The Northwest Adventure: Day Two

At the end of Day One, we headed up to Vancouver, B.C.  Day Two dawned breathtakingly beautiful.  We did so many things.  It was a gorgeous day, and all of Vancouver was out to celebrate.  

First up, we headed to Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge, crossed it and enjoyed the waterfall far below.  It was marvelous.  Then we wandered around the forest for a bit, enjoying more waterfalls, foliage, nature and all of the greeeen.  I had to get a picture with some delightful moss-covered boulders for they are very scarce indeed in the desert.

Next we hopped back into the car, rolled down the sunroof and headed to Stanley Park...a giant urban park/peninsula.  It is bigger than Central Park and absolutely stunning. We drove around the perimeter, stopping for some fish and chips, taking strolls along the Seawall and enjoying other notable sites, such as the Hollow Tree.

Next up was VanDusen Botanical Gardens where we were blown away by the beautiful flora.  Never have I seen such wonderfully beautiful flowers, plants, trees, shrubs and landscaping.  Except maybe Butchart gardens in Victoria, BC.  Man, Canada knows how to make beautiful gardens.  They even had a Victorian-style hedge maze...which was delightfully diverting.  We got lost and doubled back once, only to find that one particular turn that we were sure ended in a dead end, was actually the correct path out.  What  a riot!

The rhododendrons were in bloom and were phenomenal.  We came across this magical, tucked-away little spot of color explosion and were astounded.  We seriously took so many photos.  And we kept asking each other, "Did you get a good enough picture?  Are you sure you captured it fully?"  The flowers were so very vibrant and gorgeous.  It was amazing.  Especially for us little desert dwellers.  We just couldn't quite take it all in and believe all that color was really found in nature.  There were little hidden, secret paths everywhere that wound directly through fragrant beautifulness.  It was so supremely lovely.  Nothing has ever been so lovely.  Especially on the most perfectly perfect day.

Last but not least, we headed back through the city (which is just beautiful) to a night market in Chinatown.  Which was a blast.  We dined on dim sum and I found some outrageous gyoza (potstickers).  They are my favorite.  We also got some little desert wheels filled with Nutella and custard.  Yummy.  My hubby was not so lucky and picked something that was extremely and overly fishy, which is saying something as he is a huge seafood fan.  We then ate, watched, shopped and enjoyed the beautiful night...wondering what to do on Day Three as we had accomplished so much already.