The 'Hollow Tree' in Stanley Park in Vacouver

We know we don’t like big cities but I had to see and experience a little of Vancouver.  We got our our maps and drove towards downtown.  Like other older cities the city is a mass of odd angles and curves.  We found our way downtown and, unlike Banff National Park, Vancouver has no free parking.  Every space in every part of the city requires payment – on-street parking and parking in city parks like Stanley Park are all controlled with a computerized system of parking meters and ticket dispensers.  Stanley Park is beautiful though and has lots of city views – only one photo though (at right).

Many of the main streets in the city turn from two-lanes with parking on either side to 4-lane expressways during rush hour.  A little after two o’clock we decided to stop for lunch in the West End District at Vera’s which claims to have the best burgers in town by popular vote.  The burger was good but the fries were not – lots of small crispy pieces instead of real fries.  Because the street was scheduled to turn into a 4-lane road at 3 o’clock we only had 40 minutes to park, order and eat our burgers, and move on before we would be towed away.  At least the $3 per hour parking meter pro-rated our fee automatically.

We have decided that three nights here is a little much for us so we cancelled our third night – will cross over to Washington on Saturday instead of Sunday – but we did schedule a Gray Line tour of the city and some local stuff for tomorrow.  They will pick us up at 9am here at the RV park and take us downtown to the hotel where the tour starts.  We will have time on our own before, during and after the tour to shop, sight-see and eat.  That is the best way to see a city in comfort and without stress.

The Port Mann Bridge under construction

Maybe you have heard of Boston’s ‘Big Dig’ where they were building road, tunnels and bridges for what seemed like forever?  Well, I think that Vancouver is on that same program.  Maybe the project is not as big but it is everywhere around the Trans-Canada route through the East or Southeast side of the city.    The project is called the ‘Port Mann Bridge’ and it will be awesome compared to the little bridge that crosses the Fraser River now.   A quickie photo taken at highway speed is at left.