Friends & Family in Greater Vancouver
On June 8th we finally arrived in Canada and we are settled in at the very comfortable Eagle Wind RV Park in Aldergrove, for about six weeks, to visit with family and friends as well as the beautiful city of Vancouver. One of the must see sites in Vancouver is Granville Island and we had a couple of delicious dinners there with family. I would do all my shopping here for food if I lived downtown, however it is very expensive to shop and live in Vancouver. So most people move away from the city where they can afford to buy a nice house. One of the outside cities is Surrey where our friends Paul and Linda Sutherland live and they had us over for a reunion dinner with Pete and Heather Paget, and Ralph and Dawn White. Great food, drinks and laughs were enjoyed by all until 2AM. I think they thought they were all back in high school together and could stay up and party all night! NOT!!!!
We had a memorable day with Ralph White and his cycling friends on a 100 km bike ride across the border into the States. Not quite like the ride we took with Paul and Linda, Ralph and Dawn in Derby Park to Fort Langley, along the Fraser River, where we stopped for coffee and a break. Loved Fort Langley a small village community with a population of 3,400, and home of the Fort Langley National Historic Site, built in 1827. It is a former fur trade post of the Hudson’s Bay Company, and has become a thriving tourist center, as many of the villages old buildings have been restored. A visit to the Krause Berry Farm and the delicious waffles were the highlight of the ride.
We also had a fun-filled evening with my brother, John and Lisa, at their apartment in downtown Vancouver. We helped them celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary, with many of the people who were in attendance at their wedding in Lund, Sweden, including myself. Another day we did a walking tour of the Kitsilano area where we lived just after we were married. We toped the day off with a great visit and dinner with Alex and karen our friends from UBC. Another place we visited was Harrison Hot Springs for a day and a hike along the Lake. We had a nice lunch in the Brewery and visited the famous Harrison Hotel.
World Famous Stanley Park
One of our first outing was to go to Stanley Park, our most favorite place in the city, and to walk the 5.5 mile, near century-old Vancouver Seawall. Construction of the Seawall and walkway around the entire Park began in 1917 to 1971. The original wall was constructed under the direction of James “Jimmy” Cunningham, a master stonemason who spent 32 years on the project until his death in 1963, long before the wall was complete. We have been coming to this wonderful Park since the 1960’s and still marvel at the beauty of this 1,001 acre setting in downtown Vancouver, surrounded by the waters of Vancouver Harbor and English Bay. It was Vancouver’s first park in 1886, named after the 6th Governor General, Lord Stanley, and was officially opened on Sept 27, 1888. On June 18, 2014, Stanley Park was named “top park in the entire world” by Trip Advisor, and I definitely agree.
Museum of Anthropology, UBC
Then we spent a great day with Bob’s brother, Ted and Marg, and his sister, Linda at the Museum of Anthropology at UBC, founded in 1947, it is renowned for its displays of world arts and culture. It has a number of large sculptures, totem poles, and cultural artifacts. Although MOA’s focus is on the First Nations of the Northwest Coast. The most iconic object in the Museum is the yellow cedar sculpture The Raven and the First Men by Bill Reid, which was depicted on the Canadian $20 bill from 2004 to 2012. The Museum’s Great Hall contains many fragments of totem poles, my favorite area, from Haida and other First Nation villages along BC’s coast. The Haida houses outside the Museum, where we had a guided tour, were also built under the direction of Bill Reid. The new building designed by Arthur Erickson in 1976, was inspired by the post-and-beam architecture of the NW Coast First Nations people. This Museum is a must see when visiting Vancouver, and the surrounding campus of the University of BC.
