Eagles and Whales and Bears, oh my!!! COMPLETED 3/4/2012 - Page 5 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
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Wow, what a journey it was for you to get to Vancouver. Reading all this really brings that home to you. I think you did pretty well with the photos, considering you were on the wrong side of the bus!
That was some trek to Vancouver! A lot more involved than just hopping on and off a bus. You got some amazing photos for being on the wrong side of the bus! I'll be landing in Seattle at 10:30pm, so I probably won't see the mountain until the next morning.
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You know, Barb, one of the reasons we decided to rent a car instead of taking the bus was exactly what you mentioned....no food places on the outer side of security! We would have had almost 3 hours to kill, and we would have needed to get our luggage first and then found a place to eat. I'm not sure what we would have done for all that time with no sit down restaurants.
We have arrived in Canada! Not much of a “Wow” factor when we first arrived. We were only about 30 miles away from Vancouver but we were, I think, the last stop of the shuttle. Therefore it took about another hour to get to our destination.
Here are a few pictures along the way. As you can see some "Wow" factors appreared as we got closer to the city.
As we got closer and into the city I was glad we still had some day light to see the views. I particularly liked the city’s electric buses. I got a few shots of them when we got into town.
A few more pictures from the bus.
This is BC Place stadium used for the most recent Olympics for opening and closing ceremonies. They are in the process of rebuilding the roof of the stadium.
Then we arrived at Canada Place and the Pan Pacific! We were asked by bell services if we needed any help with our bags but we were too excited to take them up on the offer. They were very nice and gave us directions to where we needed to go for check-in. It was up one flight of escalators (we found the elevator later that night!!) and to the right. Check-in went fast and was very easy. Before we knew it we were directed to the bank of elevators to go to the hotel rooms (there were others that went down to the cruise terminal and up to offices, etc.). We were in room #916 with a harbor view. I had hoped for one on a floor further up (Sue and Steve got one!!!) but it was a great room anyways.
I took the time to take a few pictures of the room and out the window (after the necessary bio break (sorry, TMI?). Our room looked out to a roof top area. It appeared a wedding or some sort of reception had just ended and they were in the process of cleaning up. We found out later that the area was just off the pool and we later in the trip saw people taking advantage of some Vancouver sunshine in that area.
After that we went to find FOOD! I really did not want to get all dressed up for the hotel’s restaurant but DH had researched the area before the trip with google maps/street view and he said there was some sort of food court nearby. Not only was it near – there was a walkway from the lower lobby of the Pan Pacific that went under the street to the food court. The Hotel across the street was the Fairmount Waterfront. We went down to the check-in desk and exchanged some US $ for Canadian $. We had brought some with us but these were to be “just in case” (BTW, we came home with one $5 bill and some Canadian coins of various denominations. Some went to one of our grandsons and some we are keeping in case we need them in the future!).
By the time we made it to the food court most everything was closed. It appeared as if the businesses catered to those working in the downtown area near Canada Place and tourists. We did find a MacDonald’s open so there was dinner.
We asked when the food court would open in the morning as we would need something before our adventures began the next morning. 6am we were told, we’d be good to go!
After dinner we decided to take a walk around Canada Place. We found a Starbucks right outside the entrance (had not seen it when we arrived) so I splurged with a Frappuccino for dessert.
As we walked around Canada Place (it was about a mile or so to do the lap) I took some pictures. The sun was setting and the lights of the city were pretty awesome.
The street entrace to the hotel.
This totem pole was in the street level lobby of the hotel and went up several stories.
After our walk DH was pretty tired so we went back to our room. He conked out on the couch and slept for several hours. I organized our stuff for the next few days, showered, fired up the laptop, checked email (internet connection was only $4.95 for 24 hours!), and read some things on the boards. I updated my notes from today and watched some TV. (Wonder if all that energy was caused by the Frappucino I had for dessert??) When DH woke up it was 11:30 pm Vancouver time (1:30 am Central Daylight time). It had been a long and very good day, but I needed sleep. “Tomorrow is another day”
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Great update Barb - I loved all the photos as you approached Vancouver. One thing we never got to do was walk the whole lap round Canada Place - I never realised it was that far - as we just overlooked from it from the area outside the Pan Pacific.
Very nice photos of the hotel and Canada Place. Makes me wish DCL was using Vancouver next summer instead of Seattle. I'm sure I'll enjoy Seattle, but I like the Vancouver set-up with the hotel right there at the terminal.
Sunday dawned at 6:23 am with a bit of fog and the arrival of a ship to Canada Place. We were up and I got a few shots of the harbor before we headed out to find something to eat. You can see a bit of the ship in the first couple of pictures.
Breakfast was again at the food court. It was a bit busier this morning than it had been the night before but not all places were open yet. I had heard so many Canadians talk about “Tim Horton’s” I wanted to try it. We didn’t get anything fancy but it was tasty and filling.
We had some time before our tour bus was to pick us up so we took a few minutes to walk around the area. One thing we discovered about Vancouver was that there are flowers and water fountains (of all types) everywhere. Almost as many fountains as there are Starbucks and other coffee shops!
We could see this fountain from the food court area.
We headed back to our room to pick up whatever we were going to need that day. It would turn out to be a full day too!
A few more pictures outside our room and from our windows overlooking the harbor. Then it was time to head back downstairs to meet up with the tour bus. We had no idea how big or small it was going to be or how many others would be with us on the tour. Today we were headed to the Capilano Fish Hatchery, Capilano Suspension Bridge, and Grouse Mountain.
We took a few pictures as we waited. The early morning fog was gone and it was turning into a wonderful day. We were told repeatedly that we were very fortunate to see this type of weather and temps. It had been an extraordinarily cool and wet summer in the area. I can attest to that as I had been checking the area, and the parts of Alaska we would be visiting, most of the summer. So, no complaints from us!
Our bus arrived on time right in front of the Pan Pacific, at 10 am, and it was a full sized bus and looked very new. I didn’t get a picture as it arrived but I got this one later on.
We got on board and found out that 2 other couples had cancelled or were “no shows” so our entire group would number 5! Us, one couple from Florida, and a woman from New York who was in Vancouver for a conference and because of Hurricane Irene was unable to get a flight out that day. She was hoping for Monday and since she had the time and didn’t want to just spend the time in a hotel room, she booked the tour. She was a lot of fun to talk with and at various times over the tour we took some pictures of her so she could prove to her family she really had gone on this adventure. You see, she was very afraid of heights and unless she had proof they never would have believed what she did! I so admired her adventurous spirit and willingness to try new things.
Our tour guide was Jack. He was very friendly and knowledgeable in regards to the history of the city, the Capilano Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain. Because the group was so small he actually joined us in our adventures instead of just waiting for us on the bus.
I took some pictures from the bus as we made our way to our adventures.
Harbour Centre, we would see more of this later in the day.
Loved getting the reflections of buildings on the glass windows of other buildings.
Vancouver Post Office
Art Museum. Wish we'd had time to go here.
Couple of churches, very different in style and architecture.
We drove through part of Stanley Island, another area we will see more of in the coming days. We traveled over the Lion’s Gate Bridge to North Vancouver to the Capilano River Regional Park where the Capilano Fish Hatchery is found. Here are some of the views we saw along the way.
The ride to the hatchery did not take long and it was interesting to see that the park was very close to residential areas of North Vancouver.
Hungry anyone?
We also went under Trans-Canada Highway. You can drive this roadway from Victoria BC in the west to St. John's NS in the east. That's a distance of 4990 miles!
We arrived at the Capilano Fish Hatchery.
We exited the bus and immediately saw the Capilano river. Cameras at the ready!
The hatchery was built in an effort to restore the salmon industry. The Cleveland Dam was built in 1954 to create a reservoir to provide water to Vancouver. Unfortunately it cut off access to the spawning areas of Coho and steelhead salmon. A fish ladder was built and salmon were collected and trucked above the dam to continue their journey to spawn. However, young salmon going downstream were lost as they went over the dam. So, the hatchery was designed, built and completed in 1971.
Here are pictures of the Capilano River and the hatchery. We saw lots of salmon on the fish ladder but I was unable to actually capture one as it went from one level to another.
What you are seeing here is part of the walkway over the fish ladder. You can't see much in the first picture, the camera had some problems focusing on the water below the bars. However, if you look closely to the second picture you can see some salmon.
As we walked along we eventually came to a room that had glass windows showing the fish ladder and the salmon attempting to climb.
This picture is taken after the salmon have made it up the ladder and are swimming off to the spawn area.
One thing that happened as I was trying to get a picture of a leaping salmon was the arrival of a larger group of Asian tourists. They converged on the fish ladder with cameras in hand. I decided to let someone take my place at the glass but when I tried to get through the crowd no one wanted to move. I was really trying to help them out and I finally managed to get through it and back to where DH was waiting. He had a grin on his face and told me that my efforts to get through the crowd were very similar to the salmon who were trying to get up the fish ladder!!! I told him it did indeed feel that way.
See me trying to get out??
After the group left!
Outside the fish ladder room were the tanks with the young salmon that would eventually be released into the wild.
The whole area was blooming with hydranga and I took some pictures of them too.
When our time at the hatchery was up we returned to the bus and proceeded up the road to the Capilano Suspension Bridge. We probably got there around noon and there was a bit of a line to purchase entrance tickets. Fortunately because we were on a tour our guide had already acquired our tickets and we were able to get right in (kind of like a fast pass!). Jack gave us a brief overview of the area and let us know when we needed to be back at the bus. The park has three main attractions. The Capilano Suspension Bridge, the Treetops Adventure, and the newly opened Cliffwalk.
I think Jack went off with either the couple from FL or the single lady from NY. DH and I decided the first thing we would do would be the newly opened Cliffwalk. It had only been open since June and Jack said that it was very popular. Given the number of persons on their way into the park once they had tickets it was smart to attempt that as soon as possible.
Cliffwalk: “This is the newest of the activities at Vancouver's Capilano Suspension Bridge. Open June 3, 2011, this heart-stopping cliffside journey takes you through rainforest vegetation on a series of unobtrusive cantilevered and suspended walkways jutting out from the granite cliff face above Capilano River to previously unexplored areas of the park. Not for the faint of heart, it is high and narrow and, in some sections, glass (very strong glass) is all that separates guests from the canyon far below.”
Yep, all of this is true!! The good thing about the Cliffwalk is that it does NOT sway in any way. The Capilano Suspension Bridge, however, is another story! But I’m getting ahead of myself. If you are interested here is a video on the building of the Cliffwalk. Cliffwalk I watched this AFTER I returned from our trip.
Pictures of our cliff adventure.
Next up: The Capilano Suspension Bridge and the Treetop Adventure
Great update! The harbor is beautiful, as is the city. You two are fearless doing the cliff walk!! Your photos are as close as I'll ever get. An amazing area. (And that photo of you in the fishery did look like you were struggling to swim upstream .
Great update! The harbor is beautiful, as is the city. You two are fearless doing the cliff walk!! Your photos are as close as I'll ever get. An amazing area. (And that photo of you in the fishery did look like you were struggling to swim upstream .
After Zion National Park and the Grand Canyon last year, this looked way safer! Wait until next time with the suspension bridge! I'm going to try and get some video uploaded to give the full effect!
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I think you did pretty well with the photos, considering you were on the wrong side of the bus! 
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