We Are Now in Vancouver

This morning we docked in Vancouver at around 7:00am. We got dressed and gathered up our backpacks and made our way to Michael's Lounge to await our disembark time. Everything went smoothly. We made our way off ship and had all our documents ready. Going through customs was actually quick and easy. We only stood in line for a short time and when it was my turn I gave the officer my papers. He scanned them and then asked me two questions which I thought had absolutely no relevance - "What do you do for a living?" and "Who paid for this trip?" - I am sorry but that is totally weird and I felt inappropriate. But I answered them and he waved me through. We picked up the rest of our luggage and then went to get a cab to take us to the rental car place.

We had no problem finding a cab, there were tons of them waiting around and in only about 10 minutes we arrived at the rental car place. We got our bags and paid the cabbie and entered the building. In about 20 minutes we had a car and we were on our way. We drove to our hotel to see about an early check in but they weren't ready for us. So we got back in the car and headed for Stanley Park. We parked near the totem poles and went in search of a letterbox. We followed the clues and walked along the seawall and ended up at the lighthouse. We followed the rest of the clues and they took us into a wooded area where we Snow Along the Coast by Jiggs. I stamped in and rehid the box and as we exited the woods we heard someone calling our names. Mumthunder, TsukiAmes and Jei were driving around Vancouver for the day until their flight at 11:00pm. They didn't have any clues for letterboxing so we invited them to join us and they accepted. They parked and we sat at a picnic table and looked at the clues and the map of the park and made a decision to look for the Peter Pan in Stanley Park Series by benjemma which is near the Lumberman's Arch Picnic Area. Jei also wanted to get a picture of the Lord Stanley statue as well. So we got in our respective cars and drove to Pipeline Rd. and found a parking lot. We parked and went to find a bathroom and ended up meeting Dave & Deanne, Mark & Sue, roadrunner and Black Ibis. They were taking a tour of the city and were visiting Klahowya Native Village in the park. We said hi and they were on their way. We then headed to see Lord Stanley. We found the statue without any problem and took some pictures and then headed back to the parking area to find the Lumbermen's Arch. Once at the arch we read the clues and began our search for the first of the six boxes in the series. We ended up walking between the Arch and the statue of the Mermaid and back along the seawall and we were able to find all six boxes. We had a great time but decided it was time to stop and get some lunch. Once back at the cars we looked at a map and ended up deciding to drive to Denman St. and find a place to park and then find somewhere to eat. We found parking on one of the side streets and then walked to Denman. After walking around for a little while we ended up eating at Legendary Noodles. I had thin noodles with chicken and peanut sauce and Thomas had thin noodles with chicken and szchuan hot and spicy sauce. While we watched this man making the noodles (which looked like a lot of work and all I could think was that he probably had really strong hands and arms) Amy gave me a refresher course in the use of chopsticks. Thomas' cousin, Ruth, had taught me how to use them about three years ago but I hadn't tried it since then. I was surprised how easy it was to remember. I was able to eat my entire meal with them and without spilling anything - I impressed myself. And the food was so good. When we were all done we decided to go for cupcakes. We went to Original Cupcakes just a few doors down. This place has been made famous by the We TV show Cupcake Girls. I had the Koo Koo and Thomas had the Mint Condition. After enjoying our cupcakes we walked back to the cars and we parted ways. Mumthunder, TsukiAmes & Jei went to enjoy more of the city until their flight and Thomas & I went to check in to the hotel. We decided we needed to do a load of laundry so we picked some clothes and put them into one of the suitcases and walked three blocks to a laundromat. It took us a little over an hour to get the clothes done and then we were back at the hotel. After a good hot shower I am now trying to get some blogging done. My eyes are heavy and I think it is time for bed. Tomorrow is another day in Vancouver.