Nova Scotia

Activity date: July 2010.
Energy level: 2/10.
Approx. cost: $0.


We headed to Montreal to visit family, then on to Halifax, Nova Scotia.


We headed down to the wharf to take a ride on Theodore tugboat. On the web, the tour company claimed that they go out rain or shine. It was moist, but nothing to deter people from Vancouver.


When we tried to buy tickets, they told us that they weren't sailing that day. They had made a judgment call in the morning based on forecasts of stormy weather. The ticket seller felt sorry for us, and when I asked if it was possible to go aboard she shuttered the kiosk and let us walk around on Theodore.

The weather cleared a little. We went and played with the anchors and other hardware outside the maritime museum.

I have been to that wharf three times now, at different times of year. It seems to always be raining.

Grouse Mountain

Activity date: 11 July 2010.
Energy level: 6/10.
Approx. cost: $50.

I am catching up on a backlog of postings here, from mid-summer until late summer.

I was keen to take the boys on the Goat Mountain hike that I had read about in Easy Hiking around Vancouver. We didn't make it to the hike that day but still had a good time. We have been back a few times this summer to go hiking.

Finding Grouse Mountain was easy. We just headed for the Capilano suspension bridge, then kept going.

We rode a gondola up the mountain, climbing to approximately 3,700 feet in six minutes. My ears felt the pressure change but Thing One (8) and Thing Two (6) didn't seem bothered. Thing Two was nervous as the gondola passed each tower and swayed a little, but got in the spirit of things when the other passengers shouted "wheee" as if it were an amusement park ride.

The mountain was not what I expected. It's a ski field in the winter (we must try it out this year) and in the summer has a rather touristy flavour. I don't usually like tourist traps but the boys were captivated by the free lumberjack show. One of the lumberjacks sounded like a Kiwi. It turns out he is. I can't tell if he lays it on thick with the accent or if my own accent is just completely gone now.


Here is a lumberjack on top of a 60' pole.

We had brought lunch but couldn't resist trying the beaver tails. They looked like what we called elephant ears in Seattle -- deep fried dough with sugar and chocolate on top. Yum. I had my eye on the slope and figured they would burn off the sugar.

We watched a show about raptors that was fairly informative, checked out the grizzly bears in the enclosure then headed for the last patch of snow on the slopes. The snow patch was little more than a filthy patch of ice, but it seemed incongruous on a blazing hot summer day.

We hiked up the slope, walked to the enormous wind turbine (but decided not to pay extra to go inside it), then rode the chair lift down the slope.

We rode the gondola back down and went to the membership services office. We were able to credit our gondola tickets towards a one year membership. We have been back several times this summer and plan to visit in the winter.

Mystery Adventure 3000

Activity date: May 2010.
Energy level: 3/10.
Approx. cost: $25 for Skytrain and lunch.

Every time the boys and I go out for an adventure we have a good time, but sometimes getting the home-bodies out the door can be a challenge. I wanted to get us downtown to the Vancouver Art Gallery to see the latest exhibit so I made up an activity sheet and handed it to them.

Thing One (8) is a very proficient reader and was immediately intrigued. Thing Two (6) can't yet read but got excited when I read the various items to him. Once he had heard the activities, he rushed to get his shoes.

It was a ten minute walk down the hill to the Skytrain station to begin our adventure. We usually take the Skytrain for our adventures in downtown Vancouver. It's much faster than driving (25 minutes vs. 45 minutes by car) and the train is so much more exciting.

The boys added a few items to the list. The tape holds the lucky penny and the feather.

PS As any reader of Captain Underpants knows, anything sounds better if you append "2000" or "3000" to the name. Adding "of doom" to the end usually works well too.

We flashed our art gallery membership cards and breezed in to see the exhibit.