Before we left on the cruise to Alaska, Ruth & I spent 3 nights in one of our favorite destinations, Vancouver, BC. It was a troubled visit and a couple from Memphis whom we met in Seward on their way to Denali had spent some time there and were fearful of it. They stayed close to their hotel, told us horror stories about changes to their adopted city in Tennessee that has caused its abandonment by their children, and had trouble understanding why we liked Vancouver so much. We tried to explain why it was a typical big city. Our purpose in going there ourselves was to visit old attractions we love, enjoy our first international outing since COVID struck, and see what’s new there.
The old attractions we tried to visit in Vancouver didn’t work out. The Bill Reid Gallery that we had loved before charged for seeing its main exhibit, so we just visited the gift shop. I wrote about this half-Haida jewelry designer and artist/craftsman who has a gallery near the classic Georgia Hotel after our last visit to Vancouver on November 7, 2019. We planned to revisit the VanDusen Botanical Garden but didn’t. We hoped to see the new exhibit at the Vancouver Art Gallery but didn’t make it past its lobby because its plan to open in a brand new facility has been held up due to funding issues. We did, however, spend a day in Stanley Park, eat at our favorite restaurant in the entire world, and spend time in Queen Elizabeth Park.
We never made it to our favorite market but discovered Famous Foods instead, which Ruth especially loved. Our old hotel had changed ownership. That created problems for us, and we re-saw the hotel where we had so much fun with Ruth’s cousins. We ate at Nordstrom’s and checked out some new attractions like Jericho Beach, Prospect Point, and the Cypress Mountain Lookout.
Our ship left from the downtown Vancouver Cruise Ship Terminal that plans to become more active, and I photographed the famous Lion’s Gate Bridge from some new angles as we passed under it.
Hank
Security Conscious 