The long-awaited nice day! We took advantage of the relative lack of rain today by visiting two mostly-outdoor activities, the Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park and Grouse Mountain, which is visitable only by cable car (gondola).

Vancouver Aquarium seems sort of like the square root of Marineland — everything's a little bit smaller and a little less impressive, but you can tell they're trying hard. They're a non-profit who (reportedly) engage in a lot of research and animal rescue activities, but who also do Marineland-style shows (with an educational bent) with their somewhat less impressive roster of animals. Lisa and I enjoyed this place, but the most entertaining animals were the ones who didn't have a show dedicated to them:

Notice the otter on the left is sleeping while floating on his back! Oh, how I'd love to be an otter.

Grouse Mountain was an entirely different experience - larger and more grand in every way than what I expected. The terrain around Vancouver is more beautiful than just about anything I've seen anywhere else. This view was available about 45 minutes from our hotel in downtown Vancouver, very smooth cable car ride to the top of the mountain included:

The most mountainous areas in Vancouver are the most suburban, too, and in that respect Vancouver isn't unlike any other large suburb. Subtract the natural backdrop and you could be driving around in Mississauga or Richmond Hill, not North Vancouver. The locals are more diverse (at least in the hospitality industry, and this is only what I've seen): A lot of Asian people, sure, but many French, and some number of Aussies too.

Grouse Mountain is an example of the sort of people I see Vancouver attracting: the young, active twentysomethings who want really cool experiences. It doubles as a ridiculously convenient ski hill in the winter, and in the spring, summer, and fall it's a hiking/running/exploring area that spans tens of kilometres in many directions. Combine that with the pervasive bike trails, Smart car sightings just about every time we go out, and Prius hybrid cars as taxicabs, and you've got one hip, environmentally aware hippie town. It's what every university town tries to be, only Vancouver isn't a university town, especially not compared to Waterloo.

I'm really enjoying being 3 hours behind home — it feels like I've got "bonus" time. I'm sure if I stayed here for an extended period of time it would get in the way more often, but when Lisa and I are just in the middle of touring around, I know that I can call home and get everyone at home after dinner.

There aren't too many days of nice weather ahead, but we've saved up some indoor activities for the near future. I just hope it clears up a little bit so we can get up in the Vancouver Lookout, which looks suspiciously like someone left the Seattle Space Needle in the dryer a bit too long.

I leave you with a picture of a fellow Grouse Mountaineer doing a very, very dumb thing to a grizzly bear.

(That bear got very loud and angry before stomping off. Luckily, the yellow sign in front of him reads "Electric Fence.")