Tuesday, August 2nd

Tuesday morning was yet another sleep-in day, but we made up time by having the leftovers from breakfast on Sunday as our breakfast today. After breakfast, we wandered next door to the Vancouver Library, which Ionut had recommended seeing, and it really was next door – the next building east of our hotel.

The library is very cool architecturally – it is in a circle, with an outer circle of columns to mirror the building. It is multiple stories high (maybe 10? I did not count them), and made of a brown stone. The street next to the library was shut down and full of moving vans, but we were able to get into the library on foot. The main entrance of the library itself was mobbed, and as the doors opened at 10:00, people literally ran into the library and up to the second floor. We supposed they wanted the best books to themselves.

We went out another entrance, and came across what may have been public art – the sidewalk had been built up to the level of the tables and chairs in the courtyard, so that the tables stuck up just a few inches above the walking surface. There seemed to be a number of people with walkie-talkies about, and Mer noticed a van labeled “Police Bomb Squad – Boston.” We had heard that a lot of filming went on in Vancouver, especially at the library, and here it was. It now seemed at least possible that the sidewalk build-up was for the filming, but it was not obvious how. We asked a nice man with a walkie-talkie what was being filmed, and he told us it was the TV show Fringe. We have never seen Fringe, but know it is popular with some of our friends and students. We told him that our being there would score big points with them, and then he quietly told us if we waited, we would see one of the new stars of the show. I’m so clueless that he had to point her out to me, and I only managed a blurry shot and a distant back shot of her as she hurried into the library. It seemed fitting that I should be clueless in taking the photos of a show that I was clueless about.

We then continued on our way down to Waterfront Station again, and headed west along the streets and then the seawall. We passed by the huge convention center, Canada Place, where the cruise ships were supposed to leave from, but there was not one there at the time. I was excited as we passed Canada Place and got to the seawall because I had a good view of the seaplanes landing and taking off on the bay. There is regular seaplane service to the large island of Vancouver and some of the other smaller islands. Seeing seaplanes is fun, and not something you get to observe too much in Ohio.

We continued along the seawall along Coal Harbor and soaked in the sights. The seawall wound around with the bay, so it was quite a bit of walking to go what would have been a not-very-far distance in a straight line. We came around to the other end of Stanley Park, the northern side that we had not yet been on. The park was once again a great place to stroll. We saw some antique cars touring the park, and we made our way to the small but well-regarded aquarium in the park. Sadly, there was a huge line, and we decided it was too nice a day and not a good use of time to wait 30 or more minutes in line, especially since we had just seen the Chicago aquarium a month before. So, we went back to the seawall, and kept walking.

After a few minutes, we took a very short detour to go look at a collection of six or seven totem poles. We read about the meaning of totems – they tell stories or act as a coat of arms, which I had not known. They were very well done, and it was a good detour.

We made our way back again to the seawall, and went around a small lighthouse. We then found a nice bench to sit on and have crackers as a lunch/snack while we watched the ocean. A little further on we came across a sculpture of a girl in a wetsuit, which was cool enough in itself. But the really cool thing was that the sculpture was installed on a rock out in the bay. That must have been an interesting installation. In the same spot in the park, they had the masthead to an old Japanese ship that was colorfully decorated as a dragon.

We finally came back around to Lion’s Gate Bridge, so we turned to go back inland along the interior paths. We decided to take the walking paths instead of the road, and we soon got turned around. At that point, we remembered that out backpack had a very cheap compass attached to it as a zipper pull. We had always laughed at how silly that attachment was, but it did work, and now it came in handy. At any intersection, we were able to use the compass to find south, and so we could efficiently, but still surrounded by pretty park lands, make our way back toward the city.

Along the way, we stopped at Beaver Pond, which is covered in water lilies that are very scenic, but which the informational signs say were imported and now are accelerating the silting up of the pond. We continued around the pond, and crossed over a pedestrian bridge that went over the Lion’s Gate Bridge road, and then we were immediately back in the forest. It was amazing to see all the huge tree stumps from old trees, and the lush ferns, and the tall but newer growth. Near the edge of the forest, the trees thinned and there were small clearings that the signs said were good for birdwatching.

As we left the forest part of the park, we still stuck near water, and so we followed along a lagoon in the park. There were ducks and turtles and even a few heron to watch, and we took advantage of a bench to rest. Once we got past the lagoon, we were back in the city, and so we walked along less-used city streets and made our way back to the seawall so we could head back to Waterfront Station. Along the way, I stopped in at a small store that sold Italian food and ordered a hot chocolate. It was excellent, and I felt much better for the rest and the sugar.

We got back to a section of the seawall that was under repair, and somehow we missed the path we had taken earlier and we stared climbing up some stairs. By the time we figured out what had happened, we decided to see where the steps led. At the top, we turned around a corner and there was a large plaza. In the middle of the square was the Olympic torch! That was a very happy find. Near the torch was a sculpture of a pixelated whale, so that it looked like a huge whale made out of Legos. The square was great.

We then headed back around Canada Place, and there was a cruiseship in berth there. We decided to take a look, and were impressed by how large the ship was. We used it as an excuse to wander all around Canada Place, at least as far as you could go, which was to a point out at the very end of the pier. It had a great view of the bay and the mountains.

We finally made it back to Waterfront Station, and we got our all-day passes again and hopped on the seabus. It is a nice means of transportation – easy to use, relaxing, and with great views. Over on the North Vancouver side, we stopped by The Coffee Bun again to buy a bun to have the excuse to use the restroom, and we were politely told to use the public restrooms at the nearby market. While I did that, Mer called Beata again, and made sure she was home.

We got directions and walked up the hill about eight blocks or so to the apartment building where Beata and Ionut live. We did take one wrong direction, but it was easy to correct, and so we got there fairly efficiently. Beata greeted us. Romanians are extremely hospitable people, and Beata brought out some potato wedges and cheese slices that were quite welcome after the long day of walking. Ionut was still at work, and Andrei was taking a nap, so we had a great time talking. Andrei got up around 5:30 and Ionut got home around 6:00. Ionut grabbed a quick bite to eat (we were well fortified on cheese and potatoes), and then the five of us got in the car and headed west to Lighthouse Park.

The park was very uncrowded, and I am glad Ionut and Beata knew where it was, because the entrance was down a small street. The walk through the woods on the way to the lighthouse overlook was fantastic. It was beautiful – rock faces, huge trees, lots of undergrowth. We walked down the path until we came to a huge rock that we climbed up, and from there we had great views of the lighthouse and the ocean beyond. We soaked in the splendor for awhile, and then took a different path back to the car, including a small detour to another ocean vista, this time with a partial view of Vancouver. The trail back to the car had even larger trees, and the walk was great.

Ionut then drove us over to Cleveland Dam, which is one of the reservoirs for Vancouver. It sits at the base of Grouse Mountain, which is a tourist magnet because it has cable cars that run up the mountain. The lake was gorgeous – it was large, surrounded by trees, and had mountains all around it. It was spectacular (as much of Vancouver was turning out to be). We wandered around enjoying the views walked out on the dam and back (it was too high for me to be comfortable), and Ionut wrestled with Andrei on the grass. Ionut is a great father – a man who loves to be with his son, and does not treat his son like glass. Andrei loved it.

Finally, since night was falling, Ionut drove us up to Cypress Mountain, where there is an overlook of downtown Vancouver. Use the usual adjectives – amazing, breathtaking, georgeous, and such – it is such beautiful country. The overlook was great, but even the drive up the mountain was pretty (which we could see in the last of the daylight).

We stayed up on the overlook for about ten minutes, but it was getting late. Ionut insisted that he drive us to the hotel once again, so we made good time back home. Mer and I swung by the nearby Canadian donut chain called Tim Hortons, and we picked up a couple of small sandwiches to munch on back in the hotel. Another great night in a great city.