Beautiful British Columbia

Day 17- last day :'((((((((((!

nat2012 — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 13:29:00 GMT

I can't actually believe that this is coming to an end, we've been out here for more than 2 weeks, but i don't want to come home! I was so nervous to come to, cos i thought i'd just be bored all the time, now i don't wanna leave! Anyway, today we had a very lazy morning, not really doing much at all until about 10 30 when we went to get ready, we had an early lunch at about 11 30, and then at 12 set off to Whistler, to go kayaking! We stopped off at the local grocery store to get some vitamin water, then went to w.e.t (whistler eco tours). When we got there we filled out forms, then waited outside, with an angry wasp, until the driver came to collect us, to take us to the lake. When we got to the lake we were escorted down some steps to meet our guide, Andrew! He was really cool! He talked us through everything we needed to know, before we got in our kayaks, then we set off! I adjusted the foot pedals then got pushed in by someone who also works there. At the start we had to paddle across quite a big lake, and the wind was blowing against us, which made it even harder! When we got to the end of the lake, finally, after doing a 360 degree turn round a yellow buoy, we started to head towards the river, going through an opening in the reeds! We paddled for a while, going through some people in rubber dingys, dressed as pirates, and accidentally going into a few bushes at the sides along the way, we got a point where we had to get out and pull the boat a few metres, then get back in again. We stopped there for a while, to let the guys in the rubber dingys get ahead a little bit, before getting back in, and going through the ditch! Or as Andrew's bosses like to call it 'the canal dude!' It was very narrow, and we kept going into the bushes a bit but after a while we were out of it. Later on in the river we passed the pirates again, most of them by this time had a puncture from all the twigs in the beaver dams! Finally after the 14km journey was over, we got to the final lake, we had to do a U turn around some bushes, doing this, there was a wedding taking place in a building just on the shore, and in the bushes there was a huge bear, no doubt trying to get some of the food that smelt lovely! There was a guy in a cringey yellow shirt throwing oranges at it, then they pegged it leaving us to deal with it. Fortunately, it stayed in the bush. Further on around the U turn we could see the finish line, there was loads of people there all cheering for us! We waited for the rest of my family to come, and some randomers, then we had a race to the beach, my dad won, and i came third! After that, we got in the bus back to Whistler town. When we got out, Andrew shook all of our hands, and we said our goodbyes. We then walked back to the car for a quick change of clothing, as i looked like i had wet myself, before heading to Lift Coffee to have an iced chocolate, then going to Bike and Bean to look at our photos from yesterday, before going to Garibaldi restaurant, having the best seat ever, looking over all the biggest jumps in the bike park. When we were waiting for our starters, everyone jumped up, there was a baby bear on the bike track! It stayed on one of the jumps for a while, before running off, we all stayed to see if a mum was following, but unfortunately not! We had a nice meal, and then at the end some really good guys were doing a photo shoot and they untied some of the jumps that were closed off and are only open for 'Crankworx', we stayed at the table for a while, and watched them doing some awesome jumps, before leaving, then watching again for one more at the bottom taking some photos! On the way back to our house, we stopped off at Brandywine falls, to go on the quick walk through the forest and over the train track to the waterfall! It is absolutely huge, and beautiful! When we got back to the car we were all worried that the guy at the carpark had locked the gates, and our car was the only one in the car park, but when we got a little closer we realised he hadn't! It's now 9pm and we're just about to go for a last soak in the hot tub! Just a quick last work to say thank you all you guys for following this, hope you enjoyed reading it as i did writing them! I can't wait to look back at it in a few months and remind myself what an amazing holiday i had! x

Day 16

nat2012 — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 13:09:00 GMT

TODAY WAS AWESOME! We woke up at about 7 45, and we got ready to go downhilling in Whistler for the very last time this holiday. We went to the rental place and rented all the gear before going to queue for the first lift up, after the people having lessons as they have right of way. First of all for a warm up run we went down EZ does it, to b-line, to heart of darkness. Next we did b-line all the way down to heart of darkness, then b-line to smoke and mirrors, which was really difficult, and dan went down it, flying, and me and dad just stayed at the top and thought, no chance! We went down an easy way on the only green we could find from there, hoping to find dan at the bottom-nope! So, i stayed at the bottom, whilst dad went back up to try and find him, in this time, dan had come down with a group, doing all sorts of blues and black routes, i think that was the highlight of his day! Once dad was back and we were all reunited, we did b-line and heart of darkness again, dan got to pick this one, to try to cheer him up a bit, then we went up in the gondola for a go, and did EZ does it, golden triangle and then heart of darkness, to try and get some photos on the massive berm that leads onto a rock, that failed, but further down there was a bear! it was so close, and dad went into a field with a professional photographer to get closer to it and get some photos, not that we werent close enough on the track, we could even see the blonde stripe down its back! Anyway, when we got to the bottom it was time for lunch, i had a jumbo hotdog. After that, we went up in the gondola right to the top, where the peak 2 peak is, and did a mixture of freight train and no joke, 2 blacks! The first part was good, and so was the second, until my breaks packed in going down a very steep downhill, from then on we had to push, and just ride the east bits, which was easier to stop without breaks! When we slowly got to the bottom we went and switched my bike, and did b-line to heart of darkness again! This was my last trail, as my hands were hurting so much from pulling my breaks really hard on the last one! I waited at the bottom, cooling off as dad and dan went and did a muxtire of all sorts for their last run. Today, there were a lot of first timers out there, the man in the bike shop told us, and we saw about 5 or 6 ambo's go up! One person had a suspected spinal, and another that i know of was doing superman on a photo op, and landed head first then on his shoulder, he had concussion in the middle of the track and broke his arm or something, bad times! After dad and dan came down we took all our bike equipment back and went to the shop to look at our photo's of us going over the jumps, and i actually was in the air woo! Then we went to the supermarket and came home! Can't believe tomorrow is our last day, i really dont wanna leave! Anyone live round here and got space for one more person? haha, tomorrow should be good though, we're going canoeing! Oh and i forgot to mention, this is just so i remember this haha, but when we hired the bike on the first day this really hot guy got mine, and we were in a shop the next day and he was there and he smiled at me! tehe, love him!

Day 15

nat2012 — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 12:20:00 GMT

Today we went up to the peak to peak. First, we went into Whistler and booked another days mountain biking for tomorrow :D then the peak to peak tickets, then, we went up in the gondola to about 2100m to Roundhouse Lodge, on the way up we saw a bear! It was a really big one! Then, we got a chair lift, the peak express up to Whistler mountain, we did quite a short walk there and saw a lot of snow! Then came back down and went across the peak 2 peak to Rendezvous Lodge, we waited for the silver cable car, with the glass bottom, even though it wasn't very big, and saw another bear! It wasn't scary going across, just a bit weird. When we got across there we had our sandwiches then went for a quick toilet stop before going on a bit of a walk to the peak, it was very hot, but we went a little way, walking across ice and snow and taking a lot of photo's. Then, we came down the solar coaster express, seeing another bear, then the wizard express back to Blackcomb base. When we got back there we walked the short distance into Whistler village to have a drink at Starbucks, and me and Dan went to watch some of the downhillers showing there stuff, whilst mum and dad did the food shopping before coming back home for a nice, refreshing swim in the lake! Then of course, the jacuzzi, which was tooooo hot! Going riding again tomorrow so be prepared for a very hyper blog again tomorrow night haha, home on sunday :(

Day 14

nat2012 — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 12:33:00 GMT

Today, everytime i sit down i realise what an awesome day i had yesterday, i've never felt so lucky in my life to have such a comfy seat on my bike at home! Anyway, today, i woke up at about 9am, having a nice lie in compared to the 7 30am start yesterday! After waking up me and mum were on our own in the house as dad had took dan to his second day of his lesson (in which he did a double black!) and also dad stayed there, as he wanted to do a-line, a black route, and he ended up doing it twice! After waking up i had some nice cap'n crunch for breakfast followed by a chocolate fudge pop tart, healthy, i know! Once we had a shower and got ready, we took a walk to the bins to take the 'trash' and put it in the bear proof bins, then walked around the lake, looking at some of the huuuuuge houses in pinecrest! When we came back it wasn't long until dad got home, then we had some dinner. After that we went out to Whistler, to watch some of the bikers, and wait for dan coming out of his lesson. When dan came out of his lesson we went for an iced chocolate, yummmm, then up to the farmers market in the upper village for a look around, before heading back to whistler, through whistler north. When we got there we had a drink in Garibaldi, because there was a race going on tonight, but we didn't stay long enough, before going into the bike+bean shop to buy a b-line t shirt! When we got home i went in the canoe with daniel, i don't know why i let him take me out, because we nearly went into about 3 bushes, then had a barbeque, bit of a slow day, but it was very hot!

Photos: Whistlerrrrrrrrr!

nat2012 — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 03:25:00 GMT

Day 13- WHISTLER DOWN HILL!

nat2012 — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 12:11:00 GMT

TODAY WAS CRAAAAAAAZY GOOD! We got up at about half seven, so we were able to get into Whistler for 9. We went to the bike rental place and picked up all our gear like body armour, full face helmets and of course, the bikes, before going to find our group. Before i start explaining all of this to you guys, it's so much better then however i explain, i can barely put it into words it was so amazing, but i'll try my best! I went over to Tom, a guy who sorted it all out, who put me in a group with Dylan, i was the only one there at this point, then another man joined us, then 2 others, then when we got up the chair lift, 2 others! First of all, we went to practice putting our bikes onto the chair lift, which was very difficult, as downhill bikes are so heavy! When we had done this a couple of times, and it was time to go! Tom helped me put my bike on the lift as it was my first time, and i couldn't really do it, especially at the speed that the lift was going at! The journey to the top of the mountain took about 10ish minutes, i spent that time talking to Dylan about what we would be doing. When we reached the top we went to the little skills park, so he could teach us some basic techniques before setting off, we practised round corners (berms) and using the disc breaks, before setting off to our first down hill trail, EZ Does It (green circle) we took our time going round that, and it took us quite a while, as we kept stopping, and talking about techniques and having a bit of a break, on one of them we saw 3 bears! 1 and then 2 following it, it was awesome! Then later on into the lesson we started to go down blue square routes (these are like reds at home and in other countries i.e France) we went down the EZ Does It again for part of the route, then about half way down cut onto Lower B-Line, to finish off from that. Then finally on the last run, we went from B-Line all the way down to the bottom. We finished at about 1 30 and shortly after reaching the bottom, i found my mum and dad, but my brother was doing a full day so he wasn't there. Mum was on a bench whilst dad was just coming out of the rental shop, after booking another half day course for the afternoon for just another $40! As soon as he told me that, i jumped at the chance to also do it, we went to find my last instructor, to ask him what i could be moving on to for the afternoon, then we told paul and he booked it in for us. After that, we went for a quick cake, sandwich and hot chocolate, before going back to where we meet for the afternoon courses, at 2pm. I was in a better group this afternoon as there was more experienced riders in it, and we were doing more interesting things. We went up the chair lift, seeing another bear, and started to go down b-line, part way down, we split into 2 groups, i was with Marious, in a group which was better for my ability. Whilst with him we did a number of other routes after finishing b-line, in this order, we did upper b-line, ho chi min, karate monkey, heart of darkenss and ninja cougar, these are all blue square routes, and also, i saw ANOTHER bear whilst doing some of these. Marious was a good instructor, because he kept turning around and telling us what we needed to work on. Finally, we went to the jump practice park, seeing yet again another bear! making it 6, which was only about 25 metres away! We practised trying to do jumps for a while, before doing our last trail, crank it up! All this is is basically, jump after jump after jump, it's crazy fast, and awesome! When we finished Marious gave us all a high 5, before i found my dad mum and brother, i went and returned all my gear, before setting off home, for a well deserved soak in the jacuzzi, before a nice bbq, and bed! I'm so tired after such an awesome day, but it was well worth it, i'd recomend to anyone, even beginners to try it if you're in the area! Sorry if this is lacking information, i did it once, then it erased it all, so i had to do it over, sorry :(. Night! x

Day 12

nat2012 — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:41:00 GMT

Well, today the weather was terrible! I woke up a number of times in the night, being woken up by it pattering down on the window! When it rains here, it doesn't mess around, it chucks it down! When we had all finally woke up after a lazy morning, we had some breakfast and got ready to Head off to Whistler town (we are staying about 15-20 minutes out of it). Earlier this morning we were rudely interrupted by a man knocking on the door, saying he needed to do a survey around the house! That was a bit creepy! But anyway, after we were all ready, we went out to Whistler, parking in day car park number 1. First of all we went to the super market, to pick up some food for the week ahead of us. Then we went into the main village we looked around the shops for a bit before heading off to Garibaldi, a restaurant that over looks Whistler Bike Park for some dinner, I had chicken strips and potato waffles off the kiddies menu ;-) after that, we carried on looking around, for a bike top for me Dan and Dad, we originally wanted a Whistler Village Sports one but they were like $75, so instead we traded that for a nice fox one, which was in the sale and only about $30 so that was good. We kept looking around the shops for a bit, in the rain, before going to book our kayaking, which got me very excited :-) then, we went for a well deserved coffee! After that, we went to find the olympic rings, a bit outside of the main village, I think its north or south whistler, i can't quite remember, anyway, when we got there we had a few pictures before going into a shop to buy some mountain biking shoes, and also, a bag for me and dan with one of those drink things in it for our course tomorrow! Also, just before we were about to go back to the car, we bumped into someone who used to live in the same village as us! What a coincidence in such a big country! Then, not shortly after, we came back, by this time it was already about 6pm! When we got back dan went in the canoe in the rain, then the jacuzzi, whilst we were all having a bit of a rest, then he went out on his skateboard, and said there were fire engines outside! Very excited, we all ran out to see what was cracking off (me mainly to see the fire men) just to find out that they were just training, and they do it every month! We stayed for a while, and watched them spray the water from the hose before coming in for pasta and chicken for dinner, yum! Off to bed now, ready for an early start for my mountain bike course, how exciting! Be sure to check out my tomorrow's blog, should be very interesting!x

Day 11- Whistler!

nat2012 — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 10:40:00 GMT

We had to wake up at about 7am this morning, to enable us to get our 9am ferry, it was hard getting out of our queen beds, but we managed it! On the ferry we didn't go outside, because we purely couldn't be bothered, we just sat inside and read magazines etc. We saw a few things on the ferry, the captain made an announcement about 10 minutes before we reached Vancouver that a 50ft yacht was coming towards us, that was quite exciting, then not long after we saw 2 porpoise jumping around right next to the ferry, at first we thought they were dolphins! After arriving at Vancouver the journey to Whistler along the Sea to Sky highway took about 2 hours, along the way we stopped off at Starbucks and Sub Way to grab a quick coffee and a sandwich before continuing on with our journey. When we finally arrived at Whistler village (it wasn't a very exciting journey except the views were quite nice) we were a bit too early to go to our house, so we went into the 'village' (as they like to call it) itself. After looking around for a bit we found the number one in the world down hill mountain bike centre(it wasn't too hard to find)! We went to book our courses, Daniel is doing 2 full days (get in!) and me and dad are doing a half day, i'm really looking forward to it! I've been before, but only doing the really easy trails in France last year. After we booked these, we went to a bar to watch the end of some of the trails whilst enjoying a nice drink aaaah :) and once we had finished, we went to get some food for a bbq tonight, then headed towards our house! When we got here, we had to wait for another car to enter the barrier so we could go in after, as we didn't have a key, then we drove down to our house, it is so nice! We have our own jacuzzi, a canoe, and our own little board walk into the lake at the bottom! The only downer is that there is a bear warning- again! And this time one has been spotted...argh, and right now i'm sitting outside, and we're in a forest! I've just come back in from a swim in the lovely lake! Daniel went in the canoe (whimp) whilst me and dad dived in, and swam to the diving board near to the middle of the lake, it wasn't even cold, it was lovely! We dived in a few times, and had a bit of a laugh, before diving in again one final time, then swimming back to our jetty. It was amazing seriously! We are just about to have a bbq now, and i'm ready for it! Dan is out on his skate board, and has just spotted a snake...it's like a zoo out here! And then, after dinner, we're going in the jacuzzi. What a brilliant day!

Photos: Victoria

nat2012 — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 14:20:00 GMT

Photos: Tofino

nat2012 — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 11:10:00 GMT

These are just a few photo's from our stay in Tofino, sorry for the delay

Day 10

nat2012 — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 10:55:00 GMT

We spent most of today just looking around the lovely Victoria. We went around china town, which is the oldest one in Canada, then looked around the India Festival which included some nice market stalls and some dancing. Then, we just looked a few shops before heading off to Beacon Hill Park, a really nice park in Victoria, it also has a petting zoo in it, which is really cute :), after walking around the park for a little while we went to get some lunch at a drive through restaurant kind of thing, cheap and cheerful! I had hot dog and chips, but it came with loads of sauce and stuff on, so i got a new plain hotdog. After slooooooowly eating that we took a nice stroll along the sea wall back towards downtown Victoria, because we had walked so far, it was a bit of a walk back, but it was nice with the scenery around us, also at one point we could see part of America! Before coming back to the hotel we stopped at fisherman's wharf to get an ice cream (i had frozen lemonade, which is like a lemonade slush type thing which was very refreshing. Then we finally came back, walking through a nice little market :) Tonight we went to the Flying Otter for some dinner, just thought i'd pop this in my blog as it is the only floating restaurant in Victoria! We've just come back to bed ready for an early start (7am :O) tomorrow morning because we're going to Whistler! :D See you there!

Day 9-Victoria!

nat2012 — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 14:02:00 GMT

We spent most of today traveling the 4 hour journey from Tofino to Victoria. I woke up at about 8 30 and shortly after that we set off, stopping off at the pharmacy, for mum to pick up her prescription and drop the keys off, and the skate park, giving Dan that extra practise before Whistler! The journey was pretty average, as most journeys are, but we had the lovely scenery to make it go that little bit faster. About an hour into the journey the most special thing happened, a baby deer ran into the road! So, we had to stop, and wait for it to take its time crossing the road, that was really nice and special to watch, as we hadn't seen one yet!

At about dinner time we stopped off at a lovely little shack shop thing on the side of the road to originally pick up some meat and bread, but me and Dan ended up getting a nice hot dog, whilst mum and dad got the bread and meat. About half an hour after, we stopped off at Chemainus, a lovely little town for mum and dad to eat their sandwiches, in the nice park there, with a performer singing on the stage. Then, we took a short stroll towards the river, to watch some logs being floated down, which is the main industry of the town.

After the last leg of the journey we had finally arrived in Victoria, and it is lovely! We have a nice suite in the Victoria Regent hotel, overlooking the beautiful harbour! We went out for a look around the town, and stopped off having a drink in a nice bar, before going to the Red fish Blue fish, fish and chip shop for a nice British classic! (if anyone is wondering why it is called that, its from the Dr.Seuss books!) After that, we looked round the night market, then stopped to watch an awesome street performer, who was very entertaining, before returning back to the hotel.

Day 8- Last day in Tofino

nat2012 — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 09:00:00 GMT

Well, today the weather is a little bit chilly and cloudy, so we haven't really done much. We had quite a lazy morning, then after everyone was ready took a little trip out to the 'town' of Ucluelet, i say town, it was barely a village, if you're wondering whether to stay in Tofino or there, I'd definately go to Tofino without a second thought. We went to the light house near the town for a little walk and some lunch, and whilst we were there we heard the loud noises of sea lions, but we never really saw them. Then we went to South Beach. This is a beach lots of people go to to watch the big storms there. Mum has an infection in her tooth so is going to the doctors at 4 30, so to kill time, we thought we'd go to the internet cafe once again for a nice hot chocolate. Tonight we went to the beach we went to on the first night to watch the sun set again, unfortunately, it wasn't as nice a night tonight, but it was still lovely to see and to be there, to say goodbye, i'm going to miss it here :(.Tomorrow, we're going on a 4 hour drive to Victoria, and only staying there two nights, then we're off to the wonderful Whistler!

Day 7

nat2012 — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 08:59:00 GMT

Yesterday was amazing! First off, we all woke up and had breakfast, then we drove the short distance to the Aquatic Safari’s, where we went whale watching! We all put on a rain jacket as it was really cold out at sea then set off. After about a 15 minute journey we soon stopped and the captain said there were some grey whales ahead of us. We all stood up and went towards the front of the boat to see 2 huge grey whales tail flipping, which is what they do when they are feeding. We didn’t know if we were even going to see anything, never mind the second biggest whales in the Tofino area tail flipping! We got some good videos and also some pictures before heading off to our next destination to see sea lions! Everyone else had sat down on the boat whilst we were sailing full speed ahead towards the sea lions, but i stood at the front of the boat the whole way there talking to the captain about the Tofino area! When we got to the sea lions, they were just sitting down on the rocks, being lazy, the captain said this is what they do for most of the day, unless they’re trying to find food, which is the only time they go into the water. Just on the other rock from them, there was a lonely seal flopping about going from the rocks into the water. We went further around the big rock to find some more sea lions, we got so close to them that we could smell their breath! They absolutely stunk! We could also hear them barking at one another. Then, just before we were about to go back to the harbour the captain got a message from another whaling company to say that there were humpback whales not too far away from us! When we got there, there was only one of them, but that was also tail flipping, as were the grey whales, and the humpback whales are the biggest whales we could see in the Tofino area! We got so close to the whale that it was almost hitting the boat with its tail, it was amazing! When we got back to the harbour we walked back up to the office and handed our coats back in before heading to an internet cafe for a nice hot chocolate! After that, we went to Schooner Cove beach, at the north end of long beach, it was a lovely little beach with only about 10 people on it! Once we had been there a while we saw some people pointing in the distance, they had spotted a grey whale not too far off the beach! We stood and watched that a while until it disappeared, then, the other side of the beach there was a group of about seven or eight sea lions, playing and jumping around in the water, making a lot of racket! When they disappeared for a while, the whale reappeared tail flipping, just off the headland, it was magical! Shortly after all the sea life had gone from the beach we walked the 1km back to the car park, through the rain forest. When we got back to our house we quickly went to the skate park- again! Before coming back for another barbecue, then bed!

Day 6

nat2012 — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 05:36:00 GMT

Today when we woke up we watched an American game show, that was quite fun. Then after all having a shower, in one bathroom, we walked into the centre of Tofino, it’s such a small town but it is very pretty! After having a quick look round at a few of the shops we went and had a hot chocolate, sitting outside with a view of the snow topped mountains- beautiful! Then after that, my brother went into a skateboard shop, and had one custom made for him! (he loves it!) Shortly after that we nipped in to co op to buy some bread and ham for lunch, before setting off to Chesterman beach. When we got there, it was really foggy and only about 13 degrees! But, soon after it all cleared up and was very very hot! Me and Dan spent most of the time playing around on the rocks, before sun bathing for the rest of the lovely afternoon. When we got back from the beach at about 4pm we had a nice cup of tea, before me and dad headed off on a path towards town, but through the rain forest! We took a wrong turning at one point and it took us to a lovely little cove, there was only one person on it! After going back then taking the turning which we should have at the very beginning, eventually we got back to Tofino, but only about 20 meters up the road from where we first started! However it was all worth it finding the lovely small beaches that won’t get busy at all! When we went into the town centre mum and dad went to do some food shopping for another bbq for tea, whilst me and Dan sat on the skate park watching all the usuals showing all their skills! It was really fun to watch!

Day 5- First day in Tofino

nat2012 — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 05:33:00 GMT

On Monday, (15/8/11), was the day we drove to Tofino. My dad and brother left the apartment at 7am so they could go and pick up our rental car, for the rest of our trip around British Columbia. They got the sky train to Vancouver airport and picked up the Ford Edge from there. Whilst, they were there me and mum had packed up all the stuff, all ready for when they got back so we could leave straight away.

The drive to the ferry only took around half an hour, so it wasn’t too bad, however, on the way there we took a wrong turning and ended up at the foot passengers entrance, so we went round to the vehicle one, and queued from there. When we finally got onto the ferry, the journey across the Pacific Ocean took around an hour and a half, but with the stunning views around us, the time flew by! We stood on the very top deck, and went to the very front of the ferry, and it was so windy, even though it was so warm we had to put jumpers on, and my hair was going all over the place!

Once we got off the ferry the drive to Tofino took around 3 hours, on the way there we drove through the Pacific Rim National Park, there was loads of tsunami warning signs here, and evacuation routes!

When we finally got to where we are staying in Tofino, we all stood at the window for ages, taking in the stunning view of the Pacific Ocean right at our back door! We also have steps down to the beach, but it isn’t really a beach down there, just a few rocks then the sea. For tea we had a barbecue, it was nice, but we had to make sure we cleaned it very well afterwards, to avoid bears being at our doorstep! We also can’t put rubbish in the bins outside, because of this. At around 8pm after tea we went to the beach, which is about a 5 minute walk through the rain forrest, just across the road from us, it wasn’t very busy, but there were a few people there. We went at a perfect time, because the sun was just setting, and it looked absolutely beautiful, with all the pinky yellow colours in it, it really is something special!

Day 4- Last day in Vancouver

nat2012 — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 13:42:00 GMT

Well, first I'm gonna start this off to say...I FINALLY SLEPT TIL 7AM THIS MORNING WOOOOO! Even though it's still early, compared to 3am every other morning, it's great!

Today was a bit of a boring day, didn't have much planned so just meandered around the shops, on the streets and in the Pacific Centre, before catching a quick drink in (one of the many) Starbucks!

We went to have some dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory, an old restaurant in Gas Town, I had garlic chicken and spaghetti, nom! And also, ice-cream for pudding! On the way back from Gas Town it was almost 3 o'clock, so we stopped off to watch the famous steam clock chime, as i said before in my other blogs, it was magical once again! Then, we headed back to the apartment, so a pretty average day. Unfortunately no pictures were taken today, so i won't be uploading any for the moment.

Just a quick last word to let you know, we are setting off to Tofino tomorrow morning (very excited to go surfing and hopefully whale watching whilst we are there), but where we are staying doesn't have wifi so, unfortunately, i won't be able to update my blog for the 4 days (i think) we're there for, so keep checking after a few days, and i'll put everything on about my time there!

Day 3

nat2012 — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 17:44:00 GMT

Well, after being so tired after yesterday, who would of thought that I would of woke up at 3 after just 6 hours sleep! So, that's how my day's started, waking up at 3 and coming into the living room to watch a bit of Canadian TV, not that anything was on, so I was left watching the security camera's from the entrances to the apartments, interesting!

At about 8am, once everyone else had woken up, we had a true Canadian breakfast- pancakes and Maple Syrup, yum! Then, when everyone was ready we headed out to Waterfront station, to get the sea bus over to Lonsdale Quay. The sea bus was very, very big, with loads of seats, but so many people wanted to get on some had to stand up! The journey took about 10 minutes, it was nice though, with the views looking back along the city. Once we got off the sea bus, we then got onto a normal bus, number 229, to Lynn Canyon Park, a lovely park with a suspension bridge, 50 metres above a beautiful canyon with raging waterfalls and deep pools. First we went on a short walk to see The Twin Falls (two waterfalls.) Then, we grabbed a bite to eat, before heading off to the 30 Foot Pool, where we saw a number of people jumping off high rocks into the deep waters, which was very entertaining, before heading back to North Vancouver (Lonsdale Quay.)

When we got back to North Vancouver, we browsed round a number of stalls in the farmers market, before buying a strawberry lemonade, and catching the sea bus back to Vancouver city. On route back to the apartment we nipped into the Pacific Shopping Centre, to have a quick look around, and grab a few bargains in the Hollister sale!!

Went out to China Town last night and passed through Viva Vancouver on the way, there was a free band playing with a brilliant atmosphere, and also a karaoke section, very entertaining! China Town was interesting, there was a lovely little chinese market, and a man on a stage singing some songs which was fun to watch. Everyone had told us, you will be fine as long as you don't go any further than China Town, so, we went further through to Gas Town (the older town). On our way through we saw someone who had been hit by a car being taken to hospital, millions of beggars, druggies, you name it, they were there! Well, at least we can say we've done it now! Gas Town was nice, with a few old shops and restaurants. There is also a clock there, that is really cool, it spurts gas out of the top and whistles for the chimes, it's really magical, I'll put a picture on of it, it's worth taking a look!

Photos: Day 3, Vancouver

nat2012 — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 05:56:00 GMT

Lynn Canyon Park, China Town and Gas Town

Day 2

nat2012 — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 18:30:00 GMT

Today was an amazing first full day! First of all, I woke up at around 5am, as I slept too much yesterday. (Won't be doing that again!) Then at about 10am we took a stroll down to the sea front, and hired some bikes so we could cycle round Stanley Park, the views were amazing! Whilst we were on the bike ride, we kept stopping every so often to take some photos of the stunning sights all around us. We saw a number of totem poles, a huge harbour full off shiny boats and some wild racoons in the parks. Then we finally stopped off at Third Beach, the sand was lovely and the sea was just the right temperature! We spent quite a while there, building sandcastles, paddling in the sea, and sunbathing in the lovely heat of 26 degrees, also, because we were near the sea, there was a nice breeze! After that, we took the bikes back, and went to a restaurant called Red Robin for some chicken and chips! Once we had finished there we walked down to False Creek, to get the water taxi a short distance across the water, to Granville Island, whilst we were there we looked round the busy markets, and also the special market just for kids! Then, we went to an ice-cream shop and had a HUGE 2 scoops of cookie-dough and super chocolate ice-cream! Finally, after we had finished our ice-creams, we caught the water taxi back, and came back to the apartment! What a busy day!