Last winter we met many Canadians escaping conditions at home by becoming "Winter Texans" in the Rio Grande Valley. As you might imagine, all the places where American RVers go to escape the harsh winters in the north have plenty of our good friends from north of the border doing the same thing. The migration pattern is pretty consistent - I95 corridor to Florida east coast, I75 corridor to Florida west coast, I35 corridor to South Texas, and I5 corridor to Arizona/Southern California. So most of the Canadians we met were from Western Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskachewan.But the exception proves, the rule, right? Among this group of new friends, Lloyd and Marian, who have lived all over Canada, from the Maritimes to the Pacific, were waiting for us this summer in western British Columbia. We can't imagine how we could have seen (or even dared to see) a tenth as much of this beautiful metropolis without them.
Like many other modern cities in the 21st century, Vancouver has an efficient and inexpensive way for their 3.5 million citizens to get around with the centerpiece being the Skytrain, their high-speed rail system. We were able to drive into the southern edge of the metro area and ride Skytrain into the heart of downtown, seeing much of this coastal city on the way.
Vancouver is in the midst of preparations for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Road construction, venue preparation, city beautification ( they have dozens of these psychedelic eagles around downtown) all going on in hundreds of places. But the daily life of the city goes on including
the Granville Market
the Classic Wooden Boat Show
and cruise ship departures.
Vancouver is easily the cleanest big city we've been in and deserves its selection as Olympic host.
But it's always nice to come home!
Right ON!
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