Ruth and the Boys - Day 1

Ruth and the boys arrived in time for supper on July 22. There were bodies everywhere - the spare room, the living room, and the family room. We really had a lot of fun during the 5 days of their stay, and saw a lot in a very short time.

These blogs, Days 1 to 4, are least recent to most recent, which is a bit backwards, but it is how the holiday progressed, and the four blogs do go together.



We began our adventures on Monday, with a trip to Stanley Park and the Aquarium. James had been to the Aquarium with me a year ago, but another wing has been opened since his visit. We took the horse drawn wagon tour of Stanley Park first.

It was a rainy day, but the wagon was covered, and there are wool blankets just in case anyone gets cold.

The driver gives a commentary throughout the ride of the history of Stanley Park and Vancouver. It was day one of the municipal strike in Vancouver, but except for some picketers, our ride was uneventful in relation to the strike.

Our guide stopped at various points of interest, and we had a few minutes to get out and look at and read about the totem poles. This is the first time I have visited Stanley Park since the winter wind storms, and the devastation in real life is much more heart-rending than pictures on the news. The Red Cedar trees, so prevalent in the park, have a shallow root system, with one tap root that reaches into the earth. When exposed to high winds, they easily blow over. The parks board and local scientists have come to an agreement regarding what needs to be removed to prevent a fire disaster and what must stay in order to keep the ecosystem healthy. Some standing trees have been marked with blue dots for possible cutting. The clean up process is going to take a long time, and parts of the park are still closed as the sea wall collapsed and has yet to be rebuilt.

In the Aquarium, they have built a new wing that contains more jelly fish tanks, including a series of tanks showing the various stages of the jellyfish life cycle. In the new wing, there are lots of hands on exhibits, including a new children's area. There is also a theatre in which we attended a 15 minute talk about Great Horned Owls. An injured owl was brought in for the talk, so it was "up close and personal". The owl has been used for teaching after losing one of her wings when hit by a car. So the talk was partly biology and partly about environmental responsibility.

Ruth got some great shots in the tropical rain forest exhibit. Outside, we took in the beluga whale show, and spent a lot of time watching my favourites, the otters. It was a great way to begin a week that was full of fun!