Vancouver and Seattle

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Geo: 47.3075, -122.23

We have had an interesting couple of days. Yesterday we drove into Vancouver and first visited the Capilano Suspension Bridge. This is one of the best examples of a suspension bridge in the world. It was originally built in 1889 and has only had minimal upgrades since then. It is now in a park which has a number of attractions. The Douglas firs are huge and the other species of plants there are abundant. It is a temperate rainforest. There is a Treetops walk and another boardwalk which hugs the cliffs. Well worth a hour or two spent. After a pleasant lunch at the small restaurant opposite the park we went into the city. We drove through Stanley Park on the end of the peninsula. This has some good beaches and is obviously the play area for Vancouver families with many play areas and recreational facilities. We parked and strolled through the main shopping area of the city. this revolves around Robson and Granville Streets. There are many shops, much the same as most cities with some intersting buiding facades. We went down towards the waterfront and found more interesting shops along Water Street. this is the older part of town and a section of this used to be called Gastown. Here we found an amazing steam run clock which sounds Westminster chimes every quarter hour.
Today we drove from Vancouver to Seattle without much incident. We had to wait an hour in the queue to get through US Customs. The crossing was marked by a Peace Arch surrounded by pretty gardens. Again found it difficult to find motels near the city. During our drive through the city we drove past the port area of Seattle which looks very interesting and we are looking forward to returning there to explore, tomorrow. We found a Travelodge near the University of Washington, however, they had no rooms available. The lady there, Sandy, rang around several places to find rooms. It seems there are 7 conventions and several other festivals etc in the city. Finally, she found us a room at the Travelodge at Auburn which is about an hour's drive on the Freeway outside of Seattle. However, it is close to SeaTac airport from which we have to leave on Wednesday. It is also a lot less expensive than in Seattle.
We are intending to drive into Seattle and explore the city tomorrow before leaving for the eastern side on Wednesday. tonight we had dinner at a Greek restaurant here in Auburn which was better than the standard burger/fatty/tasteless offerings from the myriad of chain restaurants which seems to be the main fare on offer.

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