west9

Checked into the hotel and Sue took us on a whirlwind tour of Vancouver. We had just about 8 hours to see what we could see since we had to leave bright and early the next day. We went to Stanley Park and drove around. What a beautiful park! It has everything, hills, walking trails, the sea, trees, and GBS some weekends,

! It even has a lighthouse. There is a plaque at the lighthouse, which says that some people are buried at the site. Okay. There is a statue of a lady in a wetsuit but everyone calls her a mermaid. The view is great; you can see west Vancouver, North Vancouver, downtown... You can watch the cormorants and gulls, and seaplanes and sea busses.
Sue was in an ice cream mood while we were there so we stopped to satisfy her urges. Mom and she both got ice cream but Mom ended up with twice as much for the same price! Little old ladies rule! We found out that Sue is ALWAYS in an ice cream mood - also coffee, lots of coffee! While we stood admiring the view we watched some people feeding a raccoon outside the fence. We don't go anywhere near raccoons at home, this really surprised me! I nicknamed him Rocky.

The lighthouse where Gracie and Mom are standing

The "Mermaid", above

Rocky Raccoon stepped into the park, only to find lots of handouts...today it was ice cream he was craving.

After we exited Stanley Park, Sue took us down to Gastown, the older section of the city. Gastown is quaint, with brick and cobblestone streets, charming shops, a steam clock, a brewpub and HARBOUR CENTER! For those of us who follow Diane's story about Maddy and Bruce, we decided to tour Harbour Center and take some photos. Sue also managed to pull off a little mischief there! LOL! We had a fantastic view of the city and as we were getting ready to leave, a double rainbow appeared in the sky. We were amazed by it and watched as it stretched across the other side of the bay. We'd like to think it was to celebrate East Coast USA meets West Coast Canada!