Friday, August 6 (Day 10) - Ross Vancouver Tour, Part 2

One of the things I love most about traveling is the opportunity it provides me of running in an entirely new and unknown place. In South Surrey I ran a new route almost every single day. The first day I saw a racoon in Uncle Colin's garden (he said he hadn't seen one in nearly 10 years!), nine wild rabbits and 3 cows. On a later run I saw 1 horse, 5 llamas (not wild, but on a farm...or would it be called ranch?) and a peacock (apparently the pet of a neighbor). I hesitated before mentioning the peacock to my Uncle because I thought for sure he would think I was crazy for mistaking a peacock for a....I don't know...large Canadian pigeon or something far less glamorous and exotic than a peacock. BUT, I took my chances and it turned out I was right! Will wonders never cease...


But I digress....I was talking about running in new places. Ah, Vancouver - a wonderful outdoorsy city where it seems everybody walks, runs and cycles, or at the very least, takes some sort of public transportaion to get from point A to point B. A perfect city to explore with running shoes.



I wasn't planning on running that morning - the morning after what felt like a debaucherous evening of wine and steak...and, yes, dessert...and went to the hotel gym instead, but got bored after a half hour and found a stack of laminated cards mapped with various running and cycling routes. I decided to try a short run around the Lost Lagoon on the edge of Stanley Park and found my way back to the hotel by running along the waterfront which was lined with several sculptures by various artists (see picture from the wandering walk we took yesterday) from around the world. Here is where I realized that I really should be taking my camera with me on my runs. I see so much during these early morning adventures that it seems a shame not to record some of what I see. I vowed to take my camera the next morning. Until then, however, it was time to get ready for the Ross Vancouver Tour - Part 2!



Peter and Carol picked us up at 11 and once again we were off. We headed straight for Stanley Park where we were to meet their son Gordon and his wife Sarah - both avid cyclists, they were riding in from home to meet us for lunch at a beautiful little restaurant called The Teahouse.


We had some time to kill before lunch so our first stop in the park was Prospect Point...

Lion's Gate Bridge from Prospect Point - the highest point in Stanley Park, which according to Constance isn't something to stand in awe about, but according to me, is a minor point of interest that I thought I should include (you can tell that we've been traveling together for a fair bit of time at this writing!)

Constance, Carol and Peter at Prospect Point - another point of interest of Prospect Point which I learned from Peter is that it looks out to the narrowest point of the inlet leading into Vancouver Harbor - and so it makes perfect sense that the Lion's Gate Bridge was built here...!

The first time I met the Ross clan was 22 years ago in Hawaii. I don't remember anything from that evening, but I do remember the picture that was taken. It is of the four kids - me and my sister Nicole, and Gordon and Katie - Peter and Carol's kids. I think I was 15 and Nicole was 17. Gordon would have been 13 and Katie probably around 8. In classic 80s style Nicole and I are sporting feathered hair and black eyeliner. We were good kids, but I have to say that next to the two Ross angels we look like a couple of hellions! I wish I had the picture with me so I could post it, but it'll have to wait until we get home.

Aaaaanway...I digress once again. We had a lovely lunch at the Teahouse with Gordon and Sarah (soon to be parents!) and Peter and Carol. Unfortunately, Gordon had to leave early for a meeting and missed this fabulous photo op. Oh well - perhaps you can photoshop him in somehow, Peter?

Here are Constance and the Ross' with the beautiful Sarah.

And here I am with the beautiful Ross duo and Constance (the beautiful Constance that is)

Another of Constance's favorite landmarks in Vancouver is Siwash Rock - conveniently located a short walk from the Teahouse (no accident, but by design by our awesome tour guides from the Ross Vancouver Tour Company). After the requisite set of picture taking outside of the Teahouse (sans Gordon), Sarah got on her bike to make her way across the Burrard Bridge into Kitsilano to go swimming (this woman is a powerhouse at...I think she was 14 weeks pregnant at the time!) and the rest of us walked off the calories on the hike down to Siwash Rock...

"Indian legend tells us that this 30 foot high pinnacle of rock stands as an imperishable monument to 'Sklash the unselfish' who was turned into stone by 'Q'uas the transformer' as a reward for his unselfishness."

From there Peter suggested we check out Constance's old apartment building just on the edge of the Lost Lagoon - this is the apartment Constance was living in when my dad sent her a bunch of red anthiriums letting her know that he was indeed serious about the relationship. Twenty-twenty Laguna Vista...

Ah, the old bachelorette pad...

Funky blue trimmed triangle balconies...

She looked for the manager's number just in case...

With a bit of time to kill before meeting Katie for dinner we decided to visit Queen Elizabeth Gardens where we had lunch with Andrew, Anna and Justin the week before...

Constance, Peter and Carol look across the ever changing water show to the Conservatory...

...and further into the garden...

...flowers...

...and more flowers...

...and, of course, giant Canadian Rhubarb...ha ha...

Dinner that evening was at the infamous (in Canada anyway - or at the very least among the three amigos) White Spot. Katie joined us - drove all the way into town from Delta after work just to see Constance and I!

Everyone ordered The Legendary - a White Spot classic - while I ordered the salmon salad.....one of these things is not like the other...oh well. I had a bite of my mom's burger, which I think redeemed me and my salmon salad dinner.

After dinner goodbyes...good food and, clearly, great laughs...here are Carol, Constance and Peter with Katie - the youngest of the Ross clan...

Too much fun!

...and now, behaving for the photo - thanks to Katie for driving down after a long day of work to hang out with us for dinner!

We had a grand time with all of the Ross family! Thank you for the fabulous tour! We look forward to your visit to Hawaii so we can reciprocate with the Holck Ohana Hawaii Tour!