Travel Tuesday - Go North To Alaska - Vancouver, B.C.

 Hello readers,

I would like to thank Hailey and Zaphod for graciously allowing me to take some space on their blog to share my most recent adventure - a trip to the West Coast for anAlaskan Cruise with my mom.

In or around the year 1968 my mom decided she wanted to go on an Alaskan Cruise. She and my dad had been planning this around the time the 'incident' made travel basically impossible for my dad. I offered to go with her. So this summer was the time to make her dream come true.

Me in Stanley Park

Our trip started on July 28 with a very early morning flight to Vancouver B.C. We arrived around 9:30 PST and after dropping our bags at the hotel and having brunch, we headed out for the hop on and hop off bus around the city. This was my mom's first trip to Vancouver and my third.

One of the first stops we passed through was Chinatown. Allow this traveller a moment for the less pleasant. I feel I am fairly well informed on the Opioid crisis in Canada, and I had seen some of the issue in previous visits to Vancouver (as well as seeing some in Ottawa and Toronto). However, nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. For the dignity of those impacted, there are no pictures and words can't describe seeing 'piles' of strung out people, seeing people check others to see if they were dead, the pain, and the suffering, literally laying on the sidewalk for what felt like endless blocks. My heart broke a little and I was near tears (I am not a crier so this is a big deal). While it was a shocking way to start the vacation, I do not regret having a much deeper understanding of this problem and as my jet lagged brain settles, I will be looking into what I could do to help.  

A memorial in Chinatown to those who fought in the war

Famous Gastown clock

The Vancouver Harbour

A statue I liked in the city

The main stop we took on the hop on and off was Stanley Park. This 1001 acre park was named for Governor General Lord Stanley, the man who gave us the cup (the top prize in the NHL). It is a beautiful place and well worth the visit.

The park has some wonderful gardens. 

I loved that nature had found a way to grow!

We took the horse drawn tour around the park, with our horses Jim and Grit. 

Grit kept giving us the stink eye lol!

Many movies and TV shows are filmed in Vancouver and the horses from the stables at the park have been in shows like Once Upon a Time (some were Prince Charming's' horses).

Vancouver, and almost all the area we visited is a temperate rainforest, which means they are areas that get ample rainfall, less severe winter weather and therefore some amazing growth. The trees in Stanley Park are mostly only a few hundred years old thanks to logging and fires, but it was still stunning. 

Never met I tree I didn't want to hug

One of the main attractions in Stanley park is a collection of totem poles, which represent a number of different First Nations in Canada. Totem poles are monuments that the First Nation's People of the West Coast carved to tell stories, to commemorate people and events. (More on them when we get to Alaska).

Another attraction is "Girl in a Wetsuit." This is rumoured to be inspired by the Little Mermaid Statue in Copenhagen, and having been to both, I can seem the similarities. 

I took a picture of the geese because earlier in the day had seen some tourists were trying to hug them and they can be so nasty. 

As a Canadian I sometimes forget how uneducated much of the world is about us. I would like to take a moment to just clarify a few things.

Yes - Canada has towns, we are not just big cities.

Provinces are most easily explained as being similar to States but with more Federal oversight. We also have territories, but will save explaining those for another time.

Our coloured money has nothing to do with the pride movement.

Yes, it is very expensive to live in Canada, especially Vancouver. Who can afford it? Not many.

Thanks for letting me know you think Trudeau is good looking. He is now single if you are interested.

The province is British Columbia. The city is Vancouver, the island is Vancouver Island and the city that is the capital of the province is Victoria (It is not Victoria Island).

I can assure you Ottawa is the capital of Canada. It is not Toronto. I know Toronto thinks it is the capital of the world, but it is only the capital of Ontario. Please stop arguing with me about this.  

Come back next week when we visit Vancouver Island - the bus trip where many of the gems above were gleamed!