Well we’ve navigated ourselves from Vancouver and back. Parts 1 thru 4 cover our visits to Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, and Ketchikan.
This post covers our return to Vancouver, our time spent there, and flying back to the real world.
Sat 29th – arrive at, and leave, Vancouver
We had an early arrival back at Vancouver, coming under the bridge in the early morning. The boat made it’s way back to the cruise ship docks and we were off the ship and through customs in short order.
Our flight wasn’t until late that evening, so we had most of the day to get our land legs back and get to know Vancouver better. We were free of our bags. They had been delivered directly to the airport by the cruise line.
Gretchen had purchased the family tickets on the “Hop and Go” busses that transported tourist around the city all on one pass. You were given stickers that proved you had purchased a ticket and just got on and off the bus at your own whim. This was a pretty easy way to move around the city.
We left the cruise terminal, and hopped on an open air bus (this one had no windows), and made our way to Stanley Park and the Totem Pole collection displayed there.
From there, we walked and rode around the park and enjoyed the morning. We had fun talking about what we were seeing, and the trip we had just finished.
The park also lent itself to collecting photos for inclusion in our iNaturalist collections.
It was getting to be lunch time (the Zwissler’s always make sure that food is taken care of), so we hopped back on to the bus. This time we were heading towards Granville Island, and the attractions there.
I would like to say that we carefully perused the available food offerings, but I think it was closer to “we stopped at the first promising location”. This was The Vancouver Fish Company. We were quickly provided seats on the outside patio with a view of the boats.
We ordered beers and settled in. I actually can’t remember what I ordered (I know, what good am I?), but I have heard Gretchen say several times that it was the best fish and chips the she has ever had.
After lunch, we had a chance to walk thru the Granville Market shops. I want to put an endorsement in here for one of my favorite chain of stores, Ten Thousand Villages. They do have a store in the Granville Market area that we wandered thru. I always like their items and shop regularly in the one located near me on Catalina Avenue in Redondo Beach.
It was time to think about heading towards the airport. We had to cross the channel from the market to downtown and chose to use our Hop and Go passes to take the ferry taxi that is included in the price.
From the ferry dock, we walked to the light rail station that would take us to the airport, and our ride home. The rest of the trip was pretty routine.
We had a great time, and really enjoyed the Steve Spangler Science at Sea addition to the our Alaskan cruise. Thanks for taking the time to read this far, and maybe I’ll see you on one of our adventures.
Walkabout Today 