Greetings again from Janet’s house in Vancouver, this time from the basement, where it is 9:38 PM PT on Monday, August 6. Today was British Columbia Day, and other Canadian provinces also had a holiday today in different names depending upon the locale. The main point, however, is that it was a three day weekend, today was a day off for many people in Canada, and Janet was able to show me around the city despite it being a Monday.
We set out in the morning, after buying a one day pass for my use tomorrow, and eventually got on one of the new New Flyer trolley buses, which we took to near the Granville Street Bridge, which we then walked over. It seems that most of the buses being used today were these newer ones, but I attributed that to the holiday. I did see some older models out on the road for the diesel routes, though.
Anyway, after crossing the Granville Street Bridge, we walked along the seawall, occasionally admiring and more frequently critiquing the modern art along the way. 
Our walk took us past the site of the 2010 opening Olympic ceremonies. We then headed past the Central Library, which is modeled after the Coliseum in Rome, before heading towards the Gastown neighborhood. We walked along Water Street, which is a street that has been redone with brick to appeal to tourists. We also passed by a steam clock, but it didn’t seem to be functioning correctly (it is set to do the Westminster Chimes, but was blowing off steam at 10:50 as if it were 11, and did nothing at 10:45).
We then walked to the Canada Place, which is the cruise ship terminal, where one boat was in port. We walked to the harbor observation area, where we had an excellent view of the harbor looking out towards North Vancouver. 
We then walked back on the other side of the terminal building, and after a short break, picked up the seawall and followed it past the floatplane “airport” to Stanley Park, Vancouver’s large urban park. We ultimately found a secluded area with some benches in the shade overlooking some water for lunch, before retracing our steps to catch a bus to West Vancouver.
A bus came sooner than expected, and we boarded. While driving along, the driver asked if there were any atheists aboard, and when no one replied, proceeded to tell the joke about the atheist who is about to be eaten by a bear (I’m sure if you Google the right terms, you can find it). 
This is something that I would never expect to hear on a bus in the United States. The driver also posed his bus for me to photograph once we reached Horseshoe Bay, which was the end of the line. Horseshoe Bay is centered around a ferry terminal, from which ferries leave to go to a variety of destinations. After exploring the town (which essentially consists of a harbor and some shops, in addition to the terminal), we boarded a ferry to Bowen Island, which is about a 20 minute ride on the ferry. The views from the ferry were spectacular, and we stood at the front of the ferry to take advantage of them and the cool, sea breeze. 
Once on Bowen Island. we went in search of a beach, which we soon found. But we decided it was too cold for swimming, so we walked on further, and found blackberries to pick and eat instead. After some time, we began to retrace our steps, although we took a slightly different path through the woods, to return to near the ferry dock, and purchased ice cream to eat while waiting. The sun had moved along its daily course over this time, and was now at our backs for most of this ferry ride, as it had been for the first trip. 
Therefore, the photo opportunities on this trip were good, as well. Once back at Horseshoe Bay, we boarded a bus back to Downtown Vancouver and changed for another downtown to get back to Janet’s. After dinner, Janet’s friend Cassie came over, we baked cookies, and chatted. I will now make an attempt at an early night, for yet another exciting day tomorrow.
