Vancouver in November 2013

Last November, we visited Vancouver BC for a short break because I had some work in downtown. We left on a Tuesday afternoon and reached the city by evening. We picked up our vacation rental keys from their office (EMR Vacations and they were superb) and got a detailed description on how to reach our accommodation. We stayed at a beautiful, luxury condo on the 19th floor with wonderful views of downtown. It also included a parking spot and was close to many attractions. 

We were going back to Vancouver after a span of 2.5 years. On Wednesday afternoon, we set off to the aquarium in Stanley Park. We loved this place in our previous trip and enjoyed ourselves even this time around. The jellyfish display was fantastic. The dolphin show was superb. All the other displays were very interesting. We also enjoyed the 4D movie. All of us really enjoyed the park and we stayed till they closed for the day. 

We then decided to go one of V's favorite restaurants - Rangoli, owned by the owner of Vij's. We placed our order and were surprised that there were no high chairs for children.  We had a very good meal and the kids began to get restless after a long day. I wanted to change 'baby I's' diaper and was shocked to learn that the restroom was not equipped with a changing station ! The staff din't even seem to care to apologize for it. I like their food but was not happy with their indifference; I will not be visiting this restaurant next time.

On Thursday, we went to the Science Center and the kids had a lot of fun. There were many displays and many age appropriate activities. Their food section seemed to have expanded compared to our last visit. V and R had a lot of fun with the keva blocks. 'Baby I' had a lot of fun running around in the toddler area. We returned to our rental place in the evening and after some rest, decided to go to a Thai place for dinner. This restaurant called Banana Leaf was superb and we loved the food. I had a dish called assam curry and it was very delicious. Another odd thing was this restaurant had no high chair either.  However, the staff were very friendly and won us over. 

On Friday, we packed up and checked out at 11am. We decided to stop in Surrey for lunch. We picked a place called Tasty Indian Bistro and reached there a little after noon. The food is by far the best Indian food I have ever eaten outside of India. Need I say more? The decor was very good, and I was happy  that they had high chairs. The staff were very friendly. It seems they are a new restaurant and I hope they maintain their quality. 

I was surprised to see so many Indian stores and bussiness in that area. They even had a Indian style open sabzi mandi with fresh vegetables. Unfortunately they are not allowed at border crossing and so I had to skip them. 

This was a nice break and we all had a good time. Vancouver is such a melting pot of different cultures and has so many options for authentic and delicious food. The weather on most days was gray with slight drizzle. We had occasional sun breaks and it was just like Seattle.

Fort Worden State Park

After our wonderful experience at the earlier state park, we were very excited about our trip to Fort Worden in Aug 2013. My cousin, Su was staying with us for a short visit also joined us. Fort Worden is also in the Olympic Peninsula and we decided to go in the same ferry as last time. Alas, there was a long line for the ferry and we had to wait for more than 2 hours at the ferry terminal. We finally reached the park close to 8pm.

View of Seattle from the Bainbridge island ferry

The park was very big and had many buildings. We were staying at a duplex and was not what we were expecting. It was a 3 bedroom apartment on the 2nd floor. We entered to find a huge kitchen with a big dining area. There was a living room with sofa and 3 big bedrooms and a small extra room. There was 1 bath. The beds were very comfortable. The view from the balcony was of the parade ground. Althought the house was furnished, it felt like a typical barrack or army style accomodation. It was modest and not cosy. Because it was so big, it felt very drafty. A TV and a warm fireplace would have been a nice touch.

After a good nights sleep, we rose to find a very peaceful and quiet morning. We had breakfast included in our stay at one of the common areas and set off to find it. The Park was very nice with lots of things to see and do. We found the mess and had a simple breakfast. There were many museums to see, they all only accept cash. We found many students and they were there for a "camp" from the IAWW. It was nice to see all their activities and it sure seemed like a fun camp.

We enjoyed the park and its views. Then we visited the beach, which was very nice. We also stopped at their Marine Science Center which was the highlight of the trip. R loves marine life and he was very excited to see all the creatures he had read about or seen on TV. The museum was small but packed with many interesting creatures, including the fantastic Giant Pacific octopus. We were mesmerized by its display. There was also a big touch pond and the staff patiently explained all the critters on display - star fish, barnacles and so many others. Kudos to the wonderful staff (a family - we  saw grandmom, mom and a child) who explained everything and made our visit memorable.

We then visited the Orca Museum across the street, which had many interesting facts and a display of a giant orca skeleton. There was a lot of information about how the oceans are getting polluted.

We spent a lot of time by the beach near the Marine Center and it was very relaxing. The kids had a lot of fun.

The next morning, we woke up to find the park full and buzzing with people. There were so many Indians everywhere, that we thought we were in India. Turns out it was the last day of camp and the parents were there to pick up their children. I even bumped into some friends while crossing the street. We decided to leave early and beat the crowd for the ferry to Seattle.

Overall, it was a very different experience from Fort Flagler. This park had a lot more to offer in terms of activities.We skipped exploring the bunkers as the ones in Fort Flagler seemed a lot more interesting and we also ran out of time. Overall, Fort Worden is a fantastic place to visit. I will visit again just for the Marine Center.