After a 21 hour train ride to Seattle and 3 hour bus ride I’ve finally made it to my favorite country that I’ve never been to. The Amtrak ride was difficult to find sleep on due to a cabin mate that snored like a Mack truck. Around 2am I finally slipped down to the empty cafe car and drifted off for a bit before they started to reopen around 5am. The older gentlemen I was sitting next to in my proper seat was riding up to Seattle from his home in LA only to turn around and head back on the south bound train the next day. A testament to the gorgeous scenery this inland route has to offer - and thankfully inland as to not spoil anything coastal for me.
Following a customs check at the border the bus dropped me off a couple of kilometers away from my hotel so I set off in the brisk Vancouver night to find it. Notttt a great part of town to traverse at night but as far as I could tell there was no reason to worry just a lot of homeless folk. Checked in at 1:30 in the morning and passed out the second my head hit the pillow.
Woke up around 8am and was deadset on having my first Tim Hortons experience. I don’t have any statistics to back this up, but I think Timmy’s are more common in Canada than McDonald’s are in the homeland. As such, within a 5 minute walk I was inhaling a TH breakfast burrito that was magical after an Amtrak pretzel dinner the previous evening.
Post-breakfast I showered, grabbed the bike, and headed out for a mini tour of Vancouver. My budget friendly hotel while basic had the enormous perk of being just slightly east of downtown. I pedaled around the bike-friendly city for an hour before beginning an amazing 10 mile loop around the famous Stanley Park. Breathtaking views of downtown and North Vancouver were available here. Now back at the hotel to quickly post this before walking around to find a good dinner spot and some Canadian pals. Tomorrow it begins.
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