Vancouver, British Columbia.

We have always passed in to Canada through Detroit. You either have to go over the bridge or through the tunnel, which means a toll. Since it's one of the largest crossing points, its massive and usually very crowded. The crossing at Sumas, WA was small, one gate and a land crossing with no tolls, a nice experience for us!

Our friends Rick and Sue, who winter in Palm Springs and spend summers here in Vancouver with family, have been trying to get us up here all year. Our only previous experience with this wonderful city was on a tour bus on our way up to Whistler for a skiing vacation.

Their daughter Karley and husband Ian have a home in Mission, BC, about an hour outside of the city. Rick and Sue park their motorhome next to their house for the summer. We visited with them Tuesday through Thursday. They were going to act as our tour guides of the city! We were treated just like family as we met Karley and Ian, their children Makai and Monet. Rick and Susan also have a son, Jay, who has an apartment downtown Vancouver, in a very hip part of town.

Anytime we get together with Rick and Sue, we always seem to be eating. This visit was no different. It started out with a wonderful homemade dinner at Karley's on Tuesday night. Wednesday we had lunch downtown, very cheap sushi, Bento box for $4.95! We had dinner with Jay and his roommate at a hip grill just a short walk from his apartment!

We spent some time around Granville Island, the Market area, perusing the market and seeing the sites. Here we are checking out the city from the marketplace.












Next, we decided to rent bikes and follow the path around Stanley Park. The views of the city and the water surrounding the area was spectacular. It was about 10 miles around the island, so we did manage to get in some exercise in between meals ;)








As we were cruising around on our rentals, the Snow Birds, The Canadian equivalent of the Blue Angels, were practicing for a weekend air show. Susan managed to catch this great shot of them between buildings as they cruised over the city!

Words can't accurately describe the city of Vancouver. You just have to experience it for yourself! Besides an absolutely stunning background of mountains and water, the city is clean and vibrant. There is construction everywhere (may have something to do with the 2010 Olympics), the people, of course, are very friendly (their Canadian, eh!)

We can't thank our tour guides enough for their hospitality and making us feel like part of their family! We had a wonderful time and can't stress enough what a beautiful city Vancouver is; We can't wait to return!

-Rich-