Trip to Vancouver & Seattle - Day 3

Being a thrift store junkie, Aisling decided to start the day by visiting the Salvation Army store in New Westminster. I think she was a little disappointed. After her shopping trip, we decided to drive into Vancouver so we could visit Stanley Park and also go over to North Vancouver. When we got to Stanley Park we spent a little time at the Rose Garden and also at the Vancouver Rowing club, but we decided to head up to North Vancouver pretty early. We drove across the Lions Gate bridge out of Stanley Park, up into North Vancouver. We had lunch at a little pizza place in Capilano called DDDN pizza - healthy pizza, according to the accolades posted on their wall, the best pizza in the world. It was pretty good, but the best pizza ever? I'm just not sure. We then headed to the Capilano suspension bridge. This suspension bridge is built 230 ft above the Capilano canyon. It was sort of a queasy feeling walking across a 450 ft long swinging bridge (although perfectly safe) and the scenery was spectacular. Across the bridge, there was a "treetop adventure" more swinging bridges strung between platforms in trees, some as high as 100 ft off the ground. This is actually a rainforest, and apparently this is the best way to see one, and also to minimize the impact on the forest itself. It was certainly beautiful. We also walked on the Cliffhanger boardwalk, built above a cliff with trees growing out of it. We crossed the suspension bridge again. Gordon almost got deported from Canada for swinging the bridge despite multiple warnings not to do so! We then drove a short way to Capilano Canyon provincial park (sort of like a state park in California) and visited a salmon hatchery. We then did a very short hike, a stroll really, along the Capilano river where we did see one guy fly fishing, although we didn't notice any fish being caught.

On the way back to Vancouver we stopped at a place called Earls for our customary late afternoon drinks and snacks. It was much friendlier than Sammy Peppers! We watched the Olympics, still zero medals for Canada. The Canadian media seems to be relatively upset with this, although of course they're more of a "winter sports" country. We then headed back across the Lions Gate Bridge into Stanley Park. We stopped at Prospect Point for the breathtaking view, and met some raccoons. Even the raccoons are friendly in Canada!!!

In Stanley Park we stopped at a beach called third beach. It was just beautiful. We spent a long time there, Aisling's favorite spot so far. We weren't prepared for the beach, but Aisling had shorts and a sportsbra so she was able to jump right in to the water, which was quite warm. Way warmer than Northern California, I'm not sure why. After a few hours, we headed back to our hotel, where we slept really well.