Vancouver, British Columbia

We have just returned from a week in Vancouver, British Columbia. We booked this holiday to coincide with the week that Adrian spent at Camp Misquah, near Wakefield in Quebec.

The week was so good we are thimking of returning again next year. We booked through Expedia.ca, a deal involving a direct flight from Ottawa to Vancouver, car rental and a stay at the Westin Bayshore. We flew via WestJet, and enjoyed the five hour flight very much.

The hotel was on the waterfront and is shown in one of the photos. It was very near to Stanley Park so I could step out of the hotel onto the jogging trails each day while Anne did lengths in the hotel pool. It was also close to Denham Street where we rented bikes on two occasions and rode from 20 to 32 kms each time. The bike/jogging trails are excellent. The peninsular in one of the photos is Stanley Park.

The other photo is on some of the plants in the Van Dusen gardens, a great place to visit and enjoy the lushness of the West Coat's vegetation.

One other highlight was a vist to Granville Island and its artist and artisan shops. In one outlet operated by the BC Crafts guild, I saw several top quality baskets. One I had to ask for help in identfying the material from which it was made. the answer was "willow bark." Next spring, when I strip my home-grown willow I will use some of the bark strippings to make baskets rather than adding all the material to my composters.

Three of the days were sunny. The rest saw intermittant drizzle and light rain.