*Before I begin: I now also want to move to Vancouver. But after being informed that the average home in Vancouver is $1.8 million, I am thinking Kelowna is a steal at $900,000!*
What a great day! Sorry, Roberto, but Dave and I agree that it is nice to get a break from you once in a while. Our campsite is within a fifteen minute walk of the Skytrain, which we took this morning to check out the sights and sounds of downtown Vancouver!
From what friends and family had recommended, we knew there were a few places of interest that we needed to see. Stanley Park and Granville Island were two of them. We ended up buying tickets for a hop-on/hop-off bus and did both the park and city tours. Today's warm and sunny weather allowed for us to be sitting in the bus in the open air. What a neat and stress-free way to check out Vancouver! Stanley Park is huge - and beautiful! Everywhere you looked there were people outside enjoying themselves - walking, running biking, etc. We saw a beautiful rose garden, huge western red cedar trees, thick lush forest, a bald eagle (one of five pairs that call the park home), and more. Granville Island was incredibly cool - so many interesting shops, and that market was unbelievable! Every kind of fresh produce you can imagine! The island has a definite "cool factor" about it. For lunch, Dave and I ate at The Sandbar, as per Jenny's recommendation. It was sooooo good! I sipped on a flavourful lemon-drop martini and Dave enjoyed fish and chips while I had the salmon burger. We sat upstairs on this patio with outdoor heaters - just the perfect temperature! From our vantage point, you could see False Creek and all the activity going on within it - yachting, sailing, paddle boarding, and canoeing were some of the ways in which people were enjoying the water today!
Another highlight of the day was the CFL game we went to - but the game was actually secondary in importance. I was so lucky to have my good high school friend, Jenny, and her daughter, Lauren, join us at the game! Jenny and I spent so much time catching up we forgot what the score was a few times! The Lions beat the Alouettes 25-23, so it was an entertaining game. Both Lauren and Dave caught mini-footballs that were being launched from the field! But guess what else happened?
It's embarrassing.
You know those kiss-cams they have at sporting matches? Well, guess whose faces were on one in full view of the entire crowd? You betcha, Dave and yours truly. Poor Dave wanted to dip me in some kind of dramatic fashion (as if!) and I wanted to run and hide! I know it's only for a couple of seconds, but it seemed to last forever! Needless to say, the four of us all had a good laugh about it after the camera panned to another couple.
How awesome it has been to get to see friends and family that live at such great distances. We are so touched that Jenny went out of her way to hang out with her old friend this evening. She is still the sweet, funny girl whom I used to spend so many Friday nights with during high school. We would walk to her place after school, listen to music and watch the "Much Music Countdown", head to the arena to see the Glens hockey team play and then make our way "down east" to the watering hole Bob's in Dalhousie - where every second person was underage! Those were the days.
Thank you, Jenny and Lauren, for tonight!
It's 12:11 - this redhead needs her bed!
I think I rambled tonight. I will start and finish tomorrow's blog entry at a more decent time so that I will be more succinct!
Night all,
Carolyn xo
p.s. One more thing - Dave's ring has been found!!!!!!! I saw something shiny underneath the bed while I was tidying up - and lo and behold, the ring was lost no more!!!!!!! Rob McDonald, you were right!!!!!
