Through the Eyes of Another, Part II

This blog had its beginning 12 years ago while we were working in the city of Harbin, China. We took a short vacation from our classes to jump on a newly completed high speed train to the vacation city of Dalian, China for a long weekend with our JGD (Japanese Granddaughter) a member of our extended Harbin family. 

(See blog of December, 2013- Dallying in Dalian)

 

While there I discovered that she had been keeping active with some biking, running and swimming. Upon hearing this I immediately invited her to come to Penticton and join me in a sprint triathlon. Silly me, I really didn’t think she would take me up on it. 

 (See blog of October, 2014- Tri•ath•lon / trīˈaTHlən)

 

While she was here we made it our goal to show her are as much of the Okanagan as possible when she was not preparing for the triathlon. During this time we realized that we had become jaded about our home and didn’t take advantage of all it had to offer. Sharing it with JGD brought it home to us as too how lucky we are to live here.

(See blog of October, 2014, Through the Eyes of Another)

 

As we handed her off to airport security we told her to come back for another visit and we would show her more of Western Canada. Sadly it has taken more than a decade as life got busy for her and us. But in July 2025 she arrived into Vancouver airport with our promise to show her as much as we could fit into a month.  

So here we go.

UBC Museum of Anthropology 

The museum houses close to 50, 000 first nations cultural objects as well as 535,000 archaeological objects. Its is a research and teaching museum with courses in anthropology, archaeology and conservation studies. 

What was to be an few hours became over 4 hours and lunch. 

Kitsilano

A 100 year old neighbourhood in the heart Vancouver with lots of cute trendy stores and restaurants. I remember it fondly from my visits in the early 70's when it was a mecca for hippies with the pungent smell of marijuana everywhere. The smell seems to have lingered to today.  

My favourite spot then was hanging out at Kits Beach where topless bathing was in fashion. Sadly not anymore. 

False Creek Ferry 

A fun way to see the water side of Vancouver. With stops in Kits Beach, Granville Island, Yale Town, Olympic Village and the Science Centre. 

It is an area that we know and love as we had the opportunity to live in Yale Town for a year and got to know the area well using the ferry to get us home after long hikes along the waterfront.  

Tip- Visit Granville Island early in the day if visiting in the summer. It can be a very, very, very, very busy place like today. 

Lynn Canyon Park

This little gem of a park is located in North Vancouver and was officially opened in 1912. It can be reached by public transit making it very accessible. One of those places we dont't mind coming back to. 

It has well maintained hiking trails with way to many stairs. 

(See blog February 2022- A Communing Culturally COVID Adventure in Vancouver)

But the humongous scenery makes up for them. 

The park also has a bonus suspension bridge. This one is free while its more famous cousin the Capilano Suspension Bridge is $56 a person. 

Chaching!

The Sea to Sky Highway

Known as Highway 99, it connects Vancouver with Whistler and is claimed by some to be one of the world's top scenic drives.

Also one of its most dangerous. Perhaps to many people enjoying the view and not the road. Or as I noticed, driving way to freakin fast for the conditions. 

Brandywine Falls 

Brandywine Falls is one of two waterfalls that can be viewed while driving along the Sea to Sky. The other is Shannon Falls. The parking lot at Shannon Falls was jammed forcing us to park about a kilometre away in a marked no parking zone. I stayed with the car while the girls walked in to view the falls. We lucked out in the parking lot for Brandywine. As we were driving around the perimeter of the lot someone pulled out just in front of us allowing me to scoop their spot. 

Whistler

Whistler is a four season tourist destination. For six months it is a world class ski and snowboard destination. For the other six months is uses the ski runs for some pretty serious mountain biking.  

Tip- Avoid the summer if you don't like really, really, really big crowds. Early Spring is the best with just really big crowds. 

(See blog July, 2020- Living Virally, The Wet Coast)

Whistler has more hiking trails than you can shake a hiking pole at and we took full advantage of our three nights there. During one of our hikes, we stumbled upon two juvenile black bears that took off running scaring the crap out of us. I was too busy reaching for my bear spray and not my camera so no pictures were taken. However there may have been  a premature release of bear spray. 

Whistler is a beautiful place but will we visit again. Probably not. But we have learned never to say never. 

Back to Penticton

Penticton may be small but it packs a big tourist punch. One "go to" for all our visitors is a visit to the Saturday morning Farmers Market. 

While shopping for veggies is our main goal, it is also an opportunity to bump into people we have not seen since last years Farmers Market. 

A new neighbour had moved in since JGD last visited so it seemed appropriate to introduce her to Alice. 

Alice was a bit cranky and reticent today. Perhaps she is an afternoon T-rex. 

Osoyoos Desert Centre

Many Canadians do not know this but the south end of the Okanagan Valley is a semi-arid shrubland and is classified as a desert. It is the only desert in Canada and is known locally as the Okanagan or Nk'mip Desert. 

It is well worth a visit for a guided tour. There is not a lot of desert left in the valley as it has been mostly irrigated out of existence by the orchards and vineyards.  

Mount Revelstoke National Park 

Heading to Banff we discovered another national parks that we have driven by on numerous occasions without notice. 

Mount Revelstoke National Park is a hidden gem that doesn't get the play that Banff gets. We took a cruise up the 28 kilometre winding Meadows in the Sky Parkway road to take a walk around Balsam Lake at a gasping elevation of  6000 feet. The mosquitos kept us moving. Someone forgot the DEET. I didn't think that mosquitos could live at high elevations. 

There wasn't a trail in the park that didn't provide a breathtaking  view. ( 6,000 foot elevation remember) 

Over the next two days we will be visiting 3 more National Parks

Yoho National Park

Banff National Park

Jasper National Park. 

Banff

The town of Banff is a huge destination for visitors from all over the world. Walking around a very busy downtown, I heard at least 10 different languages being spoken by visitors. Parking is at a premium and hard to find. Thankfully Banff National Park is not just the city of Banff but dozens of trails leading to awesome views that can be found in the park. Be prepared for large crowds on some of the more popular trails. 

It is so busy in the town that the elk have moved to the quieter less expensive suburbs. 

Lake Louise 

Lake Louise is all about the glacier fed lake. It is in the top five of the most photographed sites in Canada.  There is very little else to see in Lake Louise. A gas station, some high end hotels like the historical Chateau Lake Louise and a few shops. But the lake and the hiking trails that take you up for a closer look of the rapidly disappearing glacier are worth a visit.  Nonie worked at the Post hotel for a summer during university. Some day I hope to be able to afford to take her there for a stay. Beware, parking will set you back $40 for the day so look for the cheaper off site lots with a free shuttle bus to the lake 

Icefield Parkway

The Parkway is a 232 km stretch of highway the connects Lake Louise to Jasper Alberta. It is rated as one of the top 5 drives in the world by Conde Nast Traveller magazine. I cannot stress enough that it is a "not to be missed" drive and you should plan at least a day to see everything it has to offer. 

It has so much that I will author another blog to share a few of the dozens of pictures that we took. But it needs a cloud free day to see it in all its glory. The weather was overcast and raining as we left our hotel but our luck changed as the day wore on the sun came out and we missed nothing. 

Starlight Drive-in Theatre

The drive-in located in Enderby, BC is one of only 3 remaining drive-ins in British Columbia and 43 in Canada. It so happened that we would be driving by it on our way home so why not stop for a popcorn filled evening of Hollywood entertainment

Living in Kamloops during my formative teenage years, we were lucky enough to have two drive-ins that I have many fondling memories of. Not sure what impressed JGD the most, watching a movie from the front seat of our car or the giant inexpensive bags of  real buttered popcorn. I certainly know what impressed my the most. I would not have stayed awake for the whole movie without it. 

See blog July, 2020- Living Virally, A Cluster F#*k

Penticton

Back for a few days in Penticton before we put her on a plane to Edmonton where she would visit with two more of our extended Harbin family.  She would then fly to Victoria where we would pick her up again. 

A short hike up the KVR through the vineyards to the trestle is another of our "go to walks" that we force many of our guests to take. 

Vancouver Island 

Luckily we have family on the Island and for the last 50 years this has given us plenty of opportunity to visit and explore Vancouver Island and all it has to offer. We are still working on it. We earn our keep by doing yard and small maintenance work around their house. Of course JGD had to put in a few hours of yardwork as well. 

Chinatown

Victoria's downtown is well worth a few hours. The BC Museum, Parliament Buildings and my favourite, Chinatown. It is the oldest one in Canada and one of the oldest in North America. 

Nonie likes some Chinese treats that you can only get in an Asian market so she filled her Nonie bag full while we were there.

Pacific Marine Circle Route 

The 263 kilometre route starts in Sooke, a suburb west of Victoria, travels past Goldstream Provincial Park, over the Malahat to Duncan, a left turn onto the Pacific Marine Road to Port Renfrew then east on Highway 14 through the Juan de Fuca Provincial Park and finish in Sooke. There are unlimited views, camping and hiking opportunities along the way. We have done the route before and took three days to cover the route and still did not see everything it had to offer. Sadly, this trip was only one day.   A tree hugging in Goldstream Provincial Park is well worth a stop. 

(See blogs Oct./Nov. 2023-What to Expect When Hiking in a Rainforest Parts 1 and 2)

Duncan- Trail of Totems 

The trail is a self guided walk through downtown Duncan to locate 40 beautifully carved totems. Follow the yellow painted footsteps starting from the museum. Takes less than an hour with lots of opportunities to stop for a coffee. 

Port Renfrew

A small village that can boast some pretty big wood. Just down the road is Avatar Grove home to some world size Western Red Cedar and Douglas Fir. It is currently closed for repairs caused by a big storm last year so we had to make do with the ones that had washed up on a Port Renfrew beach. Port Renfrew makes a nice place to stay for a couple of nights as we have found out. 

Sombrio Beach-  Juan de Fuca Provincial Park

Sombrio Beach is just one of a handful of beaches that you can access from Highway 14. They are all worth a stop and a hike. 

The beach has a little hidden secret. A water fall tucked into a claustrophobically thin ravine requiring a wet, slippery walk up the ravine following the small stream created by the waterfall. 

Start from the parking lot, walk down the trail, reach a fork in the trail and take the left path to East Sombrio campground When you reach the beach turn left and walk 1.3 kilometres along the shore. Keep your eye out for a small stream, follow the stream to the waterfall.  Bring some old shoes that can get wet. 

(See blog Sept. 2022- A Wet Dream With a Hint of Humidity)

Thetis Lake

This is one of our hikes that we have taken many time and it never gets old. A perfect ending to JGD's visit to Vancouver Island. We head to YVR tomorrow. 

Goodbye Canada

It has been a grand visit sharing things that we have seen before but seeing them again through someone else's eyes has opened our eyes.  

We tend to avoid revisiting places  as we have so many more places to see but I think we will have to rethink that credo.  

Some of these places, we have not visited for decades and as we all know, a lot can change in two decades or says the mirror. 

Even the house raccoon was sad to see JGD go. 

Hard to say if she will be back but there is still a hell of lot more little adventures to have here.