Today, we decided to attempt to navigate the Vancouver public transportation system and make our way up to one of the top tourist attractions in the city, the Capilano Suspension Bridge. Since neither of us grew up in or have spent more than a little vacation time in a large spread out city, figuring out bus schedules is always a bit of a conundrum for us. We have navigated them together in Hawaii, Portland, and Guam, but those are small places compared to Metro Vancouver, which is the third largest metropolitan area in Canada, supporting a population of 2.1 million as of the census in 2006. We prefer to take advantage of the public transportation system while traveling because it's less expensive than taking taxis or renting a car everywhere, and it makes you feel a little more like a local, traveling as they do. Thankfully, after spreading out our bus route map next to several different bus stops, a kind Vancouver resident directed us to the other side of the street and success!
Once in the city of Capilano, we still had trouble figuring out how to get up the mountain to the bridge, so we took a break for some coffee at the local mall and decided to take a walk through the city back toward the direction of the bridge. It was a beautiful sunny day, and it felt slightly warmer there, even though we were in North Vancouver where it should have been cooler. The more we walked, the more signs we saw for the bridge, so we got out the GPS and found out we were only about a mile away from the attraction we were seeking. It was such a pretty day, and we were enjoying our "walk about" in the city so much, we just kept walking. At a gas station rest stop on the way, we met the nicest Malaysian Vancouver resident who loved chatting with us about Oregon, and offered us free coffee if we stopped back by to chat later. :) We enjoyed the talk too and felt bad that we most likely would not make it that way again on the way home.
A final brisk walk up the mountain, and we were there. We had a bite to eat as we hadn't had anything except coffee since our big hotel breakfast that morning before taking our journey across the bridge and through the Douglas Fir tree tops adventure, which was all part of the tourist experience. It was fun, even if the prices were a bit touristy too. We understood why they charged so much because it couldn't be cheap to make all those wood and wire bridges 100 feet above the ground and around the trees as well as the cost of keeping up the suspension bridge itself. While walking across, I wished the boys were with us. I could see them having a blast bouncing across it and checking out the squirrels, bugs, and other elements of nature they always seem to find before we do, being they are lower to the ground and more attuned to the little things we tend to take advantage and overlook as we grow older. On the way home, we decided to grab a bus all the way back as the chill in the air was only getting more intense as evening set in. Upon arriving and relaxing for a bit, it was time for dinner, but this time we stayed close, trying out the hotel sports bar and grill with an appetizer of wings, then main dishes of Margharita pizza and a California Chicken Sandwich with yam fries on the side. It was the perfect comfort food after a chilly day "hiking" to and through the tree tops of North Vancouver!
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