Aylmer Express "MoHo" Extravaganza 2006

Finally I get another chance to jump back on my bike and ride. For this activity we have selected one of the most picturesque spots available. We are heading to Stanley Park which is the huge peninsula surrounded by the Pacific Ocean at the far west side of Vancouver. It has a 14 km (9 mile) bike trail that follows the contours of the perimeter of the peninsula allowing spectacular views of the ocean, the Lion’s Gate bridge, as well as the beaches, cliffs, and trees along the way. Our ride allowed us to drink in this littoral spectacle that is simply amazing. Of course, we managed to get another blue sky, sunny day so that certainly did not hurt. Once again I think I’ll let the pictures do the talking. One thing that I did not end up getting a picture of was poor Morgan when he got “bombed” by a bird. For those of you familiar with Stanley Park, it was right at the cliffs just after you cross under the Lions Gate Bridge. Luckily he has a very good sense of humour and was able to laugh at it. I’ll try to remember that the next time it happens to me. Another amazing thing about Stanley Park is that there are tons of walking trails all around and across the interior of the park. We made our way on foot through just a very small part of the walking paths and I was shocked by how incredibly well kept all the vegetation is. As if this wasn’t already known by anyone who has been to this city, Stanley Park is a real gem for Vancouver and provides a truly pleasurable environment for staying in shape. After we made it all the way around we grabbed a free park bench and had lunch overlooking English Bay. Then we decided that we might take advantage of the aquarium that is also situated in the park. But when we arrived and checked the cost of admission we found out that it seemed it was the aquarium that wanted to take advantage of us! Actually, the price wasn’t that crazy but we thought that since we are going to be heading to some other cities that have even better aquariums, or so we hear, that perhaps we would be better off saving our limited cash reserves for then. So … what to do with our spare time? We decided to take a walking tour of downtown Vancouver. We ended up cruising down Robson street which is the “main drag” in Vancouver. One thing we noticed is that you’d have a hard time finding a city with more Starbucks or sushi restaurants. At the main intersection of Robson and Thurlow there are actually two Starbucks! After that it was back to the campsite for some swimming and soaking in the hot tub. Life is rough, eh?

Today’s word:

littoral \LIH-tuh-rul\, adjective:
1. Of, relating to, or on a coastal or shore region, especially a seashore.
2. A coastal region, especially the zone between the limits of high and low tides.