A Banner Day

The sun was shining bright.  The coastal breeze was gently blowing.  There wasn’t a cloud in the sky.  Well-rested from sleeping in to a lazy morning, we were ready for whatever Vancouver, BC had to offer us.  We knew that more time exploring Stanley Park was top on our list – this time, by bicycle.  After renting beach cruisers with squishy seats for bouncing around the seawall, complete with baskets on the front and everything, we set out on our adventure.

Vancouver is such a bicycle-friendly city and with separate pathways for cyclists/rollerbladers and pedestrians everywhere in Stanley Park, it was easy riding with great views at every turn – although I think Abby would have preferred a few less people to contend with on her bicycle.  We stopped along the way at various points of interest, taking pictures and soaking up the sunshine and Vitamin D.  After completing the loop around the park and picnicking under a shady tree, we continued cycling on the seawall over to the convention center area.  We checked out the views of the harbor, watched the sea planes take off and land, and got to see the Olympic cauldron from the 2010 games and the “Digital Orca” sculpture the kids had seen in a brochure.  I think Matt and Isaac could have watched the sea planes and ships come in and out of the harbor all day, but we had more to see – at Granville Island.

After experiencing Seattle’s Pike Place Market, when we learned there was a market at Granville Island, it was added to the list immediately (and we were running very low on fresh produce).  We wandered through the market for a few hours, exploring new fruits and veggies as well as the various wares of local artisans.  We left with two bags full of produce and a few other culinary delights to take with us into North Cascades for cooking over the campfire and grill.  We will be enjoying stuffed red peppers, round zucchini, local BC cherries, handmade kale stuffed pastas, fresh herbs on grilled eggplant, and foil campfire packets made with local BC veggies… I’m getting hungry just thinking about it.

As the shops began to close and our tummies began to rumble after being surrounded by food for so long, we moved on toward our Vancouver dinner experience.  While watching an episode of “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives” on the Food Network in a campground recently, Abby saw a feature on Peaceful Restaurant in downtown Vancouver.  It was her one request to see if we could eat there… it did look pretty cool – watching the chef/owner make the noodles by hand.  We found it easily and sat right down to order up some of the famous noodles and steamed buns – with an order of curry just because.  All of it was amazing.  I think it may have been the best yellow curry I have ever had – and the noodles melted in your mouth… a delicious way to end the day for sure.

As we all struggled to get the tender noodles into our mouths with chopsticks, we were able to celebrate our time in Vancouver together – enjoying the outdoors, the city sights, and the new experiences.