Vancouver

A couple of years ago when Carole and I made the trip Westward across Canada, we stopped just short of Vancouver and returned South to the States. I've always wanted to see Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, and felt now was a good opportunity. Carole has been to Vancouver several times before, so she decided to spend the day at Bruce's, her son's house, while I made a day trip to Vancouver 130 miles North of Marysville.

The highway North along Puget Sound to Canada travels through mountains covered with pine, cedar, and fir trees . . . which is why the State of Washington is referred to as the "Evergreen State". It was a pretty drive . . . although a little overcast, which seems to be fairly normal around here.


Downtown Vancouver surprised me as the architecture of the buildings is much different than in the States. All of the tall buildings have rows and rows of windows. Back home the exterior of most buildings are covered with glass or metal with few windows.


Since I would be here for only a day, I tried to get to as many different parts of the City as I could. The original settlement of Vancouver was in an area which is now referred to as "Gas Town". Much of that area has been renovated with quaint shops, brick sidewalks, and narrow streets . . . pictured below.



A steam line runs underground through this area to furnish heat to many of the buildings. One of the attractions in Gas Town is a Steam Clock. Every 15 minutes or so, steam whistles go off accompanied by puffs of steam into the air. It was fascinating to watch and it must be quite an attraction as many people were gathered to take pictures. In the picture below, you can see a puff of steam coming out the top.



I stopped at a local micro-brewery in Gas Town for lunch . . . a micro-brewery and restaurant called the Steam House. They use steam to cook the malt in the brewing process. The beer was very good. The food was good too.


After lunch, I visited Vancouver's Chinatown, supposedly one of the largest in the Western world. It was all oriental with obviously a large oriental population.



Across the bay to the North was a huge park which I explored. There seems to be water everywhere in and around Vancouver with marinas and yacht harbors all over town, including in this park across from downtown.




On the South side of town was an area called the City Market. It was a collection of old corrugated-steel roofed buildings housing all kinds of shops. It was a very crowded area with narrow streets, lots of people, and no where to park. So I didn't stop at the City Market, but simply drove through.



Vancouver, British Columbia, is a very fascinating city. Maybe some time in the future I will have the opportunity to spend more than a day trip here.