West Vancouver, British Columbia
Today we entered Canada!!! We are so excited to finally be here. We start out at a B&B that's reputation has preceded itself. We had hoped for, and were assigned to, the Dolphin Room. It has a sliding glass door that opens onto a patio and deck with a hot tub and then onto the beach. We are going to love this one.
Our room offered a queen size bed, sofa and gas fireplace as well as a desk and TV/VCR. There was a kitchenette with sink, refrigerator, microwave, coffee pot, toaster and all the dishes and utensils we would need AND a bowl of fruit and plate of homemade chocolate chip cookies. The private bath boasted a European Jacuzzi with shower and was great!
It's not often that B&B owners enter their 16th year. They started, as did a lot of others in the area, because of the EXPO in '86. "We've always had house guests of some sort, so we just natuarally took to it," said Joan. She and Cindy visited while I took pictures of the bay. It was right out of a postcard. The Lion's Gate Bridge was just in front of me. Big oceanliners bringing more tourists to the area passed beneath it. Stanley Park was just to the side. The grounds were beautiful and with the remarkable staff she has, they will probably be at it another 16, at least.
For a major city, it is hard to believe the cleanliness and how wide the streets are. Vancouver itself is adorned with thousands of flowers and the entire city is an advertisement. There is construction and growth, but it all seems planned and the traffic flows smoothly. People seem to drive a little slower too.
We visited for about an hour and then Joan told us that she had secured a review for us at Salmon House On The Hill at six. So we headed in, showered in the European tub and took off to go up 21st St. in North Vancouver ... up the hill. After a perfect meal, we returned home.
When we arrived, Gordy took us to the top of the B&B. It was his special place and we could see why. From this veiwpoint, you could see the docks where he had worked as a boy and take some fantastic pictures. He had tons of alblums of pictures through the years of the bay. We watched a video and Cindy drifted off as I prepared the pics of the day and moved them to disks.
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The Inn was full and the next morning we met the other guests at breakfast. There were two other couples there. One from Maggie Valley, North Carolina and one from Toronto, Canada. We started breakfast off with coffee, tea and orange juice, along with fresh strawberries, followed by bacon and a croissant stuffed with scrambled eggs and topped with hollandaise sauce. A great start to our tour of the Great White North! And if Joan & Gordy are any indication of the quality of innkeepers in Vancouver....we are definitely in for a treat! When you visit their Website, be sure to tell them that Cruising America made the recommendation! |
A Winding Road * (formerly Cruising America) * 6301 Cotton St., Pensacola, FL 32526 * 850-292-1599 * freedom@awindingroad.net
