SEA WALL AND STANLEY PARK

SEA WALL AND STANLEY PARK

We woke early and had a leisurely breakfast in the dining room before disembarking at 10:00. There was a lot of hoohaw about having to check in with US customs and everyone having to be off the ship that was poorly explained. Rather than wasting time waiting around for our passport scan we decided to head out on our own. We planned to walk along the sea wall to Stanley Park. The weather was perfect for walking - overcast and cool. Vancouver is a very walk and bike friendly city - and the paths are separated. Bicyclists were very respectful of the pedestrian walkways and walked their bikes on them. In the few locations where the paths are shared, we saw no speed demons. Such a change from Ottawa. There were lots of dog parks - both off and on leash varieties. It took us 45 minutes to get to Stanley Park. The maps we picked up at the entrance turned out to be advertisements for horse-drawn carriage rides. We wandered around and eventually found an information booth where we picked up maps. We explored the park for a couple of wonderful hours before our feet started barking at us and reminding us that we had to walk back.
We arrived at the terminal building right as the participants in an Anime conference were showing off their costumes to all the interested spectators. Everyone was having a lot of fun. We held the door open for a couple of dragons. The participants were really into their role playing. We, of course, had no idea who the characters were. It turns out that two of my friends and neighbours were there at the same time!
We passed through the US customs passport scan - we had to be cleared as our next stop was Alaska. We decided to try a new restaurant on board that serves lunch until 2:30. We were tired after our long walk so rested until the mandatory lifeboat drill at 5:15.
We attended a cocktail party put on by the Signature Travel Group where we met another solo traveller and neither of us can remember if his name is Sid or Scott. At dinner we were joined by two more guests - Bill and Alan, also from Florida. They are promising to be great dinner companions - lots of fun. Neither would talk about the election though they hinted they might apply for refugee status depending on the result.