Welby Family On Fleek – Pacific Northwest Fall 2017 – Day 4 Vancouver BC (9/25/17)

The objectives of the day were to take in some famous Vancouver attractions: Capilano Suspension Bridge Park and Grouse Mountain.

Capilano was double cool: first the bridges and second to get a flavor of the Pacific Northwest rainforest. The main suspension bridge is high over a gorge and has just enough movement to provide thrill (my wife found the movement less of thrill and claimed her legs were shakey for an hour after). The tree top bridges give you a sense of the forest canopy. There is a cliff walk that allows you to examine the water formed walls of the gorge and test your fear of heights – although firmer than the suspension bridge, it provides no distraction – just emphasizes the height. It had rained earlier in the day, which was actually kind of nice as it gave the forest a rain forest feel – gentle dampness. We had lunch at Capilano – nothing special, but I had the best beer I tasted in Canada: Bridge Brewing’s Bourbon Blood Orange Wheat Ale (even my wife liked the brew).

Grouse Mountain was a bit of bust given that the mountain top was covered in a heavy fog/cloud. But it was still fun to ride the gondola to mid-mountain and the chairlift to the peak. Mid-mountain there was a very nice grizzly bear exhibit – not a zoo cage, but a nice roomy natural habitat.

We headed back to town and enjoyed happy hour at Rouge Kitchen & Wet Bar. After that it was back to the Airbnb for a little quiet time. Later we headed out for some ramen at a neighborhood place – Ramen Koika.

General impressions of Vancouver – I did not find it particularly Canadian, it felt like a US city. Like Seattle, it is very much a port city and has the same Pacific Northwest feel, but the big difference is that it has a very new feel – it seems most of the buildings have been built in the last 25 years.