Vancouver Tuesday

August 08, 2018

Tuesday was our full Vancouver day and we got our moneys worth. I managed to stay in bed until about 4 am and being a very considerate husband, did my best to stay quiet. Since Rod and Glenda are not due to arrive until mid afternoon, Nace and I are going to do some cycling and take advantage of Vancouver's extensive seawall pathways.

Quiet time was over at 5 when I succumbed to my coffee jones and fired up the one cup coffee maker in the room. To be fair, Nace had already started to show some signs of life.

We were dressed and set out to take in the early morning sun on the hotel patio with a great view of the harbor. The weather is warmer than typical for Vancouver, low 80's < 50% humidity, cool coastal breeze-perfect for a couple of SW Floridians escaping the oppressive summer heat.

Time to explore Granville Island and finds some real coffee and breakfast

Water Taxi Parking Lot

Granville Island Brewery

Harbor View

First real coffee (latte) of the trip

Good fortune struck again as we met Hakim while having breakfast. He has lived in Vancouver since age 3 and was a wealth of information regarding dining in Yaletown. He was not overly enthusiastic about my remote research and suggested several places to eat. He did confirm that the gelato place I picked out was superb.

Nace and Karim at Espresso Bar and Bistro

It was fun to experience Granville Island waking up before the crowds arrived. We had a hearty breakfast and plenty of caffeine to kick start our cycling adventure at Stanley Park

Ferry to Aquatic Center-English Bay

We took a water taxi across False Creek to the Aquatic center ferry dock and walked along the seawall before turning into the downtown area to pick up our rental bikes. I found English Bay bike rentals online and within a few minutes we were registered and out the door with our city hybrid bikes, helmets and locks. Picking our way through a small section of urban madness we found an entry point for the bike/walk path along the Stanley Park seawall.

Art or Junk left on the beach?

Rock Stacking Is a Thing

This Stack is the Clear Winner

The plan was to begin with a ride across Lion's Gate bridge which is 364 feet above the Burrard Inlet. It has been a while since riding any serious elevation but my old Florida legs still have some climbing life left in them. The views were spectacular but somewhat obscured by the morning haze.

Lion's Gate Bridge

Start of Bridge Ride

Overlook on Lion's Gate Bridge

At one of the overlook outcroppings we happened upon a very nice young lady who recommended we continue on to the Spirit Trail.

Spirit Trail North Vancouver

View from Spirit Trail-of interest, seal in foreground and Canada Place Cruise Port

The Spirit trail takes you along the north shore of the Burrard inlet with great views of Vancouver. We rode that to the end and returned to cross the bridge and find our way back onto the Stanley Park pathway.

Before taking on Stanley Park we detoured back into town to slake our thirst and found a Safeway. We downed a jug of Arnie Palmer ice tea, a banana and a peach and picked our way through traffic to return to the bike trail.

The ride around Stanley park is also quite spectacular as this massive land mass sticks out into the entry to the Pacific and you have vantage points that take in nearly 360 degrees. Most of the trail is separated for cycling and walking but the cycling was a bit hectic with bikes and bikers of wide variety and skill drifting out of line due to the continuous distraction of the views.

Bikes were returned after about 2-1/2 hours of cycling. Garmin statistics - Vancouver Cycling

Next was some recon for this evenings dinner with Rod and Glenda. I also wanted to find a cigar shop that I found online and pick up a few cubans for the cruise. We took another water taxi to Yaletown.

The building in the center above needs some explanation. It looks like someone got the plans turned upside down. The developer had a fixed idea about square footage but did not have the footprint for the foundation. He purchased "air rights" to build out beyond the sight-lines of the surrounding buildings resulting in this configuration. Not sure it would stay upright in a hurricane?

Harbor view of Granville Island Hotel

Gabriella giving me some recommendations at Revolution Cigars

Nace and I returned to the Hotel showered and awaited the arrival of our great travel companions. They got through customs with none of the delays we experienced yesterday and were fresh and ready to head out for dinner. Back on a water taxi to Yaletown Rod and Glenda generously treated us to drinks and dinner at WildTale which was a spinoff of one of Hakim's recommendations.