2010 - Friday, July 2 (Canada)

BC and Alberta, Canada
MEM-YVR, YEG-MEM
July 1 - 9

• Got up and ate breakfast around 7:30 at the hotel.
• We planned on checking out Stanley Park, a large urban park northwest of the city. We drove there and got a good view of the city from across the bay. Got some pictures, and drove through the park to the Vancouver Aquarium (27$/person!). We ended up spending a couple hours in the aquarium. There were lots of huge fish, cool jellyfish, and a bunch of other different aquatic creatures. There was also an Amazon exhibit with birds, butterflies, snakes, etc. We caught a bit of the dolphin training demonstration (it wasn't a show, just a demonstration to the crowd on how the trainers actually get the captive animals to do what they tell them to do). We also learned about the beluga whales and otters. The beluga whales were probably the most interesting, just because of their appearance. They are white whales about 10-12 feet in length, and up to a ton and a half in weight. From Wikipedia: commonly referred to simply as the beluga or sea canary due to its high-pitched twitter. It is up to 5 meters (16 ft) in length and an unmistakable all-white color with a distinctive protuberance on the head.
• By the time we left the aquarium, it was packed with screaming, running children...we had gotten there pretty early in the day, which was perfect timing. At the car, we had a parking ticket waiting for us, but hey it's a rental (that means we'll pay it next time we're in Vancouver, of course).
• Drove from Stanley Park to Granville Island (not really an island) and went to the The Keg Restaurant for lunch...very poor quality food and 2 beers cost 50$. After eating, we walked across the street to Granville Island Brewery and did a small sampler of beer that really wasn't the greatest in flavor, appearance, or cost. We so far were a bit disappointed by the beers in the city. Especially since this region, along with Seattle and the rest of the Pacific Northwest US is known for great craft beers. We went ahead and toured the public market, then headed back to the hotel for some rest (our dogs were barkin) then to the Convention Center area where the Winter Olympic Cauldron is. It was pretty underwhelming, but there was a nice view of Grouse Mountain, Stanley Park, and the bay.
• On our way to check out Chinatown, we stopped for shushi. It was early evening in Chinatown, and there was a street fair going on. Lots of junk for sale and tons of food. We were pretty hungry, so we just ate some greasy fried Chinese food for dinner and then took in a karaoke show (?). Definitely entertaining.
• Headed back to the hotel and watched "The Crazies" and then called it a night.