VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA/CANADA & SEATTLE WASHINGTON....

 

 

FIRST STOP IN VANCOUVER- THE AQUABUS.  CUTE EFFICIENT SYSTEM OF BOATS THAT TAKES ONE BACK AND FORTH ALL OVER THE HARBOR.  THERE WERE A SLEW OF COOL MODERN BUILDINGS- BUT THE BEST THING WE SAW WAS A HUGE OLD SAILING SHIP MOORED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RIVER THAT HAD A BIG OLD USA FLAG HANGING UPSIDE DOWN, WITH "F%#K TRUMP"  AND "NO 51ST STATE!"  IN REFERENCE TO THE IMBECILE'S COMMENTS ABOUT MAKING CANADA THE 51ST STATE.  BELOW, EVIDENCE OF THE FIFA GAMES INSANITY SHOWED UP IN THESE UNIQUE SOCCER TABLE GAMES.

 

BELOW- NEAT PRESENTATION OF VIETNAMESE FOOD WITH A TRIPOD OF HUGE SHRIMP OVER MY MANGO-DAIKON SALAD.

 

ABOVE- AN ORCA MADE OF LEGOS... ALTHOUGH IT DOES LOOK LIKE A PICTURE THAT HAS BLURRED OUT THE ORCA DUE TO WITNESS PROTECTION PROGRAM OR PERHAPS TO HIDE ITS PRIVATE PARTS.   BELOW IS JUST PART OF WHAT SEEMS LIKE AN AIRPORT FOR SEAPLANES IN THE HARBOR.  THERE WERE SO MANY SEAPLANES IN THE WATER AND COMING AND GOING AS WE WATCHED.

  

 

THE AMAZING MOVIE ON NETFLIX WITH SALLY FIELD-  REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES HAD FILMING DONE IN VANCOUVER AT THEIR AQUARIUM AND ALSO AT A PLACE CALLED 'DEEP COVE'.  WE VISITED BOTH LOCATIONS, AND THE DOCK BELOW IS THE ACTUAL DOCK IN THE MOVIE.  IT IS WHERE THE OCTOPUS MARCELLUS IS FINALLY FREED BY FIELDS.  THE KAYAK BUSINESS PICTURED IS ALSO THE ONE IN THE MOVIE.

 

 

AT THE VANCOUVER AQUARIUM OCTOPUS TANK...
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BELOW IS A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE OUT ONTO THE LYNN CANYON SUSPENSION BRIDGE.  SADLY MANY PEOPLE MAKE THIS THEIR 'FINAL WALK'  PRIOR TO GIVING INTO THE REALITY OF THE GRIP OF GRAVITY.

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BELOW WE RECREATED THE SCENE FROM SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE AT THE FISH MARKET WHERE BILLY CRYSTAL ASKS ROB RIENER "SO HOWS MY BUTT?".

 

 

 

AGAIN- IN SEATTLE WHERE THE FIFA GAMES LOOM LARGE, THEIR TROLL IS DECKED OUT WITH A SOCCER BALL . WHILE IT IS KNOWN SEATTLE TRAFFIC DOES NORMALLY SUCK- IT WAS AT A NEW LEVEL OF "UUUUUHG" DURING OUR STAY HERE WITH THE FIFA FRENZY.

 

 HAVING NOT MISSED A SINGLE EPISODE OF 'GREYS ANATOMY' OVER THE YEARS, I FELT COMPELLED TO VISIT SEATTLE KERRY PARK- WHERE THERE HAD BEEN MANY SCENES SHOT FOR THE SERIES.... OH, MEREDITH.....(WE HAD A FRIEND WHO KNEW ELLEN POMPEO.)

POTLATCH....TACOMA..... OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON

 Next up was the areas of Potlatch, Tacoma and Olympia Washington

Our campsite was directly waterfront and we had constant visits of seals, otters, eagles and kingfishers. Below you can see a couple of seals passing by, and the low tide extreme that allows you to walk around. 

 

Below, on the boat we rented out of Olympia WA once again hoping to see whales- and did not.

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Below is a visit to "The Old Steel Bridge" made in 1929 and was the highest train bridge in all of north America at the time.  Bridge still survives- but unfortunately NOT the same for the many who have jumped from here.  There are competing messages on the curbs and rails urging either to "Get Help!" or... the opposite.  Not for the faint of heart- as  the guard rails are barely waist high; AND cars can still cross this old bridge- meaning: if your on the bridge when a car is crossing you MUST get up on that sidewalk which hovers next to the depths below! 

 

 View of Mount Rainier from Tacoma... and below that is PIA the Peace Maker with Ilea

Below is part of a touching memorial which is in BAINBRIDGE WA for the many random innocent Japanese who were rounded up right here at this exact spot (see metal footprint outlines) and put on boats to be held at camps against their will.  They had to leave everything behind, and just go.

Below- Glass Bridge in  Tacoma... and also lunch at a Brewery-a converted Fire Engine House

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VICTORIA CANADA (VIA FERRY FROM PORT ANGELES)

 We left the  ol' RV behind in Port Angeles and cruised across to Victoria, BC Canada with our ol' CRV aboard the Black Ball Ferry for a 5 day stay at a VRBO located less than 30 minutes to the city of Victoria. Below- our view from inside the CRV with GPS ready to hit the road once we disembarked from the ferry.

 

Quite a LOT more to see on this large Vancouver ISLAND (Oddly, NOT the place where the CITY of Vancouver BC is located...) much more than I had allotted time for at least. May have to come back some day to see the far western side of the island....  While in Victoria, did the standard views of their BC Assembly Building &the Empress Hotel, Inner Harbor, Fisherman's Wharf & Chinatown (Fan Tan Alley, supposedly the "Narrowest street in the world.") ALSO- did the very unique cool Victoria BUG ZOO! They had a huge collection of large bugs ALIVE, including a leaf cutter ant display that spanned the room. We met the MOSS LADY of Beacon Park, and some of the town deer wandering the streets.

 

Took one day to do a ton of walking and see both the MALAHAT SKYWALK and the Butchart Gardens. At the skywalk,there are many neat wood nature sculptures... there is an area at the very top where one can walk out on a clear glass floor enclosed area- to look down hundreds of feet directly below where you stand.  Darwin REFUSED to walk out there with me for a good 5 minutes... then he did (in his doggy mind) risk his canine mortality and joined me for a little while. Cool place for kids as it has a humongous slide at the top which you can take all the way to the bottom.  Many kids were on it over and over again displaying energy we wish we had as they repeatedly would RUN all the way back up to the top for another slide down.

 

 

And just when we thought we'd had more than enough 'Flower Experiences' on this trip, we just couldn't pass up a visit to Butchart Gardens.  So glad we did not miss this place as it was FANTASTIC! 

 

One day, we took a boat out of the Sydney, North Saanich area to do some (fingers crossed) WHALE WATCHING.... very restrictive boating rules to protect the ORCAS... But only got to see some seals and eagles.  One eagle appeared to be in distress, floating on top of the water, flapping its wings seemimg to be  unable to take flight.  When we ventured closer for a look, (less than 30 feet) it did finally take flight and flew away.  We suspect that it  might have had a huge fish in its claws and perhaps was overly optimistic about the chances of taking flight WITH that added weight in its grips. Weather has cooperated nicely with our plans

 

 

 

After returning to US, our final morning we went to explore the nearby Salt Creek Recreation area tidal pools.  Some green anemone and purple urchins were seen, among other things...