After taking on Toronto back in October, I knew Vancouver was going to be next on my list of Canada destinations that I planned on visiting. Truth to be told, I mapped out the entire itinerary of this trip the Saturday before I was supposed to leave for the trip. I was deliberating between two cities and the weather made it difficult for me to make plans in advance. Vancouver ended up edging out the other city that I had in mind because the weather ended up being much better.
Coming back into Canada with the experience I gained from Toronto made coming back into this country much more pleasant. Vancouver was truly a beautiful city. The weather was in the mid-50’s most of the trip and there were many clear days. When I arrived in Vancouver, I had a difficult time getting to my hotel because the Vancouver Marathon was happening the same day I arrived and the run was being held on the street where my hotel was at, which made it that much more difficult to get there. I don’t know what it is about my timing for these things, but this happened in Toronto as well where they had a marathon on the street where my hotel was.
I started off the trip after checking in over at North Vancouver to check out the Capistrano Suspension Bridge. I was pleasantly surprised with how well the bridge held up. Not for the people that have acrophobia. There were plenty of beautiful scenes there and a great spot to connect with nature.
The first night I was there, I walked down to Rogers Arena to see Pearl Jam play. Needless to say I walked into that show blind as I wasn’t too familiar with their discography. I walked out of that show pleasantly surprised with how tight they were live.
For this trip, I did two aerial photography flights. The first flight I flow with SKY Helicopters and did a back country type of flight. If you haven’t done of these, I would highly encourage you to do so. You will have a much greater appreciation of the natural world after this experience. I wasn’t planning to do two photography flights, but I wasn’t happy about the city shots that I felt another flight was needed. This time, I took a seaplane tour with Harbour Air and that ended up being the solution that I needed that was far more cost effective than another helicopter flight.
Had to check out Lions Gate Bridge while I was there and worked on a quick day to night time lapse of the bridge itself. I finished up the Vancouver experience checking out Queen Elizabeth Park and the Bloedel Conservatory. Finally had the opportunity to photograph some macaws, which made my childhood self very happy. Overall, I would have to say Vancouver is easily in my Top 5 cities that I have visited to date. If I could move there, I would.