Vancouver: Photographs and Memories

Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver is someplace I really wanted Mark to see. It is a place I have been to dozens of times, both while we lived there and since. In fact, it was one of the first sites I saw the first time I visited Vancouver in late December 1985. It is a place that offers - in my view - one of the most beautiful views on the planet: of mountains plunging down into the ocean. The day we were there, it was even more beautiful because of a recent snowfall and the cold high pressure system that made the air crystal clear.

Since before my first visit almost 30 years ago, a restaurant - Trolls - has operated across the street from the small park that leads down to the water. As our children started arriving and became older, it became a tradition to occasionally go to Trolls to eat fish and chips. Once we moved to Utah, it became imperative that we eat there each time we came up for a visit. Mark, Nathan and I went there for a late lunch that day. As usual, I enjoyed the fish and chips; and as usual, I had the inevitable stomach ache afterwards.

The Bowen Island Ferry

The kids used to love to play in the park across the street. The small playground offered things unavailable in the States, namely teeter-totters and a merry-go-round. These were ubiquitous in the America I grew up in, but have been banned in most playgrounds. I understand the safety concerns, but, still, it is a pity.

From Horseshoe Bay, we drove the short distance to Whytecliff Park, another place that holds many, many memories. It's a magical spot of towering cedars on a point of land. The kids used to love to play on the playground. But even more fascinating and fun was the rocky beach down below where they could get in the water, explore and walk out on rocks to a tiny little island. It is a place that is very special to me, and I wanted Mark to see and experience it. 

My new favorite picture of us, standing at an overlook that offers stunning views up Howe Sound and out onto Georgia Strait.

Nathan and Mark

I'll bring to a close this series of posts about our recent Thanksgiving trip to Vancouver with an Instagram photo our son Nathan compiled from a series of pictures I took, followed by his caption to the photo. It kind of expresses what the trip was all about.