The Beauty of Vancouver BC
Our recent adventure took us to one of the most beautiful places we have ever seen, Vancouver, BC! Besides being a beautiful place it is also the new home to my youngest son. It’s the farthest we have traveled in quite some time. Between Covid shutting everything down and caring for my Mom for the last 4 years, we have not been able to travel very far from our home.
Getting there
Our flight from North Carolina to Seattle was about 5 1/2 hours long(it was cheaper to fly into Seattle than Vancouver). I really enjoyed looking down on the mountain ranges of Montana, Utah, and Washington.
We rented a car at the airport and drove the 3 hours to our Airbnb in North Vancouver.
It was a nice drive! We were able to see the Seattle skyline from the highway. My son suggested that we stop in Mt. Vernon, which is about halfway, for lunch. Mt. Vernon, WA is a very cute town. I highly recommend a stop at the Skagit Valley Coop for all kinds of goodies!
This trip has renewed our sense of adventure and taken us to a very beautiful place! This was our second trip to Canada. The first was several years ago when we went to Niagara Falls, Ontario.
Vancouver BC
Vancouver is a coastal city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Located about 145 miles north of Seattle, Washington. The city of Vancouver has a population of over 737,000 and is the 8th largest city in Canada. Metro Vancouver has over 2,000,000 residents and includes 21 municipalities.
Our Airbnb was in North Vancouver. We also spent time in Kitsilano(neighborhood) and West Vancouver.
FUN FACT: The city was named after Captain George Vancouver, a British Royal Navy officer best known for his 1791-1795 expedition, which explored and charted North America’s northwestern Pacific Coast regions, including the coast of what are now the U.S. states of Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California.
History of Vancouver
The Indigenous settlement of Vancouver began more than 8,000 years ago and included the Squamish, Musqueam and Tsleil-Waututh(Burrard) peoples. The first modern city was orginally named Gastown and grew around the site of a tavern near Hastings Mill, built in 1867 and owned by “Gassy Jack”**. It was formally renamed “Granville” by the colonial Government in 1870 in honor of the British Secretary of State for the colonies, Lord Granville.
**John Deighton was better known as “Gassy Jack”, he was a tavern owner in British Columbia. The Gastown neighborhood of Vancouver got it’s name from him. He build his tavern on the south side of Burrard Inlet at the request of his friend, Captain Edward Stamp, the owner of Hastings Mill. Most of his patrons were sailors and workers from the nearby sawmill.**
The city was renamed “Vancouver” in 1886 through a deal with the Canadian Pacific Railway. The Canadian Pacific Transcontinental railway was extended to the city in 1887.
Geography
The city of Vancouver is located on the Burrard Peninsula. It is surrounded by water on three sides.
The Burrard Inlet borders the city to the North, Fraser River to the South, and the Strait of Georgia to the West. The Pacific Ocean lies beyond Vancouver Island.
The city is divided into 4 sides(like most cities), East and South Vancouver on the Southside of the Lion’s gate bridge and West and North Vancouver over the bridge to the North. The Lion’s gate bridge is Hwy 99 and crosses the Burrard Inlet and Vancouver harbor.
In every side of the city you will find great restaurants, beautiful parks, nature, and amazing mountain views.
NOTE: The Lion’s gate bridge gets bogged down several times a day. It’s best to keep your timing flexible.
One of the first things we did was to take a drive up Cypress Mountain. Cypress Mountain is a ski area in West Vancouver, located just 30 minutes from downtown Vancouver. It has 53 named alpine ski runs and 11 miles of cross country trails.
We took the drive up the mountain to see the great views of Vancouver!
Beautiful things to see
- West Vancouver Centennial Seawalk
- Dundarave Park
- Cypress Mountain
- Sea to Sky Highway
- Squamish
- Shannon Falls
- Cleveland Dam
- Capilano Lake
- Grouse Mountain
- Kitsilano Beach
- Stanley Park
…
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