Oh Canada!

While my journey into Canada began on a somber note, it's quickly shifted to a much more positive one. I did purchase a new camera, a conglomeration of the two lost, featuring the convenience of size of my Nikon with the features of my Powershot (see the Vancouver and later pics on my facebook). Even better, my full day in Vancouver wound up featuring beautiful, albeit ball-shrinking cold, weather. So instead of museum hopping, I went with my original plan and cruised Stanley Park and its seawall, followed by a stroll through Gaston and Chinatown, ending with a visit to Sun Yat-sen Classic Chinese Garden. Obviously, there's so much more to see, which is why I may very well return on my way back from Alaska.

Situating myself in downtown Vancouver, I stayed at the Samesun Hostel on Granville St. A nice backpacker retreat near all of the backpacker goodies, Samesun features interesting decor and atmosphere in the form of small, wood floor rooms with doors painted various national flags. Also, various wall hangings of ideas on getting off the tourist trail, cheap sights to see and food to eat, and of course, the best restaurants in town.

I recommend Twin Parrots, a bar and grill which has a dynamite Jamaican burger, and dougiedog, a small hole-in-the-wall hot dog joint featuring the best hot dogs I've had to date outside of Chicago. I tried their Super Mario dog (bursting with cheesy power which I did quite literally later on), featuring a jalapeno and cheese dog with ketchup, mushrooms and an extra smashing of cheese.

Oh yes, and Samesun's own restaurant, The Beaver, wasn't too bad itself. You can kick back, use their wi-fi while cussing out facebook for not uploading your photos, chat with other guests or simply watch ESPN or a Canuks game. While it's respectable to cheer for the Canuks, it's pretty funny to cheer for the opposition.

I also had a bum growl at me outside a 7-11 because I ignored him.

And the grand prize: The astonishing scenic views driving north out of Vancouver through Whistler. Large, ferocious mountains with trees precariously hanging to its sides and glacial lakes reflecting the scene for all to see. Through this, a small provincial highway wound its way through passes and mountain-sides with areas of missing guardrails, slush, snow pack and even one-lane bridges. It alone was a drive of a lifetime, and the weather couldn't have been more perfect.

I still have several more days in Canada before crossing back into Alaska.

See ya'll on the Alaskan Highway!