May 14-18 May 19 May 20-21 May 22 May 23 May 24 May 25-26 May 27 May 28 May 29 May 30 May 31-June 1 June 2-3 June 4 June 5 June 6-8	Tuesday, May 19 We got up later than usual and had breakfast downstairs in the hotel restaurant, in a room overlooking the marina. We had to change tables, however, as the sun was streaming through the large windowwall, making it hard to see anything, including the menu. We spent most of the day using the Vancouver Trolley hop-on/hop-off service to get a mini tour of the city. It took us a while to find the place we needed to be to board the trolley. A local helped us out when she saw us trying to figure out a city map... We didn't have to wait toooo long for this trolley to show up. The photo to the right above shows a small park under the Granville Island Bridge, which passes completely over the island. We walked past this little park on our way to the first trolley stop. The Trolley runs two routes, the City Route and the Park Route. They overlap at Canada Place, a central transportation hub for Vancouver. We rode the City Route to Canada Place with the driver pointing out sights along the way. Once the City Route trolley reached Canada Place, we got to wait for the trolley that runs the Park Route. That was about a 20 minute wait, during which time we wandered around the Canada Place area. This is where we will board our cruise ship tomorrow. The photo on the left shows a cruise ship docked at the cruise ship terminal. It's the Regatta (Oceania Cruise Line). The photo on the right shows Carl and a large sculpture called "The Drop" located at the Vancouver Convention Center. According to the placard, it represents a large rain drop. After a few intermediate stops, the Park Route Trolley entered Stanley Park, a very large municipal park founded by Lord Stanley - hockey's Stanley Cup is named after him, too. We got off the Trolley at the Vancouver Aquarium, where we had a very nice visit, considering about 25% of it was closed for the health of the animals. The photo on the left above shows the statue at the entrance to the Vancouver Aquarium. It's a stylized orca in the style used by most of the native peoples along the coastline between Washington state and Alaska. The other two photos show some really big jellyfish that were in one of the huge display tanks. The three photos above show some of the different colors and forms of sea anemones kept in the tanks at the Aquarium and found in the nearby waters. The photos here show one of the Aquarium's beluga whales. They're the stars of the Aquarium and put on a show every day. We didn't stay for the show this time, but Kelly and I had caught the show several years ago on a previous visit. These two photos were taken in the underwater viewing area around a score of visiting school children... We ate a very nice lunch at the Stanley Park Bar and Grill (yum), since the Aquarium Cafe was so crowded. After lunch, we wandered the park for a while trying to find the trolley stop! It turns out the driver left us at a stop that they don't usually service, which is why we couldn't find the signs. (sigh) We finally found an Information booth and we were literally yards from the official stop.... Where we waited for close to half an hour before a very full trolley stopped. The driver called for a backup driver to be inserted into the route. That took another 20 minutes... The driver finally arrived and he was not pleasant. I think he had been enjoying a quiet day and we disturbed his rest... On to the totem poles where we almost weren't let off the trolley, even though it was a scheduled stop and there were people waiting to board. We yelled and he stopped (he was rather irritated), then he tried to close the door before I was completely through it!!! Very rude. The photo on the left above shows the front of the Stanley Park Bar and Grill, where we had a delicious lunch. The center photo shows the Vancouver skyline and the boats in one of the many marinas from the seawall at Stanley Park. It was taken while we were waiting for the Trolley to show up. The photo on the right shows an overview of most of the totem poles kept at Stanley Park. These have all been carved in the last 20-40 years. The three photos above show some details from the various totem poles in this area. Yes, that is a skunk in the center photo. After looking at the totem poles for a while, we waited for the next trolley. (We spent a lot of time waiting for them.) The photo to the left shows a lighthouse located in Stanley Park along with a section of the seawall which protects this park. The photo to the right shows another view of the cruise terminal at Canada Place and a waiting cruise ship (still the Regatta) from across the bay. Our next stop was at Prospect Point to look out at Lions Gate Bridge. These three photos show views of the Lions Gate Bridge. The photo on the left shows the bridge from Prospect Point and includes some of the many overlook points Prospect Point provides. The center photo shows a sailboat approaching the bridge, also from Prospect Point. The photo on the right shows the traffic crossing Lions Gate Bridge from a bridge near Prospect Point. Then back to waiting for the next to last trolley of the day to run that route... When we realized that we'd miss the last connection at Canada Place for the City Route to take us back to the hotel, we got off a little earlier and took advantage of the little putt-putt ferries for a three minute return to Granville Island, where we're staying. Turns out the coupon booklet that the Trolley company had shoved into our hands had a coupon for one free ride (we had two coupon books, so we could both ride free)! That was a pleasant surprise. The photo on the left shows one of the four lions (two at each end) that give Lions Gate its name. This was taken from a bridge overlook near Prospect Point. The photo on the right shows the Burrard Street Bridge, an older bridge spanning False Creek. In the lower right, you can see our ferry stop, where we boarded the ferry back to Granville Island. . These two photos were taken from the ferry boarding area as we awaited the next ferry. The photo on the left shows two brave stand-up paddlers. They're almost in the main channel for this portion of the bay! The photo on the right shows our ferry approaching from under the Burrard Street Bridge. Granville Island and its marina are in the background. These three photos were taken on our walk back to the hotel from the ferry stop. All are located on Granville Island. The photo on the left shows the gate posts for a workshop that carves totem poles. The center photo shows the visible portion of the totem pole carving workshop. Two workers are working on a new totem pole. Modern tools and breathing apparatus are now used for these. The photo on the right shows two of five towers at the concrete plant that had been painted by local art students. These towers are huge! Concrete trucks pull into the openings between the legs to fill up... We were soon back at the hotel, where it was time to clean up a little and find something to eat for dinner... We discovered today that the battery for the point and shoot has quit taking a charge. Now what? New camera? Can I just get a new battery? It's stowed for the duration of the trip... (Note from later - cleaning the battery contacts, fully recharging the battery and the spare that was at home, and the camera is just fine.) We had dinner at Edible Canada, another restaurant recommended by Katie. They have a rotating menu that features different Canadian provinces. And most of the food is farm to table type. It was okay.... Perhaps one of the other dishes would have been even better. A table farther away from noisy childres would have helped, too... We walked back to the hotel and again had drinks at hotel patio bar watching the marina. They sure make good margaritas!!! Next...