Now, not really wanting to drive Big Red in downtown
Vancouver, we settled on taking the train with our bikes in tow. That means
Izzy gets to stay and sleep, watch TV, and chew on treats while Steve and I get
our exercise while playing tourist. Little did we know we would encounter a
strange group of people on our first day in the city.
We took the waterfront stop on the train, peddled our bikes
to the convention center area which is where cruise ships land. No silly, I
know what you’re thinking that I was referring to the people from the cruise
ship as a strange group of people! Well they might be but that’s not what I
meant!
We actually stumbled upon an Anime Convention. Now for all
of you folks that are like me you said what is an Anime Convention. Anime is
translated in Japanese from animation so the convention is where a person
dresses up as a character. It could be from a comic book, movie, or television
series. We saw a ton of characters, most of which we were clueless in
recognizing!
Can You Guess Who They Are?
We wandered around a bit and then decided to see what
Flyover Canada was all about. When we were seated in our chairs you began a
twenty minute airplane ride across Canada. We were told about the history of
the railroad being built through the Rockies, not a simple task I might add,
and the beauty of the country. It was a great simulation complete with smells
of nature, moisture and wind.
The Biker
From there we rode our bikes along the waterfront and to
Stanley Park. At Stanley Park we wandered through the Totem Pole display,
watched a bit of cricket, and the boats in the water. The ride along the water was quite wonderful
and allowed you to not worry about driving and parking the truck whenever you
wanted to stop and read something or just sit and people watch.
Totems in Stanley Park
The view along the waterfront ride
Biking Fools
When we left the park we headed to Chinatown for some
authentic Chinese food. They were setting up for their Friday night street
market when we got there. We decided to lock our bikes and wander around the
area a bit before dinner.
Chinatown in Vancouver
The Entrance to Chinatown
A Zen Garden in the Middle of the City
After dinner we headed to Gastown. No it’s not what you’re
thinking! The town is full of shops, art galleries, restaurants, and a steam
clock. Now you can probably figure out why it’s called Gastown!
The clock going off
Trying to take his gun
The Skinny Building in the middle of the street
Gastown
The next day we did it again, but this time got off the
train earlier so we could ride the rest of the waterfront since we only rode about
half of it the day before. Vancouver is
known for its artwork and diversity. This group of statues gives you the
whimsical side of the city!
Statues That Will Make You Smile
Steve hanging out
Tory's New Friend
Now you have probably figured out what Steve really enjoys
seeing. No it’s not just me, but boats. As we rode our bikes we saw plenty of
boats in their slips. Too bad we don’t own one of them!
This Boat Gives you the water tour
Boats, Boats, City, City
Plenty of Sail Boats to pick from!
We rode to Granville Island as our last spot on our biking
tour. This place is where the artist goes and gets supplies, displays their
art, and even sells their artwork. A pretty cool area of the city.
Getting ready to head out
We headed back a bit earlier this day so Izzy wasn’t quite
as famished when we got back! It’s a good thing we weren’t going to ride our
bikes the next day as my knee was talking to me pretty loudly with every
step! In the end we did 30 miles and for
me that was the most I had ridden since long before my new knee.
We enjoyed our time touring the city but in the end glad we
didn’t have to drive in it! Now we head to the Rockies!
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