Destination - Horseshoe Bay

Although it wasn't the best of days weather-wise and poor Josie was suffering from a cold, we took a leisurely drive through the UBC endowment lands and Stanley Park with stops at Dundarave Beach and Whytecliff Park before ending up in Horseshoe Bay at the Boathouse for dinner.

Our drive took us from the Kitsilano area of Vancouver along the water, passing Kitsilano Beach, Jericho Beach, Locarno Beach, and Spanish Banks where we stopped to view the city from that vantage point.

From there we wound our way up the hill to the University of British Columbia (my alma mater) and passed the famous Nitobe Gardens (below), Totem Park (where I lived in residence for four years), Thunderbird Stadium, and odds and sods of research buildings. We drove along Marine Drive to the great lookout point where you can look across the water at Vancouver Island.

We stopped for a bite of lunch before heading over the Burrard Street Bridge to wind our way through the downtown area to get to Stanley Park. We took the park drive past Prospect Point where you can see the totem poles.........

and past Brockton Oval ,where men play cricket in the summer, and the famous statue of a girl in a wetsuit. This life-sized statue is posed gracefully on a big boulder with a mask pushed up over head but she has no tank. When the tide is high it looks like she is floating on top of the water. The statue was a gift to Vancouver Park Board by sculptor Elek Imredy and represents Vancouver's dependence on the sea.

We passed Lumberman's Arch,

where we had a fine view of the Lion's Gate Bridge that would take us over to West Vancouver and its beautiful beaches.

We stopped at the Beach House for a drink (well, not me 'cuz I was the D.D.) before continuing along the lower Marine Drive to show off lots of marinas sheltered in little bays along the way. Josie and I were so disappointed that it wasn't a sunny day, but I think the views are still majestic anyway. We went past Horseshoe Bay to Whytecliff Park where I took Geewits up to the lookout. From there you can see across to some of the Gulf islands - this is where the cruise ships travel on their way up to Alaska. I took the following photo last summer on my way up to Whistler.

Our final destination was The Boathouse Restaurant at Horseshoe Bay...

where we dined on seafood, salad, dessert, and accompanying beverages. The view was, as always, magnificent, and as we dined we watched the ferries arriving and departing. A stroll along the pier helped to settle our dinner before we headed home, all three of us weary but full of images of our day together.