Greetings From Vancouver

Lions Gate Bridge

Vancouver, I'm in awe. Last time I was in Canada was the late nineties and it was in the middle of the wilderness of Ontario. It was pristine and beautiful but I have never really spent time in any major Canadian cities. This weekend's trip to Vancouver was worth it a million times over. I'm already thinking of excuses to go back. Which on my tight budget is actually pretty doable. Having no car we found a great option for cheap rentals, Enterprise car rental has amazing weekend specials of $9.99/day for Friday thru Monday. Also, since our house is out on the side of the mountain I was very impressed that they were willing to drive all the way out here to pick us up AND drop us off. I'm sure I'll be using this service again for future adventures.
The drive to Vancouver from Sedro-Woolley is only about 80 miles. With a short stop going through the border it only took about 90 mins to get there. First things first, we sought out a good cup of coffee to fuel our meandering. We stopped at Commercial Drive, which is a pretty hip street with lots of small independently owned shops and restaurants. We found a good americano at a cafe called Turks. With hot cup in hand we began the stroll. There is something strange about Canadian foot traffic, I can't really explain it but lets just say they have a different stride. Same goes for car traffic, for example when you put on your turn signal to change lanes it is very common for drivers in the other lane to actually slow down or even stop to let you in! The nerve. I actually got impatient and kind of irritated by this courtesy, not quite sure what that says about my driving habits.
For 59 bucks Canadian, which is almost exactly the same American, we got a room at the Howard Johnson in downtown Vancouver. For that price there was absolutely nothing wrong with the room, however the following night we found a better deal through Air BnB and rented a room in a single family home.
One thing that makes the pacific Northwest so great for me is that from the cities you are just a short drive from amazing natural areas. Stanley Park which is actually in the city of Vancouver was incredible. Amazing views, beautiful trees, great paths, and a very cool totem pole display, a must see if you visit the city.

Another beautiful natural area we explored was the Capilano salmon hatchery. Yes, its Capilano, not Capistrano, believe it or not Lloyd Christmas had it wrong! But yes the salmon do flock there like the beautiful women of Aspen. Its in North Vancouver and is only about 5 mins from downtown. To get there you can drive over the iconic Lions Gate Bridge. The salmon are pretty neat, and bald eagles were everywhere. There are several trails along the Capliano river which provide great views and are perfect for some short day trip hiking.
Natural areas aside there are plenty of fun things to do for the lovers of the indoors as well. There are tons of great restaurants (sushi is huge here), a plethora of live music venues, and several movie theaters with international and independent influences. We saw a Romanian film at an EU film festival that was only a block from our hotel.
So much to do in so little time. Two days was not enough to experience this awesome city. I'll be back for one reason or another, or perhaps no reason at all, Vancouver is worth it!