Bad time to be a Canadian, eh
Trip Start
Sep 03, 2008
1
13
28
Trip End
Oct 01, 2008
Vancouver,
British Columbia,
Canada
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Ken was ready to go bright and early today, and the drive down the mountains was gorgeous. There are lots of mountain lakes and streams on the windward side of the Rockies, and the trees are very lush. There was a stretch of about 100 miles around Kamloops where the trees seem to be dieing. in some places it is about 10% (not in patches, but every tenth tree), and in other places it is 90% of the standing trees are dead. According to Google, it is an infestation of the pine beetle, and it will kill all the pines in the area within 2 years. They are cutting and burning the wood as fast as they can.
We got to the La Quinta at around 3:00
Ken is tugging at the leash
. It is really a nice hotel. It is by the airport, but you'd think it was in Hong Kong. All the businesses in Richmond, the island next to the airport South of town, are oriental. All the people too! In typical "Bob and Sandy vacation" style, we dropped off the luggage, and began exploring. According to the guidebooks, there are 7 or 8 distinct areas of Vancouver, each with it's own style and flavor. We headed to Stanley Park, then found China Town, Gastown (they were filming a movie there), the Heritage district, and the West End so far. Stanley Park is remarkable! It is a peninsula (almost an island) on the North end of downtown, and it has a road completely encircling it. There are Yacht Clubs, Lawn Bowling Clubs, Rowing Clubs (VERY proper and British), beaches, parks, woodlands, walking trails, etc. The north end of the park is a forest of virgin trees including some 8 foot diameter redwoods. It is magnificent.The city reminds me of Toronto. It is clean, bright, and loaded with interesting storefronts along the main thoroughfares. There does not seem to be "new" and "old" areas like we have. The old areas are upgraded and renewed. We almost stopped at a interesting fish restaurant along the waterfront, but since we had salmon last night we opted for Chinese. The desk clerk at La Quinta, a nice young Chinese kid, was quick to recommend Kirin, a Chinese restaurant in a nearby mall
One of many mountain lakes
. We were hoping it was not his brother's place or something. It was at the end of a mall, but it's entrance was on the street, and it was a third floor walkup. It was a white tablecloth restaurant with waiters dressed in black suits, and we were the only Caucasians in it. It was Fantastic. The menu had everything from shark fin appetizer ($85) to Peking Duck. Why isn't it Beijing duck, by the way? We had a dinner for two to avoid having to figure out what to order to get a good selection, and it was outstanding. On the way out the door, some plaques on the wall caught my eye. They were last year's Vancouver Magazine winner of "Best Formal Chinese" and "Best Dim Sum" awards, and they were listed as the 14th best restaurant in Vancouver by Gourmet Magazine. (the first 13 were Frenchy-sounding, and it was the only Chinese on the list). 2 nights in a row that the desk clerk picked us a winner.Tomorrow, Vancouver in-depth.
