

Today we had booked ourselves a time for the Capilano Suspension Bridge. We picked 0930 so we had enough time for the free shuttle to get us there. We grabbed our coffee and hot chocolate and began walking towards Canada Place, as that is where the free shuttle to the park would be. 

On the way there we took the route that led us along the boardwalk leading to Canada Place. Once again, the mountains were cloud covered, but that did not detract from the beauty of the mountains. One thing we both really loved about Vancouver is how the city incorporates green spaces into the urban areas. I can not remember an area of the city that I could not see green. 

Just outside where we would catch the bus, we noted that there was a Disney Cruiseship docked. We sent photos back to our family joking that we should stowaway. Then, saying goodbye to the Disney Cruiseline we hopped on the bus to take us to Capilano. 

A short 20-25 minute drive and we had arrived. Once inside the park we were immediately captivated by the lush forest around us. Everything was so green and the trees were all so tall. I was glad we booked an early time as the bridge did not have too many people on it. We were able to walk across without having to feel rushed and were able to get some good photos. I loved the middle of the bridge, being so high above the river below, tall rainforest trees encircling. 

The other side of the bridge was breathtaking. Wooden walkways led us through the rainforest, and there were smaller bridges up in the trees that allowed us to see the forest from higher up. Walking along the platforms was almost like in the Ewok village on Endor. We took our time walking around the park and taking in the sights. The air felt so fresh and clean. It was meditative in a way. 

Heading back along the suspension bridge, there were a lot more people. People right ahead of you and right beside you heading the opposite way. The bridge was a lot more unstable to walk on, which I found fun, but not for my mom who was nervous beforehand. She was not a fan. We made it over in one piece and headed to the final attraction in the park; the cliffwalk. The walkway for this was quite narrow and was only one direction. The bridge itself here was more stable and did not move while we walked. We walked alongside the rocky cliffside and had more spectacular views of the river below and the surrounding rainforest. 

To finish off our time, we ate lunch at the restaurant, then grabbed a coffee and hot chocolate to go. The one here had brownie in it, so I had to try it despite the high price. 

Back in Vancouver we walked over to the Kitsilano area where we checked out some of the shops. My mom in particular wanted to check out the Allbirds store. We all own a pair and love them. My mom got a pair of the flats for herself, and slip ons for my dad. I was going to get a pair of the wool runners but they were not on sale like everything else in the store so I decided to hold off. We then checked out Icebreaker and ArcTeryx. Halifax does not have many of these outdoor brands so we wanted to take advantage. A short walk away I found a used bookstore called Tanglewood Books. I found myself a copy of the Princess Bride that I had been wanting for a while, and only paid $15 for it!

We then started towards the waterfront, walking through some lovely neighbourhoods to get there. Again, we were amazed by all the amenities available for use outside and at the amount of people utilizing the space. There was a pool but I do not think it was open yet, but the basketball courts, beach volley ball nets, and others were all being used. While stopping to watch a goose with its goslings, we ended up chatting with someone who lived in Vancouver and was from Sweden originally. He mentioned that many of the homes we had walked by were easily more than a million dollars. 

Continuing on we approached a area that had a lovely view of the downtown area. At this point we were wondering which way to take to head back over to downtown. We were nearly to Granville Island so we decided to head there again to grab something to eat. I grabbed myself some beef noodle soup at one of the vendors, and my mom got some pizza. I really enjoyed mine, though the portion was so large I could not finish it. We kept seeing people with bright yellow boxes of "Lee's Donuts". Yesterday we had walked around and could not find it. We tried again and were finally successful! The line up was quite long but seemed to move quickly and we happily headed back to the hotel with our donuts. We took the little ferry boat again and walked the same route as the previous day. We then rested for the night with out donut bounty. 

Day 4

Today we woke up early and made our way to the nearby Denny's for breakfast. Our plan was to rent bikes and cycle around Stanley Park and the rental place did not open until 0900. The rental place was right across from out hotel and we even a coupon from the hotel staff to use for the rentals. When the time arrived we got ourselves our bikes and headed out for the day. The path along the outside was around 10k and was only one way for bikes; counter clockwise. We took our time going around the park, making many stops to take in the different views. Along the way we ended up stopping at some totum poles, a lighthouse, a little walkway in the forest, and the underside of the lions gate bridge to name a few. The path was a little narrow so we tried to be considerate to quicker bikers. The scenery was so beautiful, with the large trees of the rainforest to our left, and the ocean to our right. 

After we made our way along the 10k path we looked into the aquarium. We were going to return the bikes but figured we were in the park already we might as well bike to the aquarium. We could maximize our time on the bikes as well. The rental place had provided us with locks so we were able to leave our bikes without fear of them being stolen. 

The aquarium was a bit pricey but we had biked there so we thought we should just do it. It turned out to be quite enjoyable. There were so many different species of aquatic life. I really loved the jellyfish exhibits and the otters. I did not realized how many different jellyfish there were. There were multiple different exhibits. They are so mesmerizing, and with the blue light of the aquarium, you could just stand there staring at them for hours. The otters were so cute the way they played with each other and swam on their backs. Dipping below the water and coming back up. 

Finishing up looking around, we returned to our bikes and started back towards the hotel... which proved more difficult then anticipated. Google maps showed me a road to go to, but it was closed with construction. With so many one way bike paths we kept going in circles and could not find a clear path without going all they way around the 10k path again. We ended up walking our bikes clockwise until we reached a place we could hop on again, and then were easily able to return. 

After returning the bikes we had some lupper at the hotel restaurant and rested up for the ballet later that night; The Sleeping Beauty. I had not been to a ballet since I was really young so I was intrigued to see how I would like it. The dancers were all super talented, and the dances were quite beautiful. Though not in the original fairy tale I really enjoyed the segment with Puss n' Boots. It was also amusing seeing my mom try to stay awake. This was the latest we had stayed up and my mom still was not used to the time change. 

After the show we returned to the hotel via Uber.

Day 5

We were very excited for today. We would embark on a day tour towards Whistler. The tour we booked would pick us up right from our hotel. We ate a quick breakfast and awaited our pickup. 

A smaller bus picked us up and some others before bringing us to the larger bus that would take us on our way to Whistler. Whistler Village was about an hour and a half away from us, but we would be making a couple stops before arriving. Along the way the tour guide let us know some of the history of Vancouver and places we passed. 

Our first stop for the day was to Shannon Falls. This was a park just off the highway with a small system of trails. Just a few minutes from the parking lot we came to the view point of the waterfall. It was a beautiful sight, and quite tall. The way the water cascaded down the rocky cliff was stunning to watch. I always find waterfalls so mesmorizing. They are almost hypnotic in nature. We only stopped for 30 minutes, so we were unable to explore the rest of the trails.

Just a short drive onwards and we were at the Sea to Sky Gondola. It was essentially right next to Shannon Falls and we were even able to see the falls from the gondola. Our tour guide provided us with our tickets for the way up and back down. We were given about an hour and a half to explore if I remember correctly. The gondolas were a little small, maybe four people could fit, luckily they did one party per gondola, so it was just my mom and I in one. It was about a 10-15 minute ride up the mountain and it sported beautiful views of the surrounding mountains, some covered in clouds, and some we could see the snowy peaks of. Down below the mountains was a river that we had been driving by. The entire drive up to this point has been spectacular. There is nothing quite like driving through the mountains. Below us we spotted some hikers at times. It would have been a fun and challenging hike. 

At the top of the mountain we headed for the wooden observation deck to take in the views. They even had another suspension bridge to my mom's chagrin. She made it across, though. While this one was much shorter than Capilano, the views along with this one were much grander. From there we embarked on a series of short walks/hikes and finding viewpoints along the way of different angles of the surrounding mountains. We stopped for a quick snack break at the cafeteria they had, and before we knew it, it was nearly time to return. 

We got in line to go back a good 15 minutes before we were due back to the bus. The gondolas ended up being stopped at times for letting wheelchairs on and off. We were a bit worried we would be late, but from other tours, I knew people were never on time and we had in fact returned to the gondala at the requested time. We can not help if it gets stopped for circumstances we can not prevent. We enjoyed the views one more time on the way back down, or at least I did. Mom, was still a bit nervous of the gondolas, and with the new fear of them stopping for a minute or two, she could not wait to get back on solid ground. We ended up only being 5 minutes or so late, and the guide was very understanding that the gondola was stopped for a few minutes, plus, there were still a few parties not back as well. Everyone was ready to go at least 15 minutes after the specified time except for one family with a couple small kids. We did not see them in line when we headed down on the gondola so it was a bit frustrating to know they did not respect the time of everyone on this tour. Then they showed up with fresh ice cream and had the nerve to blame the gondola. 25 or more minutes late is not something you can blame on the gondola when everyone else is seated and ready to go. But, alas, this is something I have unfourtuntely realized you have to endure sometimes with group trips. Not everyone is as respectful to others as one would hope. 

Anywho, we did not let the inconsideration of others hinder our day, and we were finally off again to Whistler Village. Our tour guide mentioned a few places to eat while there and we took her up on one of her recommendations and went to a restaurant called Furniture Warehouse. A strange name for a pub but it ended up having delicious food for some of the cheapest prices we saw on the trip. Probably one of our favourite places we ate at. After some late lunch we took the time to wander around the village surrounded by the mountains. We stopped many of the shops, one of the first ones being a bookstore. I found a signed copy of In The Lives of Puppets, which happened to be a book I had been planning on buying anyway, so I lucked out! There was a ramp/course set up outside where some mountain bikers were going down the course. I found for the short time we were there, we could not do much other than browse the shops. I think if we ever returned it would be neat to stay right in Whistler Village and to hike some of the nearby trails. Before leaving, we stopped by a bakery and grabbed a few dessert items to enjoy back at the hotel. Which turned out to be very yummy. There was a cookie/ mixed with brownie that was really good.

Then we were back on the bus and returning to Vancouver. We enjoyed the mountain sights one last time going along the highway. At one point we saw some people rock climbing on the side of one of the mountains. We ended up back in Vancouver by around 1700, where we enjoyed the snacks we had bought and rested up for our last full day.

Day 6

For our last day, since we did not get to do any big hikes like we wanted, we decided to check out Lynn Canyon Park. Firstly we grabbed our coffee and hot chocolate and started walking towards Canada Place. The park is accesible by public transit so we made our way towards the bus stop. We were delighted to note that the mountain peaks were finally visible for us! Then we hopped on our bus towards the park. I really loved that you could tap your credit card to go on. Halifax really needs something like that. I would be much more likely to use transit back home (despite it being a crappy transit system), if I could just tap my card rather than need bus tickets or coins. 

The bus took us to a little town center type area where we switched buses to take us on towards the park. We started a bit more north of the suspension bridge the park is known for, but it worked out well for us. We went even further north along the Varley Trail which ended up being one of my favourite parts of the walk. The forest was so fun to walk through with the giant trees around us. There were quite a few wooden planks and stairs to walk on during this part of the walk as well. To the right of us we could also see a river alongside the trail. We ended up going so far north we entered a new park; Lynn Headwaters Regional Park. This park had many trails similar to Lynn Canyon. We decided just to walk a few kilometers since we still wanted to hike to the suspension bridge. This trail was more groomed then the trail we had just come off. Further along the trail the map at the front had also posted a bear sighting, though we did not plan to hike that far. It was also fairly busy, so that made us feel better as well. One cool thing we noted while walking with the giant trees to the right, and river to the left, is that there was a old wooden carriage/ wheels that had trees growing out of it that looked really neat. 

We eventually decided to turn and head back along the trail and back through Varley, to head towards the suspension bridge. This would be bridge number three of our trip. There were a lot of people on it, unforutuntely for my mom, but she made it across. While not as high as the others we went on, it was still a lot of fun to walk the bridge over the canyon below. Once on the other side of the bridge, we were only a few minutes out from the other entrance. We begun to make our exit from the park and headed towards a bus stop. 

It did not take long for a bus to appear, and we decided to stop in the little strip mall/town area for a bite to eat. It was warm that day so we stopped at DQ for some ice cream. We discussed what we wanted to do for the rest of the day. I looked into routes to get to the Arc'Terex factory store. It appeared we could get there in one bus, so we decided to go there first. Part of me was worried we would have gone for nothing. I am so used to stores back home never having good deals. Of course, Halifax does not have any factory stores that I am aware of. To my pleasant surprise the deals were insane. Everything was well over half off. The only downside, is that it was hit or miss if you found anything you liked and they had your size. There was a sweater I debated on getting, but figured I had so many sweaters already. I would have loved a fleece zip up, but there were none in my size. In the end I found a pair of leggings that I paid about $30 for, and were originally close to $100. Pleased with my find we continued on our adventure for the day. 

The next bus took about 15 minutes to walk to, but took us on an express route to a mall where we had noted there was a Icebreaker store. The summer sale was still on and we decided to pick up a few more things for family. I ended up caving and getting myself a tank and shorts. At the mall we mostly just browsed places such as Indigo, Hot Topic, and Simons. After seeing the selection in Simons, I am actually kind of excited for the one opening in Halifax soon. They actually had some pretty neat stuff. We then had some lupper at the foodcourt and started looking into bus routes back to the hotel. They all seemed a bit long and there were no direct routes. We decided on the easy way out and booked an Uber. We got really excited when we realized a Tesla was going to pick us up. Then we embarrassed oursleves by not knowing how to open the door handle from the outside. Now I know to push the handle in before pulling it open. We felt so fancy inside. The roof was completly transparent, which we thought was neat. We got stuck in the tesla for a while as it was traffic time and we were at a stand still at times. Not that we were complaining. Now back at the hotel we packed up our bags in preparation of leaving early the next day. 

Overall we had a great time on this trip. For being our first time in Vancouver, we tried to make the most of our time. Of course, we wish we could have done more hikes, but that just leaves us with an excuse to return during the summer.