Restaurants

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Totem Poles, Parrots, and Fish

Today’s story can best be told in pictures, so this entry serves as only a guide to today’s extensive photo gallery.

First stop on this rainy Saturday morning was the U(niversity of) B(ritish) C(olumbia) Museum of Anthropology. It has been undergoing major renovations for the past six months and only a few exhibits are open. It was still a fantastic tour of BC First Nations art (in the form of lots and lots and lots of totem poles) as well as an interesting exhibit on tribal tattoos and one about ceramicware.

Next, we were off to the Bloedel Conservatory in Queen Elizabeth Park. Thankfully, the sky was only spitting by this point and even hinted at clearing up. Several people had mentioned that this conservatory was a ‘must see’ and I have to agree!

We ended the day in Steveston, which was a much more happening place than it was the last time I went! We walked around, checking out all the kitschy souvenir shops before collapsing in a coffee shop where my friend had a pot of tea and I savoured two (!) caffe macchiatos until we felt that we could walk to a restaurant for dinner. We had initially planned to get fish & chips at a stand recommended by Croft, but it was too cold to eat outside. So, we decided on a sitdown dinner at the Shady Island, where we had a most satisfactory meal of cod fish & chips and a very nice coleslaw. I also indulged in a beer. I don’t know how those fish & chips compared to other Steveston joints, but I was very happy with them.

I am happy to report that I can now get around Vancouver with a minimum of GPS reliance and wrong turns and that a city that once seemed scary and hostile now feels like home.

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The Difference Between Full-Time RVing and Tourism

Today, I had the great joy of showing my friend some of my favourite sites in the Vancouver area. How lovely it is to stay long enough in one place to go back and re-explore sites you enjoyed!

We had a really, really full day. The weather cooperated beautifully, being just warm enough to be comfortable, with a mix of sun and clouds.

Late morning, we took off for Lynn Canyon. It was warmer today than the last time I went, but not by much; it gets cool up there in North Vancouver in the rain forest! It was wonderful hiking weather and we earned the picnic lunch I’d packed.

We then headed to Stanley Park via the Lions’ Gate Bridge. The park was very full this time around, so I felt very fortunate to find parking quickly. We were just heading up to the aquarium to see the killer whale statue when my friend noticed a horse drawn trolley that seemed just about ready to take off. We learned that it was a one hour tour that would take us to all the sites we wanted to see, so we decided to get on, figuring that it would easier than trying to find parking at each location.

I’ll pause here to address the issue of horse drawn tours being exploitative. I had a theory about this before I got on and it was confirmed by the driver who addressed the issue head on. The horses pulling these trolleys are big draft horses which have very little use in our day and age. A lot of these older animals get sent to the glue or jell-o factory. The company running the tours rescues these horses, gives them purpose and needed exercise, and allows them a dignified retirement.

The tour was fantastic and well worth the 28.50$ per person. Our guide was funny and an excellent storyteller. We learned that Stanley Park was originally called Duck Head Point (because it really does look like the head of a duck!) and was home to ‘squatters’ consisting of minorities–Chinese, Hawaiian, Métis, etc. The government used this point as a strategic military location for a long time and when that purpose was no longer required, they wanted to develop the land seeing as Vancouver (population 2,000 at the time!) was booming. Real estate speculators were worried that the introduction of so much new land would devalue other properties, so some backroom dealing was done to turn Duck Head Point into a park. Of course, all the ‘squatters’ were expropriated without compensation. It is a sad story with a happy ending. Also, as Stanley Park used to be a logging area, all of the forest there is second regeneration growth, not primeval forest as some romantics like to believe.

After Stanley Park, we drove to nearby Denholm Street. My friend wanted to try sushi and I was eager to go back to Tanpopo, so I decided that its proximity to Stanley Park meant that was where we were destined to end up for dinner. We walked up and down Denholm for  a bit, popping into a bookstore where I found a remaindered book about the Chilkoot Pass!

Dinner was just as good as it was the last time I ate at Tanpopo and I added spicy tuna rolls to my repertoire. They are soooo yummy. My friend liked everything but the teriyaki salmon because it was too dry for her taste. Otherwise, she bravely sampled everything.  I must say I didn’t get anything too ‘weird’ as I didn’t want to turn her off suishi from the get go, and  I’m proud of her for having several pieces of salmon sashimi and ordering the prawn tempura on her own.

We ended our night with a dip in the park’s hot tub.

I put up some new pictures, including lovely shots of Vancouver’s skyline that I missed because of fog the first time I went to Stanley Park.

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A Day Out of Time

Oy… If it was a long day for me, I can only imagine how my friend, who got up at 4AM EST must be feeling!

After a morning of work, I drove out to Abbotsford to pick her up. Abbotsford International (YYX) is just about equi-distance to the Richmond Airport (YVR) from South Surrey/White Rock but more convenient to get to and flights on Westjet are cheaper. The terminal is tiny, making the airport easy to navigate, and parking is inexpensive. I’m really glad that the RV show I went to in January was at the Abbotsford airport because I would have otherwise not known that it would be so convenient to pick up my friend there.

She is staying at the Seacrest Motel and RV Park in White Rock, a location I scouted out for her. It is a great spot. It’s almost right on the ocean, but much cheaper than places directly on the main drag and still walking distance to touristy Marine Drive. She has a huge suite with bedroom, living area, kitchenette, and bathroom. The kitchenette is fully equipped with everything she could need to make a meal and everything is spotlessly clean. I’m a bit fussy when it comes to motel cleanliness and this place passed muster. First order of business, then, was to go get her a few groceries.

What about the RV Park, you ask. Well, I checked it out and didn’t feel it was worth moving to it just to save a hundred fifty dollars. The ‘park’ is really an uneven and extremely unlevel slab of asphalt with very tight spots. They admit to this fully, marketing themselves as a cheap place to park your RV while you enjoy the beach. It would have been okay for a month if they had wi-fi, but since they didn’t I decided to stick to my current cushy digs.

I hadn’t had lunch and her body had no idea what time it was, so we decided to go for an early dinner. The day had started off cloudy, with threats of rain, but by four o’clock it was sunny and warm. We decided to park my car at the motel and then walk down Marine Drive in search of food.

It’s a good thing I hadn’t checked out restaurant reviews prior because if I had there is no way we would have gone to Charlie Don’t Surf. I don’t care what the reviews say, I would give up cooking and eat there every night! I have rarely enjoyed such a perfect meal. My friend had lobster ravioli in a mildly spicy sauce, all of which was delicious. I had a huge salmon steak seared to perfection with cajun spices served on a bed of rice seasoned with cumin (an inspired combination that I will try at home!). With this, I had a heaping helping of glazed carrots and perfectly cooked broccoli, cauliflower, and asparagus. I thought that I didn’t like asparagus but as it turns out, I’ve just never had it properly cooked! Nearly replete, we stopped off for ice cream on the way home.

According to my friend, this day is going to be hard to top, but we’re just getting started! I have big plans for tomorrow, which is supposed to be the nicest of the weekend. Even if it ends up raining all weekend, just having this perfect evening was enough.

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Miscellany

1) I brought the toad in for an oil change tonight. As the service tech was handing me back my keys, he said: “Are you aware that you have damage to the front wing on the driver’s side?”

I grinned and replied proudly that I was the evil culprit who had done wrong to Pommette!

My cheerfulness about the matter confused him.

2) While waiting for the car to be done, I had a wonderful dinner of a tender grilled chicken sandwich on a ciabbata roll with fresh veggies; a crisp salad of romaine lettuce and thick slices of juicy beefeater tomatoes, all of which tasted like they’d been picked at the height of summer; and a fantastic iced coffee. I had this meal at a restaurant I haven’t eaten at much in the past twenty years and which sure has grown up since the last time I was acquainted with its menu. Had I been presented this food without any wrappings, I would never in a million years guessed that I was eating a McDonald’s meal!!!

3) I have decided that spring has sprung because I say so and have stopped heating, other than turning the electric heater on super low at night to cut the dampness!!!

4) Last fall, I spent three months mostly working with ingrates who constantly belittled me (mostly because there was one kind soul). This spring, I’ve spent three months working with lovely ladies who made sure I had flowers, a gift, and cake on my 30th birthday. The way this universe always balances itself out never ceases to fill me with wonder.

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Bravely Forth Into the Ghetto

Well…

I think I deserve a ‘I stopped at a red light at East Hastings and Main and lived to tell the tale’ bumper sticker. *sheepish grin*

After all the worry and planning I realised that I was better off just going through this intersection than trying to contour it. East Hastings is a busy thoroughfare and it was rush hour; I figured that I was safer there in my car than wandering around blindly in neighbouring streets. I was accosted by a very aggressive squeegee guy, but I managed to convey through the glass that he had better back off.

East Hastings at highway 1 (a non scary section of this ill-famed thoroughfare)

East Hastings at highway 1 (a non scary section of this ill-famed thoroughfare)

Driving west on East Hastings was everything I’d been told it would be, a subtle descent into hell. I have seen some very scummy American slums and this is the first place in Canada that even remotely compares to the bad neighbourhoods I’ve been in south of the 49th parallel. Nothing I read about East Hastings and Main was exaggerated and I was very grateful to be in my car (albeit a target of one with a bright colour and an out of province licence plate!) and not on foot!

My colleagues all advised me to take public transit, but I am glad that I decided to drive. Majel has a hard time in the GVR for some reason, so I missed a couple of turns, but if it hadn’t been for that, I would have made it to my friend’s hotel in 40 minutes flat. I still squeaked in in under an hour when I’d been told it would take at least an hour and fifteen minutes! I parked at the hotel, which had better rates than I would have expected. My friend and I were so glad to see each other and we marveled that we were walking in downtown Vancouver of all places together!

For dinner, we hiked to Tanpopo, a sushi restaurant, where we had a great meal! We went for the ‘all you can eat’ option and let’s just say that we ate ALL we could eat. 😀 The food was awesome! There is a large selection of items on this menu and you pick the ones you want; they prepare enough portions for the number of diners. I’m more familiar with the ‘typical’ sushi restaurant menu, so I took the lead, but we did try a few items blindly. The real winners tonight were prawn gyoza (dumplings), salmon teriyaki (salmon baked with teriyaki sauce), and salmon sashimi (raw salmon, which I like with a bit of pickled ginger and soy sauce). Neither one of us liked the seafood fried rice and my friend wasn’t fond of the nori-wrapped scallop cones because she doesn’t like nori (a seaweed), while I loved them… because I love nori!

My friend’s hotel is on Robson Street, which I firmly intend to revisit as it is filled with quirky boutiques and restaurants! Getting there from home, or home from there, is a non-issue since it’s the same route I’d take to go to Stanley Park. In fact, I didn’t need Majel to get home tonight.

Driving home, I discovered soon as we passed the Massie tunnel in Richmond that I’d been afraid of the wrong thing.

We’ve been having gorgeous weather the last few days, but it hasn’t lasted. We got snow tonight and freezing temperatures and highway 99 became a sheet of ice. I took a full hour to drive the 20 kilometres I had left to go, passing at least a dozen cars in the ditch. People out here simply don’t know how to drive in these conditions. I geared down to second, slow enough for me to be able to stop on the snowy shoulder if I started to glide, glued my eyes to the road ahead, and just crawled all the way home.

So, I’m here safe and sound where it is freezing because I ran out of propane about five minutes after I turned on the furnace. :headdesk: There is of course no way I’m going back out there, so I’m hoping that the electric heater will be enough to keep us cozy tonight.

What a week I’ve had: crossing a suspension bridge (THREE times), experiencing East Hastings and Main, and successfully navigating my car down a 20km sheet of black ice. Can anyone recommend a good place in Vancouver to learn skydiving because I think that’s where I’m at now. 😀