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Hi Everyone,
We hope that you are all well. Sorry for the delay, we have had trouble accessing the Internet and uploading photos...
... After spending an amazing two weeks in Alberta, we decided it was time to move on, so we jumped onto a fabulous Greyhound bus from Banff to Vancouver. We had a nice pick up time of 8.45pm and would be arriving in Vancouver at 6.00am. Yay, another overnight bus! This one was a little different as it included about 10 stops on the way as well as a 20 minute stop at 4am where we all had to get off the bus and wait in a dive of a bus terminal.
We arrived safely in Vancouver in the pouring rain, a common occurrence by all accounts! After checking in we asked for a great place to have breakfast. The check-in guy recommended a place called 'The Elbow Room.' It was a little cafe that was ran by an older gay couple. Was a hilarious place for breakfast. If you wanted another coffee they would tell you to get off your ass and get it yourself and the waiter kept hounding Fraser until she finished all of her food " come on honey," "hurry up princess, we don't have all day!" yelling it across the cafe in front of everyone!
After breakfast we then jumped on a hostel tour of Granville Island. It used to be an industrial area with old war factories and a wharf, which was later turned into a market. The next day (in the rain again) we jumped on the ferry and a few buses to get out to Lynn Valley, home to a Redcedar Forrest. It was an amazing experience to walk through the tall woods and glad we were able to get there.
The next day we jumped on an early bus and headed back into the States to Seattle. Seattle is a beautiful city when the sun is out. We stayed in the alternative part of Seattle, Fremont, just outside the city.
We arrived 2 days before the Super Bowl and only realised in Vancouver that the Seattle Seahawks had made it into the Super Bowl. The city was alive and every second person was wearing a Seahawks shirt. People were driving through the streets, flags hanging off the back of there cars, screaming Seahawks chants. Was great to witness, but unfortunately we had booked our flight to Hawaii on Super Bowl day and was going to miss the match.
We went on an underground city tour which was fascinating. The original colony was built on the tidal flats and most buildings were wooden. A fire broke out and quickly became out of control. The fire chief was out of town, and although the volunteer fire department responded they used too many hoses at once, dropping the water pressure, and the fire destroyed 31 blocks! The council decided that all buildings were to be made of brick and raised above the initial colony as it was prone to flooding. The new street level also assisted in ensuring that gravity-assisted flush toilets that funneled into Elliott Bay did not back up at high tide (there are many stories about exploding toilets!) The tour allows you to walk into the old basements of some of the buildings and see what the city was like.
The also talked about random crimes, debauchery and the secret lives of prostitutes disguised as seamstresses!
We then jumped on a 'Stalking Tour' of all the famous music sites in Seattle. It was a fantastic tour and really got to see where all of the bands (Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alice in chains, Jimi, mother love bone, soundgarden etc) started out and the clubs and pubs that they played at. The tour finished off with a trip to Kurt Cobain's house where he shot himself in 94. Fraser commented that it had a weird feeling about the place. Our tour guide was very knowledgable as she grew up during the grunge movement and we think she was a former groupie so she had all of the inside knowledge. We also visited the EMP museum which has plenty of music and movie memorabilia including a few guitars belonging to Hendrix and Cobain. One of the best highlights was the set list from Nirvana's unplugged set.
Before we knew it, it was time to jump on the train and head to the airport for our flight to Hawaii. Our North America mainland adventure had come to an end.
Next stop Hawaii, and our woofing adventure!
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