It was now time to truly enjoy Vancouver. The marathon behind me, still riding high from making it through, crossing the finish line, accomplishing an incredible goal – time to have some FUN!

Not that the marathon wasn’t fun(ish), but it was also something I had been anticipating with some anxiety and trepidation. Now that it was in the past, I felt a bit of a weight lift off of my shoulders and was looking forward even more to being in Vancouver and seeing and doing…everything!

Since the Monday after the marathon was Teresa’s last full day in Vancouver, we wanted to pack in as much as we could. The day started with a walk back down to Deep Cove Village for breakfast at Cafe Orso. My Dad continued to feed his chocolate croissant obsession while the rest of us ordered Liege waffles – yum!

After breakfast it was on to the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park! This was something we all had on our list of things to do in Vancouver and we had a great time! This is one of the most popular attractions in Vancouver so we wanted to get there early to avoid some of the crowds.

There is a lot to do at the park and we spent just under four hours enjoying it. We started our time by taking some fun photos (of course!).

After initiating my Mom and Dad into the most excellent pastime of mimicking statues, we headed to the main attraction: the suspension bridge.

The Capilano Suspension Bridge was originally built in 1889 and stretches 450 feet across and 230 feet above the Capilano River. In other words, it’s really long! We gingerly made our way onto the bridge and noticed right away that it constantly sways. I wasn’t nervous about walking across but I was nervous about dropping my phone into the river below since I was so unsteady. I kept a death grip on it whenever I took it out to take pictures!

After making our way across the bridge we started walking along the treetops. Yep, we walked along the treetops. With the help of some stairs and smaller suspension bridges. 🙂 The Treetops Adventure is a really neat attraction which gives you the feeling of walking from tree to tree above the forest floor.

I found it fascinating that the viewing platforms are attached to the huge trees without any nails, bolts or screws penetrating them. They are raised every ten years as the trees grow in circumference. So cool!

Once we climbed down from our aerial perches, we walked through the Living Forest. This is a rainforest ecosystem and is just beautiful and so peaceful. We took our time strolling along the raised boardwalk and up and down stairs to various viewing points.

At this point we were getting a bit hungry so we decided to take a break for some refueling. We opted to eat in the park and picked up food at Logger’s Grill. After a quick visit to the gift shop, we were ready for the last attraction: the Cliffwalk.

This is the newest attraction here and is so unique! A series of narrow, suspended walkways jut out from a granite cliff face above the river and as you walk along them, you almost feel like you’re walking on air. Especially in the spots where the base you’re walking on is made of glass!

At this point it had warmed up quite a bit so we called it a day at the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. Since this was Teresa’s last day here, she got to choose what to do next and she chose Granville Island. Teresa and I had visited Granville Island during our previous trip to Vancouver but had arrived in the evening after the market, shops and a lot of the restaurants had closed. So it was time to go back and experience it during the day!

We started by walking through the Public Market. Hello, beautiful market full of fresh produce, fresh seafood, yummy treats, gourmet chocolate, beautiful flowers and unique gifts! And loads more! I was in heaven. WHY don’t we have places like this in Orlando??? Sigh…

We walked through the market much quicker than the three or four hours I would have liked to have spent there 😉 and went out to the waterfront courtyard to sit and bask in the sun for a few minutes. Did anyone else know that Vancouver has the biggest seagulls? Seriously. A lot of creatures grow quite a bit bigger in Vancouver than in Florida I’ve noticed. But the seagulls are seriously almost colossal in size.

These pictures do not accurately portray their hulk-ish size AT ALL

After resting for a bit, we left the market and walked around the island, visiting various boutique shops. And, A Bread Affair Bakery where I purchased a fresh, still-warm Marquis loaf which we munched on while exploring.

1) BABY GEESE!!! 2) What adults will do for a photo op (at one point I thought the fire department would have to be called to extract me from this truck…) 3) Salmon candy? Tuna candy?? What disgusting madness is this???

We started making our way back to our car and then drove back to Deep Cove. For dinner we opted to have pizza in town at Pomegranate Grillhouse and Cafe, where we enjoyed three different types of pizza while sitting outside. Love it!

That evening was pretty low-key, involving pajamas, a movie and ice cream. 🙂 AND a (what I assume to be) freak thunderstorm! Our tour guide through Stanley Park had told us that Vancouver experiences lightening maybe once every seven years (say what?!?) so as we were sitting there and I kept seeing flashes outside, I assumed it was just the TV reflecting off of the windows. But then I heard rumblings and saw more flashes. It was an actual thunderstorm!

So apparently, we Floridians brought with us sunshine, warmer weather and thunderstorms – all rarities in Vancouver. You’re welcome, Vancouver. You’re welcome. 🙂