Vancouver - the short stopover

Day 4

We started our day early with a bus ride to the ferry which would take us over the sea to Vancouver. Again Peter's "it's just a short walk" attitude came into play. It might have been a short walk to the bus depot but lugging our bags made it seem double the time and effort but we got there early and were first in line for the bus. It was about a 40 minute drive to the ferry wharf and then onto the ferry for about an hour and a half journey across the water to Vancouver.

Once off the ferry the same bus dropped us off in downtown Vancouver where we proceeded to walk again for about 6 blocks to our accommodation. I might add at this time that Cheryl has had an extremely sore ankle the whole time we have been away and has been a real trooper walking these distances during each day.


Once we got to our accommodation the boys went to work out where to pick the car up from the next day and to see if we could get it early as we wanted to get on the road to Whistler as early as we could. 
After they got back we had a bit of a rest before making our way to Gastown to see the steam powered clock which is one of the features of the Gastown area. This area of Vancouver has seen many different phases but is very reminiscent of our Rocks area. A working area now reimagined as a hip and happening place to be.

Our first stop was the Steam Clock which is one of Gastown's attractions. A gentleman named Raymond Saunders built the first steam clock in 1977 at the corner of Cambie and Water Streets in Gastown Vancouver. It uses a steam engine and electric motors and displays the time on 4 faces and announces the quarter hour time with a whistle that plays the Westminster Quarters. It also produces a puff of steam from the top at each hour. We were perplexed as it looks much older but could be part of the reimagining of Gastown from a down at the mouth area to the hip and happening place it is today.

After watching the steam clock and taking a few pictures we were looking for something to eat as we hadn’t as yet had lunch so instead of having a big meal we went to the Black Frog Pub and had a yummy few bites and a couple of refreshments while enjoying the atmosphere. We then went for a bit of a walk around and had a little look in all the tourist shops and what a plethora of stuff they had. You name it they had it. Cheryl was intrigued with the beaver hats and can i say she looked very fetching in one. I was so tempted to buy a couple of things but remembered I would have to cart them around for the rest of he holiday. So I refrained.

We found out a little bit of the history of Gastown from a quick walk down the main street. Named after "Gassy" Jack Deighton who was a Yorkshire man steam captain who opened the first saloon. The area thrived until in 1886 the whole area bar 2 buildings were wiped out by fire. It was rebuilt and continued to be a vibrant port until the Great Depression when the decline started and it became an area associated with skid row and flop houses. In 1971 the area was declared an historical site so that the historical buildings could be preserved. Great outcome for an area steeped in the working class life of Vancouver.

Statue of Gassy Jack

After our little walkabout we decided to have an early dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. What a flashback that was. Very much the same as the one that we used to have in Sydney all those years ago. A nice simple meal and then a walk back to our accommodation as we had a long day.

Day 5

We started our day with a McDonalds breakfast as there wasn’t anything open as it was a public holiday in Canada due to Canada falling on a saturday this year so there was even more to celebrate for the Canadians. After breakfast the boys went to pick up the car and we were on our way. John did the first days driving as he had driven on the left side of the road previously. Can I say I was bit apprehensive sitting in the back of the car as it was very foreign to be on this side of the road. john did a great job but I am still not comfortable looking through the front window and see cars coming towards us on what should be the opposite side to us normally.

Our first stop was at the Capilano Suspension bridge. It was still quite early but the place was packed. It didn’t dawn on us until later that it was the public holiday which probably brought out all the visitors. Also if you paid entry this weekend and were a British Columbian resident you received a year long pass for free. Perhaps another reason why there were so many people.

I saw that there was a history tour at 10am so decided to do that as you know me I do love a good tour! The others went on their merry way. I really enjoyed the tour, the guide Amy was very knowledgeable and I was basically the only one on the tour so it was more like a conversation than a tour. After the tour finished I met up with Peter and we walked the suspension bridge with the mass of humanity that were there at the same time. As we walked there were the usual idiots wanting to hold everyone up with their constant posing and selfie sticks and with that amount of people on the bridge it did sway quite a bit but I managed to get across without too much drama. Such a great attraction.

The bridge was originally built by Scottish engineer George Grant Mackay who bought 6000 acres of dense forest either side of the Capilano River. Using hemp rope and cedar planks he suspended a footbridge over the river to save time for the journey to the other side which took several hours before the bridge. It became a popular tourist attraction and in 1903 the hemp ropes were replaced with steel cables. Edward Mahon was the next owner and during his time fell in love with a young lady named Lillete but she was only 19 and her mother wouldn't allow her to marry the 48 year old Edward, so he made her mother Elizabeth manager of the property and a year later they were wed. During this time the steel cables were reinforced and a tearoom managed  by Elizabeth were improvements made.

Elizabeth then married a handsome forest ranger Mac MacEachran who aggressively promoted the bridge as "eighth wonder of the world". This didn't really take off and he needed to work elsewhere to make ends meet. He had plans to build a bigger house across the street as he had a 19 year old daughter he wanted to bring to Capilano but unfortunately Elizabeth died and the grand plans didn't eventuate. At this time he bought the park from Edward Mahon and invited local First Nations to place totems in the park. In 1945 he sold the bridge to Henri Aubeneau but nothing much was done during his tenure.

In 1953 Rae Mitchell bought the property from Henri Aubeneau and promoted it world wide. He completely rebuilt the bridge in 1956 encasing the cables in 13 tons of concrete. He also developed trails on the west side of the bridge and converted the Teahouse into the The Trading Post Gift Store.

In 1983 Nancy Stibbard purchased the bridge from her father Rae Mitchell and her goal was to develop the park into something more than a stop off to a destination attraction and has made the park what it is today. Her son also works in the park.  

The crush of humanity going over the bridge

Flag put up for Canada Day and the 150th Anniversary

Totems in the park

It truly is a great feat and a must do if you are in Vancouver. While there Pater and I walked one of the many trails showing off the wonderful red cedar trees while John did another trail and Cheryl rested her ankle. One of the photos you might have seen about the 150 year anniversary was one from the bridge of a line of Mounties with the Canadian flag hanging from the bridge. Great shot but it would have taken awhile to get it as that flag flaps in the wind quite a lot. We all made it back across the bridge and then went on our merry way to our next stop Whistler.