A Day in the Park

---

We woke up at 9:30. Brianna spent the first hour on the internet, trying to write up some blog entries which ended up getting lost due to crappy internet speeds. Not sure when we’re going to be able to update again.

We checked out and went on the hunt for food. We cruised up Capilano Ave and saw a nice restaurant. We stopped, ate, and then realized that the restaurant had an associated tourist trap, the Capilano Suspended Bridge. This one blew the Crazy Creek bridge right out of the water. It was massive, and with 50+ people on it it swayed and bobbed wildly. They also had a bunch of tree-top bridges strung up high between some Douglas firs which was fun.

Next, we headed for the Vancouver Aquarium and Stanley Park. We got a little lost and had to take some back alleys to get back to where we wanted to go but we were in no rush, and we got a taste of Vancouver on the way. What we noticed is that Vancouver has a lot of running stores, fitness stores, and coffee shops. Also, a whooole lot of restaurants.

The aquarium itself was great. Sooo many interesting displays, and we managed to catch the Beluga, Dolphin, and Otter feeding shows. The first two sets of animals performed for their food while the trainers regurgitated a scripted history concerning the background of the animals and some interesting physiological facts. The last set, the otters, didn’t do much for their food besides looking cute. Good thing they do it so well. We ended up leaving the aquarium at closing time, and cruised Stanley Park for an hour or two. Stanley Park has some beautiful trails (though short) and LOTS of runners. There’s a running room just outside the park which is the perfect backdrop for any of their running programs. After the park, we went looking for accommodations.

Since there are no provincial parks with camping nearby, and since we were unwilling to spend money on hotels for the next two nights, we ended up staying at a hostel that UBC runs during the summer months. The UBC campus blows Waterloo out of the water. If you were to represent both campuses in a sidewalk block, Waterloo would be a chunk of concrete in the middle of that block. UBC would be an explosion of greenery and architecture. You would walk on the grass or garden to get avoid stepping on this block and it would probably win some sort of city block award. The other blocks would be shamed. I can’t even believe how many buildings they have here. It’s ridiculous.

So yeah. We went to bed. It was 11 by this point and we were both hungry but we got a little lost trying to get here and most everything else was closed or closing. Brianna was also having a huge allergy attack. Being back at the hostel made us miss residence a little bit, but not too much. Might have something to do with the people blaring bad rap music across the hall.

Seen:
-2 Dolphins
-3 Otters
-5 Belugas
-Lots of fish, Amphibians, Bugs, Birds, and a 3-toed Sloth.

---