Week 22 (Continued) - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada ("Raincouver")

Hello Family and Friends,

After Portland we headed back over the border to Vancouver, Canada. On our first day we took a city bus tour that went through Stanley Park. We stopped by the totem poles. They were artistic poles that were often used as support structures for homes. One was used as a front door where the beak would open during special ceremonial times. The coolest thing about these is that they are carved from a single piece of wood. These are of course rebuilds as the reals ones are sitting in museums and not exposed to the weather.

The totem pole 3rd from the left was used as a front door where the bird's beak at the bottom would open during ceremonial days. It was built for a chief's home.

Then we took an adventure to the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. Sarah is terrified of heights so we kept our destination on the down low and didn't give her any details.

The view from the suspension bridge. It did move quite a bit with people walking both directions concurrently.

When we arrived at the park she saw people with these certificates that said "I Survived". But being a teenager she wasn't paying much attention as she just thought we were going to be walking through a forest trail. Once we got to the suspension bridge it took all the bargaining to get her to go across.

Sarah's back was sore after crossing the bridge because she was so tense

Of course, Brett and I were being the absolute worst by having the best time watching her face her fears. Atlas was also not a fan of the swinging bridge on the way over. However, by the time we made back across, both Atlas and Sarah were conquering their fears.

Atlas not very happy the first time over the suspension bridge.

Atlas conquering his fears and enjoying himself the second time over the bridge.

Sarah worked up enough courage to take a selfie of the family on the bridge on our return trip.

Of course, it took a lot of practice to get the "children" to this level. Once we crossed the large bridge we explored the tree tops which had a whole bunch of shorter suspension bridges.

The sign upon entering the treehouse conncected by suspension bridges.

Felt like a real life Swiss Family Robinson

Atlas and me working together to try to get our arms around a giant Red Cedar tree.

Saw a real life Bald Eagle just perched in the tree branches.

The suspension bridge really was an extreme adventure that we all survived. The following day we decided to do something a little less extreme, but just as fun. We took a ferry ride from Vancouver to Victoria.

Braving the windy weather of the deck while riding the ferry.

The ferry ride was about an hour and a half and is really excellent. They have a food court with some good hot food options as well as a kids play area. Sarah has never been on a cruise and we told her that this is pretty much a cruise once you multiply x 10.

Captain Atlas showing his navigation skills in the kids play area aboard the ferry.

Once in Victoria we went to the Butchart Gardens to see the flowers and to experience high tea.

Everyone, including Bruce, catching a photo in the sunken garden.

There was a Rose Garden that had every kind of rose. There was also another Japanese Garden (the one in Portland was better). Honestly, I think we are done with gardens for a while. Don't get me wrong, they are beautiful and the landscaping is impeccable. But I much prefer nature that is a more wild and untamed.

Enjoying our high tea at the Butchart Gardens. Atlas spot is completely empty as we can't trust him with any real cutlery.

We are in Canada and so that means more wineries! Sarah still thinks that she likes wine, but she doesn't. She told us that she is going to carry around some agave in her purse so that she can add it to her wine at dinner, because she likes wine but she wants it sweeter. We let her know that she can do what she wants, but that it is not okay. She should probably just find a drink that she likes or just stick to juice and water at dinner.

They specialized in Ice Wine which incorporates 30-60 lbs of grapes as compared to the normal 3-5lbs of grapes.

At this one we had a very bold rooster who wanted to steal our charcuterie board (my favorite part of wineries).

We have enjoyed our adventures to the "fifty-first state"...JK. We really have enjoyed taking advantage of being able to visit another country without going across the seas.