Dale and I put off most of our Christmas shopping until last weekend. We decided we’d take a little getaway into the city, to visit with our younger son and his girlfriend and to complete our lists. It was a real adventure in many ways, starting with my skytrain ride in.
My daughter-in-law drove me to the new Coquitlam Centre station and I walked up to the gates. I had my Compass card handy, I tapped in and headed to the escalator. As I got to the top, the train arrived. I legged it over and stepped in. I poured over the map of the route with all the stops. The trip planning site I had checked earlier told me to go the Commercial-Broadway station and then transfer to the Expo Line. But the map overhead told me I could get onto the Expo Line by transferring at the Lougheed Town Centre station. It was an easy transfer, just a few steps across the platform. It did backtrack a bit, but I could sit all the way to my station. At first I was sitting backwards, which was not good but a young woman left and so I was able to move over and enjoy the trip.
The Expo Line is an older one so the stations weren’t announced. I carefully noted the names of all the stations as we pulled into them. Some were easier to see than others, but I had counted the number of stations until my stop so I was good. It was interesting to see the buildings along the route. Some were very nice and I imagined what it would be like to live there. It was also very interesting to see that most of the roofs were fully covered in snow. Even though we don’t often get snow here, most homes are properly insulated. When the train paralleled the roads it was clear that we were moving much faster than the traffic. It was an enjoyable ride.
I got off at the Main Street-Science World Station and made my way down to street level. There was an elderly Asian woman in front of me on the stairs so we made our way slowly down. I was bumped a couple of times, once by a large suitcase. I know it’s frustrating when people go slowly, but there was nothing we, the lady and I, could do. And bumping people as they are going down stairs could be very dangerous. My phone rang as I was going down, so I checked it at the bottom. Jordan had called. I called him back and told him I was on my way.
I crossed the street and limped my way to the ferry dock. It was farther away than I remembered it, but I eventually found it. My timing was perfect as I waited just a minute or two before the ferry arrived. I was the only passenger. It was almost dark and the lights of the city were visible. It was a little chilly but not unbearably so. It was a goodly ride to Granville Island, and surprisingly it was more expensive than my skytrain ride from Poco!
I got off the ferry and made my way into the Public Market building. I stopped at a table and called Jordan. He found me and we walked around, getting ideas and checking out items for family members. After a while we moved to the Net Loft and perused the shops there then we sat for a bit and chatted. Dale called to say he had checked in and would be soon joining us. We waited for him and then the three of us walked around a little more before we made our way to the restaurant. Jordan stayed behind at the bus stop to wait for his girlfriend. Dale and I put our names on the waiting list and took a seat at the bar. Jordan and Liz arrived before the bartender did but soon we had drinks in hand, toasting “Happy Friday”. Not long after our first sips we were moved to our table. We ordered and got our appies quickly. However, we waited a very long time for our entrees, so long in fact that the manager gave them to us half off. Jordan and Liz had another event to go to, so we parted ways after hugs. Dale and I walked back to the hotel for dessert. The server we got was a tad pretentious. He wasn’t very good either, bringing me Earl Grey tea instead of English Breakfast. He also forgot Dale’s drink order and had to come back to ask for it again. He made little, unfunny jokes every time he came by to check on us. We couldn’t place his accent. Dale had the rhubarb-apple tart and he said it was very good. My molten chocolate cake was a tad overcooked but still delicious. The server’s antics didn’t take the shine off the evening. We paid the bill and went to our room.
In the morning we went to the public market for breakfast. We always seem to arrive just before the rush. We found a table and I sat at it to stake our claim. We had crepes and they were delicious! We made a battle plan and started our shopping. Several hours later Dale took the bags back to the hotel while I made my way to the ferry dock. He joined me and we went to Yaletown. We walked up to the Roundhouse Station and took the skytrain to the Pacific Centre Mall. The train was quite full and so we stood. There were people sitting in the spots designated for elderly or disabled riders. Only one, an older woman, offered me a seat. I had my cane so I guess I looked like I needed to sit. The young woman sitting beside her hid behind her phone. I thanked the woman but told her we were only going one stop so I didn’t need to sit. The train took us right to the mall entrance. We walked around the mall and then headed out to shop elsewhere. In one store I leaned my cane against a display while we looked at an item. Dale took the item to the checkout and I headed up the escalator. Halfway up I realized I didn’t have my cane so I had to jump onto the downscalator to retrieve it.
As we headed back to the mall we decided to have lunch. We sat at a table by the window, doing a little people watching while we ate. It was interesting to see the variations in winter attire. Some people were totally covered, with hood and scarves leaving only their eyes visible. Others had open coats and shoes with no socks. Most were carrying multiple bags. After lunch we finished our shopping in the mall then headed to the skytrain station.
We went down some stairs and finally down a very steep escalator. We realized we were at the wrong station so we backtracked and went to another station, we thought. Nope, it was the other side of the same station. Dale decided we would go to Waterfront Station and figure it out from there, and so we did. The system must be set up to deal with people like us who really have no clue, because when we tapped out of the system several times we weren’t charged. At Waterfront we walked to the train to get us back to Yaletown. I made Dale buy me a tea at Starbucks before we walked to the ferry dock, because my nerves were shattered from all the extra skytrain rides and walking.
We had dinner that night at a restaurant we had avoided thinking it would be crowded and we’d have to wait. But it wasn’t busy at all. We got a table by the window looking out over the water. We had a lovely meal and our waiter was fabulous. Granville Island was quite quiet and lovely on the walk back to our hotel, lightly covered in snow and all lit up.
It snowed during the night so it was very quiet in the morning. It took a while for Dale to clear the snow off the car but eventually we were ready to set off. We drove the short distance to the Net Loft where we found a spot right in front, I guess the snow was keeping people at home. We went in and had breakfast all by ourselves. It was lovely.
We stopped at Toys R Us on the way home, to pick up something to have at the house for when our grandson comes to stay. It was our lucky day because a playpen with a bassinet was on sale. Dale set it up as soon as we got home, well as soon as we had emptied our suitcases. We hope he will be using it soon! And all the things we bought on our weekend adventure are now wrapped and under the tree waiting for everyone to come over and unwrap them. Merry Christmas everyone!
