I arrived on Thursday afternoon and after taking the train into the city, found the hotel easily, grabbed some lunch, and waited for my brother to get back from his conference. We spent the rest of the day walking down to the water and wandering around English Bay Beach to see the sunset. We ate across from the beach at a restaurant called the Boathouse where the salmon was delicious and cooked perfectly and the sunset was like a bright red fireball setting behind the mountains.
It was up early the next morning with a walk to Granville Island to catch our boat tour to see some killer whales. We were given these big heavy suits to wear that were warm and had a life vest built into it for the trip out onto the water. We were blessed with sunshine for the day and smooth waters which made me feel a lot better after the previous whale watching experience I had done in Maine that had terrible weather and everyone was sick around us. After viewing some bald eagles and seals, we headed south to USA waters where the whales were located and went from beautiful blue skies to gray and foggy in about 2 minutes but it was a success and whales were spotted! We saw several orca whales playing in the water and after our captain shut the engine off they came up to the boat and even swam under it. It is always a bit awe inspiring when you get to be so close to animals in their natural habitat especially animals so big and beautiful.
We made a stop at the Capilano Suspension Bridge which is one of the longest and highest suspension bridges with lots of small suspension bridges up among the trees and a cliffwalk going out from the side of the cliff. It was very touristy but fun at the same time and a little exhilirating to walk across a moving bridge while looking down several hundred feet.
Our first morning in Whistler was a wet one with drizzly weather most of the morning which was actually quite enjoyable for me to sit and watch while drinking some hot tea since I have not actually seen rain in Texas in several months but luckily it cleared in the evening in time for our Jeep 4x4 tour with a salmon bake at the top of the mountain. The family that was on the tour with us was from China and did not speak much english but when we got to the top of the mountain we found out it was the first time their two young children had ever seen snow and they laughed and played and got so excited in it! The salmon bake itself was really delicious with maple salmon as the highlight and a yummy salmon ball that was the appetizer (are you noticing a theme in British Columbia?). I really wish I could have gotten the recipe for the salmon ball!
Monday brought my first ride on a seaplane up into Garibaldi park to get a look at the glaciers up there. The water in the lakes were these beautiful blues and greens unlike anything I have seen in person before. We got to explore an area that is so pristine and untouched because it is so difficult to get there by foot so that the snow on the mountain is still undisturbed and perfect. The seaplane itself was really cool until about the last 5 minutes when I have to admit I was grateful I didn't spring for the longer flight because I am not sure I would have made it through still feeling ok.
We took the Peak 2 Peak Gondola ride that stretches between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains later that afternoon and did a short hike around Blackcomb to get a little higher and get to test more of the terrain. It wasn't a hard hike but was more rocky than what I had thought it would be and gave great views of the mountain and Whistler Village below us.
Our final day of the trip took us on a walk through the rainforest and looking for black bears (from the safety of our car!). We got to see 2 black bears, one of which was black and full grown and the other was cinnamon colored and only a yearling but both were really cooperative and stayed around letting us watch them and even posing a little for pictures. It wasn't until I signed up for this tour that I even realized there is a rainforest in the area. There were giant cedar trees that were 1000 year old trees with trunks wider than my car and so tall with great big canopy of leaves coming from the branches.
Our final spot to visit on the trip was back in Vancouver to see Stanley Park which is a must see if you are ever in Vancouver. It is a large park with trails along the seawall for biking and walking. There are gardens to look at flowers and there are totem poles to learn a little history of the natives of Bristish Columbia.
Overall, the trip was a success. We saw animals in the wild, beautiful scenery and, the thing I love most about traveling, got to try new things. It's funny because when I look back over the pictures I took, there are so many multiple shots of one area because every time I took a picture and looked back at the digital display I would think "that just doesn't do it justice" and then I would try taking it again and again but you can never capture the feeling you get when in a new place or the sweeping views of the mountains and ocean no matter how hard you try. That's why it is so fun to travel because a book is just the starting point but to actually experience it changes your life in some way.
