Day 4, October 20th, Tuesday

Since our resort was so close to Vancouver, Canada (30 miles), we decided to drive there and check it out. We had not done our homework ahead of time so had no idea how big a city it is. We came over a hill and ahead loomed what appeared to be a giant city. I won't repeat what either of us said at that point. (I have since learned that the population of the is 615,473 and the whole metro area is 2.3 million.)


The strange thing was that the freeway just quit being a freeway and suddenly we were in heavy city traffic with no map and no idea where we were going. I guess we thought there would be an obvious, welcoming visitor bureau, but no such luck. Finally we saw an Avis Rental Car agency and stopped at a nearby convenience store. Parking was non-existent so Denis went into the store as if to buy something while I hurried down the street to Avis and asked for a map. What I got was one of those cartoon type maps but at least it gave us an overview of the city streets and showed us how to get to a big park. Trees. Yes! That's what we need to feel at home, so off we went to Stanley Park.


The following picture is not one I took. I lifted it from a web site so I could give an idea of the size of the city and the park at the end of the city. The park is 1100 acres. We stayed lost much of the time in the park.

Here is a view of the city from the park.

And of course I had to take a picture of the horses in the park. These draft horses pull wagons and tour the park. The wagons hold 20 people and the cost is $24.99 for seniors. I don't know how long the tour is but I thought that was a little steep, especially for a group ride. A private carriage might have been worth it.

Aside from just the sheer beauty and size of the park, one of the most interesting features was a display of totem poles. Some were original and some reproductions.

This group shot gives an idea of how big they are. Quite a carving feat.