A guest post from Captain Jack - Leaving Vancouver

Ahoy me hearties,

Regular readers of this electronic log will perhaps remember a previous voyage (2015) when me and the crew set sail from New York to Las Vegas. One of the ports of call on that voyage was a place called ‘Monument Valley’. This required a minor detour, (after a lunch of course!) where the crew took the vessel on a little track. Now then, me hearties, I would defy any sane and sensible seafarer to regard a track on a Native American reservation to be off-road, but clearly the fair folk at Hertz do, and to cut a long log entry sort they said that we were a mucky bunch and charged us $100 to clean the vessel at a dry dock. Damn Pirates!!!!!!!

On this voyage I and the first mate (the ratty looking one) were determined that this international incident would not be repeated. Despite our best efforts (see images of the animal graveyard on crossing Alberta/Manitoba) it become clear that restrictive actions were required.

From my position in the crows nest I kept seeing adverts for a chap called Mr Lube (no! Don’t!) and his friend Mr Wash. Mr Wash was offering a car wash for only 9.99 Canadian dollars. I will leave you to do this math (I am a firm believer in self-sufficiency) and so I instructed the crew to take advantage of Mr Wash’s offer.

I duly instructed my cabin boy (the stumpy looking one) to drive to Mr Wash prior to crossing the border to the USA. Well, what an exciting journey we did have I can tell you. Cabin boy drove up to the little screen, which confused his poor, addled little mind somewhat, I and first mate tried to shout instructions, but no positive action was forthcoming. Luckily one of Mr Wash’s crew came along and helped him. We then moved down to a rail, left the engine running, anchors up <<Co-pilot’s/first mate’s note: he means neutral and no handbrake>>. Mr Wash’s helper than removed the surface corpses. Then all manner of sea-witchery took place!!!. We were magically sucked into a machine where flashing lights like the aurora borealis were going off left, right and centre, shortly followed by huge jets of water off all the decks of the vessel. We were then dragged further along where huge brushes removed any remaining corpse. Then huge gusts of wind dried the vessel before we were dragged further and off the rails.

  

Cabin boy, being a touch excitable at the best of times found all of this a touch too much. Luckily we soon calmed him down (the threat of a keel-hauling normally does!) and we were able to continue the journey. Exiting times, me hearties, exciting times!

Vancouver is a wonderful city

Stephen Leacock the political scientist and humorist. said of Vancouver: 

Vancouver is a wonder city...It has the combined excellence of nature's gift and human's handiwork. 

After my visit I can't disagree with him. Vancouver is a great City, with an open and friendly attitude, it is a delight to visit. Today we spent the day in and around this lovely City.

Coming in to Vancouver on the Sea Bus

Breakfast

The day began for me at 4:00am when I woke and completed the content for my blog post about last Friday and the Icefields Parkway. A lengthy post, as there was so much to see and do there.

Drew didn't wake until 6:00am after his hard day of driving yesterday. So, I made coffee then and we gently got around to getting up, getting washed and dressed and getting out. 

We went down to breakfast at 8:00am which is late for us, and we found out why we like earlier times. It was very, very busy at this time. Still the food was plentiful. We both had Sausage patties and eggs and Drew had two Danish.  

Breakfast at the busy Comfort Inn and Suites, North Vancouver

Drew's second course for Breakfast

Into Vancouver via the Sea Bus

At 8:45a.m. we left the hotel and walked the 0.7 of a mile along  Marine Drive to a store called Save on Foods which sell the Day Passes for the Vancouver Transit system.  - buy two Day passes for Vancouver Translink.

We walk across the road and opposite the store we catch the 239 bus for 9 stops to the SeaBus Terminal and cross the sea to Vancouver by Seabus which is in fact a boat!

SeaBus Terminal, North Vancouver

We depart at 9:30am for the fifteen-minute journey. 

Haydn on the SeaBus

The 'bus' sits low in the water and is passenger only, but gives the opportunity for some lovely views across the bay.

View from the SeaBus

Waterfront and Gastown

The SeaBus brings us into Waterfront Station in Downtown Vancouver. The station is a Canadian Pacific Railway Station but has options for underground and bus travel as well as the Mainline Trains.  

Our preferred option is to walk. We come into Granville Square and on to Canada Place, this modern, port part of the City is thronged with people who have just come off a Cruise Ship which has docked in the Port early this morning. The crowds are think and we decide that Canada Place can do without us as we head to Gastown, what was once the poorest part of the City.

Canada Place

The centre of the now gentrified Gastown is the Steam Clock. There are only a few of these Victorian contraptions still working in the world. We found it fascinating to see the steam rising from the clock. We watched its mechanism as large ball-bearings moved up and down on a pulley system and at 10.15a.m. we were standing to close as it wetted us a little as the whistle went off for the quarter hour.

Steam from the top of the clock

Further along the street we came to the statue of Gassy Jack, for whom this part of Vancouver is named. 

Gassy Jack

Chinatown

From Gastown we walked towards Chinatown, through an area that could be called Irish town, with all its Irish Bars and Restaurants. 

The Irish Heather

The Blarney Stone

From here we passed our first, of many, Hash shops. We aren't partakers but were interested to note that 3 pre-rolled were available for $24!

We came to Chinatown, with its impressive Chinese Gate and raft of Chinese shops and restaurants, at 11:00am.

China Gate

Sun Tower and Victory Square

From Chinatown we come to an unusual building on the side of the hill. It is called Sun Tower, named for the Vancouver Sun paper that it once housed. It was built in 1910 and "at 17 storeys and 272 feet the World Building was the tallest in the British Empire . . . and would be for the next two years."  Much of the building materials for the building were brought to Canada from Tamworth (the one in England, not New South Wales!).

Sun Tower

A little further up the hill we arrived at Victory Square, where we sat for a while and took in the scene. Here is the Vancouver Cenotaph, a walk celebrating the Victoria Cross and odd light fittings that look like pith helmets.

Pith Helmet light fittings with Cenotaph behind

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary

Further up the hill and, at 11.30am, we come to Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral and Cathedral Square. 

We went into the prayerful church and looked at the stained glass, and had time to pray for all my family and friends wherever they may be.

Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral

We stopped for a Coffee in Tim Hortons just down from the Cathedral, before making our way to the bus stop for our next visit.

Granville Island Market

We checked the travel options on Google Maps while in the coffee shop. So we would catch bus 16 from Granville Street and Pender Street to Granville Street at West Cloverleaf, just the other side of Granville Island. This is a journey of close to two miles but only takes 20 minutes on the Bus. We arrived at 12:30pm.

From the bus stop we walked back on to the island and into the amazing Granville Island Market. 

When this trip began, two of my friends, Malcolm and Kath had both said Granville Island Market was a must see. I hadn't realised but I had already booked Dinner on the Island for this evening. But it was well worth visiting by day. Malcolm and Kath now I am a foody and this was the ideal place for me. The amazing place has amazing food. We wondered about the stalls, tasting samples of all kind of products and generally enjoying the ambiance of the foody heaven.

Granville Island

Food in all colours and varieties

Stanley Park

We caught the bus 50 from Granville Island back to downtown and there stopped for another coffee and time to refresh ourselves as the heat and humidity is building up. Before catching the bus 19 the 2.1 miles (18 minutes on the bus) to Stanley Park for the last set of visits of our day.

We arrived at just before 3:00 pm and headed off towards the Totem Poles for which this region of Canada is famous. We walked an extra kilometre as we ended up in the woodland walk, rather than on the main path but this meant we saw a family of Racoons crossing the path on our return.

Racoons Crossing Ahead

The First Nation Totem Poles are very impressive. Some of them were carved as early as the 1880s but others are more recent. they evidence a richness of culture which is hard to express as an outsider.

We continued around the park with its seaside views and picturesque views of the boats and yachts in the bay. 

Views across the Bay from Stanley Park

We left the park at 4:15pm and caught the 246, which in the afternoon rush hour stops right outside our hotel, rather than further down the street. We arrived back at 5:10pm

Dinner

A brief wash and change and we were out of the hotel again by 6:00pm. We were now familiar with the bus and its routes, so caught the 240 to town then the 50 to Granville Island. We arrived at the island at 6.45pm only 45 minutes early for our dinner booking! 

We walked around the footpath around the island, the Market part being closed at this time of night and went to The Vancouver Fish Company Restaurant, right on the bay.

We went in at 7.15pm and chose to seat inside rather than on the dock we prefer air-conditioning!

Starters

I started with fresh mussels which were cooked with homemade chorizo, and leeks and were served with garlic toast. I love mussels, and the idea of cooking them with chorizo and leeks was inspired. The rich pepperiness of the chorizo gave a real lift to the freshness of the mussels.

Mussels with chorizo and leeks + Garlic Bread

Drew opted for Caesar Salad with romaine hearts, bacon, crispy croutons served with parmesan and a squeeze of fresh lemon. Drew is a fan of Caesar salad, and he says this is one of the best he has tasted.

Caesar Salad

Mains

I spent a long time choosing my main course, as there were so many nice things to try. But in the end I went back to one of my favorites, that I had back in Belfast early in the holiday - Lobster. Here the 1.5 lb live lobster was poached in sea-salted water and served with drawn butter. They provided me with tools for eating the lobster, but the most difficult parts of the creature had already been broken making my job easier (and less messy). Under the lobster was a lovely selection of vegetables - Green and yellow courgette, broccoli and lightly roasted new potatoes - which had picked up some of the lovely juice from the lobster. The photo shows the rich redness of a fresh lobster and it tasted every bit as good as it looked.

The Lobster in all his glory

Drew, perhaps in preparation for our next holiday, opted for a Hawaiian style dish of Lobster Poke Bowl - this was lobster, poached baby prawns, steamed sushi rice, corn, mango, green onion, pickled ginger, crispy nori, wasabi mayo,
seaweed salad and soy sauce all served together. Drew says this was like a cross between a salad and a stir-fry, the rice and fish were cooked, but the salad was covered in a light vinaigrette and soy. It was a delightful mix of flavours, once you got over the surprise of the textures of cooked and raw ingredients. 

Lobster Poke Bowl

We both finished our meals with very little left on the plates.

Clean Plates

Dessert

Dessert for Drew was a New York Style Blueberry Cheesecake, he would recommend the chef on the quality of the biscuit base and the sharpness of the blueberries which offset the sweetness of the cheesecake. Excellent. 

Blueberry Cheesecake with Strawberry coulis

We travelled back on the buses in the opposite direction to which we came and got back to the hotel at 9.30pm and to bed soon after.

A short diversion on Bus tickets

You will see from the above that we had travelled on 8 separate journeys (i.e. 90 minutes periods between them) today which is 8 times the single fare of $2.95, i.e. $23.60 The DayPass cost $10.25, a saving of $13.35. It was clearly worth the short walk to the shop this morning to buy the daypass.

First Night in Vancouver - First Nation Food

I completed the last post, which was quite long before getting to dinner on Monday night. This allows me to give plenty of space to the lovely meal we had this evening.

Travelling across Vancouver

Our Bus Route to and from the Restaurant

We left the hotel at 5:30pm and walked the 0.1 of a mile to the Bus stop at Marine Drive and Capilano Road. We caught the 246 bus to downtown, this was a very comfy bus, similar to those in New York with announcements before each stop, making life very easy for strangers like us.  The journey was only 8 stops, but was five miles, as it includes going over the Lions Gate Bridge and through Stanley Park before arriving in downtown Vancouver where we had to change at Georgia St and Granville St  and make a short walk to catch the 17 bus to Oak and Broadway. The ticket is $2.95 (£1.77) each and can be paid by cash, as we did, or by card (as I did on the return). The ticket covers travel across the network in a 90 minute slot, so we did not have to pay on the second bus.

The Lions Gate Bridge provides an impressive view of the City, but there was no way of taking photos from the Bus. 

The No17 gets us into Fairview, the area of the City we had booked to eat in at 6:25pm only an hour and five minutes before our booking. I'm afraid this is typical of me, I'd rather be an hour earlier than a few minutes late, and being in a strange City I thought there would be some challenges in the journey, but there were not.

We walked around Fairview, which is the other side of the City from where we are staying. It sits on the opposite bank of the False Creek from downtown Vancouver. We went down to Charleson Park and had a pleasant walk with others who were taking the air this evening. 

Vancouver from Fairview - the view is not so fair as the smoke is still sitting over the City

We got back to the restaurant at 7.15pm and were seated straight away. Drew had spotted the restaurant on Trip Advisor as it is one of the few First Nation restaurants in Vancouver. It was worth the effort of finding.

Dinner

The restaurant, called the Salmon n'Bannock after two of its specialisms, is decorated in native style and had a wonderful menu full of food I love to eat. It was hard to make the decision on what we chose.

First Nation Art

For starters I chose Wild Pulled Boar, this was served with house made barbecue sauce and bannock crackers. One might think this would be similar to pulled pork, but the rich gameyness of the boar gave it a whole other dimension. The barbeque sauce was not sweet and sticky as some are, rather it was mellow and spicy, perfect with the boar.

Pulled Boar

Drew ordered Mushrooms on Toasted Bannock with a bison demi-glace and brie. The bannock on this occasion was used as a base for the dish and the sauce was rich and delicious. The mushrooms were also full of flavour making the whole dish a superb way to start the meal. 

Mushroom and Toasted Bannock

To drink I ordered the Zevia 0 calorie cola, this was fascinating, as it tasted like cola, but looked like lemonade. Drew was so intrigued after tasting it that he took a photo of my glass, it was very tasty. Drew had the Berry soda which was full of the taste of freshly crushed blueberries with a hint of a sharper berry.

Why does my brain not believe my tastebuds

For main course I went with the night's special which was described as Sole Fish and Shrimp all freshly caught on the west coast (i.e. near here). The sole was what I would call Lemon Sole and the shrimps were tiny little creatures. They were cooked in a beurre blanc sauce, which is a bit to creamy for me. But the sole and shrimp were so well cooked I could ignore the sauce. 

Sole and Shrimp - with Bannock in the foreground

Drew opted for the local Deer Sausage, these were plumb, different in texture from the venison sausage I am familiar with in Wales, and just perfect for Drew. Both our mains were served with mashed potatoes, corn and asparagus. 

Drew's Deer Sausage

Drew completed the evening with a sage blueberry rice pudding, the flavour of which was so amazing that he didn't want to stop eating it.

Sage blueberry rice pudding

An absolutely wonderful place, with great service and amazing food. We even didn't mind getting the bill when it was served in such a nice box

The Bill Box

We had arrived at 7.15pm and departed at 8.55pm a pleasure to eat at a gentle and relaxed pace, something which is less common in North American than at home. 

The Journey Back

We left the restaurant at 8:55pm and repeated our journey in the opposite direction. We caught the 17 to Downtown at 9.08pm and the 240 from Downtown to North Vancouver at 9.39pm arriving back at the hotel at 9.55 and feeling content went straight to bed. 

From Revelstoke to Vancouver - via Abbotsford

Today our journey takes us from Revelstoke to Vancouver, we are going the quickest route, but this also takes us somewhere I have always wanted to visit. But more of that later.

Breakfast

I didn't wake up this morning, all be it after a later night than usual last night until 5:00 am (which was realy 6:00am by yesterday's time zone - an amazing lie in, a sign I think that the holiday is winding down to its end.)  

I made coffee for Drew at 5:30am and we went down to breakfast at 7:00am. As with the previous Best Western, the breakfast at the Best Western, Revelstoke was served on china plates and used metal utensils. 

Breakfast at the Best Western, Revelstoke

We leave the hotel at 7.50am and go for Petrol at Chevron, next to the hotel, and head on our way.

Today's Route

Today we head down the BC1 until Kamloops, and then the BC5 along the Coquihalla Pass until we rejoin the BC1 at Hope all the way in to Vancouver, and beyond to North Vancouver

Revelstoke to North Vancouver

Revelstoke to Kamloops

Drew begins the drive and we head on to the BC1 - Trans Canada Highway - towards Kamloops. For the first ten miles we are travelling with a Outsize Vehicle in front of us, it is carrying a huge tire for some industrial vehicle.  

An Oversize Tire

For most of the first journey we are alongside Shuswap Lake. We travel past Sicamous and the larger town of Salmon Arms. The road meanders along besides the lake turning right and left to hug the lakeside. The last town in this area is Chase. 

Shuswap Lake

Shuswap Lake is famous due to the Salmon migration that takes place each year. Sockeye Salmon take a 4,000km journey that starts and ends in this lake. The fish migrate to the Gulf of Alaska and back, navigating by magnetic fields and the scent of their home waters. There was a time when Sockeye were so prevalent here, that you could pick them up by putting your hands in the water, there are less of them now, but the nutrients of the Lake form a big part of their life-cycle as they spawn forming the next generation.

We carry on past the Shuswap Lake and arrive in an area that looks more like the American wild west than anywhere else in Canada.

British Columbia or Oregon - they look the same near Kamloops

We next come to the delightfully named place of Kamloops.

Welcome to Kamloops

We arrive at Tim Hortons in Kamloops at 10.20am. Drew tries a Boston Cream Donut. This is a chocolate donut with baker's custard inside and went down very well. I have a sesame seed bagel with ‘plain' cream cheese (remember the options from earlier in the holiday - just ask for plain!!). We both have dark roast coffee. 

Boston Cream Donut and Sesame Bagel

Kamloops to Abbotsford

We leave Kamloops at 11.15am and leave the BC1 for a while as the direct route to Vancouver takes the BC5. As it leaves Kamloops it becomes a dual-carriageway and the speed limit goes up to 120kmph (75mph) for the first times since Saskatchewan. Drew drives this Coquihalla Highway which has no stops or services or anything other than remarkable drives first up and then down the mountain. The route appears on the list of most dangerous roads in North America, but Drew drove it with ease.

We reach the top of the Coquihalla Highway at the Coquihalla Pass (1244m/4081ft). We travel down sharply past some impressive mountains and gorges. We went through today's first snow shed, having only found out what one was yesterday in the hills around Revelstoke. 

The Mountains along the Coquihalla Highway

We pass through Merritt and Hope on our way passing huge qualities of trees in the mountains (none of these ones are burning, thankfully). 

Trees along the Coquihalla Highway

The road begins its steep decline and just outside Hope at 1.00pm we meet the BC1 which has been on a meander which it follows due to road building technology not being able to broach this area until the new highway was built in 1988. 

We eat up the distance on this wonderful road until Chilliwack when the amount of traffic around the City slowed us down. At 2.07pm the temperature reached 95℉ (35℃) our highest temperature for the holiday.

We are grateful that the in car air-con keeps us at 63℉

We arrive in Abbotsford at  2.20pm.

Abbotsford

Those who have been following the blog faithfully will know I mentioned a few days ago that there was one objective for the holiday still to be fulfilled. This was to visit Abbotsford, so I am so pleased to be here. Why? I hear you ask. Well for no sensible reason! You will have read my admission in Winnipeg that I am a fan of what Drew calls: Christmas Crap movies. Well Abbotsford is a centre for such productions. According to IMDB, Abbotsford has had 69 films shot here, 14 of them Christmas Movies including On Strike for Christmas; Trading Christmas; Sleigh Bells Ring. I'm almost ashamed to say that all bar one of the films I've seen, and that one is in post-production for this Christmas. 

Two of my favourite films, based on the novels of Donna VanLiere, The Christmas Secret and The Christmas Note  have been shot, not just in the town, but in the Spruce Collective, a store in the town. So guess where we headed. 

The Spruce Collective, Abbotsford

Haydn finding his true North in the Spruce Collective - Christmas Town of Abbotsford

It was a real thrill to walk in this place, called Wilson's Collective in the films, and to feel like I had found a part of Christmas. 

Looking for Betty's Cookies

A character in both The Christmas Secret and The Christmas Note is called Betty and runs her own cookie shop. The story that looked most like it closed at 2pm, but nearby was Tracy's Bakery. A lovely location which we visited for coffee. Drew's deal in letting me come to Abbotsford was that he got to go to Betty's (or equivalent) and this seemed to fit the bill <<Co-pilot's note: hmmmm. Bringing me two thirds of the way across a country, so that he can visit Christmas Crap town!!!>> Their display of Cupcakes and small, so called, Babycakes, was amazing. 

Tracy's Bakery - Cupcake Display

Drew had a tango mango cupcake and a lemon and raspberry delight babycake 

Drew's Selection

Having arrived in Abbotsford at 2:20pm we left at 3:10pm with me feeling warm, fuzzy and happy.

Onwards to North Vancouver

After our wonderful time in Christmas Town I mean Abbotsford I picked up the driving as we headed up the BC1 to Vancouver and bypassing the town itself came to the Comfort Inn and Suites, North Vancouver. 

We arrived at 4:17pm and checked into Room 404 very soon afterward.

Comfort Inn and Suites, North Vancouver - A nice apartment style hotel - this was our room