razetherose

Bring a water bottle, a waterproof camera, possibly waterproof clothes (though you will be warned when your in the “splash zone” during shows) and possibly your own food.

I used to have a membership to the Aquarium (unlimited access) and it pays for itself after just a few visits. It’s a wonderful place to visit, rain or shine (many exhibits are indoors) but the food is expensive. The Aquarium is a research facility, though, so it’s not like your money is going nowhere; there are usually animals in the process of being rehabilitated (see otters rescued from oil spills for example) and marine behavior is also studied, so it’s very worthwhile.

Spend a weekend in Stanley Park, and make sure one whole day is spent in the Aquarium.

I grew up in Cloverdale, BC, and I remember when Cloverdale had more cows than people! But as I grew, so did the town, until it was engulfed in the crowds of Surrey (which was itself becoming just a branch of Vancouver).

Some friends and I decided to move someplace where a.)The crowds were smaller, and b.)Jobs payed better. Our choices were the Yukon or Alberta; being that we all loved mountains and forests, we chose Whitehorse, YT.

It is a small town, with about 25,000 people (many of whom spend the summers working in mining camps, but the tourists make up for this) but it has all the big town ammenities. There is a Starbucks (another opening soon) and a few Tim Hortons, but there are also two local coffee roasters with far, far superior brews. The local beer is also quite good. The place is very easy to navigate (if you go five blocks one way, you hit a cliff, if you go five blocks the other way, you git the river, can’t get lost!) with self explanitory street names like, “Hospital road” which leads to, you guessed it, the hospital, and “Fish Lake Road” (guess where that leads!)

It doesn’t get as cold and snowy as you might expect of the far north; we did have a week of -40 to -50 celcius temperatures but these cold snaps don’t last long. Most of the winter is in the -twenties with very occasional snow (this is the driest city in Canada). The northern lights are very pretty.

Summers are mild, and not very humid at all. Pretty much every neighborhood is situated so that you can walk for 5 minutes and be in total wilderness. There are well marked trails around the forests outside of town, and well worn paths through the hills surrounding the city. But despite looking well travelled, you can easily walk for 5 hours and not see another person. Sheer bliss.

It’s fantastic, ask me anything!