We arrived at Eagle Wind RV Park on July 1st, Canada Day. We plan on staying for 3 months to visit our family and friends. Our first outing was to Salt Spring Island to visit my sister Susan and Denis. While we were there we did a bike ride to Sydney and Victoria on Vancouver Island. We started by taking the ferry from Ganges over to Swartz Bay where the Lochside Trail begins and we rode into Victoria, a 33 km bike ride. We stopped for lunch in Victoria at Spinnakers Brewpub and then rode past the iconic Empress Hotel and on to view the Parliament Buildings. On our way back to the ferry we stopped in the town of Sydney and had a beer looking out at the beautiful harbor. We made it back in time to catch the ferry back to Ganges on Salt Spring Island. A great day of biking. Click on thumbnail to view images
Lockside Bike Trail
Vancouver Aquarium
We visited the Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park, it had been along time since we had been there. It opened on June 15,1956 and it is a sanctuary in the heart of Stanley Park, it is well worth a visit to this magnificent aquarium.The Vancouver Aquarium currently houses around 300 species of fish, almost 30,000 invertebrates, and 56 species of amphibians and reptiles. Therefore, we had a fabulous day seeing all the sea creatures and watched the dolphin, Spinnaker, doing his high-jumps, during the dolphin show, and explaining about their habits and life at the aquarium. The aquarium has not kept any orcas in captivity since 2001. The aquarium is a center for marine research, conservation and marine animal rehabilitation. Click on thumbnail to view images
Vancouver
We spent several days riding our bikes or walking around the Vancouver Waterfront, it is such a spectacular setting in the heart of downtown Vancouver. From Canada Place along the seaside walkway to Stanley Park is a little over 2 km long and is paved, flat and wide. We also would go to English Bay on our way to Stanley Park and ride along the seawall for 5 miles. Click on thumbnail to view images
VanDusen Botanical Gardens
On our anniversary we visited the VanDusen Botanical Gardens, situated in the Shaughnessy neighborhood of Vancouver, where I grew up. The Botanical Gardens opened to the public on August 30, 1975, and it is named for local lumberman and philanthropist Whitford Julian VanDusen. The Garden covers 55 acres and displays plants from all over the world, as well as an extensive collection of native BC plants. We saw water features throughout the rolling landscape, as well as other special features such as, carved totem poles, large stone sculptures, and a Korean Pavilion. We had a nice dinner in the beautiful Shaughnessy Restaurant with views of the gardens. Click on thumbnail to view images
Grouse Grind
Our challenge for the summer was to hike the Grouse Grind. It is Vancouver’s most used trail and is renowned for its challenge in requiring physical strength and endurance in order to make it to the top. Grouse Mountain is named from the sooty grouse commonly found throughout the mountain, named in October 1894 by the first hikers to reach the peak. Today’s Grouse Grind was first developed in 1981 by mountaineers looking for a challenging, convenient aerobic workout. They began by following well-worn animal paths in the rough, and completed the new trail in the winter of 1983. Some trail facts: it is 1.8 miles in length; 2,800 feet elevation; summit is 3,700 feet; and total stairs 2,830. And we made it to the top! Click on thumbnail to view images
Miscellaneous Summer Activities
Once we got back to Aldergrove, BC, we connected with our biking friends in the White Rock area. We signed up for the Tour de Whatcom on July 20th, out of Bellingham. We arrived late due to traffic at the border and ended up riding the 60 km ride. It was still fun and met everyone after the tour. We rode the Centennial Trail in Washington and another beautiful ride throughout the Langley area. Our family visits were short but we we did see Jonathon Fane and his new baby twin boys, Huxley and Daniel, and had a fabulous dinner at their house. We also saw my brother John and Lisa when we went to Granville Island to see Faro perform in the Beauty and the Beast. Great show and Faro was fantastic. After the show we went out for dinner with John and Lisa at the Dockside Restaurant in the Granville Island Hotel. It was a beautiful evening in Vancouver and it was fun catching up with them. Click on thumbnail to view images
