Vancouver 2014 – Day 2. A day in the city

Today I headed north out from Vancouver, with the idea of following the coast as far as I could go. My first stop was at the Capilano Regional Park. It was not cheap to get in ($30), so I have to remember that this is Vacationland, and most attractions are going to be pretty pricey. Capilano is a deep canyon surrounded by heavy forest, and the main attractions are a 500-ft suspension bridge (worthy of Indiana Jones) over the raging river, a walkway suspended along a flank of the canyon, and a walkway that takes you up through the canopy (but only 20 ft up, so it is not like you are on top of the canopy). It was pretty cool, but not $30 cool.

Afterward I headed west to Horseshoe Bay, along Highway 1. I thought this would be a quiet ride, but it actually had some traffic. Fortunately the Vancouverites are bicycle oriented, so bicycles (and by extension scooters) are allowed in the shoulder of the highways (but the width of the shoulder varies quite a bit, and now and then one finds culverts where you could stumble if you are not carefully). After walking around Horseshoe Bay I continued north, under a drizzle that in no time whatsoever got me chilled to the bone. Finally it got heavy enough that I had to stop to put on my riding poncho (the one I bought in Vietnam) and started heading back.

By the time I was back in Vancouver the drizzle had stopped, so I could take off the poncho, and I had a nice ride through Stanley Park (the Chapultepec of Vancouver). Here I had to miss being a bicyclist, rather than a scooterist, because there are a thousand bike trails through the park, but only a simple circuit for motorized vehicles. Also, whereas a bike can stop and park virtually anywhere, motor vehicles must always pay for parking, so I had little opportunity to go wandering and taking photographs of my favorite spots.

The rest of the day I spent scootering through this beautiful city, without any fixed plans. I did remember the way to the University of British Columbia, which is perched atop a bluff overlooking Howe Sound. It is a beautiful location with great views of the ocean, made even more attractive by the fact that the sun was shining and that many trees were in bloom, which made campus a handsome array of pink and white blossoms.

By 6 pm I got back to downtown, parked the scooter for the night, and went in search of food. This time I settled for a sushi restaurant that offered a special of miso soup and three sushi rolls for only $7. I chose spicy tuna, spicy salmon, and the BC roll (some type of grilled eel), and was pleasantly surprised when I got an enormous platter of delicious, crispy rolls.

At 7 pm I decided to go to the movie theater to see the movie Divergent. It would have been best if I had not fall sleep for the first 10 minutes of the movie, because it took me a while to figure what the story was all about!