Day 5: Whistler

Our last free day of exploring. And possibly the best...



A two-hour drive through the mountains landed us in the town of Whistler, recently made famous for hosting the Winter Olympics. Mountains loom above the quaint, polished town. Ski trails wound down the sides of them, though it was too warm for them to be in use. Ski shops, restaurants, and high-end department stores line the pedestrian paths. Tonya and I ate lunch at the Bread Garden, because it sounded promising and the other restaurants were busier. The service was very slow and the food mediocre, but not bad. I had a spinach quiche:



After lunch, we booked our horseback ride. First, my credit card was declined so while I was on the phone telling someone that yes, I really WAS in Canada, Tonya took care of the bill. Then we were weighed and made to sign the 'If-I-Kill-Myself-I-Will-Not-Sue' waiver, then we were asked about our footwear; no opened toed shoes were allowed. Tonya was wearing sandals.

There was a heated argument between the activities girl and Tonya, and a lot of waiting and glaring and threats, but finally they agreed to make an 'exception'. Tonya and I and two other couples (man and girlfriend, mother and daughter) were led to a van that smelled of Horse. A ten minute drive and we were there--a surprisingly bare setup compromised of two circular pens, a small tack shed, and a lean-to. Twenty or so horses stood in the shade, looking extremely bored.



Our bus driver opened the doors for us and then proceeded to help the tour guide with the horses. There was a deal of friction when our group of six turned out to be four more than she had been told originally, so there was a slight wait as she saddled more horses. I saw myself in her for a minute, bitter over a mix-up from the front desk at work. Perhaps I overreact a little...

Tonya was one of the first to get assigned a horse, and I was one of the last. Tonya got a handsome brown male with a white blaze named Denver. I got Asia, a 'stubborn' girl who I would have to be 'firm' with. I cursed inwardly. It was impossible for me to be heavy handed with any animal, let alone one that I am a tad intimidated by.



We were put into order based on which horses got along with which. I was bringing up the rear and Tonya was in front of me.



Our ride wound through a forest and over two streams, with a lakeside rest stop at the halfway point. The view at the lake was AMAZING. The water was blueish green from the glacier that fed it, and the surrounding mountains were snow-capped. Our trail leader took pictures of everyone, and gave us time to take our own pictures, and then we headed back.


The horses did not like the muddy spots on the trail and would try to walk around them--inadvertently brushing us riders against the trees. We were told to not let them do this, but as I said, I am not a heavy-handed person. Asia and I seemed to have reached an understanding, though, and after comforting her when she spooked at something in the trees, I felt that we had a degree of communication. Tone of voice is universally understood, by all animals and languages. Instead of 'kicking her' to keep her from nibbling, I gave her a mild tug on the reins and gently warned her. In short, I spoke to her like she was a dog, and I believe she responded and even showed me her sense of humor. I gave her the lead as much as I could, but she disapproved of the 'no nibbling' rule by running me into the tree branches. And you know what? I didn't care. I love that she had spark, had a sassy streak. Some of my favorite dogs are the bitchy old females who'd rather try to nip you than let you put a leash on them. Asia was a good horse. If it's possible to 'get to know' a horse in an hour, I think I did.



When Tonya and I got back into the town, it was only early afternoon. Too early to go back to the hotel! So as a last-minute decision, we bought tickets for the 'Peak to Peak' adventure ride and made our way to the gondolas. Peak to Peak is a ride in a twenty-person gondola from the peak of Whistler to the peak of Blackcomb mountains, obviously providing an incredible view. And just to get to the peak of Whistler meant a ten minute ride in an eight person gondola, similar to our ride up the side of Grouse Mountain. Tonya and I were the only two in the gondola going up, but the Plexiglas was pretty scratched up and not very conducive to pictures. :(



The top of the mountain was chilly. There weren't any activities, and none of the ski lifts were operating. Tonya and I got in line for the Peak to Peak and wound up on a glass-bottomed gondola with a handful of other adults.

The ride across the mountain tops was breath-taking. I think I took pictures non-stop.




And on the top of Blackcomb: SNOW.



Blackcomb had a restaurant, where Tonya and I used the bathroom, but aside from hiking one of the many mountain-top trails, there wasn't much to do. But with these kinds of views, you can't be disappointed.



We rode the gondola back to Whistler and headed back down to the town. About midway down, we spotted bears! Wild ones, a grizzly and two black bears directly beneath us! It was really special, but there was no time to get a picture. :(

Out of money and out of energy, Tonya and I headed back to Vancouver. Dinner was at Cactus Club again, because so much on the menu sounded great last time. This time, I ordered the butternut squash ravioli...



YUM.

Day 4: Prince of Whales Ultimate Day Trip

Whale-spotting, take two.

After yet another pathetic breakfast, Tonya and I left the Kia in the bowels of the Shangri-La hotel and walked back to Starbucks. Once again, we treated ourselves to some over-priced drinks and waited. But this time, things looked more promising. People were starting to gather.

The girl in the Prince of Whales jacket showed up again and once we were all there, led us through the Waterfront Station and down to the boat. There were about 30 of us all together. As we left the dock we were given a brief rundown on how to use the life jackets and life preserver in case someone fell overboard. Then as the boat kicked into high gear, Tonya and I took our seats on the stern. The wind was cool but the sun was out, and I felt like a dog with its head out the car window. We sped away from the shore and then beneath the Lion's Gate Bridge, and soon we were heading out into Deep Water, toward Victoria Island.



The first species we saw were some sea lions, sunning themselves on a large number of logs tied together. They seemed to ignore us as we drifted past (the captain cut the motor for photo ops) but the flock of seagulls intermingling with them took flight.



A while later, way off in the distance, I spotted a dolphin. They were too far off to get a picture of, but their playful splashes gave them away. I assume they were Pacific White-sided, like in the aquarium.

Two hours into the trip, it stopped being fun. The air was positively frosty and many of us covered up with some ratty blankets supplied by the boat. But Tonya and I stuck it out and stayed on the uncovered stern. Our efforts paid off as not much later, the people on the top deck started pointing to the left...



Orcas!

A pod of them, maybe 5. It was so cool being able to see such majestic and genuine wild animals. The captain kept up with them as they swam for about half an hour, giving us plenty of time for pictures.

When the whales were moving too far off course, we continued on our way to Victoria Island. We passed by a second group of sea lions, sun bathing on a large rock...



We docked at Victoria Island close to lunch. Restaurants and shops lined the streets and there was a definate 'touristy' feel to the place. Tonya and I ate at Nando's because I know they're in Australia. The food was mediocre, as I've been told. ;) We explored the streets and stopped for gellato, though it wasn't as good as what I had in Australia, and on our way to the bus for Butchart Gardens, I got a bubble tea because I've always wanted to try one since I first saw them in Australia. Maybe I was homesick...?



The gardens were beautiful but because we'd spent so much time stuffing our faces, we only had an hour to go through five different themes and I could have spent at least an hour in each one.






There were too many people for me to be truly happy with my pictures, but I'm very glad we went. At around five, we headed toward the back of the gardens where the boat was waiting to take us back to Vancouver. The trip home was a lot faster because we weren't looking for whales. Tonya and I sat inside this time, and took photos of the mountains.





Dinner was an impromptu stop at Keg Caesar's, where Tonya and I each had some decadent pasta followed by a shared dessert...

Day 3: Stanley Park (aka: $50 in parking)

This morning Tonya and I ate another pathetic breakfast at our hotel, but this time we didn't have to fight for a table. Yipee.

We drove into Vancouver early so that we could snag some spots on the Prince of Whales day tour. A ticket includes a meandering trip through known whale hangouts before letting us off on Victoria island for a few hours. In the evening, the boat left from the rear of Butchart Gardens--the price of which was also included in the ticket. So Tonya and I parked the Kia that wished it was a REAL car in the garage of the Shangri-La hotel for a ridiculous sum of $23. We walked a block to wait in front of Starbucks, where the group was supposed to meet before boarding the boat. We each got a drink and settled in to wait.

As time got closer and no one was showing up, we became worried. Finally a young woman wearing a 'Prince of Whales' jacket showed up, but when we asked her about the trip, she told us it'd been canceled because of a mechanical failure. A little taken aback, Tonya and I decided that since we were in the city, we'd make this the day we explored Stanley Park and the aquarium, and try the boat again tomorrow (after calling first).

Our feet were dragging as we headed back to the car. But then Tonya pointed out the small rectangular sign with a fat pink arrow--a filming sign! The arrows could be spotted anywhere in Vancouver, and they were directions for film crews but sometimes said the name of the TV show/movie it was. So for the next half hour, Tonya and I staked out an old stone pub and watched as props were taken inside. When we finally got up the courage to ask someone (and also our butts got too cold sitting on the stone bench), the young security guard told us it was for a new legal drama set to air next year, called Facing Kate.

Eh.

After a bitter parting with twenty three of my hard-earned American dollars, we re-parked at the aquarium and paid another ridiculous fee of $15, then dodged the photographer taking 'souvenir' pictures as you entered the building, then paid even more for admission, where I was guilted into donating $2 to save a deformed baby seal.

The aquarium was teeming with brats, and it wasn't really worth the struggle to get up to the fish tanks. I'd seen the same in other aquariums. But what DID set it apart was their captive Pacific white-sided dolphins and beluga whales. Down at the dolphin tank, I witnessed a touching moment between one of the dolphins and a young boy:




Outside, Tonya and I watched the Beluga show, which really turned out to be an informational program while the whales did mediocre tricks like waving and calling. Still beautiful animals, though.



After an over-priced lunch, we decided to leave the place to the brats and venture out into Stanley park. The plan was to rent some bicycles and ride around--supposedly the only way to really discover the enormous park. So we started walking, and walking, and walking...

By the time we found an information booth with a map, we were a good twenty minutes from the aquarium. Then we learned that the bike rental place isn't in the park at all, BECAUSE THAT REALLY MAKES SENSE. And on top of that, there was a path that led us straight back to the car and it was only a five minute walk. *headdesk*



We moved the car AGAIN, and after a fifteen minute detour through Vancouver's labyrinth of unmarked and one-way streets, we finally made it to the bike shop--where yes, we paid another $10 for parking.

Have I mentioned that Vancouver is the most frustrating city on the face of the planet?

Anyway, inside the bike shop, we were made to decide on which type of bikes we wanted. I took a guess and got a ten-speed. They took a copy of my credit card as collateral (because I look like a bicycle thief) and waited outside for the valets to bring our bikes to us. Neither Tonya nor I have been on a bike in YEARS, and I was a little self-conscious about mounting up, so we walked the bikes across the MAJOR INTERSECTION and into Stanley Park.



The push off was a little wobbly and I didn't reach very high speeds, but soon enough (after an ice cream and potty break) I was keeping pace with the rest of the pack as we rode the ocean wall around the park. The path is only one way, but the real danger is not crashing into the small children who--for whatever reason--screech to a halt in the middle of the three feet wide path. Brats.



The scenery was beautiful and the cool ocean air will lift anyone's spirits. It smelled of salt and fish and reminded me of Australia. Seagulls wheeled over the beaches and noble pines and maples shaded the path. The circuit around the park took about half an hour, and then we spent the next two riding up and down every gravel path intersecting the park's center. We saw a few natives: a black ferret, some cute striped squirrels, a very bold family of raccoons, and a flock of ducks. The bike was really growing on me and I felt like I could ride the trails forever. But as the sun started to sink, the air became chilly. One last trip around the ocean wall, and then we pedaled back to the rental shop. I am now convinced that I need a bike.




After such a great workout, we ate dinner at an odd little ethnic diner--what we thought was Italian but looked more Greek on the menu. I felt a little out of place, but the food was decent enough.

Day 2: Capilano, Cleavland Dam, Grouse Mt, and Lighthose Park *whew!*

This morning Tonya and I joined the rest of North Vancouver in the kitchenette of the hotel and fought over boxed cereal and toast.



Our first stop was Capilano Suspension Bridge, which is located inside a small park along with a maze of tree-top walkways. The bridge is famous for its size: the length of two 747s standing wingtip to wingtip, and as high off the ground as the Statue of Liberty is tall. Standing on the middle of the bridge provided a beautiful view of the river below, and the lush mountainsides on either side. As long as I didn't look straight down, it wasn't too frightening--even with the brats bouncing up and down.



The tree-top walk was a combination of wooden platforms and shorter bridges spanning the enormous trees. The whole walk took about 45 minutes and it was not very crowded. The scenery didn't change much, though. But it was a great experience.



Next we stopped at Cleavland Dam, because Tonya said it was a world-famous landmark and I had to see it just so I can say I've been there. (Plus, many things have been filmed there, including the 'Blind Man's Bluff' episode of The Sentinel.) Lots of people were there with their dogs, so I assume there were walking trails beyond the dam. I got a few pictures and tried to capture the enormity of it. And from the dam, we could see our next destination...

Grouse Mountain. A rickety little gondola carted us up the side of the very steep mountain, releasing us at the top where it was considerable colder and foggy (or cloudy??). Tonya and I found a seat for the lumberjack show (I know, right?) and while she was getting us some hot chocolate, the fog lifted for a moment and I could see the bears up at the sanctuary fence. We hurried over and got some pictures before the fog settled again and the bears wandered off. So we returned to the lumberjack show and suffered--SAT through half an hour before deciding to look for the bears again.



The 'sanctuary' is incredibly small but full of trees and hills and a 'bear den', a giant barn-type structure where they can have shelter. After not finding the bears, we decided to get on the ski lift and ride to the VERY top of the mountain, where they've recently installed one of those wind-powered generator thingies. I've never been in a ski lift before, but it wasn't much different than a Ferris wheel--except that we were suspended 10 to 20 feet above the rocky ground for a very slow five minutes, every second getting colder and windier until Tonya and I were huddled together and breathing fog. We made it to the top and then found out that there was a charge to go up in the wind-mill thing, so we snapped a picture and hurried back to the ski lift to get down. The ride down was agonizingly slow and I cried the whole way. Until we went over the bear sanctuary and saw one of them posing on a rock for his picture. ;)





After another cup of hot chocolate, we watched the birds of prey show which was like every other birds of prey show I've seen, but I managed to get some good shots:




Having exhausted all of the activities on Grouse Mountain, we headed back down in the gondola and drove a short distance to Lighthouse Park. The park is a sprawling mess of trails weaving in and out of the woods and out to rocky beaches that look out over the water and beyond to the city of Vancouver. There were quite a few people out and about, and a few happy dogs. Tonya and I walked and enjoyed the view for a couple hours, until it started getting dark and we were worried about finding our way back to the car. Obviously, we made it.





After a long day of walking, we grabbed dinner and went to bed!

Vancouver Day 1: The Arrival

Early on the morning of the 21st, I met Tonya at her house after dropping off the dogs at work. I was five minutes early for once, but Tonya was still struggling to cram everything into her suitcases. We left on time. I drove, and we parked in the cheap parking lot in the airport's back 40 then took a bus to the terminal.

The flight was long, but smooth. We landed in Seattle just before lunchtime, and after collecting our bags we were picked up by Theresa in her Mitsubishi Spider (AKA the world's SMALLEST CONVERTIBLE). She drove us (top down, cold Seattle air in our faces) to the car rental a few miles away. At Enterprise, our choices were a minivan, a huge black suburban, or a Kia Sorrento. It was such a hard choice. They all sucked. But a minivan and a gangster bus sucked worse, so we were handed the keys to a brand new economy-sized Kia.



To thank Theresa for saving us a taxi fare, we took her to lunch at her choice: The Rock. During the short drive, Tonya and I immediately noticed that the car's transmission sounded bad, like it was stuck in first gear, buzzing like a lawnmower. The gear shift was one of those new hybrids that are in the new Chargers: what I thought was an automatic but made to look like a manual to make you feel cool. But there was no button to change it between auto and manual. If we drove fast enough, it would eventually change gears by itself, but still sounded and felt horrible. Why didn't the dorky guy at Enterprise tell us this??

Most of the lunch conversation was spent trying to figure it out (Tonya bitching while I tried to Google the answer on my phone). The food was great. Their specialty was burgers and the music was classic rock. The decor was awesome; we ate in a mock-church, complete with flickering candles and skulls above our heads. I had a Hawaiian burger--a chicken burger with pineapple and BBQ sauce. It was enormous, but very good.



Afterward, back in the parking garage, Theresa tried to help us figure out the transmission but couldn't. Tonya and I headed out anyway, extremely concerned about having to drive a manual for the entire trip, but we accidentally discovered that in order to drive in automatic, the gear shift had to sit on the right side of the 'drive' slot. If it was pushed to the left, it became manual. And this 'drive' slot was like, half an inch wide. What if your dog bumped it while you were driving down the highway?? Just further evidence that Kias are dumb.



The two hour drive to Vancouver went smoothly. Mountains surrounded us, becoming snow-capped as we drove further north. Getting across the Canadian border was disappointingly easy. There were no detection dogs, no car searches or questions about fruit or weapons or drugs or killing people. Just a guy in a booth, asking why we were coming to Canada. He didn't even stamp by passport. :(



Vancouver is massive. There are two bridges to get into the city, and we used the Lion's Gate every time. Aside from slightly different traffic signals, there wasn't much difference from America. Just a massive city surrounded by perfect, Melbournian-type suburbs. Each house was unique, and most front yards were fenced. People were walking and riding bikes and walking dogs. Cafe's and boutiques lined the streets. And the flowers. I've never seen so many flowers in such a perfect state of blooming. In Missouri, all of our flowers have been burnt to a crisp.



Tonya's GPS brought us straight to the North Vancouver Hotel, an arrangement of pinkish-purplish buildings adorned with hanging baskets of blooming annuals. We checked in with an Indian man (the first of many ethnicity's we would see) and immediately unpacked. The room was nice; standard and nondescript. Better than some.

Since it was still early in the afternoon, we decided to get a start on our list of activities. We headed out to Lynn Canyon park, only about a five minute drive from the hotel.

Although crowded with screaming brats (till 2 weeks until school started in B.C.) the scenery was beautiful. It reminded me of the William Rickett's Sanctuary. We walked along a gorgeous platformed path that wound in and out of massive trees and led to beautiful lookout points. One leg led down to a river that looked like it was lifted straight from a National Geographic episode. We passed a few very happy and tired dogs trotting behind their owners, dripping wet. Though there were not any scheduled activities or specific attractions to this park, it was still a perfect place to bring your dog and get some exercise--or, if you could find one--sit in a quiet place and relax.




For dinner that night Tonya and I hit Denny's, just a block down from the hotel. I was less than excited about this particular restaurant chain, but its draw actually has nothing to do with the food. It is in fact, the location where Sam and Dean won the One Millionth Customer award in Bad Day At Black Rock. We sat beside the booth the boys sat in, and near the register hangs a signed picture. It was the most exciting thing about one of the blandest restaurants there is. ;)

Vancouver 2010 Trip

At 9:35am on Saturday the 21st of August, Tonya and I will be on a plane heading toward Seattle. We will be met by Theresa, who will drive us to the car rental place, and in return we will treat her to lunch. I hope to spend a few hours seeing the sights of Seattle before Tonya and I drive a couple hours across the border into Canada, to Vancouver. We will spend the next few days horseback riding in Whistler, watching whales from Victoria island, meeting Belugas at the aquarium, and braving a suspension bridge in Grouse Mountain. On Thursday the 26th, we will attend a Supernatural set location tour, and then attend Creation's 2010 Vancouver Supernatural Convention. I will return to Kansas City on the evening of Monday, the 30th.

I've got my passport and my Misha Collins photo op ticket... the essentials. Now I'm off to pack everything else!