Vancouver, Victoria & Whistler - Canada (Feb 09)

Monday 23rd

We arrived in Vancouver late morning after the most magnificent train trip from Seattle. The train hugs the coast for 90% of the journey and the views are spectacular - looking out to the many islands that dot the horizon, watching the yachts and boats bob around in the ocean, passing many marina's that house thousands of yachts, gazing at the abundant birdlife - just amazing. Something that really caught our attention was the amount of timber washed up onto the shore - there was a never-ending line of huge logs and lots of driftwood - truly a treasure trove for the local artist or florist or builder!

............After clearing customs (who were extremely pleasant) we headed to our hotel and to the bank to withdraw money for our upcoming US Consulate visit. We also shopped for food as our hotel room had a full kitchen - just perfect for us and we filled it with fruit and salad stuff! Our hotel room was incredible - separate lounge, dining room, kitchen - very upmarket and very inexpensive (compared to other hotels in Vancouver). John spent the rest of the day on work things although I did manage to take him out for an airing late in the day - we walked down to bay near the new Convention Centre and watched several seaplanes land and take-off before returning to the warmth of our hotel - it was very cold and damp in downtown Vancouver!

Tuesday 24th

10am - US Consulate appointment to renew our visas. This was a more organised affair than our experience in the Bahamas 2 yrs earlier. Everyone was very cordial and civilised and although the waiting time was still extreme, all went very well. John worked the rest of the afternoon doing BD calls and catching up on work emails etc before we headed out to dinner with a prospective EDN employee, Duncan, and his friend Anne. It was a wonderful evening at the most beautiful hotel (Fairmont Hotel Vancouver) - both the chef and the manager visited us at our table and were so friendly and helpful, behaviour well above & beyond, in fact the chef made us a special meal and didn't even charge for it! Duncan had put a lot of effort into finding the perfect place to eat and we had a most memorable evening. Thank you Duncan.

Wednesday 25th

John was up early and went for a very long walk with Duncan to talk business. They walked around Stanley Park along the seawalk - great views but very cold and drizzly. John then spent the remainder of the day and night on work emails while I rugged up and went exploring - discovering the local shopping area! Vancouver is getting ready for the Winter Olympics next year so the shops were full of early memorabilia (and I only bought a couple of things!) As it was so wet and cold, I cut the shopping outing short and headed back to the warmth of the hotel and was happy to just veg out and relax for the rest of the day.

Thursday 26th

We caught a greyhound bus to Whistler - hooley dooley what a beautiful place. We sat in a resort sipping a hot cup of tea and watching the skiiers and snowboarders fly down the slope just outside our window! Does life get any better!! The sun was shining and the snow was gleaming - definitely picture postcard stuff. See for yourself -

That night we had dinner with an Adelaide friend, David Stearne (he was also one of John's previous employees at HIP). David and his brother were on holidays, revisiting the old country (both are Canadian) - we couldn't believe how lucky we were to be in the same place at the same time - definitely a small world eh! We dined at Cloud 9, a revolving restaurant giving us magnificent views across the nightskies of Vancouver, with David, his brother Kelly, and his two cousins and their partners, Jim & Janet and Doug & Rachel. Another memorable evening after a magnificent day on the mountain top!

Friday 27th

Duncan picked us up at 7.15am and was taking us out for the day to experience the beautiful Vancouver Island and the capital city of Victoria. We caught the ferry over (very civilised - we had a buffet breakfast sitting next to the window taking in the spectacular views as the ship weaved in between many smaller islands). We visited the little town of Sidney (sister city to Cairns, Qld), the Butchart Gardens (well the main gate anyway - will allow more time for a closer visit next time), checked out views of Victoria and the Island from several lookouts, walked through the majestic Empress Hotel in Victoria, had lunch at a waterside restaurant on the banks of the inner harbour before exploring the magnificent Parliament building. We had time for one more stop before driving onto the ferry for our return journey. Duncan used to live on Vancouver Island so was well acquainted with some of the most wonderful attractions and saved the best to last - Goldstream Park. It is 17kms from downtown Victoria and is the 'home' of salmon spawning. This event happens in the Fall (Oct - Dec) so we look forward to returning one day to watch this phenomenon. The 'annual salmon run' is when salmon return to the place they hatched just 4 yrs earlier - then after spawning - they die!!!! Apparently the creek is lined with dead salmon and hundreds of bald eagles are perched on nearby trees waiting for a feed and bears gorge on their last meals before hibernating! Wow - watching life cycles transpire - definitely worth a trip back! While there we hiked up a hill above the creek - just incredible - so lush and green and beautiful - the perfect place for a long hike. I've put it on the list!!

..........................................................................................................................................................................Saturday 28th

Our last day in Vancouver so were up early to pack (mind you John has been up outrageously early every morning catching up on work emails well before my eyes had even opened - not to mention being attached to the computer until very late each night...making sure his work was well and truly on track). Our last stop in Vancouver was the Granville Markets where we met Yurie & Mila for lunch. Yurie is a Professor at the University in Vancouver and is the uncle of a Chevron acquaintance here is Houston. We had a great time with them wandering around the market discovering beautiful local works of art and fresh, succulent fruit & veg and also walking along the wharf where amazing homes have been built right above the water.

.........But all too soon it was time to say goodbye to Vancouver and we headed off to the airport for our flight to Calgary. However mission accomplished and we left with our new visas ensuring we're once again legal aliens for another two years! yay!!