Saturday May 15, 2010

After four days of successful and exhausting experiences in travels to, in, and around Vancouver, Saturday was our first day off. So, instead of resting, we decided to go out and experience Vancouver a little bit more! Kelly had told us that even if we stayed a year in Vancouver, we wouldn’t be able to see all the city has to offer. Even so, we decided that we are going to give it our all and see as much as we can.
We set out around 9 AM for the bus station and began our journey to Stanley Park in the North Vancouver area. According to most everyone we had spoken with, the park was beautiful and a must see while in the city. When we arrived in downtown Vancouver via the SkyTrain, we headed toward the bus stop. However, we couldn’t find our stop and decided we must have missed the bus. Many people were upset that we had to walk, but had we ridden the bus, we wouldn’t have had the wonderful opportunity to see the streets and beauty of the city. We were constantly snapping photos of the beautiful mountains framing the horizon behind the tall skyscrapers.
Before hitting Stanley Park, a group of us girls decided to eat lunch at The Great Wall Mongolian Barbeque. It was my first experience with Mongolian food and it was absolutely delicious! After struggling with the chopsticks for about ten minutes, I finally mastered them and ate my entire meal with them as well! I was sooo proud of myself and my accomplishment. :) So were Laura and Marisol, my teachers.
After our meal, we went directly to the bike rental shop and rented bikes. A few people rode tandems, a couple roller-bladed, and most of rode regular bikes. Stanley Park is known for the 22km or 13.7 mile bike and walking trail called the Seawall. I believe we biked around approximately 7 or 8 miles of the Seawall and although we were exhausted, we were enthusiastic and enthralled. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous and worth the 2 hours and $10 spent for the trip.
A small group of us also had the chance to see Spandy Andy dance in one of the beach sections of Stanley Park and the Seawall. Spandy Andy is called such because of the spandex he wears at all times. (I have a video of his dancing on Facebook if you wish to see a tidbit of his show)
Once we returned the bikes and skates to the bike rental shop, we were ready to begin a new adventure. However, we realized we were missing a person from our group. It was quickly discovered that we hadn’t seen Deon since lunch time, almost 3 hours ago. A few moments of subdued panic passed before a few people went to the bike shop to see if he had returned his bike. Deon soon appeared and our group was back together.
A section of our group set off to return to the college while the rest of us set off to go whale watching. Even though we technically failed to spot a real whale, we did find a beautiful spot to eat our supper and relax.
On our trek back to the SkyTrain Station, Jared spotted the place where the 2010 Winter Olympic Torch was housed during the games and we detoured for a short period of time. This was also where we found our "whale", a decoration near the torch holder.
When finished, we headed to the station, boarded the SkyTrain, and headed home. We had a few transit close calls but none that deserve mentioning.
Back at PLBC, we wound down and went to bed after an eventful and exciting day spent enjoying the creation of God...nature and each other.