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Three Sleeps in Vancouver
The drive from Banff to Vancouver was fast and presented spectacular views of flooding rivers, burnt out forest sections, some new growth and the ever present meandering bear. The ctitters were busy eating dandelions. The bears looked healthy with masses of good thick fur and not at all emaciated.
In the environs of Vancouver, Maple Ridge to be exact we chanced upon a campsite that was close to the Black Sheep Pub and Grill, was within walking distance of the first of three buses to catch to go downtown and had hot water galor but no showers.
Pablo and I set up the portable shower and all who so desired filled the pink pail with water from the outdoor hot water tap and gloried in free cleanliness. Doing a small wash at the stainless steel sink was also a luxury. Too bad it rained and the clothes did not dry.
After packing away the stuff from the tent (sleeping bag, mat, pillow, flashlight) I headed out to the first bus after walking to catch it. Senior fare- $1.50. That fare took me all the way into Vancouver and then to Mountain Equipment
Coop. The ticket was good for 90 min and could be used to go to and fro in any direction… wake up Toronto! This is public transport!! not the anal approach encountered on your system.
Changing from one bus to the other one went like clockwork…. At each exchange the next bus was waiting. On the way in to the city the bus went on the freeway… and the ocean was visible. As we entered the city via Hastings the dreaded view of homeless and wasted people was evident from the bus.
And in the snap of a finger the blink of an eye and the turning of a corner the disadvantaged were left behind and Cartiers, The Bay, Sears and the fancy hotels took over.
Once on Broadway, which comes after crossing the Granville Bridge, and going to the MEC it was coffee, internet and find a hotel time.
Booked into The Holiday Inn !!
Used every towel - 3; crushed every pillow-4; watched TV till 2AM; guzzled electricity for my laptop and camera; played the radio all night; took three showers; washed my clothes; slept all over the queen sized bed;read the free
newspaper; took all the shampoo, soap and lotion and helped myself to the labled pen.
Sleeping on a matress in a room with a lock and a toilet I could sit on without lining with paper was worth the $204 incl. tax.
After a shower and an hours lie down … with television … the first two missions of the visit to Vancouver were undertaken.
First get the tent pegs:
The original MEC store is huge and surprise offers a greater variety than can be found in Toronto …even though the Toronto store is good and would order anything it does not have. So after an hour of brousing trying on and just enjoying the space I made my purchase of Capri pants, tops and tent pegs. I didi remember to get Canada labels for all three of my carrying cases.
Then head to The Bay for new brassieres. The ones I had bought and believed would be as good as the ones I had bought from the same manufacturer years ago are a big disappointment … the bones designed to help accent my voluptuousness are springing thru the material and digging into my voluminous
flesh . These offenders will be returned to point of purchase!!
Wandered past the Vancouver Art Gallery
and was delighted to see that Monet to Dali was being featured. Thoughts of Butchart Gardens quickly disappeared. Too bad when I got there next day the exhibition does
The VanDusen Botanical Gardens were chosen because they were close to the hotel and were manageable considering that to go to Vancouver Island would have involved thre hours of bus travel and 1.5 hrs.by ferry. SAw the ancient Sequoia tree and read about one in the states that is 3000 yrs old.
Hope we get a chance to drive past that ... not being facesious ... we will have to do ao lot of driving if we ae to be in Mexico by July 4th ... that should be a holiday to be celebrated at least once in one's life in USofA..
Lots of paths in the garden... and a special Bonsai show...imagine my surprise when noticing that some of the trees had been taken from the wild, planted in a somwhat appropriate pot AND BROKEN OFF at the top to make them smaller???
I asked the guy 
A Barb Among The Blossoms
The van Dusen Botanical Gardens were a good close choice.
Dragged my backpack around all day. Enjoyed coffees, wandered down to the Skytrain depot toook some good pictures and generally enjoyed the repeat visit. Sorry I missed the museum that has all the Haida Art...
It was a relatively low key day .... Vancouver is a bit of a hodge podge of architecture. Some structures jumped out at you and some you do not ever want to see again. The view from the Granville Bridge was impressive. Every last bit of space has been filled with a glass edifice of some height. Industrial, office and dwelling structures are all intermingled....lots of condos.... industrial cranes goosenecking above all.... containers waiting for trucks and ships and on the way back out of town the sulpher piles... not too pretty.
Others in the group went looking for Orcas... saw some.. one couple went to Butchard Gardens ...commented on the amount of time required to travel there but wellworth it...have yet to see pictures... some stayed at the campsite and swam in the river... some did laundry and a lot of us went once to The Black Sheep and dropped $40 for a huge plate of food and drinks!
All in all the campground was good. It was not too hard to get to the city... walked a km from where the bus stopped... water was hot and it only rained at night. Packing together a wet tent is unpleasant. Setting up a tent in the rain is going to be even more unpleasant... still have that to look forward to.
Next...Washington ... never been THERE before......
Post Script.... seemsI wrote two Vancouvers.... sorry for any repetition ... enjoy any new observations ...Vancouver
The drive from Banff to Vancouver was fast and presented spectacular views of flooding rivers, burnt out forest sections, some new growth and the ever present meandering bear. The ctitters were busy eating dandelions. The bears looked healthy with masses of good thick fur and not at all emaciated.
In the environs of Vancouver, Maple Ridge to be exact we chanced upon a campsite that was close to the Black Sheep Pub and Grill, was within walking distance of the first of three buses to catch to go downtown and had hot water galor but no showers.
Pablo and I set up the portable shower and all who so desired filled the pink pail with water from the outdoor hot water tap and gloried in free cleanliness. Doing a small wash at the stainless steel sink was also a luxury. Too bad it rained and the clothes did not dry.
After packing away the stuff from the tent (sleeping bag, mat, pillow, flashlight) I headed out to the first bus after walking to catch it. Senior fare- $1.50. That fare took me all the way into Vancouver and then to Mountain Equipment Coop. The ticket was good for 90 min and could be used to go to and fro in any direction… wake up Toronto! This is public transport!! not the anal approach encountered on your system.
Changing from one bus to the other one went like clockwork…. At each exchange the next bus was waiting. On the way in to the city the bus went on the freeway… and the ocean was visible. As we entered the city via Hastings the dreaded view of homeless and wasted people was evident from the bus.
And in the snap of a finger the blink of an eye and the turning of a corner the disadvantaged were left behind and Cartiers, The Bay, Sears and the fancy hotels took over.
Once on Broadway, which comes after crossing the Granville Bridge, and going to the MEC it was coffee, internet and find a hotel time.
Booked into The Holiday Inn !!
Used every towel - 3; crushed every pillow-4; watched TV till 2AM; guzzled electricity for my laptop and camera; played the radio all night; took three showers; washed my clothes; slept all over the queen sized bed;read the free newspaper; took all the shampoo, soap and lotion and helped myself to the labled pen.
Sleeping on a matress in a room with a lock and a toilet I could sit on without lining with paper was worth the $204 incl. tax.
After a shower and an hours lie down … with television … the first two missions of the visit to Vancouver were undertaken.
First get the tent pegs:
The original MEC store is huge and surprise offers a greater variety than can be found in Toronto …even though the Toronto store is good and would order anything it does not have. So after an hour of brousing trying on and just enjoying the space I made my purchase of Capri pants, tops and tent pegs. I didi remember to get Canada labels for all three of my carrying cases.
Then head to The Bay for new brassieres. The ones I had bought and believed would be as good as the ones I had bought from the same manufacturer years ago are a big disappointment … the bones designed to help accent my voluptuousness are springing thru the material and digging into my voluminous flesh . These offenders will be returned to point of purchase!!
Wandered past the Vancouver Art Gallery and was delighted to see that Monet to Dali was being featured. Thoughts of Butchart Gardens quickly disappeared. Too bad when I got there next day the exhibition does not begin until June11 or 16. Never mind… saw a wonderful contemporary arts exhibit by
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Carol Hardy
non-member comment
Hi Barb, Just caught up with your blog. We are off to Vancouver on July 24th direct route by plane from Sudbury. Sorry to miss you. Your trip sounds so adventurous and love the pictures. Quite cool 10 Cel. but sunny here in Lively. Off to pick blueberries this morning.Hope the bears are snoozing.