Vancouver, BC - Part 2

Not much to say about Day 2. We went back to Stanley Park for more frolicking. There ended up being so much of the city we did not see (excuse to go back!) because we kept within walking distance of where we were staying. There was plenty to see and we enjoyed just wandering around in the beautiful weather. We'll go back some day to explore the area near the university and up into the mountains.

So, back to Stanley Park. Only we went the other direction so we could see the totem poles. Of course, these are fake totems, just recreations. Still, pretty neat.

Walking to the totem poles...

One day we'll be back to hike in these mountains.

That evening we decided to check out what a Canadian casino was like. The craps table failed us, but we ended up winning about $100 at the slot machines - which never happens. We planed one game that had alien cows, which was pretty great. But the best was this insane penguin game. It was like a slot machine on crack. You wouldn't win on the spin but then some penguins would dance out and switch the reels and suddenly you won sometime! I can't describe how crazy it was. But it played "ice, ice baby" at one point. Everyone should experience this game. Except maybe old people who may have a stroke because of it. Or those prone to seizures. So. Much. Fun.

Vancouver, BC - Part 1

Obviously I am behind on my blogging! It's September and I'm just writing about July. Ugg. Let's see if I can catch up.

After a bit of time where I was home working hard and John was frolicking in the wilderness, it was time to rendezvous! John arrived in Vancouver on Thursday and quickly got the lay of the land. I left work early and flew out from Baltimore. First flight was on a tiny plane and I felt every little bump. Not fun. Switched planes in Toronto and settled in for the long haul across Canada. They had a fun plane animation that tracked your progress all the way. I was not happy when I was only halfway, but every happy to tick down that last hour.

When I landed the sun was setting behind the mountains, John was on the other side of customs, and I couldn't have been happier. It was Canada Day, so after dropping my stuff off in the room, we wandered over to a bridge to watch the fireworks. The sun sets super late in Vancouver! So while I thought they'd be going off when I was landing it was actually much later than that. Canada Day fireworks were lame. But they were at least birthday weekend fireworks.

The next day we got up and went to Stanley Park via the Seawall. The Seawall is a path for bikers, roller bladers, walkers that goes all the way along the waterfront, around the big tip of Vancouver. I loved that there were separate lanes for bikers and walkers. So smart, those Canadians.

English Bay Inukshuk

English Bay Beach

We eventually left the seawall to hike through the Stanley Park rainforest. It was the most confusing system of trails ever! I'm glad we have good brains or we may have wandered around in circles for quite some time. One trail, I swear was a circle with 3 branches all named the same thing. Times that by 4 trails...constantly coming across a sign for a trail that should not have gone that way. But we made it out just fine!

Found a giant slug.

We were on the lovers trail! How cute!

The plants all had this stuff on them that looked like spit.

On the other side of the crazy forest trails was the Lost Lagoon!

The rest of the day was filled with a nap, yummy food, and more general explorations. Seriously, we just wandered around the city A LOT, taking it all in. Who knew I could like city life? If there's water, hiking, and mountains all so close to skyscrapers, how can I be unhappy?

That night we tried to get scalped tickets to a show John wanted to see but it didn't work out. Had a brief stint of rain but overall the weather was beautiful. More to come!

John's Yosemite Pictures

John got to stay in Yosemite for another 2 weeks. He rock climbed, went to the top of Half Dome (terrifying, he admits), and did a 4 (5?) day backcountry hike. Not as crazy about photos as I, but he had some good ones.

San Fransisco

Sadly, the Yosemite trip had to end. After getting up before the sun to secure John and Kevin camping spots at the first-come first-served Yosemite campground, we were off to San Fransisco. I had to have the whirlwind tour.

1) We ate at a sketchy place in Chinatown for $4 and were too scared to ask for more so we found another place which was supposedly Chinese but had Japanese game shows on the TV. I swear a guy won by eating some kind of sketchy sushi.

2) Went to Coit Tower and had a nice foggy view of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge. Really, if John hadn't known the layout of the city I wouldn't have been able to tell what anything was. It was soo foggy. And windy. Crazy hill walking is made even crazier when the wind is pushing you back down!

3)Saw the famous sea lions at Pier 39, as the sun was setting. I think I could have stayed and watch them for a lot longer if it hadn't gotten dark so quickly.

4) Ate a chocolate pecan concoction from a ghirardelli shop.

5) Smelled awesome sourdough bread at some famous bakery but did not get any because it was crazy crowded. (I bought some at the airport though!)

6) Rode the street car back to our hostel.

7) Ended up in the ghetto the next day while trying to find REI. One would think it would be in the shopping district where the North Face is, but no. It's in the ghetto. We turned around before finding it, but it's there somewhere. Every homeless person in San Fransisco is mentally unstable. In Baltimore thugs will shoot you for crack, but in SF they'll stab you because they think you're Elvis.

So, I covered the basic SF stuff. I wish I had more time, but it was cool. Except the ghetto part.

Leaving John at the airport was crazy sad. I think he even teared up for a split second. My flight home sucked as I got stuck in Denver due to a thunderstorm and didn't get home until like 4am.

Yosemite Part 10 - Glacier Point and Sentinel Dome

Friday was my last official day in Yosemite. Though we would spend some time there Saturday there wasn't much time for fun before John and I were going to head down to San Fransisco. So, Friday I was ready for a ton of fun. But we could only cram in so much.

We drove up to Glacier Point because it's known for it's amazing views. And there were a few short trails that we could take from there. Of course my leg was bothering me so we only hiked to Sentinel Dome. Then the boys took another short hike while I waited in the car. Stabbing pain in your thigh is bad. I was really angry at my leg for whimping out on my last day to hike. But the views we had on what little trail I could manage was really nothing to complain about.

Glacier Point:

Nevada Falls from Glacier Point. We were at the top of the falls the day before. Seems so far away.

The snowy mountains that made it impossible to get to the hot springs I so wanted to visit.

Half Dome from the base of Sentinel Dome.

Yosemite Falls from the base of Sentinel Dome

And finally, El Capitan from the base of Sentinel Dome

The boys climbed up to the top of the dome...my stupid leg was wobbly so I didn't trust myself on the snow.

It was really windy at the top of Sentinel Dome. We're seriously about to be blown away.