From Wednesday to Friday Lisa and I did very touristy things. During that time, it became increasingly apparent that the laid-back nature of the west coast absolutely permeates Vancouver. You don't have to look any further than the traffic patterns to see that. In addition to the flashing green lights that I've written about before, there are crosswalks everywhere, and drivers are constantly aware of them, stopping if you even hint at crossing. It speaks to Vancouver's acceptance of "alternative" methods of transportation: just like the dedicated bike lanes that are everywhere (extending even to low-speed raised highways!), pedestrians are recognized as first-class citizens. Contrast this with Waterloo, where even on the campus walkways you'll be pushed off by vehicles. It's a truly different place, one which meshes much more with the student lifestyle than southern Ontario ever could.
As for those really touristy things: Science World, whose giant geodesic dome we could easily see from our hotel room window, is to the Ontario Science Centre what Vancouver Aquarium is to Marineland: smaller and less impressive. There are some pretty neat exhibits, though, especially those about light, and we had fun playing around in the water exhibit, building small dams. Go if you have extra time — especially if you've got small children with you — but don't go out of your way to visit.
The IMAX theatre (note: not the OMNIMAX theatre at the Ontario Science Centre, the IMAX theatre at Canada Place on the waterfront) offers 3D shows, and for a little bit more than you'd pay for one movie at a big movie theatre back home, you can watch two 45-minute shows. They were interesting enough, but again, going to an IMAX movie is a good thing to do on a rainy or otherwise-unused day; don't visit it instead of a more deserving attraction like, say, Grouse Mountain.
Now, if you wanted to plan your trip around something, plan it around whale watching. Lisa had wanted to go from the very beginning, but when we got here we found it was a bit more expensive than we'd expected: about $100 per person, on average. It took the entire week for me to convince her that, even though it was expensive, we shouldn't forego doing something that we'd regret later. Money is replaceable, but experiences definitely aren't.
And oh, it was so worth it.
About 20 people in all launched with Seabreeze Adventures from Steveston, which is a small village in the south of Richmond. We travelled out across the Strait of Georgia to the Gulf Islands, which seem so much like Muskoka (cottages everywhere, rocky landscape, etc) if you didn't see the mountains in the background you couldn't tell the difference. Once we'd travelled around in the islands a bit, we came across J pod, a pod of Orcas run by the 92-year old matriarch "Granny." They were travelling up the strait, feeding on salmon and rising every few minutes to breathe. Then the younger whales in the pod came upon our boat, and started showboating for us! Slapping tails, rising out of the water — it was better than you can imagine.
When we go back — and we will go back — I think Lisa and I will focus on Vancouver Island and Victoria, maybe staying in a B&B in the Gulf Islands. Vancouver the city is nice, but I think that we've seen all we can there; I think the more wild, more beautiful islands are the destination next time.
The saddest sight for Lisa is next. She'd have stayed forever if she could. I might, too, but I think we should see more than one of Canada's beautiful cities before we make a decision like that.
From Ontario with love,
Joe
