Anyone got any travel planned?

[twolfy]

Thank you Shortstop14, Audrey1 and Meadbh for the information. Any Vancouver favorite restaurants? Day scenic drives?


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[kcowan]

There is a nice drive with lookouts on Cypress mountain. There is a gondola with restaurant at Grouse and The Capilano Suspension bridge also has a treetops adventure.

There are plenty of fine restaurants everywhere.

 

[Meadbh]

As Keith said, there are many good restaurants in Vancouver. If you like Asian food, there is a wealth of choice in Richmond.

Another good eating area is Davie Street, between Burrard and English Bay.

Some of my favourite Vancouver restaurants are Rangoli and Vij's (Indian)

VIJ'S

And for views, Lift

LIFT Restaurant › bar menu

Or Cardero's, both in Coal Harbour.

https://www.vancouverdine.com/carderos

Also, Bridges on Granville Island. Take the water taxi!

Welcome to Bridges! - Bridges Restaurant

Hawksworth at the Hotel Georgia is reputed to be one of the best, but I have never eaten there because it is not LBYM!

https://hawksworthrestaurant.com

As far as scenic drives are concerned, don't confine yourself to your car. Try the Sea to Sky Highway to Whistler and on the way, take a trip up the Sea to Sky Gondola. Hike at the top. There are also gondolas in Whistler.

Sea to Sky Gondola, Squamish, B.C.

Consider a float plane sightseeing trip if you dare.

Walk or bike the sea wall around Stanley Park. Consider a game of pitch and putt or a visit to the aquarium or the totem poles.

Stanley Park | City of Vancouver

This is very LBYM, ie. Free. A big storm passed through Vancouver the night before last, so the park was closed. I expect it will be open when you get there, but expect to see a lot of downed trees.

The UBC campus is worth a visit, especially the Museum of Anthropology.

https://www.ubc.ca/our-campuses/vancouver/

Finally, I enjoy the Dr. Sun Yat Sen Chinese Garden in Chinatown.

http://glaciermedia.pdqs.mobi/drsunyat-senclassicalc/

 

[bld999]

Will be headed out to Vancouver in 2 weeks for an 8 day trip with friends who have a timeshare out there. Any recommended "must sees"? We plan to see Butchart Gardens. My wife is a horticulturist. We have a rental car. Do we ferry the car across to vancouver Island or better to just ride across and take a bus etc? Our condo is in Downtown Vancouver.
I appreciate any ideas for things to do and see. Thanks
Tom

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The anthropology museum at UBC is wonderful if you like that kind of thing. Huge totems and dramatic scuplture, all the way down to everyday artifacts set in a beautiful building designed by native son Arthur Erickson.

If you like touring the countryside, drive up to Pemberton and take BC 99 over the pass to Lillooet and down Canada 1 back into the Fraser delta. The segment on 12 from Lillooet to Lytton is breathtaking. It is a time commitment and would require an early start and late finish, but is a beautiful drive. Could be smoky in places lately.

 

[Nemo2]

The segment on 12 from Lillooet to Lytton is breathtaking.

There's a nice little hill there that I've driven while hauling a 5th wheel...hold onto your hat.....seen smoke coming from big rig brakes.

 

[bld999]

There's a nice little hill there that I've driven while hauling a 5th wheel...hold onto your hat.....seen smoke coming from big rig brakes.

That is a road to pay attention on, for sure. A beaut, though. The mighty Fraser puts on a good show through there.

 

[twolfy]

Thanks again for all the suggestions. I was at a meeting in Whistler for two days 14 yrs ago and I do remember the bus ride from Vancouver to Whistler was beautiful. Unfortunately was in and out quickly and didn't get any time in Vancouver. Whistler in Winter was like a fairyland for me, especially at night with the lights, snow falling and gondolas seemingly going everywhere. Not a big skier so was not used to that. I did ski and like my usual get myself in trouble self I took one gondola up to a restaurant area(?) less skilled area then promptly got on another gondola and went to the top. Remember being above clouds looking at other peaks. To my surprise there were no easy (blue?) routes down, only black diamond and double diamond runs. I did my best snow plowing all the way down but did manage a spectacular face plant on the way down right under a gondola headed up. I'm sure there was much laughter from all on board. Only the second time i had downhilled and nothing ever as big. I had a blast though.
Thanks again.
Tom


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[ElizabethT]

We've been traveling all around Oregon in our RV since mid-July, and having just recently turned south to head for home, are still under its magical spell, particularly the seven stops and four weeks we spent along the coastline. Our experiences ranged from kayaking under some of Portland's many bridges, to sitting perched atop a rock at Cape Perpetua enjoying the wildly blowing wind and high tide wave crashes. In between were miles and miles of coastal hiking, lighthouses, Willamette Valley wine tasting, jet boat riding on the Rogue River, and even a little Shakespeare while in Ashland.

A truly wonderful time from start to finish, and I'm happy to share info on where we stayed and what we did in each area should anyone have interest. Just IM!

 

[twolfy]

I'm


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[BellBarbara]

we are on the same cruise!
We went 2 yrs ago to Alaska on the Solstice, great ship.
We are meeting my brother and sister in law in Seattle for a few days
before the cruise. They live on the west coast so it will be nice to see them
and Seattle is always a great place to visit. Looking forward to it!

Oh yay! We have never been to alaska so excited for that.

 

[Sea Kayaker]

Never been on an Alaska cruise...or any cruise for that matter - DW and I are not convinced we would like the "cruise thing". Though the ships pass right by our beach with regularity - and they look SPECTACULAR.

 

[braumeister]

Never been on an Alaska cruise...or any cruise for that matter - DW and I are not convinced we would like the "cruise thing". Though the ships pass right by our beach with regularity - and they look SPECTACULAR.

You would probably enjoy the one we did a couple of years ago; it was an incredibly memorable experience. Plenty of kayaks on board to get up close and personal with nature. These Lindblad/National Geographic cruises (small ships) are one of the best ways to go anywhere, IMHO.

Exploring Alaska's Coastal Wilderness

 

[grasshopper]

Never been on an Alaska cruise...or any cruise for that matter - DW and I are not convinced we would like the "cruise thing". Though the ships pass right by our beach with regularity - and they look SPECTACULAR.

You may like Un-Cruise Adventures.

https://www.facebook.com/InnerSeaDiscoveries/photos/pcb.10153732650754574/10153732647739574/?type=1

Hot toddy delivered to your kayak.

https://www.facebook.com/InnerSeaDiscoveries/photos/pcb.10153732650754574/10153732647709574/?type=1

 

[Sea Kayaker]

You may like Un-Cruise Adventures.

https://www.facebook.com/InnerSeaDiscoveries/photos/pcb.10153732650754574/10153732647739574/?type=1

Hot toddy delivered to your kayak.

https://www.facebook.com/InnerSeaDiscoveries/photos/pcb.10153732650754574/10153732647709574/?type=1

Okay, colour me intrigued.

Just booked my flight down to Baja for what will be my first extended stay post-ER. I am going for close to 2 months (all of November and most of December), with my wife joining me for a month of that.

I hope to go back in late Winter and spend a good chunk of the Spring there - and come back when the PNW rains are waning. Giddy up.

 

[audreyh1]

Okay, colour me intrigued.

Just booked my flight down to Baja for what will be my first extended stay post-ER. I am going for close to 2 months (all of November and most of December), with my wife joining me for a month of that.

I hope to go back in late Winter and spend a good chunk of the Spring there - and come back when the PNW rains are waning. Giddy up.

We've enjoyed some awesome whale watching off the coast there.

 

[Nunthewiser]

I guess this one counts...just booked the family to visit the in-laws in Odessa Ukraine this Christmas.
I haven't been there in almost ten years. Despite the more westward lurch that country has taken in the last 18 months, it seems even harder to get from here to there than two years ago.

Despite Ukraine's "war" with Russia there are only 2 flights from Odessa to the west each day vs about ten to Moscow or other Russian cities .

It's one of those "you can't get there from here" deals. The flights out of Odessa by either Austrian (to VIE) or Turkish (to IST) require an overnight stay. So that means a bus/train to Kyiv, followed by an outrageously long day to FRA, then MIA, then the 3 hour drive home. I don't want to think about it...

It will be an adventure, hopefully a safe one.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Oh, nun, I LOVED Odessa when we drove through Ukraine in 2013!

We came in from Romania to Moldova and into Ukraine that way, so no idea the flights were so complicated, though we did have three teammates leave from there back to the UK and two fly in from Italy.

The big market/park area with all the various peddlers, performers, and families just enjoying the evening was especially wonderful. We had a fantastic meal at a restaurant near there, whose name escapes me, but was the recommendation of a Ukrainian wife of a friend.

Ah, please share pictures, I do so miss that pretty city and the nice, nice folks we met there.

 

[Sea Kayaker]

We've enjoyed some awesome whale watching off the coast there.

I am blessed to be surrounded by spectacular cetacean life in both of my places - orcas and humpbacks in BC, and the grays in Baja. Reminds me, I need to post my most recent orca video here - the folks on the MMM forums have been enjoying it for several days.

 

[Nunthewiser]

Oh, nun, I LOVED Odessa when we drove through Ukraine in 2013!

If you had to live in the Soviet Union, as my wife did, it was one of the better parts. It has a certain charm, but it was pretty rough around the edges when I last saw it, and I doubt it has improved now. This is really one of those "family responsibility" visits we all have to do. I will be sharing a two room apartment with four other people and sleeping on the floor, most likely. One highlight will be my MILs home cooking (real meat!) as opposed to her daughter's adopted vegetarian ways. Still it will be interesting seeing what progress has been made and visiting the "prevost"- flea/market.

 

[audreyh1]

I am blessed to be surrounded by spectacular cetacean life in both of my places - orcas and humpbacks in BC, and the grays in Baja. Reminds me, I need to post my most recent orca video here - the folks on the MMM forums have been enjoying it for several days.

Blue whales, sperm whales, tons of other ocean life and even bioluminescence, all in the Gulf of California, well off the main shore (there were islands) but probably in the vicinity of La Paz.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Nun, I hate to say it, but your accommodations will probably be better than ours! We stayed at the Hotel Zhirka (no idea if that is spelled right, my Cyrillic is abysmal) and it was basically a hooker hotel. My DH got on the elevator one day with a portly older gentleman and his, ahem, date, who was wearing a negligee and high heels. Only.

But the people in the area were very friendly, and the nice security guard watched our bus for a few dollars a day. And told us it was fine to park on the sidewalk, since there wasn't street parking for a 23 foot bus!

Please do share photos, and tell me all about your meals!

 

[kcowan]

Heading for Italy next Wednesday. Milan to Sicily for a month.

 

[amyj05]

My best friend and I are in the middle of planning a trip to New Orleans for Mardi Gras next year.

 

[Sea Kayaker]

Blue whales, sperm whales, tons of other ocean life and even bioluminescence, all in the Gulf of California, well off the main shore (there were islands) but probably in the vicinity of La Paz.

This sounds incredible. My Baja whale watching has been done beachside, cool beverage in hand. Grey whales occasionally come within a few hundred yards of the shore - compared to other whale species, grays don't mind shallow waters.

The jumping antics of mobula Rays is fun to watch too.

 

[Car-Guy]

Heading back to Las Vegas in a few weeks now that schools are going back in session and the summer vacation season is over. About 3 days and 1400 miles each way. I may stop by the Grand Canyon again on the way there since it "may not" be wise for me to stop by any "high places" on the way back.

Unlike last time , I hope to bring back a lot of Ben Franklin souvenirs.

Leaving early next week and now plan to extend this trip to Reno, Carson City and Tahoe. That's going to add another ~500 miles each way.