Update from Vacouver

Happy 4th of July! Last year we celebrated in Eureka with Doug & Jan on our Eugene to San Francisco trip. This year there are no celebrations - we missed Canada Day on July 1, and aren't anticipating any fireworks displays over the water.

After two and a half days on trains we finally arrived in Vancouver, BC. We thoroughly enjoyed our time on the train. We met a couple from Tuson who "hash" - a drinking club with a running problem. Another couple, John and Margaret, were from Australia. They are traveling by train from San Francisco to New York via Seattle and Chicago. From New York they will cruise (for 39 days!) back to Australia John and Margaret stayed at the same hotel as us in Seattle so we met for drinks in the lobby bar where we talked politics, economics, and family.

After what seemed a very short night we were back at the train station to catch our 7:40 a.m. Train on Amtrak's Cascade route. Rob made sure our bike made it on the train.

Arriving in Vancouver, we had to detrain, gather our checked luggage and go through customs. There was no way we could manage the bike box, our two panniers, sleeping bags, and handlebar bag so we had to unpack the bike by the side of the train. We were quite the attraction. Going through customs I wasn't sure if the customs agent was questioning us about our trip ecause she was interested or as part of her job. She wanted to know how long we had been planning, if we were riding with anyone else, etc. Once through customs we finished getting ready in front of the station.

Vancouver is very bike friendly. The lanes are well marked and often separated from traffic by a divider. After checking into our hotel we walked across a bridge to Granville Island where there is an amazing public market. We ate our way from one end to the other, wishing we had a kitchen to go home and cook all the veggies, meats, pastas, and cheeses. There was even one vendor selling homemade stocks - beef, chicken, vegetable, brown, and mushroom.

Dinner was at an oyster bar in Yaletown district.

This morning we walked to the waterfront where all the cruise ships dock going to and from Alaska. We caught a trolley to Capilano Suspension Bridge. According to the guidebook it is the world's highest and longest suspension footbridge. It bounces and sways 230 feet above the river. On the other side are more footbridges strung in the rainforest treetops.

The rest of our day was spent exploring the Gastown District and going for a bikeride along the waterfront and through Stanley Park. It was a slow easy ride - only 18 miles. Not much seat time over the past week.

We start the real ride tomorrow morning, riding north toward Powell River. We have two ferries on the first day.