Vancouver

I flew up to Portland on the 8th, had a nice time touring the city, had a great visit with my great uncle Bill in Bandon, and then went up to explore Seattle for a few days and met up with several friends and family members for various good-time adventures. Then one of the friends, Phil, and I took the train up to Vancouver on Wednesday the 17th (yesterday).

Once we got into the city and checked into our hostel we went on one of the Frommer's guide book walks - Downtown & the West End. The highlights were English Bay Beach where we sat and people watched for quite a while, and walking around the West End which appeared to be the gay district of town. We settled into a Malaysian restaurant for dinner and called it a pretty early evening.

We spent most of today (Thursday) walking around the city as well. First we followed the Yaletown, Granville Island & Kitsilano walking tour. Took most of the day. The public library looks like a modern Colosseum which I found interesting. Then we had a coffee break after petting the big Great Dane sitting next to the 'Big Dogs' hot dog stand. So cute. We read and sipped coffee by a little marina. Then we hopped on a tiny aquabus on False Creek that took us to Granville Island where we had a nice lunch at the public market. Such a fun spot to people watch. Walking along the water we saw several fishing boats cleaning their daily catch, and a few seals begging in the water. One of them hopped up on the dock for a bit, trying to inch his way closer.

It's amazing how similar Portland, Seattle & Vancouver feel. They have their own character, but lots of similarities. With one last full day on this trip I don't want to jinx myself, BUT the weather has been gorgeous. I did not have to buy a rain jacket (because I forgot mine) or umbrella, nor did I feel the need to buy a "Seattle makes me wet" t-shirt.

Next we strolled over to Kitsilano beach which was very pretty. Has tons of logs that people lean against on the beach. We walked over the Granville bridge back to the hostel for a quick nap. Then we went towards the beginning of the last guidebook tour - Gastown & Chinatown. We didn't follow the entire tour but saw the highlights - the Canada Place where all the cruise ships dock, and the Sam Kee office building - which is 4 feet 11 inches wide. Tiny. We had dinner at a brew pub to sample some of the local beer. Twas good. Then we walked back to the hostel.

I don't know if I'll sleep well tonight because I am SO EXCITED about my day tomorrow. I've been whale-watching several times in my life, but haven't been in about 10 years. And have been wanting to go for quite some time. And I'm finally going! I've seen several types of whales, but I've never seen an orca (well, at least not in the wild), which is most of what I should see tomorrow. So pumped. Phil will spend the day renting a bike and exploring Stanley Park.