Victoria, BC, to Vancouver, BC: April 23

April 23

Victoria, BC, to Vancouver, BC

We drove to Tsawassen, just beyond Sydney, to take the ferry from Vancouver Island to the city of Vancouver on the mainland. That has always somewhat confused me that the city of Vancouver is not on the island of the same name.

Our ferry coming into port prior to boarding:

Boarding the ferry:

This ferry was quite a bit larger than the one we took to Victoria. It was rainy and a little rough, but the boat is so big that we could barely feel any motion. An occasional wave bumped against the prow and could be felt as a small vibration, but that was all. There was a large cafeteria and a good sized gift shop onboard.

Some counterculture-looking young men (at least I think they thought they were) were complaining that the only coffee onboard was Starbucks and they refused to drink it. I hope that is their most serious problem today.

I saw a harbor seal swimming by the boat, but no whales. We passed very close to the small islands near Vancouver Islan, and it was interesting to see all the houses on them—some cottages and some more like mansions.

The next pictures are taken through the ferry's window, so are not too clear.

We passed a ferry like the one we taking:

Tom didn’t want to take any pictures through the window because it was too streaky and spotted, and he couldn’t go outside this crossing, so I took a picture of a lighthouse we passed that he doesn’t have in his collection. I have one more lighthouse than Tom does. (You may have to enlarge the picture to see it, but it IS there.)

When we were driving down the causeway from the ferry landing, we saw a minivan stranded in the sand, with the incoming tide starting to lap around it. It had n empty boat trailer hitched to the back, so we surmised the driver may have launched his boat in an unauthorized area, not thinking about the tide. A policeman had pulled over near it and was looking puzzled.

Our Residence Inn room (love those Marriott points) is on the 20th floor and we have a great view. We can see English bay and the mountains as well as cityscape.

We walked around the neighborhood for a little while and found a place with a safe menu. There is a European Deli that also looks interesting. We can walk to the harbor, and the bus stops at our front door. We won’t need to use the car while we are in Vancouver unless we do a field trip away from the city.

Tomorrow we will explore Vancouver via hop on hop off bus.