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False River Ferry Tour?


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LOL. I'm very familiar with the Outlander series. I read Outlander back when it was first published and looked forward to reading every subsequent novel as it was released. I tried to watch the television series but couldn't get past the first few minutes of seeing Jamie. He wasn't anything like I pictured so I couldn't stand it. I got to see Diana Gabaldon give a key note speech. She is very entertaining. Time flew as I listened to her. If you ever have the chance, definitely see her.

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martincath...you are FUNNY! I love the way you talk! Very entertaining and informative all at the same time. I thank you so much for all the help you are offering. I will spend some time looking up the restaurants you have mentioned here and then let you know if I would like more help.

 

We are staying at Delta actually. Very excited! It will be the nicest hotel that my little family (DH, DS17 and myself) has ever stayed at...all thanks to the accumulation of Marriott points from DH traveling for work.

Thank you - I'm even more delightful in person when the accent comes into play;-)

 

Delta's only a block different - and I'd still recommend jinking up to Pender from Hastings for walking, as there's a surprising-to-non-locals difference in tone even moving just one street. Hastings has some of the most notorious intersections in the city for seeing humanity at it's worst - while it's not remotely dangerous for visitors, we are somewhat unique in having our most historic and touristy bits in and around our poorest neighbourhood.

 

Since you mentioned record stores, I should also point out the Jimi Hendrix shrine - thanks to renovations at the original site (his granny ran a restaurant here) it relocated to 432 Homer St (corner of Pender) and doesn't seem to be moving back any time soon. Very easy to visit even with limited opening hours as it's so close to your hotel - and it has quite a few unique exhibits.

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LOL. I'm very familiar with the Outlander series. I read Outlander back when it was first published and looked forward to reading every subsequent novel as it was released. I tried to watch the television series but couldn't get past the first few minutes of seeing Jamie. He wasn't anything like I pictured so I couldn't stand it. I got to see Diana Gabaldon give a key note speech. She is very entertaining. Time flew as I listened to her. If you ever have the chance, definitely see her.

I binge read it last year, but didn't finish last (8th I think it was) book. Stoped 2/3 through it. I guess 8000+ pages as binge reading is bit much for me;). I looked up Medina thanks to yours and Martincath's conversation here. It's 10 min walk from our hotel. We will go there for breakfast on the first morning ( I am planning to, at least). Lavender flavored chocolate it is!

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Yeah, that's a lot to read in one sitting. I started reading the series again. I thought I might read them all straight through but I got half way through the second one and was easily distracted to other stories. They are very good books and I love the characters, but I needed a break from that world!

 

I hope you have a great breakfast at Medina! It looks so good. And there are so many choices. I'm definitely down with trying the Chocolate Lavender. Come back and share what other flavors you try and how they are! You are so close to your trip! I hope all goes well for your travels and that you have favorable weather!

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martincath...I'll follow that good advice on the walking the streets.

 

I saw the Jimi Hendrix shrine on the map and wondered about it. I figured I'd mention it while we are there and see if DS is interested. DS is a composer. He attends a high school program at a local university that specializes in the arts. He is in the composition department there. He also plays guitar and took lessons for a few years, but now that he is in the midst of guitar players that are in school to major in guitar, he qualifies his playing. We listen to ALL genres of music in our house...except maybe country. The way I figured it...the Jimi shrine could be a cool thing to see walking around, if we have time.

 

I thought we arrived around noon but looking over our plans, I discovered that we don't land until 2:20 pm, so our touring will be more abbreviated on that first day.

 

I miss hearing the accent. We just moved last summer and where we lived before I had a whole slew of lady friends that were from all over England. Many of their husbands work for Novelus out of the UK and they had lived all over, Switzerland, Germany, and most recently Toronto before moving down to Georgia. They were all from different areas in England and I could hear for the first time how an English accent could differ...their teen children mostly had Canadian influence in their speech.

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Yeah, that's a lot to read in one sitting. I started reading the series again. I thought I might read them all straight through but I got half way through the second one and was easily distracted to other stories. They are very good books and I love the characters, but I needed a break from that world!

 

I hope you have a great breakfast at Medina! It looks so good. And there are so many choices. I'm definitely down with trying the Chocolate Lavender. Come back and share what other flavors you try and how they are! You are so close to your trip! I hope all goes well for your travels and that you have favorable weather!

Thank you and same to you.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hello, Anita and Martincath. We have returned from our Vancouver visit and AK cruise yesterday. Medina was excellent. Two other breakfast places we did, Scoozie and ( especially) Dutch don't even come close. Waffles in Medina were truly the best I have ever tried. Thank you for that info. In ISP we saw many whales through ship booked whale watching tour ( the boat was large, but only about 1/3 full, so no issues observing wales at all). We also saw whales from the ship, but far away, not the same experience. On the second part of the tour we were taken to the Spaski river and actually saw a bear feeding ( which exceed my expectations, I thought it was too early in a season). In Ketchikan we ended up getting on a City bus for $2 per person and riding to Totem Bite Park and Potlatch Park next door. It's been a while since we have been on a city bus. Just loved that experience. Both parks are very impressive, sitting on a beautiful piece of land in a forest at the edge of the ocean. Beautiful, serene place. We absolutely loved Vancouver. We would like to come back just to do Seattle/ Vancouver with day visit to Victoria trip in a future.

Martincath, on another thread you have given me tips re disembarkation's day early flight info. Our flight was at 11 am. We did self walk off and were in an airport at 8 am. Thank you for all the info you provided. Anita, enjoy your cruise.

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So glad that you had a wonderful cruise! Thanks for coming back to report! Good to hear that Medina was everything that I am hoping it will be! Any other advice you would have regarding Vancouver...I'd love to hear it. I'm in the process of double checking our details...under 30 days now!

 

What did you think of Glacier Bay this time around? And how was Juneau? Did you do what you thought...spending more time in the visitor center and walking the trails?

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So glad that you had a wonderful cruise! Thanks for coming back to report! Good to hear that Medina was everything that I am hoping it will be! Any other advice you would have regarding Vancouver...I'd love to hear it. I'm in the process of double checking our details...under 30 days now!

 

What did you think of Glacier Bay this time around? And how was Juneau? Did you do what you thought...spending more time in the visitor center and walking the trails?

On our second day in Vancouver we did Fly over Canada in the morning ( loved it!!! Look it up. It's in Canada Place). From Canada Place we took sky train to Queen Elizabeth Park. It's a beautiful place, definitely worth visiting. The view from observation area near Seasons restaurant is amazing, playing water fountain and surrounding area is very tranquil, sunken garden is wonderful as well. Now comes the best part. From Queen Elizabeth Garden we decided to walk to Granville market. Google maps timed it as 55 minutes. WE LOVED THAT WALK. We went through most beautiful private streets. Every house is different from the next one. Old trees. Manicured or overgrown lawns with gorgeous greenery and flowers.( Especially on Wolf street if I am not mistaken). We spent afternoon at the market, Nash at various stalls, watched street performance ( it was quiet entertaining). Then we boarded Aquabas for their 45 min route around False Creek ( not very impressive ride, but not too bad). We disembarked on the other side of the creek and WALKED AGAIN to our hotel, across the whole downtown all the way within couple of blocks to Canada Place ( where our hotel was located). This walking experience was very different from that from QEP to Granville market, but just as interesting. If I am ever in Vancouver again, I will repeat this day's itinerary. On the first day we did full Park Route loop on HOHO without getting off ( HOHO was a disappointing experience, an hour long line to board at the Canada Place, long lines at every stop we passed, so decided not to get off at all). At the end of the loop we did Chinese garden, walked Gastown area, did eat at Old Spaghetti Factory ( should have listened to Martincath and skipped that one).

About Glacier Bay. AK is growing on me more and more with each visit ( this was a third one). As I suspected, I appreciated Glacier Bay much more this time around. It's beautiful. Still, if given a choice between repeat visit to Glacier Bay or Habbard Glacier, I would chose Habbard glacier. In Juneau we went to Glacier Gardens. It was a very interesting experience. The drive along very steep mountain side to the top with a breathtaking view at the top and, most importantly through what I saw as an enchanted Forest is a thing to experience. We had a fenomenal weather all week. The only rainy day was in Juneau. It was great to experience forest in a rain ( drizzle really). The smell of wet greenery and earth, emerald color of wet leaves, amazing! When we got to Mendelhal Glacier we walked around the creek and that took most of our time. Again, beautiful walk because of the rain. When we came to information center it turned out they had no...power. no lights, no movie ( not that we had time for it anyway), so worked out perfectly for us. If you can visit Glacier Gardens, you may consider doing it. Also, last time when in Juneau we did the Tram. It's right of off the ship dock. If you have time for it, you may consider that as well. It's a beautiful ride up the mountain and the view from up top is gorgeous.

One more detail. On the embarkation morning we came to port early, by 9:30. Checked in our bags ( there were no people at this time but check in process was on, took just couple of minutes to drop off the bags, next we saw them was in our cabin on a ship) and went for breakfast at Dutch. This restaurant in on the boardwalk few minutes walk from the port. We took an outside table ( weather was sunny 60+ degrees). The ambiance was absolutely amazing. I don't mean that of the restaurant, but the view of the Bay, sail boats passing by, sea planes taking off and landing. It was one of the best experiences of the vacation. (As far as the food, it was ok. It's not Medina, but for me everything is about overall experience). I read very poor reviews about service in that place. I can't confer that. We received good service, friendly and attentive. The food is interesting ( look the place up. Unless you are a gourmand, it's definitely worth it for overall experience).

Edited by olya1972
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Fly Over Canada reminds me of Soarin' in WDW Epcot. Have you done that by chance?

 

Sounds like Day 2 was a big winner! So much walking! Easy to do then? This is basically my plan...to walk all over Downtown. I currently live in a Downtown...much, MUCH smaller than Vancouver, but still we enjoy the walkability of living here and my impressions of Vancouver were that it was a very walkable Downtown. You are confirming this. I would love to do the Queen Elizabeth Garden...I think my parents just went to the Butchart Gardens and so the comparison might be interesting...but I think that would be too much with our evening theater plans. I'll have to look that up...

 

I read a post you posted somewhere else where you said the walk down to the ferry area was all downhill? So...uphill to get back to the hotel at the end of the day?

 

Thanks for the info on Dutch. I do appreciate the overall experience of a restaurant as well.

 

So glad you had great weather! Our Juneau plan is very loose...we are a party of 5 and we have decided, after much debate and initial resistance on my part, to renting a car. It sounds like a hassle to me and I would prefer to just make use of public transportation BUT I think the car will meet our needs better. When you say the creek at Mendenhall...you are referring to Nugget Creek or Steep Creek?

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Fly Over Canada reminds me of Soarin' in WDW Epcot. Have you done that by chance?

 

Sounds like Day 2 was a big winner! So much walking! Easy to do then? This is basically my plan...to walk all over Downtown. I currently live in a Downtown...much, MUCH smaller than Vancouver, but still we enjoy the walkability of living here and my impressions of Vancouver were that it was a very walkable Downtown. You are confirming this. I would love to do the Queen Elizabeth Garden...I think my parents just went to the Butchart Gardens and so the comparison might be interesting...but I think that would be too much with our evening theater plans. I'll have to look that up...

 

I read a post you posted somewhere else where you said the walk down to the ferry area was all downhill? So...uphill to get back to the hotel at the end of the day?

 

Thanks for the info on Dutch. I do appreciate the overall experience of a restaurant as well.

 

So glad you had great weather! Our Juneau plan is very loose...we are a party of 5 and we have decided, after much debate and initial resistance on my part, to renting a car. It sounds like a hassle to me and I would prefer to just make use of public transportation BUT I think the car will meet our needs better. When you say the creek at Mendenhall...you are referring to Nugget Creek or Steep Creek?

The first part of the walk from Falce Creek Ferry stop towards Downtown area is uphill but for a short while, then it levels out. The trail at Mendelhal is definitely not Nuggets Falls, so must be that other one you are referring to, but I don't remember the name. It starts off right at the buses unloading area, goes along flat surface, has nice observation area, but if first time at Mendelhal then Nuggets Falls is a better option ( or both). As far as QEP vs Buchard gardens, there is no comparison. QEP has a small sunk in garden area similar to that in Buchard, but other then that it's a totally different experience. QEP is nice but it's not " instead of" or " in place of" Buchard. Vancouver is very beautiful city. We found it easily walkable, though it's not an easy walk if all the way from QEP to Downtown. However Downtown by itself is definitely easily walkable. And, yes, Fly over Canada must be similar ( or even the same) ride as that at Epcot. We never went to Epcot, so for us it was a first time experience. It's a lot of fun. We loved it. Very short wait too unlike what I read about Disney parks. It can be easily done on embarkation day.

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This has been such a helpful thread! Thank you all! Going to in Vancouver for 1.5 days before our cruise. Was planning Hoho but have yet to see a positive review so rethinking that! Suspect will be combo of taxi/buses. Any city tours anyone would recommend. Would really like boys 5 and 9 yo yo learn about history of Vancouver, etc.

 

Thanks again!

 

 

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This has been such a helpful thread! Thank you all! Going to in Vancouver for 1.5 days before our cruise. Was planning Hoho but have yet to see a positive review so rethinking that! Suspect will be combo of taxi/buses. Any city tours anyone would recommend. Would really like boys 5 and 9 yo yo learn about history of Vancouver, etc.

 

Thanks again!

Start with the Tourguys freebie tours (can't beat the price...), which cover chunks of downtown, gastown, chinatown or if you are seriously into learning the local info in-depth there are various heritage and architectural walks that go into much more detail of their various niches. Much less frequent though - if you google "vancouver heritage walks" or "vancouver aibc tours" you should find some calendars.

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KT...

 

I have not read a single good review of the HOHO either. Everything I read talked about long waits and too few buses running. Someone came on one of the threads and posted about how they would just take the city bus to get where they were going...so I started looking into that...and I think that having the option to take the city bus to lessen the walking distance (if needed) is a much better option. Won't take you necessarily right to the attractions/points of interest...but close enough. I've read that you want exact fare for the city buses...so be prepared for that.

 

I looked up martincath's tour recommendation...free tours! but the times would't have worked for our plans. I had already booked a city tour through Forbidden Tours. I think officially it's called Forbidden Vancouver? I'm not recommending them...because I haven't taken it yet...and the topics of two of the tours may not be of interest to you because of the topics discussed (but that's the history that they are deeming of interest)...but these tours are the kind where the tour guide is a performer, dressed and acting as if they were someone from the past come back to take you around the city. I booked our tour through Trip Advisor which was a cheaper than booking through the tour company website. They do have a day time tour of Stanley Park too.

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KT...

 

I have not read a single good review of the HOHO either. Everything I read talked about long waits and too few buses running. Someone came on one of the threads and posted about how they would just take the city bus to get where they were going...so I started looking into that...and I think that having the option to take the city bus to lessen the walking distance (if needed) is a much better option. Won't take you necessarily right to the attractions/points of interest...but close enough. I've read that you want exact fare for the city buses...so be prepared for that.

 

I looked up martincath's tour recommendation...free tours! but the times would't have worked for our plans. I had already booked a city tour through Forbidden Tours. I think officially it's called Forbidden Vancouver? I'm not recommending them...because I haven't taken it yet...and the topics of two of the tours may not be of interest to you because of the topics discussed (but that's the history that they are deeming of interest)...but these tours are the kind where the tour guide is a performer, dressed and acting as if they were someone from the past come back to take you around the city. I booked our tour through Trip Advisor which was a cheaper than booking through the tour company website. They do have a day time tour of Stanley Park too.

You can buy a day pass for $10 not at YVR that you can use and not worry about having a Fare handy. They downtown area is very walkable.

Or rent a bike and use the sea wall for exploring. Come with lock and helmet at the private rentals. 1/2 of the sea wall is for bikes and other side for walkers.

[YVR airport has a Transit surcharge of $5 per purchase of a ticket.]

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