18 May 2017 ~ 2 Jun 2017
It was an epic and memorable trip in May’17, which was originally intended for WL and her friend CY to attend their friend’s wedding in Vancouver. It eventually panned out to be a partial road trip for the 3 of us, and then slowly evolved to be an activities-filled 16-day YOLO trip. Follow the entries to read about the daily happenings!
Day 6: Driving from Vancouver to Clearwater
The start of our road trip! We booked a sedan, but got a SUV instead! It actually got us a little nervous, as we've never driven a SUV before. I was the first to drive the first leg of the journey, out of downtown Vancouver to the Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy 1). The worry was unfounded, as the SUV was much better to drive in, due to the higher seats, and it had a bigger capacity to pack our 3 gigantic luggages. Personally, it was quite a joy, to say the least!
It was probably about 2 hours when we decided to have a lunch break at a restaurant just beside one of the exits of the Hwy. The restaurant was just next to the
Bridal Veil Falls Provincial park, where we decided to drop by for a quick visit. It was just a 10-min walk on the trail to reach the bridal veil falls, a 122-metre majestic waterfall that can only be partially seen from the viewing point. The rock face created a veil-like effect of the waterfall, hence inspiring the name. It makes a really good stop along the highway, considering that the tall waterfall is so accessible -- the visit can be done within just half an hour.
CY drove the next leg of the journey. We made a brief stop at
Hell's Gate, where we alighted and walked around for a short while, before hastily made our way back to the car. Strong winds were passing through the mountains and menacing clouds were turning the sky dark.
We reached
Kamloops close to sunset (around 7 plus or 8 plus), a popular stop halfway between Vancouver and Jasper, where drivers and train passengers commonly stay for a night at. After refuelling, WL took over the wheel and drove us onwards to Clearwater, where we had decided to be our pitstop for the day.
It started pouring really hard during this leg of the journey. Temperatures dropped, the skies were dark and we had to drive slow. At one point, it became so cold that the windscreen started to fog. Being new to such a phenomenon, our first reaction was just to wind down the windows to let the air temperatures be constant, instead of reaching for the anti-fog function of the car.
Traffic slowed to a complete stop in the punishing rain, with just 20km to go. The area was dark. When we finally reached Clearwater town at around 10 plus, the town was shrouded in darkness. We spent a long time locating our accommodation, amidst darkened buildings and empty streets. It felt like a ghost town. We finally found the receptionist inside a darkened building of our accommodation, and were told there was a blackout all around the town. It had poured really hard before we arrived, trees fell and electricity was cut. Standing in the open was a torture when it was probably just 2-3 deg C then.
Being power-less inside our room, we could do nothing much. Thankfully, the heater was still fine, so I could still have my warm shower in darkness before sleeping. The girls didn't like darkness and preferred to skip their bath.
人生是黑白的.
4:51 PM <3
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18 May 2017 ~ 2 Jun 2017
It was an epic and memorable trip in May’17, which was originally intended for WL and her friend CY to attend their friend’s wedding in Vancouver. It eventually panned out to be a partial road trip for the 3 of us, and then slowly evolved to be an activities-filled 16-day YOLO trip. Follow the entries to read about the daily happenings!
Day 5: Vancouver
It was 22 May, and was Victoria Day holiday. A bright sunny day and Vancouverites seemed to be out to enjoy the sun. Ian+Katrina brought us and some of their overseas friends out for a day of fun.
We went to
Granville Island for lunch. It didn't feel like an island, as it's essentially well-connected to the downtown by a bridge. The Public market is a busy place. We packed food from there, and ate at the exterior area, where we enjoyed the sun and the entertaining street performances. The area also featured many local shops selling items made by local artists or vendors.
We had pretty good ice-cream on the island, before embarking on a little round-trip cruise onboard the Aquabus at False Creek, the short inlet right at the heart of downtown Vancouver. It's some touristy thing that we had to check off the list.
The initial plan to visit the famous Stanley Park was put off, as we were told there was a closing time at the park, and there was a jam. We headed to a small neighbourhood park at Kitsilano, just across the water from Stanley Park. A few of us started playing Frisbee while others had a picnic with chips, until the frisbee fell over the edge of the little hill we were at, and got dangerously perched within a network of thorny tree branches.
Dinner was at
Richmond Night Market, which is a very Asian-type of night market (think: Taiwanese style), with stalls predominantly selling Asian food but at a much higher price. Not to forget, there was an entrance fee too! I wasn't impressed, but I guess this was something closer to their birthplace, for the sizeable Asian immigrants at Vancouver.
An impromptu decision for Karaoke brought us to Party World. It was the last activity that the RV friends would probably do together in the foreseeable near future, as we would be leaving Vancouver the next day, and Ian+Katrina would be back to their Vancouver lifestyles.
人生是黑白的.
4:00 PM <3
>>>
18 May 2017 ~ 2 Jun 2017
It was an epic and memorable trip in May’17, which was originally intended for WL and her friend CY to attend their friend’s wedding in Vancouver. It eventually panned out to be a partial road trip for the 3 of us, and then slowly evolved to be an activities-filled 16-day YOLO trip. Follow the entries to read about the daily happenings!
Day 4: Whale-watching
We signed ourselves up with Vancouver Whale Watch, so we set off for Steveston Village, which is where our Lightship sets off from. Getting there wasn't too
hard, but it involved taking the skytrain to the last station of the line (Richmond-Brighouse), and then transferring to a bus. A total of 45 minutes from downtown Vancouver.
We got dressed up in our gear and set off from harbour in the late morning. We chose the Lightship option, as it's an open-air high-speed boat, which would be thrilling and fun, even if we ended up not seeing anything.
On the way out into the Strait, we already saw some wildlife - different breeds of sea lions, bald eagles, seagulls and harbour seals. Then, based on some tip-offs, the crew drove us to a part of the sea where a killer whale was said to be seen.
There were 2 or 3 other whale-watching boats there when we reached, so it had to be right. After a small wait, we saw the killer whale from quite a distance. We attempted to approach nearer, but it is never clear where whales are actually headed, as they tend to stay underwater for a long time, and their direction and course might have changed underwater. This killer whale that they saw was rather elusive, only surfacing a few times in between long waits. After a few more small glimpses, the crew decided to head elsewhere.
We sailed quite a distance to another part of the Strait, further south and just along the maritime border to the US. Here, we spotted 2 humpback whales close to shore. It was also at a distance, but I could tell that they were quite majestic. It was pretty interesting seeing them breathe - a succession of blows near the surface of the water, followed by a sighting of the fluke, and then they would disappear for some time. To me, it was surreal being able to see them in their natural habitat. I was glad to be on this tour.
The tour guide was very knowledgeable too. She explained about the different species of sea lions, seals and whales, and could even name the resident whales that we saw, with their gender and estimated age, and whether they had been frequently sighted. So much passion with the wildlife!
To me, I felt like I got much more than what I paid for. Perfect weather, great guide, the lifetime opportunity of seeing the marine wildlife up close with my eyes, superb speedy boat and spectacular views of snow-capped Mt Baker (in the US) as well as the countless island scenery.
Back to shore, we spent a while exploring Steveston village, which really had good vibes. It was a bright day, and the harbour seemed to emanate exuberance. We had seafood lunch here, and ended with nice ice-cream. Coincidentally, we found ourselves relatively near to Ian+Katrina's place, so we made our way there on foot for a last-minute house visit.
人生是黑白的.
3:08 PM <3
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