Vancouver with Donna

The following morning we repeated our tour of south Vancouver taking in Kitzlano, Lacarno, Spanish Bank and Jerrico Beaches. So much better in daylight. We also swung past the University before heading back through town and northwards towards Cypress mountain for views over town. On the way we stopped for lunch at Salmon House on the Hill. The speciality of the house was salmon so we had all three species of Pacific salmon cooked on an Aspen plank to add some additional flavour and aroma. It was delicious but I still have a preference for wild Atlantic salmon. Onwards to Cypress mountain were we enjoyed fabulous views back over the city.

The ride to the top of Grouse Mountain on the gondola was stunning. About 90 people were crammed into the cabin which set off at break net speed almost vertically up the hill. Following the Grizzly Bear paw prints from the top took you to the bear enclosure where two 11 year old bears padded about for the amusement of the crowd. These bears had been rescued as cubs after their mother had been killed and had spent their life at the peak of the mountain. Up close they are very impressive creatures, their enormous bulk, long sharp claws and teeth leave you in no doubt about who would come off worst if they took offence and the fence was not there.

There was also a lumberjack display where a couple of young lads demonstrated their skills with axes, saws, climbing trees and staying upright on floating, spinning logs. There was also a display of birds of prey including a juvenile Bald Eagle.

On the way home it started to drizzle so we skipped Capilano Gorge, leaving it for our next visit to Canada. It is nice to had things still to do in the future.

The following morning it was still drizzling but our local guide knew where it would be sunny. We set of south towards the USA border but just before we became inextricably caught up in border traffic we turned off and ended up at Crescent Bay for lunch. Sure enough the sun was shinning and the day was warm and bright. We sat outside and had a shared Poutine for starters and Coconut Prawns for mains. Yum, Yum!

White Rock is named after the large quartz glacial erratic that sits on the sea shore of this border town. Some years ago the local lads thought it would be funny to paint the rock black. Their elders didn't find this funny at all and repainted the rock white. It now receives a fresh coat of white paint every 5 years or so.

About 30 years ago a crazy German immigrant decided to try his hand at growing grapes for wine near White Rock and to everyone's surprise the vines took root and did rather well. We stopped at the winery to sample their wares and buy a bottle or two. Having tasted a few glasses we set off on a tour of the winery guided by a crazy German school teacher. "Please make ze questions", she said. I asked how many types of grape they grew there. "Not zat question", said the crazy German school teacher angrily, "I am going to tell you zat soon".

We scoffed the wine that evening and very nice it was too. We have been very impressed with the quality of Canadian wine, particularly those from the Okanogan Valley.

We joined two of Donna's friends for a Thai dinner that evening. Paddy and Sindi were great fun and later that week Paddy was going to be showing Prince William and Katherine around the facility which she manages. It specialises in helping First Nations mothers who have drink of drug problems. Later that week Paddy was on tele showing the Royals around. The Royal visit to British Columbia seemed to go down very well with the locals. There were lots of Union Jacks run up flagpoles around the Vancouver suburbs.