Vancouver

The flight is over.  It is never a highlight for me, as per usual I fell asleep about an hour before breakfast was served. It took a while before our cases arrived off the conveyor belt, and as we wandered towards the door we heard "Nannie and Poppa", with big smiles and waves.  The trip was worth it.

For most of the trip writing the blog has been done on my phone. For added security on the laptop it insists on sending me a security number to my phone. We have turned roaming off so it would cost me $8 to receive the text. Takes longer on the phone but it is a lot cheaper.  Into our third week, we have figured a work around and so the blogs should finally get published.

Jet lag has not stopped us!

Day One. We wandered around the suburb, gently easing us back into Canadian life, the coffee, the supermarket and the lemon scones.

Day Two. We caught the bus into the city. The main reason was to reacquaint ourselves with the city and to see the Marine Building an art deco master piece.  The building was covered in scaffolding and screens to protect the floor, but underneath you could see glimpses of the wonders below.  Another trip in a few years, when they have solved the problems (subsidence outside I heard) is a must.

After a bite to eat we wandered around the lost lagoon, looking for the otters that we had seen before (but were not around) and enjoying the sunshine before returning to Canadian Place and the seabus to take us back to North Vancouver.

Day Three. We are reconnecting with the public transport system and today we caught the bus to Deep Cove.  The bus terminus is having a bit of a reno, and we thought it was amusing that the Bays are not number sequentially (eg 1 is between 2 and 3).  Obviously, there is a reason but to the untrained eye...

Deep Cove is a little picturesque seaside town where last time we hired a canoe and spent the day watching seals and otters. This time, the sun was hidden behind a smoky screen and we bought some sandwiches and sat in the park watching paddle boarders and the world go by.  

To the tourist, Deep Cove is a community of two parts.  Heading east, the road runs between two rows of houses with steep, I mean very steep, drives going up or down to large houses perched on the cliffs.  The houses on the seaside have their own private jetty's with expensive boats moored alongside. There are signs everywhere "no parking", "private property", "no tresspassers", "no soliciting".  A bit unwelcoming, but I guess the community is a bit tired of people walking down there driveways trying to find the rocky beach below.

Last time the main street was lined with little boutique shops and cafes.  This time the middle of the road was a construction zone, noisy, smelly - certainly a place where you didn't want to browse in the shops or sit outside and eat.  The construction stopped for lunch for an hour -  but still...  Apparently, the plan is to beautify the area and make it more pedestrian friendly. Makes me think that businesses along the golden mile have a point about "let's get Wellington moving".

On the other side of Deep Cove are large houses built within the forest. No signs here (except for bears that can read eg "Bears are not welcome here"), street names and bus stops. A walk took us through the forests, local high school to Cates Park, a place we had been to before but not from that direction.