This morning, I woke up and boarded the Skytrain to the Waterfront. From there, I walked a couple blocks to Canada Place. After walking up the cruise ship Boardwalk, I boarded a bus to Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. As expected with an attraction with over 10,000 reviews on Trip Advisor, the park was overhyped, family-oriented, overpriced and very commercialized. Most of the scenery inside park could have been seen for free at an average short trail within a short drive of the city. It really wasn’t much special, but was just an average suspension bridge and views of a river canyon.
How did the attraction become so popular?
- Catering to international tourists (one-time visitors not accustomed to this type of nature)
- Easy accessibility (Free shuttle rides from Canada Place; Easy accessibility throughout the park for old/disabled/handicapped people)”
- Emphasis on an engineering achievement
- Emphasis on absolutes (oldest and longest suspension bridge, etc.)
- Word of mouth/high ratings on trip advisor)
After returning to Canada Place, I boarded the Skytrain “Canada line” to the nearest stop to Queen Elizabeth Park. From there, I walked about 10 blocks to Queen Elizabeth Park. Queen Elizabeth Park is located in a relatively rural neighborhood, but there were a few newer and under-development multi-family buildings mixed in to the neighborhood of single family homes. This ongoing and significant increase in density is exciting as it can transform a neighborhood (it’s walkability, amenities, architecture) a provide a much higher quality of life for many more residents.
Once I entered the park, I came across what was likely the highest point of the park with the observatory and water feature. From there, I descended to the gardens, which contained beautiful trees, floral arrangements, water features, manicured lawns, and other beautiful landscaping. Walking on the asphalt walking path through this beautiful park, I was instantly and nostalgically reminded of babajoon and his love and admiration of this type of nature.
After Queen Elizabeth Park, I spent a couple of hours grocery shopping, working, and eating at New Westminster Station. From there, I continued on the Skytrain to the Airbnb, where I showered and watched the DNC on TV for a little bit.
I contacted Lihi and asked if she would be up for meeting to watch the Celebration of Lights at English Bay Beach to watch the fireworks. We agreed to meet at 9:30, but because of the traffic, she ended up arriving at about 10:25, for just the last few minutes of the fireworks. After the fireworks ended, we walked over to Blendz for a coffee and to chat. Afterwards, we walked to the beachfront walking path and walked for another half an hour. She is really beautiful and sweet, but it sucks that she’s in Vancouver and we probably won’t be hanging out again. Either way, I’m happy we met and got to spend a few hours together. We parted ways at about 1:30am, whch was just late enough for me to miss the last Skytrain to Gateway.
Thankful to Google Maps, rather than waiting until the Skytrain opened at 5am, I was able to research a “night bus” that was leaving at 1:40am, which travels all the way to Surrey in 1.5 hours. As in writing this, it’s 2:45am, and I’ll need to wake up within 4 hours to pack up and board the bus to Whistler.
