Granville Island and Back Home

On our last day we went with Ray and Risa to Granville Island and picked up some souvenirs before heading back.  I loaded up on the salmon jerky.

All in all an excellent trip.  The girls got along famously.

Whistler

Another beautiful day and we took a drive to Whistler.  Along the way we stopped off to see a waterfall.  The village at Whistler reminded us of Banff, but smaller. 

We took a gondola up to Whistler and another that went between Whistler and Blackcomb.  The views were spectacular.  At Blackcomb we took a small scenic hike.  The girls went back down on a chairlift, but me and Ray took the gondola.

The drive back was also beautiful along the coast.

Planetarium and Bloedel Conservatory

We went to the Planetarium and were able to get in for free with our ROM membership.  Nina and Risa liked the super-volcano movie, but I almost fell asleep.

We then went to the Bloedel conservatory and saw some exotic birds and some not-so-exotic mice which were apparently not part of the exhibit.  Around the conservatory there were some pretty gardens and views of the city that we took in.

Science World

It was a rainy day.  Lenora had to go back to work, and Ray had to look after the car repairs.  We took Risa and spent the day at Science World.

Vancouver Aquarium

Another beautiful day.  With Ray and Lenora's car unusable, Lenora had some piece and quiet at home and we went with Ray and Risa to the Vancouver Aquarium and Stanley Park.  At Stanley Park we were going to look at the totem poles, but the girls were too busy collecting sea glass.

Powell Street Festival

Ray said that there was a shodo demonstration on Sunday at the Powell Street festival, which is why we went on Sunday as opposed to Saturday.  The festival occupies a park and some nearby streets.

Ray, Lenora, Risa and us piled into their car and we went to the festival.  Apparently it is not the best area of town, and there were bums mixed in with the festival-goers.  On the main staged I watched a couple of different bujitsu demonstrations.  One of them was the Katori Shinto Ryu, and the other was something like Tamiyo ryu.  Interesting to watch as their suburi is different from kendo, and their kata is more elaborate.

Risa and Nina were pal-ing around and joined a tug-o-war.

I had some BBQ wild salmon for something like $8.50 and the salmon portion was double the size I was expecting.

On the way back to the house, someone rear-ended us.  Both Nina and Risa were in the back.  No one was hurt, but the car needed some substantial fixing.

Grouse Mountain

It was a beautiful day, so we decided to go up Grouse mountain.  The gondola ride was scenic.  At the top there was a lumberjack show that was enjoyable.  We then took a ski lift up to the top of the mountain.  Here is where Nina got her wish.  I was quietly freaking out and holding on to the guards as tightly as possible.  On the way back we walked down.