Sunday, 9/18/11 - OUR 12TH ANNIVERSARY
It has rained all night. We arise early and enjoy the pitter-patter of the rain as we sip our coffee. The sun is trying to break through and it looks like the day will be sunny on Canada’s Sunshine Coast.
We lock up the RV and head the VW north. We realize we haven’t actually prepared for entering Canada as we had originally planned on spending these days in the San Juan Islands. Do we need special auto insurance? Is our health insurance good in Canada? How do we get a Canadian ferry schedule? We convince ourselves none of this is alarming and before we know it we cross the border into Canada.
Is it our imaginations or does the air feel fresher? We even imagine the VW bouncing along the highway lighter, a spring in her rhythm.
We enter the beautiful city of Vancouver. The skyscrapers tower over us and we feel as if we are in the shade of a deep forest surrounded by towering pines. The streets are lined with grass and flowers. Everything smells clean and fresh from the recent rain.
We take a turn off to Stanley Park. It is such a magnificent park. Miles and miles of roadways and walking paths. People are jogging, riding bikes, and walking dogs. Sailboats glide along the bay past gigantic freighters.
We take a side trip to English Bay. The old Sylvia Hotel is still there and still covered in ivy just like she was in 2005. Logs are scattered along the beach, the perfect benches for watching the evening sunset.
We drive down Denman Street looking for lunch. The only problem is deciding on which little café to eat lunch, there are so many. We pick Cosca and share a late breakfast dish of eggs and potatoes with a side salad. It’s really quite good and the people are very friendly. Our waitress is from Australia and tells us about her travels to Europe and Canada.
If you are ever in Vancouver on English Bay and find yourself driving down Denman Street, you MUST stop at “Cupcakes The Original”. The most mouth-watering cupcakes you will ever eat. EVER. Moist, fresh, and scrumptious.
It’s time to head out of town and begin our travels up the Sunshine Coast. We head northwest out of Vancouver up Highway 101. We reach the ferry about 4:30 and get in line only to discover it is a TWO HOUR wait. We get out our books and wait.
At last we board. It is a huge ferry and we stroll the decks to take in the view. What a marvelous “ship”. The sun is getting low and we enjoy the cool air.
After much confusion by GPS Jill, we at last find our campground, “Langdale Heights 3 Par Golf RV Resort” in Gibson. We get a lovely spot overlooking the bay and the 9-hole golf course. By the way, golf is free with your campsite.
Fred builds a fire and I make tacos for dinner. We sit by the fire and sip our margaritas. We share our traditional anniversary celebration: one funny card and one mushy card. I think I picked the best funny one. Husband reading newspaper says to wife, “Says here married people live longer than non-marrieds.” Wife says,”Nah…(open card)…it just SEEMS longer.”
It’s a beautiful clear evening on the Sunshine Coast as we watch the fire turn into coals….lights out around 11:30.
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