Waterfront Lodges and Gardens Galour!

I know I complained, a little bit, about the weather in Vancouver on my last post, but we've also had some truly beautiful days, where I could ditch the layers and enjoy the sun.

Yay. spring!

Rapidly growing Metrotown

As my sister tries to complete the marathon-like requirements of the Tourism Challenge (or whatever it's called) we've managed to take in quite a few gardens. As many of you know, I'm a little obsessed with taking photos of flowers. Batten down the hatches, as there will be a flurry of them in this post. (Unless I can resist...)

Peonies!!!

One leaf didn't get the spring memo

Dark purple lilac

Fraser River from the old fishing docks

Wisteria wonder near Commercial Drive

We've crossed over from Vancouver to North Van a couple of times, via the SeaBus to meet either friends or family and today, we saw a rather amazing sight. It's a luxury lodge being shipped up the coast to either Vancouver Island or perhaps the Haida Gwaii.  We're waiting to see if the news says anything about it.

Freighter for scale

If you get the chance, I would recommend a trip up the Sea to Sky Gondola. It's a bit pricey, but you can get a break by buying online 12 hours in advance. We went on a cloudy day, but were lucky enough to have the grey lift and the sun shine brilliantly as we hiked around some of the easier trails. The summit gives you brilliant views of some of the surrounding glaciers and long stretches of the coast line and city of Squamish.

Shannon Falls at full volume

The Valley near Squamish

Mount Garibaldi

Sky Pilot and Co-pilot Mountains

Between the riverfront of the Fraser, the blossoms of Queen Elizabeth park and the soaring tors of the coastal mountains, it's been a good visit, so far.