RadioRoryAfter spending time with friends and family in R.I. and California, this Vancouver stop really felt like the first day of my adventure and, if it’s any indication, I’m going to need an extra pair of walking shoes.
I’ve only got about 36-hours in Vancouver and thanks to a drunk passenger and a busted plane, not even that.
A little bit about what happened last week while preparing for the trip. I have two pairs of glasses. but my sunglasses aren’t bifocals and I wanted to get a pair. I assumed a quick trip to Lenscrafters while in Rhode Island and I’d be geared up in about an hour.
Assuming…..Yeah, don’t do that.
I’m blind as a bat and the store didn’t have the tinted lenses I needed, so I was out of luck. Nice guy at the store suggested I hit a few other companies in town and, after driving everywhere, I returned to Lenscrafters with an idea. Make the glasses at your store in Vancouver and I’ll pick them up there. Bada-bing, bada-boom, it worked! I think I even got a deal because of the exchange rate.
I put the new glasses to the test exploring Vancouver and its incredible Stanley Park. The weather kept improving throughout the day, ultimately becoming 74-degrees with blazing sun that was stylishly repelled by my new specs. The park is magnificent with small winding trails that are only occasionally marked, giving you the sense that you’re discovering something. Somehow, I missed the kiosk where people got park maps. The place is huge, ten-times the size of Disney’s Magic Kingdom, and try to do THAT without a map. I’d occasionally check the phone’s GPS just to make sure I wasn’t walking in circles.
I think my new phone already knows me pretty well. It directed me to the Prospect Point Cafe. Overlooking the waterfront, I had good local beer and my first order of poutine. After eating a food so bad for you, you’d think it was an American creation, I hiked another five-miles or so to get back to “civilization.”
The city’s bus and Sky Train system are easy to navigate and had me all over town in no time, getting me to the mall and up to the waterfront in just a few minutes. The one-day Compass pass is tap-on, tap-off and perfect for my to-do list. It’s not an elaborate Sky Train network, but it’s popular! Every bus and train was full and it took a lot for me to keep the claustrophobia in check.
I didn’t realize just how big Vancouver is. Right now, plans are to get to its highest point to watch the sunset (9:15!?!?!) and see if it really does have North America’s best sushi.
I’m glad I got such a workout today. That won’t happen tomorrow. A quick flight to Seattle then the big one to Shanghai. A 12-hour flight if all goes well.
The walking shoes need a break.