Best Birthday Ever!

---

What could be more perfect than a sunny 75 degree day, a beautiful hotel room, a happy bus driver, and the yummiest chocolate dessert ever? Vancouver, B.C. is a small city with many different ethnic groups who all seem to get along. The population is about 578,000 with a large Asian contingent but also Indian, First Nation( the aboriginal people), slavs, and a smattering of everything else.

The setting is to die for: a deep water harbor, home to several enormous cruise ships, surrounded by huge red cedar, fir, and hemlock trees, and bordered by the Coastal Mountain Range. Flying from Prince Rupert in a noisy prop plane I was stunned by the beauty of the mountains. Miles and miles of dark black crenulated folds looking like skirts on Southern belles of old who used to loll around plantations twirling their parasols. Other were peaks like frosting on a giant cake where the Ultimate Cake Off people and Buddy, the Cake Boss had a duel over who could make the most swirls, then top them all off with a dusting of confectioners sugar. Other mountain tops were like zebra stripes with lines of snow creating crevices like so many grocery store bar codes.

Our hotel ( www.victorianhotel.ca) is in an on going ‘gentrified’ part of town known ‘Gastown’. It was named for John Deighton, aka “ Gassy Jack” not because of a flatulence problem but because he talked so much. We border Chinatown, which is the 2nd largest in No. Am., San Francisco being first. Our first day here we went to find the Dr. SunYat-Sen Garden. We circled round and around but never found it. What we did find was a Chinese grocery store that would put the Asian markets in Memphis out of business. It was immaculately clean, had lots of food samples, wonderful Spring rolls( my favorite), and fast check out. Incidentally, you get charged 2 cents for a plastic bag. We got some muffins, yogurt, a spectacular chocolate concoction, put it all in our in room fridge and dined in our first night.

Not liking tours of any kind we decided to figure out the public transportation system to get out to Stanley Park, a 1,000 acres of beaches, bike and hiking trails, cricket fields, tennis courts, a golf course, boating, 3 playgrounds, a Children’s Farmyard, a mini steam train, horse drawn wagon tours, an aquarium, a First Nation settlement with demonstrations and dance performances, a theater in the park, a spectacular rose garden, and numerous restaurants making it the 3rd largest urban park in North America. The best part was that it was free. We got a bus around the corner from our hotel and for $2.40 each way ( about a 20 minute ride) we were dropped off right in the middle of the park.

Ok, so how does one top Stanley Park? Easy, head to Granville Island. Once again we caught a city bus and got dropped off right at the entrance. There are about 90 shops and galleries ranging from shi- shi galleries with signs basically saying “only open by appointment”, to lovely yarn shops, Peruvian crafts, First Nation artifacts, and even a shop full of textiles from Istanbul. Val and I met the owner who will be in Istanbul when we are there next Nov. so she can advise us on places to stay, etc. In addition there are about 20 shops geared towards kids with names like: The Bubble Store; Clownin Around Magic; Knotty Toys; and Ribbit’s Candy Corner. There are at least 60 restaurants and bars, loads of places for entertainment and in general more things to see and do than you could fit into one day.

Since my birthday is tomorrow, Val wanted to take me out to dinner. Well, how does one begin to choose from the plethora of places available? My eye caught the menu posted outside the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts ( www.picachef.com). It looked very inviting so we heeded the call and went in. The appetizer- shrimp with avocado and orange slices was delectable. The entrée- scallops and halibut on a bed of rice with mango and strawberry salsa was maybe the best seafood we have had yet. But the dessert was truly to die for. After getting half way through it I told Val that if I died tomorrow I would die a happy woman. I’m not sure I can even describe it but here goes: a small creamy scoop of coffee ice cream with a thin frond of chocolate sticking up from the center, warm caramel sauce dribble over half the plate, and the piece de resistance, tada!!! A cupcake size warm chocolate cake dusted with confectioners sugar and when cut into oozed warm chocolate fudge sauce. We had all we could do not to swoon over our plates. What a great way to leave Vancouver!

Val and I always think each of our trips is the best yet and this one was wonderful. The warmth and kindness of so many people from Cathy and Nate in Juneau to the aboriginal woman who helped us get a taxi in Prince Rupert, from kind taxi drivers who took us to ferries at 2 a.m. or picked us up at 3 a.m. to bus drivers who announced stops for us and one who even dropped us off closer to our hotel at a non-official stop. All the hotels and B&B’s were great with some being a bit quirky. All gotten on the internet, sight unseen. All the fish we ate was great, seeing eagles, bears, and whales was part of what this trip was all about. Perhaps what delighted us most was the chattiness of the people. You could pretty much strike up a conversation with anyone most notable being the man who waited with us for the play to tart in Prince Rupert, employees on the ferry who were intrigued by Val’s ipad or who just wanted to chat.

This trip was so easy because everyone spoke English and we only had to change $ when we were in Canada and since the currencies are running about even there was no need to work out money exchange. The Alaska ferry system is a dream. It is inexpensive, has lovely ships, and you meet mostly people from places besides USA. The biggest drawback is the schedule because the times some of the ships leave ( or arrive) can be at 1, 2 or 3 a.m. The berths for overnights are well worth the cost. They are a bit Spartan but comfortable. The total cost for Val and I from Juneau to Sitka, then Sitka to Petersburg, then Petersburg to Prince Rupert with 3 overnights was about $500 ( that’s not each of us but the total!).

I hope you have enjoyed traveling with me. Signing off until Oct. when we head to Egypt and Turkey.
Carolyn
PS you can go to www.flickr.com/photos/maumus to see Val’s photos.

---