Vancouver Holoholo

It was July 4th weekend, so we did our patriotic duty and flew to the 51st state. Too early?

July 4, 2025 – Friday

We cleared customs, caught a taxi to our hotel to get rid of extra weight and then walked to the nearest train station.

Got off at the Waterfront station and started our walk about in one of the densest urbanized parts of the country due to limited land, so they can only build up.

Photo in front of the iconic Steam Clock that was built in 1977. It’s not as vintage as many people are lead to believe and it was installed to help revive the area. Every quarter hour, the clock plays the Westminster chime accompanied by multiple steam puffs.

The colorful sign was installed in 2024 to help bring more foot traffic to the town center known for its historic cobblestone roads and brick buildings. The town got its name from John “Gassy Jack” Deighton who had sawmill workers build his bar in one day in 1867 in exchange for all the whisky that they could drink.

We soon found ourselves in the part of town that was cluttered with imported chronics who were openly going about their “business.”

Entering the second largest Chinatown in the world that has been undergoing gentrification as Chinese have been leaving for greener pastures such as the city of Richmond, which has opened the door for other ethnicities to fill in the gaps.

Visited the first Chinese garden built outside of Asia, that was built in 1985-1986. The garden strives for harmony by balancing opposites, yin and yang.

Mari checking out a vintage bicycle with a cart attached. This “running machine” was invented in Germany in 1817.

Take away the N and the E, what do you get? The early donut that was brought to New York by Dutch settlers in the early 18th century, while the modern donut with the hole in the middle was invented by Hanson Gregory in 1847.

Passing the bronze sculpture installed in 1992, called “Spirits in a Landscape.”

We ate at what is supposedly the most awarded Chinese restaurant. More awards means higher prices.

Our assorted dishes that we had for lunch today. Cost a pretty penny.

Passing by a building in the Beaux-Arts architecture style. Well, that’s what AI said.

We stopped at the skyscraper built in 1977 to get a view of the city. Just like with humans, the building’s height has ranged from 458′ to 581′. Will the real Harbour Centre please stand up?

Riding up the glass elevator as the Swiftie pointed out the stadium in the background where Taylor Swift held her final concert of her Eras tour.

Enjoying the panoramic views of the city below us. Neil Armstrong placed his footprint onto a slab of wet cement to publicize the grand opening of the tower in 1977, unfortunately it was probably stolen during renovations.

Mari playing hopscotch in the color splashed alley.

Walking around the heavily trafficked Granville Square Plaza and soaking up the sights and sounds.

Taking a picture with the temporary Styrofoam fuchsia colored sign. Not the Swiftcouver sign, but it’ll have to do.

Passing a local artist on the street selling his interpretation of the world to whoever will buy them.

Our dinner was at a sushi restaurant specializing in aburi-sushi or seared sushi. It doesn’t have a Michelin star but is in the Michelin guide. Close but no wasabi for you.

We caught the train back to our station and walked back to our hotel. On our way, we stopped at the local McDonald’s serving Canadian beef to try out the Biscoff McFlurry. Did they use Canadian ice cream too?

After a long day, we finally checked into our room and got to sleep off the jet lag.

July 5, 2025 – Saturday

A local guide picked us up for an all day tour and took us to the 1,001 acre public park that is larger than New York’s Central Park.

The guide said if we were lucky, we might see seals sunbathing on the seawall and the the world’s longest uninterrupted walkway at 14 miles. We just got scenic views. Not bad.

Looking out towards Lions Gate Bridge that was built in 1938 and was originally the property of the Guinness family until they sold it to the province of British Columbia in 1955.

Checking out the most visited attraction in British Columbia, Totem Poles at Brockton Point. Most of them are replicas, as the originals were moved to museums to preserve and protect them.

The last of the floating fuel barges in Coal Harbor. There used to be five to six of these maritime fuel stations in the harbor and was known as Gasoline Alley. There is a “9 O’Clock Gun” that fires every night at 9pm as a time signal for the general population. In 1964, pranksters were able to put rocks in the cannon and the rocks actually damaged a Texaco fuel barge, but did not sink it contrary to popular belief.

Is that a copy of the Copenhagen’s The Little Mermaid? No, it’s just a statue of a girl in a wetsuit. Lack of Canadian creativity according to our tour guide.

We stopped at a popular tourist attraction for a few hours.

“Mac” MacEachran one of the former owners invited local First Nations to place their totem poles in the park. Marketing 101.

Walking across the swaying suspension bridge which measures 460 feet long and is 230 feet above the Capilano River. Supposedly the bridge is rated to hold the weight of a fully loaded 747 plane. That is between 735,000 and 987,000 pounds. Marketing 101. The bridge was originally built in 1889 out of hemp ropes and cedar planks. It has since undergone multiple renovations and replacements.

Canada is home to 23 native species of squirrels. This was the closest we were going to get to see one.

Walking 110′ above the forest floor on seven suspension bridges hung amongst the towering Douglas fir trees.

Catch and release?

Only one of these are real, otherwise we would be in deep kim chee.

Standing for scale next to “Big Doug,” a 500 year old Douglas fir tree that measures 200′ high and 8′ in diameter.

Over a million people annually cross this bridge back and forth.

Those selfie wooden posts sure come in handy.

Enjoying the views on the walkway secured to the granite cliff high above Capilano Canyon.

Tree huggers.

Make sure you get that framed.

Riding on the bus and noticed that one guy didn’t seem to be in hysterical laughter. What’s up with that?

We stopped for lunch at the industrial park that was transformed into a shopping and mixed-use development. Sampled the recommended foods at Stock Market, Ala Mode and Lee’s Donuts and browsed through the markets and walked around the former fishing turned factory island.

Deja vu moment at the one of the tallest structures in Vancouver. It was part of the tour package. We parted ways with the group in downtown to find a place to eat dinner.

We ate at this place close to home, well as far as dialect. Quite tasty and pricey. Another one that’s in the Michelin Guide but not Star.

Ubered back to our hotel to have Uncle Tetsu cheesecake for dessert. Remember when they had a store at RHC that opened in 2016? Unfortunately they shuttered their location awhile back.

July 6, 2025 – Sunday
Our last day we checked out and ubered to the public garden that opened in 1975.

The sprawling site covers 55 acres that contains plants from all over the world.

We still have to grow into these chairs.

Getting lost in one of six Elizabethan hedge mazes in North America. The maze is made of 3,000 pyramidal cedars that was planted in 1981.

I couldn’t quite place this particular red and blue plant, but I believe it’s of the Fordson genus.

We were allowed in before the wedding party crashed this section of the garden.

I was contemplating tranquility just by looking at this rock garden.

During excavation, they found seashells indicating that this area was underwater over 12,000 years ago. Climate change has been around for some time.

Two sharp-eyed people lead us to look up in the tree and see this perched bird of prey sound asleep.

Crossing over a short bridge that spanned a small pond full of water lilies, which are the national flowers of Iran, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Take a good look at this pair of Canadian geese. Look familiar? They should, as they are related to the Hawaiian Nene whose ancestors flew to Hawaii from Canada over 500,000 years ago.

Passing a water tank camouflaged as an owl. I guess it’s better than a cell tower disguised as a tree.

Taking a selfie with two story poles that tell the tales of the mosquito and black bear.

The land that the garden occupies used to be home to a golf course. The Vancouver Botanical Association supported turning the land into a botanical garden and saving it from commercial development and lumber magnate, WJ VanDusen donated a million dollars to kickstart the project.

“Look, up in the sky – Its a Bird, Its Superman. No, Its a Plane !!”

The highlight of this trip was this visit to one of two coffee shops in the area. IYKYK.

We cleared customs and flew back to the 50th state from the 51st state. Thanks Vancouver, for not living up to your nickname, Raincouver, and blessing us with beautiful weather for the entire three day weekend.

Photos taken by Mari Saito and yours truly. Not necessarily in order.

Note: I have been made aware that some hikers have been using my blog as a hiking guide and getting lost on the trails. Please note that this blog was made to document the hike for the crew(s) that did it. That is why some of my comments will seem to have no relevance or meaning to anybody outside of the crew(s) that hiked that trail. My blog was never meant as a hiking guide, so please do not treat it as such. If you find inspiration and entertainment from these hikes, that is more than enough. If you plan on replicating these hikes, do so in the knowledge that you should do your own research accordingly as trail conditions, access, legalities and so forth are constantly in flux. What was current today is most likely yesterdays news. Please be prepared to accept any risks and responsibilities on your own as you should know your own limitations, experience and abilities before you even set foot on a trail, as even the “simplest” or “easiest” of trails can present potential pitfalls for even the most “experienced” hikers. One should also always let somebody know of your hiking plans in case something doesn’t go as planned, better safe than sorry.

Tagged as: amazeing laughter, capilano suspension bridge park, chinatown, cliffwalk, cowdog, dr. sun yat-sen classical chinese garden, gastown, girl in a wetsuit, pink alley, richmond, stanley park, steam clock, treetops, vancouver, vancouver lookout, vandusen botanical garden, waterfront