Vancouver

Into Canada! The border crossing was quick and painless, the only questions being “Where are you from?” “How long will you be in Canada?” and “What do you do for a living?” No queries about produce, alcohol or firewood, so no need to employ any tiny white lies :) We made our way into the congestion and traffic of Surrey, British Columbia, and found our campground, Tynehead RV Camp. Very tight spaces, but quiet, especially considering its proximity to Highway 1.

Adjacent to the campground was Tynehead Regional Park, which was great for walking the dogs as they have a large tract designated “leash optional”. Toby enjoyed socializing with lots of new friends, while Nancy and I picked wild blackberries. But the reason that we stopped here was to visit the city of Vancouver. We did our usual afternoon & evening jaunt into the city, keeping our time away from dogs down to six or seven hours. Getting into the city proved to be challenging. I skipped the highway entrance closest to camp because of the stop & go traffic that I observed from the overpass. Mistake. I then spent the next 20 minutes searching for another route, Garmin constantly trying to lead me to on ramps that no longer exist. I finally navigated down a secondary highway that would eventually get us downtown, but it was an endless commercial zone, slow going and very frustrating. What should have been a 30 minute drive took an hour and a half. My interest in seeing Vancouver was waning quickly, but we got there before it disappeared completely.

We had brought our bikes, having seen on tourist maps of downtown that there is a considerable network of bike paths and lanes. It was a great way to see the city, vastly expanding the area that we explored. Primarily we rode the Seawall trail, which follows the perimeter of the downtown area and huge Stanley Park which occupies nearly a quarter of the peninsula. We rode past the science center, stadium, along the Yaletown district, past countless marinas, under several bridges, along sand beaches, through Stanley Park, along the Coal Harbor district, the Convention Centre, and through the city center. We had dinner at a Thai place on the water, and then rode back to the truck and, this time, had a quick drive back to camp.

So here is a series of photos from our afternoon in the beautiful city of Vancouver, Canada:

The busy river, skyline, arena and, on the right, the Science Centre:

Nancy rides the Seawall trail towards the arena:

Lots of residents enjoying the beautiful weather at the city beach:

Cycling through the forest in Stanley Park:


The most fun looking of the seven weddings we saw in progress during our ride:

The Convention Centre and working waterfront:

The Olympic torch:

Scenery:

Dedicated signal lights for the bike lane through the city:

In the heart of the city: