Fog-town

Unwilling to let the fog take advantage of our plans, we set out in coats and gloves (actually, I forgot my gloves and my hands were angry at me!) down Davie Street to the most highly recommended bike rental place in downtown Vancouver. The gentlemen working there was lovely and we picked up two cruisers and a basket and set out to explore downtown Vancouver, Stanley Park, the Seawall, and Granville Island. We headed first for Coal Harbor so Cindi could see where Dean has a panic attack when he can't find his car in "Red Sky at Morning". We also had a slightly incident where I needed to put the chain back onto Cindi's bike and subsequently spent 10 minutes in a hotel bathroom trying to clean grease off my fingers. I don't know how mechanics manage but hats off to them!

Coal Harbor in ep 3x06- and in the sunshine!

Man, it was a foggy day. I will be saying that often. Last time I rode around Stanley Park, it wasn't the shiniest of days but you could at least see across the water. This time? Nothing. Nada. Maybe five feet of visibility. While you missed out on the view, the fog did make for some gorgeous pictures, especially of the totem poles in the mist. The one unfortunate part of the ride around the park was that part of the Seawall was closed. We had to ride up and over the extension of the Lion's Gate Bridge which meant for some sore thighs but a good workout! And I will say, the ride back downhill more than made up for the rough uphill climbs!

Totem Pole Park

overlooking Lion's Gate Bridge which is invisible in the fog

large hollow tree

Stanley Park Pavilion

the Pavilion in ep 5x09

also as a farmer's market in 8x03

and as a restaurant in 8x03- ahhhh TV magic!

After our ride around the park, we joined back up with the seawall and rode down Sunset Beach. Although, there would have been NO way to see the sunset on this beach because of the fog. I will say that one good thing the fog does is liven up the colors, especially on tree leaves. The seawall took us to the Burrard Bridge and we rode up and over that (not as uphill as I had originally anticipated!) to rejoin the seawall again, just on the other side of False Creek. We followed the path back under the bridge and headed to Granville Island.

we recognized the under part of the Burrard Bridge from ep 9x03 we watched that night

After a several mile ride, including some unexpected uphills on a cruiser, as well as a trek across a bridge and some wanderings around Granville Island, it becomes absolutely necessary to wander into a hammock store and get yourself settled in one for the next hour. OK, it wasn't that long but I did nearly fall asleep. It was so comfortable and requires NO space that I was thiiiiiiis close to getting one for my living room. I didn't in the end but I still sometimes regret it. We spent a few hours wandering around the loveliness that is Granville Island, spending a lot of time in the Public Market because it was warm, there were stands after stands after stands of delicious fare and we needed lunch. BONUS: some French girl working at my favorite cookie place gave me a great deal on chocolate chip cookies that made me very happy during dessert that night!

happy I didn't have to walk across the Granville Bridge this trip

When you're in Vancouver and you're a HIMYM fan and you've just ridden a lot of miles on a bike, then you HAVE to stop at a Tim Horton's. So we did. And then we went home, contemplated leaving to go to the hot tub across the street, decided we were unable to leave the apartment for anything less than Jared and Jensen and instead just took hot showers, ate a yummy dinner and watched a lot of Supernatural, including the newest episode that night. Worth it.