It felt great to be back at an airport.
And that feeling didn’t last overly long
I know that feeling! I still get excited heading to the airport but the stress of security and risks of cancelled flights just kind of kills that feeling fairly quickly!
I’m sure you know the drill.
Dump your carry-on on the belt.
Remove your own belt and anything
Do you have TSA pre-check in Canada? It's so nice not having to undress and remove my shoes through security.
Of course, flying in Canada
does have its differences
.
No! Is that real??
After an uneventful flight
(which is always a good thing…
you do not want events)
Exactly!
Instead, I headed over to Lynn Canyon
where for
free I got to cross a slightly
more modest (150’) suspension bridge
as well as hike some far less crowded trails.
Yikes! I don't know that I would cross that for free, let alone pay to cross one 3 times longer!
The first item that fit the bill
was Gastown’s Steam Clock.
(Gastown itself is named after
a loquacious saloon keeper whose
nickname was Gassy Jack.)
every quarter-hour,
the four steam pipes at the top of the clock,
whistle out a merry tune much to the
enjoyment of the crowd that gathers
in anticipation… and then immediately
disperses as the last note fades.
Kind of a cute little thing
Turning away from the now silent clock,
I made my way just a couple of blocks west
where Gastown’s iconic Hotel Europe resides.
Very cool. It also reminds me of a show I watched on Netflix where they found the murderer staying…It's too early for me to think right now but I'm going to try to figure out what that was because I'm now curious if it was this place!
Unfortunately, I was unable to
quite complete my perimeter tour
of the park.
At roughly the half-way point,
I encountered a mass of cyclists
and pedestrians who were turning around.
(I later learned that perhaps someone had
fallen ill, been injured, or died on the path.)
Oh, no
Climbing the steep road was
not easy.
But after one or two stops,
I arrived safely, if a bit winded, at the top.
And I was glad I did.
Stanley Park’s only ice cream shop was there!
There'd better be ice cream up there after all that work!
The approximately two-hour
crossing was both scenic and
(again) uneventful.
Beautiful
I ordered a pot of tea, which,
surprisingly, I enjoyed.
I say “surprisingly” because
I don’t really care for tea all that
much, unless it’s cold and
ridiculously sweet.
And has lemon in it.
Or some other flavour like
raspberry or peach.
And doesn’t really taste like… tea.
When in Rome…or Victoria.
So, I ordered both.
Hey, I was hungry.
Yeah, despite being hungry,
it was
way too much
food for one person.
Wait…ALL that was yours??
Okay, I’ll stop.
Is there anyone here who
isn’t familiar with the theme
song to Gilligan’s Island?
Gilligan's Island - Theme Song. - YouTube
Hard to believe that only
Tina Louise (Ginger) is left.
That's my childhood right there…and also, I don't know that only Ginger was left
And the long line spoke well
as to its popularity.
I got in line and dreamed of
delicious chowder.
The line barely moved, but
eventually, after about 30-40
minutes, I got to the front of the line.
Oh boy!
“One seafood chowder, please!”
“Sorry, we’re out.”
Definitely worth the wait.
Oh, boo.
All I’m going to say is that
the gardens are
spectacular.
If you ever get a chance to
visit Victoria, I
highly recommend it.
There’s a reason why the gardens at the
Canada Pavilion in Epcot are modeled after it.
I’ll let the photos do the talking
for the most part…
The famous Sunken Garden
portion of the gardens:
So beautiful! And it does kind of look like EPCOT!
It’s possible you’ve never
heard of Nanaimo Bars,
but if you have…
this is where they’re from.
And if you haven’t,
this is what they look like:
I heard about them on Schitt's Creek (awesome show if you've never watched it!), but also, I had a recipe that I ripped out of my Food Network magazine a while back that I hung onto for months but have since lost. I really would like to try them…sounds yummy…coconut and all!
Yes, like Disney math, it made sense
to drive two plus hours to avoid
a one-hour drive.
They complied and I was able bring
Kay back about 10 bars.
(Which, a couple days later,
when I got back home,
she stated “Oh. My. God. Best ever!!!”
So, mission accomplished.
)
What a good dad
I felt motivated to get a little artsy-fartsy.
Yikes…at first I thought that was snow!
(Apparently, it’s the Sea to Sky’s most
popular place to picnic.)
I can see why. So pretty!
This is taking the joy out
of flying ya know.
They really need to have
a pkondz only line set up,
don’t you think?
Yeah, what happened to your VIP bus pass? It doesn't apply up North??
And that concludes my
summertime excursions for 2021
I sure hope 2022 brings just a bit
more normalcy and a chance
to travel a tad farther abroad.
It doesn't sound like a terrible way to spend your summer. It's lucky you have so many beautiful places there to visit. But I'll be looking for the "normal" pkondz trip report soon too with your little martian guy (I miss him…did you forget about him or purposely leave him out?).
I may have missed his but have you started making plans to head back to WDW anytime soon?